Donovan McNabb

Things We Learned from the Vince Young Outside The Lines Feature

Since falling out of favor with the Tennessee Titans in 2010, Vince Young's slide to the bottom of the quarterback food chain has been precipitous and eventful. The highlights include: - Backing up Michael Vick in Philadelphia in 2011 and pronouncing the Eagles a "Dream Team," a hex on that franchi ... More >>

Exotic Prop Bet Mania: Profiting Off The Madden Curse

When the average sports fan hears the word "wagering," for the most part they equate it with football and basketball, betting on spreads and total points scored. But if you read my work in this space, you know that the occasional prop bet is a fun diversion and oftentimes a chance to have more long ... More >>

Forecasting the NFL Head Coach Guillotine

Your time here is done.​They call it "Black Monday." It's the day after the NFL regular season ends, when any still-employed head coach whose name has been remotely associated with the words "hot" and "seat" tiptoes cautiously into his office and hopes that there's not a box on his desk to pa ... More >>

Texans/Titans -- 4 Winners, 4 Losers (Including Tim Tebow)

Arian Foster's not dead yet.​It's amazing how quickly things can change. Sometimes, it takes a matter of a few weeks, like with the Kansas City Chiefs. After being outscored 89-10 the first two weeks of the season, the Chiefs were left for dead, Todd Haley was the chalk for every "first coac ... More >>

NFL Quarterback Carousel -- Assessing The Changes

It's a hard-knock life​It goes without saying that, other than "best player on NBA team regardless of position," quarterback of an NFL team is the single most influential individual position impacting results in a team sport. So imagine if one-sixth of the teams in the NBA decided to bench th ... More >>

Texans 23, Dolphins 13: Balanced Effort Exorcises Road Demons

Andre Johnson: Good hands.​The long-standing reputation for the Gary Kubiak-era Texans has been that they fold under pressure. When teams hit them, they rarely hit back. They don't finish the job, especially on the road. In the season's second week, the Texans took yet another step toward exo ... More >>

Texans 34, Colts 7: In Role Reversal, Defense Picks Up Offense

Photo by Marco TorresMatt Schaub encountered the odd concept of relying on his defense.​It took just 12 game minutes for Wade Phillips and his new-look defense to show why this year's Texans could be different from their once-promising predecessors. Matt Schaub wasn't himself early on, air-ma ... More >>

Houston Texans -- Five Things to Watch Tonight Against the Vikings

At least this shouldn't happen tonight.​It's the final game of the 2011 preseason tonight with the Texans' backups taking on the Minnesota Vikings' backups in the newly inflatable-roofed Metrodome. If you're the Texans, I suppose the good news is that you're traveling to Minnesota in September ... More >>

Thursday NFL Free Agent Update: Is Wade Phillips Still Missing?

What's more glamorous, dude: New York or Houston?​As I type this, it's 4:36 p.m. on Thursday and the Texans' free agency activity still can be summed up as follows: 1. Backup offensive tackle Rashad Butler 2. Backup wide receiver Jacoby Jones 3. Backup Matt Leinart No cornerbacks, no safeti ... More >>

Terrell Owens -- A Jackassery Video Anthology (with 6 videos)

It's always something​The part of me that's not a huge fan of athletes calling attention to themselves, sometimes at the expense of their team, is not a big fan of Terrell Owens. The part of me that needs several hours worth of content each week, the radio host part of me, is a huge fan of Ter ... More >>

Former Texan QB Rex Grossman Declares Himself The Starter For A Team He's Not Signed With

He's not called the Sex Cannon for nothing​Let me preface what I'm about to say by saying that I like Rex Grossman. Kind of like pizza or midgets, he's always struck me as a clear "any time you add him to the current scenario, the atmosphere improves" kind of guy -- as long as the "current sc ... More >>

NFL -- Bob McNair's Delusion, Twitter Madness And The Weekend's Best Bets

Orange slices for the Texans!​"I wanted the team to know not only how close we think they are but how close our competitors think they are to being an outstanding team." -- Texans owner Bob McNair, presumably not being held at gunpoint nor under the influence of any drugs or alcohol What Bob ... More >>

NFL & College Football -- Weekend's Best Bets (Nepotism Edition)

Keeping it in the family​Okay, last week's Best Bets were centered around a random string of stories from around the internet, good enough for a 3-3 record, which means it's still yielding better results than 2009, but still not good enough for me. And damn sure not good enough for you. So ... More >>

