Texans will get to the red zone four times, while the Jets will get to the red zone three times.. ... but... Texans will only score a touchdown on ONE of those, and the other three will be field goals. I think we still suck at getting touchdowns from within the red zone. Meanwhile, the Jets will get two touchdowns and one field goal. final score: Texans: 16 Jets: 17 I hope I'm wrong
oh, man - if they lose it is going to be all kinds of nasty in here, lol. i think people may be sleeping somewhat on the jets. the texans *should* beat them; if they're a legitimate playoff contender, you beat teams like the jets. but the jets have a very solid ground game and a decent defense that, on paper, got better with the addition of ryan and his scheme, a scheme that bludgeoned the texans last year into submission. i'm not going to get worked up over a single loss. for me, the first 8 games, on paper, are relatively easy so a 5-3 record at the turn will be my measuring stick. anything less - with five, imo, clearly inferior teams on you schedule and 3 more teams you *can* beat - would be a major bummer.
It seems people confuse genuine disappointment with "the season's OVER!!!11". For example: Fan 'A' : "Dammit!! WTF was *that*?? Man, that sucked. The secondary was freaking HORRIBLE. Geeeeeeeeeeeeez. " Fan 'B' : "Unwad your panties, man. It's only the first game. Stop acting like the whole season is over." ---------------------- If they blow the first game, I'll be disappointed. If part of their game is anywhere from pedestrian to a joke, I'll be pretty frustrated. But I won't be writing them off just yet.
no. i think a few too many people assume, because the jets have a new coach and are starting a rookie QB, that they must not be very good. they have a terrific offensive line & a very good rushing attack; they were an average defense last year (meaning better than the texans) but they added the architect of the ravens' d and one of the ravens' best defensive players; and let's not forget: before their granpappy of a QB started chucking ducks, they were 8-3 and considered a legitimate playoff contender. a loss would not shock me at all. but, if the texans wants to be taken seriously and contend this year, these are the type of teams they have to beat.
this that's why i'd be disappointed. not because i think the Jets suck...but because if the Texans are the type of team I think/hope they are, they will beat the Jets with their rookie QB on opening week at home.
yep. if the texans are going to be the team we hope they'll be... they should be, and need to be, 6-2 at the break. a *good* team would win 6 of their first 8 games with the texans' schedule. and frankly? 7-1 isn't out of the question (though i'm not holding it up as a measuring stick). what would a pittsburgh or a san diego or an indianapolis do with the jets, titans, jags, raiders, cards, bengals, 49ers and bills? they'd win 6 or 7 of those games. i've set 5-3 as the standard because you never know about teams - what if jacksonville rebounds, what if the jets are really, really good, what if the bengals or niners or bills step up? but 5-3 means you have to go 5-3 against a much tougher second half schedule, which is why they really need to jump all over this. so, yeah - i'll be disappointed with a loss sunday. they *need* to beat the jets. BUT... it won't be the end of the world, especially if they go to tennessee the next week and punch them in the mouth.
this just in... Tennessee is pretty good. Despite being schooled by the "no-huddle" thing late in the game last night, that defense looked really good.
I'm very nervous about this game. I don't know. Maybe it's just because I haven't seen enough of Sanchez so far in the preseason. What I did see makes me think he is going to be a lot more calm in the pocket and a lot less likely to make mistakes than you would expect in a rookie QB's first game. I think everyone is looking at Sanchez and expecting that to be the key weak link in the Jets' game to allow for an easy victory. If Sanchez doesn't struggle...it could be a rough game. But I'm still expecting a victory. As Ric and Max stated, if the Texans are actually where we all think they are, then this is the kind of game they should win. It won't bother me if it is close because it's opening day and **** can happen. But I do expect a win. Please don't let me down, guys. One thing I think will be interesting is that two main defensive players, Dunta and Cushing, have either not been out on the field in full capacity in over a year or not at all (in Cushing's case). That's going to make it difficult for the Jets to know what to expect from those guys and might effect how they gameplan. For instance, the Texans looked HORRIBLE against the run during the preseason, but many are hoping that Cushing will have his biggest impact in that part of the game. If he does look good and does his job stopping the run, a Jets plan to just run all over the Texans on Sunday might eventually fall by the wayside.
