that's all well and good.. but they've given up more yards in the last few games than any team in the NFL. There is a good reason for nervousness.
I go all in every year. If I tempered my enthusiasm every time a Houston team was on the verge of greatness i would never have fully enjoyed the Rockets championships or the Astros' pennant. you pessimists can have your expectations of the worst. i'll keep looking forward to the best. and i've been through Buffalo.
it's possible the Texans go one and done. i'll readily acknowledge that. but i'll take my chances that they are more likely to get to the AFC championship game. then, anything can happen. enjoy the ride.
Yeah, I'm all in. Like you, I've just been through the heartache of going all in and being ridiculously disappointed...it's just something I'm aware of. But it doesn't have me any less "in."
I'm only tempered with pessimism about the playoffs because I realize we do have definite weaknesses that can be exploited, but factoring in the history of Htown's pro teams failures is for casual fans IMO. I bet none of the current Texans know or care about the past here, which is great about this team, we don't have the ghost of Failure Bud lingering over us.
I am a native Houstonian and I've experienced all the heartache of the last 30 years. But I approach my fandom the same way I approach life. Go all-in. To worry is to regret the future. Don't regret the future.
They held Luck to 186 yards passing; he entered the game averaging 291. And 61 came on a busted assignment. Otherwise, he averaged a dreaful 4.8 YPA. Like the right-side of the o-line, the defense is trying to catch its footing after injury upheaval while battling two of the more prolific passers in the NFL. I think they'll be OK - especially if they get three weeks off and everyone can get healthy.
There's also the fact that the vast majority of yardage in the Tennessee game came after it was 24-3 and the defense largely moved into prevent mode. From my perspective, we've seen two very encouraging defensive outings in the last three, and the New England performance wasn't as bad as the box score might indicate (on defense). Combine that with the return of guys like Joseph, Cody and Dobbins, and I'm cautiously optimistic.
The Texans don't look like any other team in football right now, and I think people take them for granted. Kubiak's style is to lock a game down. He's fine building a 24-3 1Q lead and then sitting on it, which flies in the face of guys like Brady and Brees, who are just relentless. So it makes fans restless. But it shouldn't invalidate the fact the Texans have built double-digit leads in (off the top of my head)... 10-11 games this year(?). That's pretty incredible. I was encouraged that, for a brief spell, the defense seemed to make adjustments and get better (at NE). But they unfortunately bookended some inspired 2 and 3Q play with an otherwise putrid performance.
In that middle stretch you referred to, the Pats had a combined one first down in four possessions. Of the initial three drives, one ended up with a touchdown after the Texans blew a point-blank fumble recovery, and the other was extended after Manning was called for a 30+ yard DPI on a 3rd-and-10 pass that missed Welker by 10 yards. With even average luck as well as usual play from the offense, I think the defense could've put together a very respectable showing. Obviously it didn't happen that way, but it gives me some hope going forward.
I'm hopeful, but in the past few years the road to the SB seems have gone through the wildcard round. They've played incredibly well this season for the most part- their two losses have both been blowouts though. As far as I'm concerned, if they can at least get farther than they did last year- in this case, the AFC championship- I'm cool with that.
ok.. is to ok to worry now? this team (as it's played since losing Cushing) is not the same. not ready for the playoffs.. much less a superbowl. Could be one and done. It's usually one picking up the other as far as defense/offense.. now they have neither. Them punts looked good at least. heh
They basically had a two game lead plus the Broncos tiebreaker with four games to play. Not getting the top seed would be an epic meltdown.
Losing the #1 seed will PALE against a 1 and out playoff record. To be honest, I just want them to win a game right now....and I'm afraid that might not happen till next season.
