As the Houston Texans prepare for their game vs. the Baltimore Ravens, the season has reached a crossroad. On the plus side, the Texans' offense has begun to hit on all cylinders. The running game has been very productive and Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson have started their own airline company. Schaub-Johnson Airlines has flown more than Southwest flies from Houston to Dallas.
One the negative side, the Texans have given up more points than they have scored this season (196 to 213). Matt Schaub is injured, and worst of all, Houston is 3-5. Nevermind that they are an overtime and a final 2-minute debacle away from being 5-3.
Sage Rosenfels will start and has played adequately from the time he showed up in Houston. In general, it can be said that the Texans are almost injury immune. No, they do sustain injuries. In fact most would say that over the past two seasons they have had several key injuries. But, have you noticed that they seem to perform the same with or without these "stars"? Last year Houston overcame injuries to Schaub, Johnson, and Ahman Green among others; but it is unclear that thier record would have been better if the had gone through the season healthy. The same goes for this season.
The good news is that this indicates the depth of the Texans. They are basically the same team with first or second stringers in the game. However, there is an old axiom in football - "If you have two quarterbacks, really you have none."
The other thing that this indicates is something very impressive. Coach Gary Kubiak has instilled a system that is not player-dependent. That is a rare thing in this league. The Dallas Cowboys are dependent on Tony Romo. The San Diego Chargers seem to be dependent on Shawne Merriman. The Philadelphia Eagles are dependent on Brian Westbrook. The Detroit Lions are dependent on Barry Sanders, oh yeah, he is retired. That might explain a few things.
So here the Texans are-trying to figure out which way to go. If there is any hope for this season, the Texans will have to dispose of the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. The hole that they dug themselves early in this season may be insurmountable. The dedicated fans would like to think not. However, in the end, the Texans may find themselves exactly where they should be. They are a 7-9 or 8-8 team with depth. Hopefully, over the next few years, the Houston Texans can build on that foundation. They can convert a little of their depth, and a few of their draft picks, into some "stars" that they can't live without.
Comments
I agree with most of you observations. However I feel that you have underrated the overall talent of the team. Offensively, we have and we will continue to improve each and every game. Even with Schaub out for the foreseeable future few QBs in this league wouldn’t want to take the driver seat in the Texans offence. Of course we all know about Andre Johnson who continues to make his case that he is the best receiver in the NFL, but the contribution of Kevin Walter can not continue to go unnoticed, he and Owen Daniels have shown what will happen if the coverage is rolled over to Dre consistently. I was happy to hear Kubiak explain how he was disappointed with his own lack of loyalty in the running game in the Minnesota loss and I expect to see a heavier dose of Steve Slaton and Ahman Green for the rest of the season.
Defensively I believe us to be a breath away from being one of the best in the NFL. With Dunta Robinson back I feel it’s time to put Reeves back on the bench where he belongs, coming into the season the group that worried the most was our safeties however they have been a pleasant surprise. Our LB corps took a tremendous loss earlier this week with the loss of Zach Diles Houston’s leading tackler. However I am very excited to get a look at rookie Xavier Adibi a guy who brings amazing athleticism to the position, and across the line I believe us to be one pass rusher opposite Mario of having the best D-Line in the league.
With all that said I feel there is no reason we should be in the situation we’re in right now and the even though the season looks bleak the future is still bright I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t compete for the title in 09.