I'm pretty confident about this game. Then again, I was also pretty confident at halftime against the bills and chiefs the last time a Houston football team was in the playoffs. Not to sound like a Debbie Downer, but all the celebration about winning the division - and the ensuing 3 game losing streak that followed - has me a little on edge. I would have liked to see a little less celebration from the players and a little more "this is just a small step in getting to our ultimate goal" type talk.
Me too. However, that is water under the bridge. The defense needs to keep AJ Green in front of them. Do not allow big runs from Benson. The offense needs to fire on all cylinders: strong dose of Foster and Tate...must establish the run. Mix in AJ and the tight ends. ABSOLUTELY NO FUMBLES OR INTS. We can win. We could lose. It damn sure won't fall into our laps.
Just chill out with a beer or two and you'll be more relaxed. ...bring the vuvuzuela with you as well. That will keep the edge.
I'll actually be more confident about a game TWO, because that means we finally played a balanced game and figured out how to play winning football again. I have a bad feeling about this game, but I remain hopeful.
Post-Cincinnati, he ran his full offense against the Panthers and Yates was awful - too many check-downs, too many 8-yard passes on 10-yard routes, too many turnovers. I think, on a short week and with his confidence in Yates likely shaken, he gambled Foster and the defense could beat the Colts (and, frankly, they should have). He was never going to be anything but vanilla against Tennessee. It may have worked out that there's not a lot of film on Yates; but I don't think that was by some grand design.
I think the 3-game losing streak has its proper context - they were understandably hung-over against Carolina and an explosive team exploded; they had a short week with a rookie QB against a team they likely thought they could beat with one right-arm tied behind their back; and they more or less treated game 17 like game 2 of the preseason. I'd be willing to bet the losing streak is a far bigger deal to fans than it is to the team.
I think this was a function on teams changing how the defensed Yates. The Falcons and Bengals tried to heat up the rookie whereas the Panthers laid back and played coverage against him. Without the glaring open receivers, Yates started to force some balls against the Panthers resulting in two INTs and then was handcuffed by a conservative game plan against the Colts. They were probably going to open it up more against the Titans, but with the early injury, we'll never know how T.J. would've handled it. Delhomme did push the ball downfield more in Week 17 though - can't be sure if that was by design or by Jake's willingness to throw to those options.
Eh, I don't think it's "understandable" at all. I would have liked to see them wipe the floor with Carolina just to make a point that a division title isn't enough. I guess that's asking a lot for a team that's never made the playoffs, though. Indy had a short week with a PATHETIC QB and a team that was basically trying to lose to get Luck next year. I'm not worried about the titans game at all. That was basically a preseason game. All of that is neither here nor there, though. I just thought they celebrated the division title a little too much. They kind of acted like they won the Superbowl when they came back to Reliant Sunday night. You yourself said something to the effect that you don't buy division title shirts or hats - only championship gear. I feel the same way. I just have this feeling that the fans and media are a little too overconfident about this game. I hope the team doesn't feel the same way. Arian Foster talking about what kind of TD dance he's going to do is a little disconcerting for this long-time Houston football fan.
I do like reading national types picking against us though: Don Banks (Si.com) Bill Barnwell (Grantland.com) I am seeing some others pick the Texans though - Peter King, Kerry Byrne, and others.
We've waited too long to let this slip @ Houston. A healthy AJ80 means the Bengals can't stack up at the line like they did in the first game. This should be an easy game if our backs protect the rock. 31-17 Texans.
There were guys running open all day against Carolina; but he had already checked down to Vickers or thrown a ball at Dressen's feet. He was terrible and he, not Kubiak (IMO), did the handcuffing. Kubiak was not going to let Yates lose a game they had no business losing by making poor decisions/throws all night. (And, of course, what did Yates do? Turns the ball over and lets the Colts up off the mat.) It's funny... last year, Kubiak was ripped for not running Foster into the ground against Indy; this year, he's being ripped for taking the ball out his his 3rd string fifth round rookie's hands and... yep: running Foster into the ground against Indy. The guy can't seem to win.
