The Texans are WHAT!

by Brad Wells on Sep 20, 2007 11:36 AM EDT in Colts Analysis

The Texans are WHAT!

It's crazy, I know. Those lovable, huggable, hapless Texans are 2-0 in 2007, and they have looked very impressive getting there. It's a topsy-turvy league, folks. New Orleans and Philly look dead in the water while Houston and Detroit are 2-0. Soon the seas will boil, the skies will fall. The dead will rise from the grave. Human sacrifices, dogs and cats living together; MASS HYSTERIA!

It's a crazy, crazy world.

Or, maybe not. If you look closely at the Texans, you will see that this is a solidly built team with a clear goal in mind: Win with defense. It's a smart goal for a franchise like Houston. Their first model, winning with youth on offense and old, useless sacks of flesh on defense didn't quite work out. Before Charlie Casserly left (or "Chuckles" as Texans fans call him) the last two drafts under his guidance produced some pretty damn good players. The Texans are currently built around players DE Mario Williams, LB DeMeco (I say DeMarco) Ryans, and CB Dunta Robinson. All three are Pro Bowl caliber. All three, Casserly picks.

I guess "Chuckles" didn't suck after all.

I think the problem Casserly had when starting the Texans is he both needed to build a quality team AND find a face for the franchise. He also made some truly dumb moves with his coaches. Dom Capers is mediocre at best, and Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator was one of the best thing that ever happened to the Colts. Fangio used to coach Indy's defense, and he sucked so bad he got Jim Mora fired. When Fangio went to Houston, it all but sealed their fate.

Now, the Texans have a great system in place, and their players have bought into it. Their strength is their defense, and they use their running game and clock management to win games. They don't make mistakes. They don't act like punks. This looks like a maturing football team that fans can be very proud of. I think they'll win 10 games, but that's just me.

This next game is the biggest game in their franchise's young history. They win this, they are #1 in the AFC South for the first time ever! The fans are excited. The players are pumped. The city is charged. It doesn't get any easier for the Colts in Week 3. Like last week, this is a very hostile environment that wants to eat the Colts alive!

Houston Texans: Starting to look like a real football team.

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The Texans

The Texans are simply a natural response to the Colts. When you have one team that's utterly dominated the division for so long, you end up building a team to beat them, and only them. Consequently, they've invested heavily in their defense, while giving their offense enough weapons to score points. The idea is to slow the Colts down to give their offense a chance to score.

This Texans team might be the best in the history of their franchise. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the playoffs, and I think it's safe to say they're better than the Titans or Jags.

by MonkeyBusiness on Sep 20, 2007 12:38 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

For what it's worth, I believe they have a hungry football team. While we have been concerned about the Titans and Jags for awhile, the Texans have been piecing together a good team. I think Coach Dungy knows this, so we'll not be caught off guard.

Andre Johnson is out this weekend, but the buzz down there is Jacoby Jones. Truthfully, they just need solid defense (which they have) and productive rushing to win this one. Last year, Andre Johnson was limited to 4 catches for 48 yards, but they still won. My point is that we shouldn't put too much stock into Johnson's absence. We'll need our best game.

I'm looking forward to a great game!

by coltsfanawalt on Sep 20, 2007 4:31 PM EDT reply actions

Bills

Buffalo Bills fan here. This is an interesting idea - I was just discussing about how Buffalo seems to be chasing its tail the last few years trying to figure out how to compete with the Patriots. It occurred to me that we're similar to the Texans in this way with regard to the Colts. Could Losman be the Bill's Carr? Not that anyone cares here.

(But of course for this theory to work, wouldn't we have seen some strong teams emerging from the Bills domination of the AFC East in the 90's - teams with some serious offensive fire power. Hmmmm. I'm trying to think of 1 or 2 at least....)

by Zumone on Sep 20, 2007 7:19 PM EDT reply actions

I don't know

how you feel about Losman, but the Texans have nothing good to say about Carr. Check out their site, they call him names like "Zoolander". They say some pretty funny stuff. So if that is the concensus on Losman in Buffalo, then you have my pity so long as he's your starter.

by coltsfanawalt on Sep 20, 2007 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Well...

A friend of my got a chance to go watch the Colts practice a week or so ago and Bill Polian was speaking to them. Someone asked what he thought of our division and he said... beware of the Texans. They are underrated and they're going to catch a lot of people off guard this year.

Hopefully that won't be the Colts.

by the21eraser on Sep 21, 2007 3:47 PM EDT reply actions