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Thank You to the Texans

2012-01-07T23:12:00.003-06:00

So I've at times been pretty harsh on the Texans, but tonight I have to take a few moments to say, "Thank you."

It's been ten years of a mixture of emotion that included both happiness and frustration. But nothing compares to the awesome feeling tonight when the Texans whipped the pants off of the Bengals in their first ever playoff game. I've been following and trying to stay objective for years, but tonight...I want to be a fan.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you to every single one of the members of the Houston Texans. Yes...thank you Arian, Owen, JJ, TJ and Brian......but beyond that...thank you Chris, Duane, Mister, Matt, Gary, Wade and every single member of the Houston Texans administration. Thank you to everyone who is part of the organization.

All of you make the fans...like me....so damn happy to be fans!

Wade Phillips Surgery Update

2011-12-15T16:07:00.002-06:00

As of 4 PM on Thursday December 15th, Wade Phillips is out of surgery on his kidney and gallbladder and is in stable condition. This is good news, but we will update as new information becomes available.

Wade Phillips To Have Surgery

2011-12-14T09:55:00.003-06:00

Houston Texans defensive coordinator will take a medical leave of absence later this week to have a surgical procedure done. While he will miss at least the game this weekend against the Carolina Panthers, reports do state that he will return during the regular season.

As if having players injured weren't enough, now the Texans are losing the coaching staff. Linebackers coach Reggie Herring will be calling the shots on defense during Phillips' absence.

My opinion is that the defense will be just fine with Herring calling the shots. He's worked under Phillips for several years and has a great understanding of how the scheme works. I do not expect them to miss a beat, but we wish Phillips the best in a speedy recovery.

Astros Moving to the American League - Not a Bad Thing

2011-11-17T07:29:00.004-06:00

So if all goes through today, the Astros will have officially been sold to Jim Crane and the MLB will have made him agree to move the team to the American League. I've heard a lot of mixed signals about it being a good or a bad thing, but personally I must admit that I think it's pretty darn exciting to have the Astros competing in the American League. Here's why:

1. Designated Hitters - It's really deflating as a fan to be watching the Astros on a roll in an inning with guys in scoring position only to have a pitcher come up to bat who doesn't hit better than .137. Moving to the American League means that the Astros can finally have a designated hitter. There is a certain ex-Astro who played for the Cardinals this past year who would make an excellent DH if he came back and retired as an Astro like he has hinted at in interviews. So - come on Berkman!

2. No More Cardinals - I was getting pretty sick of watching the same old boring teams in series's against the Astros. From the Cardinals and the Cubs to the Mets and Diamondbacks and down the line most of them are just boring. Now we'll get to see multiple series's with teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Tigers - not too mention we will have an awesome in division rivalry with our neighbors up I-45, which brings me to my third point...

3. Official Astros vs Rangers Rivalry - Finally there can be a Houston/Dallas sports team rivalry. It never really worked with the Mavs and Rockets because the Rockets were more combative with the Spurs. Being in the same division and without another close market team to draw the competitiveness from their match up, the Astros and Rangers will develop an incredible rivalry. Sure, now they'll never have the chance of playing each other in the World Series now, but the chances of that happening are so remote that it's worth it to me to sacrifice that idea for years and years of fun rivalry games and close pennant races.

Settle down, folks. Don't be too hasty and get all disappointed in this move. In my opinion, all signs point to it being fun. Anyone else have thoughts?

Matt Leinart to Start for Texans

2011-11-14T19:43:00.003-06:00

Rumors have it that Matt Schaub is out for the season. Kubiak won't confirm nor deny. So it's time for Matt Leinart to get out of the hot tub and get to work with Wade and Gary on rocking out the rest of the season.

All is not lost folks. Trust me.

A top defense, the most powerful running game in football, solid pass catching tight ends and Andre Johnson are a recipe for being able to make it through the rest of the season and still come out of it a playoff winner. Keep in mind that the Texans were able to beat the Buccs 37-9 by completing only 11 passes (most of which were to TE's and Running Backs). When the Texans do pass, the play action rollout has been the bread-and-butter.

Leinart now has a chance to show what he has learned in his time under Matt Schaub and working with Kubiak who, let's remember, was right about Schaub when no one was biting on the back-up from Atlanta. Leinart is faster than Schaub and is also a lefty which will come in handy rolling out to the left and exposing the weak side. Okay - so I don't know that the last part is true, but it sounds good.

In any sense...I think it's going to come out alright, so don't fret!

Matt Schaub Has Significant Foot Injury

2011-11-14T15:38:00.003-06:00

Gary Kubiak reports that Matt Schaub suffered a "significant foot injury" during Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his press conference on Monday, Kubiak confirmed that most likely he will miss some time and Leinart will start against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 13 days.

If the Texans haven't had enough pain through losing their best players to injury this season, now they'll face the most challenging test in losing their starting Quarterback. The official injury has not been confirmed, but it's "not good."

Tough loss for the Texans. Now we'll see how this team really can play through the pain.

Prediction: Texans at Buccaneers

2011-11-09T07:30:00.003-06:00

The Texans (6-3) travel to Tampa this weekend to take on the Buccaneers (4-4). First in defense by total yards, the Texans face an offense that ranks 15th in average yards per game and 24th in scoring. Arian Foster and Ben Tate could have another strong game as the Buccs are 26th against the run giving up 132 yards per game.

LeGarrette Blount has been dealing with some injury problems for most of the year and is currently unlikely to play in passing situations, so the Texans Defense can focus more on putting pressure on Quarterback Josh Freeman and keeping tabs on the Buccaneer's below average receiving core.

The Buccaneers pass defense might be able to get a little pressure on Schaub and although he's old, Ronde Barber might come up with a big play or two.

Vegas has the Texans favored by 3. I think they'll win by a little more, but it will be an ugly game.

Predictions:
- Texans 27, Buccaneers 17

- Arian Foster runs for 117 yards and 1 score with 4 catches for 36 yards
- Ben Tate runs for 62 yards
- Owen Daniels has a strong game with 5 catches for 92 yards and a score
- Antonio Smith and Brooks Reed both come away with a sack
- Matt Schaub passes for 238 yards and 2 scores
- Texans Defense force 3 turnovers

2011 Houston Texans Meet The President

2011-11-07T15:51:00.004-06:00

Not putting the cart in front of the horse, but if they were to win the Superbowl - this is what it would look like for the Houston Texans to meet the president.

Hey Matt Schaub Haters - READ THIS

2011-11-01T11:15:00.009-05:00

I'm sick and tired of hearing sports radio callers complain about how BAD they think Matt Schaub is, how he isn't a leader and how they wish the Texans would get rid of him ASAP because we'll never make the playoffs with him at the helm.

Let me start by saying you're mostly wrong. Sure - he's slow both physically and mentally sometimes and he also doesn't look like the all out LEADER you want in a Quarterback from the outside. The bottom line is that as ugly as it may be sometimes...he knows the offense and right now he's the best option for the Texans at Quarterback, so stop complaining.

Because most of you are never satisfied no matter how good your team is - let me lay out for you in black and white...

Schaub is by far a better option than 22 other Quarterbacks that are currently starting for NFL teams. He falls in line with another 4 who all have shown potential yet just can't push it to the top tier and only has 6 that would be clear better options - NONE of which are available.

Six Starting Quarterbacks Who Are Clearly Better than Schaub - but will NEVER be available to the Texans, so forget it:
1. Aaron Rogers
2. Drew Brees
3. Peyton Manning
4. Tom Brady
5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Michael Vick

Five Current Starting Quarterbacks that Schaub Can Be Better or Worse than depending on the day:
7. Philip Rivers - Has become very inconsistent when his leading WR's and TE's are out - 3 picks against the Chiefs?
8. Matt Ryan - Could take the next step with a lot of weapons around him, but not there yet.
9. Matt Stafford - Guy shows potential, but would be nothing without Megatron.
10. Eli Manning - Very hot and Cold. Mostly cold.

Twenty Two Current Starting Quarterbacks that Schaub is CLEARLY Better than:
11. Tony Romo - No question. He's lost anything he was going to become.
12. Matt Hasselback - No question.
13. Alex Smith - No question.
14. Ryan Fitzpatrick - Not proven.
15. Jay Cutler - Not a great leader and way more inconsistent than Schaub
16. Joe Flacco - Not the best passer, which is why they lean so heavily on the Defense and Ray Rice.
17. Cam Newton - Not proven, but showing promise to move up.
18. Mark Sanchez - Way too inconsistent and too caught up in off field glamour and distraction.
19. Sam Bradford - Not proven, but showing promise to move up.
20. Andy Dalton - Not proven, but showing promise to move up.
21. Kevin Kolb - Has failed to live up to expectations big time even with Fitzgerald.
22. Matt Cassel - He's Matt Cassel...No question.
23. Josh Freeman - Not proven...yet.
24. Carson Palmer - Too old.
25. John Beck - No question.
26. Tarvaris Jackson - No question.
27. Christian Ponder - Not proven.
28. Colt McCoy - Not proven.
29. Tim Tebow - No question.
30. Matt Moore - No question.
31. Blaine Gabbart - No question.
32. Curtis Painter - No question.

Is he perfect by any sense of the word? No.

Will he make mistakes? Yes...he will.

But ultimately he knows the offense extremely well, the players believe in him and he throws 3-4 touchdowns for every every interception - even without Andre Johnson. And this year...with a great defense...he get's wins.

Learn to live with it and learn to enjoy the football season rather than continuing to complain and complain.

Texans Trade For WR Derrick Mason

2011-10-11T21:36:00.001-05:00

The Texans have reportedly traded a conditional draft pick to the NY Jets for veteran WR Derrick Mason.

This move comes after a very poor showing by Jacoby Jones stepping in at the #1 WR in the absence of Andre Johnson. This could prove to be a great move in getting an experienced WR to step in for the next few weeks until AJ is back and then would be an excellent compliment thereafter.

Its also worth mentioning that he has played for both the Ravens and Titans, who the Texans face over the next two weeks. Look for Mason to fit right in.

Mario Williams Most Likely Out For Season

2011-10-10T09:09:00.003-05:00

Multiple reports are stating that Texans Outside Linebacker Mario Williams has suffered a torn pectoral muscle after yesterday's loss to the Oakland Raiders. If it is indeed torn, it is likely that Mario Williams will be out for the remainder of the season.

This could have been the last time we see Mario in a Texans uniform as he is in the final year of his contract and should be highly sought after by other teams in the league.

Expect Brooks Reed to step up in the absence of Williams and make some plays.

3 Things to Be Excited About During Texans Preseason 2011

2011-08-10T08:26:00.004-05:00

The Houston Texans Preseason is rapidly approaching. Monday night the Texans will take the field against the New York Jets and I have to admit...this is the first Preseason in which I am actually pretty excited about.

Some of the excitement might have to do with the fact that the Owners nearly ripped football from our grasps, yet to have it triumphantly return in mid-July in full force. Some might also have to do with the fact that there are some high expectations, but the biggest thing I am looking forward to is the competition at some of the positions and seeing some of the surprises that might lay in store for the Texans this Preseason.

Remember what surprised us last Preseason? ARIAN FOSTER.

So - as fans - what do we have to look forward to this Preseason?

1) The 2nd and 3rd Running Back Competition
Word from people who have been able to be at camp is that Steve Slaton is back. He's making smart-quick cuts, lost a few pounds and holding onto the ball. Derrick Ward is coming off of a solid 2010 season serving as a back-up to Arian Foster and Ben Tate has returned from missing his entire rookie season last year. These guys should see a lot of time throughout the Preseason and it should be a pretty fierce competition to win the 2nd and 3rd back spot, since more than likely...there won't be a fourth.

2) The Fullback Competition
The Fullback competition should also be exciting with James Casey getting a chance to show what he can do in an almost H-Back position that would make the Texans offense even more powerful. On the flip side, newly acquired Fullback Lawrence Vickers brings the power and the pain to lay some line backers out and open up holes. The Fullback battle should also be fun to watch. My guess is that they will both have strong Preseasons and since they both have so much to offer in different ways - they'll both make the team. Sorry Anthony Hill...

3) The New Defense
Switching over to Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense won't be an easy transition, but it will be fun to watch. We'll get to see more of the starters than usual during the Preseason as they adjust to the new system. Seeing Mario Williams rush from a mobile outside linebacker spot and how DeMeco Ryans handles his comeback from the achilles injury will be two notable items on most fans' check lists, but there is so much more to watch too. Word from Camp is that Rookie defensive end, JJ Watt, is phenomenal. He has a motor that never stops and has been spending practice throwing tackles out of the way to get to the quarterback. It will be awesome to see how he can do that against other teams.

The Texans secondary will also have a lot to see. From the new guys Danieal Manning and Jonathan Joseph to seeing Glover Quin adjust to being a safety to the competition for the 2nd corner and backup secondary positions, the battles here could get pretty heated. Look for Quin to have a solid Preseason and to see quite a bit of time. HSB favorite - Troy Nolan - should also see a substantial amount of time at safety and turn a few heads. I expect Kareem Jackson to not do much and most likely lose his starting position to either Allen or Harris.

It's going to be a fun Preseason, so buckle your seat belts and get ready!

Google Street View: Guy Flipping Off Camera in Austin

2011-07-28T08:58:00.002-05:00

This has nothing to do with Houston Sports, but I randomly came across a guy flipping off the camera on Google Street view this morning. He must have heard that the Texans aren't going to sign any strong Corner Back. Hilarious!

View Larger Map

JJ Watt Fishing on NFL Films "Everything to Prove"

2011-07-22T09:07:00.002-05:00

NFL Films and Gatorade are showcasing a new weekly web series called "Everything to Prove" that features NFL rookies on and off the field. The episodes feature candid conversations and "adventures" of JJ Watt, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Cam Hayward, Mark Herzlich and others.

Texans rookie JJ Watt appears quite a bit in this week's episode that gets a first hand look at some r and r time. Their competitive spirit is shown off as we get a behind the scenes look at the group on a fishing trip in Boca Raton.

Click to Check out the episode

Face It - The Texans Won't Get Nnamdi

2011-07-18T23:36:00.004-05:00

With the lockout seeming like it is all but over, the anticipation for the Texans' moves in free agency grows. Going into free agency there are three truths that we all know are Texans necessities.

1) Get a Veteran Corner
2) Get a Huge Nose Tackle
3) Get a Solid Field Stretching Deep Threat Receiver

While many people seem to be on the Nnamdi Asomugha train, I can't honestly sit here and think there is a chance in hell he will come to the Texans. Will Bob McNair and Rick Smith make an offer? Absolutely, but I don't think it will be enough to bring Nnamdi to Houston. Although last year he had many words of support for Rookie Kareem Jackson (almost mentor-like) and as much as he seems like a perfect fit here, it's just not likely and I don't want to get my hopes up.

It's much more realistic to imagine we'll be able to bring in Jonathan Joseph or a Cromartie (god forbid). Either would be solid plusses on the field though. Early in the lockout, many people were touting Champ Bailey, but that seems to have quieted quite a bit. My speculation is because

Regardless, we are in this mess because Rick Smith didn't pay attention to the sharpee text written on the shoes of Dunta Robinson. At the time I thought it was a classless move and blasted "get him outta here," but now I am certainly eating those words and wishing that I had a genie bottle to make a wish that he never left. You're welcome Falcons.

At Defensive Tackle, Haloti Ngata is available, but I don't see the Texans landing him. He is going to be really hard to obtain, so I would support the decision to forgo pursuing him despite the fact that he is an excellent lineman. Aging Richard Seymour should also be available and looking to go to a much better team than the Raiders in the twilight of his career. At 32, he will be looking to land a role with a team he can spend the next 3 to 4 years winning with...perhaps in a 3-4 defense. If the Texans pursue a DT, my money is on Seymour.

At Wide Receiver, there are a plethora of guys available. Some aged vets and a few young, loud mouthed solid contributors. It would be a gamble to go with Plexico Burress, but who knows if he still has it. He's expressed interest in coming to the Texans, which is a new thing to hear from free agents, but would Smith and McNair be willing to take that gamble? If they did, he COULD pay off pretty heftily on the other side of Andre Johnson. As much as I would like to see that, however, if it were my team I'd do what it takes to retain Jacoby Jones and then pick up another free agent who requires less money. A Donte Stallworth, Kevin Curtis, Lance Moore or Sims-Walker. If the Texans go this route - my money is on Curtis or Moore.

Overall - when this lockout business is all said and done, it will be a fast paced and very interesting free agent blitz. I'm really looking forward to it.

PS - Texans Free Agent Sleeper: Safety Eric Weddle. He'd be an immediate impact.

Houston Texans hold team workouts despite the NFL lockout

2011-07-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

I had heard the tale of the Texans players holding their own mini-camp last week, but this is the first time I have had a chance to see the Texans practice footage. Good to know the guys are hard at work...and look good.

Lockout May Help Schaub Become the Leader He's Needed to Be

2011-06-29T08:11:00.000-05:00

The NFL lockout is by far one of the more frustrating things that NFL fans have had to deal with in recent years. In cities like Houston where the professional basketball and baseball teams are hideously terrible, the lockout seems to be even more impacting.

There may be a really good positive that comes out of this for the Texans and Texans fans however. The lockout may force Matt Schaub to become the team leader that he is needed to be, have the other players learn to look to him and have the fans see his leadership in action.

If there is one thing that many fans agree on is that we don't see enough of Schaub showing passion and leadership on the field during games. I've always felt like he is being a leader, but we just can't see it through the TV. When I explain this to people, they just don't buy it.

Maybe this will help...

This week Schaub has organized three mini-camp days bringing 35+ players together to practice as they would if coaches were involved. Schaub led the team and the offense, while DeMeco Ryans led the defense in drills. On Sports Radio 610, John McClain stated that it looked exactly like a mini-camp would've with coaches leading me to believe that "Coach" Schaub did a hell of a job getting these guys together. It was also mentioned that at the beginning of the lockout, Schaub sent letters to all of his teammates letting them know what they needed to do during this confusing time.

Also to be noted - somehow Ryans got a hold of the 3-4 playbook that the Texans Defense will be moving to. I won't ask how he got it because players and coaches cannot have interaction with one another, but that is a critical move in the guys getting some work in the new system.

If anything - I'm going to look at the positives that come out of the lockout...and Schaub taking a stronger step forward in his leadership role is HUGE!

Football Cops Official Trailer Featuring Eli and Peyton Manning

2011-06-22T14:46:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the behind the scenes footage from Eli and Peyton Manning's project Football Cops was released leaked and for good reason. The official trailer for the Direct TV series has been added to YouTube and is quite funny. Good to know the Manning's are up to no good during the lockout.

