Obviously, we would have all been happy at the beginning of the season if you would have told us we'd go 12-4. 12-4 is good. But if you would have told us that, at 12-2 and having to win just 1 out of 2 games left, we could wrap up a 1st round bye and the road to the Superbowl would go through Houston....and that we'd find a way to lose not one, but BOTH of those games....well, you can see why people are so upset with 12-4 right now. I think it's totally understandable. And I've been defending them all year long. I'm not real happy with 12-4 right now.
and the Broncos should have lost to the Chargers, the Patriots should have lost to Jets, and the Colts should have lost 8 more games. i think we're exactly where most people projected us to be, top 3 in the AFC.
i'm disappointed as well but when i look at our schedule vs the broncos schedule i believe the TExans would probably run the table as well. as impressive as the Broncos have ended the season, they were x500 in their first six where their real competition was. and i don't buy that Peyton wasn't peyton then. the texans just happen to play the better opponents at the end of the season.
If we reversed what happened this season and we played the last half of the season like the first the outlook of this team would be completely different. Realistic fans know that this team blew a huge chance and are falling apart at the wrong time. Making it to the Super Bowl will take a small miracle at this point.
I don't necessarily disagree - a terrific regular season has absolutely taken an unexpected turn to Sucktown. BUT... Honestly, 12-4 and the 3-seed is *probably* a more realistic portrait of who and where we are. Let me ask you this: would you rather the team lose in round two at NE; or round 3 hosting Denver/New England? 'Cause 12-4, 14-2... I think the season ends one of those two ways (if it doesn't end with a flaccid home loss to the Bengals). New England and Denver, who enter the playoffs a combined 19-1 in their last 10 games, are better. We have four losses - all to playoff teams, and all by a sizable margin (avg deficit of 21). It's a very good team that was probably playing a wee bit over its head the first 12 weeks.
It's not even about the wins and losses at this point. Last year our defense was dominant and as good as anyone. We could also run it down any teams throat. We were just lacking explosion on offense with a rookie qb and a banged up Andre Johnson. This year we have Andre back with our starting QB and signs of offensive explosion in the first 11 games. But even though his QB rating is high,there are probably 15-20 qbs I would take over him including Andy Dalton. Our defense has suffered through injury but is showing some signs of life as of late. However it is not elite anymore. Our running game is not looking hot because we can't make big plays and Schaub looks more immobile than ever. Plus his arm strength looks like **** lately!
Denver is better than the current freefalling Texans - but they aren't necessarily better than the Texans from 8 weeks ago. Denver is 11-0 in it's last 11 games, but only one of those was a playoff team, and that team was in the midst of total turmoil and it's own 3 game losing streak (Baltimore). It remains to be seen how good Denver really is. They are 1-3 against playoff teams this year, and they were being blown out in all 3 losses before some late runs. Most of those games were early, so we all assume they've improved, but it could just be that their schedule got easier. Beating up on bad teams is a sign of consistency (hallmark of Peyton Manning) but it doesn't necessarily signal excellent. It's sort of like the "8-0 = elite" stat for Schaub while beating a bunch of craptastic teams.
True, but realistic texans fan also know that it's better than anything we've ever had before. But yeah, blowing home field advantage does suck but it doesn't mean an automatic final nail in the coffin.
How does this sound: If Schaub has a great game we will win. If Geno Atkins has a great game we will lose.
Define great. The stats on the Texans W-L if Schaub throws more than 25 passes are scary. Schaub being "great" (i.e. lots of yards and TDs) usually means the rest of the team isn't playing well and we lose.
I don't even think that brings him back to .500 in his career when throwing more than 25 passes. But it's certainly promising for the Texans future, because that stat has always worried me.
It's not about momentum, but how they are playing now compared to earlier in the season. Right now we are playing like a 8-8 football team.
