AFC Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Texans

“Quenton has a way of convincing you he can overcome anything but after further evaluation, its just not realistic with the high ankle sprain and he has going on. We gotta protect him from himself,” Reich said via Larra Overton of the team website.

Jaguars

Regarding Thursday’s 24-21 loss to the Bengals, Jaguars HC Urban Meyer feels they played well in the first half but Cincinnati was able to pick them apart. 

“Played well in the first half obviously,” Meyer said, via John Oehser of the team’s official site. “They were running the ball pretty good in the third quarter and then we tightened up against the run and they had matchup advantages – they felt – in man coverage, and in zone coverage they were picking us apart and they caught us in the zero blitz.”

Jaguars DT Malcolm Brown mentioned that they must learn to quickly move on from bad plays.

“You get those plays and then you turn around and, uh, you’ve got to have amnesia at that point,” Brown said. “You’ve got to forget about it and move on to the next play. Things happen. You’ve got to be able to roll with the punches and get back on the horse and ride.”

• Meyer said RG A.J. Cann sustained an MCL injury but is unsure of its severity. (Michael DiRocco)

Texans

Former Bengals’ OL coach Paul Alexander has evaluated the play of Texans’ T/G Tytus Howard and explains that it may be more difficult than one could imagine when it comes to making the move from tackle to guard.

“It’s not unusual to think a guy who’s played tackle his whole life can’t jump in there and play guard,” said Alexander, via Aaron Reiss of The Athletic.

According to Alexander, Howard misaligns his body pre-snap, takes long steps, and uses the wrong type of block in certain situations.

“A lot of the techniques he’s doing he hasn’t done before,” Alexander said.“He has the physical attribute to be an NFL starting tackle or guard. By moving him (inside), they felt they needed him there, or they gave up on him (at tackle). If they gave up on him, they gave up on him too soon. He’s starting the learning curve all over again now.”

• According to USA Today’s Josina Anderson, depositions in Deshaun Watson‘s civil cases are scheduled to begin early next week, while the state hasn’t indicated a date to present its criminal case investigations to the grand jury.
• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says the Texans continue to listen to offers for Watson and a trade remains a possibility until the trade deadline passes. 
• Texans LB Christian Kirksey was fined $10,300 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Panthers QB Sam Darnold. (Rapoport)
• Texans’ HC David Culley on the 100 yards of penalties that his team accrued against the Bills: “That’s undisciplined. We’re going to fix that.” (Aaron Wilson)
• Culley commented on Desmond King playing outside at cornerback: “We felt like we needed a more aggressive guy. We moved a few guys around.” (Wilson)
• Culley said that while LB Jonathan Greenard‘s chest injury wasn’t serious, the hip injury sustained by RB Rex Burkhead was. (Wilson)
• Culley said he expects LB Zach Cunningham to return in five days as a close contact, while DT Ross Blacklock will take more time to return. (Wilson)
• Rookie QB Davis Mills threw four interceptions yet Culley did not place the blame on him for the loss or consider replacing him with QB Jeff Driskel: “I thought he did exactly what we asked him to do other than taking care of the ball. It wasn’t on him. You could put anybody out there today. U could put Joe Montana out there today and the way we played you’re not gonna have any success on offense.” (Mark Berman)