For more info on Football Cops, visit http://www.FootballCops.com

Football Cops Starring the Manning's Coming Soon

2011-06-21T10:48:00.007-05:00

Peyton and Eli Manning are slated to star in Football Cops, an action-packed drama about two former pro football players who bring their unique brand of law enforcement to one of the country's toughest neighborhoods.

While we aren't sure what exactly this project is, it has been confirmed that it is NOT a commercial. Described a "drama" I'd put my money on it being a comedic series of videos. We will just have to wait and see. Until then, check out the leaked behind the scenes video from Football Cops featuring Peyton and Eli Manning.

A Letter to the NFL Owners

2011-05-26T23:34:00.004-05:00

Dear NFL Owners and Roger Goodell...

I think I speak for everyone when I say: Stop being idiots. Stupid, selfish, idiots. The world isn't just about your spoiled, dumb a$$e$.

Sincerely,

Everyone else in the world with a brain.

LOCKOUT UPDATE: NFL Coaches File A Brief in Support of the Players

2011-05-26T07:56:00.000-05:00

It would appear that the NFL Coaches have had their fill of the lock-out and not being able to work with their players. Yesterday the NFL Coaches Association filed a brief with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that expressed their support for the players side. The brief also stated that the lock-out was putting the coaches jobs in jeopardy by not allowing them to have the time in the off-season to properly get players prepared in order to get the teams in shape to live up to the owners' expectations.

That seems like a pretty accurate statement. The owners are keeping the coaches from working with the players. If the coaches don't get the players ready and the team has a bad season - the owners might fire the coaches. Some coaches around the league are also suffering from wage loss while the lock-out is still happening as well.

This might be a good step in the right direction in getting the labor dispute handled, but one thing is clear: with so much legal jargon that only lawyers can understand, as fans we DO NOT want this matter to be settled by the courts. The process of settling by the court could take months to years of no football.

Let's also get one more thing abundantly clear: the players ARE NOT asking for more money. It is the owners who are trying to take money away from the players. The owners are in the complete wrong here and fans should not be taking sides with them without looking at the facts. Duh.

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith on Ruling via ESPN NFL Live

2011-04-26T10:49:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, check out this great video of NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith's thoughts regarding the ruling yesterday that lifts the NFL lockout. Please feel free to share and pass along.

NFL UPDATE: Judge Ends the NFL Lockout - Football back on!!!

2011-04-26T08:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so that may be a slightly dramatic title, but things are looking up for Texans and NFL fans. A federal judge has ordered an immediate end to the NFL lockout that owners and teams had imposed on players, keeping them from practicing with the team or using team facilities.

While the "adventure," is nowhere near over - this move is a huge win for the players...and even bigger for us fans. The questions remain centered around whether or not the players will start reporting to work however. The NFLPA emailed all players late Monday telling them that they should return to work for their teams beginning today.

There are still a ton of legal wrinkles to iron out and the fact that the owners might appeal this ruling, but things are looking up.

Let's just hope the Texans do something good with this draft...

Houston Sports Update - March 8 2011

2011-03-08T08:05:00.002-06:00

Time to brush the cobwebs off of the good old HoustonSportBlog word processor and give the Houston sports fans an update on the status of Houston sports. There hasn't been a ton of newsworthy info, but below are the standout news for the Houston Rockets, Astros and Texans.

Houston Rockets

Our Rockets are finally about .500 sitting at 33-32 with 17 games left in the season. Is it possible for them to still make the playoffs? Yes. Is it likely? Hell no.

The Rockets are currently 11th in the playoff race in the Western Conference. To reach 45 wins (usually a good win record to get into the playoffs) the team would need to finish the season 12-5. They are 8-2 in the last ten games, so have certainly shown signs of life and the ability to go on a win streak, but even finishing 12-5 they'd need help from Memphis, Phoenix and Utah to have losing records during the final 17 games.

That said, the Rockets really dug themselves out of a hole since the all-star break. Ten games ago they were 23-30 and looked frankly pathetic. GM Daryl Morey and Head Coach Rick Adelman have done a great job making something out of nothing.

One big change that went down before the trade deadline was the team trading away Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks for two first round picks. It'll be nice to see how those picks pan out. Until then, though, we need to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best in 2011.

Houston Astros

The Astros are well into spring training and I am not too optimistic about the upcoming baseball season. Not only did we lose our huge prospect for starting Catcher Jason Castro for the entire season with a knee injury, but the team just doesn't look any good. As usual, there is a lack of run support and Carlos Lee looks like the most out of shape multi-millionaire in sports.

Yes, it IS very, very early and there are quite a few questions and possibilities for surprises. Wandy Rodriguez is showing some potential, but outside of him the Pitching staff seems to not be very impressive. By the time I post my next update, we should know more.

Houston Texans

The NFLPA and the owners are talking, which is a good sign. After two deadline extensions they have until this Friday to reach a deal or file for another extension to prevent a lockout. The very fact that the two sides can site civilly for hours of negotiation means that progress is most likely being made. Until a deal is reached, however, there really will be no Texans or other NFL news.

Last week before the negotiations began, the Texans signed Derrick Ward and Owen Daniels, but failed to do anything to address their porous defense. I really, really hope that they aren't waiting until the draft to address the defense and that as soon as the NFLPA issues are resolved, they make a strong push for a solid veteran CB, S and LB. We'll keep an eye out.

Houston Makes the List of Top 10 Most Miserable Sports Cities

2011-03-01T13:36:00.003-06:00

I had to come out of my post-football depression writing hiatus to share a little tidbit of information I just ran across.

According to Forbes, Houston is in the Top 10 Most Miserable Sports Cities. And don't we know it?

The piece has Houston ranking in as number 6, placing us in an even more miserable position than Kansas City, Cincinnati and even Cleveland. The startling statistic is the fact that major Houston sports teams have had 134 seasons and only 4 championships.

Isn't it wonderful!??!??!

Come on Texans and Astros. You need to step up. We are a real city. A major market. And it's time for you guys to step up.

I'm just not feeling it right now

2011-01-20T13:44:00.003-06:00

Seems a little slow on here. And there's good reason for that. Houston sports are very stale right now. We're going on 6 years with Half Assed Kubiak. Their big splash was signing the guy recently run out of Dallas. And that's hardly a ripple when your team is coming off of one of the most excruciatingly frustrating seasons in recent memory. The Rockets are floundering around .500 without any sort of superstar to rally around. They've made trade, but for all role players. Nothing to get you jazzed. The Astros haven't made a big move since 2007 when they signed Carlos Lee. Its hard to give insight to the status quo.

So, what could shake us out of our malaise?

Houston Texans

Sign Nnamdi Asomougha
Don't draft a 4th round player with the 11th pick in the draft
Make a trade in the first round to move up or down to get the guy you really want.
Fire Kubiak
Sign Champ Bailey, even though he is older than Kubiak
Create time machine. Go back in time. Draft McCourty over Kareem "Fall Down Go Boom" Jackson. Draft Clay Matthews over Brian Cushing. Convince Kubiak to not leave Denver.
Fire Rick Dennison for his asinine comments.
Fire Kubiak
Slash ticket prices
Win

Houston Rockets

Trade Yao
Find a way to acquire Carmelo, even if its just for the rest of the season before he bolts into career suicide in New York
Find a way to get Gary Kubiak fired
Win a Rockets Power Dancer contest
Find a way to make the playoffs
Sign Hakeem
Get Kevin Martin improv classes to make him more engaging so he'll develop into a superstar. He already has the talent, just not the bravado.
Just for one game, announce the team will shoot nothing but 3 pointers. Wouldn't you tune in to see that?
Win

Houston Astros

Rebuild the farm system
Use that farm system to go back to the World Series
Don't let some schmuck trade away that farm system for guys like Jason Jennings
Do something, ANYTHING in free agency. Even if there's no chance to get him, put it out there that the Astros are chasing Albert Pujols. Let us know you're doing something
Random ironic t-shirts every home game for Brad Mills.
Announce that when the Astros hit 20 home runs for the season, the closest NFL Head Coach will be fired.
Get some sluggers on the team. Do you realize its been since 2006 that the 'Stros had a 40+ home run season? Why is it when Adam Dunn practically begged to come home to Houston, we couldn't make that happen?
Win.

But for now... steady as she goes.

REPORT: Nnambdi Asomugha to Be A Free Agent

2011-01-10T07:58:00.001-06:00

Reports out of Oakland are that Raiders shut-down cornerback Nnambdi Asomugha may be a free agent suddenly as an unusual clause has voided his contract. Basically, the clause states that Asomugha must have improved statistically upon his 2009 performance during the 2010 season. Because of sitting two games due to injury, there was no improvement from 2009 to 2010 in any statistical category, resulting in the voided contract.

If true, the Houston Texans have an enormous opportunity to fill the biggest hole on the team with one swift move. Sure it will cost quite a bit of money to bring Asomugha in, but he immediately makes the defense much more viable and becomes the strong veteran presence that Kareem Jackson and Glover Quin need to learn from.

Gary Kubiak and Rick Smith desperately need to make a move like this to show the Houston fans that they are trying to improve things. The move would also make Wade Phillips look like he's on top of his game too.

Will the Texans actually go after Asomugha? Their past decisions, say "no", but there is no doubt about the fact that they should without a doubt pursue him.

Houston Sports Update - January 7th, 2011

2011-01-07T07:12:00.000-06:00

This week has been slightly interesting for Houston sports to say the least. Here is what went down:

Houston Texans
The Texans began the week letting all of their fans know how comfortable they are with being mediocre by announcing that Gary Kubiak will retain his position as Head Coach for the 2011 season. As expected,the team parted ways with Frank Bush and the entire defensive coaching staff.

In efforts to begin repairing the disgustingly bad defense, the brass decided it best to bring in ex-Cowboy head coaching failure Wade Phillips as the new Defensive Coordinator. To say he isn't qualified would be unfair as in the past four situations where Phillips stepped into the same role on losing teams, they were in the playoffs the following year.

Naturally, keeping Kubiak and the Wade Phillips hiring has caused an uproar from irate Houston Texans fans on the radio shows and at water coolers all over H-Town. The disappointing part isn't that they went after Phillips. It's in the fact that now, the Texans have a Head Coach and a Defensive Coordinator who are both push-overs that appear to the general public to not have a spine. The debate goes on, but players often take on the demeanor of their coaches and in both of these cases - it would mean mediocrity again if they did this next year. Fingers are crossed that they will bring in a fiery defensive backs or linebacker coach who can get the guys fired up on a weekly basis to counteract the calm, collected demeanor of both Kubiak and Phillips.

Phillips will be changing the defense from a tradition 4-3 to a 3-4, which in all other years would be a good move. The impeding possibility of a lock-out, however, may give the players and coaches limited time to learn the new system before next year.

Unfortunately he said "Yes" when asked if he thought 4-3 defensive end Mario Williams would fit into the 3-4 scheme - then he compared Williams to Bruce Smith!?!? Williams is far from as talented, dedicated or gifted as Smith. To date, all Williams has shown me is that he has the determination and drive of a Herion addicted homeless person when he is on the field. I was hoping the 3-4 switch would mean trading him for players that fit the system naturally and that would actually work hard in games.

Houston Astros
Jeff Bagwell was up for candidacy for the MLB Hall of Fame. He did not get voted in. Whether it's the weight he bears on the steroid era or just simply a fact that some guys out there don't think he is HOF caliber, he will have to wait for another chance. My personal hope is that he and Biggio get to go in at the same time. That would be fitting, wouldn't it?

Houston Rockets
To put it bluntly - the Rockets continue to suck. Fans and radio hosts continue to be blinded to the fact that Daryl Moray really isn't that great of a GM and is causing this team to slowly fade into even sub-Texans mediocrity. Yao is out indefinitely and can't make a decision on whether to have surgery or not. It's really past the time where we even care about Yao anymore. It's past the time that they should cut ties with the dude and move on. He should be gone. Aaron Brooks is STILL out with a sprain even though everyone on the staff says he is ready to come back. And the Rockets continue losing games that they should be able to win. Heck, they even put themselves in position to win many of the games by having the lead in the 4th period only to blow it in the end...just like the other Houston team that let us down time and time again this season.

And Now For the Glass Half Empty Post

2011-01-05T16:14:00.003-06:00

Trey offered up the optimistic view of the Texans 2011 hopes. The best he could muster was a glass half full overview and sadly with Gary "Half Assed" Kubiak, half full or half empty is the best he can do. He is mediocrity personified.

In 2009, with a middle of the road defense (14th in total yards, 17th in points) , we still failed to make the playoffs. When the weaknesses in the team were identified, the Texans failed to address the concerns in the secondary, taking the 11th best cornerback in the draft when rookie Pro Bowler Devin McCourty was sitting there for the taking. It was said that the Texans truly desired Ryan Mathews, but Rick Smith failed to find a package to entice a team to give up the draft position to get him. Instead the Chargers made a play and got the guy they wanted.

I mentioned in a blog article at the beginning of the 2010 season, we were set for a long season based on one quote from Kubiak:

“We’ve made progress as a football team. Regardless of the few Pro Bowlers that we had and the quarterback leading the NFL in throwing and all that good stuff that’s been going on, we still were not good enough as a group to get into the playoffs." -- Gary Kubiak 8/18/2010

In that one quote, he set the standard that it is OK to lose. In that one quote, he tells us everything that is wrong with the Texans atmosphere right now. In that one quote he tells us why the glass isn't half full. He tells us that with him at the helm there is no way in hell that glass will ever be full. Like I said before, do you think the good coaches would ever say they weren't good enough to get to the playoffs? Do you think anybody thought the Chiefs had the talent to get to the playoffs? No. What about the Rams? No. Do the Raiders have 8-8 talent? For that matter do the Patriots have World Champion talent? No. But what they do have is innovative coaches who take the professional athletes and find ways to utilize that talent to get the job done.

Kubiak has no clue how to evaluate talent. He knows offense. But its more than the numbers. Its about creating a culture of winning. Its about finding answers in unlikely solutions. Every team has pro caliber talent on their team. Gary Kubiak just doesn't have the ability to recognize how to make his talent win them enough games.

It does no good to panic or complain, but we should all be very realistic in approaching how we take in the 2011 season, if there is one. There will be poor personnel decisions. There will be a culture where losing is OK. And a defensive coordinator can't make that go away. And Kubiak won't magically develop into a leader. So, enjoy the half glass, but don't expect it to magically become full before next season.

Kubiak is Back...Deal with It Bastids

2011-01-04T23:42:00.001-06:00

So we are going to have to deal with Gary Kubiak as Texans head coach once again. GET USED TO IT YOU DIRTY BASTIDS.

It's the facts ma'am and they are sticking to them.

Glass half full:

Just perhaps...the football powers-that-be for the Houston Texans know what they are doing. Kubiak has given Houston an offense - (which is something they weren't close to having in the first 5 years of existence but have an incredible amount of now).

To calm the minds of some of you naysaying worried nimrods, I thought I would provide some statistical proof on how positive of an impact Kubiak has had on the Texans. From the graph below...the Texans were dead last in offensive production in 2002 and pretty much sucked through 2005. Suddenly however...the graph takes a huge turn toward the positive when both Kubiak and Schaub take over the offense. Whether the influence was Gary or Matt...we don't know, but the bottom line is a huge improvement in offensive production. So much improvement that the offense is like a John Madden Football offense...

Now I'm not a betting man, but I'd say this type of offense combined with a defense that could stop someone better than Sam Houston State University might have a chance to win something. So, fans, quit your bitching and get your chins up. Things could be a whole lot worse.............you could be Raider fans.

Sort of statistical proof GK isn't a dolt...

How the Fans Can Get the Texans Back For Poor Season

2010-12-30T08:24:00.001-06:00

Since in the 2010 season the Texans have given the fans about 1 Quarter of passionate, non-flat football in each of their games and Bob McNair seems reluctant to replace Head Coach Gary Kubiak, I have come up with an idea of how the fans can get the Texans back in 2011 (if there is actually a season).

It just isn't fair to us fans that the team that we live and die for can play so lackluster and get away with it without any sort of repercussion. Let's be honest, no matter how bad they are, Houston is a big enough city and there are enough people who will go to games that threatening to not buy tickets isn't an option.

So I say this:

Until the Texans start showing fire for entire football games and show the ability to win games, fans should give them what they give us. When we go to games we should sit silently and barely paying attention through the first, second and end of the fourth quarter. We should only pay attention and cheer (or boo) during the 3rd Quarter and the beginning of the 4th. Even more accurate would be for us to get up and walk out of the stadium with 6 minutes remaining no matter what the score is.

We could even consider cheering in short spurts during the 4th quarter to give the players hope that they will have fans cheering for them, but only to take it away with silence like they did so many times with chances to win the game.

It's not about punishing the Texans. It's about showing them how they make us feel with their inability to play fired up.

HSB Football Predictions: NFL Week 16

2010-12-22T11:51:00.000-06:00

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Panthers-Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Cowboys-Cardinals	Cowboys	Cowboys
Texans-Broncos	Texans	Texans
Patriots-Bills	Patriots	Patriots
Jets-Bears	Bears	Jets
Ravens-Browns	Ravens	Ravens
Titans-Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
49ers-Rams	Rams	Rams
Lions-Dolphins	Lions	Dolphins
Redskins-Jags	Jags	Jags
Chargers-Bengals	Chargers	Chargers
Seahawks-Buccs	Seahawks	Buccs
Giants-Packers	Giants	Giants
Colts-Raiders	Colts	Colts
Saints-Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Vikings-Eagles	Eagles	Eagles

Texans vs Titans Recap Through Bob McNair's Rose Colored Glasses

2010-12-20T08:40:00.005-06:00

Another step in the right direction! I see a lot of you out there on the internets complaining about yesterday's game and for the life of me, I can't see why! Let me put it all in perspective and show you the glimmering bits of gold you football novices won't see beyond the top line score to show you we're right there on the verge of greatness! Hell, all of my owner friends gave me a huge pat on the back for the way we played 25 minutes of our game last week. These little factoids should turn that frown upside down:

The Colts, who have been the dominant force in the AFC South for the last decade, allowed Kerry Collins to have 3 touchdowns. We held him to 2. My advisor told me that shows without a doubt we're on the right track. How many other teams can say they're 50% better than the Colts?

Need more proof? Well, in 2009, Chris Johnson rushed for 151 and 197 yards against us in our two games against them. Yesterday... a pedestrian 130 yards. That's an amazing 44 yards less than his AVERAGE against us from last year! I asked my caterer if he thought that was progress and he said without a doubt "yes"!

