Anyone else tired of baseball? Anyone else ready for some football? Yeah, me too. Out with the old, in with the new Texans begin camp ready to put 2005 behind them By FRAN BLINEBURY First-year head coach Gary Kubiak is not mandating that his players stay at the official team hotel. So as they checked into training camp Thursday afternoon, there was not an abundance of suitcases and personal belongings being unloaded from cars. However, the Texans are still carrying the baggage of last year's miserable 2-14 record, worst in the NFL. "There's a lot of guys in our locker room with a chip on their shoulder," quarterback David Carr said. "There are guys with pride in our locker room, guys who have played football for a long time. "It's all tied into the fact that we won two games last year, and we were all on that team. I'm surprised to be here. I think everyone's surprised to be here after winning two games. It was rough last year. "There's a lot of things I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy that went on last year with the whole team. We don't want to relive that again. That's kind of distant in our memory, but we still remember it." The disappointing 2005 season allowed the Texans to select standout defensive end Mario Williams with the No. 1 pick in the draft. But that came after a second-half schedule during which they became the butt of jokes and the focus of the so-called "Race for Reggie Bush," though the Texans decided to pass on the Heisman Trophy-winning running back. "As a competitor, nobody likes to hear that you're losing on purpose," defensive tackle Robaire Smith said. "So we've been waiting for six or seven months to get back here and show everybody that we weren't doing it on purpose, that we're for real. Now we have a new coach, a new system." Entering their fifth season in the league, the Texans no longer have the expansion glow and the aura of good feeling surrounding them simply for stepping onto the field. "It's about wins," guard Chester Pitts said. "Think about it — a guy like me that's been here since day one, and I've never had a winning season. So it's a new chance to me. A chance to get excited and do whatever I can to make that happen." Under new offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun, the offense will employ zone blocking, which will have Carr throwing on the run frequently in hopes of taking advantage of specific mismatches from week to week. Under new defensive coordinator Richard Smith, the defense will switch to a 4-3 alignment, meaning more attacking and more aggressiveness up front. Under Kubiak, it is as if the slate has been wiped clean, and everything is new. That includes allowing the players the option of going home each night during camp. "He's doing a lot of things they do in Denver (where Kubiak was the offensive coordinator)," defensive tackle Seth Payne said. "The philosophy is you let guys make decisions for themselves. "You want the kind of guys on a team that are going to be responsible for themselves and responsible for the team. If they can't prove that they can handle that kind of responsibility in training camp, then what are they going to do in the regular season?" Thursday's general mood was the usual, with players not looking forward to two-a-day practices in the heat and humidity but, in this case, ready to suffer the pain of camp in order to gain. "I'm excited," Carr said. "I've been pumped up for a couple of weeks. Usually, my mood is I'm looking at the clock, hoping it doesn't come too fast. But I've been wanting to come out here for a while. "I felt like when we left in the spring, we had some good things going, and we actually felt like a football team for the first time in a while. ( ouch...) It was depressing to leave it, and I wanted to get back into it. "Even with this being a new offensive system, it feels like we're so much closer than we were the last couple of years. I don't know if it's because guys bought into a new system or what it is. But I know that I feel more confident." But even as they checked into meetings and got ready for today's opening drills, the Texans carried their old baggage along with their playbooks. "It's time to go to work," cornerback Dunta Robinson said. "Got to take care of my business. Got to make sure 2-14 never happens again." LINK for Harrisment
I can live with another non-postseason season. I just want to see real progress from the team as a whole and David Carr individually. I really think they are going to be much better this year. I can see them ending somewhere between 6-10 and 8-8. They just need that feeling of winning again...that they're going in the right direction. I'd say...get it early. Try to win the preseason games. Anything to have the feeling of victory again. Either way, I'm just glad football season is back. GO TEXANS
the texans, the boys on 610, the chronicle, everyone needs to stop bumping their gums about how this is now going to be a successful franchise because they got rid of capers. listening to 610, you'd think kubiak was the greatest thing since lombardi. just show us what this team is when the real season starts, and quit yapping about how much your practices are better. that doesn't mean jack.
yeah. i'm excited about this upcoming season. but i seriously don't have the first clue how they'll finish. i don't think i could even begin to make a prediction.
Oh, I agree with you on that, don't get me wrong. Talk is cheap and is utterly useless if you don't win games come the regular season. But that's why I love training camp. Every team is 0-0. Every team is in the playoff hunt. Every team upgraded from the year before. At least if you believe all the training camp interviews. But I do think we will be much improved this year. I mean, how can we not when we won 2 frickin' game last year? More than that, I think we will be fun to watch again. This offense seems to cater more to Carr's strengths instead of his weaknesses. More quick throws on the run. I'm saying 7-9. And you know what? I'll take it after a 2-14 year.
and I'm not saying don't post news. I agree also that the team should be better but they have been kind of going over board on all the things they say is so much better.
You are right. We have no idea how good of a head coach Gary Kubiak will be. What we do know for a fact is that the previous staff might literally be the worst coaching staff in history. Kubiak, Sherman, et al can only be better.
But its subjective first of all, and second of all, what else are they gonna say. so its fine that its said, they should be positive, just don't report it as evidence that the team is gonna be that much better. the media in this town has no credibility, especially on 610. they report these so called "bad practices" as if that was their opinion when the previous regime was here. yet we never heard anything about that till the previous regime was fired.
I agree with that. I don't think the hard practices mean that they will be successful this year, I just think with the practices they apparently had the in the past, they weren't going to ever be successful. I saw it every season growing up playing basketball. If we had a ****ty week of practice or if we had coaches that didn't run good practices, we sucked on game days. When we ran tight, hard (teehee) practices, we may have lost some games still, but we were in a much better situation to win. With other sports at this level, I think it's different. But with football, if you have that intensity on non-game days, you're much more likely to bring it with you on Sunday. That, I agree with. I'm going on what the players have said, though.
OK? Did I read this correct? Is Robaire saying that he is going to prove that they were that bad, next year? How do you do that? By losing under different coaching? If someone was questioning the talent of the team and he would respond by saying they'll prove they're better players next year, I would understand. I know what he means. I'm just picking fun.
Im very excited about the new coach and system. Since day 1, we have had the most predictable offense. This team should be more fun to watch and having a solid # 2 for the first time will be nice.
yeah, I'm excited about eric moulds also. that dude is one of the most underrated players in football.
