Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco Has A New Contract: Next Big Thing Or Next Cautionary Tale?

On December 16, the Baltimore Ravens lost their third game in a row, 34-17 to the Denver Broncos in Baltimore to drop to 9-5 on the season and virtually clinch a relatively ho-hum four seed in the AFC. On that day, their starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, completed 20 passes on 40 attempts for 254 l ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVII: 4 Winners, 4 Losers

"Ain't about redemption. Ain't about that. It's a business. The Texans gave me my chance out of Lane College, and now I'm a champion." -- Jacoby Jones On a night where the only thing standing between Jacoby Jones and the Super Bowl MVP award being a yeoman's performance from Joe Flacco was the seco ... More >>

No MVP? Jacoby Jones Wuz Robbed!

The extremely disappointing ending to the Houston Texans' season, which saw them toss away games and play poorly after an impressive start to 2012, triggered some extreme reactions in fans. Some -- pushing for changes in the front office and head-coaching positions -- no doubt would have liked to h ... More >>

Super Bowl XLVII: Five Prop Bets And Game Prediction

We are about there now, that time of the week leading up to the Super Bowl where everybody is getting antsy and we all just want the game to get here. I've been on Radio Row in New Orleans the better part of the last three days (humblebrag alert!), and all the signs of "anticipation fatigue" are set ... More >>

A Whole Lotta Harbaugh: Super Bowl XLVII BATTLE-DRINK Is Here!

Super Bowl Sunday will be upon us soon. I have the good fortune of being able to cover the game in New Orleans this year, and from the bottom of my heart let me say that I wish I could bring each and every one of you with me. I really do. But I can't, so in lieu of cramming all of you into my renta ... More >>

Schadenfreude Alert! 5 Thoughts On JaMarcus Russell's Attempted Comeback

For most football players, when their careers finally end, rarely does it happen on their terms. More often than not (WAY more often, actually), players are either asked to leave, never asked back, or beat up physically to the point of no return. The bravest of football warriors continue to try over ... More >>

Football! NFC and AFC Title Game Best Bets

Last weekend, when we were down to eight teams left standing in the NFL playoffs, on my radio show I placed the remaining starting quarterbacks into three distinct "buckets": ELITE (3): Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning These three all were secure in their legacies regardless of the outcome ... More >>

Good, Not Great: Why Texans Need A Daryl Morey Approach To QB Position

If good is the enemy of great, the Texans are in a lot of trouble as they map out a plan to break through their second-round ceiling. Owner Bob McNair and head coach Gary Kubiak are publically saying the happy, feel-good things. "We're very close," McNair said after the loss in New England, while K ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, NFL Divisional Round Nut Cuttin' Time!

This past Monday night, I had the privilege of attending the BCS Title Game in person in Miami. I say "privilege" because, despite my Notre Dame background, the trip itself and the magnitude of the event were amazing. Yes, my team lost, but it the vibe in the building before kickoff was surreal. As ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, One Final Crack At Christmas Spending Money

The NFL schedule is a weird one this weekend. Virtually every game on the schedule has some sort of meaning, but many of them have true meaning (read: playoff hopes/seeding riding on the outcome) for only one side. Currently, 19 teams have either clinched a playoff spot or remain alive for the play ... More >>

Texans-Bills: NEW BATTLE-DRINK Bingo Drinking Card, "Judgment Day" Version

According to Wikipedia, "Judgment Day" is defined as the following: In Christian theology, it is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the Resurrection of the ... More >>

Texans -- Ravens: 4 Winners, 4 Losers (Including J.J. Watt, Arian Foster & Connor Barwin)

"It's just one game." "Nobody would have beaten Aaron Rodgers tonight." "Hey, if someone had told you before the season they'd be 5-1 going into the Ravens game, you'd have taken it, right?" Those are just a few of the dozens of different ways Texans fans and media rationalized last weekend's 42- ... More >>

Texans 43, Ravens 13: Adjustments Spark Beatdown of Long-Time Nemesis; Five Reasons Why

Check out our slideshow of the Texans beating the Ravens for the first time in franchise history. The final score doesn't come close to showing it, but there were tense moments Sunday. Three early possessions resulted in three Houston punts, with only a single first down to show for it. Receivers ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: NEW BATTLE-DRINK Bingo Drinking Card (a/k/a "Jacoby's Revenge")

I think you probably realize that when I put this Battle-Drink card together each week that many of the entries are done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. I don't expect B.J. Raji to eat Toro, or for Toro to crash his four-wheeler, or for Jon Weeks to get a tackle. That's why I put these in the r ... More >>

Aggies, Texans, LSU: Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, Helping Impoverished Greek Soccer Teams

Ironically, I lead into this weekend's football bets with a story of a poor Greek soccer team trying to stay afloat financially. Courtesy of the Soccernet area on ESPN.com: Players on a cash-strapped Greek soccer team now wear pink practice jerseys with the logos "Villa Erotica" and "Soula's House ... More >>

AFC Playoff Projections, Week 7: First One Onto The Colts Bandwagon!