Still, I see a TON of you skeptics out there. All of the Chronicle writers. All of the ESPN writers. All of the Chronicle and ESPN readers. Bill Simmons. They all ask how on Earth Gary could keep his job after this. They say his teams show no fight. Well right before half we showed so much fight, we done fought with ourselves when Cushing and Antonio Smith nearly fought right there on the field. Sure it resulted in a penalty, but I will never get mad at someone for showing passion on the field, no matter how stupid. I asked my gardener if he thought the Texans were on the right course, he said no. I then showed him that 20 minutes in the second half of the Ravens game and threatened to have him deported and I converted him into a believer.

That's the thing with hope. You have to find it where you can. It may be so deeply hidden under layers of Texan Bull manure that you have to dig. You have to ignore every bad first half. Every stupid play call. Every pigheaded display of stubbornness and refusal to adjust for the team deficiencies. Then, you can boil it all down to one play. You can find one play that went really well and was really innovative to let you know... we're headed in the right direction.

Sure even Carolina and Arizona can find one play or quarter to let them know they're on the right path, but I'm not the owner of those teams. I own the Texans. And I can find the silver lining in the most dire and sad situations. Looking forward to bringing back Gary for another shot at .500!!

What Would Our Season Look Like With Devin McCourty

2010-12-17T13:26:00.003-06:00

Scout.com 2010 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings:
Rank Pos Name
1 DT Ndamukong Suh
2 QB Sam Bradford
....
10 CB Joe Haden
....
17 CB Devin McCourty
....
21 CB Kyle Wilson
....
36 CB Patrick Robinson
....
49 CB Kareem Jackson

Also from Scout.com, they listed CB Prospects like so:
* FRANCHISE PROSPECTS (3 players)
* LIKELY STARTERS (8 players)
* BEST OF THE REST (14 players)
...
Kareem Jackson was 2nd to last in the "Best of the Rest" group.

Walter Football Listed Kareem Jackson as the 4th best CB Prospect.

KFFL Listed Kareem as the 11th best CB.

Then came the draft:
The only CB off the board was Joe Haden (Browns #7)
With the 20th pick, the Houston Texans select...
The worst of the Best of the Rest group Kareem Jackson.

Would we have won another 2 games with McCourty, whom everybody who knows anything about football had ranked between 2 and 20 cornerbacks better than Jackson? 3 games? McCourty has as many interceptions in his first 13 NFL games than Kareem has in 3 years at Alabama. Jackson never found the endzone at Alabama.

In the end, there's no real point to this. Its just venting frustrations at this team running the Texans and the fact it sounds like McNair wants to give them another year and the fans another 8-8 season. Thanks.

HSB Football Predictions: NFL Week 14 and 15

2010-12-16T17:38:00.001-06:00

Week 15 Predictions

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
49ers-Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Texans-Titans	Texans	Texans
Browns-Bengals	Browns	Browns
Redskins-Cowboys	Cowboys	Redskins
Jags-Colts	Colts	Colts
Chiefs-Rams	Chiefs	Rams
Bills-Dolphins	Dolphins	Dolphins
Eagles-Giants	Eagles	Eagles
Lions-Buccs	Lions	Buccs
Cardinals-Panthers	Cardinals	Cardinals
Saints-Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Falcons-Seahawks	Falcons	Falcons
Jets-Steelers	Steelers	Jets
Broncos-Raiders	Raiders	Raiders
Packers-Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Bears-Vikings	Bears	Bears
Jets at Pats	Pats	Pats

Week 14 Results

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Ravens-Texans	Ravens(w)	Ravens(w)
Colts-Titans	Colts (w)	Colts(w)
Browns-Bills	Browns (L)	Browns (L)
Packers-Lions	Packers (W)	Packers (W)
Giants-Vikings	Giants (W)	Giants (W)
Steelers-Bengals	Steelers (W)	Steelers (W)
Buccs-Redskins	Buccs (W)	Buccs(W)
Falcons-Panthers	Falcons (W)	Falcons(W)
Raiders-Jags	Raiders (L)	Jags (W)
Rams-Saints	Rams (L)	Saints (W)
Seahawks-49ers	Seahawks (L)	Seahawks (L)
Patriots-Bears	Patriots (W)	Patriots (W)
Dolphins-Jets	Jets (W)	Jets (W)
Broncos-Cardinals	Broncos (L)	Broncos (L)
Chargers-Chiefs	Chargers (W)	Chargers (W)
Eagles-Cowboys	Eagles (W)	Eagles (W)

What would your 2011 be like without the NFL? Here’s your chance to help Block the Lockout!

2010-12-16T16:46:00.002-06:00

With the NFL planning a lockout in 2011 that will deprive players and most importantly you the fans from enjoying NFL games next season, please help “Block the Lockout” at www.NFLLockout.com and let your voice be heard by signing a Petition. Why? Because the players want to play football and fans want to see America’s most popular sport.

The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is due to expire in March and NFL owners have made a series of moves designed to lock out the players and fans. If you want to see NFL games next season, do your part as a fan and help us “Block the Lockout” by signing the Petition.

You can also interact online with other fans from around the league at the social media profiles http://www.facebook.com/NFLLockout and http://www.twitter.com/NFLLockout.

Passion and Booty

2010-12-13T23:12:00.000-06:00

I don't really have much to say about football any longer until the little children that we call the Texans grow up and play grown man football. Right now, they are little girls who cannot hang with the grown men of the NFL.

Until the Houston Texans can actually play football and win games, I will not waste keystrokes on their lame, ignorant, half-assed minded jackasses.

Gary Kubiak is an ultimate jack ass.

Mario Williams is a jack ass.

Matt Schaub is a dumb ass.

And that is why the Texans are terrible.

Since Bob McNair is such a lame, salad dressing, wiener of a person who has no back bone, we will be in the exact same position next year (if there is a season). I could only hope that by some grace of anything sacred and holy that McNair would see this post somehow and take it as his piece from the public expressing the opinion that he should base his decisions off of.

1) FIRE KUBIAK
2) Consider finding a new QB
3) Sell the entire team because they are a bunch of dumb idiots with no passion (why in the world would you put so much money into passionless idiots, I have no idea)

I hope that 80, 83, 23 and 73 find a job else where because you guys have heart....but the rest of the team seems to be heartless losers because of Kubiak. You guys should either stand up against his loser ways or accept being losers...

New Coach Watch

2010-12-10T14:35:00.007-06:00

I think we're going to see Mr. Kubiak taking advantage of the unemployment benefits our country generously offers to those out of work. Some are saying he has his merits. And he does. He's not a bad coach. The problem is he's also not a good coach. He is an average coach. That's it. He's an 8-8 guy. Its probably because of his Alma Mater that he is so comfortable living in mediocrity, but if we want to move on to the next level, we need a good coach, not an average one. That obviously leaves us with a glaring hole at the top of our coaching chain in Houston. Who will we be seeing there?

Jon Gruden

Chucky would totally excite and invigorate this deflated Texans crowd. He has that nasty attitude that players fear and makes them go that extra 10%. This would be the most talented offensive roster he has ever had and would whip the D into shape.

But I just don't think he's ready to leave MNF yet. I think he's having a blast and is two years away from hopping back onto the sidelines.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 2%

Bill Cowher

Another big name who would give the fans a lot of hope. He's a proven winner with big attitude. Sure he's funny looking, but I would gladly take that if it meant seeing some post season action.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 34%

Jeff Fisher

Ah, the nostalgia pick. Bringing a piece of the Oilers history back to Houston would be nice. I don't think there's any doubt Fisher is a better coach than Kubiak. But its often been speculated that he doesn't have that much higher of a ceiling. This year will be only his 5th season with a losing record out of 16 years at the helm of the Oilers/Titans(not including first half interim season). But he also had 5 8-8 seasons (referred to as "Kubiak Seasons" from here on out.) Would he be an improvement? Hell yes. Can he win the big one? TBD.
Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 38%

Josh McDaniels

Yeah. It hurts to think about another Denver retread. But is he the next Belichick? A talented guy cast off too early? Someone who will take this slight and turn it into a rage anting to bury every other team in the league? Maybe. Doubtful, but maybe. He is a solid offensive mind who lost all of his big weapons in the last few years.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 8%

Some Lame Retread That All Fans See As An Obvious Bad Choice Like Wade Phillips or Dick Jauron

Bob McNair seems like a nice guy. He seems to gravitate to nice guys like Capers and Kubiak. Guys like Wade Phillips seem like they would be very nice people and interview well. I have a tiny little empty hole in my stomach worrying that McNair will go with the nicest guy in the interview instead of the one who gives us the best chance to win.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 17%

Someone from the College Ranks

This just doesn't seem like McNair's style. I think he's going to pull someone from the current or past NFL coaching ranks. And while a Bob Stoops might make a big splash, the lack of success by college coaches coming to the big leagues is a very scary proposition.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 5%

An NFL Defensive Coordinator

I'll start digging around on who these guys could be, but its embarrassing how bad our D. And to bring in a Head Coach with a defensive mindset would signal to the fans that we recognize our biggest weakness and it is our highest priority to get it fixed.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 38%

An NFL Offensive Coordinator

These are the guys that usually seem to get jobs. The guys running up big scores. And I have no problem with that. I don't care if we win every game 45-42, as long as we win them.

Chance Of Him Coming to Lone Star State: 29%

OK. So that's where we're starting off at. Who would you like to see patrolling the sidelines at Reliant?

HSB Football Predictions: NFL Week 13

2010-12-02T15:36:00.001-06:00

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Texans at Eagles	Eagles	Texans
Saints at Bengals	Saints	Saints
Bears at Lions	Bears	Bears
49ers at Packers	Packers	Packers
Jags at Titans	Titans	Jags
Broncos at Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
Browns at Dolphins	Browns	Dolphins
Bills at Vikings	Vikings	Vikings
Redskins at Giants	Giants	Giants
Raiders at Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Cowboys at Colts	Cowboys	Cowboys
Rams at Cardinals	Rams	Rams
Panthers at Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Falcons at Buccs	Falcons	Falcons
Steelers at Ravens	Steelers	Steelers
Jets at Pats	Pats	Pats

Why No Madden Preview For Week 13?

2010-12-01T23:11:00.000-06:00

Due to my superstition and the fact that there was no Madden Preview last week, which resulted in a real life win - there will be no Madden Preview this week. Should the Texans lose against the Eagles, the Madden Preview will resume next week.

The HSB Predictions will be posted tomorrow as scheduled.

The Kubiak Tug-o-War

2010-12-01T10:05:00.006-06:00

How does he do it? How does he get you in to the deepest of holes of desperation, then find a way to pull a win out of his ass and lead you to believe he has an acceptable degree of competency? How does he stay EXACTLY in the center of the road. For every embarrassing Jags loss the detractors have to argue for his firing, there is a counterpoint Colts win to show he is moving in the right direction. Even within a game, there are times where we dominated the Jets and times that we looked like we didn't deserve to be on the same field as them. Its almost like he is making a conscientious decision to do just enough to not get fired, but not enough to get hopes up that he can't live up to.

Where does this trend of riding the mendoza line lead us with Kubiak as our Coach? This year expectations were, from many fans, Playoffs or fired for Kubiak, despite the fact he was trying to set expectations for a non-playoff team this year. If he manages to squeak us into the playoffs, but then gets dominated in the first round by the Jets, he should keep his job. Then, the next year, expectations will be to make it to the second round. And he will have moments of abject failure, but still complete his goal. But what if we have a setback? If we lose Arian Foster for the year and we say "We can't expect him to compete without Foster." And he'll hear this whispers again. And he'll say its OK to lose again. Then we waste another year of Andre Johnson and Mario Williams' prime.

Then, the next year, something will come up again. And Kubiak will play to the lowest of our expectations. And keep his job. And we'll still be mediocre. And that worries me to death. Despite being roped in a little by the Titans shutout and the firey play, I still don't think Kubiak is the man to lead us. I think we need someone who will say "Despite the setbacks, despite everything, we still plan on winning it all." I don't think he's the guy. Maybe he's too much of a realist. But I don't think guys like Kubiak win it all in this league. Guys with a force of will or personality demand and get more out of his players than what is on paper.

The Patriots don't have anybody close to Mario Williams on D. Their secondary is as young and bad as ours. Jerrod Mayo and Cushing are on the same level. Yet, they give more for him. Or Belichick gets more out of them. How ever you want to view it. In the crunch, they are scared to let him down and find a way to get it done. Kubiak doesn't get that. He gets exactly what the players are and no more. Sean Payton didn't let a lack of a running game get him down or give him an excuse to lose. He found a way to make his personnel work and win.

But he'll probably have a big win on Thursday. And convince us all he is moving in the right direction. He'll rope us in. And he'll say all the right things. And we'll buy into it. And if things get too bad, he'll come up with something big to lift us back up. But if things get too good, he'll find some ridiculous way to bring us back down to Earth. And we'll be stuck in our mediocre rut, but never doing bad enough to do anything to change it.

(Sorry to be so down after a nice win, but I have deep seeded concerns.)

HSB Weekly Texas Football Picks - NFL Week 13

2010-11-29T22:19:00.000-06:00

After two weeks of picks, Garrett (12-8) had pulled ahead of Trey (11-9) in the HSB Weekly Texas Football Picks showdown. Add a perfect Week 3 with some very close picks on score, Garrett has extended his lead 19-8 to 17-10.

Somehow the list of picks was lost in the melee of turkey preparation over Christmas, but here it is for your perusal. Look for the latest picks to be posted Thursday morning.

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Titans at Texans	Texans (30-28)	Texans (17-14)
Saints at Cowboys	Saints (28-21)	Saints (24-18)
A&M at UT	A&M (38-17)	A&M (35-17)
Houston at Texas Tech	TTU (42-20)	Houston (38-35)
SMU at ECU	SMU (48-42)	SMU (31-21)
UAB at Rice	Rice (24-14)	Rice (35-13)
UNM at TCU	TCU (63-7)	TCU (58-13)

An Ode To Cortland Finnegan

2010-11-29T08:22:00.001-06:00

(CUE DOS XX Commercial Music)

He is...the biggest assh%*e in the world.

He's a low-down, dirty, shameless, butt ugly, trash-talking, nimrod, stinky hemorrhoid on the backside of the NFL. A wicked little sister of the poor with nothing better to do than take cheap shots at upstanding players. A loser. A degenerate. He looks like a retarded horse, acts like a spoiled 9 year old red-headed step child and has the morals of...well...what morals? When he was born humanity cried. When he smiles, babies die. When he laughs, a species of animal goes extinct. Women run from him because he very well could be a rapist. Men run from him because he might also be a gay rapist. Children run from him because he reminds them of a cross between Eddie Haskell, Aretha Franklin and Chucky - all of which kids incredibly fear.

He is Cortland Finnegan. He is...the biggest assh%*e in the world.

(END Commercial)

***Thank you Andre Johnson for punching this hideous waste of human organs. Anyone who acts like Finnegan does, should not be allowed to have the fortune to play in a league like the NFL. He belongs in the XFL. Although the Texans may have to play without you, it is well worth it. Your fans, teammates and even the national media all agree that he had it coming and that you aren't the type of guy who typically does stuff like this. Shrug it off and let's move on.

Oh and by the way...GREAT GAME, Andre!!

Thanksgiving and The Texans - What I'm Thankful For

2010-11-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to reflect on what aspects of the Houston Texans and their 2010 season that I am thankful for. Despite the pathetic excuse for a defense, less than mediocre record and string of very disappointing last-minute losses, there are surprisingly a few things that I am thankful for.

1) Just having a team - Let's be honest, 1996-2001 were no fun for football fans in Houston. After having the Oilers ripped from our city by money grubbing owner, Bud Adams, fans were left either sucking down any dignity they had and becoming Titans or Cowboys fans OR completely not caring about NFL football in a panic of not knowing where to turn. I fell under the latter. Then, in 1999, it was announced that in 2002 Bob McNair would be bringing NFL football back to Houston - life began again. Despite 9 disappointing seasons and having to watch David Carr disgrace the NFL football field for a number of those years, I am still very thankful to have the Texans around and to be a true fan.

2) A Running Game - Although Steve Slaton was exciting to watch during the 2008 season, the Texans really haven't had much of a running game at all in the history of the franchise until this year. We suffered for years watching guys like James Allen, Dominick Davis "Williams", Jonathan Wells, Ahman Green and Ron Dayne. In 2010 we are very fortunate to have a new kid on the block - Arian Foster. Foster brings a ton of excitement to the offensive side of the ball with his one-cut running style behind a very talented offensive line. His ability to make the first defender miss always leaves open the possibility that he is going to break a big one. I'm very thankful to have a fun running game to watch.

3) A Franchise Quarterback - Sure he may make mistakes from time to time. And sure he may not have the consistency of a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, but Matt Schaub is certainly a franchise quarterback whom the Texans are very fortunate to have. I hear people complain about him being soft or just not an NFL quarterback (which is absurd), but when I ask them who they'd rather have they rattle off Manning, Brady, Brees, maybe Rivers and Rogers and then can't name anyone else. Add Vick to the list possibly, but when you look at 32 teams in the league and the 32 quarterbacks, Schaub ranks easily in the top 10. I'd much rather have that than be stuck like we were for 6 years with a bottom of the barrel joker like David Carr. In the great words of Marc Vandermeer - "THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!" Be thankful like me in finally having a franchise quarterback to build a team around.

4) A Close Division - Our boys may be having a tough year thus far, but they are certainly not out of it. Even though their record is 4-6, they are still only 2 games out of first place with 3 division games left to play. The Titans are imploding. The Colts are really, really beat up. And the Jaguars...well...they're the Jags. If the Texans can pick up the 3 division games and beat the Broncos, they'd be 8-8. The Colts still have to face the Titans (twice), Jags, Raiders, Cowboys and Chargers - all of which could be losses as beat up as they are. If somehow they could lose 4 of those games...the Texans still have a chance. This chance is remote and would be much better if the Texans somehow ran the table, but I'm just thankful to division is this close so the season can still be exciting.

5) Four Wins - Looking at the performance of this defense, things could be much, much worse, so I am very thankful to have the Texans being lucky enough to pull off 4 wins so far in 2010.

New Feature: The "Trey is Pissed Off Column" Translator

2010-11-22T08:29:00.006-06:00

We recently posted a column written by Trey in the wake of yet another disappointing fashion that no NFL fan deserves from their respective team. Here was his post:

YOU SUCK!! And you are extremely frustrating to watch. Grow up and learn to finish games or go play in the CFL you idiots. Way to lose another game when you had the game in hand. What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?!

In the event that you weren't sure what to take from Trey's rant, I'm here to break it down for you in layman's terms.

YOU SUCK!!

Translation: I feel that your performance on the field has not lived up to the expectations set by last year's performance, the messages conveyed by the team and the talent we can all clearly see on the field.

And you are extremely frustrating to watch.

