Regression out of the question for Texans

The notion that the Houston Texans will regress in 2013 is astonishing. While it is fair to take notice of the implosion that occurred towards the end of their season in 2012, the Texans are poised to make a run at a Lombardi trophy, the franchise’s first.

To return to the playoffs the Texans must outplay the AFC South which consists of the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars; not exactly the toughest division in the NFL. The Colts do have one of the most promising quarterbacks of the next generation in Andrew Luck. In his second season, Luck will progress as a passer and hone his skills into the top notch/elite quarterback he is projected to be. The Colts are coming off a near playoff miss and they pose as the biggest threat to the Texans. Having said that, do not expect a sophomore quarterback lead, up and coming team that should be relevant in 2-5 years overtaking the Texans as division champions in 2013.

This off-season, through the draft and free agency, the Texans picked up a few players that will improve the squad as the season progresses. Following a Super Bowl winning season, former Baltimore Raven Ed Reed will join the Houston secondary which limped to the conclusion of the regular season. In 2012 the Texans secondary placed 16^th in passing yards allowed; 226 per game. Reed, coming off of a hip surgery is unsure whether or not he will be able to go come opening day. Once he joins the Texans, his play and as his knowledge of the game will help other defensive backs such as pro bowler Jonathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and rookie D.J. Swearinger.

The Texans drafted promising Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins to spread the field and open up the Texans, at times, nauseatingly boring passing game. Hopkins, playing alongside the ageless wonder Andre Johnson, second year receivers Keshawn Martin, Devier Posey, and third year receiver Lestar Jean, should provide franchise quarterback Matt Schaub more targets which will lead to more production in the passing game. The Texans, who work through a two tight end set a more than any other team will also utilize Owen Daniels, Garrett Graham, and 6^th round pick Ryan Griffin. Daniels is a former Pro-Bowler, and Graham has steadily improved his game since being drafted in 2010.

It goes without saying that the Texans’ backfield is arguably the best in the National Football League. Only a few tangents of 1 and 2 backs could even come close to standing up to Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Foster missed the preseason entirely, but has assured fans, coaches, and teammates, that come MNF against the San Diego Chargers; he will be ready to go. Tate is in a contract year and ran well last week against the Saints. In 2011 Tate rushed for nearly 1000 yards, and while it is far-fetched to achieve those numbers behind the second best back in the league, he will provide a punch when Foster needs a blow.
Prior to a season ending injury to ILB Brian Cushing, the Texans boasted one of the league’s best defenses. After Cushing’s torn ACL, combined with two sports hernias Jonathan Joseph suffered, the Texans never regained the swagger they played with the first five weeks of the season. With Cushing coming back from injury, the acquisition of Ed Reed, and the best defensive end in the league in J.J. Watt, the Texans will attempt to reestablish themselves as the best unit in the league.

With a sound backfield, explosive air attack, and high profile defensive core, the only question remaining for the Texans is the man calling the signals. Matt Schaub is in his 8^th year as a starter, and has won one playoff game. In big game situations, he falls apart, and he has yet to live up to his billing as the highest paid athlete in all of the greater Houston area. In 2013 the Texans can go as far as Schaub takes them. Defense wins championships, sure, but upon closer examination of the last few Super Bowl winners, quarterbacks play a major role in postseason success. The last five quarterbacks to win Super Bowls? Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger. For the Texans to make it past the divisional round of the playoffs, Schaub must rise to the occasion, utilize what could be the best receiving corps in franchise history, and be the quarterback Gary Kubiak, Rick Smith, and Bob McNair expect him to be.

A regression is challenging to see when it comes to the Texans in 2013. A regression would mean that the Texans will either; not secure a first round bye, not make it past the divisional round or miss the postseason entirely. For that to happen six teams in the AFC must outplay the Texans. At this point only one team in the AFC is genuinely better than the Texans, that being the Denver Broncos. The Texans, Patriots, Bengals and the Colts round out the top five in the AFC. Super Bowl hopes rest on Schaub, and, with a revamped receiving core and one of the best backs in the game lining up behind him, look for him to do big things this season. Anticipate the Texans making a deep playoff run this season, they have no excuses, this team is the best the young franchise has ever been. 

On Peanuts, Running Backs, and JungleBoiSwaggg

I claim to be a die-hard fan of the Houston Texans, and any true blooded fan of a sports team should not complain much following a win. This past Saturday, following our game against Miami, I had a few specific grievances. First off, the Texans may be toast in the backfield if Arian stays hurt. Secondly, D.J. Swearinger may become the new Matt Slauson. Third, smoking may result in fits of rude behavior and immaturity. Lastly, if you eat peanuts at a football game I now have a biased dislike towards you.

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Allow me to delve into my experience at Reliant before I push off with some analysis of the W against Tannehill and his group of miscreants.  

