You know you're NFL team is not the powerhouse you envisioned it to be when the crux of the week's conversation is going to focus on the fact that next week's opponent has nothing to play for giving them a chance to secure the best season in franchise history.
What this means is that your team wouldn't be expected to beat said real powerhouse had they something to play for and weren't secretly doing what the best team in the conference did in an obvious manner against the Jets. (Who are now favored to win the playoff spot you covet FWIW) The taboo in the NFL is not throwing the game, it's looking for all the world that you're throwing the game. Those left out (The Texans) will have sports talkers and writers who will raise hell on the issue of the integrity of the playoff system etc. for the entiretly of the off-season. Fortunately for those of us who listen to sports talk radio, there are other choices. (Unfortunately none of them are really any good, but that's another post for another time.)
The important bit to take out of this is that, despite breathless proclamations to the contrary, this Texans team just isn't all that good. Yes, they have a shot at the "best record in franchise history" on Sunday, but that record is only 9-7, something teams such as New England, Indianapolis and (Yes) Dallas would consider a down year. That the Texans' pinnacle equals the trough for most playoff teams speaks volumes. Even in victory the Texans are uninspiring. As was the case Sunday, they have the ability to look like world-beaters for one half, and then coaching kicks in and they flounder around like fish out of water for the next.
How else do you explain a team going into halftime with a 27-3 lead only to watch it all but evaporate in the second half? It's coaching plain and simple. To be specific: bad coaching. Outside of sub-par talent in the defensive backfield bad coaching is the one thing the Texans have most. With all that being said, I think that 8-8 (or 9-7) is going to be more than enough to bring Kubiak & Co back for, at lest, one more year. Because of this, something has to be done to ensure these coaching mistakes aren't replicated in 2010, I'm not sure the City's psyche could take it.
My humble suggestion is this: Last night, during the Music City Bowl the cameras cut away to a kid sitting on the Clemson bench charting something. It turns out that he was coach Dabo Swinney's son. His job, easy enough, was to chart the number of times C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford touched the ball. If they fell behind a number that was part of a schedule, then the kid would go up and tap good ol' dad on the leg as a reminder to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers. This is a brilliant idea. One that the Texans should copy, and improve on.
It's often said that, in the NFL, things are taken to "a higher level" versus the College game. The athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, and the coaching expertise is superior. Because of all that I don't think that a simple tug on the trousers is a strong enough reminder. What needs to happen is that Kubiak's son be given a wiffle-ball bat and instructions to 'swing away' should Andre Johnson not see the ball say...three times per quarter. On the defensive side of the ball the Texans could raise revenue by offering one fan ticket per week to fill the role of 'gentle reminder'. If, should he return to the team, Dunta Robinson is allowed to single-cover the oppositions best receiver more than two times per game, then the fan gets to walk over to Rick Smith and put the 8-ball in the corner pocket so-to-speak.
Since none of this is likely to happen any time soon, I'm tempted to go out on a limb and predict 8-8 or 9-7 AGAIN next year. That's the current ceiling for this NFL franchise.