Translation: It has becoming increasingly disheartening every week to see our expectations built up by solid, even inspired play on the field, only to have it all come crashing down with a missed assignment or poor scheme that allows for a win by our opponents. Because we have come to expect wins from a group that contains over half a dozen Pro-Bowlers, each of these last second losses makes our Sundays exponentially more frustrating every week.

Grow Up

Translation: We would like for all of the players to become 3-4" taller by next week in order to help us overcome poor coaching and technique to help us win.

learn to finish games or go play in the CFL you idiots.

Translation: You have shown us during stretches every game that you have the talent to play with the best teams in the league. For most of the second half against the New York Jets, you kept them contained, while methodically picking apart their defense. So, we implore you to find a way to play that level of football for the entire 60 minutes of the ballgame. If that is too much to ask, to show the same effort you put in while down when you need to hold tight to retain that win, then you should seek employment in Canada. You idiots.

Way to lose another game when you had the game in hand.

Translation: Its one thing to lose in a crazy, last second fashion once. But week after week of finding new and historic ways to lose is disheartening. If you do it once, its a sad fluke. If it happens twice, its a problem ingrained in your personnel and needs addressing that we felt your have not attempted. You idiots.

What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?!

Translation: We are desperate to know if its the players, why haven't you tried moving them around? If its the scheme, why haven't you changed it? If its the coaches what are they changing? We would like to know how any team could so consistently fail to meet expectations. We would like to know how the same holes keep getting exposed week after week. (That one is easy. Never hire an Aggie for your coach.) We would like to know why we should expect anything less than total and complete embarrassment from you in the future. Basically... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?

Thanks for another exciting weekend, "Half-Assed" Kubiak.

Dear 2010 Texans...

2010-11-21T15:17:00.003-06:00

YOU SUCK!! And you are extremely frustrating to watch. Grow up and learn to finish games or go play in the CFL you idiots. Way to lose another game when you had the game in hand. What the hell is wrong with you?!?!?!

Madden Preview: Texans vs. Jets

2010-11-20T14:27:00.010-06:00

I've got a gut feeling this game will be ugly in real life. But as we've seen time and time again, Madden is no indicator for real life, so maybe we have a chance in our digital simulation!

The first half had little to cheer about. At the half, Jets were dominating in yards (209-64) and score 24-3. Sanchez has 2 TDs against the porous Texans defensive backfield. Madden simulation was very accurate on that account. A long TD at the start of the 3rd extended that lead to 31-3 seemed to put the game away. Then the Texans came alive. A solid long drive led to a 1 yard Derrick Ward TD run, followed by a 3 and out by the Jets. Then Schaub hit Andre Johnson for a huge 60 yard touchdown to cut it to 31-17. Another stop, another Texans TD to Jacoby Jones, put the Texans one score behind.

But that was as close as they would get. The Jets responded quickly with a 1 yard dive into the endzone by Shonn Greene. Despite the absurd spelling of his first name, they allowed the TD to stand. Texans responded with another couple of Jacoby TDs, but never got the game tied up.

The story of the game was a few big plays:

Sacks: Jets 3; Texans 0

Turnovers: Texans 2; Jets 0

The Texans never got pressure on Sanchez and the Jets seemed to get first downs at will. In the end, the Texans never did make that big game changing play, despite playing incredible on offense.

FINAL SCORE: JETS 45 - Houston 38

Player of the Game - Mark Sanchez

Passing

Player

Team

Att/Comp

Yards

Int

Schaub

Texans

26 of 38

342

Sanchez

Jets

19 of 31

310

Rushing

Player

Team

Att

Yards

AVG

Tomlinson

Jets

142

5.6

Foster

Texans

4.6

Greene

Jets

3.9

Ward

Texans

0.1

Schaub

Texans

0.0

Sanchez

Jets

-2

-2.0

Receiving

Player

Team

Rec

Yards

AVG

Daniels

Texans

119

16.9

Keller

Jets

10.4

J. Jones

Texans

10.0

Holmes

Jets

125

25.0

Foster

Texans

8.0

Walter

Texans

10.0

Edwards

Jets

18.3

A.Johnson

Texans

35.0

Leach

Texans

3.0

Tomlinson

Jets

11.0

Ward

Texans

10.0

Dressen

Texans

15.0

Smith

Jets

29.0

Richardson

Jets

6.0

Astros Add Clint Barmes to Team

2010-11-18T14:51:00.003-06:00

The Astros have acquired 31 year old infielder Clint Barmes for Felipe Paulino today. This trade falls a few steps shy of trades that brought over Carlos Beltran, Randy Johnson or Jeff Bagwell. So what will we be getting in Barmes and losing in Paulino?

In Barmes
Through Fantasy baseball, I have come to know Barmes as a guy who enters the season making waves as a sleeper 2B. But he never starts the season in the starting lineup. He will come in about every other game and do OK, batting around .250. Then, Troy Tulowitzki will get injured. And Barmes will come in and hit 5 Home Runs in 5 games. Everyone will rush the waiver wire to pick him up thinking this is it. This is the year. Then he will hit 1 Home Run in the next 15 games and fall back into oblivion or get injured.

He's 31 years old and will probably be Geoff Blum 2.0. Nothing special, but not a total zero in the lineup. Will probably push Manzella, Sanchez or whoever else is inhabiting our middle infield. Then they will get injured, we will get super excited about Barmes for a week or two when he does really well, then he'll get hurt.

In Paulino
He has all of the tools to be awesome. In stretches he looks like he could have the best stuff on the planet. An awesome fastball and a nasty attitude. But he has had a problem keeping the ball in the park and staying healthy. He has a 5.83 Career era and has never made more than 17 starts in a season, but he does have over 8 k/9. He's still young-ish at 27, so he has a chance to put it all together. The Astros were going to have him compete for the #5 spot in the rotation. He could and probably will learn a lot from Ubaldo Jiminez and could come out a better pitcher.

Initial Verdict
Probably win for Rockies, but not surprising if it is a wash.

Schaub Hospitalized With Knee Injury

2010-11-17T21:39:00.002-06:00

Photo by: Flickr User The Brit_2

Texans Pro Bowl Quarterback Matt Schaub was hospitalized and missed Wednesday's practice with a bursa sac injury in his right knee. Luckily the injury will not require surgery and Kubiak has stated that he expects Schaub to be back at practice on Thursday.

This injury comes at a scary time as the Texans offense will face a blitz happy New York Jets defense that puts a lot of pressure on Quarterbacks from all over.

While it is currently unknown how Schaub injured his knee, things look promising for him not to miss any playing time.

***UPDATE***

Schaub is out of the hospital and expected back at practice. Although he was dealing with bursa sac issues that were allegedly drained, the visit to the hospital was likely precautionary to make sure it was not infected. If there was an infection, complications would arise.

HSB Weekly Texas Football Picks - NFL Week 11/NCAA Week 12

2010-11-17T21:34:00.000-06:00

After the first week of picks Trey (6-3) has taken a quick lead over Garrett (4-5) in the HSB Weekly Texas Football Picks showdown. Thanks to Tulane and Tulsa, Trey was able to pull ahead despite poorly picking the NFL games that week.

Let's see if Garrett can make a come back this year or if Trey will pull further ahead.

NOTE: Because the College Season is soon to end, the weekly Texas Football picks will become weekly NFL picks until the NFL season has come to a completion.

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Houston at NYJ	NYJ (31-13)	Houston (27-21)
Detroit at Dallas	Dallas (27- 21)	Dallas (24-18)
Weber St at Texas Tech	Tech (57-14)	Tech (34-10)
FAU at Texas	Texas (31-7)	FAU (28-27)
Nebraska at Texas AM	Nebraska (28-17)	Nebraska (38-21)
OU at Baylor	OU (38-28)	OU (31-21)
UTEP at Tulsa	Tulsa (28-17)	Tulsa (17-13)
Marshall at SMU	SMU (35-24)	SMU(17-10)
Houston at Southern Miss	Southern Miss(40-31)	Houston (38-35)
ECU at Rice	ECU(42-14)	ECU (38-35)

Do Texans Players Have a Lack of Faith in their Own?

2010-11-16T18:03:00.000-06:00

First off let me admit that I hold Right Tackle Eric Winston in high regard as a Texans player and team member and have a ton of respect for him. That said, I heard something a little unnerving on his weekly appearance on Tuesday's on Sports Radio 610. I've often thought that perhaps the Texans players might consider spending less time appearing in shows throughout the week as it looks a little bit to fans like they are off playing around rather than preparing for their match-ups. This little nugget from Winston, is the bit that proves to me that these guys need to limit their radio appearances - (although I do believe he has a talent and a good career in radio in his future).

So what happened? I'll tell you in a nutshell...

As the hosts and Winston were discussing the reemergence of Vick as an elite or 2nd tier Quarterback, they got to each naming their picks for the best quarterbacks in the league that they would take on their teams. Naturally the hosts listed off Manning, Brady, Brees and Rivers as their top 4, but even Winston chimed in with these four as his top 4. He then started listing the top of his Tier 2 QB's that included Aaron Rogers, Michael Vick and Matt Ryan.

Anyone notice who is missing????!?!? It took one of the hosts to mention Matt Schaub's name and suddenly Winston is backing out, "Oh...yeah..of course. Matt Schaub is at the top of that list."

To me this shows a lack of faith in your own leader that he doesn't come to mind or you don't even think to "tongue-in-cheek" mention him first. Even though you and everyone else know that Manning and Brady are a step above him, you should still always have your own leader come to mind without question. As smart and talented as Winston is, I can only imagine what the mind set is of some of the guys who aren't as strong as him. Do they have faith in Schaub as their leader?

This may be over criticizing and off the cuff conversation, but it is a little unnerving and may explain why there seems to be a lack of fire and emotion for the Texans this year.

I dub thee Gary "Half-Assed" Kubiak

2010-11-15T10:18:00.004-06:00

The Texans once again played a tremendous half of football. And that's the problem. Because that's all. The other isn't a decent half. Not a slow other half. Its a bad other half. And its nearly impossible to win under those circumstances. They pulled it out against the Redskins who recently were so happy with their starting QB, they stuck in Rex Grossman for the last series against the Lions a few weeks ago. They nearly pulled this one out against a clearly weaker Jaguars team.

When the Texans decided to start trying, they came out and ran up and down the field against Jacksonville. They scored 21 second half points with ease. Minus two (somewhat fluky) long pass plays, the defense stepped up and shut down MJD and Garrard. We were driving for a game winning field goal with 30 seconds left. All of that sounds like a winning formula. But that sorry first half, in combination with a once-in-a-decade play left the Texans with a loss that seemed all too familiar.

We've seen what the Texas are capable of. They are capable of scoring at will. They are capable of stopping QBs like Bruce Gradkowski. Or at least slowing them down. The frustrating thing is that they don't. Most of the time they come out flat and have to work their way back into a game. Owner Bob McNair said it wasn't Kubiak's fault that balls were dropped. It wasn't Kubiak's fault Dressen fumbled at the end. It wasn't Kubiak's fault that Glover Quin spiked the ball in the one place he shouldn't have. And while that is debatable, it isn't just those things that lost the five games for us we lost. Its been the lack of enthusiasm from the opening tip that has doomed them. If they had started out strong, they wouldn't have had to come back against Jacksonville. And that's on Kubiak for not getting that sense of urgency in them from the opening kickoff. Its not Kubiak for not gameplanning well enough to start out strong. Or, in the case of San Diego, failing to stick with his game plan in the second half when it worked so well in the first half. Its on Kubiak for the Texans only showing up for one half a game.

So, for all of those half played games, those half coached players and those half met expectations, Kubiak shall forever be known as "Half-Assed" Kubiak. It has a ring to it. Try it out.

Sorry for the Inconvenience

2010-11-15T08:13:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the Inconvenience.

The Texans poor, pathetic performances have broken this site.

Lame.

Madden Preview Week 10: Texans 31 at Jaguars 52

2010-11-13T10:50:00.001-06:00

First off, let me state that the Madden game still has Steve Slaton returning kicks and also isn't updated with the Kampman injury. Both of these could make significant differences in the game.

That said, for the second week in a row and now 3-3 in predictions, Madden Football on the PS3 completely exaggerates the Texans weaknesses in the Texans Madden Preview. The pass defense is non-existent, the play calling mostly atrocious and Matt Schaub's passes are completely wild. While in the real game, I am sure that we will see some of this, the Madden preview really blows it out of proportion allowing the Jaguars to trample the Texans 52-31.

Just like in weeks past in the real games, the Texans come out on the first drive looking good as they are able to jump out to an early lead. On their first possession the Texans run 7 times in a row on their first 7 plays and just slice through the Jaguars defense driving down into Jaguars territory. Even Steve Slaton gets into the action getting one critical carry on 3rd and 4 to bring the Texans to the 2 yard line. Schaub connects with Jacoby Jones on the ensuing play for a 2 yard TD pass.

The Texans defense even looks better and fired up - at the beginning. They are able to put a ton of pressure on David Garrard throughout the game on 1st and 2nd downs to force a few bad passes, but on 3rd downs Garrard seems still able to find holes in the Texans secondary to pick up monster yardage.This is where the game seems to really exaggerate one of the real weaknesses of the Texans. While in real life, they will undoubtebtly give up some of these big plays, it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would be as bad as it was in this Madden preview. The same thing happened in last weeks preview against the Chargers. Madden took the pass defense and almost made fun of it by the amount of yards put up against them.

If the defense looks this bad in real life, I will honestly poop in my pants.

The play calling for the Texans also seems a little suspect. I know that in real life games, Kubiak has shown tendencies to drop the run early and start passing, but he has shown improvement in learning from and adjusting to that. The Madden Preview doesn't think so. Throughout most of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarters the Texans are often passing in what should be running situations and running in what should be passing situations. Not just a few mistakes, but throughout the entire game. I also highly doubt the play calling will be this bad.

One of the only bright sides for the Texans in this week's Madden Preview is the running game. Foster has another big game against the Jaguars, rushing for over 132 yards - 100 of which was in the first half. Derrick Ward also rushes for 50 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Madden Preview comes into this week 3-3 and I believe almost 100% that it will be 3-4 after this game. There is no way in hell the Texans let the Jaguars put up 52 points on them, let alone win the game. Let's be honest - if the Colts or the Chargers can't put up that much...David Garrard most certainly isn't. I have to say that this Madden Preview was ridiculously painful to watch and has me losing a lot of faith in the credibility of Madden.

Passing

Player

Team

Att/Comp

Yards

Int

Schaub

Texans

19 of 31

309

Gerrard

Jaguars

27 of 37

425

Rushing

Player

Team

Att

Yards

AVG

Foster

Texans

132

6.0

Jones Drew

Jaguars

3.1

Ward

Texans

8.3

Jennings

Jaguars

3.0

Walter

Texans

-1

-1.0

Thomas

Jaguars

9.0

Slaton

Texans

9.0

Receiving

Player

Team

Rec

Yards

AVG

Sims-Walker

Jaguars

234

29.2

T.Underwood

Jaguars

13.9

O.Daniels

Texans

14.1

G.Jones

Jaguars

7.0

K.Walter

Texans

109

27.2

Jones Drew

Jaguars

4.6

J.Jones

Texans

13.6

A.Johnson

Texans

13.3

M.Lewis

Jaguars

12.0

V.Leach

Texans

2.0

Z.Miller

Jaguars

3.0

D.Dickerson

Texans

15.0

J.Dreessen

Texans

17.0

HSB Weekly Texas Football Picks - NFL Week 10/NCAA Week 11

2010-11-12T15:26:00.000-06:00

This is something we should have started doing at the beginning of the season, being the fountains of football knowledge that we are, but better late than never. For the remainder of football season, HoustonSportBlog.com will be bringing you both Trey's and Garrett's picks for the top Texas football teams that week.

At the end of the year, we will calculate who has the better record and crown that person the HSB Texas Pick Champ. Not sure what the crown will be made of, but we will gladly take suggestions.

Matchup	Garrett's Picks	Trey's Picks
Houston at Jacksonville	Houston (38-21)	Houston (31-13)
Dallas at NYG	NYG (24-14)	NYG (34-18)
Oklahoma St at UT	OSU (38-20)	OSU (42-17)
A&M at Baylor	Baylor (31-28)	Baylor (41-40)
Texas Tech at Oklahoma	Oklahoma (42-17)	Oklahoma (38-21)
Tulsa at UH	UH (35-31)	Tulsa (28-17)
Rice at Tulane	Rice (30-23)	Tulane (17-13)
UTEP at Arkansas	Arkansas (45-24)	Arkansas(52-10)
SDSU at TCU	TCU (41-17)	TCU (56-31)

What Would It Take to Get Mack Brown Fired?

2010-11-12T09:22:00.003-06:00

He has a better winning percentage that Darrell K Royal. Has has the only other National Championship other than DKR. He coached in perhaps the most entertaining college football game of the last decade. He's never (before this season) has less than 9 wins in a season. He lead Ricky Williams to a Heisman, Colt McCoy to come close twice and Vince Young to come close once. There are 57 current Longhorns in the NFL. He has the best winning percentage of any UT coach since the 1920's. His current recruiting class is ranked #1.

But this year, they've hit a bump in the road. They're 4-5. They've lost to usual Big XII doormats ISU and Baylor. Kansas State just embarrassed them. Trey brought up a stat that all of the big Longhorn coaches were fired the year after they lost to Baylor. Being a Longhorn hater, nothing would make me happier for that to happen. Go on and hand over the program to Muschamp. Mack Brown will find some position in the Athletic department and still be the face of the program. A lot of the Longhorn T-Shirt fans have started choosing a different shit to wear every day. The local commentators are complaining about the fans not coming out and being loud enough. This is a season that many head coaches would not survive.

So should UT go on and move Mack into the front office and go on and hand the keys to Muschamp?

It would be about the stupidest thing they could do. And I've heard this on several radio programs and even on major networks questioning whether they should even discuss it. And that would be a terrible thing for UT football. I'd say the likelihood that Muschamp has the level of success Mack Brown has had is maybe 30%. The chance that he would be better than Mack is non-existent. In the NFL, Bill Simmons has the theory that when coaches hit 55, they start to decline. They can't keep up with the grind that comes with the job. Being 59, is the same for college coaches? I think Paterno and Bobby Bowden have proven otherwise.

There's another theory that Muschamp is being courted for the Georgia job and they might want to move Mack on to retain Muschamp. And that, too, is very dumb. They lost Gene Robinson and brought in Chizik. When they lost Chizik, they brought in Duane Akina (who doesn't support this argument). And then they brought in Muschamp. What I'm trying to say is... if they lose Muschamp, Mack Brown is VERY good at identifying talent, not only in players, but coaches. He will find someone solid, maybe even better than Muschamp. But moving Mack Brown out of the head coaching position to hang on to Muschamp is again a stupid theory. Mack Brown could easily coach at a high level for the next decade. Is it worth risking that to roll the dice on Muschamp? I wouldn't think so.

