Myself and many others suspected this game would spell disaster for the Texans (although in the end I picked Houston to win)... turns out, a disaster it was.  I'd like to be able to say the Texans would have won if they hadn't been decimated by injuries, but that would be a fabrication.  The Texans defense was absolutely, positively ATROCIOUS.  The play-calling at times, was equally bad.  Unfortunately for us Texan fans, it's time to admit that we made way too much out of the first two wins and a close loss to Indianapolis.

Now, many would say that I'm actually making too big a deal of one loss, but let's look at this thing... the defense let Joey Harrington carve them up with even more ease than Peyton Manning did.  At least the defense stiffened up in the second half against the Colts - nothing close to that today, though.  "Professional Slice of Charred Toast," aka DeMarcus Faggins continued to earn his reputation as one of the worst defensive backs in the league by getting beaten consistently by the average-to-below-average wideouts from Atlanta... but obviously we can't put this entire loss on his shoulders on Faggins, who Houston Oiler fans may soon dub "the New Richard Johnson."  Fact is, the defense got two sacks, but never got enough pressure to rattle Peyton Harrington...er, Manning... er... Joey Harrington. 

Similar to last week - even if the Texans were able to score late touchdowns, there was no sign whatsoever that the feeble, weak, and seemingly disinterested Houston defense would have stopped the opposing offense.  Andre Johnson, Jacoby Jones, Jerome Mathis, and Ahman Green wouldn't have changed a bit of the defensive problems the Texans had today - and at this point, there's no reason to believe the defense (especially the secondary) will turn it around.

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I thought that this quote from David Carr in the Charlotte Observer pretty much summed his NFL career up.

"Carr, on the sideline, had no idea Delhomme was in pain until the quarterback dropped to the ground, holding his right arm.  "I strained it," Delhomme said later, his elbow wrapped in ice. "I made a couple of throws on the next drive and it just didn't feel good. I don't know what it is.  I hope everything is normal."  TV cameras caught Delhomme's grimace when he completed a 2-yard pass to Brad Hoover to the Atlanta 27 late in the third quarter.  Delhomme wasn't touched on that play but knew something wasn't right.  Said Delhomme: "It was just like, `OK, enough trying to be Mr. Macho.' I was going to hurt my team."  Carr was instructed to get ready.  "It was 15 seconds of chaos," Carr said."

Stopping Steve Smith 

Andre Johnson knows that the only player in the NFL that stands a chance of stopping Steve Smith wears magic gloves. "While Carolina receiver Steve Smith finished with five catches for 32 yards, he had only two for 5 yards in the game's first 53 minutes, when the game was decided.Cornerback Ronde Barber, who had primary responsibility for Smith, was asked what the Bucs did to stop him."We didn't do anything to him," Barber said. "He just wasn't getting his opportunities. They weren't giving him opportunities. I don't know the reasons for that."We had some things in (the defensive scheme) to deal with Steve Smith today and to our benefit, we didn't have to use them."   Smith refused to speak to the media." 

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