Call me an a-hole, but...... I am putting a moneyline bet on the Ravens to win, which pays 2.5-1 if they do. I am rooting for a Texans W, but if not, at least I will get paid. I would gladly pay 50 bucks for a Texans victory. Here's to hoping I lose 50. Go Texans!
Agreed. Unfortunately, I have seen it go either way. It is true in life too; we either rebound or stay down. It is a test of character. Obviously, we are all hoping for the big comeback. Admittedly, I can get over dramatic, but that is part of the fun of writing on this board.
ravens will b betta without ray ray.......dangerous game here.......hope jj trys to do somthin crazy n f's it all up.
My bad, I misremembered slightly... you only had the Texans losing by 18. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6520460&postcount=24 I generally believe in the old Earl Weaver quote. "Momentum? Momentum is the next day's starting pitcher." The analogy can be extended to other sports, of course. These players are professionals. They've seen the highs, the lows, and everything in between. They aren't fazed by stuff to the extent you and I are. Not sure if you're a baseball guy, but remember the Pujols-Lidge moment in Game 5, 2005? Most gutwrenching thing to ever happen to me as a sports fan. I barely slept and said about two words for the next 24 hours. The guys in the clubhouse, though? They were cracking jokes and came out two days later and closed out the series. Professionals have perspective that people like us lack. Part of it is all the intensely-personal experiences they've had at every level. Another is simply how complex their jobs are. Think about all the information Matt Schaub has to process and react to in under two seconds, on every single offensive snap. Sometimes a tenth of a second. He's not thinking about what happened seven days ago, seven months ago, seven years ago or even seven minutes ago. He's too damn busy. Those examples are on gameday, of course. Where psychology could come into play for an athlete is over the long grind of a season, in terms of the willingness a team has to put in proper preparation and whether they buy into coaching concepts. That I'd buy. But it goes both ways, and impossible to predict. Sometimes a team that's winning gets fat and happy and underachieves. Other times, a team that's been embarrassed and written off uses it as fuel to rebound. For example, take the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, who lost 47-7 to New England in December and were in the Super Bowl less than two months later. The reason I called out your history is that you're a one-trick pony on this issue. When anything goes wrong, you immediately get overly dramatic and post doom-and-gloom proclamations for the remainder of that season. History shows that it's pretty tough to forecast which way the "psychological element" will go. If anything, this group of Texans have shown that they're pretty damn resilient. As far as fan beliefs, yes, WE are affected and thinking of those psychological things. But unless we don't buy tickets, then no, it really doesn't matter. And considering the Texans have sold out every game in franchise history, I don't see that being an issue very soon.
Keys to the game: Foster vs the Defensive Line JoJo's groin vs Torrey Smiths deep speed*. *Expect a deep playaction on the first play to test it.
Hoping they put the short week behind them, accept the reality check, and work their tails off this week. I'm sure they don't want anything to do with back to back home losses against fellow playoff contenders. If they want to shed the paper tigers label, they've got to win. Hopefully we've learned our lesson from last week - guys being out doesn't mean top teams become creampuffs. Lot of folks need Kubiak in their ear til it bleeds this week. Right side of the line, special teams, secondary, there was no shortage of goats or guys that need to step up big going forward. I wouldn't mind seeing more opportunities for Martin. Right now, he's our only viable vertical threat. Also wouldn't mind seeing Ruud get some PT - James and Dobbins didn't get it down last week, especially against the run. We need a guy meeting backs at the line. I'd expect a very heavy dose of Ray Rice this week. We've got to demonstrate that we can keep backs under control without Cushing. Trick is, we can't have our safeties so worried about covering for the ILBs that they're biting on playactions. I think we bounce back and get a strong win going into the bye.
When you do this every game, you'll always be happy. When I bet on my teams of the heart, I either have a fantastic time or terrible time. When I bet against them, I'm either happy or realize I'm not a true fan of that team.
Game 5, 2005! I remember the moment well, and my reaction was the same. Anyway, I am going to tell you a secret and if you want to keep following me around the board to remind everyone I was wrong about a prediction (like that means anything) go for it. But here is the deal, in real life I make my living through dispassionate analysis. This board is a fantasy for me. I can say the outrageous things fans say. I can express a wide range of emotions. That's the fun of it. It doesn't mean anything; it's all imaginary. When people get all technical and serious, I might jump in for fun, but, again, it doesn't mean anything. It is all just a game. Is that wrong?
I believe the Texans will get a win here. I hope they want it enough to execute and not create stupid penalties.
one question is if Joseph is healthy, if he can play like the first 4 games, then is great. if Joseph is healthy, then the team that can slow the run game of the other team, wins the game.
I'd like to see our screen game return. What has happened to that? We need to utilize Foster more in the passing game.
I do it occasionally, although I'm not a big gambler. I see it as a way to keep from getting too low if we lose. If we lose, I'm upset but I get paid for it. If we win, I lose some money but I'm happy we won. It's like an emotional hedge.
Big, important game... Biggest game of the season so far, and might be the biggest all year. Beating a playoff team, while at home, going into the bye week 6-1 will be a big mental win for the team, not to mention for home field come playoffs. However, losing 2 games in a row to the only 2 real playoff teams we've played will be a major negative for our momentum and confidence going forward. While this game wont necessairly make or break the season, it's huge.
Exactly! I learned a tough lesson Sunday night.....Losing SUCKS! I would have felt a bit better collecting a couple hundred dollars the next day, but I did not wager that the Texans would lose. If there was ever a time for an emotional hedge, it is now. These odds are ridiculous too. Moneyline of +255 on the Ravens. I will be ecstatic when the Texans win and take control of the AFC. On paper, we should destroy the depleted Ravens, which is apparently how Vegas sees it. However, you would have to be a blind homer with zero recollection of the Kubiak Texans era to not see a possibility of losing. If that happens, I will be disgusted, but at least I will have a few extra bucks in my pocket to help ease the pain. Hopefully, this will be the best 50 bucks I have spent in a long time!
Enough with the knee jerk reactions to last weeks game folks. Y'all do understand that it was Aaron Rodgers playing against us last week right. I dont think that the Texans played bad I believe that sometimes a guy is just that good that there is nothing one can do. The only gripe I have about the Texans are the stupid penalties that led to 14+ points for the Packers. It was also their first game without Cushing , I totally expect the defense to take a couple of games to adjust to that. Leaving all that last week and moving on to more relevant topics... Does anybody know if Terrell Suggs is going to play ? I read that he was back at practice on Wednesday. My main concern against the Ravens is that JJo has not looked himself for the last couple of games, he is getting burnt badly on go routes by scrub receivers. I dont know if he is hurt , but without him being effective it will be really difficult for the Texans to be aggressive on defense. Joe Flacco is no Rodgers but he does throw a decent deep ball and Smith has really good speed on the outside. Even with all of that said if the Texans play turnover free and penalty free football they should walk out with a win.