In conclusion, it would be awful, in my opinion for UT to remove Mack Brown from the head coaching position. I think they would be risking conference championships, national championships and recruiting. Unless you could pull in Nick Saban, I don't think there's anybody who could do a better job with the Longhorns than Mack. And I would be totally in favor of them getting rid of him.

Player Spotlight: Jason Allen

2010-11-11T22:54:00.000-06:00

To try and fill some of the void of experience in their secondary, the Texans picked up corner back Jason Allen off of waivers today. Allen brings 5 years of experience to the secondary adding more game time experience than the top 3 corners on the Texans depth chart combined. He may not come in as a starter, but he will immediately fill in for injured Dominique Barber on special teams and most likely give Glover Quin and/or Kareem Jackson rest during games - meaning they will have less of a chance of getting burned.

Either way you look at it, adding Allen does "plus" the Texans defense. For those who don't know much about him, let's take a look...

Jason Allen - CB #32

- Height: 6-1 Weight: 200 Age: 27
- Born: 07/05/1983 in Muscle Shoals , AL
- College: Tennessee
- Experience: 5th Season
- Other Teams: Dolphins
- Draft Status: 2006 - First Round pick (16th)

- Career Accomplishments & Awards: Allen has played under the radar for the past 5 years, but is a very solid starter at corner back. At Tennessee he was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe award as well as a third team All-American in 2004.

- Strength: He brings experience to a very inexperienced Texans secondary. With only 19 games started over the past 5 years, Allen has only missed actually appearing in 1 game which happened during the 2008 season. The missed game was a coaches decision, so he hasn't missed any play time with injuries making his durability a definite strength. He is also a fast corner who has a ton of closing speed. Allen already has 3 interceptions thus far this year.

- Weakness: This was Allen's first year as a full time starter. Many have the wonder if he is a full time starter or a nickel back. He really has yet to truly prove himself as a starting corner in the NFL.

- Trivia & Extras: Follow Jason Allen on twitter. Arian Foster was a former teammate as Allen. He was a freshman at Tennessee when Allen was a senior in 2006.

History Shows 4-4 Texans Might Still Make the Playoffs

2010-11-09T21:55:00.001-06:00

If history proves anything, the Houston Texans are far from out of the playoff race despite their underwhelming 4-4 record. In each of the past three seasons, nearly half of all 4-4 teams at this point in the year found a way to squeeze themselves into the playoffs. After looking at the data and then looking at the remaining schedule, I have to admit that I still like the Texans chances.

First off, let's be realistic and state that the Texans most likely are going to need to win the division in order to make the playoffs. It is highly likely that the two Wild card spots will be taken up by teams in the North or East division. That said, the Texans have a strong chance in their division given the Colts injury heavy roster and the fact that the they have four division games left. It's safe to assume that they have their playoff chances in their hands. Win those four games and things may be looking really good for them.

Throw in the data on how 4-4 teams faired over the past few years and things may be looking better for the Texans than they would appear. Let's take a look at the 4-4 teams in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 season.

2007
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks

Of the three seasons analyzed, this was the one that had the most teams that were 4-4 yet the least teams make it to the playoffs. The Chargers and Seahawks both found ways in, but the rest of the teams were left wanting.

2008
Denver Broncos
Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints

For the second year in a row the Saints showed that a poor defense, but a powerful offense could get them from 4-4 to the playoffs - something that perhaps could mean hope for the Texans. The Dolphins and Colts also found their ways into the post season after their mediocre beginnings.

2009
Baltimore Ravens
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Jets
Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers

The Ravens, Jets and Packers all managed to find their way into the playoffs, showing that more than 50 percent of teams that were 4-4 at the halfway point were capable.

Combining all three years their were a total of 18 teams that were 4 and 4 at the halfway point and 8 of them improved enough to show their face in at least 1 playoff game. At nearly a half success rate, I have to admit that I like those odds.

In 2010, the following teams are standing at 4-4:

Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins
St. Louis Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Redskins

If half of these teams are going to make the playoffs, I have to believe the Texans have a strong chance to be in the better half. We've already determined that only the winner of the AFC South will make the playoffs, so that rules out Jacksonville - they will not win the division. It's also highly likely that only one team will make the playoffs out of the NFC West, so the Rams or the Seahawks would knock the other out if the Cardinals don't take the division and knock them both out. It's just a bad season for the Dolphins because the Jets and Patriots are both much stronger teams, so the Dolphins are also likely to be out. The Redskins are still very much in the fight for a wild card spot in the NFC.

History does repeat itself and odds are that it will happen again this year. 2 or 3 of the teams listed above will make the playoffs. If I were to make a call right now on which of these 4-4 teams would make it based on their respective current situations, the current league standings and how 4-4 teams played out historically, I'd pick both the Redskins and the Texans to make it in with the Seahawks on the bubble.

At the very least, this comparison can give Texans fans a little more hope in what appears to be a bleak season thus far.

Why the Texans Playoff Hopes Are Still Alive

2010-11-08T08:04:00.000-06:00

It appears that last year's Houston Texans have returned. Before the season, expectations were very high for this team to go 10-6 and then the bar was only set higher after the Week 1 win over the Colts. Since then, however, bad defense and terrible play calling has led to let downs week after week.

At 4-4, the Texans are proving to be a mediocre team once again who is capable of making big plays and winning, but also capable of coming out flat and making stupid decisions. The poor defense aside, the play calling has been atrocious all season with something different in every game. Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers was no different in terms of play calling.

With over 5 minutes left and behind by only 6 points, the Texans went into a very fast paced two minute drill. This makes sense to me because they were facing the best defense in the league statistically, so they may not have a chance to score on that drive and were going hurry up to give themselves a chance to have two drives. On the first drive they faced a 4th and long 1 on the Chargers side of the field. Instead of handing the ball off to Foster, who had been getting over 5 yards per carry, they called a quarterback sneak and didn't make it. It's this type of play call that has been killing the Texans all year.

Whether it is a call like that or completely abandoning the run way to early, the Texans really need to take a look at their play call schemes. To his credit, Kubiak took a lot of flack about abandoning the run against the Colts and rightfully so, but I did see him adjust in this game and get the ball to Arian Foster 30 times a game. And look what it did. The Texans could've and should've won that game. Keeping the running game going all game really helped keep the Texans in the game.

Credit to the defense for coming up with a few big stops when they were needed and playing better than they have overall. They do look like they are improving just a little week by week. Will it be enough?

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago the Texans were in first place of the AFC South then only two weeks later at the bottom. That said, they are only one game out of first place, so they may be down but not out.

On the bright side, this is still a very young team - the youngest team by average age of player in the league in fact. There is a lot of room for growing and getting better on both sides of the ball.

And - as far as playoff hopes, all is not lost. The Texans still have a chance of making the playoffs. In fact, they I'd even go so far as to say that they control their chance at making the playoffs. The wild card will not come out of the AFC South. But the Texans are only one game out of first place in the AFC South and winning the division will have them in the playoffs automatically.

The Colts, who currently have 1st place, are severely beaten by injuries and showed that they are capable of losing to any opponent by losing to the Eagles in Week 9. With strong defensive teams like the Chargers, Titans (twice), Patriots, Bengals and even the Raiders left to play, there is a chance the Colts lose 4-6 games putting them somewhere between 9-7 and 7-9 by the end of the season.

The Texans play both the Titans and the Jaguars two more times each this season. If the Texans could miraculously win 3 or 4 of those games, they should be in good position to win the division. If they were able to win all 4, they would have a very strong chance at taking 1st place in the division and getting their first playoff birth.

Like the Colts, all three of the Texans division foes have a chance to lose 4-6 games. The Titans have an easier schedule than both the Colts and the Texans, but still have to get past the Texans themselves, the Dolphins, Redskins and Cheifs - all of which could be losses. Jacksonville probably has it the worst in the remaining games having to face the Titans, Colts, Giants and Texans twice. Looking at the schedules, it would appear that the Titans are going to be the roadblock and with the addition of Randy Moss may be even stronger.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed for a sweep for the rest of the division games and see what happens.

Madden Preview: Houston Texans 24 vs. San Diego Chargers 58

2010-11-06T10:01:00.001-05:00

Game Summary Chargers 58 - Texans 24

The Madden Preview predicts what I have been fearing all week since seeing the terrible performance against the Colts last week - that the Texans are going to get slaughtered by a Chargers team that is both the top offensive and top defensive team in the league statistically. In the Preview, the Texans look terrible in all parts of the game from defense, offense, special teams and play calling.

As usual, the lack of running early in the game and lack of defense puts the Texans in a passing situation early against a team with a very good pass rush. Even John Madden Football thinks Kubiak is a bad play caller, showing it with a pathetic display of play choice in the Preview. No running when the game was close, but when they got behind 31-10, they start running draws and dives all of a sudden more often than passing. Even when the score gets up to 45-10, you see Foster running for the majority of the drives. Just pathetic play calling that was eerily similar to what we saw in real life against the Colts.

Play calling wasn't the only area the Texans struggled. Other than one big 70 yard pass from Schaub to Johnson, the offense just couldn't get things going. A lot had to do with the terrible play calling, but the offensive line was no match for the Chargers pass rush who is able to get to Schaub for 3 sacks early in the 1st Quarter and continue the pressure throughout the game. Schaub gets very trigger happy from all the pressure and makes all kinds of terrible passes. He has to check down to and make safe throws through out the game as the receivers are rarely able to get open before the pressure gets to Schaub. When Schaub does get to throw deeper, Cason is all over his passes throughout the game nearly coming up with picks every time.

On defense the Texans looked consistent with their previous weeks of inability to stop anyone or anything from scoring. Bad secondary, bad pass rush. Bad everything. The only defenders that actually look like they are playing are Kareem Jackson and Brian Cushing who both come up with picks during the game. Other than those two passes, however, Philip Rivers is able to shred the Texans defense throwing for 346 yards and 5 TDs. He literally has all day to make passes as the Texans pass rush is virtually non-existent.

Perhaps the worst (if there can even be worse) performance in the game was the Texans special teams - specifically the return game. Steve Slaton manages to fumble twice on kick-off returns - both of which ended up in touchdowns for San Diego. (Thankfully in the real game Steve Slaton will not be returning kicks!)

Other notable items were that Kris Brown made a strong return to Houston nailing three Field Goals and 7 extra points for the Chargers. Walter also suddenly starts showing up in the Texans offense.

My soul is bleeding after sitting through this, I can only hope and pray that the real match-up is nothing like this. It appears that this game may be blown a little out of proportion by Madden. I actually expect the real game to be much closer than the Madden Preview. The real Kubiak will be able to adjust his game plan from last week and should be running more and making better play calls. In these simulations, a lot of the human elements of making a call are taken out. For example, it will always call a punt on 4th down even if it is 4th and inches in Chargers territory. And there was a lot of that in this Madden Preview.

The simulation also had Antonio Gates in the game, who should be sitting out in real life with a plantar fasciitis injury. I'm expecting something more like Chargers 35 to Texans 24 in the real game. We shall see.

Box Score

Passing
Player	Team	Att/Comp	Yards	TD	Int
Schaub	Texans	27 of 41	405	3	2
Rivers	Chargers	23 of 36	346	5	2

Rushing
Player	Team	Att	Yards	AVG	TD
R. Mathews	Chargers	23	104	4.5	1
Foster	Texans	15	48	3.1	0
Sproles	Chargers	4	38	9.5	0
Tolbert	Chargers	2	26	15.0	0
Ward	Texans	1	0	0.0	0


Receiving
Player	Team	Rec	Yards	AVG	TD
Walter	Texans	6	97	16.1	1
A.Gates	Chargers	6	36	6.0	1
P.Crayton	Chargers	6	114	19.0	3
G.Banks	Chargers	5	134	26.8	1
Foster	Texans	4	26	6.5	0
A.Johnson	Texans	4	109	27.2	1
Daniels	Texans	4	64	16.0	0
Dreessen	Texans	3	69	23.0	1
J.Jones	Texans	3	30	10.0	0
R.Mathews	Chargers	3	26	8.6	0
Leach	Texans	2	7	3.5	0
S.Ajirotutu	Chargers	2	31	15.5	0
Dickerson	Texans	1	3	3	0

Player Spotlight: Arian Foster

2010-11-03T23:56:00.000-05:00

Until now the Player Spotlight on HoustonSportBlog.com has been about featuring newly picked up lesser known Texans players, so that fans can get an idea of who they are. One such player burst onto the scene this year and played so well that he flew under the radar in terms of seeming to need to be featured in the player spotlight. He's been spotlighting himself with his incredible game play. This week however, it's time that someone else put the spotlight on Arian Foster and gives some insight to the fans about the talented undrafted free-agent running back out of Tennessee. Ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards thus far in the 2010 season, Foster is showing no signs of slowing down - and the Texans coaches, players and fans couldn't be more excited about it.

Arian Foster - RB #23

- Height: 6-1 Weight: 227 Age: 24
- Born: 08/24/1986 in Sulphur Springs , TX
- College: Tennessee
- Experience: 2nd Season
- Other Teams: None
- Draft Status: 2009 - Undrafted Free Agent

- Career Accomplishments & Awards: In the first game of the 2010 season against the Indianapolis Colts, Foster broke the Texans single game rushing record with 231 yards on 33 carries. This was the single best rushing performance against the Colts of all time and was the 2nd highest total for any running back on opening day. Foster broke another record this year in the Raiders game on a 74 yard run that was the longest run in Texans history.

- Strength: Foster is extremely good at following blockers to the hole, making one cut and hitting the hole. He is a big, smart back who has speed and agility to match. As games go on, he seems to get better. Foster is also only 24, so he has a number of solid years ahead of him if he keeps things up.

- Weakness: Perhaps his only weakness is his lack of experience as well as Kubiak's inability to give Foster the ball as much as he should

- Trivia & Extras: Foster is known for his signature bow when he scores a touchdown. It's his way of showing "respect for the game of football." At Tennessee, Foster was a Philosophy major who in his spare time writes poetry - some of his stuff you can see on his twitter page.

Texans-Colts Is In the Past: Let's Move On with These Positives

2010-11-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

Now that the dust has settled from Monday night's disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts, I've calmed down a little. Perhaps I was a little harsh in calling Kubiak an "idiot." He's done quite a bit over the past few years turning the Texans into a team from a train wreck into one that the city can actually get behind and hope for a playoff run. Like us all, he has work to do and now that I've had some time to think a little more rationally, I believe that Kubiak can do it. That said, he will HAVE to learn to run the ball more...something he has been preaching since he got here, but we haven't been able to see in action until Foster.

Tuesday was a negative day for the Texans in the media and in the minds of a lot of fans, but Tuesday has come and gone. The Colts game is in the past, so it's time to shrug it off and focus on the future. The Chargers come to town next week and that will be no easy win, but with the right focus and less dwelling on the past funk, the Texans can do it.

Although on the surface it seemed like a disaster, there were three different factors that came out of the Colts game that show the Texans are improving, give them something to build on and can give fans hope for the games coming up.

1. The Defense Played Better - I have to admit it. The defense actually played a little bit better against the Colts than they have in the previous six games. The promising part about it is that they were able to hold one of the best Quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to under 300 yards and only 2 touchdowns, which they have struggled to do throughout the year. They did struggle down the stretch and were non-existent in pass rushing, but I saw improvement in the secondary and hope with Cushing at middle linebacker. With this week to practice and continue to gel, this defense will only get better.

2. Arian Foster Continues His Rampage - This kid is one fun guy to watch. He is extremely talented, makes quick cuts, makes guys miss and has speed. In the Colts game he was able to amass 102 yards on only 15 carries as well as another 65 yards on 9 catches. Without a doubt Kubiak should have run more in this game, so Foster could have easily hit 200 total yards on 5-10 more carries throughout the game. If he continues to impress us all through out the year, he will make the Texans a heck of a lot of fun to watch (if Kubiak runs him) and should keep the team at least in most of the games until the end. But again...not to be a dead horse...Kubiak has to run the kid.

3. It's Over - That's it. The Texans don't have to face the Colts again until 2011 or later if there is a lock-out. Getting a split for the series is better than the Texans have been able to do most seasons and is definitely no worse if not better than expectations were coming into the season for the two games against the Colts. Not having to worry about containing the machine that is Peyton Manning again this season, will allow the Texans to focus on the other opponents. They now have the Colts monkey off their back.

I won't sugar coat anything and say the Texans had a good game against the Colts, but I did want to make sure and point out a few positives. Sunday's match-up against the San Diego Chargers should be a really solid game on both sides of the ball. The Chargers are statistically the top offense and the top defense, which is amazing considering the fact that they don't have a winning record. They'll come to Houston trying to break even, so the Texans better be ready!

Texans Loss To Colts - Kubiak was an Idiot

2010-11-01T22:55:00.001-05:00

I am absolutely sick of defending Gary Kubiak. Either his play calling is atrocious or Matt Schaub's ability to make an adjustment is atrocious. On Monday night against the Colts, one of those two issues was the peril of the Houston Texans and I am absolutely sick of it.

During the first half, when the game was actually close, the Texans were acting desperate and going to the pass on 1st and 2nd down. They were passing when Arian Foster had been averaging 6.0 yards per carry every time he was able to touch the ball. Whether this was disgusting play calling by Kubiak or Schaub's idiotict inability to read a defense and make the correct adjustment, I don't know, but it is a pathetic display of ability and knowledge for the game of football.

When you're playing against the Colts you HAVE to play the clock because they're constantly going to score. But for whatever reason, these guys refuse to do it. Either Kubiak or Schaub starts jacking up passes to covered receivers early in the first half and screw themselves (for the lack of a better term). They fall behind and then come out of halftime down by more than two scores and have no option, but to try and jack up more passes.

It's moronic and amateur at best.

I'd prefer never passing and only running with Foster and Ward if it would get better results - and honestly I think it would. In the game against the Colts on Monday night if the Texans had stuck with the run early in the game, I guarantee that they would have had a better chance of winning. For one, Schaub would never have thrown that idiotic, dolt decision of a pass he threw in the second quarter that went pick 6 to someone that was no better than a college number 2 safety.

Fans like me, who often defend Kubiak, wonder why so many people are against him. It's games like this pathetic piece of sh*% of a game that show us that you should never be given the reigns to anything. Ugh.

P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. That's all I have to say to Kubiak, Schaub and YOU - Bernard Pollard. No wonder you were released from the Chiefs. You couldn't cover your own clothes if you were wearing them.

