Saw this article in today's chronicle by John McClain and I deemed it thought provoking. In all honesty, why are the Texan fans in such a tiff? Frankly, if you cannot see the subtle changes and improvements in this football team you obviously forgot how pathetic the first few years were. I am not apologizing for the Texans or anything like that. I am simply stating what McClain is. To build a great team you must have coaching, and some time. A lot of franchises constantly are rebuilding because they want the Promised Land train now! I mean this team hasn't imploded or melted down because we have yet to accomplish anything substantial. BUT, instead of focusing on what's wrong with the Texans, let's focus on some positives for a change ... Mario, the so-called 1st pick bust in the 2006 draft currently has 8.5 sacks which puts him 4th in the AFC in that category and he's showing consistency. AJ, if not for 7 weeks on IR for his knee, no doubt would be a pro bowl candidate AGAIN! He STILL may get 1000 yds receiving in spite of everything that's happened. DeMeco! Man what more can you say about this guy other than, STUD! Currently 2nd in the NFL in tackles. Schaub in his first REAL season in the NFL, has had ups and downs, but he obviously has the makings of becoming a good field general in the huddle. The OL has allowed less than 20 sacks thus far. A far cry from previous years, huh? Of course we have a good idea now why that was then and why it is that way now! A young nucleus of talent that will be the catalyst for the Texans to becoming a perennial playoff team. Daniels, AJ, Dunta, Freddy, DeMeco, Mario, and Okoye to name a few. Lastly, no team has been bit harder by the injury bug than the Texans and yet, this team has managed until recent to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Would that have been the case a few years ago? Let's give the coaching staff one more year, another draft, hopefully purge the last of the "dead wood" on the team and let's hit the ground running for what should be a break out year in 2008! Frankly, some of you all on here need to bite into a big bran muffin and wash it down with some prune juice because you're in dire need of good emotional cleansing. Relax we're getting better and we're gonna get a lot better! Buck up Texan fans! Here's the link for the article ... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5352460.html
How does he have time to write articles about Houston football when he is so busy jumping motorcycles into helicopters and dropping girls down elevator shafts?
I completely agree. The future looks bright for the Texans. It's only the second year of the Smith/Kubiak era and you can already see a major difference in the direction the team is headed. There has some real dissapointing losses this season, but they have played with just about every team on the schedule. Turnovers and injuries have really taken it's toll on seeing how good this team could have been this year. Though I don' think they would be playoff bound, they certainly would have been a team to be reckoned with. They have an improving O-line, they are starting to really have some playmakers at WR/TE and I've seen enough of Shaub to see some real potential as has he gains more experience as a starter. Boy, how good will this offense be if they had a RB that could carry it 25 times a game with efficiency, catch it out of the backfield and was a threat to break anything into a long play. Defensively, they are going to be a VERY STOUT team the next few years IMO. Mario is slowly becoming that guy we hoped he would be, Omobi shows a lot of promise and we all know about Demeco and Dunta (hope he came back it back to his former self though). I think they've found that other corner in Bennett, he looks like a real keeper. They just need another pass rusher on the other end from Mario and some more talent at the safety positions and they are set. Oh, and they have some real cap room for the first time this offseason as well (Please, go get Allan Faneca!!!). I would obviously love it if they just bust onto the scene and go far into the playoffs like the Saints did, but I just love that they are BUILDING a team to be a consistent winner, not a one-hit wonder.
Imagine how the Aints,Bengals, and Lions feel. As long as the Texans don't end up like them. Those teams just seem to be doomed.
I'll agree they are improving except for the offensive line. It is terrible. The only reason sacks are down this year is because our QB's get rid of the ball quicker. Carr always held on too long resulting in higher sack numbers. They need to address the offensive line ASAP. If they can get that fixed, then I see good things ahead.
This has been such a frustrating season, in many ways even more than the 2-14 season. At least we could laugh at the 2-14 team. The moves we made this offseason, combined with how our 1st team offense looked during the preseason (we put it to the Dallas 1st team D and they are now 10-1) combined with our 2-0 start... I was primed for this team to FINALLY get over the hump. Not a Superbowl run, mind you, just maybe a 9-7 season with a playoff berth looked like a reasonable expectation. All the sudden, our players started going down like flys with injuries. I know that's no excuse, but you can't deny it's made a difference with 2 or 3 wins and that would have us in the playoffs. I still think good things are on the horizon with this team, but I was really hoping for THIS year instead of the perverbial next year.
no, no - he's a bust. he personally set the franchise back 128,237,437,473,828,929,129 years. he's a project; he'll never be any good; he doesn't "just win" or have "it" or have any "flair". (isn't it funny/rewarding how quiet the people trying to run mario out of town have gotten?.........)