Last night, watching that game, I was thinking "how the hell did we beat those guys last year?" Hope we can do it again at least once. I know it's just one game (and they even lost), but this looks like the Titans division to lose. Hopefully the Colts drop off a little bit and we catch them.
i was more unimpressed with pittsburgh's offense than i was impressed with tennessee's defense. the steelers have no running game. none. a steeler team that can't consistently convert 3rd and short? and roethlisberger is not... he's not a good QB from game start to game finish. he makes a lot of plays when it counts but prior to that, he makes a lot of mistakes (like taking that 19-yard sack that knocked them out of FG range) that his defense helps cover up. i don't expect them to punch tennessee in the face, especially with the titans getting 10 days to prepare - but i don't think beating them is out of the question. they moved the ball on tennessee pretty easily in both games last year, iirc. they just made too many mistakes in the red zone.
I am sad to say that as much as I want the Texans to have a winning season, its not going to happen this year. 7-9 for the season; maybe 8-8 with the same end of season push for mediocrity. lose to the Jets by 10, due to turnovers and an inability to score TD's. our defense raises too many questions. and our offense will remain confused
One thing that game last night told me about the Titans is that anyone expecting Kerry Collins to have a dropoff year from last season is probably fooling themselves. The guy is not a good QB, but for that team he is good enough and understands his role. The Steelers couldn't get consistent enough pressure on him to force mistakes, so I doubt many other teams will either. The lone interception he threw was as much about a stellar play by Polamalu as it was a bad decision. And as for Pitt's run offense...what the hell happened? I remembered Willie Parker being MUCH faster than he looked last night. He and Mendenhall consistenly ran to the wrong side of blocks, essentially taking themselves out of the play. Then there was the embarassing play where Mendenhall ran directly into Rothlisberger. That team used to be a force in the ground game...but I think Parker has fallen off dramatically and Mendenhall is NOT the answer.
Wow just wow. The Steelers and Titans both have great defenses. To say that the Steelers offense struggled without giving a hat tip to the Titans defense is crazy. Roethlisberger is not the best QB in the NFL but he is one of the better ones. And he certainly make big plays. The final drive in last year's Superbowl comes to mind. Back to the topic ... The key to the Texans game is whether the Texans defense can stop the Jets running game. Tough call, could go either way. 21-17, Texans.
tennessee has a very good defense. but i thought pittsburgh's offense played horribly last night, very sloppy and mistake-prone. i thought they left points and opportunities all over the field: they took three sacks and failed on 3rd and 2 and 3rd and 1 (twice) inside tennessee territory, two problems that have plagued them going back to last year. i don't, and the texans certainly shouldn't, fear tennessee's defense.
This game is going to get ugly. And by ugly I mean the Texans are going to absolutely tear the heart out of Mark Sanchez and Mario will be seen in the stands giving Mrs. Sanchez teh seks. GO TEXANS!
Well, yeah, the Titans have an awesome defense...but, I was still more shocked at how weak the Steelers run game was. They looked terrible running the ball and I'd attribute that more to their inept rushing attack than to the Titans defense. The Titans lose one of the best DT in the game and still hold the Steelers to 36 yards rushing on 23 carries? Yes, credit the Titans, but the majority of the blame has to fall in the hands of the Steelers. As far as the game on Sunday...Im nervous about it, starting to worry big time. Their running game may be able to allow them to control the clock. I dont think Sanchez really needs to do much for them...just try to minimize mistakes, much like the role Kerry Collins plays for the Titans. Their defense will be much improved with Rex Ryan...then the additions of Bart Scott, Lito Sheppard, and Jim Leonhard. That secondary of theirs is pretty sexy on paper. I still believe this game should be ours, but I just dont think it will be a cake walk. I forgot my score prediction that I made earlier...but now I change it to 24-21, Texans.