Walking up to the stadium past the Astrodome brought a few tears to my eyes, I must say. I love this city and I realized I have no desire to live anywhere else.

Supposedly I attended a few events at the Astrodome but I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast this morning so how am I supposed to recall an event from 15 years ago?

Getting to the gate was no problem, and the line was moving quickly. The NFL just started an initiative in which you can have no bag or item larger than 6.5 inches (i.e. handbags, clutch, purses,) or in my case a wallet. That’s right I was the douche at the Texans game that had to walk all the way back to the car because my wallet was too big.

Due to my rookie mistake I was privileged to make the walk past the Astrodome for a second and third time; not as enjoyable the second OR third time.

My attempt to get into the stadium went off without a hitch the second time around and I got up to my just as the Texans marched down the field on a beautiful scoring drive orchestrated by Schaub and his high powered receiving corps. That sounds so bizarre to say; high powered receiving corps…

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The Texans starters barely played on Saturday night, a smart move from Kubiak seeing as star players around the league are dropping faster than my GPA this past semester (Too soon? No? Perfect). Due to limited work on both sides of the ball, it is hard for me to say much about our starters.

In the limited action here are some things I noticed.

It was incredible to see Cushing back in uniform. The linebacker almost had a nice sack on Tannehill, but in the end he settled for one tackle on about 10 snaps.

Our lack of a consistent running game while Schaub and Case were under center is extremely concerning to me. Without number 23 in the backfield we are completely one sided. Ben Tate is not good enough to be a starter in this league for any team that wants to make a run at a trophy. He would be a great fit for a bottom dwelling team with no hope like the Jaguars, or even the Cowboys.

Foster inked a 43.5 million dollar deal in March of 2012 and I would hate to see his play start to decline this early in his five year deal.

This is the second time in three years that he has missed significant time in the preseason. As a fan who has invested a lot of time and energy into this team, I have to say I am highly disappointed with the entire situation.

The last thing that stood out to me was Swearinger’s hit on Dustin Keller. It was a legal hit, trust me, I asked Mark Schlereth about it.

In the post game interview D.J. told reporters,

"I was making a hit playing football," Swearinger said. "In this league you’ve got to go low. If you go high you’re going to get a fine."… "The rules say you can’t hit high so I went low and I’m sorry that happened,"

With that, D.J. has painted a bright red target on his back. This situation is all too similar to last season when Cushing tore his ACL and how outraged Texans fans were.

The Dolphins acquired Keller and Mike Wallace this offseason for their young quarterback. It’s tough to see Keller go down for the season, as a fan of the game it is easy to empathize with the Dolphins.

The hit was clean but will still bring some negative energy onto the field for our second round pick who (with the injuries to our Secondary) could be starting soon.

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No trip to Reliant is complete without an altercation with another Texans fan. In my case it was with the loudest, most irritating woman I have met in my life.

I am not over exaggerating when I say that this woman sounded as if she had been smoking since kindergarten. In the highest pitch her poor vocal chords would allow, she screeced “GET HIM, GET HIM, GET HIM,” Relentlessly.

Every. Single. Play.

Fast forward a drive or two, my friends and I had heard enough, so one of my friends started screaming SHUT UP, at no one in particular.

Mind you, I said nothing, she was annoying, yes, but I understood she was simply enjoying the game, so my left ear just gritted its teeth and I continued to watch.

My friend’s demand to “SHUT UP” was of course heard by Mrs. Smokes-a-lot as she quipped “These guys are pissing me off I am going for a smoke,” Just loud enough for us to hear. When no one from her party said a word, she stood up, dropped a peanut down my shirt and tore off down the stairs.

Basically what occurred next was all too predictable, this lady, fully clad in Michael Kors and Tori Burch, returned from her smoke break and started pelting us with peanut shells.

I learned at a young age that if you do not engage a bully they will simply get bored and move on to a different target, and after about 15 minutes she stopped, content with herself, a 35 year old woman who just attempted to pick a fight with two 19 year olds, I would be proud too.

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The rest of the game was fine; we were some of the last to leave because not many fans are interested in seeing the third and fourth string players on the bubble to make the roster.

It was great to watch the Texans in action, considering I will most likely not be attending a regular season game. I highly recommend you do though; the new screen alone makes the trip worth it. Most of the game I struggled to avert my eyes and actually watch the players on the field.

In weeks to come, I hope the Texans address issues surrounding our backfield. It would be a damn shame to be able to blame our lack of a Lombardi trophy on our undrafted former super-vegan. I am highly impressed with our passing game, but that will not carry us this season. When Schaub was putting up insane stats a few seasons ago, we were not winning enough games to make the playoffs. We are a better team than we were a few years ago, but I just don’t know if Schaub could carry the load without Arian lining up behind him.

