not really. my initial point was that the surges are likely a component of a still young, inexperienced team learning to win and that overall, i'd be 1,000,000 times more concerned if there were *no* 21-point lead halves. if people don't think learning to protect a 21-point lead is a *giant* step in the *right* direction... it's a glass half full/empty situation - which half do you choose? i'm all over, "holy crap; we have a team good enough to build a 21-point lead and eventually beat a supposedly really good team (complete with a fiery coach!!) coming off its bye." it's been 8 years of remarkably putrid football. so i can't fathom the "yeah, but..." crowd. they're very much, right now, a playoff contender. sure, there've been some hiccups and frustration - but this isn't the indianaplois colts, people. enjoy it; this is the fun part.
well... they averaged 12/half yesterday... look, they're not good enough to impose their will on another team. the difference between all the 13 3- & 4-win teams in the league is pretty small; they did what they had to do to win. it's hard to fathom why we're discounting that. "sure they scored more points; and yeah, the defense held when they absolutely had to, creating a 4th down and eventual turnover, but... But... BUT!!!" the steelers do this practically *every week*. and FYI - they did exactly what you're advocating in 2 of their losses; they drove to the 1-yard line against JAX and ARI with chances to tie games late. so it's not like they're passively laying down and getting hammered - they're consistently putting themselves in position to make plays to affect the outcome of games. they just need to get better at making plays in those situations. that'll come, i think, with experience and confidence.
I agree with your "glass half full" approach. We have a very young team that is gelling and learning at a quick rate. (Our offense, just two years ago, I think was comparable to where our Defense is now.) BUT, I will say this.... As a Texans fan, I truly expect at least one win versus Indy this year.
I think it comes down to what happened against the Bengals the week before. Matt threw a pick which led to 3 points. The 49ers were also receiving the ball first in the second half so they didn't want the momentum to swing their way. Both Shanahan & Bush will learn from their mistakes. That includes how to effectively put away teams.
to be clear, i enjoyed the game yesterday and was thrilled they won. my comments are about coaching concerns, generally...not about the quality of the team.
pshaw. we're all happy they won. have they ever been over .500 7 games in? That's nice. I'm happy about it. so, it's not fair to characterize my question as "glass half empty". As a whole, I was happy about lots of things yesterday: coming out of the gate strong, some nice defensive stops, the TO at the end you mention, not deflating after Slaton's fumble, a couple of nice runs, defense bottling up the run pretty well... there were a lot of things to be pleased about. but I've seen the Texans on more than one occasion play two completely different games separated by halftime, and it's completely reasonable to wonder why.
yes, 2004. they were 5-5 in 2007. i think there are many factors - inexperience, complacency, no running game... perhaps coaching. then again, i've seen them overcome 21-7 and 21-0 deficits on the road this year so i don't *think* its coaching.
Just got around to watching the tape of the game. I'm going to kind of give the Texans defense a break for their problematic 2nd half. I mean, the Niners offensive scheme between the two halves were so dramatically different. So it's understandable that we had some trouble adjusting. But I'm REALLY, REALLY worried about our running game. Especially with Slaton's propensity to lose the ball on top of not gaining yards. The thing is, I don't know how the Texans can improve on this. The blocking just isn't there.
I don't know if that was his best running game or not, but 18 carries for 67 yards is just horrible. And even that number is distorted by that one 31 yd run. So he was basically ran 17 times for 36 yards before and after. You can't control the ball with those abysmal numbers. We have to get those consistent 4-9 yard runs. And I feel it's more on our O-Line than Slaton. Defenses are just getting way too much penetration for any back to have success.
Don't know what scoring type leagues you're in, but AJ is a top 3 fantasy WR so far, and top 25 overall. Weird.
Really? In our league, he is 12th amongst receivers as far as average points per week. If you just look at total points, he is like 5th or 6th because we havent had our bye week yet. He is 8th in receptions and tied for 6th in TDs...while there are those just below him or tied with him that have already had their bye.
Exactly. I am sometimes amazed at his runs that result in zero or -1 yard. Very Barry Sanders like when he gets the handoff and has to quickly dodge defenders who are in the backfield. He does all that work making defender's miss to get back to the line of scrimmage. Not sure how many times he has gotten 0 yards when he should have gotten -5.
If he has another poor game against the Bills, I will be really worried. The Bills don't have a good run defense because they play back so much protecting against the pass. If Slaton can have a good game running the ball on Sunday, it could go a long way towards helping Schaub in the pass game since they will be trying to force him into some bad passes.
Another DD post that has you scratching your head. In my ppr league, AJ is the number ONE ranked WR (yahoo). He also has the most receiving yards this season. Yet he has been average at best
Ah. Thanks! Here's hoping they'll be 5-3 after this Sunday. I'm guessing that ranks in the "unseen territory" category. Weren't they 2-0 after beating Carolina in 2006? Would that be the only time they were ever 2 games over .500? This is all completely reasonable. I'm with you here. And while I'm a little quicker to wonder about the coaching, your point about defensive inexperience is very solid. And to be honest, there's some inexperience on the offense, too: Brown, Slaton, off the top of my head.
