Highlights hard to find for Texans after loss
Written by davemundy, Sunday September 13 2009
Positives were few and far between for the Texans during Sunday’s 24-7 loss to the Jets, but the Houston defense came away with three which might be worth building on.
The debut of first-round draft pick Brian Cushing at linebacker wasn’t earth-shaking, but he proved to have a nose for where the action is. Cushing led the team with eight tackles, five of them unassisted.
"He almost had me on one play early, on a fake sweep,” Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said of his college roommate. “I don't think he was supposed to blitz but he just fired his guns and came right after me because he saw me sitting there like a duck. … I kind of lucked out on that one. He was all over the field making big plays on third and short. He's a tough player, and I'm sure the O-line can attest to that."
“Just the experience of finally getting out there was good. I think the rest, you kind of want to look past it,” Cushing said. “You kind of look at the score and it's a ‘What's going on out there?’ kind of feeling.
”Luckily, we get another chance next week, to go out early in the season and go redeem ourselves.”
Strong safety John Busing, meanwhile, is not a good cover man--which is why he’s not a starter. But it’s becoming clear he has a nose for the ball.
Busing had a couple of turnovers in the pre-season and earned a roster spot, and continued to endear himself to the Texans Sunday when he darted in to intercept a Sanchez pass early in the fourth quarter. He fumbled the ball while being tackled, but Dominique Barber was there to scoop up the loose ball and returned it 48 yards for Houston’s only touchdown of the game.
“He keeps doing his job,” head coach Gary Kubiak said of Busing, admitting the only reason Barber got into the game was the injury which held out safety Eugene Wilson. “Obviously he makes a big play that after it's all said in done gave us a chance to get back in the ballgame …The kid does some good stuff."
"The coaches just put us in a good call and I was able to read the quarterback's eyes and stepped in front of it,” said Busing, who also had an interception and fumble recovery in the team’s final pre-season game. Thankfully Dom was running up behind me and was able to pick it up and put it in the end zone."
Barber said he was looking for someone to block when he saw the ball loose.
“JB made a nice pick and I was actually going to try and find somebody to block, saw the ball on the ground and just tried to make a play," he said.
The third positive the Texans can take away from the contest is that any lingering doubts the team might have had about cornerback Dunta Robinson have been put to rest. Robinson missed the first part of the 2008 season coming off knee surgery and played gingerly upon his return late in the year, and that gingerness led to some doubts when it came time to negotiate a new contract.
Houston named Robinson its franchise player and the cornerback balked, sitting out the entire training camp in protest before finally signing his tender offer last week.
The Jets tried to test him a couple of times early in the game, but Robinson didn’t flinch, making one acrobatic stab to bat away a pass and making things sticky for wide receivers Chanci Stuckey and Jerricho Crotchery.
“We knew coming into this game what kind of guys we were facing,” Robinson said. “I really can’t speak for the rest of the defense right now as far as tackling goes, but for myself that's the only glitch that I had today. I missed tackles that I usually make. That's small though, I'd rather have that problem than not being able to cover a guy.”
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