Not much, if anything at all, should be made out of the first game of the NFL’s (way) too long preseason. The play calling is going to be vanilla, the players (unless they are fighting for a roster spot) are not really going to give it their all, and there will be plenty of penalties. However, for the Houston Texans coming off of a 2-14 season and a makeshift rotation at perhaps the most important position in all of team sports (quarterback), there can be one conclusion taken away after their embarrassing 32-0 defeat against the Arizona Cardinals second-string players. That conclusion is that if this team is going to have any modicum of success this season, it is going to come from the elusive Arian Foster.
This might be a confusing take for some of you, since Foster didn’t even play against the Cardinals. Yet what we saw from the players who did play, the only logical conclusion left for the poor Texans fans is that handing the ball off to Foster and letting him work his magic might be the only way this team scores this season and will definitely have to be a big part in any Texan game plan if the team is to win games and have a successful season. All three of the Texans quarterbacks failed to score or even move the ball consistently. Fitzpatrick, the presumed starter, looked completely out of sorts and had two interceptions. He also played all of the first half, which is very unusual for a starting quarterback to do in the first preseason game, but that just spoke to the level of desperation from rookie coach Bill O’ Brien, who tried to give his starting quarterback some sort of momentum or positives to take away from the game. The Texan offense, in short, was pathetic.
So this all comes full circle back to Arian Foster. The Texans are banking on him to regain his 2011 form, when he had a monster breakout season and led the Texans to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Foster is going to have to be mentally ready to be a leader on this team and assume the heavy workload that comes with being the lead running back on an NFL team. His elusiveness in the open field, his canny ability to find the open hole in the line of scrimmage, and perhaps even more importantly, his catching ability that will allow the quarterback to fling it over to him for a short pass and get some easy yards will be crucial. More importantly, he needs to be healthy. If he remains healthy and committed, he could take immense pressure off of the mediocre quarterback group the Texans currently have and even buy them some time to string a few scoring drives together. It’s not the most flamboyant, sexy, or exciting game plan, but it’s the only one the Texans have at the moment. Beggars can’t be choosers and Arian Foster is the Texans biggest playmaker and x-factor this season. A successful season for him could translate into a successful season for the team. A mediocre season from him and the Texans will likely finish in the bottom of the pile in the NFL standings again. It’s time Arian Foster puts his team on his back and carries them to success.
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