If we draft Bridgewater, is Playoff in 2014 too much to ask for?

This team is such an unknown right now, I don't think you can put any sort of label on them for next year. You'll see a lot of people that will label the Texans as "the Chiefs of 2014." Hell, a lot of them are doing it already. Until we see who the coach is (in my opinion, Lovie Smith is the only defensive guy with a shot), how the draft shakes out, and then, even then, a game or three, I don't think I'll have any expectations of the team.

 

I really don't see this as an easy fix. I don't think we're nearly as talented across the team as many others here do. I think there are significant holes everywhere. I'm not sure what, if anything, this team actually does well...in any facet of the game.

OL is a problem.

Pass rush is a problem.

QB play is a problem.

There's no depth at linebacker.

Special teams are a joke, aside from Lechler.

There's no depth or much of anything else in the secondary at this point.

The franchise is in a salary cap mess.

I think Bridgewater will be special...and I'd draft him with the first pick. But he alone, isn't going to mask all the other holes this team has.

 

I don't see why not.

So long as this team regains its top 5 defense from the past 3 seasons and stays healthy (mainly Cushing) I could see us making the playoffs our first season with a rookie QB, ala Andrew Luck, RGIII, and Russell Wilson.

Plus Bridgewater is currently benefiting from learning while playing under a pro-style offense, so there won't be such a learning curve as there has been for guys like Cam Newton and RGIII. It also helps that he's a pure pocket passer not a runner.

I definitely feel like we can succeed by making the playoffs in Bridgewater's first year as a Texan.

 

The only way we may have a chance at the playoffs next year is if we draft really well and the division continues to suck balls. While we royally stink, it isn't like our competition is that much better.

 

I agree.

The right side of the line must be addressed. Whether that is a young guy stepping up (Williams, Quessenberry, Jones, anyone), or through the draft.

We obviously need a QB. Come on down Mr. Bridgewater.

I'm not ready to write off the defense just yet. I do feel we need inside linebacker depth, and secondary help, as well, but I'm not ready to write them off just yet. I think Wade's absolute refusal to play anything but man, as well as this entire staff's inability to adjust to anything has screwed this team over. Jonathan Joseph is getting older, and I think he's lost a step, yet Wade consistently leaves him on an island to get exposed. Keo is a decent player, but he's not the answer, either. He's better than I thought, though. I think at best, though, he's a special teams ace and a backup strong safety. He constantly gets burned in coverage. Swearinger is good, he's just got too much jungle boi swag, and I can't stand it on a 2 win team. I love his enthusiasm, but Jesus, don't celebrate every tackle you make. Our cornerback depth is suspect, at best.

As far as pass rush goes, I think we're okay. I think with a new coordinator, some new packages, and just someone to re-evaluate the talent, and gameplan around it, in general, it'll be fine. We have some good pass-rush talent. I worry more about run stopping, and we seem to be okay in that area.

What I look forward to, is someone to come in who will gameplan around the talent we have, and not the other way around. I think Wade is a great guy, and a decent coach, but I think a coach's job is to put his players into the best position to make plays as possible. So often, Wade tries to fit square pegs into round holes with his schemes, and doesn't adjust to his players, just as Ed Reed said.

As an aside, I don't think I can ever hate Ed Reed. To be honest, his comments, in my opinion, could very well be the catalyst that gave McNair the balls to blow this thing up. We all know how much McNair thought of Reed. I think, from what I've seen, his comments were right on the money.



With all that said, I think we're still a 50/50 shot at a good turnaround. This could go awesomely good for us, or it could go hilariously bad. With a couple bad picks (*cough* not getting a QB early), a bad coaching selection, etc., we could see a lot of talent walk, and every bit of momentum we've had working for us could be out the window.

 

Playoffs for this team seems unlikely because we would have to win the division. The Colts have shown zero signs of going backwards, while the Texans have shown that not only do they have poor coaching, they have poor on field talent.

 

Well, other than their record. Unless they win out. They basically just have to beat KC, as their final game is a scrimmage against Jacksonville.

 

I thought Seth Payne said it best - good enough to be competitive; not good enough to win a Super Bowl.

But competitive, IMO, is all you need in today's NFL. 8-8 might very well get you into this year's playoffs in the AFC; heck, 8-8 might win the NFC East. And that satifies my expectations. Expecting a team to win a SB is fool's gold. Get to the postseason and take your best shot - I'm not sure you can hope for any more and not be routinely disappointed. Super Bowl champions are just too weird and random.

I don't know anything about Bridgewater... but look what Andrew Luck has meant to the Colts. That is an otherwise terrible team - really, really bad. And they're on pace for their second consecutive 11-win season. Some of it is luck (not Luck) - for instance, they probably didn't anticipate having four games against the two teams picking 1 and 2 in the '14 draft. But QB aside, I wouldn't trade the Texans' roster for Indianapolis', even if Cleveland agreed to return the #1 they fleeced from them.

If you have a competent QB, you can win 7-to-9 games in this league; if you have a really good QB, I'm convinced it's the quickest path to 9+ wins. Combine him with a smart (and I mean, football smart), progressive head coach... I just think the (hopeful) upgrade at HC and QB will put us back to the top of our division.