Kubiak - if things don't improve you need to give up your job and become a GM or QB coach. You're excellent at building a team, but you are proving to be an absolute terrible play caller. I think I speak for all fans when I say, "Learn to call some plays or get the hell off the field." Foster ran all over the Colts in the first game and was doing so again when you let him run in the first half, but you still tried to force pass plays anyway.

What a joke, Kubiak. What a joke.

Madden Preview: Texans 45 at Colts 38

2010-10-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

Now that the HoustonSportBlog.com Madden preview is 2 out of 4 in predicting the winners and losers of the Texans last four games, it is gaining a little credibility. The simulation of the Week 8 match-up of the Texans at the Colts played out exactly how most Texans fans are hoping it will and some of those fans are thinking it will.

RECAP

Per the Madden Preview, the second meeting of the Texans and Colts was a shootout that came down to the wire, just as the real game is as expected to be. Two great offenses matching up against statistically poor and strategically porous defenses, led to a high scoring affair with Manning and Schaub throwing collectively for more than 700 yards and 8 touchdowns. After a slow 1st Quarter, Arian Foster is able to consistently get things going throughout the rest of the game, bust a few big runs and grow his game yardage total to more than 125 yards.

Although Peyton Manning was able to put up big numbers, the Texans defense was able to make the stops and big plays when they were needed. What was really impressive is the play of the Texans linebacking core. Cushing does extremely well at middle linebacker and Kevin Bentley was making tackles all over the field. Xavier Adibi recovers a fumble in the 4th quarter and scampers 60 yards for a defensive touchdown.

The Texans special teams kick coverage also shows significant improvement over in this game forcing the Colts to start most of their drives in pretty poor field position. The Colts attempted to run Donald Brown quite a bit more than I had expected them too, but Cushing is in his face nearly every time.

Manning wastes no time incorporating Dallas Clark's replacement Jacob Tamme into the offense hitting him three times on the Colts first drive. Even though he is without Clark, Collie, Gonzalez and Addai, Manning makes the best of things connecting to Tamme and Pierre Garcon.

The story of the game however, was the Matt Schaub-Andre Johnson connection. The Texans two superstars connected 11 times for 218 yards and two scores - one of which was an amazing diving catch in the back of the end zone. This tandem supplemented with a strong Texans running game was the recipe for success for the Texans in this match-up. As expected, Derrick Ward sees more touches and really helps to keep Foster fresh throughout the game.

The ending of the game was quite exciting. The Texans Defense makes a huge stop to get the ball back leading by a touchdown and only 2:27 left int the game. After a three and out, however, they are forced to punt the ball back to the Colts who are able to tie the game on a Manning to Garcon 19 yard pass with only 0:35 left. After getting the ensuing kickoff with 3 timeouts and only 0:32 seconds left, the Matt Schaub throws a 64 yard bomb to a wide open Andre Johnson for the Texans to take the final lead with 0:18 left in the game. Just as the Chiefs game ended, the Texans record a sack on Peyton Manning in the final play of the game.
Box Score

Passing
Player	Team	Att/Comp	Yards	TD	Int
Schaub	Texans	22 of 30	327	3	2
Manning	Colts	24 of 35	379	5	0

Rushing
Player	Team	Att	Yards	AVG	TD
Foster	Texans	27	131	4.8	2
Brown	Colts	20	75	3.7	0
Ward	Texans	7	46	6.5	0




Receiving
Player	Team	Rec	Yards	AVG	TD
A.Johnson	Texans	11	218	19.8	3
Garcon	Colts	8	121	15.1	2
Tamme	Colts	5	67	13.4	1
Jones	Texans	4	41	10.2	0
Wayne	Colts	3	123	41.0	1
White	Colts	3	39	13.0	0
Hart	Colts	2	-1	-.5	0
Walter	Texans	2	9	4.5	0
Leach	Texans	2	33	16.5	0
Brown	Colts	2	11	5.5	1
Dreessen	Texans	1	10	10.0	0
Daniels	Texans	1	6	6.0	0
Foster	Texans	1	10	10.0	0

Calling 'Em Out: Mario Williams

2010-10-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

Last week I called out Gary Kubiak, but mentioned that I would be calling out Mario Williams this week. And man does he need it. The number one overall pick of 2006 started the season off very strong against the Colts, but has been pretty non-existent since. It's honestly become frustrating to watch and tiresome to hear the excuses, but if he could get some fire in his play - perhaps it would inspire the rest of the defense - a defense that needs a little inspiration.

I'm truly sick and tired of hearing about how he is doing a good job, but we don't see anything because he is being double and triple teamed. I'm also tired of hearing how he's playing with an injury, so that's why he isn't getting to the quarterback. And I am absolutely nauseous hearing how he enables the guys around him to make big plays, which they don't do at all. You never hear the guys in the media having to make up excuses for guys like Jared Allen, Dwight Freeney, or Robert Mathis. Those guys do their jobs, play with passion and find ways to get to the quarterback no matter how many offensive players are standing in their way.

If Mario Williams really is as good as he should be and lives up to his potential, he'd be doing just as well as Allen, Freeney or Mathis. Instead of making plays, we're hearing over and over again why he isn't making plays.

I've watched tape of the games very closely trying to see what the "experts" in the main stream media are seeing when they say he is asserting his presence and doing a good job, but I am just not seeing it. Most of the plays I watch, he looks like he's jogging, doesn't fire off the snap of the ball and looks low on energy like he doesn't even want to be out there. The double teams he faces don't even look that bad. He just looks plain lazy.

Even Bob McNair stepped in to try and convince Mario to play up to his expectations, but yet we haven't seen it other than in little flashes in the first to games.

This is a huge week for the Houston Texans, so Mario Williams - I'm calling YOU out. You better bring it! You're team needs you to stop playing like a lazy, tub of lard and live up to your tattoo. You ARE Super Mario. We BELIEVE in you. We see the flashes of brilliance. It's time you stepped up to the plate and hit a home run every play. I know this isn't baseball, but a metaphor is a metaphor. The bottom line is that you were brought to Houston to do one thing: Get to the Quarterback. So do it.

I leave you with 3 words of encouragement.

GET PEYTON MANNING!

Image Attribution: By Lance Cpl. Brandon Love. Cropped by User:Blueag9. [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

"Who are all these people wearing Rockets Jerseys?"

2010-10-27T10:01:00.007-05:00

"Trey Huguley: and I didnt know Kevin Whatshisname was that good"

"(9:59:06 AM) Trey Huguley: I like Ballinger too
(9:59:12 AM) Garrett Hargrove: Budinger?
(9:59:17 AM) Trey Huguley: thats what i meant"

Its obvious there were a LOT of changes in the offseason to our Houston Rockets. As you can see above, everybody's favorite Houston Sports Blogger even has trouble keeping them all straight. After last night opener versus the Lakers, there were some good points and some bad points. So let's meet the team and see what we know after last night's close loss.

Centers
Yao Ming (S)
He's tall. And he's not going to be a 20 point scorer ever again. Being a 7'6", 310 lb dude who runs up and down a basketball court can take quite a toll on your bones. Having missed all of last season, the Rockets have employed the 24 minute max per game strategy to maximize his production, while minimizing the risk of injury. Its to be determined how this strategy will play out, but last night it went fairly well. Yao was aggressive. He was rusty, but still looked productive fouling out in 23 minutes, but grabbing 11 boards in that time.

Brad Miller
He's not as tall. And he's the reason the Yao 24 plan might work. Last year, the Rockets got assaulted down low. This year, they filled that void with veteran Brad Miller. What you need to know about him: He's a DYNAMIC passer. He has a decent 15 foot jumper. He went toe to toe with Shaq for years as the starting center of the Sacramento Kings (coached by Adelman), so he's a tough SOB. And last night in 25 minutes, he grabbed 9 boards and had 9 points. He is going to be huge for us this year.

Jordan Hill
He's downright tiny at 6'10". He is the Rockets project child. He has the raw tools to be a dominant force in the league. But they will have to do a lot of molding on him to get him there. Don't expect to see him a lot this year unless Yao gets hurt, but they are testing him out to see if he can be Yao's successor.

Power Forwards
Luis Scola (S)
18 points. 16 rebounds. He is a beast. He's the guy that Popovich laments the Spurs trading away for nothing: "It kills me to have him on that team," Popovich said. "Enough to make you spit." We are solid here.

Jared Jeffries
He's really not going to play. We took on his salary to get Jordan Hill and a bunch of Knicks draft picks. Hope and pray they don't get Carmelo.

Chuck Hayes
The best defender on the team. If he was 6'10", he would be in talks every year for Defensive Player of the Year. He has the ugliest free throw shot in the league:

But, he's a fan and Adelman favorite who will be a big defensive stopper for us again this year. Just don't expect more than 4 points a game from him.

Patrick Patterson
He's the other project. A rookie from Kentucky they are hoping develops into Carl Landry, whom they traded away last year to get Kevin Martin. We'll see if he develops into that, but don't expect to see him on the court much this year.

Small Forwards
Shane Battier (S)
He's the guy who was the best defender on the Rockets. But, it looks like he's slowed half a step. He's still one of the top 5 perimeter defenders in the league, but its going downhill. And last night his shot looked off. Its probably just one game, but I wouldn't be surprised if Shane starts taking a step back offensively this year also.

Chase Budinger
Fan Favorite #2 behind Chuck Hayes. He's a fun, athletic swingman. He may never be an All-Star or even solid starter, but as an energy guy off the bench, he is great. I would liken him to Josh Howard, but without the bong.

Shooting Guards
Kevin Martin (S)
Who was the 17th leading scorer last year? What Rocket had more points per game than Carmelo, Joe Johnson, Amare, Bosh, Chris Paul, Yao and Dwight Howard in 2008-09? Kevin Martin. Since 2006-07, Kevin Martin has been putting up 20+ points per game. He's a tall 6'7" shooting guard, who shoots nearly 40% from 3 point land. He's a younger Tracy McGrady without the hype or back injuries. Rockets fans are going to love Kevin Martin. And I'm going to quash any notion of nicknaming him K-Mart. We need to be more original than that.

Courtney Lee
He's the only guy on the roster to START on an NBA Finals team. The Rockets tried desperately to get Courtney during the draft, but couldn't. He went to Orlando and started on their NBA Finals team against the Lakers as a rookie. Riding on high, Lee was then shipped off to the Nets for Vince Carter. And as you know, everything went wrong for New Jersey last year, but Lee's scoring went up from 8 points to 12 points per game. Now, coming off of a solid camp where the coaches raved about him, our 2 guard might be the deepest position we have. I could easily see Lee sliding in to the starting 2 spot with Kevin Martin going to the 3 when Battier regresses. He is a fun, high flying player and could be a solid starter very soon.

Jermaine Taylor
Some believe Taylor has that same Lee type upside. This team is EXTREMELY deep. Even if Lee and Martin went down, Taylor could get out there and be competitive. But unless that happens, he won't see the court much.

Point Guards
Aaron Brooks (S)
He is so close to being an All Star. And its not due to a lack of production or talent. Its just hard making the team behind Nash, Paul, Williams, Parker, Kidd, etc, etc. But he has the talent and that's all that matters. He took home the Most improved player last year after scoring nearly 20 points per game. He is fast, a good shooter (4-6 3pts last night; 39.8% last year) and sees the court well. Last night he has 9 assists to 2 turnovers.

Kyle Lowry
And there's not much drop off here. Lowry didn't play last night due to back spasms, but he will be fine for the year. He isn't as flashy or quick as Brooks, but he is a better distributor and really good at driving to the basket. I think this combo might be better than our Kenny Smith/Sam Cassell combo.

Ish Smith
He's the big mystery coming into this season. A little undrafted point guard who snuck onto the team after a dynamite summer league and playing really well in the preseason. He may flame out, but I always like these underdog stories. Seems like a good kid. Got an assist last night and missed one shot. But damn he looks fast.

So that's who's on our team. Bill Simmons argued that this team has TOO much talent to work.

My friend Daryl Morey (Houston's GM) claims that this won't be a problem and that you can never have too many assets. I disagree: NBA teams are like "Saturday Night Live" casts in that you never want to go more than nine deep or else everyone starts griping about minutes.

We're going to find out. I am excited to see what this new group can do together. Last night was a good start. Brooks and Martin started out hot, but in the end, they struggled to find the right person to put the kibosh on the Lakers run and to hit the big shot. During the course of the season, Brooks, Martin or Scola have to step up and be that selfish person to hit the big shot and make the big play to stop runs like the Lakers had at the end. But the Lakers are a VERY good team and we played very well against them. They still seem to be working out how to handle the Yao minutes. But he looked quick, despite being a little rusty. We should have no problem getting into the playoffs and possibly making some noise this season. Go Rockets!!

Player Spotlight: Damione Lewis

2010-10-26T23:16:00.000-05:00

Coming out of the bye week, the Texans have picked up a few new faces to fill the empty spaces created by injuries and to help bolster the defense. In this weeks Texans player spotlight, we take a look at the most experienced of the new additions - Defensive Tackle Damione Lewis. In the past the Texans staff has seemingly steered clear of picking up players (other than running backs) who were older than 30, but desperate times called for desperate measures and they have broken their golden rule to bring in Lewis who brings with him 9 years of experience with 65 starts.

To make room for Lewis, Kubiak and Co waived Frank Okam, who hadn't brought much to the team in his short two years. A big guy with quickish feet, let's hope Lewis can have more impact than being a space filler like Okam was. Let's take a look at what this former first round pick is all about.

Damione Lewis - DT #97

- Height: 6-2 Weight: 301 Age: 32
- Born: 03/01/1978 in Sulphur Springs , TX
- College: Miami
- Experience: 10 Seasons
- Other Teams: Panthers and Rams, brief time with the Patriots this year
- Draft Status: 2001 - Round 1, Pick 12

- Career Accomplishments & Awards: Started all games last year and 15 in 2008 for the Carolina Panthers where he recorded 84 tackles and 4 sacks. He has 22.5 total sacks throughout his 9 year career along with 244 combined tackles. Lewis was a first round pick in 2001 and had quite an accomplished college career earning first team All-Big East and Third-Team All-American honors in 2000.

- Strength: Lewis is a big tackle who can help take up space in the middle, but still has the ability to pass rush to take some attention away from Mario Williams. Using his size he is able to get up and knock down passes occasionally. He brings quite a bit of experience and has been a part of two very strong defensive units.

- Weakness: With experience comes age and there is the fear that Lewis may be a little too far past his prime to make a big difference. He also isn't the fastest defensive tackle out there, although his quick footwork ability shouldn't go unmentioned. Lewis has been somewhat injury prone throughout his career.

Lewis may not see a ton of playing time against the Colts, but should see more and more playing time as the season goes on. Worst case scenario is that Lewis will offer a strong presence to come in and help give Dan Cody and Amobi Okoye a rest during the game. Let's just hope he isn't too far past his prime.

Latest Houston Texans Roster Moves For Week 8

2010-10-25T17:20:00.000-05:00

The Texans made a number of roster moves today. The good news is that they were all moves for the defense. The bad news is that none of the moves that they made really does much to make the defense any better or help out with the pass defense.

Defensive Tackle Frank Okam was waived, which is pretty inconsequential since he hasn't made much of an impact since he came to the Texans from the University of Texas. Joining the team are linebacker Stanford Kegler and defensive tackles Damione Lewis and Malcolm Sheppard. While it is great that the Texans went after a few players, all of these guys shouldn't be much more than special teamers when it comes down to it.

In the words of the great Bernard Pollard, "Whooptie-Do."

What is highly disappointing is that the Texans staff didn't address the biggest weakness in the defense by going after anyone who would make a difference in the passing game. There a number of veteran defensive backs that could at least help the secondary be a little better. But for his reasons of being too proud or whatever it may be, Kubiak refused once again to go after anyone that would help.

About the only move that will help is a simple position change that will have Brian Cushing moving from strong side line backer to middle linebacker to fill the void left from the DeMeco Ryans injury. This move actually makes a lot of sense and could have a solid impact on the defense assuming Kevin Bently, Zac Diles and Xavier Adibi can play solid on the outside. Cushing will assume the leadership role wearing the helmet with the signals coming in from the coaching staff and calling the plays. I am not sure why this was so much a surprise to me as it makes a lot of sense now that the move has been made.

Looks like in order to win against the Colts next Monday, the offense is once again going to have to be the Texans best defense. While these roster moves are disappointing to say the least, I still think the Texans will bring it against an injury weakened Colts team and come away with a win.

The State of Texas College Football

2010-10-25T08:37:00.008-05:00

You see that? The blog title works on so many levels. "The State of Texas", "Texas College Football", "The State of College Football". I should just quit with that. Can't get any better than that. But things are all in disarray in the state of Texas. UT can't win. Baylor can't lose. Texas Tech can't score and Texas A&M hasn't cloned any sheep this week. We're on giant marshmallow man away from this being like the chaos at the end of Ghost Busters. So what's going on with each and when will the thrill return?

Baylor
For the first time since 1994, Baylor is bow eligible. And not on some miracle play on the last game of the season. Its 8 games into the season. Baylor is in 1st place in the Big XII South. Oh the irony if the last Big XII Championship game features the only team to not see a bowl game during the entirety of its existence. But all is well. Its not just RG3. Baylor has built a solid program around Art Briles.
When Will The Thrill Return? One of the few teams that we can say, its here now. Until Notre Dame signs away Art Briles in two years.

Texas
Ouch. That was painful. Unless you're one of those who believe the University of Texas is evil incarnate. Then you're totally cool with ISU and UCLA coming into to DKR Stadium and beating down the Longhorns. They look sloppy. Their running game is inconsistent. They have so many turn overs they make Favre look overly protective. Its looking more and more every day that Garrett Gilbert isn't the next in line of great UT QBs.
When Will The Thrill Return? In the offseason when they once again have the best recruiting class and bring in 43% of the top 100 prospects in the nation.

Texas Tech
They finally won in Colorado! They had never done that before. They fought furiously to overcome a late 10 point deficit to beat the Buffs. The TU Athletic Department is furiously championing this as a step in the right direction. Most reasonable people realize that Colorado sucks and see this is one you never should have been down 10 points to in the first place. The offense is flat (42nd Nationally in Yard per game; 36th in points), despite promises that it would not only not change, but would get better. And the broken promises of a revamped D have Tuberville calling up Leach for advice on defense. All of that only builds the widening chasm between the fractured fan base, still angry over what went down in December/January.
When Will The Thrill Return? Five years from now, when Tuberville is booted after his fifth straight mediocre to bad season and Tech brings in up and coming coach Kliff Kingsbury to lead Tech back to prosperity.

