Preseason Lowdown : Houston Texans

football, preseason, teams, texans

football, preseason, teams, texans

What’s the story? 

The Houston Texans are relevant. The first decade was rough on the new(ish) franchise with no winning season to be seen until 2009. But they’ve made it to the divisional round of the playoffs for the past 2 seasons and have continued to rise as the star in a division whose only real competition comes from the Colts (we’ll talk about the Jags and Titans tomorrow…prepare to not be amazed). Now that they’ve proven they can play with the big kids, they need to start consistently beating the big kids. This could be a make it or break it season for the Texans.

Leader and commander:

Gary Kubiak, who, after 7 seasons with the team and much success, could find himself looking for a job if this season falls on the “break it” end of the spectrum. He has a reservation for one on the hot seat unless the Texans advance further into the playoffs than ever before.

New kid on the block:

Ed Reed, former Ravens stalwart, will be holding down the defense at safety. Which means with J.J. Watt up front and Reed in the secondary and Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator…well, good luck, offenses of the world.

Last year was…

…under appreciated, only because the Texans are capable of so much more than losing two consecutive divisional title games. They started off fast and furious and ended with the best record in franchise history at 12-4. Not too shabby, but also not fully living up to potential.

Survey says:

The Texans can win the division. They’ve proven that. But they’ll need to prove more than that to solidify their status as a real threat in the AFC (and for everyone to keep their jobs at the end of the season).

Side note: be on the lookout for current defensive player of the year, J.J. Watt, to break Michael Strahan’s sack record. Just for practice, he also breaks the laws of physics, as seen here.

Author: Beka

https://plus.google.com/110010310740122931625/about