Quote:
Originally Posted by chuck
I understand what you're saying but I feel like I AM looking at the big picture. Today's loss is annoying but far less troubling to me than the previous two. And far less troubling than the way the team has played on both sides of the ball, starters and scrubs, over the last three games. I understand wanting to keep all your key guys healthy but I would be more comfortable if they had come out and played like a real team for more than that one initial drive. I don't see a squad that is mature or experienced enough with success to be able to start 0-0. Think about it. Do you really believe these guys can put their recent failures out of their minds and approach the Bengals as if it were really 0-0? I don't. As usual I would love to be wrong.
If the Texans come out and smoke Cincy next week I will welcome all manner of ridicule and abuse.
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If our first-round game was against the Steelers or the Patriots, I'd agree with you. Those are two teams that know how to win and the Texans don't.
But the opponent is Cincy and their recent playoff history is only slightly better than ours. They have a rookie QB and we have a rookie QB. They're coming off a loss where they did play hard and we're coming off a loss where (by design) we weren't.
I think defense and running game will be the keys and both of those favor the Texans. If we don't turn the ball over or get stung with costly penalties, I think we emerge winners, particularly with a rested Foster and a recovered AJ. Plus, we just gave them two new weapons to worry about - Ward and Casey.
There are 50 ways we could still lose but that's the playoffs. At some point, you have to trust the talent and I think ours is better.