The official 2010 season Texans prediction thread

[WMH]

Originally Posted by superbowlbound

I know it's crazy early, but still. 33 carries is too many.

Your right, its crazy early.....and we were playing the Colts. Chew the clock, and keep Mr. Foreheads a$$ on the pine. If we see this again, before the next Colt game, I will be beyond shocked.

[painekiller]

If we do this again in week two, the cowboys will have to come out with 8 or 9 in the box and then Schaub and all his toys will be passing the ball all over the field.

It's very dangerous to project numbers out based off one game.

[Joshua]

People are getting way too carried away and reading way too much into the gameplan (and maybe even Foster's play) on Sunday. For several years now, the Colts defense have been fairly susceptible to a solid running game. Throw in their prolific offense and it only makes sense to try and run the ball a lot. There are two benefits: (1) keeps their offense off the field and chews the clock and (2) their defense is built to play with a lead and has a hard time stopping it. This game plan was no surprise and I don't think it's any indication of what we can expect going forward.

Just to give an example. The only other time we beat the Colts, you know what Ron Dayne's numbers were? 32 carries for 153 yards and 2 TDs. However, Ron Dayne was not the answer at RB and that game did not mark the turning point where we suddenly became a team who runs the ball 40 times a game. Now, I'm not trying to minimize Foster's day or say he's not the back of the future. I think he very well may be. Just trying to offer a little perspective.

[nunusguy]

While this win would certainly seem to establish that we're a better team and more mature this year, it could also indicate that the Colts are on the downside of their very solid run in recent years ? In other words as they often say in golf, the front-runner is now coming back to the rest of the field. And since division rivals in the AFC South play basically the same very difficut schedule this year along with each other twice, that opens up the possibility that the only team going from this division to the playoffs is the division winner with perhaps just a 9-7 record ? So obviously that makes division wins even more important and is another reason to feel good about the season opener.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I started out saying 6-10 when the schedule was released. I got my hopes up when training camp opened and we had a lot of quality depth at RB, but now that our RB situation is worse off then last season, I am back to wavering in my optimism.

If Schaub, Foster and Johnson stay healthy and Cushing was not suspended I could have seen 11-5. Without Cushing, we have to stay healthy to go 10-6.

Having a RB stay healthy for a season is unlikely, especially when you only have one real NFL quality back healthy to start the season, so I am thinking realistically we are looking below .500, 7-9 is my current prestart to the season prediction.

I will hedge this by saying if we beat the Colts to open the season, we can be 10-6. This team needs to get the confidence and swagger that only comes from winning against the great teams, like the Colts.

So to muddle up my wavering, 7-9 to 10-6. And this coming draft is looking to be weak, so this is the year to have a high draft pick, not a mid round pick again.

Could I have been anymore vague? My initial 6-10 is looking good, my coolaid inspired 10-6 is very unlikely. This team could pull a backs to the wall run and win out and end up 11-5, but they have not shown that kind of passion or want to.

Right now the below .500 pick is looking solid.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by painekiller

...........
Right now the below .500 pick is looking solid.

Sure, it is. And when they were 4-2, 10-6 looked doable. There are still 7 games left. After those 7 are played, then we'll know for sure.... I'm not scared of the upcoming schedule and I don't think the Texans are either...

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by Arky

I'm not scared of the upcoming schedule and I don't think the Texans are either...

I don't know. Whem I'm compiling my list of players/coaches who aren't scared of strapping it on against the big boys, Kubiak and Schaub ain't too high on that list.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Joshua

I don't know. Whem I'm compiling my list of players/coaches who aren't scared of strapping it on against the big boys, Kubiak and Schaub ain't too high on that list.

Well, if they're really scared, then they shouldn't be in the business. And I'm not sure that's correct - if both were gone tomorrow, I kinda think they'd have no problem finding another job....

Winning cures a lot of things.... Beer tastes better, people on the street are friendlier, birds are singing, coach and QB don't seem like mice.....

[Nconroe]

well, my 10-6 glass of koolaid is about empty.

But, I do think this very young team of players, especially the starting defense, is learning a lot, improving slowly.

They are still playing real hard,

I think they are just as big and fast as any team, so nothing to be scared of.

They just need to mature in their team decision making.

So, I am willing to see what happens and wish them well to win a whole bunch of these next 7 games and surprise us and everyone.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I very much hope my prediction is wrong and I hope the team scores 10 or more victories this year and makes it to the playoffs, but what do I think will happen ? I'm voting for a .500 record for 2010. The schedule is just too tough and the secondary is too young.

Right now .500 is obviously looking unrealistically optimistic.
At least I had this right: "The schedule is just too tough and the secondary is too young.".

[NBT]

The season is a total loss. They don't win another game. 4-12!

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by NBT

The season is a total loss. They don't win another game. 4-12!

No Joke ! It could happen.

[Arky]

Aight, the Texans finished the season 6-10 and looks as though no one got it right. Congrats to the ones that were close (painekiller and Roy P with 7-9)....Little did we know, eh? I'll respond to my earlier comments in red.

Originally Posted by Arky

OK, the 2010 preseason is complete and just a few more tweaks are needed for the final roster. So, it's time to reach inside and find your "inner Nostradamus" and post your prediction for the number wins for the Texans in 2010.

My reasoning:

a. I'm looking for Schaub to raise his game a notch. A few more TD passes, a few less INT's. Schaub didn't quite exceed 2009 TD totals (29) as he threw for 24 this year. He did better with a few less INT's - 15 in 2009, 12 in 2010. His QB rating dropped from 98.6 in 2009 to 92.0 in 2010. I've been critical at times of Schaub this year but I think he's been nursing an injury (knee, I think I read somewhere). The vertical game regressed this year and the stats show that - in 2009, he had only 9 more attempts but threw for 400 more yards. Tosses of 40+ went down from 15 in 2009 to 9 in 2010. Having said that and something nobody is talking about, he had arguably his best game of the year against the Jags Sunday - 18/22, 253 yards, 129.7 rating, 1 TD, 0 INT and no sacks.

b. Arian Foster - run, baby, run. Can't say enough about what this young man did... I had no idea he'd lead the league.

c. Defense gets the traditional slow start but finds their groove faster and ends up better than 2009's defense. Hooo boy, this is where it gets sticky, eheh. Baffling the way they hit bottom. Players "making plays" were few and far between. Cush and Pollard, two of the stars of 2009, both fell off the chart. No pick 6's (I think). The defense just never got it in gear.

d. Special teams - I see the kicking game as OK but I think all the new faces on the coverage teams as a weak spot for a time. Most important that the Texan offense covers up for them.... Big dropoff here, too. It's been attributed to a lesser quality of athlete on special teams due to the Texans having to dig deep on the depth chart and that may be right. I don't have the stats handy but I think they got a big fat zero for kickoff and punt return TD's.

For some reason, I'm getting a vibe that 9-7 just ain't gonna happen this year. I dunno why.... but I'm gonna go with it. Therefore, that leaves 8-8 (or worse) or 10-6 (or better). The optimist in me wants to go 10-6, the pessimist in me wants to go 8-8. Optimist wins. My predicition = 10-6. Never in my wildest, most negative self would I have thought 6-10. The Texans took the bizarre loss to the next level. LOL. Oh well....