We still Suck: last week was a mirage

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Joshua

No disagreement from me that we lose games from stupid play, whether from the coaches or the players. I do think we have lost several games by being pushed around. Off the top of my head, we were pushed around severely by Pittsburgh and Baltimore (although they are the 2 best at it and do it to a lot of people). We also were somewhat manhandled in the first Tenn. and Jacksonville games as well as the Minnesota game. I will acknowledge that we are getting better at playing tougher. However, I'm not convinced we're there yet. And up until the second half of this season, I don't know how you could characterize the Texans as anything but a soft team.

i think we actually agree. I don't think we are a team of tough guys, I just think we are plenty tough to win in the NFL (or at least not get beat by it if we play smart). We are tougher than the colts, but they play smart football and make it their identity.

I guess my point is we can win without getting any tougher. But we can't win without getting smarter. Not many superbowls are won by the team featuring a bunch of tough guys playing intimidator and pounding their chest. Most of the time the more disciplined team wins.

If anyone disagrees I'll put money against the titans and their false bravado squad.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by gunn

Because they're physically worn out from the Tennessee game. This is a finesse team that is just not built to stand up with the physical teams in the league in my opinion. They're just beat up and on top have to travel to the west coast and play in cold, wet conditions. Soft teams loose those games.

They need to get physical up front on the interior offensively and also at every level of the defense.

Yep. Not to mention the fact that our BYE week was way back in week 2. We were just tired, didn't get up for this game, and flat out got beat in all three phases of the game.

[Bigtinylittle]

I am completely with Barrett on this one. We are an average team right now. Oakland is a below average team. If the Tennessee Titans can lose to an average team on the road (Texans) then the Texans can lose to a below averave team (Raiders) without it meaning the Texans are a terrible team.

Some things I saw yesterday:

1. The Raiders were getting more pressure on the QB than we were. I take that to mean they wanted the game more than we did.
2. Asomuga or whatever his name is, probably is the best DB I have seen in a long time. I love that guy.
3.Slater ran tough all day. That impressed me.
4.I'm not going to complain if we draft a RB with our first or second pick.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Big Texas

I never said that I did not enjoy a win. Everyone enjoys a win.

But what makes champions and winners, something this team is not and obviously with you at the helm would continue not to be, is a team that realizes that there is always room for improvement. If there was not anymore room for improvement then both teams that beat the Titans would not be watching from home in January.

Its statements like the one you just made that keep us in the current predicament that we are in. Contentment with mediocrity.

Just because you win a game does not make you a winner. A winner is defined as a person who wins more than they lose. We have not. So there for we are losers. And at best this season we are mediocre, average, and in my book after so many years unacceptable.

Now take that and do what you will. I choose not to converse with the likes of someone who chooses to ignore the losses of today to focus on the irrelevant wins of yesterday. And yes they were irrelevant because they have no bearing on today or our future. All that win did was decrease our chances of a good draft pick and settle the spirits of a person like you.

So you and your loser buddies can start a thread called "A" for effort where you can discuss the great things Dom Capers, George Bush, and Jeff Skilling have done.

I am not happy about losing yesterday, but I prefer to see the positive(s) of this season, and don't get too excited over a win or a loss.

As for your last comment, you are a complete ass, and you know nothing of me, my family, friends or anything about me. Do you feel "big" by making statements like that on a message board. You must be a really smart man. I bet you are a product of the public schools here. I am sure Texans everywhere are proud of you. I hope you don't spill a drink on my car next time I am at your drive thru window.

[popanot]

Alright, let's all chill a little here. I'm proud this team didn't go totally in the tank after Ike and the awful start they had. That's certainly a sign of good character and something to hang their hat on. However, this season has been a major disappointment and they have achieved absolutely nothing. Sure, we look like we've assembled more talent in various spots, but this team still has many more questions than answers as far as the roster goes, and the coaching has gotten worse this year, IMO. Although Slaton has been a godsend, we know nothing more about future or potential of this team than we did at the beginning of the season. The offense can move the ball, but idea is to score TDs. The defense is a total mess and the special teams aren't anything special. Not good as far as I'm concerned.

I'm a Texans fan and always will be, but I'm frustrated and tired of the mediocrity. Why the hell can teams like the Dolphins and Falcons (and the Cowpies a couple years ago) turn it around, yet, we fester in mediocrity year after year. I mean come on, how about just a little sniff of the playoffs??? Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. It could be worse, I guess. We could be the Lions or Bengals.

[Bigtinylittle]

Well, I would like to win the Super Bowl the next couple of years or so, but it aint going to happen.

Like it or not, the Texans are an average team right now. The fact is, only a few teams in the league are well above average. The rest are average or worse.

In my opinion, the Texans are a very young team and should get better just by gaining more experience. If we have a good draft or two, in the next couple of years we could join the elite teams. Our season is essentially over now. I will watch our game with Chicago this week and after that I intend to enjoy spending the off season watching the draft, the free agents pickups and the trades, and hoping for the best. Things could be worse-- at least we aren't Detroit.

[NBT]

I don't like that we are characterized as "sucked". We may not meet certain peoples criteria, but we certainly don't suck! Certain players and coaches need to be weeded out, and I am sure they will be. Right now we are what we are, average. That is a heck of lot better than what we were.

[jppaul]

I bet we win the bears game but only if we are underdogs. If anybody expects anything out of us we are bound to fall flat on our faces

[Big Texas]

Originally Posted by NBT

I don't like that we are characterized as "sucked". We may not meet certain peoples criteria, but we certainly don't suck! Certain players and coaches need to be weeded out, and I am sure they will be. Right now we are what we are, average. That is a heck of lot better than what we were.

