Where are you getting 5.5? If you can find that anywhere hit up the over for the max. The actual number is 7.5, and even with that number you have to lay more juice if you want to play the over. They will go 8-8/9-7. They could easily finish 2nd in the division.
After an 0-4 start, they are 3-4...
October 27, 2008
Texans about to play the biggest game in franchise history
This is neither the beginning of the end nor the end of the beginning. There'll be many other big games. Winning this one in some ways makes the final eight that much more critical.
This one is important because of the statement it would send. It would tell the world that the Texans now must be taken seriously, that they're legitimate playoff contenders.
The thing about the NFL is that it's truly a week-to-week existence. If the Texans are being showered with praise this time next week, they're staring down the barrel of six games that will define their season.
They don't have to win them all, but they need to show they can be competitive. They can't be run off the field the way they were in Pittsburgh.
They've got a lot going for them right now. Their offense is among the NFL's best. No quarterback is playing better than Matt Schaub, and almost no offensive player is playing at a higher level than Andre Johnson.
There are defensive problems, but the offense is playing at such a high level, that the defense can take changes. Opposing offenses can't play cautiously because the Texans are scoring points in bunches.
I know, I know. They've beaten the Dolphins, Lions and Bengals. The Dolphins are rebuilding and the Lions and Bengals are awful. Think back to what you thought of the Texans after that 0-4 start. You didn't think they were capable of winning three in a row, did you?
The Viking are decent. Not great. Not terrible. They're 12th in total offense, eighth in total defense. But the Metrodome is a tough place to play, and Gary Kubiak's teams are 4-15 on the road.
Of those 15 losses, only three have even been close. They've lost eight by 19 points or more. Yet those teams aren't this team. Schaub and Johnson have elevated the Texans. So has Mario Williams. The Texans are far, far from a perfect team, but this week they can make a gigantic statement about where they are as a franchise.
October 27, 2008
Texans about to play the biggest game in franchise history
This is neither the beginning of the end nor the end of the beginning. There'll be many other big games. Winning this one in some ways makes the final eight that much more critical.
This one is important because of the statement it would send. It would tell the world that the Texans now must be taken seriously, that they're legitimate playoff contenders.
The thing about the NFL is that it's truly a week-to-week existence. If the Texans are being showered with praise this time next week, they're staring down the barrel of six games that will define their season.
They don't have to win them all, but they need to show they can be competitive. They can't be run off the field the way they were in Pittsburgh.
They've got a lot going for them right now. Their offense is among the NFL's best. No quarterback is playing better than Matt Schaub, and almost no offensive player is playing at a higher level than Andre Johnson.
There are defensive problems, but the offense is playing at such a high level, that the defense can take changes. Opposing offenses can't play cautiously because the Texans are scoring points in bunches.
I know, I know. They've beaten the Dolphins, Lions and Bengals. The Dolphins are rebuilding and the Lions and Bengals are awful. Think back to what you thought of the Texans after that 0-4 start. You didn't think they were capable of winning three in a row, did you?
The Viking are decent. Not great. Not terrible. They're 12th in total offense, eighth in total defense. But the Metrodome is a tough place to play, and Gary Kubiak's teams are 4-15 on the road.
Of those 15 losses, only three have even been close. They've lost eight by 19 points or more. Yet those teams aren't this team. Schaub and Johnson have elevated the Texans. So has Mario Williams. The Texans are far, far from a perfect team, but this week they can make a gigantic statement about where they are as a franchise.
October 29, 2008
NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Undefeated Titans retain top spot
21. Houston Texans (3-4)
Houston has played very, very well since returning home in Week 5. If they can win at Minnesota this week, we could hear the Wild Card mumbles: the Texans currently trail in the Wild Card race by a single game (NYJ, Baltimore). After we finally give Chad Pennington his credit, how about a little credit for QB Matt Schaub? We'll see if Dunta Robinson's return can ignite another late-season push
Commentary: Texans better than history, record shows
By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 26, 2008, 11:21PM
It is so easy to conclude that the Texans did what they were supposed to do:
Domination from start to finish — in all three phases of the game — against a weaker team.
But there is more to the Texans’ record-setting 35-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
This type of game should not be only what the Texans were supposed to do. It should be what they are.
Here’s the shocker: If you set aside their abysmal history (and in a way the mathematical negative of this year’s 3-4 record), you might realize that this was indeed who they are.
Yes, the Houston Texans are a pretty decent football team.
Now some of you will take this as you would information from local weathermen so affected by the warmth that they freak out over “cold fronts” that threaten to drop the temperature below 50.