College Football and NFL: This Weekend's Best Bets

The Dr Pepper commercial can't be far behind​Now that The Office has turned into a big, directionless mess, the title for Most Watchable Thing on Thursday night television (with apologies to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and The League) is the two-minute "Dr. Lou" segments that run at halftime ... More >>

Cowboys 27, Texans 13: Defensive Help Wanted, Preferably With A Pulse

Docking at Reliant Stadium​Attention, Houston owner Bob McNair. Your defense needs help, and the key may be opening your pocketbook. Ideally, do it in a hurry.Tony Romo and the Cowboys (1-2) exposed the previously unbeaten Texans' dirty little secret on Sunday, throwing for 284 yards, two touchdow ... More >>

Texans-Cowboys: Five Things To Watch (Actual Football Analysis)

And the prediction is.....​The Texans are 60 minutes from reaching their highest point in franchise history.For a team with as short a history as the Texans, it's easy to be overly dramatic and lose perspective. Yet on this particular Sunday, the game truly is that important.A win over the ... More >>

Houston Texans -- F the Cowboys (or #FDACOWBOYS on Twitter)

cutline​Not long ago, I got into a brief discussion on Twitter with another radio personality whom I am forbidden to name whose name I don't exactly recall. I don't remember the crux of the tweet-versation (something having to do with blogs and the inherent evil that blogs possess to anyone over ... More >>

Texans 30, Redskins 27: This Was The Game Great Teams Win, And The Old Texans Lose

Arian Foster's a perfect 6-0​On the surface, it could seem silly to characterize a 3-point overtime escape in Washington as more of a season-defining moment than a blowout of rival Indianapolis. But when you consider where the now 2-0 Texans have been, that appears to be exactly the case.Ask New O ... More >>

Our Year

Will Texans make it to playoffs?

GAME TIME: Texans-Cowboys -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

Photo by Marco TorresYour face-painting will be in vain!​It's the preseason and we must remember that the Dallas Cowboys are making a return trip to Reliant Stadium in about a month, so let's not get crazy over what the Texans' 23-7 manhandling of the Cowboys on Saturday night means in the big pic ... More >>

Game Time: I, For One, Am Excited About the Texans Schedule

​As far as an industry goes, there is a lot for the National Football League to be proud of. Massive global appeal, groundbreaking television offerings surrounding both the games themselves as well as the happenings behind the scenes, competitive balance -- all reasons it's the most successful ... More >>

Texans Schedule Out, And More Rides On Kubiak Than Ever Before

​The season remains nearly five months away, but with Tuesday night's much-celebrated release of the 2010 NFL schedule, the gameplanning for Peyton Manning among the Texans' brain trust can and should officially begin. Sure, this week's draft is the more pressing matter. Yes, there are still ... More >>

I Wanna Be Your Dog: Michael Vick's Entrance Music

Keith Allison​The mystery of whether or not Michael Vick would be picked up by an NFL team was solved pretty handily last week, when the Philadelphia Eagles signed him as a backup for Donovan McNabb. The Eagles were able to look past Vick's history of...questionable behavior because they need a re ... More >>

The Chronicle's Ortiz: Chief Of The Morality Police

I stumbled upon this Jose de Jesus Ortiz blog post on Sunday morning while I was in the process of trying to digest Saturday night's 13-2 Astros loss to the Washington Nationals. I puzzled over it during the day, but could never really make much sense of it. But then Deadspin got a hold of the thing ... More >>

Wednesday Morning Quarterbacking: Special Post-Amsterdam Edition

So I was in Amsterdam for the weekend – working on those frequent flyer miles – and I missed the Texans’ 33-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. However, the BBC World Service did manage to show highlights from the Titans/Jaguars game. After the game, Gary Kubiak went with the “we had a ... More >>

Miss Cleo’s Fearless Forecast: Super Bowl XLIII Winner Revealed!

Giselle Bundchen, Carrie Underwood, Bridget Moynihan and Jessica Simpson -- Yep, We're Talking Football

NFL Wrap: Losing Teaches Lessons, Except When It Doesn’t

John Royal’s NFL Picks, Week Ten: Georgia (the Country, Not the State) Loves the Texans

Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week Ten: Openly Defying the Gods Since October 2007

Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week Four: Salma Hayek, the Green Bay Packers, Anna Kournikova and the Baltimore Ravens

John Royal's NFL Picks, Week Three: Colts, Chargers and Greeks

Madonna Shines Ray of Light on Texans

From Britney to U2: The 2007 NFL Preview

The Lord Taketh Away

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Turkeys Fly

Houston actually pulls off one crazy week

Crash Course

A stuntman is mightily impressed by Houston's rail crashes