I understand, "suck" may be a bit of an overexaggeration but mediocre, average, underacheivers, and less than par are pretty close to defining where we are right now. And as far as us being better than we were, I disagree. 7-8. We can only hope to be as good as we were last year. Because in the end it all boils down to wins.

[Big Texas]

Originally Posted by Mike

I am not happy about losing yesterday, but I prefer to see the positive(s) of this season, and don't get too excited over a win or a loss.

As for your last comment, you are a complete ass, and you know nothing of me, my family, friends or anything about me. Do you feel "big" by making statements like that on a message board. You must be a really smart man. I bet you are a product of the public schools here. I am sure Texans everywhere are proud of you. I hope you don't spill a drink on my car next time I am at your drive thru window.

Good post. Do you feel better now. Now who is the one whining. "Wah, Wah, Wah". Remember that? Or do you need "medical attention".

Point here is that this is a sports chat forum, where individuals are free to express their opinions about the Texans. I understand and respect that you are an optimist, you should as a respectable individual respect the fact that my ideals may differ from yours without resorting to emotional statements like the ones above. Or in the words of a product of PUBLIC SCHOOLS if you cant take the heat get out the kitchen OR dont start something that you are too emotional to finish.

Originally Posted by Mike

I hope you don't spill a drink on my car next time I am at your drive thru window.

And so you know, you are probably paying my salary right now for your son/daughter to get a higher education. So you dont know anything about me as well, so lets keep it that way.

[Mike]

You brought up non-sports arguments and Skilling and Bush. You made it personal, not about sports. You were the one who made accusations about me and my friends. You started the non sports crapstorm. That was not my choice, but that is the path you went down.

This is a good board for football discussion. I don't want to make it a place for anything other than intelligent Texan opinion. I'd rather not respond to your baseless personal attacks for the rest of the community to read. If you want to flame away at me, have at it. I am not going to comment and degrade this community. I hope you and your family have a merry Christmas.

[sinnister]

Originally Posted by Big Texas

I understand, "suck" may be a bit of an overexaggeration but mediocre, average, underacheivers, and less than par are pretty close to defining where we are right now. And as far as us being better than we were, I disagree. 7-8. We can only hope to be as good as we were last year. Because in the end it all boils down to wins.

I disagree with part of your statement. As far as record goes, you are correct in that we can only equal last year; however, I feel this team is better than last years team. The only way we would really know that is for them to play each other, and that is impossible. I do believe that this years team would win if they were to play. We have improved OL play, a better running back, and better qb play from Schaub. The D. well, talking about that makes me cry. Anyway, we can be a better team but have a 7-9 or 8-8 record. All things aren't equal since we aren't playing the same teams, injuries, etc, so I think we have to see if there is improvement or not. I feel that the Offense has made great strides, and the D has to be addressed. If we find another play maker on Offense, and someone who can help us in the red zone, we could become one of the elite offenses in the NFL. That is a long way from the Caper days. Who knows what our D could be with a great S in the backfield and a pass rusher. I am cautiously optimistic about next year.

[superbowlbound]

You're right, we're still mediocre, but we're right there on the verge of being a good, playoff caliber team. The fact of the matter is that we're a very young team with young coaches that are still learning how to win in this league. Now, no one is happy with the way the season turned out, but as we saw in the packers and tacks games, we're finally starting to make the one to three plays that turn tough losses into wins. Even in the Raiders debacle, Amobi, of all people, forced an extremely clutch turnover, only to have the wind taken out of our sails by boneheaded playcalling. I know that can easily be turned into "see? we still suck," but given our position, i see it as a positive. Even our craptacular defense is starting to make plays. How can that be anything but good? Sure, we still need help on both sides of the ball, but an offseason of work on redzone offense, a solid draft, and maybe a free agent or two on the defensive side of the ball, and we have all the tools to be a playoff team. Just a slight reversal of fortune in the early going of the year, namely the rosencopter game and the game at jacksonville, and we come into the raider game fighting for a playoff spot. There is a lot of room for optimism here, going forward, whether you like it or not. I would've liked to have success sooner as well, but we've gotta face the fact that we essentially started over. we'll get there, just be a little more patient.

[NBT]

We don't suck, we were just a very inconsitant team this year. On to the 2009 Draft, and the first playoff year.

[Mike]

Nice solid win the end the season. Amazing that the number of people who come to the board and post is so much less after a win.

[Nconroe]

I agree we don't suck. We had third best offense. Likely defense was ok after the first 6 games or so, once we stopped all the turnovers on offense.

We are still a young team, lots of guys in new positions thus the in consistency, but consistency has been improving. I thought Matt Schaub matured a lot these last 8 games.

[Dennis2112]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

I thought Matt Schaub matured a lot these last 8 games.

Matured...that is the proper word.


I agree with this statement. I feel that could be said for many on this team this year as opposed to last year. There are far more positives to pull from this year compared to last year.

[NBT]

I just wish Matt had the arm to get the long ball to AJ on those long routes. Several times this year he would have scored if he hadn't had to slow down and wait for the ball.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by NBT

I just wish Matt had the arm to get the long ball to AJ on those long routes. Several times this year he would have scored if he hadn't had to slow down and wait for the ball.

That's not necessarily an arm issue though. An arcing deep pass like that is as much dependent on timing as it is on having a big gun. I wouldn't mind for Schaub to have a bigger arm....If he can get there a split second quicker with his arm that gives him an extra split second to read the defense and less time for DB's to break on the ball. On the plays you are referring to if he just times the throw better AJ scores regardless of the zip on the ball though.

Again, Schaub could use a bigger arm, but so could Montana. I think Schaub's arm strength is adequate.