Ouch. It's games like this one that causes Cowboys fans to flood football message boards sounding off about the "good old days" after the Oilers left and before the Texans arrived in Houston. Back then, and I remember those days well, Houston residents were fed a steady diet of the best NFL match-ups of the week, Harris County taxpayers weren't on the hook for three new stadiums (while still paying interest on the improvement loan for a fourth) and the blood pressure of ChronBlog sports writers was a lot lower, their e-mail boxes a little more empty. One can only imagine what 1560 afternoon host John Harris is recording right now. Hopefully it's another hilarious post-game rant, this team deserves it.
A quick summary for the Texans would be 'soft'. Not only on defense but on offense as well. They're soft on both lines, soft in approach and soft in the heads of the coaching staff. Playoff teams do not let rookie quarterbacks get compared to Brett Favre in their first game. Of course, good playoff teams don't get embarrassed at home like that either, which is what the Texans did. Not only did they lose the game, but they lost a shaky fan base as well just before halftime. The boo-birds bought into the pre-season hype from the media and the team. Having reality come crashing down on you in game 1, at home, is probably the ultimate NFL bitch.
On a bright note: The quality of talk radio in Houston improves when the teams are bad. Houstonians are a notably syrupy group of winners, and brutal on the team when things aren't going well. Maybe not as brutal as, say, Philly fan, but they fall off the band-wagon with a case of the sore-ass better than almost anyone.
It's possible that these fans have just been bitten by the reality bug one too many times. That living with, and rooting for, the worst team in NFL Franchise history (record wise) is too much a painful reminder of what they lost. It could also be, as it is for me, that the Texans just aren't, nor will ever be, the Houston Oilers. They'll never feel the emotional ties for Toro that they did for that oil derrick.
Who knows?
What I do know is this:
Defensive Backs: Brice McCain blew coverages, Dunta Robinson missed almost everything and the Texans' DB's still don't know how to assist in defending the run. From bad angles to soft coverage this is the weakest part of the team. If next year's draft doesn't start with Taylor Mays then whoever is in charge needs a lobotomy.
Quarterback: The excuse of the week is that Schaub was hurt. OK, if he was hurt then why not let the Sex Cannon fire a shot? If you want to see the reason the Texans have the 'soft' label hung around their necks you don't have to look that much further than Schaub.
Dunta Robinson: Richard Justice of ChronBlog is reporting that Dunta had "Pay me Rick" written on the back of his shoes. Now, I've always been a Dunta fan, I respect his toughness coming back from a severe injury, etc. In a world where many people are suffering financially while he makes $10 Mil this year and where he's tackling and covering like a guy who sat out all of training camp, if that's his attitude then don't let the door hit you.
Offensive game plan: The play-calling is terrible. OC Shanahan seems bound and determined to keep kicking the dead horse that is the Texans interior running game despite the fact that this team looks its best when short passes act as the running game while deep balls loosen up the defense. Not one deep ball was thrown the way of Andre Johnson while the outcome was in doubt. Not one. Think about that.
Kubiak: If I hear one more thing about the "offensive genius" of Kubiak I'm going to apply for an OC job in the NFL. Because if that's all it takes to be a genius, sign me up. James Casey, sitting on the sideline all day, supposedly was supposed to provide the Texans with a 'wildcat' option, on that was never explored. The offense for the Texans consistently looks to be among the most vanilla in the league. Unless his genius is in turning back the clock 20 years, I'm not seeing where Kubiak is really all that ground-breaking. At least try something to change things up.
Before the season I predicted the Texans would go 9-7, hey, it just seemed like a good number considering their last two years. Surely they have to get better right?
The bad news is I had this game penciled in as a "W".
8-8 again anyone?
A few more weeks like this and it will be time to find better things to do on Sundays. Maybe a 1/2 empty Reliant Stadium and low television ratings will get the point across?
