Who Are You ? Really ?

I was asked two questions last night that were very good and interesting to think about. One, when is it decided that a team is what it is, and two, why wait till now for the Texans to have a players only meeting on defense. Funny that came up, just this morning I talked to Miami Dolphins Asst Director of Player Personnel and former teammate Brian Gaine this morning. One of the first things he said to me was, we're (Dolphins) sitting here at 3-3 trying to get above .500, but like Bill (Parcells) says you are what u are. What does that mean for this Texans defense that is last in the NFL allowing 410.5 yards per game ? 306 passing and 104 rushing with only  10 sacks, and 4 INT's. If you use the logic Brian and I learned from Coach Parcells, according to the numbers the Texans defense isn't good, at all.

However, let me play devil's advocate here. San Diego is the number one rated defense in the NFL. They only give up 244 yards a game total, which is outstanding. They only allow 158 yards passing and 85 yards rushing, and have accounted for 25 sacks and 7 INT's. Yet they sit at 2-5 in the AFC West, third behind Kansas City and Oakland. Word ? I'm blown away by it as well. Obviously the Chargers aren't what they are. Look at our snooty Southfork  friends in the north, the Cowboys. Dallas is 10th  in total defense, and 5th in total offense yet they sit last in the NFC East at 1-5. Who or what are the Cowboys ? They definitely aren't what they are according to the numbers.

Unfortunately there are other things that factor into play. The Cowboys are 6th in the league in penalties, the Chargers are 11th in penalties and 4th in the fumble category losing 12 of them which explains there dismal records. For the Texans, luckily they have an offense that is 4th in the league in total yards, 6th on third down percentage, and 23rd in penalties. This has helped offset the bad play of the defense. Although the Texans defense can improve, there is not much that can be changed at this point in the season. They have to play the calls they are given and somehow make it work. Honestly I think they should go more vanilla, play more cover 2 on regular downs, and mix in some fire zones for pressure. But hey, what do I know ? I only played  11 years for two of the greatest head coaches ever and one of the best defensive minds ever. My point, the Texans defense is what is it. Average defensive line, strong at linebacker, and weak in the secondary. Which is why they either need to get more creative or go simple. Look at Kansas City, they don't do much at all. They play a couple coverages,  run a few pressures and that's it. Romeo Cremel has done a good job of just letting those guys play. The most important thing he has done  is realizing what kind of players he has and knowing how to use them. Simple yet effective.

Now, this whole player meeting thing. It is good to have player meetings. It gets everyone's attention, can restore focus, etc. What I don't understand is why the Texans waited so long. It's like they are setting us up. I say that because they have already beat the Colts. They have this meeting, and let's say they win Monday, it makes it look all the better. Almost like a false sense of whats going on. Even when we won in New York, we had player only meetings just to keep everyone together and deter complacency. From what I understand the meeting got everyone's attention, so does that mean no one paid attention the first seven weeks of the season ? Only time will tell as the season goes on.

Reality Check

There has been much displeasure and disappointment over the Texans loss to the Giants. I have heard about Sage telling his coaches about the play book, etc. In my opinion that has no relevance. Well, there are these guys that work for each team. Their sole responsibility is to acquire game tape of each team they are playing that year. They get as many games needed in order for the coaches to study and come up with a logical game plan. See my point ? So as far as I'm concerned that's x-nayed as an excuse. The Texans just flat out did not come to play. They were out matched at certain positions, and there was much indecision in their play. Thus the hard time they had with the Giants.

Luckily this is a new week and a new opportunity, however they are facing a Chiefs team that is very legit. Just as the Texans do, they run the ball very well and they are good at stopping the run. Although Matt Cassel hasn't had a great year, he does just enough not to lose the game. The Chiefs have play makers on offense but they all have not been productive like they should be. Bowe has the potential to be a big time player, Chambers is steady, Charles and Jones are quality running backs, with Moeaki starting to show he can be a play maker at the TE position. Dexter McCluster can do it all from a returner standpoint and as a running back and receiver.

