Too much to list, but more than 7 wins would be a start. Some proof that B'Ob is the right guy. Brian Cushing returning to form. Hopkins stepping up as a top-notch receiver. Clowney staying relatively injury free and living up to the hype. Special teams getting much better and fewer over-all bone-headed penalties. I could go on....
1. Clowney has a great year (obviously.) If he can live up to expectations, then we should have an incredible core to build on with him and Watt in our front-7. It'd be nice to have a defense that the rest of the league fears playing. 2. Arian Foster stays healthy and the young guys on the offensive line play well. A great running game is a necessity for the Texans as they're currently structured, and it'd be awesome to see Su'a Filo and even Derek Newton (lol) step up and make an impact. Would be great news moving forward. 3. We get to see either Savage or Mallett at some point during the year. Fitz isn't the future, and since the 2015 draft class has a bunch of potential studs, it'd be nice to see what our backups got. It'll make the draft next year much, much easier if we know whether our young QBs have any chance of being franchise quarterbacks. 4. Just general health. Hopefully Cushing stays upright all season. That's about it. I don't need for us to be playoff contenders this year or anything (though of course I'd be ecstatic if we are). Just as long as we show a lot of progression from last season and our young guys step up, then I'd be really happy with the season.
Honestly, I'm hopeful for tr playoffs. I don't see why I shouldn't be. Some resolution to the quarterback situation would be nice, though. It'd be even better if Mallet was the guy. Or if Savage was. Also, I'd like to just enjoy O'Brien being a different coach than what we were so used to. That's a success.
Us making the playoffs or coming real close Everyone healthy(especially Arian and Cushing) QB play and generally the offense is good enough Defense and us getting turnovers being a major factor in our games
I believe a 7-9 season possible/likely outcome, but not necessarily a situation I would want IF Savage or Mallet appear not to be the answer at QB. I dont want to go through another terrible season, but I really think next years draft has several franchise QBs available...grass is always greener, but Mariota/Winston/whoever would look nice in a Texans jersey. As for individual players, I would like to see big increase in production from Mercilus, Reed, and all the OL.
Not getting a top 10 draft pick. Can't reinstate the culture of losing 7-9 to 9-7 would be a huge success, helping us sit pretty for a playoff hunt in 2015. Also knowing for sure that either Mallet or Savage will be our guy, would be pretty huge. Because if we have to draft a qb in the first round next year I feel like that would prolong the "rebuilding" phase
- A dominate defense - A respectable offense - Much better special teams play I want to see our defense stay healthy and really get after opposing offenses. Let's bring back the House of Pain! I'd like to see Mallet get a chance once he's been here for a few games and see if he can play. Foster staying healthy and a solid running game could make Mallet a dangerous threat on the long ball. Some solid ST play, could give us a spark and help drive the other units.
7 wins or more would be a success. 5-6 would be fine, but anything less would be highly disappointing.
Creating more turnovers and turning it over less. This would change everything that went wrong last season and catapult us back to the playoffs.
Offense and Defense showing up every game regardless of win or loss in previous game. That would show me that the mentality of the team has changed and BOB is a legit coach.
Rick Smith getting fired. I really like where this team is headed but I have no faith in this person. As far as the team, I would really like to see a top 5 defense with this team. I think if they can be a top 5 defensive team, there's no question that the AFC South is open for grabs. I really feel that the pressure is on the Colts this year.
I'm not basing the success of this years team on any win-loss totals. It's all about growth and finding answers to questions that need to be put to bed. 1) Is Clowney going to be the dominant player he should be? (I think he should) 2) Are Savage or Mallet the future? (Fitzpatrick clearly isn't) 3) Will Newton sink or swim with this offense & will they finally make him the backup he should be. 4) Overall understanding and execution of both offense and defense. (Growth) 5) True development of younger players (Never to have occurred by previous regimes.) 6) Toughness. Will they quit when it gets difficult, or will they fight until the end? There are many others. Some will be answered during the season, and some when the seasons comes to an end. Let's hope this time around decisions come quickly, and action finally takes place. Just need competitiveness and a team pushing forward on a clearly defined path to rebuild.
