Texans and Houston have a Power Failures - 9/23/2008

Remember all that playoff talk before the season?  Remember when even coach Kubiak talked about the playoffs and how that was the goal this year?  Well, that seems long, long ago, doesn't it?  2 games into the season and the only bright spot we have is rookie Steve Slatonwho ran for 100+ yards in the latest defeat against the Tennesee Titans.  Nothing else has looked good so far this season.  The defense has been as bad as they were in preseason, the O-line has regressed more than I could have ever imagined, receivers are dropping passes, QB is rattled, the kick return game is non-existent and that is just a handful of problems.  One thing I have learned when watching football (and unfortunately bad teams) is that when a team has that many problems at once, the head coach is not getting the team ready to play.  You might say that there is a special teams coach, a receivers coach, a QB coach and coordinators you can blame too, right?  But the head coach doesn't seem to be getting on them enough to get the players playing.  Last year Gary had to light a fire under some people's butts, seems he is going to have to do the same this year as well.

Chester Pitts recently said the fans don't know what the problems are, so they can't come up with a solution.  Well, that is the same talk they were giving before the old regime got let go.  Sometimes you don't have to be playing on the field to see what is broken.  Unfortunately, everything seems to be broken on this team. 

Of course the Texans played 2 very good teams to start the season.  Titans are undefeated and the Steelers are 2-1 after getting manhandled by the Eagles this week.  But if the Texans are supposed to be a playoff team, shouldn't they be beating some of the good teams in the league?  If they are to be a playoff team or atleast go 8-8 again, things will have to get better. 

Thankfully for the team, the city is dealing with bigger problems than an inept football team.  But be assured on Oct. 5th againt the Colts, the fans at Reliant will be ready to vent all over the team if they come out with a performance like they have given the past 2 weeks. 

Worst Case Scenario - 10/31/2007

We use the phrase 'Worst Case Scenario' to refer to a possibility that remote at best, but you should be aware of just in case.  Like the directions flight attendants give us before a flight, "The chances are that it will never happen, but just in case we crash into an ocean on a flight from Houston to Dallas, this is what to do."  Sometimes those Worst Case Scenarios do happen.  Like in the movie 'Perfect Storm', sometimes forces all come up against you at once and not much you can do.

The Texans had a Perfect Storm come and punch them right in the face this past Sunday.  That day ended up being a day to honor the firefighters who were and still are fighting fires in Southern California. The Governator showed up, firefighters were on the field, it was a perfect San Diego day and the crowd was pumped.  The stadium was filled with emotion.  The Chargers were ready to show apprecation to the firefighters and the community.  It isn't like the Texans had a chance to beat the Chargers anyway, but when they were on such an emotional high, the slim chance to win shrunk down to none. 

The Texans throwing 4 picks that game definitely didn't help matters any.  The Chargers were pumped true, but the Texans made things so easy for them that the Chargers didn't have to work hard to get the win. 

No Vince, No Problem! - 10/22/2007

Texans scored a franchise-record 29 points in the fourth quarter and had 4 passing TDs.  So that is the recipe for a big win, right?  Well, not when you turn the ball over 6 times on the day.  That is exactly what the team did.  In addition to all that, Matt Schaub was knocked out of the game twice Sunday.  After the game the health of the QB is the least of our problems.  The big question has to be is what direction this team is going in.  It seems that the vision for this team has been lost.  the past 4 weeks the team has looked unprepared to play and the offensive gameplan has been questionable to say the least. 

Against Tennessee the Texans were not ready for the blitz and had no way of combatting it.  Coach Kubiak said he didn't expect the Titans to blitz so much, this is after the team had done it all season.  How can scouting be so bad?  So after the first quarter of getting continuously blizted, the team made absolutely no adjustments.  They tried a pass to Jacoby Jones that got a few yards, but on the next play, they ran the exact same play which turned into a fumble.  Later, Kubiak revealed that Jones was not physically ready to play, but he put him out there anyway.  Another questionable call from the head coach.  The Titans had 7 and 8 players in the box the entire day, but the Texans continued to run up the middle right into the defense.  Ahman Green is running scared, when there were holes, he was too scared to re-injure his knee to make a cut to get more yards.  Maybe Ahman shouldn't be starting.  The Faggins experiment continues to be a success for other teams.  Whenever Kerry needed a completion, he threw it in Faggins direction.  Yet he continues to get reps in games. 