SMU
In 2008, June Jones took over a 1 win SMU team. 2008 saw only one win again. So then it was a huge shock to see SMU playing in a bowl game in 2009. They're sitting at 4-4 after an ugly loss to UH this last weekend. But it feels like they're moving in the right direction since Criag James helped to kill the school back in the 1980's. In fact, James had time to kill off SMU, go have a kid, get him to a college and help him destroy that program as well in the time its taken SMU to rebound from the Death Penalty.
When Will The Thrill Return? Two more years, when June Jones builds up SMU with his system of players and they challenge for a major bowl (a la TCU).

Rice
Its Rice.
When Will The Thrill Return? Next time they luck into a Jarett Dillard type player.

Houston
Its really tough when you lose your starting QB and then your backup one. So, naturally, this year has been up and down. They won't be vying for the C-USA title like last year, but Sumlin is the right guy for them and has them playing fun, dynamic football. I like to think of him as the anti-Tuberville.
When Will The Thrill Return? Next year when Case Keenum returns after getting an injury redshirt. (Or unless I missed it and it got denied, when they get a new starter in there and a full year of offseason to get him working with the first team.)

TCU
Things couldn't be much better for TCU. They've lost one game since Obama took office. When the conferences inevitably realign in the next few years, TCU is going to be in a good spot to write their own ticket to a better conference and more prestige.
When Will The Thrill Return? Its here to stay.

Texas A&M
(Copied from the 2009 & 2008 & 2007 status update)A&M started off with such high hopes. The media was touting this to possibly be A&M's year. It looked like things were finally coming together with big opening season wins over Stephen F. Austin and similar teams. Then reality hit hard as A&M started playing real teams and they couldn't keep up, despite valiant efforts. A big win this weekend over the last place team in the Big XII have many Aggie fans thinking things are turning for the better and they are proclaiming that this year they are bumping off UT.
When Will The Thrill Return? Next season when people naturally return to overvaluing A&M up until they face a real team and then we all remember why they wasted the 2000s.

Calling 'Em Out: Head Coach Gary Kubiak

2010-10-22T06:59:00.000-05:00

This week, I am calling out Head Coach Gary Kubiak.

I've been defending Kubiak as a coach for a few years now and been telling friends and other fans who haven't liked what he's been doing just to be patient. He has been building a team and they'll like the results if they hold on. This has been true to a point. Each year the team has gotten better since he has had the reigns and this year, the offense looks like they are playoff bound.

Now that the Texans have arguably the best offense in the NFL, they also have the second worst defense suddenly. If someone were to point out the weakness of the team and the reason that they might possibly miss the playoffs even with a powerful offense, it would be the pathetic play of the defense who don't look like they could even stop a mediocre High School offensive attack.

Typically when something isn't working right for a team, it's the coaches job to find the problem, come up with a solution and adjust to fix it. If the holes in your team aren't corrected, opponents will do everything they can to exploit those holes - and that's exactly what the Texans opponents are doing week in and week out. The problem is obvious. The fans, media and even Kubiak himself have point out how bad the defense is.

The obvious fix (or at least a way to help the problem so the Texans can have a playoff run) is to find a veteran corner who can actually cover receivers and someone to help out on the pass rush either through free agency or a trade. But rather than fix it, Kubiak just acts like things will get better with time. He is hell bent on using inexperienced corners and guys like Mario Williams in the pass rush who I am honestly tired of hearing excuses for.

It's all about excuses with Kubiak and this years defense. First it was because Cushing was out. Then when we realized how bad the secondary was it's because "they are inexperienced." With Mario Williams it's because he is getting "double teamed" or "playing injured" (by the way, he get's called out next week). Against guys like Peyton Manning it's because the Colts were playing from behind so they had to pass a lot.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. A good coach would come up with solutions and not excuses, Kubiak.

The bottom line is that Kubiak is too proud to change the direction he had decided to go with the defense. Bringing in a veteran corner to start over Jackson would admit that he made a wrong decision getting a corner back in the first round and expecting him to effectively start as a rookie or was wrong by not re-signing Dunta Robinson. People who are too proud really, really irritate me - and it appears that Kubiak is way too proud for his own good.

Gary Kubiak had better make something happen this week to shore up the defense. He has to make a move because it just isn't going to happen this year with the guys he has. Maybe Jackson and Quin are the guys for the future, but right now we need to focus on this season. With a looming lock-out next year, who knows if we will EVER have as strong an offense as this - so it's time to make things happen in the present and not worry about the future.

Kubiak - this is for your own good. Stop being too proud and come up with a solution. I still believe in you, but you are slipping. Fix it and don't make me do this again.

Tecmo Bowl Re-Enactment: Andre Johnson's Game Winner Over The Chiefs (YouTube Video)

2010-10-20T10:37:00.001-05:00

This is an incredible re-enactment of the Andre Johnson game winning catch from last Sunday's match-up with the Kansas City Chiefs. I couldn't resist sharing this not only because it was an awesome play to remember all season, but also because whoever made this video did the re-enactment Tecmo Bowl style.

Oh how I miss the days of Tecmo Bowl....

Enjoy!

Description From YouTube

Week 6: With 36 seconds and ticking, the Houston Texans would take the lead and hold on to the win over the Kansas City Chiefs with an 11 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Schaub to receiver Andre Johnson.

Here is what that play would've looked like if had taken place on the classic video game Tecmo Super Bowl. Play-call is by the outstanding Gus Johnson.

(And before some idiot comments without reading this: ON THIS GAME, BOTH TEAMS ENDZONES SHOW UP, SO DON'T TELL ME "Duhhh, but the Texans were at home!" I know.)

Download the game!: http://knobbe.org/forum/viewtopic.php...

User: MrNFL

How Close Is the Madden Preview to Real Games?

2010-10-19T07:06:00.000-05:00

Each of the past few weeks, I've simulated the Texans games against their opponents by updating the rosters and watching the simulated game on Madden 2011 for the PlayStation3. Thus far the simulations have resulted in a 2-2 record in being accurate to their real-life game. It was horribly wrong about the Cowboys and Giants games, but predicted wins for the Houston Texans against the Raiders and Chiefs.

Out of pure curiosity, I wanted to take a random check on how accurate the Madden prediction is to real life by comparing the results of this weeks Madden preview to the results of the real life game.

Score

Madden Preview- Chiefs vs. Texans: 20 - 34
Real Life:- Chiefs vs. Texans: 31 - 35

For the second week in a row, the Madden preview got the total score for the winning team within a field goal. The losing team was 11 points off, but Madden couldn't account for how bad the Texans defense would actually play.

What about the individual performances? Could the Madden preview get close with that too? Let's see...

Box Score Anomalies

Matt Schaub
Madden Preview: 22 of 27 for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns
Real Game: 25 of 33 for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns

Arian Foster
Madden Preview: 22 rushes for 86 yards and 2 Touchdowns
Real Game: 18 rushes for 71 yards and 2 Touchdowns

Andre Johnson

Madden Preview: 6 receptions for 102 yards and 1 Touchdown

Real Game: 8 receptions for 138 yards and 1 Touchdown

Owen Daniels
Madden Preview: 5 receptions for 75 yards and 1 Touchdown

Real Game: 5 receptions for 79 yards and 0 Touchdowns

While the Madden preview might not be 100% correct, it's pretty darn close how it got with the Texans final points and the statistics for the Texans top 4 players; especially Matt Schaub and Owen Daniels.

The crew of developers that spend time making Madden as realistic as possible have apparently done a most EXCELLENT job in accuracy. We will just have to see how close the preview and review are after the Texans vs. Colts game in 2 weeks. Look for the Madden preview each Friday before a Texans game and the review comparison each Tuesday...

Losing DeMeco Ryans Won't Be THAT Bad

2010-10-18T06:50:00.000-05:00

People stop freaking out. Yes, it stinks to be losing DeMeco Ryans for the season, but it isn't the end of the world. In case you missed it somehow, at the end of the first half Ryans fall down without contact as he tore his Achilles tendon; a terrible injury that can keep a player out for months and can even threaten careers.

Granted, Ryans is the leader of the defense and makes a lot of big plays, but there a number of reasons why it won't be detrimental to the team or the outcome of our season to play with out him.

1.) Pollard Becomes the Leader - Pollard has been a second leader on the defense and a strong voice that has been waiting on an opportunity to lead his team. He is an animated guy with the ability to fire up his teammates and keep them fired up to make big hits and big plays (despite his poor coverage ability). With Ryans out, Pollard become the defense's leader by default and will be a damn good one. It's not that Ryans doesn't fire up the defense, he just does it in a different way. Due to Pollard's explosive influence, there is a chance we will see a more fired up defense who will want to win in DeMeco's name.

2.) Darryl Sharpton is Great - In pre-season, rookie middle linebacker Darryl Sharpton stepped up and made some BIG TIME plays. He may be young, but the kid out of Miami is fast, good sized and smart. Is he ready to be a starting NFL linebacker? I'm not sure, but he is certainly capable and talented enough to be a big part of the defense and help pick up the slack in Ryans' absence. If he can get over his nagging ankle issues, Sharpton should be a viable substitution while Ryans is out.

3.) Spark the Other Players - While definitely not a good thing, maybe this injury is something that has been needed to spark the rest of the defense and get them playing up to their potential. Knowing he is out, may get stuck in the heads of Williams, Cushing and the rest of the defense and give them subconscious reason to step up and make big plays since Ryans won't be able to.

4.) Can the Defense Get Worse? - I'll go out on a limb here and say that I don't know if the defense can get any worse. This injury will shake things up a little, get other guys playing better, give new guys an opportunity to show what they have and give the Texans pathetic defense a little bit of inspiration.

Luckily (if you can use that word), this injury happened right before the bye week, giving the Texans two weeks to figure out what the plan in spending the rest of the season without Ryans. They still need to figure out what in the hell they are going to do about their secondary too, so there should be a lot of attention on the defense over the bye.

Photo Attribution: Christopher Brown @Wikimedia commons

Texans vs. Chiefs - 3 Keys to Success

2010-10-16T08:15:00.001-05:00

One thing rings true no matter what type of Houston Texans fan you are: the Texans must beat the Chiefs. If they don't they face losing half of their fan base because the band wagon fans will go jump on someone else's band wagon and the true fans will start criticizing and dissecting their game to figure out what can be done and who can be let go to get better for next year.

On the contrary, if they are able to pull it off like they SHOULD, they'll go into the bye week 4-2 with a lot of positive energy. The bye will give them time to really get their wrongs righted and improve for the rest of the season; the rest of the season in which they still have to play the Colts, Jets, Ravens, Titans (twice, Chargers)and Eagles. All of which could be losses if the Texans don't improve.

But - the first step in improving is beating the Chiefs. Here are the 3 keys to success for the Texans to beat the Chiefs.

Defensive Line's Pass Defense - The defensive line has something to prove this game. They are finally not facing a Pro-Bowl quarterback again (like Gradkowski) and they've been ripped by the media for their lack of production. It's time they stepped up and made a difference in stopping opposing passing games, since the secondary is "too young" to play well and Kubiak is too proud to pick up some veterans to help. The bad part is that the Chiefs have a great offensive line who've only allowed 3 sacks so far this season, so the Texans defensive line will have their work cut out for them.

Defensive Line's Rush Defense - Uh oh. The defensive line is also going to have to be able to stop a pretty strong run game. Thomas Jones is a strong veteran back who can pound his way through the defense, while Jamaal Charles is a fast as lighting, Chris Johnson style runner. In order to win this game, not only will the Texans defensive line have to get some pressure on Matt Cassell, but they'll also need to take the Chiefs run game out of the equation.

Arian Foster - So he had a bad week last week. Let's hope it's not a continuing ordeal. If the Texans are to beat the Chiefs this week, Foster will need to step up again and make some big plays. He has a little bit of soreness, but he SHOULD be fine despite the fact that the Texans are now going to be missing two of their starting offensive linemen - Mark Briesel and Duane Brown. While the Chiefs have a pretty strong run defense, I fully expect Foster to bounce back with a big game. He doesn't have much of a choice.

There really is no reason that the Texans should not win Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure the Chiefs have started out 5-1, but I think that is a little bit of luck and an easy schedule thus far. Although the defensive line will need to show the most improvement this week, the whole team is going to have to step up and play much better than they did last week if they want to win this game. If the Texans don't win this one, the play off hopes will definitely start to seem far fetched.

Photo Attribution: By Lbking [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Time To Reclaim Our Past

2010-10-14T12:09:00.008-05:00

Today is one of those days that I am just pissed off. Some snarky comments at work. Forget something at home. People using the microwave when you want it. Then, to top it all off, when you search Wikipedia for "Houston Oilers", it redirects you to the Tennessee Titans page.

Just makes you throw up a little in your mouth.

Why didn't they leave us the history? When they ripped away our team, did they have to legally make it so all of those good times and bad were a part of Tennessee? Earl Campbell never played a down of professional football in Tennessee. Ernest Givins never did the electric slide in Nashville. No 40 year old Tennessean can tell stories of going to see pro football games in his home town, unless he moved from somewhere that had a team. So why did they have to take our history AND our team. I'm sure I've heard the reasons before, but they never stuck with me. They were probably wrapped in 16oo pages of legal documents. But whatever reasons they are, they suck. And I won't stand for them.

If you search for the Cleveland Browns, they get to claim Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar and all of the pain and agony that goes with it. The Baltimore Ravens' history starts in 1996. I know its the standard (Colts have history from Baltimore and Indy, Rams have history from LA and St. Louis, etc), but why does it have to be that way? Its not right!!! Because a lot of Scots moved over ere, do we get to claim William Wallace as part of the US's history? No!! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!!

And I will not rest until we, as Houstonians, have made our plea and done all we can to get the history of the Oilers back in Houston. Be back after I get a sandwich.

OK. Now, I'm going to go off and email some people to get the ball rolling. This is just the beginning...

Rooting for Ex-Houston Payers

2010-10-13T15:18:00.005-05:00

Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman are one series away from the World Series and most are predicting them to both to return to the World Series for the first time since 2005. Unfortunately it isn't with the Houston based team they started the year off with. Berkman has moved on to the New York Yankees and Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies.

I, personally, will be happy for either to see them win a World Series ring. They were always champions of Houston and beloved by the city and fans and I think everyone would love to see those guys retire with a World Series ring. But, if anybody is reading this, I would like to know who you are rooting for if the Yankees square off against the Phillies. I always liked Berkman a little more because of his jovial personality, but he is on baseball's equivalent of the evil Palpatine led Empire.

We haven't had to do much rooting for Houston icons after they departed our fair city.

Hakeem Olajuwon - Hakeem left for the Toronto Barneys. (Traded for picks that brought us Boki Nachbar. Ugh.) They had a quick stint in the playoffs as the Detroit Pistons dispatched them in the first round.

Jeff Bagwell - Retired as an Astro

Craig Biggio - Retired as an Astro

Earl Campbell - Traded to the Saints, but never was above .500 and never sniffed the playoffs.

David Carr - Just kidding.

Player Spotlight: Karl Paymah

2010-10-13T06:49:00.000-05:00

This week's Texans Player Spotlight highlights one of the Texans more recent acquisitions and someone that hopefully we are going to see more of this week against the Chiefs. Cornerback Karl Paymah was picked up just a few weeks ago and has been learning the system (although it doesn't look like there is much to learn other than how to get burned).

Paymah does bring with him a little experience, so perhaps once he starts playing...it'll be one of the elements that the Texans defense is needing. Let's take a look at his details.

Karl Paymah - CB #24

- Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 Age: 27
- Born: 11/29/1982 in Boston , MA
- College: Washington State
- Experience: 5 Seasons
- Other Teams: Vikings and Broncos, was also briefly in 49ers camp this year;
- Draft Status: 2005 - Round 3, Pick 76
- Career Accomplishments & Awards: In 3 starts for the Broncos in 2007, Paymah recorded 2 interceptions and 22 tackles - not incredible statistics considering he played in 15 games, but most of those came in the 3 that he started which is pretty strong.
- Strength: Paymah is a fast corner/nickel back who brings more experience to the secondary than the current starters do; can play the nickel spot as well as the corner.
- Weakness: Although he has experience, he still doesn't bring the "veteran" presence that the Texans secondary so desperately needs; does lack a little against the run
- Trivia & Notes: Went to Culver City High School in California where he was a two letter athlete in both Football and Track. In Football he played both corner and wide receiver, but earned All-Ocean Honors as a CB. At Washington State he was Honorable Mention All Pac-10 at corner in 2004

I don't know that Paymah is the total answer for the Texans, but right now he may be the only one they have...

What's Wrong With the Texans Secondary

2010-10-12T06:51:00.001-05:00

@ Lbking / Wikimedia commons

Without sounding too cliche, I think perhaps the question should be: What ISN'T wrong with it? If you have been keeping up with the Texans all year, you've painfully noticed how easy it is for opposing Quarterbacks to throw against a very week Texans secondary.

Callers into sports radio shows and the media keep blaming it all on young corners Kareem Jackson, Glover Quinn and Brice McCain, but the truth of the matter is that the problems go way beyond the corners. From the guys up front to the safeties to the coaching, everyone is to blame just as much as the corners. The Texans are having to run a lot of zone coverage partially because the young corners don't have the experience to match up man to man with top wide receivers. That said, the corners are actually doing well at covering the flats and hook zones from the line of scrimmage to about 10 or 12 yards off of it.

The problem of wide receivers becoming wide open down the field is more of an issue with the safeties in a cover 2 scheme, which it looks like the Texans run a lot of. Against the Giants, Pollard was out of position quite a bit on the long plays and much of the blame should be being put on him rather than Jackson.

In Cover 2, a receiver is the corners responsibility until he reaches about 10 yards or so. At that point, the safety on that corners side of the field is supposed to assume coverage responsibility of the receiver down-field freeing up the corner to stop the outside run, screen or dump off pass to the flat. For some reason all season our safeties are not picking up receivers in the transition when they leave the corner's zone. This miscommunication leaves a gap in coverage and receivers wide open 10-15 yards down the field and deeper, which we have seen all year long.

Tight Ends over the middle of the field can be even more confusing because the miscommunication happens between a linebacker who is often too slow to cover very deep and a safety who is usually having to split the difference between a streaking outside receiver and a tight end making his way down field. This is when a guy like Cushing really helps because his speed enables him go man to man against the tight end when the defensive coordinator isn't sending him on a blitz.

It all comes down to a chemistry issue. To fix the problem, not only are the corners and safeties going to have to play better in general, but they need to learn a little chemistry so that that transition period between zones is covered a little tighter. On top of that, the defensive line HAS to get pressure on quarterbacks in order to force them to make their decision earlier. As is, QBs are having all day to find a receiver down the field and that almost never ends well.

It all comes down to Kubiak and his staff...let's hope they do some coaching up on these guys and we see some improvement.

