It bugs me that much of the local media keep hyping this up. As if we should be proud of being 8-8. And forgetting about the fact that the 8th win came against J-ville's 2nd and 3rd stringers.
Of course the flip side is that half of our starters went out with season ending injuries last year. I think the last time this team was truly at 100% was the Carolina game last year. And we know how that went. That was arguably the most encouraging game in the history of the franchise.
Now you're starting to sound like all of the Cowsheep fans up here who keep pointing to that 13-3 record last year that ultimately went for nothing. They use that record plus the 13 Pro Bowl players to obscure the fact that this franchise hasn't won a playoff game in 12 years. So last year the Texans went 8-8 right? And that's supposed to be some sort of predictor for this season? Well, I'm not buying into that line of thought until I can see it happening on the field and so far I don't see them performing at the level of an 8-8 team or even a 4-12 team. Sure it was only one game - a game they were supposed to lose but there is simply no excuse for them turning tail and quitting like that. Have expectations sunk so low around here that it's too much to ask them to compete? Again, so far they have shown that: they cannot run the ball consistently which invites the opposing team to go after the QB with gusto. Once that happens, said QB starts to morph into David Carr right before our eyes. And I would never have believed that the pathetic play of the other defensive players would pretty much render the stellar play of Mario Williams moot but it does. Now in Baltimore, they may not be facing the Steelers or Patriots but what they ARE facing is the kind of defense that will keep Schaub doing his best DC impersonation. Yes, the Ravens start a big sloooow rookie at QB but unlike the Texans with Carr, they actually try to protect him and give him the opportunity to succeed. The key to their success will be if they can run the ball. If the Texans come out and do their impersonation of bowling pins (again) it will be welcome to 0 & 2 at Reliant.
The outcome came as no surprise to me at all as I expected a loss. After all, as you have pointed out, this was Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. But that does not excuse the fact that they went out and got punked. By this point in time, they may not be good enough to win on the road against teams like the Steelers but there is no F'ing way they should be rolling out crap like this unless they plan on selling themselves as the Raiders South. Again good points about Brown. I expect him to struggle early. But Schaub has run out excuses. He wanted to be the man well now he IS the man. And being the man means that ultimately, you have to produce (someone should explain that to VY's mom). It's past time for him to show it. Right now, he and Sage look interchangeable and he wasn't brought in here to be marginally better than a 28 year old backup QB. C'mon Ric you should know that we agree on the mess that Bumbling Bob, Clueless Casserly and Dum Capers left stinking on the side of the road for Kubiak to scoop up and try competing with in the NFL. That's not the issue here. The issue is not necessarily wins and losses against the elite but with continued demonstrable improvement in play and attitude. That's what is missing IMO - that's what I want to see: a doormat team that starts to gain an identity that will transform them into a winning team. Is that too much too ask of these player and coaching staff? And that's where we differ because I think that you are far too accomodating to Kubiak and Co.. It wasn't just that they lost to a strong team on the road - it was the humiliating WAY they lost that gives me great pause. I just don't see them being good enough to flip a switch, find a pass rush and a running game, actually show up to play and beat anybody.
Hopefully this will be Slaton's coming out party. I thought he was gonna be starting at some point this season but week 2? Green is done. If its not his knee, its his groin, now its his ankle. A bad sprain can take a long time to heal. I wonder why we weren't seeing much of Davis last week. Bad move by Kubiak, we needed anything we could get against Pitt.
i didnt look yet, but have they made an announcement about the game sunday if it was going to be relocated or anything like that?
How is this going to affect television (I'm especially concerned in Austin)? What happens to the CBS contractual obligations? Anyone?
Does CBS have a popular show that they show on Mondays evening? I know the last game of the Texans pre-season wasn't picked up because CW54 had to show Smallville/Supernatural that day.
