Hello, my name is ima and I'm a former pessimistic Texan fan. (Hello, ima) I spent the majority of last year posting my disdain for Gary Kubiak and Bob McNair. I constantly referenced the fact that if not for 2 meaningless wins against 2nd and 3rd string QB's, we would have finished the season on a 10-game losing streak. I thought McNair was too much of a wussy to fire Kubiak and used the meaningless fact that many of the losses were SO CLOSE as an excuse to retain him. I thought he only brought in Wade to try and rekindle some kind of ancient Luv Ya Blue memories in a weak attempt to placate the angry fan-base. This year, after seeing the complete revamp of the defense and an overall attitude adjustment for the entire team, I've turned over a new leaf. Now, I'm the one defending the Texans against posters who thought losing to the Raiders mathematically eliminated us from the playoffs and those who think that even if we finish the season 13-3, it's all for naught and we should fire Kubiak anyway because it was an "easy schedule." I defend Kubiak from posters who get angry because he doesn't curse and throw things and crap all over his players during his press conferences. After all, that's what all the HOF coaches (like Dennis Green) do. So for me, there will be no more sarcastic predictions of 5-7 starts (after we beat Cleveland, of course). I'm not going to spend the entire season waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm going to enjoy it while it's good and not whine about how we took our foot off the gas after being up by 40 at halftime and only winning by 47. Whose with me?? Let's go!! AAAAHHHHHHH....... Spoiler
I'm starting to feel the same way, but I still don't trust Kubiak. Wade and what he's done to the defense is a pleasant surprise, and as long as Gary sticks to offense and lets Wade do what he wants on D, the Texans should be good. Free agency this year was the most exciting time I've ever had being a Texans fan.
I never in a million years would have believed that Wade Phillips could turn around this defense so quickly. Not like this. I thought the ceiling was making it a middle-of-the-road squad...not a team capable of closing games on its own. I still find myself waiting for the Texans to pull a Texans...but honestly, I don't think that's coming this season. I think they win this division and make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
I am not with you YET; too many years of disappointment to jump on any bandwagon. I am cautiously optimistic. Very cautious! I am not even convinced that they are going to get by the Browns. I am not even sure they will win a game in November, something they have rarely done. The Texans are the ultimate NFL "tease." I know, this MAY be the year, but I will wait and see.
I have much more confidence in this team now that we have the ability to make plays on defense, but they still need to win a big game, or a game they're really not supposed to win, to completely win me over. Their next opportunity for that will likely come in the playoffs (Atlanta at home should be a win). The Steelers looks like a big win in retrospect, and we did dominate the line of scrimmage, but their o-line was in shambles that game. Still a worthy win but not a sign of big things to come IMO. If we would have beaten the Ravens or Saints I might feel differently. Long story short...I'm still a pessimist until Kubiak wins a big game/playoff game.
I know right?? I remember thinking Ric was putting way too much into what Phillips would do with the defense, yet here we are and Phillips has even exceeded what Ric was predicting. Holy. Crap. That said, I'm still hesitant to go full-out optimist just yet. Too many times being burned; this team still has something to prove for this lifer. Go Texans!
there haven't been many times this season that i dreaded a punt or going for it on 4th down and failing. it's a testament to what Wade has done to this defense.
How about facing a 3rd and anything beyond 7 yards? Last year, those were 3-0 strikes, they were so automatic. I remember the Eagle game, Philadelphia faced a... I'm pretty sure it was 3rd and 17 - stop 'em, as 99.99999% of every defense ever in the hsitory of mankind would have, and the game is still in reach. And they, of course, converted.
Where's the thread for the smart Texans fan? The one that knew we had a horrible team last season despite getting off to a seemingly good start? The one who says "fool me once, shame on you..." or "I don't trust this team, they've let me down before." -- oh wait, that's not us, because we observed the performance on the field and knew better. Where's the thread for us that complained last season after not going after any significant free agents and expecting a rookie CB to cover Reggie Wayne, Kenny Britt and Mike Sims-Walker 6 times, but were ecstatic when we were rumored to be chasing Nnadmi, then landing Manning & Jospeh? A lot of us that were formerly pessimistic don't see it that way -- we simply made astute observations. This team is different. This team can actually play defense. And guess what -- Kubiak is still a below average head coach.
I think it also speaks volumes to how uniformly overwhelmed Frank Bush was. When they fired Richard Smith, I was dead-set sure they were going to bring in Mike Nolan, a Denver pipeline guy and an experienced defensive coordinator. The hiring of Bush may very well be the single-worst decision in the franchise's history. It may have cost us two years of playoffs.
This is it! It's the same one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that, because we're 5-3, Kubiak should get Coach of the Year and be re-signed for the next 20 years. I'm still not a fan, frankly. All I'm saying is I'm willing to give this team a chance to redeem itself for the abortion of a season last year was. And unlike a certain haiku-writing poster here, I'm not going to sit here at the end of the season and say that all 12 of our wins were in spite of Gary Kubiak. Credit where credit is due.
I'm cautiously optimistic. Lucy has @#$%ed with me way too many times. The only thing standing in ourr way is well, ourselves.
I don't love some of Kubiak's clock management, red- hanky throwing, or play- calling at times. But he built this offense. And it's a darn good one. Sometimes you take the good with the bad, and it's hard to be pessimistic with what we've seen so far. Oh, and Andre will be back!
I'm not there, yet. Once they avoid the possibility of 5-7 again, I'll be closer. Once they win 10, I'll be even closer. Once they clinch an actual playoff spot, I'll be 100% there. Until next season.
So basically you think this team has a great offensive coordinator but is lacking in the head coach responsibilities.
Ha, that's a good way of putting it. Holding out hope that Kubiak learns to become a great HC though.
