Got a question about the Texans?
Life in general?
Drew Dougherty's your guy.
He's been with the Texans since 2009 and is chock full of meaningful, as well as generally useless, information. Fire away by clicking HERE.
Camilo Mendoza: Dear Drew, As an organization, how are we going to prepare for the next three games in 10 days, or as others are calling it "The Gauntlet"?
DD: First, by resting. The Texans started training camp a week before everyone else but the Chicago Bears, and they have the bye week off this Sunday. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans has emphasized the importance of the players and coaches getting away and getting a mental and physical recharge.
"Right now, we just need to focus on recovering," Ryans said on Monday. "That's it and then we come back and our focus will be on Miami when that time comes. But right now, want our guys to just get away from it all and that's the main thing and when we hit reset, we'll hit reset and we'll be ready to get back to it."
As far as preparing for the 3-game stretch against the Dolphins at home, Chiefs on the road and Ravens a few days after that on Christmas Day, Ryans detailed the importance of self-scouting during the break.
"You look at the self-scout to see the stuff that we have done well and where we need to improve," Ryans said. "I think this week is very beneficial for coaches as well. Just to dive into the film and you aren't worried about game planning, but you get to take an internal deep dive to see what we can do different, what do we like that hasn't really been productive for us and where can we make some changes. It is going to be a very beneficial week for our coaches."
***Camilo, your question was a good one, and because of it, you've won some Texas Lottery Scratchoff tickets. Someone from the organization will soon be in touch with you.***
Scott George: Dear Drew, Will we ever see Christian Harris on the field again this season?
DD: According to Ryans, yes. Yours is a great, and frequently-asked question, Scott. The third-year linebacker has been out all regular season with a leg injury, but on Monday the head coach was asked about Harris, and he had an update.
"Christian has done a great job progressing and we look forward to seeing him out there pretty soon," Ryans said.
Juan Loeza: Dear Drew, What needs to change for all these penalties to decrease by a lot?
DD: Something changed last week, at least for one game. Houston was flagged just three times for 15 yards on Sunday in Jacksonville. (The flag and disqualification of Azeez Al-Shaair was offset by two penalties on the Jaguars during the skirmish afterwards.) That was a major improvement over the 11-penalty performance in the loss at home last week to the Titans.
Jerry Turner: Dear Drew, What is our magic number to win our division?
DD: Two. If the Texans beat the Dolphins and the Colts, who have a bye this weekend as well, lose at the Broncos in two Sundays, Houston wins the AFC South. The magic number is two, which means the Texans need to either win two more games, or win a game and have the Colts lose a game, or have the Colts lose two more games. The Texans are 8-5 and Indianapolis is 6-7. The only way the Colts can overtake the Texans is if they finish with a better record. If the two teams are tied, the Texans win the division because of the first determining tie-breaker, which is the head-to-head matchup record. Houston beat Indianapolis both times they played this fall.
*Ariel Alameda: Dear Drew, Any idea when our next matchup against the Titans will be? *DD: It's the last game of the season, in Week 18, but the day and time hasn't been scheduled yet. All 16 NFL games that weekend are to be determined, and they'll figure that out in late December. But it would be either Saturday, January 4 or Sunday the 5th.