That’s understandable.
But just because you had your A/C on all last week doesn’t mean the Texans are a bad football team. Those days are over.
Frigid Fall is here.
The first two games of the season cannot be expunged from the ledger, but isn’t it clear that those games are the exceptions, while the way the Texans have played the last five weeks is a better representation of what kind of team they actually are?
Did you know that Matt Schaub, who set franchise records against the Bengals with his fourth consecutive game of 250 or more passing yards and a passer rating of 144.0, has the best passer rating in the league over the last five weeks? (Schaub was out one of those weeks — a loss against the Colts — because of an illness.)
Did you know that the Texans, and their recently-booed-at-home quarterback (he is 6-2 at Reliant Stadium, by the way) have the No. 2 pass offense in the NFL over their last five games?
Did you know that the Texans have the No. 1 offense in the league over the last five weeks?
Did you know the Texans have scored more points over the last five weeks than all but three teams?
OK, there are not many positive “did ya knows” for their raggedy defense — that’s why the Texans are just a “pretty decent” football team right now — but there is reason to believe that unit will improve in the second half of the season.
For the first time in franchise history the Texans have won three straight games, and they did it by a franchise-record 29-point margin, a full touchdown and two-point conversion more than they have ever won by.
Showing promise
You have to be careful getting too excited about their dispatching the less-than-enthusiastic Bengals bunch, the NFL’s bye week equivalent, but don’t let that ruin your daydreams. The most important numbers from the game are 35-6.
“It would be different if we started the season 2-0 and fell to 3-4; I’d be upset. But to start 0-4 and get here with three straight wins, it’s a great feeling,” said cornerback Dunta Robinson, who agrees with the pretty decent assessment, though he prefers the description “pretty damn good.”
Hold on there, Dunta.
Pretty decent teams can win consecutive home games over Miami, Detroit and Cincinnati.
A pretty good team (with a good offense) can go to Minnesota — which has averaged less than 16 points a game at home — and win. A pretty good team (with a good offense) can return home against Baltimore — which has averaged just over 16 points a game on the road — and win.
Might we look up in a couple of weeks at the won-five-in-a-row Texans and try to proclaim they are a pretty good team?
Remember when you looked down on the 0-4 Texans and thought they were a pretty bad team?
“We had a horrible first month, a bad first quarter (of the season), and we’re trying to battle out of that here in the second quarter,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve had a nice month here at home. We’ve got to go play a very physical, good football team on the road next.
“We’re trying to work our way out of it, and there is a long, long way to go.”
Yeah, a long way to go and a short time to get there, if they hope to do what most say can’t be done. (Playoffs?)
The defense needs to be better. Sunday was a start, as former Patriot Eugene Wilson saw his most extensive action, combining with new starter Nick Ferguson to give the Texans quite possibly their most intelligent play from a pair of safeties in their history.
Robinson is closer to being ready to resume his role as the team’s top corner. Fred Bennett was solid and, though that nutty back-and-forth between him and DeMarcus Faggins — a coaching ploy to get Bennett to focus better — hasn’t hurt as much as one would have expected, enough is enough.
Could the secondary actually be decent by season’s end, too? Imagine the damage Mario Williams might do up front if receivers are actually covered for a time.
Franchise at its best
Regardless, this group of Texans is closer to being a good team than any in the history of the franchise.
Andre Johnson is there. Perhaps the best receiver in the league. Steve Slaton is in the conversation of up-and-coming young running backs.
Heck, no one has called Child Protective Services to investigate that oft-abused offensive line in over a month.
And we’ve already discussed that possible star-to-be starting quarterback, who is closer to getting there than David Carr ever dreamed about.
Face it, your Houston Texans, with one of the best offenses in the NFL, are a pretty decent team.
Will the next stop be pretty good?
NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Undefeated Titans retain top spot
21. Houston Texans (3-4)
Houston has played very, very well since returning home in Week 5. If they can win at Minnesota this week, we could hear the Wild Card mumbles: the Texans currently trail in the Wild Card race by a single game (NYJ, Baltimore). After we finally give Chad Pennington his credit, how about a little credit for QB Matt Schaub? We'll see if Dunta Robinson's return can ignite another late-season push
Commentary: Texans better than history, record shows
By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 26, 2008, 11:21PM
It is so easy to conclude that the Texans did what they were supposed to do:
Domination from start to finish — in all three phases of the game — against a weaker team.
But there is more to the Texans’ record-setting 35-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
This type of game should not be only what the Texans were supposed to do. It should be what they are.