All of this is not on the coaching, but the team is injured now and we have no depth.  So any bad coaching decision is amplified now.  We cannot afford bad coaching right now.  We don't have the talent to overcome it.  The local writers are ripping the coaching staff, Kubiak ripped himself after the game, and internally the finger-pointing has to have started already.  We have to do better.  The funny thing about leadership is when the team loses confidence in coaches, everything falls apart.  The next 2 games are very lose-able with San Diego playing better and Oakland having a great defense and run game.  We would then have lost 5 our of our last 6.  Interesting to see how the team and coaches respond to that possibility.  The team needs to make drastic changes so that it won't happen.

Funny, the biggest question before the game was if Vince Young would play.  The Monday after the game, the biggest question is if this team is any better than they were a year ago. 

Here is Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice's thoughts on the game:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/texans/5233436.html

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Welcome Back Texans!!! - 10/12/2007

After possibly one of the most un-impressive wins I have ever seen over the Dolphins, the Texans go on the road to take on the Jaguars.  The first of the only two true rivalry games the Texans have each year.  The Texans couldn't get any rushing offense going at all against the Dolphins, the defense was terrible, but luckily we had Kris Brown who was Mr. Hyde this week and hit 5 FGs.  I know many people are happy at Kris' kicks, but truthfully if your team has to kick 5 field goals in one game, you have problems. 

Here is the NFL Network condensed version of the game.:  http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80308be9

This week, the Texans get some of their wounded teammates back.  Ahman Green is probable as well as Jacoby Jones.  Ahman will give us the running threat that we have been sorely lacking since he went out with the injury to his knee.  Jacoby will give us a return threat as well as give us another quality receiver to go along side Andre Davis and co.  The running game getting on track will be the biggest influence on the game.  The play action will now make safeties bite and leave the CBs one on one with recievers.  The offense will be able to open back up and stop being so predictable. 

Jags are 3-1, one loss better than the Texans.  They let go of their long-time QB, Byron Leftwich at the beginning of the season.  David Garrard has stepped up and done a great job of becoming the starter.  In his limited play last season I thought Garrard was a viable alternative to Leftwich.  For the basic reason that Garrard valued the ball and wouldn't throw it up for grabs like Leftwich had a habit of doing at times.  Also Garrard is very mobile so he can run for yards if nothing his happening with his receivers.  But the Jags attack has been about the rush, not the pass.  They have controlled the clock with a bruising run game, highlighted by Mauric Jones-Drew.  Going into the season, it appeared that the Texans run defense would be a strength, but the past two weeks the team has given up big rushing days to Warrick Dunn and Ronnie Brown.  Those are 2 quality backs, but if you want to be know as a good defensive team, you need to stop the run.

I see the Texans getting out of the Florida with a win, 21-13.  I think that with Ahman back, the team will play with renewed vigor and detemination. 

Here is what the NFL thinks of the matchup:  http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d8032d345

A Must -Win in Week 5

Who would have thought that the Texans would be in a position to have a must-win in week 5.  But the way things are going, a loss thos week would put the team a 2-3, three losses in a row, just like old times and people not going to games again.  Not that the team is bad, just injuries have hurt the team big time.  IF we had a healthy team, we would be 5-0, 4-1 at the worst.  But that isn't reality.  The reality is that we lost our best center, loss our best reciever, lost our best running back, lost our 2nd best receiver, and our biggest special teams threat.  That's all.  Conventional wisdom says you can't win like that.  The team definitely didn't last week.  Though some of that has to go on the coaches for not striking when they could. 

This week Zach Thomas comes back.  He has been out since week 1 with a concussion and still might be the best defensive player on the team.  That doesn't bode well for the Texans run attack that is lead by Ron Dayne at the moment since Ahman Green is out.  Now we do have Gado as a back-up, but he was not used at all in the Falcons game.  Instead we had Cook and Dayne show.  Two fullbacks who have no burst at the line of scrimmage.  Ahman Green being out is going to hurt us big time, can't control the clock with no run game.  I don't know what is going to happen this week.  I thought there was a good chance we would lose the Falcons game and only because Trent Green is so bad, I think we might have a chance to win regardless of our injuries. 

I can't wait for people to get healthy.

