Peter King: Leinart injury takes air out of Texans' lofty playoff hopes

[Playoffs]

Gary Kubiak's voice sounded defeated, deflated on the phone from Jacksonville...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201....12/index.html


Now is not the time for Kubes to be all down in the mouth about his team's circumstance. Now is not the time for Gary's trademark low-affect, low-volume vocals. Now is not the time to look back at our losses.

It's time for Gary to stand up and lead. It's time for Gary to raise his voice in determined anger to instruct his team that great men are judged by how they respond to challenges -- that the mettle of a man is found in how many times he gets up off the floor after being knocked down.

To the great are given great tasks. Now is Coach Kubiak's time to be great ... to lead, to challenge his charges.

C'mon Coach, are you up to it???

[redwhiteANDblue]

This is where we'll see if Kubiak has it or not. No matter how bad the players are on the field, his job is to keep them playing hard. Motivation and confidence is all this team needs right now. Kubiak in the past has shown us that he doesn't have it but who knows what he will do now.

[ObsiWan]

No magician's hat holds an infinite supply of rabbits.

A Genie only gives out three wishes

sooner or later ya just flat run outta luck

[Playoffs]

Originally Posted by ObsiWan

No magician's hat holds an infinite supply of rabbits.
A Genie only gives out three wishes
sooner or later ya just flat run outta luck

Bring that into your locker-room and losses come with it, imo.

Paul Kuharsky's What they should be thinking...

Houston Texans

We’re the No. 1 seed in the AFC today, and no one knows who our new quarterback, rookie T.J. Yates is. That’s not our concern. They probably don’t know who Connor Barwin is either, but he had four sacks in our win in Jacksonville. Having people who are known is not a worry, winning is. We’re in position to go win this division and be in the playoff field. We have enough to do it with if we just plan smart, play smart and call a smart game without over-thinking things. Atlanta is the best team we will face in a while, but if the Falcons provide a bump in the road, it won’t mark the start of some unraveling, it’ll just be a bump in the road.


For crying out loud, Rex Grossman went to the Super Bowl.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by redwhiteANDblue

This is where we'll see if Kubiak has it or not. No matter how bad the players are on the field, his job is to keep them playing hard. Motivation and confidence is all this team needs right now. Kubiak in the past has shown us that he doesn't have it but who knows what he will do now.

You are wrong there - How many times has this team had a mid-season losing streak followed by the team making a push in December .... even if it was too little too late.

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

You are wrong there - How many times has this team had a mid-season losing streak followed by the team making a push in December .... even if it was too little too late.

Speaking of monthly performance, wasn't Kubiak supposed to go into some kind of November swoon?

What happened with that?

[GP]

I'd be a little dejected, too, if I were Kubiak. He probably wonders what he did to deserve getting shat upon even when he's finally got the goods to go all the way now.

Sucks.

It reminds of the scene in Land of The Lost (Farrell & McBride) when they finally track down and regain the device they need to get back home........

And then THIS bit of absurdity happens. Sums it up perfectly.

[phantom17]

Originally Posted by asleep

Gary Kubiak's voice sounded defeated, deflated on the phone from Jacksonville...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201....12/index.html


Now is not the time for Kubes to be all down in the mouth about his team's circumstance. Now is not the time for Gary's trademark low-affect, low-volume vocals. Now is not the time to look back at our losses.

It's time for Gary to stand up and lead. It's time for Gary to raise his voice in determined anger to instruct his team that great men are judged by how they respond to challenges -- that the mettle of a man is found in how many times he gets up off the floor after being knocked down.

To the great are given great tasks. Now is Coach Kubiak's time to be great ... to lead, to challenge his charges.

C'mon Coach, are you up to it???

Coach Kubiak needs to yell at his players- "SPARTA" like in 300!

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by phantom17

Coach Kubiak needs to yell at his players- "SPARTA" like in 300!

ummm.... didn't all those dudes die?

[wolf123]

Originally Posted by ObsiWan

ummm.... didn't all those dudes die?

No, the one guy with the hurt eye survived!!

[Boris]

Originally Posted by wolf123

No, the one guy with the hurt eye survived!!

He survived only to be killed by his fellow Spartans for leaving the battle.

[Ranger Tom]

Originally Posted by Boris

He survived only to be killed by his fellow Spartans for leaving the battle.

Not in the movie version, at least!

[Boris]

Originally Posted by Boris

He survived only to be killed by his fellow Spartans for leaving the battle.

Oops....they didn't kill him

Aristodemus was a Spartan warrior, one of the many sent to the Battle of Thermopylae. He was one of only two Spartan survivors, as he was not present at the last stand. Along with a comrade, Eurytus, Aristodemus was stricken with an eye infection, causing King Leonidas to order the two to return home before the battle, but Eurytus turned back, though blind, and met his end charging into the fray.

The Greek historian Herodotus believed that had both Aristodemus and Eurytus returned alive, or had Aristodemus alone been ill and excused from combat, the Spartans would have ascribed no blame to Aristodemus. However, because Eurytus did turn back and died in combat, Aristodemus was regarded as a coward and subjected to humiliation and disgrace at the hands of his compatriots; in the words of Herodotus, "no man would give him a light for his fire or speak to him; he was called Aristodemus the Coward."

The other survivor of the Three Hundred was a man named Pantites, who had been sent by Leonidas on an embassy to Thessaly. He failed to return to Thermopylae in time for the battle, and on finding himself in disgrace in Sparta, hanged himself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristodemus_of_Sparta

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by phantom17

Coach Kubiak needs to yell at his players- "SPARTA" like in 300!

They don't need him to do that. The Texans have this guy

[TimeKiller]

Well idk how lofty we were talkin about with Leinart.....but judging a man's tone of voice over the phone is about a pitiful excuse for journalism.

[ChrisG]

im actually not anymore worried than I was this Saturday. Leinart really disappointed me with his constant check downs. Also his only TD pass was anything but perfect.

Im really looking forward to see what Yates can do. Ideally I would have liked to see him step in about 3-4 years from now but....


I never was fully sold on Leinart. Based on how Yates looked in the pocket I think we will be fine. Wont make as deep of a playoff run as we would have had with Schaub, but I think first round bye is still an option. Unless Yates comes in and does something crazy bad we will make the playoffs.

[TexanSam]

I think our D plays even more lights out now. People are going to start writing off the Texans and our D will want to prove them wrong.

PLEASE just let Yates be halfway decent.

[2BCF]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Our ship sailed the minute Schaub broke his foot. Leinart wasn't going to win a superbowl, and neither is Yates. We'll probably make the playoffs, but do you really think either one of those guys had a chance against a Packers defense?

I'd bet you'd never be able to convince Yates he has no chance against GB.

[TheBigpaki]

Originally Posted by 2BCF

I'd bet you'd never be able to convince Yates he has no chance against GB.

Our we talking about the same defense? Last I checked the Packers overall defense is 30th.

Rushing Defense-13th
Passing Defense-31st

[DocBar]

Originally Posted by TheBigpaki

Our we talking about the same defense? Last I checked the Packers overall defense is 30th.

Rushing Defense-13th
Passing Defense-31st

Unfortunately, our D doesn't play their D. Our D is playing great right now, but we haven't faced too many offenses like GB's. The last time we did, N.O.'s hung 40 on us and we got an L. With a 3rd string QB (at best), our offense faces a tougher test than their defense. Right now. Give TJ a couple of weeks ( no great shame if we lose to ATL and Cinci) and we could be looking at a much better offense. TJ has the ability. Does he have the will?