Did the Texans not give tribute for Andre Johnson?

This.

I don't know if there is any NFL precedent for tributing a former player like this, especially on a division rival team.

NFL games are much more meaningful and magnified than an NBA game so the comparison doesn't quite hold up for me.

 

It's absolutely been done before. When Peyton returned to Indy in a Broncos uniform they did a pretty big tribute.

It's not actually that common for a "greatest player in franchise history" to leave to another team and then get a chance to play the old team at the old city. LT for example played the Chargers in New York.

 

With all due respect to Andre, Peyton won a Super Bowl and will go down as one of the best QBs of all time, if not the best. Somewhat of a different scenario even if Andre is the best player that has ever come through this org.

And I don't think that Peyton took glancing blows at his former team the way that Andre did. Andre was subtle about it but he did not exactly come off as appreciative toward the organization. Whether they deserved his appreciation or not is debatable but still...

Now if we don't bring him back within a few years of retiring and retire his jersey or commemorate him somehow, then I'll have a big issue with that.

 

Texans tribute:

"Andre, sorry about wasting a Hall of Fame career with an overwhelmingly mediocre franchise. Oops our bad. However look at the bright side, you were able to get over 13,ooo receiving yards with such elite QB's as David Carr, Tony Banks, Dave Ragone, Sage Rosenfelds, Matt Schaub, TJ Yates, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mallet! Who needs a Super Bowl or lengthy post season success. Enjoy your time in Indy Andre and think whay could have been!"

 

The Colts aren't our rivals.

Its impossible for them to be our rivals when they have totally owned us in head to heads match ups. Last Thursdays' lost put our head to head with them to 4-23.. 3 of those wins for us was when the Colts were tanking for Luck and in Luck's rookie year. Goodness, they haven't even won in Indy yet!!

People in Indy don't even consider this a rivalry because the Colts almost never lose against us, much less it be a competitive game.

The only people that think we have a rivalry with the Colts are fans that are sipping the Texans' kool-aid, year in and year out.

Colts are in a totally different league than the Texans. Our rivals are the Titans and the Jaguars. Pretty embarrassing but absolutely true.

On the other hand, if that is true and the Texans didn't have a tribute for AJ then that is pretty messed up. He has been the franchise's most beloved and productive for over a decade. They put a graphic up the other night which showed that AJ's career yards is more than the next 5 highest, combined. Hell, people put him up with Hakeem Olajuwon as the city's most prolific player ever.

I hate how the Texan's think so highly of themselves, yet have proved absolutely nothing in their 14 year existence. That kind of arrogance is why they will continue to be the sorry franchise that they are.

 

I'm still laughing at this, even though it's not true. But W A T T 's name is pretty short, so maybe 80 feet apart.

 

I am sure McNair will put in....... Rick Smith, Wade Phillips, Matt Schaub, Tony Bosselli, Clay Walker and Cal McNair....

 

Just because YOU dont think there is a rivalry...doesnt mean think there is. You are not going to honor a player still active in the NFL. No team ever does that. You show me a team that did a tribute to an active player. I mentioned Farve for a reason.

 

Those people are either very young, or...

The Mount Rushmore of Houston athletes is Bagwell, Biggio, Campbell and Olajuwon. It's not up for debate. That's it. I don't even think Watt will crack that top 4 unless this team wins a Super Bowl while he's still relevant.

Johnson's in the next tier of Drexler, Berkman, Oswalt... a great group. But the top four are set in stone for the foreseeable future.

 

The Colts did it for Peyton when he came back as a Bronco. Gave him a video package and a big "Thank you Peyton" across the video board while the crowd game him a standing ovation. He was then shown on the screen waving to the audience.

 

Why does Watt have to win a Superbowl to replace someone on the list when only 1 name on that list won a championship?

 

Nolan deserves mention ....

 

Again, how is it a rivalry if one team has totally dominated the head to head match up?

When you're playing a game against someone and you are winning virtually every game against them, does that person you're playing against make them your rival?

Nope, it makes them a scrub, someone not in the same league as you.

