I think 9 is the most realistic place for this team still, no wins have been against quality opponents so hard to rank them in the top 5 teams
I agree. The schedule-makers didn't do them any favors having them play two of the more prolific offenses in the league to start the season off. Henne looks a LOT better than he did last year, and that defense is, according to most experts, going to finish in the top half. Even though Miami is not nearly the test that New Orleans is going to be, beating them isn't exactly like beating up on the 0-16 Lions either.
On the same token, the Texans' defense was one of the, if not the worst, defense last year. Shouldn't that even out? I think it should and the Dolphins should have won.
I think the most important thing from the Miami game was the ability to play poorly offensively and still come away with the win, especially on the road. Last year's team would have been blown out of that game because the defense couldn't stop a pee-wee team. This week is a HUGE test that could set the tone for the rest of the season. A loss isn't devastating unless they go in there and get blown away. A loss while playing well on the road against a very good team can be managed.
I was in Miami Monday and Tuesday (and, wow - was it HOT. Houston hot) and it was interesting to hear their perspective of the Texans; sooooo different from the way we judge them here. They talked about the offense like it was New England-esque; they talked about Mario like he was LT-esque. They talked about Houston like it a playoff contender, ie no shame in losing to them.
My roommate from grad school is a Dolphin fan...it's was funny to see his concern in playing against a Mario Williams led defense. Mario gets a TON more respect outside of Houston than inside. I've been reading Saints message boards and their sentiments are pretty much on par with what you're saying. In fact, I know a few posters thought that this weekends matchup is a superbowl preview. Seems like the Texans get much more respect than we would think.
Yep, I didnt hear or read about people saying week 1 win, wasnt good, because the colts didnt have manning, besides here in clutchfans.
That's surprising. I would have thought everyone outside of Houston still considered us an expansion team. Then again, we have been a lot of people's "darkhorse" pick for the playoffs the last couple of years, it seems.
I think a lot of that is a product of being a fantasy juggernaut. When you have Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Matt Schaub, Ben Tate (this week's Fantasy Pickup of the Week), and Mario for IDP leagues, people tend to take notice of the team more. The rest of the country is forced to pay attention to us because chances are, they either have our players on their fantasy team, or are getting shredded by them. But, it's nice to see that we are getting respect from fans outside of Houston.....even though the fans INSIDE Houston are borderline mentally challenged. Speaking of which, I heard a call today where a guy predicted that the Texans are going to go 7-9, because we LACK CHEMISTRY. Ummm....wouldn't that be something that starts EARLY in a season, and then gets better as a team plays more games?? The fact that our defense looks like it's been playing together for years pretty much debunks that....not to mention our schedule gets significantly easier after week 6. Also, he cited lack of depth as a reason why the team will crash and burn, and when the host said, "Foster went down, and Tate looks like a top 3 running back....that seems like pretty good depth to me?" the caller goes "Right, but what about when Tate goes down?" The fact that we have TWO Pro-Bowl caliber running backs is a luxury as it is, but now we're expecting THREE??? I hate Houston sports fans.
Don't hate. There's morons in every crowd, and said morons generally gravitate to sports radio. If you want to feel better about Houston, go listen to sports radio in Dallas or San Antonio. Ignorance gone to seed.
That's been the best thing about fantasy sweeping the country - fantasy players have become worlds more knowledgeable about the league as a whole. Tack on the Ticket, and I'd say it's a golden era unprecedented in sports* in terms of fans being at least casually aware of every team in the sport. I'll guess the issue was dummy mixed up "chemistry" with "intangibles" Are the Texans going to have a different mindset and culture? They've got to shed the "Little Brother" persona and start carrying themselves like contenders do: take care of business (win favored games), and stand tall against the big boys (win at home and grab one or two road upsets). I'm hopeful...this upcoming stretch is going to tell us a lot. * Baseball fans may object
the other day on NFL Network London Fletcher was asked about the top 5 teams in the AFC, and picked Texans at no.4 His picks were like this: 1. Patriots 2. Steelers 3. Jets 4. Texans 5. Ravens sleeper: Bills