Colts win, still 8 to go

I had marked the Colts game a loss on my fabled, "Road to 10-6", so my mindset was hoping the team didn't get embarrassed and give everyone a wake up call.  Well, the Texans loss, but showed everyone in the stadium that these are not the same old Texans.  The game started out with # 13, Mathis running the opening kickoff back for a TD.  The stadium was as loud as I had ever heard it.  Then the volume got turned up a notch when the Colts got the ball.  The stadium sounded like previous years again.  It was a tough, physical game that saw the Texans lose Jacobi Jones, Ahman Green, Steve McKinney and Cedric Killings along with the game.  Not good.  Add those losses along with Andre Johnson the week before and you have a depleted Texans team on the offensive side of the ball.  It is now even more important that Matt Schaub gets more comfortable with other recievers like Andre Davis and Kevin Walter.  Also, the defense is going to have to step up with all those offensive weapons out.  Faggins at CB has been a disaster so far this season, he is going to have to step it up or get demoted to the bench if he can't improve this week.  Everytime he Colts needed a completion, Peyton looked twoards #38.  Faggins complied by allowing reception after reception. I am not souring on the team or anything.  I just have a better idea of who the 2007-2008 Houston Texans are now.  They are an above average offensive team with a great defense, even with Faggins.  Sounds like a good combination to me.  If they can hold on while Johnson and Green are out, they will be fine.

Here is the NFL.com short version of the game - Click Here
Here is the pictures I took that day - Click Here
Pics from the game, Thanks to Bullpenphotos -  Click here
 

2 down, 8 to go - 9/27/2007

  Texans demolished the Panthers in a game that was not as close as the final score, 34-21, indicates.  The game sounded an alarm that the Texans have finally arrived.  It also sounds the alarm that the bandwagoners have jumped on with full force.  The game started out about as bad as it could have.  Texans down 14-0 before you knew it.  Then, the Texans decided to stop playing around and scored 34 unanswered points!  34 unanswered points on another NFL team is just about impossible to do because of the talent in the league, but the Texans did it.  I can't say enough about the TEAM effort out there, because everyone contributed to the win. 

Even the elusive pass rush that I have been waiting to see in 5 years was there agains the Panthers.  They hurried Delhomme and sacked him twice.  This is while Matt Schaub didn't even dirty his uniform in the game.  The run defense was just as stellar as last week, but the secondary still remains as a question mark.  I know Faggins is an original Texan and is a great guy, but he has no business covering an elite QB like Steve Smith.  Faggins doesn't have the speed or the football IQ.  He is a nickel corner at best, but that is the hand we are dealt until Bennet is ready to come in and take his place. 

Sorry to say it, Texans fans, but I have the Colts game as a loss on my "road to 10-6".  They might surprise me and win, but at this point, I  predicting a loss.  Today's news of Andre Johnson being hurt and doubtful for the game kind of cements the chances of a loss.  I hope I am wrong and even if we lose, it will give the rookie Jacobi Jones a chance to get some action.  It is better to lose AJ for a couple of games than try to play him and lose him for an entire season. 

Here is the NFL Films wrap-up of the game:  http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80263c00

One Down, Nine to go - 9/10/2007

When the schedule was released, I stood in a friend’s garage and proclaimed the Texans would go 10-6 in the 2007-2008 schedule.  Free Agency hadn’t been completed, trades hadn’t happened, training camp wasn’t even a thought at the time.  After week one, my optimism was rewarded.  The Texans blew out the Chiefs, 20-3.  A defensive TD by Mario Williams and a 70+ yard TD from Schaub to Johnson highlighted the day.  The game started very shaky on both sides of the ball for the Texans, the offense had a 3 and out on it’s first possession, the defense allowed KC to drive almost the length of the field.  Then it seemed a spark in the form of a 15 yard reception from Jacobi Jones started an inferno.  Though they drive ended in a Schaub INT when he tried to force a pass to Andre Johnson in the end zone, it showed the Texans were able to move the ball.  The defense responded by tightening up and allowing Larry Johnson under 50 yards on the day.  Great game, great day.

The tailgate was great, but our crew ended up in the concrete area in the Yellow lot, which we didn’t like.  We made the best of it and honestly, having more space was cool, but we were really disconnected from most of the fans in the grass, where we usually park.  I walked around and saw that most fans had complaints about the parking situation of splitting up caravans on the way in the stadium.  There really isn’t a quick fix solution as with people actually coming to the games instead of sitting at home, we will have many cars getting to the stadium at the same time and all using one entrance.  Maybe opening a 2nd entrance for the Yellow lot would be the answer, I don’t know.  I will be contacting the team to see what they suggest.  But either way, it was a lot of fun.  Many Bull Blasters were taken, many Shotguns were shot, the food was great and I got to see many friends I hadn’t seen all off-season.  I didn’t see Flava Dave though!!!!  I have to rectify that at the Indy game.