The Houston Texans are 2-1 on the year and hoping to start finding an offensive rhythm as they get into the meat of their season. By all accounts, they are playing well minus the loss to the New York Giants in Week 3. When looking back at game film, head coach Bill O'Brien notes that they simply must do a better of getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers. That might no longer include Andre Johnson, but certainly involves DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins is currently leading the team in receiving despite being second in targets. The second-year receiver has 227 yards off 13 catches with 19 targets. Johnson on the other hand has 27 targets, catching 16 for 191 yards and no touchdowns. Hopkins has two scores on the year. Despite the loss, Hopkins put up on of the more memorable moments of Week 3 with a 53-yard catch against the Giants. The catch was nullified for a penalty, but is certainly one that shows what the receiver is capable of. That has caused O'Brien to give Hopkins more responsibility each week.
"He's a guy that has come up with some really big catches for us," O'Brien said via the team website. "Just a very, very enjoyable guy to coach. But, yeah, one-handed catch like that, you know, he makes a lot of those catches in practice. It wasn't really too much of a surprise to see him go up there and do that and it was a heck of a catch. But he was the guy that was aligned improperly. He's got to get aligned right so that the catch counts next time. We've got to do a better job of coaching that. He's a really, really good young player who has an excellent future. We need to do a better job of getting him the ball."
Hopkins will be needed this week especially if running back Arian Foster is out. The running back has been determined has day-to-day following hamstring issues. The Texans believe he will be a game-time decision on Sunday. He has been limited in practice for most of the week which means Alfred Blue will get the starting nod if need be. O'Brien feels good about Blue taking over the spot.
"Blue is a big back, O'Brien said. "He's a smart back. He's a tough kid. He's young. He runs tough and he's a guy that helps us on special teams. Really good work ethic, and I think he's the type of guy because of the way he works he'll only get better."
