I can’t put it off any longer. The Texans season starts on Sunday. So I guess I better get my act together and get my thoughts about the upcoming season on the record before kickoff. So here goes.
1. Some good news: The offense returns many of the key players that made the offense the third best in the NFL in yards per game at 382.1.
2. Some bad news: The offense returns many of the key players that made the offense reek when it came to scoring actual points as the team was only 17th in scoring (22.9 points per game) and was able to get a TD only 45.9 percent of the time when in the red zone.
3. Some more good news: Matt Schaub is back at quarterback, and the team does seem to respond well to him when he’s in the game. He’s good at finding all of his receivers and keeping them all in the game, which helps to keep the defense off-balance.
4. Some bad news: Matt Schaub is back at quarterback. This guy is so brittle that he hurt his ankle running out of bounds and when he was touched by nobody. The guy has missed 10 games in his two years in Houston, and there’s nothing to indicate that he’ll be able to make it through all 16 games this season.
5. Some more bad news: Schaub’s back-up is The Sex Cannon. While it’s nice to know the guys from Kissing Suzy Kolber will probably be paying more attention to the Texans this season, it
would be nice if it were for a some other reason than hoping Rex
Grossman gets in the game and starts overthrowing all of his receivers.
6.
Speaking of back-up QBs: Hey, Gary Kubiak, I know you’re a guru who
likes to coach people up, but forget about Grossman and Dan Orlovsky.
Jeff Garcia is available. And he has shown the ability on many an
occasion to come off of the bench and lead a team to victory.ย Plus, his wife is gorgeous.
7.
Some good news: Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans are studs who could be
stars on any defense in the league. I’m happy to admit to that I was
wrong about Williams, and I apologize to him again. The guy’s
definitely shown his worth.
8. The bad news: The defense was the
26th-ranked defense in the NFL last season. And I saw nothing in the
preseason to indicate that they’re actually going to be any better. I
think the Saints running backs are still running past various Texan
defenders.
9. But at least Dunta Robinson is finally back.
10.
The bad news: Gary Kubiak is still the head coach. Hopefully, during
the off-season, he took some courses on clock management, red zone
offenses, and throwing the replay challenge flag.
11. The Texans
can’t make up their mind which uniform to wear. Some weeks, it’s all
white. Others, it all blue. Or all red. Or a combination of white and
blue. Think about it: how many uniform combinations do winning teams
like the Colts, Giants, and Patriots have? Meanwhile, look at all of
the different combinations the Bengals come up with every week. ย
12.
Due to Tony Dungy retiring, Gary Kubiak can for now call himself the
second-best coach in the AFC South. Of course, the new Colts coach may
end up quickly changing that equation.
13. The Texans still have
to play six games in their division, and they suck when they play games
in the division. The Texans also suck when they play games they should
easily win, and there are a lot of games like this year.
14.
James Casey. Wildcat offense. Let’s make this happen. I was a Casey fan
when he was at Rice, and I’m hoping he gets a chance to make an impact
in the NFL.
15. Richard Justice likes this team. And now he likes Gary Kubiak. So this should probably be an indication that the team is going to suck.
There
is a lot of hype surrounding the Texans as the season approaches, which
reminds me of 2005, which was going to be that season the Texans put it
all together and make the playoffs. We all remember how that season
turned out. I see the Texans getting off to a 5-3 start against what
looks to be a weak schedule. Then I see the team falling apart in the
second half of the season to finish the season 7-9.
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2009.