To me the defense is where they have made the biggest improvement. Coach Cremel has done a great job of keeping it simple and letting the guys play. It allows to them to react more than think and they play much faster. They tackle well and are disciplined, check the Indy game if you have doubts. I think they match up well with the Texans offense in a lot of ways. It won't be anything fancy, the Chiefs are going to make the Texans earn everything they get, keeping  the ball in front of them, make the tackle and move on.

One would think the Texans could focus more on the run and take some chances in the secondary. The problem is that they aren't playing well back there which could open up the run game for Kansas City. Doesn't mean Cassel will pull an Eli, but this is the NFL so you never know. I'm interested to see how the Texans come out on defense and what scheme will be used to defend the Chiefs offense. For both sides I think it's pick your poison. I definitely think the Texans offense is better, but this could be a game where they will have to out score the Chiefs to win.

I don't know if any of you remember this, but here's a history lesson for you. Prior to the 1996 season the Denver Broncos were pretty much an offensively dominant team, much like the Texans.  In 1995 they finished 8-8, but what is interesting are the moves made that off season. They signed Neil Smith, Keith Traylor, Alfred Williams, John Mobley, and Darrien Gordon to name a few. Now, to go along with a high powered offense they had a high powered defense as well. The Broncos won the Super Bowl the next two years.  I see similarities with this Texans team and the Broncos team before they made these moves. One-sided and  lack of depth and leadership on defense, oh and play makers on defense. My definition of a play maker is someone that forces the issue form beating a block or excellent coverage on a route, beating a defensive player on a route and getting open. Not falling into sacks and getting tipped balls for INT's. My example is not far fetched, just go back and look at the history of coaches that come from the same school of thought. Hopefully Coach Kubiak will get it the way Mike Shanahan did.

Hold On for The Ride

When a team is 2-1 with one game left in the season you'd probably say hey, team's off to a go start, had some very good wins, they look good. True, the Texans have looked good, but there is a chance they could end up right back where they were last year, 9-7. And I say this because of what lies ahead. This is not me bashing the Texans, only providing a realistic look at what is to come. So pay attention and understand this is based on  what is happening as of now.

The Texans face the Raiders for the final game in the first quarter of the season. With a win they would finish 3-1, and 2-2 if they lose. Still in decent shape going into the second quarter of the season. In Q2 the Texans will face the Giants, Chiefs, Colts, and a bye week. Even though the Giants are struggling that's still a tough game. The Chiefs have surprised everyone and actually look like a good team, and as we know the Colts are the Colts, enough said.

Quarter 3, they face the Chargers, Jaguars, Jets, and Titans. Jaguars are a  done deal, I think they split the series with the Titans during the year. Now the Jets and Chargers propose a huge challenge. The Jets have a  damn good defense and "The Island" should be back by then. The Chargers game will be a shoot out. Houston's pass defense along with the Charger's are very similar. Meaning, they are both terrible. So Matt Schaub versus Phillip Rivers at the OK Coral is definitely gonna happen.

The last quarter is where it gets really tough. Eagles, Ravens, Titans, Broncos, and Jaguars. Only no brainer on here is the Jaguars. The Ravens are always tough, you have the Eagles looking like a for sure playoff contender and division winner with Mike Vick playing out of his mind. Tennessee is a division game and that alone makes it tough, Denver even though they are up and down all the time, which team will we see ? The team that beat Seattle or the team that lost to Jacksonville. If Kyle Orton keeps throwing the ball around the way he has and the Texans haven't corrected their passing defense, I think we know the answer to that.

So looking at it quarter by quarter, in my opinion this is how it might fold out. Q1 3-1, Q2 1-2, Q3 2-2, Q4 3-2. Which puts them at 9-7. That's how I came up with it before the season started. As of now it stands to be that way. Of course things happen during the year, injuries, fluke plays, or teams just getting out played by others. Those same things can happen to the Texans as well. For instance,we don't know if Andre is going to be healthy the rest of the year. What is Schaub gets hurt ? All are factors.

I have to be honest with you all and tell you to expect an up and down year. With this schedule that's just the way it is. And before you start calling for the head of Kubiak or the players, the other guys they face get paid too. Expectations for this Texans team are very high, in saying that, what must be applied is the same principle we should use in life, managing those expectations.