Thanks for the read, my next article will take a look at our draft picks and how each has fared up to this point. 

In respect to 56

Every group of friends has that one asshole; the guy you love for all the wrong reasons. Usually he is not the biggest or the brightest but you keep him around because of his quick wit and his endearing quips about your other friends… Brian Cushing is the Texans asshole.

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I remember the night vividly. October 8^, 2012, watching the Texans play the New York Jets, only about a month into the NFL’s regular season. At that point the Texans had been dominant, on their way to an early 5-0 record, with absolutely no end in sight.

That night I was at a friend's apartment about a month into my first semester of freshman year. I went to grab a slice of pizza off of the host's dining room table, only to come back into the room with everyone staring wide-eyed into the mounted flat screen. All the joy from the first quarter of the Texan's season was sucked out of the air, and was quickly replaced with misery and despair. The Texans Super Bowl hopes were in serious danger.

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The Texans never pick offensive players in the NFL draft. When we should have picked Vince Young we balked and picked some kid named Mario. In 2010 we picked a pizza delivery boy named Watt, and in 2009, with the 15^th pick in the draft the Texans selected a kid with shoulder length hair from USC named Brian Cushing.

In college Cushing was an enigmatic defender; he played outside linebacker, but he was strong enough to line up as a defensive end. He recorded 3 sacks his senior year, nothing impressive. His numbers were never what wowed scouts, but rather, his versatility, and his natural tendency to lead on the field.

Anyone who did not do their research prior to the draft wouldn’t have seen anything overly impressive with the 6’3 205 pound surfer from Cali, nothing stood out about Cush.

Fast forward one year, and the linebacker was considered to have had one of the most impressive rookie seasons in the history of the league (133 tackles, 4 sacks, 10 pass deflections, 4 interceptions, & 2 forced fumbles). He was voted to start the Pro-Bowl back when it used to mean something… wait… and was selected as a second team All-Pro linebacker.

Cush sat out the first four games of the following season due to doping, which he still denies.

2010-2011 was not a great time for Texans fans, as we regressed from a team that went 9-7 in 09-10 to a basement dweller in the AFC South, finishing 6-10.

Since his rookie season though, Cushing has been making mince meat out of offensive units, namely AFC South starting quarterbacks.

So 2012 seemed like a prime time for the Texans to make a push to the playoffs and beyond, no more Peyton, no more speed bumps in our division, no worries. One thing the Texans didn’t anticipate? An illegal block laid by Matt Slauson.

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In 2012 the Texans started 5-0 thanks in a large part to the defense pioneered by Wade Phillips and lead by Cushing. J.J. Watt was on the rise, Kareem Jackson had finally started coming into his own, and the Texans defense looked insatiable.

Monday night; I most likely should have been studying for a test, but instead I headed over to watch the Texans take on Mark Sanchez and the Funky bunch. The Texans were playing decently, a little sloppy seeing as it was a prime time game, and we never can perform under the watch of scrutinizing fans all across the US of A.

In the second quarter, on a simple run play, Jets offensive lineman Matt Slauson laid one the dirtiest blocks I have seen in my football watching days, barreling into Cushing’s lower leg, helmet first.

Seeing as I was indulging myself in a slice of pizza, I did not get to witness it in real time, but in the highlight I saw the block and then got to see the Texans hopes of a Super Bowl, writhing on the ground in agony.

I stayed up late that night, “studying” and hoping to hear that the injury was a minor bruise, or anything that didn’t threaten to end Cushing’s season. When no news came I decided to go to sleep, and woke up to the worst case scenario; Cushing had torn his ACL, his 2012 was finished, needless to say I was heartbroken.

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This week Brian Cushing anticipates suiting up for the first time in 11 months, as the Texans will play the Dolphins in our second preseason game. I will be watching, waiting for Cushing to lay a vicious blow and make everything right in the H.

The chemistry of our defense was never perfectly balanced following Cush’s injury. As Wade Phillips said,

"We missed him when he was out," defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "We did a satisfactory job without him, but anytime you lose a great player it's going to hurt you some. And we're glad to have him back."

Everyone, ranging from the 52 man roster, to coaches, to fans alike, everyone knows how pivotal number 56 is to our defense, and we aren’t the same without him douching it up on the football field. 

Because honestly, what is a group of friends without their asshole?

Thanks for the read, next piece: a tasteful selection detailing Jackson Pollock’s influence on the artistic movement of the mid to late 20^th century.

Top 5 Texans at the Midway Point

In honor of my second blog post and the Texans halfway through the season I decided to launch a countdown of the five most important Texans up to this point. This is tough seeing as numerous players have contributed to the 7-1 record the Texans hold heading into their matchup with da-Bears. However I will have come to the conclusion that these 5 players are deserving of praise through the first half of the season.