If I had told you in September that they were going to play their final 6 games without Schaub (or Leinart), Johnson, Brisel, and Williams, with Phillips missing two games, etc., you would have literally killed Groogux for a 3-3 split. The injuries caught up to them; had to happen eventually. I want them to be confident; beats this hang-dog attitude of too many fans. Look, they're a better team than Cincinnati - even in their current state. The Bengals couldn't beat them at home; the Texans should absolutely feel like this is theirs for the taking. Overconfidence is only a problem if its a distraction. If anything, the losing streak should be reason to not lose focus. I don't think they'll have much trouble Saturday.
I'm not ripping Kubes for the game plan, I think he played conservative against Indy (off of a short week) and wanted to rely on his defense to win that game. Can't fault him for that, they almost came away with an ugly win until that last drive did them in at the end of the game. When the Texans failed to protect Yates against the Colts (that strip sack where Mathis went right around Winston), I think Kubiak (rightfully) pulled the reins in a little and the team tried to ride out an ugly win on the road. Not sure what you categorize as ripping, but we all thought when Schaub went down the recipe was to ride your RB and your defense and see where you can go. I'm not sure where you are seeing a deviation from that scenario in anything I've posted.
My contention all along was that we were going to have issues when we reached the playoffs with Kubiak at the helm. Now with the injuries to Mario/ Matt and the aforementioned's sketchy ingame/kick back down the stretch strategies/philosophies, I have my doubts. In addition, I didn't want to play Cincy. This is going to be a brutal slugfest IMO ...basically a tossup. My hope is that our defense carries the day ......Go Texans!
Im nervous about this game, but I think the Texans will win this, we have AJ now, we just need that foster and tate doesnt have fumbles. the only team over with a .500 record that the bengals beat was the titans.
Here is a Grantland article analyzing the playoff game http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7427164/bengals-texans He picks bengals over texans, but there are some problems with his points. The only decent point he made was that the Bengals outplayed Houston in week 14, which might have been true, which is the only thing I'm really worried about. His prediction is simply predicated on us being a "3-3 team", yet he fails to realize that you could argue that all 3 of the losses were not that big of a deal. Panthers loss was a hangover type thing, happens all the time in the NFL Colts loss was inexcusable yes, but maybe Kubiak played not to lose and he won't do that on saturday. Titans loss we didn't even play everyone, how he "counts" that I have no idea. MAYBE if he also said that because of the circumstances the Texans have not played a meaningful game in 3 weeks I would buy his analysis more.
I don't either, but being a Houston sports fan for 40 years has taught me not to take ANYTHING for granted EVER.
It's just sloppy analysis all the way around. I love how he somehow spins luck from the previous game against the Texans, by referencing the Foster "fumble" on the screen pass that the Bengals later fumbled back. Um, it was one of the worst calls you'll ever see and the league apologized for it the next week, Bill. I know what happened on the field, but when you're talking predictive value, you have to consider the reality and not merely what was called. Moreover, the Tate fumble on the 1 (possibly a 14 point swing), the Rackers missed field goal and the Joseph dropped pick six - all HUGE examples of virtually unforced errors (luck) that went against the Texans. Anyone who says the Texans were "lucky" in Week 14 or got outplayed in Cincinnati is kidding themselves, and simply trying to justify their own irrational biases. The Texans outgained the Bengals in yards, 410 to 285. They were over 5 yards per carry, to Cincinnati's 3.5. They threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, compared to under 200 for the Bengals. They were over 50% (9-of-16) on third downs. The Texans controlled the game from a physical standpoint. The only reason things were close were 4 (mostly unforced) turnovers and a missed field goal. Cincinnati, at home, had all the luck you could hope for... and still couldn't win. It's not to say that the Bengals can't win Saturday - certainly, when you start T.J. Yates at quarterback, nothing is a given. But this notion that some analysts have that the Bengals were the better team last time out is just absurd.