A rival is someone that is supposed to give impose a sense of competition; a fight for superiority. And for all of the Texans' history, they have not be done that against the Colts. Again, never won in Indy, ever, even when the Colts were tanking for Luck.

Also, both sides need to consider it a rivalry for it to be a rivalry, and the Colts don't think this is a rivalry at all.

But hey, as long as the Texans and Mark Vandermeer calls it a heated rivarly, we should call it just that.

 

Recency bias plays a REALLY big role in these things, but I bet if you did a poll of Houston right now it would be Nolan Ryan, Dream, Biggio and Bagwell with Bagwell the one most likely to drop off for Earl Campbell.

 

Because I think those four are so ingrained it's going to require something unique - like a championship - to butt into the conversation.

 

For me, Nolan had too many signature moments elsewhere. He would be, at best, a distant consideration.

Ryan, essentially, played here during Earl's heyday - if by recent you mean because he's highly visible with the team right now, maybe. It basically depends on age range. I would be willing to bet - if you picked the right cut-off - that Earl would garner more votes than the other three combined.

Earl Campbell - again, assuming you were alive for his run - is on his own Mount Rushmore for a lot of people. I was born in 1971; as much as I think the other three are awesome... I mean, my first-born is named Campbell.....

 

I agree the Colts are not really a rival however they are in the same division which is the problem. I think if he went to any other team then there would have been something they played. They will definitely do something for him after he has retired.


In terms of "rivals", the AFC South has not turned out like people hoped. It was the division without rivalries and nothing has developed since 2002. The biggest problem is that there has been such little real competition between the teams. The colts have won the division 9 out of the last 13 times. They've been the wildcard in 3 of the 4 years they have not won the division.

The best chance Houston had was if the AFC Central didn't go away and they ended up back with the Browns, Bengals and Steelers. Although the NFL preserved a number of division memberships because of rilvaries, it probably wasn't enough to put Houston with those northern teams. Plus, Houston had no sympathy from the Owners for losing the Oilers like they had for Cleveland. The Texans were also originally given to Los Angeles and Bob McNair stole the team away with 700 million dollars and a publicly financed stadium already approved while LA became a disaster. The only time the Titans felt like a real rival was when VY was there. The Astros leaving the NL Central really sucked as well. Hopefully if they really are going to be good for a generation then the rivalries will develop in the AL West. It's nice at least bc the Angels will always have high dollar players.

Odd NFL Geographic Division Memberships:
Dallas with Washington, Philly and New York
Miami with Boston, Buffalo and and New York
Kansas City with San Diego, Oakland and Denver. Seahawks got a raw deal leaving 20 years of AFC West membership.

Sorry for the diversion. Hopefully it's an interesting topic that won't devolve to Mallet vs Hoyer.

 

The NFL doesn't do tribute videos to players that leave the organization for another team.

Dre keeps being adament that it was the team that cut him, but it was him that wanted it in the first place. You can't be asking for your release and then publicly say you played not part in it.

I could care less for his recognition. He did what he did here, and I respect that completely. He specifically went to the Colts because he was butt hurt. If he actually wanted to win, he would have gone to a much better team than the Colts.

 

JJ watt has passed all those guys. He is probably the most popular Houston athlete ever within the city of Houston. I think tmac and Yao might have been more popular outside Houston. I can't remember an athlete doing as much charity stuff as jj. Further more he is a great football player.

 

Is this some kind of joke? The Colts were in the AFC championship game last year and were pretty much universally picked to win the South (and not because the division was crappy.) I'll just copy paste the first result that came in my search but just about every publication mostly picked the Colts win the south. Let's also consider the fact that they had a young and very talented QB that Andre never had. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ff-predictions-threeteam-race-in-rugged-north


I disagree with you as to his supposed motivations however neither you or I know Andre or know what he truly feels. But, to say that you know his motivation to play for a winner was false BECAUSE he chose to play for the colts just makes it seem like you have no idea what you are talking about. Frank Gore went to the Colts because he thought they would be good as well. Not many could predict how bad they would be this year.