Here’s the shocker: If you set aside their abysmal history (and in a way the mathematical negative of this year’s 3-4 record), you might realize that this was indeed who they are.
Yes, the Houston Texans are a pretty decent football team.
Now some of you will take this as you would information from local weathermen so affected by the warmth that they freak out over “cold fronts” that threaten to drop the temperature below 50.
That’s understandable.
But just because you had your A/C on all last week doesn’t mean the Texans are a bad football team. Those days are over.
Frigid Fall is here.
The first two games of the season cannot be expunged from the ledger, but isn’t it clear that those games are the exceptions, while the way the Texans have played the last five weeks is a better representation of what kind of team they actually are?
Did you know that Matt Schaub, who set franchise records against the Bengals with his fourth consecutive game of 250 or more passing yards and a passer rating of 144.0, has the best passer rating in the league over the last five weeks? (Schaub was out one of those weeks — a loss against the Colts — because of an illness.)
Did you know that the Texans, and their recently-booed-at-home quarterback (he is 6-2 at Reliant Stadium, by the way) have the No. 2 pass offense in the NFL over their last five games?
Did you know that the Texans have the No. 1 offense in the league over the last five weeks?
Did you know the Texans have scored more points over the last five weeks than all but three teams?
OK, there are not many positive “did ya knows” for their raggedy defense — that’s why the Texans are just a “pretty decent” football team right now — but there is reason to believe that unit will improve in the second half of the season.
For the first time in franchise history the Texans have won three straight games, and they did it by a franchise-record 29-point margin, a full touchdown and two-point conversion more than they have ever won by.
Showing promise
You have to be careful getting too excited about their dispatching the less-than-enthusiastic Bengals bunch, the NFL’s bye week equivalent, but don’t let that ruin your daydreams. The most important numbers from the game are 35-6.
“It would be different if we started the season 2-0 and fell to 3-4; I’d be upset. But to start 0-4 and get here with three straight wins, it’s a great feeling,” said cornerback Dunta Robinson, who agrees with the pretty decent assessment, though he prefers the description “pretty damn good.”
Hold on there, Dunta.
Pretty decent teams can win consecutive home games over Miami, Detroit and Cincinnati.
A pretty good team (with a good offense) can go to Minnesota — which has averaged less than 16 points a game at home — and win. A pretty good team (with a good offense) can return home against Baltimore — which has averaged just over 16 points a game on the road — and win.
Might we look up in a couple of weeks at the won-five-in-a-row Texans and try to proclaim they are a pretty good team?
Remember when you looked down on the 0-4 Texans and thought they were a pretty bad team?
“We had a horrible first month, a bad first quarter (of the season), and we’re trying to battle out of that here in the second quarter,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve had a nice month here at home. We’ve got to go play a very physical, good football team on the road next.
“We’re trying to work our way out of it, and there is a long, long way to go.”
Yeah, a long way to go and a short time to get there, if they hope to do what most say can’t be done. (Playoffs?)
The defense needs to be better. Sunday was a start, as former Patriot Eugene Wilson saw his most extensive action, combining with new starter Nick Ferguson to give the Texans quite possibly their most intelligent play from a pair of safeties in their history.
Robinson is closer to being ready to resume his role as the team’s top corner. Fred Bennett was solid and, though that nutty back-and-forth between him and DeMarcus Faggins — a coaching ploy to get Bennett to focus better — hasn’t hurt as much as one would have expected, enough is enough.
Could the secondary actually be decent by season’s end, too? Imagine the damage Mario Williams might do up front if receivers are actually covered for a time.
Franchise at its best
Regardless, this group of Texans is closer to being a good team than any in the history of the franchise.
Andre Johnson is there. Perhaps the best receiver in the league. Steve Slaton is in the conversation of up-and-coming young running backs.
Heck, no one has called Child Protective Services to investigate that oft-abused offensive line in over a month.
And we’ve already discussed that possible star-to-be starting quarterback, who is closer to getting there than David Carr ever dreamed about.
Face it, your Houston Texans, with one of the best offenses in the NFL, are a pretty decent team.
Will the next stop be pretty good?
Now the Texans are 6-7 with their second three-game winning streak this season. After their 0-4 start, they're 6-3.:toast:
Is it just me or do you think this could be the most exciting week in Texans' history as they prepare for the 12-1 Titans errrr.......... Oilers — or Bud Adams' team?
Is it just me or do you think this could be the most exciting week in Texans' history as they prepare for the 12-1 Titans errrr.......... Oilers — or Bud Adams' team?