When Peyton Manning and the Broncos stormed back with 35 unanswered points in the second half of their 35-24 Monday night win against the Chargers this week, they accomplished a few things: 1. They tied an NFL record for the largest comeback win by a road team in NFL history. 2. They evened their ... More >>

The 2012 Season Preview: The Texans Will Be Super If...

Two days are left. After eight long months away, that's all that remains before the most anticipated season in Houston football history finally kicks off. Even the 1993 Oilers, whose brilliant 11-game win streak ended with a home loss to Joe Montana's Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs, ... More >>

2012: Year of the Texans

Assessing all their strengths and weaknesses, we could be looking at a repeat or better.

Move Over Stagger Lee, Jacoby Jones Has Something Dumber!

A bigger "oops" than Rick Perry​Last Friday, John Granato and I were breaking down the keys to the Texans' playoff game in Baltimore on our radio show on 1560 The Game. For the Texans to win the game, I thought it would be crucial for them to get a big play in the return game from either Danie ... More >>

Ravens 20, Texans 13: Historic Season Ends From Self-Inflicted Wounds

Looking ahead to the fall, finally​In the big picture, the Texans were playing with house money. With little playoff experience and on a third-string rookie quarterback, this shouldn't rank high on the list of Houston football collapses. This wasn't the Oilers in Denver and Buffalo, circa 199 ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: Five Keys to Pulling Off the Upset

The lack-of-respect narrative for the T.J. Yates-era Texans may finally be changing. Of the four playoff underdogs this weekend, the Texans ( 7.5) are labeled by oddsmakers as the second-most likely to pull an upset. The only team higher, San Francisco ( 3.5), is playing at home. The newfound resp ... More >>

How to Appear Knowledgeable at a Texans Gamewatch Sunday (From the Bad Advice Dept.)

Photo by Marco TorresOh, and wear a mask.​You don't have to be a football fan to find yourself at a Houston Texans gamewatch party Sunday when they take on Baltimore. Which can be a problem, because you'll be surrounded by fanatics and you don't want to look foolish. Luckily, you can look li ... More >>

Texans, Saints, Tebow and Eli! This Weekend's NFL Playoff Best Bets

The scarcity of games on these NFL playoff weekends is a huge reason why wagering in the postseason can be a death trap of second-guessing for me. Fewer games on the board means there's way more time to focus (and, frankly, OVER-focus if there is such a thing) on the scant few games being played. ... More >>

Texans Fans: 5 Reasons to (Try to) Hate Baltimore

On the other hand....​The Houston Texans travel to Baltimore Sunday for the biggest game in franchise history, a game that could take them to the AFC championship. So we need to build up a big hatred of Baltimore, right? Turns out that's not so easy to do. Five reasons to hate Baltimore and ... More >>

Texans-Bengals: Five Matchups to Watch, and a Prediction

If he can dream...​The last time the city of Houston hosted an NFL playoff game -- or even had a team playing in one -- it came under very different circumstances than what will transpire Saturday afternoon. Unlike the 10-6 Texans, who slide into the playoffs on a 3-game losing streak, the 12 ... More >>

Texans, Pats & Tebow: This Weekend's Best Bets, NFL Edition

God, let these picks come through​Witness the go-to move for a blog contributor who is technically on vacation but still likes to keep his commitment of five posts a week to his freelance employer because he loves them and loves money. Not one, but TWO posts worth of football predictions! To ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets: Stanford, Wisconsin & Other Bullies

Not seen at Camp Randall.​Nobody likes a bully. Unless, of course, that bully can win you some money! Through the first ten weeks of the college football season, in my mind, four BCS conference college football teams have set themselves apart as "bullies" of the college football world, meanin ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets

The Flacco Factor: Always keep it in mind​It's the first weekend of football in November. In college football, this means we get into nut-cutting time, weekends that completely weed out the real championship contenders. This weekend includes a quasi-final four in the SEC with the huge LSU- Ala ... More >>

Texans-Ravens: Four Winners, Four Losers

It just feels like home to the Texans' ox.​Sometimes it's good to shake things up a little bit. We sit here every Sunday night for the last three football seasons and it feels like invariably we wind up saying the same thing -- "same ol' Texans." So this week, I took a trip to Chicago, and wa ... More >>

The New Normal

The Texans start operating like a bona fide NFL team.

2011 NFL Preview, Spoken In Wagering-ese

The betting window is open​I hope everyone who has had a chance to check out our Texans 2011 preview "The New Normal" has enjoyed it. Big ups to Monica Fuentes for coming up with the season-long interactive game card tracking Texans' results. You need to go check it out. If you haven't read ... More >>

NFL Teams Don't Care That Cam Newton Can't Name A Play

Only one of these guys still has a decent job​Go to Google and put in "2011 NFL mock drafts." I did that this afternoon, and I couldn't find one current edition of a reputable mock draft that didn't have Auburn quarterback Cam Newton as the number one overall pick to the Carolina Panthers. T ... More >>

Our Year

Will Texans make it to playoffs?

Texans-Ravens: Just Why Exactly Is Houston Favored to Win?

Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: This One Was All Kubiak

John Royal's NFL Power Rankings

NFL Review, Week One: Ahman Green, Cedric Benson, Tom Brady and Rosario Dawson