Glass Half Full - Reasons to be excited about the upcoming season

Resigning Mallett.
I like this guys leadership and control of the line - and wait till his pec is healed then you will see the cannon unleashed. His injury occurred PRIOR to the Browns game.
If he is fully healthy, we could see a keeper for the Texans at their most problematical position.
Getting Derek Newton back.
Proved it was an injury that held him back in 2013. Could improve his pass protection, but his run is first class.
I expect XSF will have a vastly improved year with a full preseason to work on his usual position which he will now inherit.
The line has the potential to be better - they will just need a little time to gel.
Hoyer will be better than people think and OB seems to get the most out of the scrawny material available so whoever earns that starting position should be decent.
Rahim Moore looks like an upgrade but surprised they let Kendrick Lewis go.
So far, this FA period looks like Texans FO means business.
Lets hope they get another one or two good signings to take the pressure off the draft.
I hope they get another impact player on the defense, preferably a pass rusher or on the line and another two IP's on the offense - at wideout and RB.
They accomplish this and I can't see why we aren't at least 10-6 next season.

 

Any optimism I might have would find its source in the head coach. The NFL is a plug-and-play league almost, where the HC really determines your potential as well as your floor. Kubiak was a nice guy, but against the better coaches in the NFL he seemed all too willing to become a footstool for their ascension into the highest reaches of competitiveness.

In that regard, O'Brien seems to get it. When the going gets tough, he doesn't back down. In fact, he pulls out more tricks than ever. It's fun to watch.

Other than that, we gotta hope that the administration knows what it's doing when it comes to QB. Mallet has the highest potential, and Hoyer seems like the safe play. Let's hope Mallet beats him out.

 

Well you can be excited that you got him

 

I'm admittedly more of a pessimist when it comes to football. I keep things as realistic as possible, so I never become disappointed when the team doesn't live up to hype. However:

• After signing Cecil Shorts, we have a bit more flexibility to draft whoever we wan't at our upcoming draft pick. Vic Beasley, Bud Dupree, Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, and Landon Collins are all solid players that could contribute on gameday for us. The amount of places we could swing pick wise can be seen as a lack of depth, but I kind of find it exciting. It would be nice to remember what it's like getting an impact from a first round rookie since I forgot what it was like last season.
• I'm optimistic on how Kareem and Newton will both do this upcoming season. After playing mediocre early in their careers, and being heavily scrutinized, they both took large steps in 2014 to improve their overall game as a whole. While I recognize the fact that they aren't elite players, I'm excited to see them build on was a solid 2014 campaign for both of them.
• I'm excited to see #99 on sundays again.

 

• Continued implementation of BOB's long term plans. No more paying guys for past accomplishments thereby screwing up our cap situation in the process.
• Team having the guts to cut popular but older players like AJ and Meyers who are making too much money and therefore holding back the team's development.
• Excited to see what Mallet has with a full training camp under his belt. No real pressure on the team if he or Hoyer isn't the long term answer. Their contracts make it easier to move on if we need to.
• The addition of Moore and Shorts. Not big splash signings, but very under-the-radar type smart signings. Hope this is how we do it from now on.
• JJ Watt....

EDIT: Oh, and Vince Wilfork!

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> kept the 3 FAs they had to keep, added the 2nd best safety avail. for a bargain deal, got a stopgap WR &amp; a NT to teach Nix.</p>&mdash; nick wright (@getnickwright) <a href="https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/577564754044067841">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Aside from mishandling the PR side of letting Andre to, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> have had a damn near perfect offseason for what they're trying to do.</p>&mdash; nick wright (@getnickwright) <a href="https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/577564445020274688">March 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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So much optimism in here

 

On page 2 already and training camp hasn't started.

 

The biggest two are the VW signing as JJ now has serious help on the line and Mallett being resigned.
I am a fan of Mallett as all we need for him is to be better than Fitzpatrick was for us.
RM also has a much better arm than Fitz and I think a much better knowledge of OB's system.
I also liked the feedback from the players on the O who said he is like an onfield general with his play calling and ability to set positions.
His main drawback is that he is sometimes inaccurate. One way to overcome that is to have acrobatic catchers or players who can cover a wide catching radius and DHop is one of those.
Now we need another from the draft.
Rahim Moore is also a noteworthy signing other than resigning players already on the roster.

 

I feel as if Bill O'Brien has brought an edge to this team - on all fronts - and that's all I've got to say to sum up the reason the glass if half full.