 

Kansas City has a -214 pt differential last year, with the league's worst offense (by far) and one of the league's worst defenses. This year, they are +144. If you looked at them last year, you'd have said there are tons of holes and it will take a lot of work to fix. Instead, they added a coach and QB and all the same talent that looked bad looks good now with different schemes, etc.

Not saying it will happen with the Texans, but this team was very, very good just 14 months ago. The idea that all that talent is suddenly gone doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. All teams have holes - good coaches just know how to minimize their impact.

 

Yep. Just look at the Texans from 2010 to 2011 - that defense in 2010 was hitorically bad; one year later, they were maybe the best defense in football. Sure, they added three big-time players. But I would argue more importantly, they added a competent coach. Wade made Kareem Jackson better; Brian Cushing better; he coached big seasons out of Connor Barwin, Brooks Reed...

I think virtually *any* coach is going to be worth... at least 4 games next year. This team checked out on Kubiak last year; it started with them thinking they were too good for coaching (which happens to a lot of young teams); it was amplified when they started losing. They need a new voice, new routine, new approach. It alone will work wonders, IMO.

 

This x 1,000. Once you start hearing how good you are, etc., etc. and you're in the same old routine, you change nothing, and figure that you really are THAT good just the way you are. This happened from the top on down, in my opinion.

 

Let me say this...I'll be more than surprised if the Houston Texans are in the playoffs in 2014. Less than shocked, because it's the NFL...but more than surprised. I don't have a word for it. How about, "very surprised?"

 

KC still had 5 pro bowlers last year in their disaster season, including 3 on defense.

That opportunistic defense, along with an offense that protects the football and has one of the best combo RB's ever in Jamal Charles (who is an all-world RB), is the reason why they have turned it around.

The Texans DO NOT have that sort of talent, on either side of the ball. "The idea that all that talent is suddenly gone" actually does make sense when you look at where the "talent" actually is:
QB - none
RB - Foster (coming off back surgery, and has produced diminishing returns with more carries).
WR - WR - AJ80 (one year older, yet still very solid). Hopkins has areas to improve upon.
OL - Brown/Myers: Myers is a system player that may not be as effective in a new regime. Brown has shown signs of regression this year. Rest of the line is a joke.
DL - Watt, and that is it. Maybe Crick has some upside. Rest of the D-line, including Antonio Smith (who likely won't be back), is below average.
LB - Cushing (off back-to-back knee surgeries). Next year will be a make or break year for Mercilus, who is also a system LB that may not be as effective in the 4-3. Reed is who he is. Rest of LB's are a joke.
Secondary - Joseph (1 year older, has lost a step), Kareem Jackson (is who he is), Keo (not a starter), Swearinger (may become an average player, but like Hopkins has areas to improve upon), Manning (injured), McCain (haha).

The ONLY player who's currently in his prime is Watt. The rest are either injured, or they've likely already peaked.

What happened 14 months ago looks more and more as the "outlier" or the "abnormal" vs. what should have happened. This team had more overall up/coming talent from 2009-2011. They likely peaked in 2011, on both sides of the ball, even though their record improved for most of 2012. The improvement on defense from 2010 to 2011 can all be attributed to Wade, Watt, Joseph, Manning, Cushing being a full time ILB, Reed with a solid rookie season... very hard to replicate that sort of haul any given year.

Recognizing that there needs to be upgrades mostly everywhere is the first step in getting this team back on track... some of it can be coached up, but when you're starting players like half the OL has, Shiloh Keo, the ILB's, and the remains of the DL besides Watt... there is a talent issue.

 

PLAYOFFS?

 

Nick: the mistake you're making is that you're looking at all those players in their current system. Yes, they suck in the current setup - but that doesn't mean they suck. As Hey Now pointed out, look at the Texans defense from 2010 to 2011 and how different many of those same players looked. Scheme is so important in the NFL and when it sucks, everyone on your team is going to look terrible.

Beyond that, this team has lost something like 9 games by 1 possession - they've been far more competitive than their record. Even with a relatively small improvement, this team could be in the playoffs.

 

Are you sure you're watching this team every week?

 

Nor do many other (currently) good NFL teams. Seriously. Which AFC teams are better than the Texans on paper - if you discount the QB? The Colts are incredibly mediocre, as are the Patriots & Dolphins. The Ravens are even-ish; it's not an exceptionally talented roster. Denver's roster is loaded, as is KC's - but we don't play either team next year.

In fact, that's another thing to consider: the Texans are going to have a pretty easy schedule next year*. As of right now, 8 games against teams drafting in the top 10. No New England, Denver or Kansas City; no NFC South or West - heck, only 4 games against teams with a chance to finish with 10+ wins.

If they upgrade the HC and QB... the AFC is not so overwhelming that the Texans shouldn't consider themselves capable of contending.

* - as of right now; I recognize these things change year-to-year.

 

Does anyone think, with (at worst) Schaub circa 2011 and an upgrade at head coach, that this team would lose 8 consecutive games by one score or less? That's almost impossible. And I'm not arguing that the Texans are better than their record; I'm suggesting that these things have a tendency to normalize (the Texans were a ridiculous 5-1 in one score games in 2012, for instance).

And they're going to add the best, 33rd-best, 66th-best and 98th-best players in college football to the roster - four top 100 prospects. (Hopefully, with a new GM making those decisions.)