I know that Ric but consider this, would we rather have one playoff year surrounded by numerous mediocre or even pathetic finishes like the new Browns have had or would we like several potential years of playoff dominance if we just exhibit a little bit of patience?
Yes, sacks have not been a true indication of the state of the OL for the Texans. Plus, our running game it has been a combination of average to sub par RB's this season and lack of continuity on the OL due to injuries. The facts are this if Spencer can't come back and we have to prepare for that possibility I think we have to go heavy OL drafting in the upcoming draft say at least 3 or 4 of our possible 6 picks. If we do not do a better job of protecting Schaub his career will be over very quickly.
Well, lets just say it's one thing to be regular and it's a complete other thing to be unstoppable! LOL!
Since when has preseason ever dictated how good a team will be in the regular season? Usually never...because it's a time for evaluating players. Oh but you stuck it to Dallas's 1st team D in a preseason game. Big deal. It's pretty sad when you have to refer back to preseason as some kind of foreshadowing on how you think your team will fare in the regular season. Sorry to say there is no accurate forecast that can be made of regular season performance from preseason play. But, you keep trying there. Maybe if you believe it hard enough...? lol
lordy... where to begin... bless the ever living hell out of that half-full glass of yours, hatesmavs4life, but there's not a soul among even half-ass texan fans that would keep six, go-nowhere mediocre seasons over seven go-nowhere mediocre seasons that come attached with two playoff seasons. especially when you step back from the battle red-tinted glasses and realize that there is no way to guarantee "years of playoff dominance." and even if you could, cleveland is much closer to realizing that than houston. the texans are in the league's strongest division; they're probably two years away from crawling out of the cellar, much less enjoying the playoffs on a regular basis. it's inching forward in the right direction, but we have a rookie QB who will likely miss the equivilant of seven games; we have no running back; we still have mutliple problems along our OL; non-descript OLBs, and need at least 3 upgrades in the defensive backfield. i can't imagine the texans being playoff ready any earlier than 2009, unless they hit a home run in next year's draft and unearth a game-changer like an adrian peterson.
Understand. I don't think what I'm saying is rose colored tinted at all. The Texans have started building a REAL nucleus of talent and if we would have had 2 or 3 more REAL drafts instead of mostly flops sans Dunta and AJ, we would already be there. Yes, I'm as frustrated as anyone else but, again remember the first few years we could not even compete. We were a joke. Now, we are actually being competitive in spite of this rash of injuries. The next step in the evolution is winning the games we're supposed to and winning some we're not and developing confidence with our young nucleus and watching them soar. Do I hate losing? You're DAMN right I do! But I would hate more being like the Detroit Lions and having the foundation all boogered up. Meaning success may come for a time but it will be with a price and likely MORE rebuilding. Do you want that? Let's get the job done and let's get it done, right that's what I say ... The third year always seems to be the charm for good coaching staffs to turn around a team. Look, Kubiak has won wherever he's gone. Did you hear that? WHEREVER! He won a state championship with St Pius X. He won SWC championships with A&M. He won as a player with Denver but, found he was better equipped at coaching than playing. He coached John Elway as a QB coach. He helped Denver first taste playoff success (for first time since late 70's) and then, later as the OC helped coach the Broncos to 2 super bowl victories! I know you all are saying what have you done for me lately, Gary? We're still losing. We have depth problems. We have OL issues. We have safety issues. I'm just saying give Gary one more year before calling for his scalp. I just have a feeling if we do finish with a losing record this year that it may very well be our last for some time. We're close in some areas. We're just not there quite yet.
The point of my post was to say how good the 1st team offense looked against the other team's 1st team defense during the preseason but mostly during the 1st two regular season games. I wasn't talking smack about your precious Cowboys and the preseason game... so you can stop sh1tting napalm, relax, and go dry off your little Dallas Cowboy panties now..
Well . . . that's not true. The Bills have had much worse injuries. Buffalo's probably had worse injuries than any two teams in the league.
