Not really. 2011 the Texans lost their last 3 games of the regular season and not really with TJ Yates as the QB 2012 the Texans lost three of their last 4 games, including getting pasted by the Patriots.... the Texans then were down 38-13 in the fourth quarter.
I'm generally pessimistic about the Texans but come on, they are definitely one of many teams in the mix for the playoffs, whether division or by wild card. They are going to waste DeShaun Watson's cheap years on mediocrity but mediocrity gets you into the playoffs some years. The sad thing is they could've been a true 2nd tier contender right below the Patriots if they had been run well, but even as is they have the look of a 9-7 team that they always seem to aspire for.
I’m “not really” sure you actually understood my point and I’m not going to waste time trying to explain it. I do understand the frustration though
The Texans going 9-7 is certainly possible. We don’t know how healthy Luck is and we could rack up wins in a back division if the Colts and Titans struggle. This Texans team isn’t a 4-5 win team... my guess is somewhere between 6-10 and 10-6 with a high likelihood of 7-9 wins.
They "limped" into the playoffs by winning 11 of 13. I fundamentally disagree with this. A playoff team is a Super Bowl contender. Period. End of discussion. You don't retroactively assign a value to a team based on the results of the playoffs. That doesn't mean I think the Texans were better than the Colts, or Patriots, or Chiefs... if they played those teams 10 times each... they might lose 9 of those games. But it's that 1 game, where every ball, call and injury bounces their way, that separates them from 65% of the league that doesn't get that chance. You don't have to be the better team overall; you just have to be the better/lucky team for 60 minutes on that particular Sunday.
With all due respect, you're full of crap. I don't believe in playing for that 10% chance - that's a loser's mentality. It's the same mentality that has kept us mediocre for our entire existence. The Texans deserve all of the **** they get and then some. Listening to talk radio put the Texans on a pedestal like they deserve it seethes my soul.
The Texans lost 2 of the last 4, including as bye.... they then lost to the Colts in the playoffs, and didn't even score until the 4th quarter...... they definitely limped into the playoffs. Sorry, but no I don't think every team that makes the playoffs is a Super Bowl contender. Also, no you don't have to just get a lucky bounce for 60 minutes..... you have you to get it 3-4 games in a row, doesn't really happen.
It isn't even 10%....... it is 10% for 3-4 games in a row in the playoffs. I agree with you that it is a loser mentality, when it is year after a year.
You're getting caught up in some of my venting, so know that most of what I've said isn't really directed at you. The Texans haven't done anything as organization to build and sustain success, which extends from drafting and player development to financial decisions. There's no grand strategy to win it all; it's just a big mess. Also, the NFL may not be as high variance as you're suggesting. There's evidence suggesting NFL record adjusted by SOS is a good determinant of a team's quality, and high quality teams generally win it all (more so than MLB or the NBA).
This one is so easy, I can't believe you even have to ask. The way we make the playoffs is by playing harder coaching better. putting the players in a better position to succeed. I mean OB has said this enough it must be the secret sauce right?
"Last year most of the struggles can be traced to me being so busy operating as the GM Brian. Do you know how hard it is to coach 50 young men when you also have to operate as an entire front office? I had to delegate to assistants. Our assistants let us down Brian, I have relieved them of their duties."
See, here's the problem... what *actually* makes a "Super Bowl contender"?... Best record in the conference? Well, the NFL has seeded its playoffs for 44 years & the two #1 seeds have met in the Super Bowl just 13 times. And at what point - during the playoffs - do we reconsider who is/is not a "Super Bowl contender"? When you make the conference championship game? What if you battle into OT and lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion in the divisional round - does that make you a Super Bowl contender? What if the #1 seed gets driven in their first game by a Wildcard team - does that mean they *weren't* a Super Bowl contender?... What if the Texans *had* gone on a Super Bowl run last year?... Would you "yeah, but" their worthiness like you did their 11 regular season wins?.... "Super Bowl contender" is meaningless, fan wank bullshit. When the playoffs start, *anything* can happen and the dynamic can be instantly upended. Ask Nick Foles.
They just won 11 games. They have one of the NFL's best young QBs. its best WR and one of its best defensive players. It's one thing to be disappointed by the results. It's another to make blanket statements about the team that fly in the face of reality.
We aren't going to get anywhere on this. When the playoffs started no sane person thought "This Texans team could win a Super Bowl"........ not even as a dark horse. Most people saw the Texans give away a bye, lose to the Colts late in the season and knew with the level of incompetence in the Texans coaching staff, the Texans would lose to the Colts in the playoffs.... which is what happens. The franchise has never been in a position at the end of the regular season where an informed fan could say the Texans were even a dark horse Super Bowl contender. The organization, starting at the top is satisfied with just not being an embarrassment. From letting Smith and now O'Brien control the organization, from rolling over cap space season after season........ to showing no sense of urgency. The Texans are one of the least progressive teams in the NFL. Unless something radical changes.......... Hopkins and Watson and Watt can join Andre Johnson and Arian Foster discussing how they wasted their prime years trying to compete for an organization that frankly isn't all that motivated to compete.
How long did it take the Texans to address the QB position? How long and how well have the Texans addressed the offensive line issues? How long have the Texans rolled over cap space rather than taking advantage of the Watson's rookie contract and the prime of Watt? How well has the offensive play calling been at utilizing Watson's strengths? Should we just not listen to the calls from outside of Houston that the Texans are actually harming the development of Watson? How long has BOB been the coach, and what is his overall record? Who is the Texans GM?
Yet we still have one of the shttiest oline. And oh wait even with all that talent u highlighted, we limped into playoffs and lost 2 da Colts! But hey we are AFC South division champ.
I spent all of 2.5 minutes googling this. https://www.newsday.com/sports/foot...-weekend-teams-to-reach-super-bowl-1.24713997 "Since the NFL expanded to eight divisions in 2002 – creating four wild-card teams in the process – 128 different teams have played on the first weekend of the playoffs. Of those 128 teams, only six won three straight victories to reach the Super Bowl, with the last one happening in 2012. For your percentage-type folks, that's 4.7 percent." To be fair to your point - as somewhat dumb as it is - you're basically saying you don't know until you know. Sure... that's life a lot of the time. There's often a chance, as slim as it might be. I personally in no way would have expected the Texans to make the Super Bowl last year. Not even close. But I certainly hoped they would have won round 1, and would have gotten more confident (albeit still very little) if that happened. So, yeah, if you're a wild-card team, you're VERY VERY VERY VERY unlikely to be a superbowl team. Mind you, the 6 wild card teams that made the Super Bowl... also WON the Super Bowl. The article lists those 6 teams. I don't remember enough NFL history to analyze the common denominator among those 6 teams. The only thing that sticks out is you have both Eli Giant teams and Flacco's Ravens, so for half of the 6 its QBs that can be and have been somewhat ho-hum much of their career going on insane playoff runs.
As for this year's team, they might still be able to make the playoffs, but again their Super Bowl hopes are incredibly low. It's all down to the o-line at this point.