In prior weeks I've advised Texans fans to hold on, to breathe, to all come together and sing Kum-bai-yah while we all watched your team fall to pieces around you. Now, granted, I've also advised you that your talent wasn't near as good as you've been led to believe, that your coaching was below average and that your team's General Manager has done a horrible job managing the salary cap. Yes, things were bad, but it called for a dose of reality, not a case of the screaming meanies.
Reading the news this week on the heels of the Texans 17-16 loss to the Chiefs, I'd say the time for panic is now.
It's not because the team is 2-6. While I didn't think they'd be this bad I did have them at 3-5 right now (wins in the first 2 games, loss of 4 straight, win over the Chiefs) finishing 9-7 with a shot at the Wild Card. Clearly now, all of that has changed. With games remaining against New England, Denver and Indianapolis (twice) I'm feeling more of a 7-9 vibe in place of 9-7. I don't see any way the Texans can make the playoffs and I would argue that 6-10 (or worse) is more likely than a third consecutive playoff run. Still, that's not the reason that I would panic.
I'd panic because I see the Texans panicking shuffling roster spots around as Gary Kubiak did in his first few years in an attempt to shore-up depth and the bottom of the roster. Although they won't admit it, this is what teams who are rebuilding do. Not teams that are running face-forward into the rest of the season looking to make the tournament.
It's also a sign that the organization has lost faith in some of their current personnel. Which means (I would imagine) that they've lost, at least some, faith in the ability of Rick Smith to do a quality job going forward.
As I said earlier. Your hair's on fire Texans fan, and that's OK.