5. Owen Daniels (Tight end)
37 receptions - 478 yards - 5 TD

What a resurgence we have seen so far this season, from this Pro Bowler of a few seasons ago. The receiving core for the Texans has been solid around Schaub, and OD has been a consistent producer. He is looking at career highs in yards and touchdowns. Hopefully we can see sustained performance and results as we edge closer and closer to the playoffs.

4. Chris Meyers (Center) 

A tough off season for the offensive line of the Texans as we lost Mike Brisiel to the Raiders and Eric Winston to the Chiefs. Many thought the Texans run production would significantly drop, however Meyers has held the line together and supported a strong run and pass blocking core. The line is extremely young as rookie Ben Jones and second year player Derek Newton have gotten considerable playing time. But thanks to stellar play by newly announced team captain Meyers, the Texans O-line is again a top line in the AFC.

3. Arian Foster (Running Back)
192 carries -770 yards - 10 Touchdowns 

I cannot rank him any higher than third most valuable player on this team. I must give kudos to Foster for dropping his attempts at becoming a vegan as it was reported Foster has admitted to eating chicken again. Arian I proudly bestow to you once again, your man card. 

While Foster has the most touchdowns in the league among running backs, his yards per carry are abysmal. He is still a top 3 running back in the league but among the future Pro Bowlers on this stacked roster, Mr. Foster is only ranked third

2. Matt Schaub
12 Touchdowns - 4 interceptions - 

As I wrote in my earlier post, Schaub's efficiency has been a major part of the Texan's success this season. 

1. J.J. Watt
10.5 Sacks - 10 passes defended - 39 tackles  

MVP of the season up to this point, most explosive defensive player in the league. Wrote extensively about his affect on this team in my previous blog post. 

Please share this blog. Thank you fellow Texans.

Texans Rundown prior to SNF (11/8)

A look at the Texans prior to showdown with Bears

The Chicago Bears host the Houston Texans at Soldier Field this week on Sunday Night Football. Both teams hold records of 7-1, the Texans leading the AFC, the Bears second in the NFC only to the undefeated Atlanta Falcons. Many are calling this matchup the best game of the season up to this point and a possible sneak peak to the Super Bowl.

The Texans are off to a franchise best start and would be undefeated if not for an absolute collapse on Sunday Night football against the gunslinging reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. However I cannot complain about a 7-1 start, which can be accredited to a few pivotal pieces of the AFC leading Texans.

J.J. Watt

If I were voting for a mid-season MVP Watt would finish second only to his incredible sack dance mimicking Aaron Rodger's championship belt touchdown dance. However due to the oft criticized NFL MVP race which makes it practically impossible for a non-QB to win the award, Watt usually appears as number 5 or 6 in highly publicized polls. Contrary to popular belief, due to a few specific reasons, Watt deserves to be named the MVP of the half season.

First and foremost numbers speak for themselves. 10.5 sacks, 10 passes defended, 39 tackles, and one sweet sack celebration. 4 of his 10 passes defended have lead to turnovers, this stat cannot be overstated.

Secondly, with the loss of team captain and emotional leader, Brian Cushing (Cush), the Texans defensive unit was in desperate need for someone to take the helm. J.J. has far exceeded expectation up to this point, and for his efforts he was recently named a mid-season captain.

Finally, his superior play consistently draws double coverage from opposing offensive linemen and opens up opportunities for his fellow linemen and linebackers to get in on the pass rush. This can easily be evidenced by Conor Barwin, Brooks Reed, and Whitney Mercilus' rise in productivity over the past few games.

Due to these reasons J.J. Watt should be considered the Most Valuable Player up to this point in the NFL.

Matt Schaub

Underrated. That might as well be Matt Schaub's middle name. Schaub's play up to this point has been underrated and undervalued by the talking heads surrounding the NFL. Now I am not saying Schaub is in the same category as Brady, Brees, Manning, and Rodgers, that would be biased and simply not true. However Schaub has done exactly as he is supposed to do; he has been efficient, intelligent, and consistent.

His statline up to this point: 12 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and 1918 yards. While many may not agree with this, the most important stat is the 4 interceptions, which denotes smart decision making that has ultimately been lacking over the last few seasons. Matt Schaub is not a sexy QB, far from it. He is not a gunslinger, and he is no way shape or form an electric runner. He is exactly what the Texans need; an intelligent pocket passer.

With a plethora of targets to work with, Schaub has taken advantage of his chances this season, many of his explosive plays coming off the trademarked Kubiak bootleg. That is why Schaub's value to his team cannot be overemphasized.

I have to go wake up my friend for breakfast and then go to class, but I will have another update in a few hours.

 Please share this blog, much appreciated fellow Texans.