i just don't believe the results would have been the same under different circumstances, like meeting them at home in week 7 or something. i think we walked into a buzzsaw; like cleveland did last year when they opened in pittsburgh and were thorougly bounced. HillBoy, sunday's was schaub's 13th career start - how many players are past time to show it in just their 13th start?! two of those starts (or maybe 1 - can't remember) were in ATl, and then how many last year were without andre johnson? 3? 4?... in terms of game-time, schaub is still VERY raw; he doesn't even have 16 career starts, let alone 16 in a season. i think he and kubiak deserve a little more time. neither had anything to do with 2002-2005. which of the 32 NFL teams have better overall talent that the texans? think about it... off the top of my head: NE, PIT, CLE, IND, JAX, probably TEN (based on results, at least), SD, NYG, DAL, PHI, GB, MIN, NO and SEA. all pretty definite. that's 14 teams and i'd bet DEN, CHI, NYJ, BAL and WAS fans could make decent cases that their rosters are better. so talent-wise, the texans are 15th-ish, if not a little lower... and sure - some of that is kubiak's fault. i think he gave up WAY too much for schaub and most of his larger FA signings have been busts. but he's done well in the draft and filling the back half of the roster so far. if he's given two more offseasons, i think (hope) he'll have everyone in place. i mean, HillBoy - outside of johnson and robinson, they had to *literally* upgrade every other starting position and build depth behind it. let's have a little patience.
I think they walked into a buzzsaw in Dallas. The Texans were under the mistaken impression that it was a meaningless preseason game while the Cowboys were out to prove something after getting publicly roasted for their less-than-stellar showing in the previous two preseason games. It appears that someone forgot to send Kubiak that memo. No matter. As I said before, getting bounced is one thing. Getting out and out punked is quite another. Now the official line (spin) coming from the Texans is that this was some sort of "fluke" and that we are going to pretend it never happened. Which, of course, is why I'm not dismissing the Ravens as a possible win because as long as they engage in this line of thought, they will continue to refuse to address the flaws that get exposed when something like this happens. To me, that is the biggest impediment to this team making real progress. Your points are valid. However, Schaub was sold to us as being ready to start because as a veteran QB, he possessed more experience than a rookie QB in his 1st year or, had they drafted a QB in 2006, a 2nd year QB. He was not brought in here at a great cost not to merely be marginally better than the guy they already had (Sage). That is NOT the way he was sold by Kubiak so either Kubiak was being fundamentally dishonest here or Schaub isn't what he was initially made out to be. So now we're hearing the "he's really inexperienced" argument which leads me to then ask: So exactly what is it that makes him a better choice than say a Cutler, Leinart or even a rookie QB if they are all inexperienced and raw? Actually, I'd add DEN, CHI, BAL and NYJ to that list. He has indeed proven that he can fill the back half of the roster but his FA signings have been very spotty at best. He has made numerous mistakes that I would consider avoidable but when you are digging yourself out of a chasm like the one he inherited, you have to gamble and his gambles simply haven't worked out. It happens. But I still feel that by now, he should have infused more of an identity into this team by now - preferably one that has zero tolerance for what went down on Sunday. Instead, I'm seeing the same old meek acceptance of mediocrity that I've seen since the Dom days - from the owner on down. Say what you will about Jerry Jones and the Cowboys (and there's an awful lot that can be said) but if the Cowboys puked up a game like Sunday's, it would have NEVER been as meekly accepted nor quickly dismissed as a fluke up here as it was down there. Having grew up living (but mostly dying) with the Oilers, I am the epitome of patience. However, as I have posted in the past, as far as the Texans are concerned, their past arrogance and consistant ineptitude has just about exhausted what little patience that was still available when Kubiak took over. At this point in time, I can see Kubiak being given this season and the next to make things happen but that's about it.
yes, kubiak thought he'd have a smaller learning curve and fewer growing pains... well, cutler - easily the best QB from the '06 class - didn't make his first start until the 12th game of his rookie year. leinart and young both started early as rookies and posted a 74 and 66.7 rating as rookies. (none of them can rush the passer, either, btw - would you really deal schaub and williams for any of the three and two 2's?) meanwhile, schaub posted an above-average 87.2 in his "rookie" season, a mere .9 behind cutler in year 2. and if he and johnson had stayed healthy, he would have posted even better #s. in the 4 - and only 4 - games that he and johnson both started and finished last year, schaub posted ratings of 101.5, 119.2, 112.3, 78, and finished 3-1. it is WAY too early to be giving up on schaub. so you're upset the 19th-best team in football, by your own admission, is getting kicked around by one of the best teams in football?..... HillBoy, how many current starters would kubiak replace right now if he could wave his magic wand? RB, DT, DE, at least one OLB, at least one CB and both safeties - sound about right? so you think a team that needs to still replace 30% of its starters should have an identity? the cowboys, who haven't won a playoff game since 1998 and hired chan gailey, dave campo and wade phillips? and HillBoy, don't you think it's maybe a tad unfair to rip the team for its response to a butt-kicking before... you know, they've had a chance to actually respond to said butt-kicking?......
