If we have a good off season I will be optimistic. Otherwise I know how much things can change in a year and how much our offense rests on two guys who are so injury prone.
I'm as optimistic as I've ever been about the Texans going in to next season. But the NFL is an awfully funny place once you made it to the post season. I'm sure Packers fans and Saints fans felt pretty good about their Super Bowl chances and they made it no farther than the Texans. I'm betting a lot of Giants fans felt pessimistic about their overall season, and look what they did. It's almost seems a crap shoot once you're in the post season, but I like the direction we're going and chances to do well given the Texans' abundance of talent.
Sigh....being from Houston has trained me never to look towards the future. However, this team does have a special feeling surrounding it right now. Please Durga, no more injuries.
Speaking of optimism, can someone post this ESPN Insider link on the NFL page of ESPN? It's got "The Sports Boss had a good feeling about the Giants -- last summer. Maybe you should listen to his early advice for Super Bowl XLVII" ALONG with a picture of Arian Foster in the stands. I'm guessing he is speaking positively about the Texans' chances next year, so I want to hear what he has to say, haha. http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/...-nfl-teams-best-early-values-super-bowl-xlvii
Spoiler In fact, the biggest movers so far have been the Giants, from 20-1 to 15-1 and the Houston Texans, who opened at 15-1 and are now 12-1. (Going in the opposite direction are the Philadelphia Eagles, from 12-1 to 15-1, the Broncos from 50-1 to 60-1 and the Buffalo Bills, from 50-1 to 100-1.) No one should be surprised by the action on the Texans. From now until kickoff on Sept. 6, they will be the choice of every sharp, square and closeted gambler for future value. I guarantee that this will be the one season win total bookmakers have the hardest time making, like the Detroit Lions last season, because so many people will have an opinion on this team. When I asked the Sports Boss for his early Super Bowl XLVII values -- because why shouldn't lightning strike twice? -- this is the rundown he gave me: Texans 15-1: "I had them at No. 1 in my performance ratings on the full regular season, even after Matt Schaub went down they hung on. Obviously that shows just how well they were playing when he was under center, as they were on pace to be the best team in the five years I have been running these numbers. They need a healthy Schaub and Andre Johnson to play 16 and look out for a few more tweaks to that roster -- although they were an extremely well-rounded team as no area really stands out as a weakness. Their weakest unit was the No. 9 passing offense, but that is on the full season."
Haven't been this pumped for a Houston team since early Yao/Tmac era. Hopefully the Houston injury bug will keep away from the Texans next year... Obviously in football, injuries are part of the game. Still, too much to ask to have a near healthy team at the end of the season?
I honestly believe the Texans could have won the Super Bowl if they could have gotten there. That three game skid at the end of the season still really bothers me; they were just too excited about winning the division. There was more work to do.
Agreed. Even though we overcame adversity and had an exciting season, the 2011 Texans left a lot on the table.
Absolutely, the same problem that has bedeviled the team in the past got them again; the "where be my head" moments where they just seem to lose perspective. A lot more was at stake this time. They could have and should have won the last three regular season games. I wonder what their seeding would have been had they done so. In any case, their chances of advancing would likely have been better.
The loss to Carolina was inexcusable....but predictable. I didn't like how much we were celebrating the division title after the Cincinnati game (and I said so here) so I pretty much saw the next week coming. The thing is, once we lost to Carolina, it was pretty much a given that we would be the 3 seed even if we won out. So I don't have a problem with resting a few guys during the next 2 losses. But yeah, the Carolina game was a killer. Had we won that game, we probably would have gone 13-3 and hosted that game against the Ravens. And probably won it. And probably wouldn't have gone on to beat New England the next week.