PS - It really would help to bring in a veteran like Ty Law to help teach the young guys, but Kubiak is too proud to do that. As a Texans fan - THAT IS REALLY FRUSTRATING.

Kubiak Again Embarrassed by "Bully" Team

2010-10-11T13:04:00.007-05:00

@Brit / Wikimedia Commons

The Giants walked into Reliant stadium. They felt as big as their team name implies. Coming off of a thrashing of the Bears, their arrogance and swagger was larger than life. After sacking Jay Cutler 9 times in one half of football, they felt they could impose their will over the Texans. And they did. They bullied the Texans up and down the field and in all facets of the game.

They're a "bully" team.

And that's not a negative like it is in a school yard context. Its very much a positive. Its a sense that a team can and will go anywhere and everywhere and overpower you. They will swarm you. They will attack you. If they see a weakness, they will exploit it, let you know how sad that weakness is and exploit it some more. Against the Bears, they said "you can't handle our blitzes" and they kept coming and coming and coming and broke the will of the Bears. And up until that point, they were a very average blitzing team. But, being a bully team with that swagger, they crush the teams with a weaker constitution and impose their will. And they take your lunch money.

And Kubiak got his lunch money for the week taken. On paper it shouldn't have happened. Just like with the Cowboys. But the "Bully" teams always seem to scare the crap out of Kubiak.

There's nothing tangible on paper you can point to that defines a "Bully" team. Sometimes its a bad ass linebacker (Ray Lewis, DeMarcus Ware). Sometimes its a coach (Rex Ryan, Jon Gruden). Sometimes its the allure or personality of a franchise (Pittsburgh). But you can always spot them on the field.

And Kubiak always folds against them.

Last year, before we knew much about them, Rex Ryan talked up a big game. He had a larger than life swagger. And despite everyone thinking it was the same old Jets, they walked into Reliant, threw the Texans around and stomped them toopen the season last year. They didn't play any other "Bully" teams last year and never lost by more than 1 score. I may be alone in this camp, but I don't think Indy is a "Bully" team. They're a machine. They work to perfection. They don't make mistakes. They play consistent and have great stars, but they don't have that bully quality. It can even change. New England in 2007 had that quality and it was gone with one blow to Tom Brady's knee. They haven't gotten it back since.

This year, Dallas came it, desperate. They were worse on paper than Houston. They hadn't won. They were on the road. But they are a "bully" team. That star on their helmet says so and Kubiak folded.

2008:
"Bully Games"
Pittsburgh - L - 38-17
Tennessee (1) - L - 31-12 (Last year with Haynesworth)
Baltimore - L 41-13
Tennessee (2) - W - 13-12

Non-"Bully Games"
Jax (1) - L - 30-27
Indy - L - 31-27
Miami - W - 29-28
Detroit - W - 28-21
Cincy - W - 35-6
Minnesota - L - 28-21
Indy - L - 33-27
Cle - W - 16-6
Jax - W - 30-17
GB - W - 24-21
Oak - L - 27-16
Chi - W - 31-24

Notice all of the Bully Games were blowouts (except for 1). In all of their non-Bully games, even against good teams like Indy, they were right there. But the bullies took it to the "What should have been a playoff team" Texans.

You might say "So what? They do that to every team!" And that's true. The do that to nearly every team. And a lot of them win the Super Bowl (Steelers in XLIII & XL, Bucs in XXXVII, Ravens in XXXV). But this Texans team has too much talent to be a speedbump for those Bully teams. There's enough talent on this team to be that Indy team that took out the bully Jets last year. To be that Giants team that stunned the bully Pats in 2008.

But talent isn't enough. It takes strong leadership at the top to take that initial blow and fight back. Like Rocky in Rocky IV. You have to be able to absorb those initial blows when Ivan Drago comes out trying to kill you. You saw him kill Apollo. You can't be scared. You have to maintain your gaze and not blink. You have to show you're not scared. Then, once they've given their best shot, attack with yours. But we didn't. We stumbled back. We said we can't beat the giant Communist. Let's be as conservative as possible and try to get out alive.

Trey knows how I feel about Kubiak. You can read my post after the Cowboys game if you want to know. But I don't think Kubiak is Rocky. I think any time you see a Bully team coming up, Kubiak will get ready to give up his lunch money. He won't prepare well. And when they get off to a good start, he will fold, trying to minimize the damage. We'll probably come out and play hard against the Chiefs. They'll probably win. They don't "Bully" people. We could win the next four games by thirty points.

But when we go into Jets-land... expect them to bully us. And don't expect Kubiak to do anything about it.

Key Factors For the Texans Loss to the Giants

2010-10-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

Other than for Tech fans, this was a pathetic weekend for Texas football fans. Out of all of the possible losses, I think Texans fans got it the worst. I'm sure there are plenty of unintelligent over dramatic fans that will freak out all week, turn negative and act like the world is ending. They'll call into the Houston radio stations and complain like the Texans were 0-5. They'll call for Kubiak's job or to see Leinart get the start and will have totally abandoned the band wagon they jumped on a few weeks ago. To these fans, I say, "Shut up! Go be Cowboy fans if you are going to be such babies."

So the Texans lost to the Giants - whooptie do. Don't tell me that you didn't see this coming. I never felt right about this game and the outcome is somewhat close to what I had expected. I might have expected a little bit better of a showing, but I had a feeling the Giants would be a tough team to beat.

Instead of complaining, whining, bitching and moaning - I'll lay down six key factors in why the Texans lost to the Giants.

1. Giants Defense- The Giants defense showed up to play some football. Their game plan was to shut down Foster, force the Texans to pass and don't give Schaub any time. They executed this to perfection in what was one of the better defensive performances I have seen all year. Kudos to the Giants and their staff for doing this so well. (Giants fan, I wouldn't be so quick to give up on Coughlin).

2. Turnover Capitalization - The Texans defense finally caused some turnovers in the second half, but when they did, the offense was unable to score any points to capitalize off of those turnovers. In order to win, you have to be able to turn turnovers into points.

3. Our Fans - The fans at the game were pathetic. At the beginning of the game it seemed like they were into it, but as soon as things went south they started booing the Texans. You want to boo at the end of the game, that's one thing, but when you boo in the middle of a game that complete de-motivates the team you came to see. It's like someone coming to your job and booing at you while you were working hard on a tough project. How would you react? You'd lose focus, get frustrated and may become completely unmotivated to do the job that the people who are booing at you want you to do. It's no different for the Texans players. On top of executing they normal game plan, they then have to worry about how to get the fans back on their side.

I'm sick of seeing fair-weather fans come out to football games. It's time we learn how to root for a team and stop acting like babies. If you booed at the Texans during the game last night - YOU helped them lose.

4. Secondary - I can't figure out which is worse - the Texans secondary or the Texans secondary coaches. With the talent that the Texans supposedly have on the field, it seems like the coaches are too blame. Regardless of fault, someone is definitely to blame for how pathetic the secondary looks for the Texans week in and week out. People are quick to put blame on Rookie corner back Kareem Jackson, but I think the problem is a little bigger than that.

None of these guys seem to be working as a unit and they run a lot of zone, which those two elements together become a recipe for disaster. To successfully run zone coverage, a safety has to know when to help out a corner over the top and the corner has to know when the safety is going to pick up the receiver who is turning a deep route. If they aren't on the same page, that receiver is going to be left open time and time again. That's is exactly what happened against the Giants. Wilson and Pollard had a HORRIBLE game. They couldn't zone cover if it meant their life.

How can the Texans fix it? Bring in some veteran corners to help out. Stop random blitzing and drop a linebacker into coverage and figure out how to play man-zone rather than just zone. Corners on the wide outs and a safety playing zone over the top.

5. Coaching - The Texans were just plain, old-fashioned out coached. Coughlin and his gang did their jobs, watched tape, spoke to scouts and game planned to learn how to stop the Texans offense and score on the Texans terrible defense. It worked for the Giants. The flip side was the Texans coaching that seemed to have no game plan, couldn't adjust, abandoned the run way to quickly in the third quarter and over all...sucked (for the lack of a better term). I think a high school coach might have been able to coach that game better than Kubiak and staff did. Come on, Gary. I know you are better than that....

6. The Refs - I never like blaming the refs, but the officials for the Texans and Giants were absolutely amateurs. They called an illegal block in the back or a holding on every single punt return. It kept killing any momentum the Texans would get after their defense was finally able to stop Manning. At some point, you just have to let the players play. There is a holding call on every single down in a football game somewhere, but as a ref you just have to decide when it impedes on the game and make the call then...not every time. Go back to ref school you idiots and let the guys play.

Overall I give the Giants an A for this game. They played really, really well on all sides of the ball. Naturally this means the Texans barely don't get an F with a D minus. If they want to be the playoff team that they claim to be, they have better get on their horse. There is a lot of work to do to get this team to the place they are supposed to be...especially the secondary.

Don't get too down though, fellow Texans fans, this is just a bump in the road. They'll bounce back with a win over the over-hyped Chiefs and go into the bye 4-2. The bye week will be the perfect opportunity to learn how to play football right.

Gameday Injury Report - Week 5 - Giants at Texans

2010-10-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Houston Texans Injuries

Questionable

Andre Johnson - Ankle - All signs point to him playing in this game. How much is left to be determined.
Mario Williams - Groin - Kubiak says that Williams be a game time decision, but I can't see Williams staying out of a game because of a "sore groin" when he has played in the past with all of his other injuries and not missed a game
Derrick Ward - Ribs- Ward had a monster game last week. As long as Foster doesn't have to sit out again, I'd imagine we'll see Foster and Slaton getting the most of the carries with Ward only coming in if needed.

Probable

Dominique Barber - Ribs - Wilson and Nolan should see most FS reps this week.
Jesse Nading - Knee - Will play if needed.
Bernard Pollard - Stinger - He should play.
Daryl Sharpton - Ankle - We might only see Sharpton in special teams play against the Giants.
Eugene Wilson - Hamstring - Should see mixed action with Troy Nolan
Owen Daniels - Hamstring - He'll play...almost 100%

Doubtful

Jacoby Jones - Calf - Jacoby has a tear in his calf. It's an injury that can feel fine when he isn't running, but as soon as he tries to make a cut he could tear it even worse. They have to be careful bringing him back.

Out

Kevin Bently - Knee

New York Giants Injuries

Questionable

Ahmad Bradshaw -Ankle - While he has an ankle sprain, Bradshaw says that he will play. I imagine it will be on a limited basis, but he should factor into the Giants run game.
Kenny Phillips - Knee - Phillips will be a game time decision. If he is unable to go, he will be replaced by Rookie Safety Brian Jackson at which Matt Schaub should be salivating.
Terrell Thomas - Hamstring - He should play.

Probable

Osi Umenyiora - Knee - Limited in practice, but should play as this has been ongoing all year...darn it.
Adam Koets - Knee -Dirty player and he will play...dirty like.

Out

Keith Bullock - Toe - This is a big part of their defense that will be missing. Let's hope the Texans take advantage.
Madison Hedgecock - Hamstring - Without a fullback, the Giants running game may be limited.
Mathias Kiwanuka - Neck - A bulging cervical disc should keep him out for a few months. One less monster coming after Schaub I guess, but we wish him a speedy recovery after this game.

Madden Preview: Giants 35 at Texans 31

2010-10-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

Game Summary - Giants Beat Texans 35 - 31

Two weeks of doing the Madden Preview for Texans games has proven one thing: it's not really accurate. First, it was wrong about the Cowboys game and then it was wrong again about last weeks game against the Raiders. 0-2 so far in predicting the outcomes of games, I sure hope that the Madden 2011 Preview of the Giants at the Texans will be wrong as well.

Roster notes: The updated roster has Cushing back and he starts off with a bang by sacking Eli Manning early in the 1st Quarter. Andre Johnson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Mario Williams and Jacoby all end up playing in the Madden Preview, but are facing the potential of not playing in the real match-up.

The game certainly gets off to a great start as the Texans jump to a 14-0 lead. Like we've seen in real games over the past few weeks, though, they quickly let the Giants back into the game who tie it at 21 going into Halftime. During the second half, the lead changes hands a couple of times, but in the end - the Texans fall short by 4 points.
Overall the Texans offense looked great in this game. Although he was sacked 6 times and threw 3 interceptions, Schaub was able to put up 332 yards and 2 scores. He narrowly missed getting the win, when a potentially last minute, game-winning drive was cut short by a sack at the Giants 1 yard line.

The defense started off the game on fire forcing the Giants to punt and getting an interception on the first to Giants drives. As the game went on, however, the secondary began looking pathetic, blowing coverage and giving up several long balls. The biggest culprit of getting burned was Eugene Wilson - who got beat on 3 Giants Touchdown passes. (This is a sign, Kubiak. Start Troy Nolan! PLEASE!)

Foster was true to his form pounding out 123 yards on the ground and a score. We should see him get close to that in the real game and he will continue to lead the league in rushing after week 5.

I do have a feeling that in real life, the Texans will be able to pull this one off. The real matchup has the potential to be very different from the outcome of the game due to the possibility of Bradshaw, Johnson and Jones not playing. I'm 99.9% sure we will see Mario Williams play despite his sudden groin injury.
Box Score

Passing
Player	Team	Att/Comp	Yards	TD	Int
Schaub	Texans	26 of 42	332	2	3
Manning	Giants	20 of 29	297	3	2

Rushing
Player	Team	Att	Yards	AVG	TD
Foster	Texans	28	123	4.7	1
Bradshaw	Giants	17	74	4.3	1
Jacobs	Giants	6	17	2.8	0
Slaton	Texans	5	2	0.4	1



Receiving
Player	Team	Rec	Yards	AVG	TD
Manningham	Giants	8	150	18.7	2
A.Johnson	Texans	6	105	17.5	0
J.Jones	Texans	6	49	8.1	1
O.Daniels	Texans	6	71	11.8	0
K.Walter	Texans	6	98	16.3	1
K.Boss	Giants	3	13	4.3	0
B.Jacobs	Giants	3	9	3.0	0
H.Nicks	Giants	2	49	24.5	0
S.Smith	Giants	2	79	39.5	1
V.Leach	Texans	1	5	5	0
Hedgecock	Giants	1	0	0	0
D.Dickerson	Texans	1	0	0	0
A.Bradshaw	Giants	1	-3	-3	0

Best Case/Worst Case For Tennessee Titans

2010-10-07T13:05:00.008-05:00

Based on the first four games of the season, I wanted to make a Hypothesis for what could happen if all goes right for each team and what happens is all goes to hell and see how the division will shake out.

Titans

game	Best Case	Worst Case
Oak	Win
Pit	Loss
@NYG	Win
Den	Loss
@Dal	Win	Loss
@Jax	Win	Loss
Philly	Win	Loss
@SD	Win	Loss
@Mia	Win	Loss
Was	Win	Loss
@Hou	Win	Loss
Jax	Win	Win
Indy	Win	Loss
Hou	Win	Loss
@KC	Win	Win
@Indy*	Loss	Loss
Record	13-3	4-12

Despite this being the year that evil gets vanquished (UT falling out of the top 25, etc., etc.), I still think the Bud Adams squad could do well. The last game in Indy is obviously contingent on Indy still putting their guys out there and playing and not packing it in like they usually do on Week 17 when they have the division locked. And also, I just don't have a great read on Tennessee yet. I haven't watched a game of theirs and it seems like sometimes they show up and sometimes they don't. Their D isn't nearly as suffocating as it has been in years past. Vince Young could be great or he could be awful on any given Sunday. (He's always evil, make no mistake about it.) But, like Indy, there's no game on there I wouldn't be surprised to see Tennessee come out victorious against. They also luck out by missing Pitt, Jets, Baltimore, Green Bay, etc. Dallas, San Diego and Indy have all looked very beatable at times. I really hate it when things look up for the Bud Adams all stars.

Best Case/Worst Case For Jacksonville Jaguars

2010-10-07T12:35:00.005-05:00

Jaguars

game	Best Case	Worst Case
Den	Win
@SD	Loss
Philly	Loss
Indy	Win
@Buf	Win	Win
Tenn	Win	Loss
@KC	Win	Loss
@Dal	Loss	Loss
Hou	Loss	Loss
Cle	Win	Loss
@NYG	Loss	Loss
@Ten	Loss	Loss
Oak	Win	Win
@Indy	Loss	Loss
Wash	Win	Loss
@Hou	Loss	Loss
Record	8-8	4-12

As you can see, I don't think highly of Jacksonville. You can also see I think even less of KS, having Jacksonville beating them, Houston beating them, maybe even Baylor beating them. I just can't see any way that Jacksonville gets into the playoffs. I think the Indy win was a fluke. I think MJD might break down at some point here. I can't name anybody on their D. I talk in tiny sentences. Anyways. That's my view of how the AFC South could shape up with best case & worst case scenarios for each team. Let me know how right or wrong you think I am.

Best Case/Worst Case For Indianapolis Colts

2010-10-07T12:07:00.009-05:00

Colts

game	Best Case	Worst Case
@Houston	LOSS!!
NY Giants	Win
@Den	Win
@Jax	Loss? Seriously?
KC	Win	Win
@Wash	Win	Win
Houston	Win	Win
@Phi	Win	Loss
Cin	Win	Win
@NE	Win	Loss
SD	Win	Loss
Dal	Win	Loss
@Ten	Win	Loss
Jax	Win	Win
@Oak	Win	Win
Ten	Win	Win
Record	14-2	9-7

Indy still has Manning so they are still a threat to win every game. It sucks, but its true. Hopefully we only have another 3 years of that or so. Then he can devote all of his time to making crappy commercials with Justin Timberlake. Their secondary is depleted, but is there anyone out there who doesn't think all of these games are winnable for them in spite of that. They were able to plug in Melvin Bullitt and make it work, so they will find someone who works for them. They avoid all of the other big teams in the AFC (Pitt, Bal, Jets) and most of the NFC greats (NO, Atl, GB). Texans can't let up at all if they want any chance at taking the AFC South from Indy.

Best Case/Worst Case For AFC South

2010-10-07T11:19:00.013-05:00

Texans

game	Best Case	Worst Case
Indy 1	WIN!!
Washington	WIN!!
Dallas	Loss
Oakland	WIN!!
NY Giants	Win	Loss
KC	Win	Win
@Indy	Loss	Loss
SD	Win	Loss
@Jax	Win	Win
@Jets	Loss	Loss
Tenn	Win	Loss
@Phi	Win	Loss
Bal	Loss	Loss
@Ten	Win	Loss
@Den	Win	Loss
Jax	Win	Win
Record	12-4	6-10

This got a lot longer than I thought it would (that's what she said.) So I'll do other ones for Indy, Jax and Tenn. What do you guys think? Are any of these games definite losses or definitely in the bag for us?