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.
K.C. Deckers from Pasadena, TX: Dear Drew, I liked what I saw from the defense—for the most part—but I'm worried about the safeties. What's up with them?
DD: Jimmie Ward was inactive because of a hip injury and Jalen PItre was done at the half Sunday because of a chest injury. Eric Murray started in place of Ward and played every defensive snap against Baltimore. M.J. Stewart was on the field a lot in the second half, logging 55 percent of the defensive snaps and also taking part in 68 percent of the snaps on special teams. Stewart logged five tackles and recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
The next injury report will be released later Wednesday afternoon after the Texans practice, and it'll give a better indication of Ward and Pitre's availability.
But having both safeties, who are also the two defensive team captains, out is troubling. It's certainly not the reason the Texans lost to the Ravens, but you have to wonder what their playmaking abilities would've added to the defense versus the Ravens.
Dylan Rhea from Anaheim, CA: Dear Drew, Big Texans fan on the West Coast. If Case Keenum was inactive on Sunday, why was he in uniform?
DD: Thanks a lot, Dylan. Appreciate those kind words. Your question was one I got from a pair of coworkers, three cousins, and one son on Sunday. The new "emergency quarterback" rule had Keenum in uniform against the Ravens. He was on the pregame inactive list, but because he's one of three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, the Texans could've used him had C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills gotten injured.
The rule is new this year and came up in large part to the 49ers losing Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson in the NFC Championship loss at Philadelphia. Ryans was the San Francisco defensive coordinator in that game.
Mukul Kanabar from Hol Chan, Belize: Dear Drew, Where were the trick plays on Sunday in Baltimore? I thought we had a new OC.
DD: I don't know, Mukul. Trick plays are fun, but they don't always work. I wouldn't quite close the book, or playbook for that matter, on trick plays for 2023. Who knows if offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is a fan of them or not.
Just be patient and wait and see.
Derwin Jordan from Cypress, TX: Dear Drew, Are there plans to bring back the Players show like we used to do at Fuddruckers?
DD: No, as of right now. There might come a day or two when Texans Radio heads back out on the road, but there aren't any plans for that yet. If that changes, though, we'll make sure and blast out the info over social media.
