Interesting take. I also think a big reason why the ref initially called it was because the defender did cross the helmet of Weeks. In real time, it probably looked like he drove through Weeks head to get to the other side but in replay the defender stepped around. Once question though, I thought this rule has been in place for a while now. I seem to always remember not being able to blow up the deep snapper
Schaub deserves credit for DEN... already said that (post #2197). Texans played some good games last year. The whole national thing is troubling because it appears mental, like the team isn't clutch. If they underestimate any team, blame coaching. Texans have zero business underestimating any team.
Houston"s history is probably worse than any 3 +sport city... besides Cleveland. We have notorious ish.
in response to the fact that the Texans were gifted 7 instead of 3, lets just say that the Chargers, and the wheels were already coming off... I too thought the Texans were extremely fortunate with that game changing call, but... for all the Charger fans complaining: The Texans shouldve had an attempt at the 59 yd FG off the remarkable catch by Andre Johnson; The Texans were called for a couple of bogus PI calls on Lestar Jean(one couldve been called, but not the second) That forced a 3rd and 1 into a 3rd and 11(resulted in a 51 yd miss FG). And if the Texans did just get 3 instead of the 7, after the Cushing INT, the Texans wouldve gone for 2 to cut the margin to 3 points. Meaning that last second FG wouldve tied up the game...
I understand your stance a little more. One thing that I think will help is having Cushing back in full force. The first half against San Diego we looked like the same defense at the end of last year where we came out uninterested as a whole. In the second half, we remembered we have Cushing back and JJ started making some noise. Need to start out next game with some fire and continue to play hard no matter the "spotlight". Cushing should help the guys get up for every game this season. Let's just hope Wade can make adjustments though when teams throw us for a loop and come out swinging. The whole team has to adjust but coming out ready to play is numero uno and should never underestimate anyone. I would agree. The coaches should have the players focused and ready for the task at hand. the players should not need much motiviation to perform at their best but if they do Cushing and JJ to an extent are there to remind them. Also, having Ed Reed on the defense will help with the leadership for the whole team not just the defense. He has seen at all which can't be said for a majority of the Texans.
3 Things that REALLY bothered me about that game: 1. AJ didn't get a touchdown 2. Sugar Huddle* 3. Casino Blitz* *Sigh....
Why would the Sugar Huddle bother you? It proved to be pretty damn effective. Also, I'm wondering how some of you can mentally handle being a fan with your crazy notions about what to expect from your team. The Chargers aren't the Little Sisters of the Poor.....the fact that we started slow was troubling, but there are 16 teams out there today who would give up their start for ours in a heartbeat. We showed grit and heart in the comeback, and I think the bigger takeaway from this game isn't the start....it's the finish. We aren't going to blow out every team we face, and newsflash, we aren't going 16-0 either. There are ups and downs, and the fact that this team looked down and out with about 20 minutes left to play, and went on to outscore SD 24-0 in that time-span is awesome. Anyways, I'm done with this game....on to Tennessee.
It's weird to me that when the Texans struggle against teams that are better than them and excel at exploiting the Texans one CONSISTENT weakness it becomes a mental issue. The Texans are bad against teams that consistently attack through the air. They just are, and they have been for years now. When they play the best passing teams in the league on national tv and those teams just keep going after the same plays that the Texans have never been able to stop, it's suddenly mental? You are applying a reason to something that is illogical. The Texans don't struggle against good passing teams on national tv because they are mentally weak, they struggle against them on national tv because they always struggle against them.
were not alone, here a few cities that have/had at some point atleast 3 pro teams and little success.. phoenix - suns/cardinals/coyotes/diamondbacks 1 championship atlanta - braves/hawks/falcons/<code id="strikethroughResult">t̶h̶r̶a̶s̶h̶e̶r̶s̶</code> 1 championship seattle - mariners/seahawks/<code id="strikethroughResult">s̶o̶n̶i̶c̶s̶</code> 1 championship san diego - chargers/padres/<code id="strikethroughResult">r̶o̶c̶k̶e̶t̶s̶</code> 0 championships kansas city - chiefs/royals/<code id="strikethroughResult">k̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ </code>2 championships minneapolis - vikings/twins/timberwolves/wild 2 championships (minneapolis lakers won 5 nba titles 60 years ago)
Good QBs are also a problem, but the Jets were ranked 30th in passing last year and we still struggled against them on national tv... coincidence?
True, there are other cities, but Houston's history is worse. 1) Rockets 'ships will always be less due to MJ 2) Oilers-Buffalo... Biggest choke/comeback sports history 3) UH-NC State... notorious There are more, but these are the main Houston flops IMO.
Well they only scored 17 points so I'm not sure what more you wanted. Sanchez completed under 50% of his passes and only had 1 touchdown. We held the Jets to 69 rushing yard and 200 passing yards. So under 300 yards of total offense and under 20 points and you want to hold that up as an example of them choking on national TV? We held Sanchez to right around his season average.
Maybe we didnt blow them out...but struggle? We were 9 point favorites and we won by 6. At halftime, we had a 17-7 lead. Mark Sanchez completed less than half of his passes (14/31) and threw 1 TD to 2 interceptions. The Jets were not a good passing team, but we werent a good pass defense team either...We allowed 217 yards passing. Is that such a poor performance compared to what we were accustomed to in that department? We struggled to put points up on the board in the second half because we failed to punch it in even though we were deep in Jets territory twice...so we settled for 2 field goals. Yes, it would have been nice to win by 20 points...but the opening line for that game was -7...we werent predicted to blow them out. Instead, we won by 6, on the road. You're making it out to be much worse than it actually was. EDIT: Got beaten to the punch. Should have scrolled down a couple posts before replying.
Neither offense was balling. We were 6-15 3rd down conversions. Schaub completed 50% with only one TD. He barely outplayed Sanchez. We all know the Texans didn't play well vs the Jets. Why argue? If you consider that playing well, what do you call what GB and NE did? The Jets game in a vacuum is no big deal, but again, the Texans have proven over and over to underachieve in big spots. Hope isn't all lost. We just need to stay healthy and get better. Texans need to play better in big spots.
someone wake me when the 49ers come to town. apparently, the next three games don't really count. the texans could play very well against Seattle and Baltimore (two playoff teams) and it won't matter because it's not prime time. wins would be still be discounted. every team struggles within a game. all QBs make errant throws within a game. nationally televised games don't count any more than regional ones.
Your post about QBs and the Jets passing rank was meant to say that somehow the Jets played well against us. They didn't. You were wrong. The Texans played sloppily on offense, that was all, against a team with a pedigree of playing good defense. The Jets defense ranks 10th last year at Football Outsiders. They were 8th in fewest yards, 2nd in fewest passing yards against, 11th in passing touchdowns, 8th in yards per completed pass... So no, we didn't fail to show up. Our passing game struggled against a good passing defense and our defense did it's job against a bad offensive team. Edit: I just flat out disagree that they need to play better in big spots as opposed to playing better against good teams. What would be the examples you'd use to show where they played demonstrably worse against a good team on national tv than they did against a good team on regular tv?
I had a stomach bug on Monday and spent the entire day BARFING UP MY LUNGS. Fell asleep at 7:30 and missed the entire game. Didn't even know what the score was until I rolled out of bed at noon on Tuesday. I finally got to watch the game last night. This offense is fun to watch when it's rolling. Schaub looked like the Pro Bowler he was a few years ago.
