National Football League

Slow starts have been costing Texans

Published Dec. 23, 2010 12:16 a.m. ET

foxsports

Houston coach Gary Kubiak hasn't figured out why the Texans start games so slowly.

Neither have the players, and it's too late now to fix the problem in time to salvage a disappointing season.

Doomed by another poor first half on Sunday, Houston was eliminated from playoff contention in a 31-17 loss to Tennessee.

The Texans (5-9) have lost seven of eight, and trailed in the first half of each of those losses. They've been outscored 96-36 in the first quarter and 218-114 in the opening half this season.

Houston plays at Denver (3-11), another slow-starting team, on Sunday. The Broncos have been outscored 195-139 in the first half this season.

Kubiak has tinkered with the practice schedule and changed up his pre-game messages to try to shake his team out of the first-quarter doldrums.

Nothing has worked, though, and Kubiak sensed the frustration setting in on the sideline Sunday when the Texans fell behind the Titans 21-0.

''I think we're kind of in a rut right now, or a situation right now where we've had a lot of games start the way (Sunday's) game started,'' Kubiak said. ''I think there's a lot of, 'Oh, no. Not again.' I see some of that.''

Last season, the Texans outscored opponents 89-57 in the first quarter on the way to a 9-7 record. Even during a 4-2 start this season, Houston trailed at halftime in four of those games.

''I think it's always something in this business, and you're always searching for perfection,'' Kubiak said. ''Obviously, we have not played well in the first quarter and I think it has been a combination of things as a football team. It's not one area. It hits all areas.''

Kubiak scripts the first 15 offensive plays for each game, and fullback Vonta Leach said the Texans have repeated the order 3-4 times in recent Friday workouts to get it down. Leach said Kubiak has also switched the Friday practice routine lately, opting for more physical practices in place of the usual light walkthroughs.

That hasn't improved things at all - the Texans have trailed 21-0 in the first half of their past two games. They only converted one first down in the first quarter against Baltimore two weeks ago, then gained only 17 total yards on their first three series last Sunday.

''I don't know whether it's eating the wrong thing for breakfast or whatever,'' Leach said. ''You can't just pinpoint just one thing. There are a lot of reasons why we've been getting off to slow starts, whether it's guys not concentrating, whether we're blocking the wrong guys.''

Kubiak talked to his team before Sunday's game about playing a mistake-free first quarter, to no avail. The Texans mustered only one first down on their first three series, while the Titans scored touchdowns on their first three.

The defense has given up touchdowns on one of the opponents' first two possessions in the past three games. Baltimore scored touchdowns on three of its first six drives two weeks ago and Philadelphia scored on its first three series to build a 17-3 lead on Dec. 2.

Defensive end Antonio Smith said the Texans still haven't recovered from the season-ending injury to Pro Bowl middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who ruptured his Achilles' tendon after Week 6.

Houston's 30th-ranked defense has allowed an average of 27.3 points per game since losing Ryans, one of the most respected players on the team.

''He's a leader in so many different ways,'' Smith said. ''Like how a quarterback leads the offense, he's a motivational leader like that. Whatever he needs to be, DeMeco is. And DeMeco will go to bat for any of his players. And his play on the field, it's greatly missed.''

The Texans agree that starting fast is a must in Denver, but no one seems really sure about what to do leading up to the game to guarantee that will happen.

''The only thing you can do is just go out and try to execute the offense,'' receiver Andre Johnson said. ''And the defense has to execute, get off the field on third downs. That's pretty much it. There's no secret. You just have to go out and execute.''

Notes: RB Arian Foster practiced on Wednesday and said he felt fine after leaving Sunday's game with a muscle spasm. K Neil Rackers (hamstring) sat out Wednesday's workout, but Kubiak said he should be ready for this week's game. ... The Texans announced a partnership with a local food bank that will culminate in the opening of a massive distribution center in the spring. The team donated $500,000 to the food bank through its foundation.