Agreed,.. I was BIG TIME disappoint about the loss to the panthers I was plain pissed about that fugly against the Colts Today, completely understand...
I truly understand what you guys are saying, I just don't agree with Kubiak's approach of playing not to lose. The vast majority of the playoff teams won today. Some held players out, most went all out. I believe you always play to win. Injuries occur in all circumstances, you can't predict them. Yes, if you bench players they can't get hurt, but momentum is so important, a winning attitude so critical. I don't think you can just turn it on at will. Maybe they can, I hope they do, but after today, I am not optimistic. Many fans that paid $6000 for the season writing on a variety of other sites feel very angry, they claim they were cheated. I don't blame them, maybe New England could have taken the day off (they didn't), maybe the Saints could have taken the day off (they didn't), but the lowly Texans with such a long standing history of blowing games couldn't, but they did. Hope it works out, but I hate the attitude behind the strategy. Safety is an illusion.
Saints had legit reason to play hard for most of their game. If 49ers lost and Saints won, they would've gotten the bye. 49ers has dropped some games to some pretty bad teams so it was entirely possible.
I like how people talked all week about how the Texans need "momentum" and everything going into the postseason, and they do this. In the end, it's just so much more important to rest people rather than any mental edge of a meaningless game.
Maybe it was already addressed, but what was up with Tennessee running five wide? I kept watching, and thinking crap, they're going to force us to take out our best unit, the linebackers, and have more of our sorry players, the defensive backs.
I'm a season ticket holder and have been at the games since the first one. We were a Joel Dreesen brainfart from winning. With all backups against their starters. I don't think we killed confidence. Kubiak killed us at Indianapolis trying to milk out the clock after the first minute of play....but today was a totally different story. NE needed to secure homefield advantage. Baltimore was at risk of going from a bye to being a road wild card. The Saints wanted the #2 seed from the Niners. We were locked in at #3. Kubiak blew it the last two weeks, but not today. And it's not just injuries - all those hits take a toll. Our guys will be fresh and ready to go next week. Go texans.
Very happy with this game. AJ gets to see a little action, Delhomme got some playing time, the running game looked good, a bunch of our second teamers got to play, no serious injuries to our star players. I think Kubiak did everything right today. And I almost forgot, Casey was awsome today.
I'm pretty sure we were the only team other than Green Bay whose playoff position was determined no matter what happened today. That's why we sat Foster/Joseph and Green Bay sat Rodgers. In your example, New England was trying to get the #1 seed and New Orleans the # 2 seed. Plus we didn't exactly preseason this thing. Our starters got significant minutes. We didn't play conservatively, we played smartly and still nearly came away with the win.
Every good team that kept their starters had something to play for. You can't say Green Bay was playing to win when they sat Aaron Rodgers. When the Pats played Welker 3 years ago in the last game with nothing to gain, they end up losing him for the playoffs and lose their first home game the following week. I know it's anecdotal, but so is every damn reason that's being put out to win. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Once the Texans beat the Bengals next week, none of this will matter.
Guys they are who we thought they were and we let em off the hook. Plain and simple. They are who we thought they were.
How about winners don't take unnecessary risks for a win that won't have any effect on a game that will actually matter? There's no NFL Bill of Rights, get off your high horse and explain how this Titans game was meaningful to win. Winners play to win all the time? If the best reason you have is some circular reasoned made up phrase then you have no grounds other than an enlarged sense of entitlement paired with delusions crafted from too many 16-0 runs in Madden. Texans have never won? How about no other team has kept winning despite losing 1/3 of their payroll to injury? How about they clinched the AFC South already? Might be true about Kubiak but it sounds like you're agreeing with meh's assessment that resting starters was the right move. How can you be so critical when all you're offering are rah-rah statements like winners play to win?
You wanna crown them? Then crown their a$$. I'll use any excuse to post this: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/exOxUAntx8I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Playoffs!
If safety is an illusion, then why can't the same can be said for momentum? It may work for GB, but it doesn't for SD, and Saints didn't need it for their SB run. Upsets happen, teams come out flat. The Pats and Saints played more yesterday because something was on the line, partly because they came out flat losing to Buffalo and St. Louis respectively. A winning attitude is critical, not that I'm saying they lack it but team playing with a chip on their shoulder is effective too. The mentality of overcoming all odds and "next man up" is critical as well. And fans may be complaining and mad, but how angry can they be when it's week 17 and the season is not over? When factoring the injuries, Yates' shoulder, with OD and Garcia both inactive, what more can they expect? We as fans should be glad because we now know that Delhomme isn't such a desperate play if Yates isn't looking good next week. We've learned from this season that too often, when a guy is "one play away from starting," then that one play will happen. Why put your guys on that crappy field for more unnecessary plays? Lastly, if you're not optimistic that the Texans will win, I can't convince you otherwise. But on the other hand what can you say about the Bengals that warrants more confidence? Rookie QB with the lesser run game and lesser D, playing in front of the loudest Reliant crowd that's ever existed?
-Delhomme looks like a viable option if Yates can't play or comes out flat on Saturday. -Myers got mentioned as one of the best lineman in the league, and the botched snap may help convince GK/RS to keep him. -Rackers splitting uprights from long range always a plus On the other hand, KJ is still the deep ball liability, and Demps is another Eugene Wilson. Winston manhandled yet again, and it looked like Yates told him off on the sideline. Linebacker depth doesn't look as dire a need, but the right guard and right tackle might be.
