Winning the division.

''What gives us our best chance to beat Indy'[/B]

To be an annual contender, We must not only win regularly but we must regularly beat the teams in our division. Now, as you all know, Indy is not only an NFL powerehouse, but a division rival. Respectability is on the other side of regularly defeating Indy.

Kubiak's focus seems to be about getting after the QB with a speedy, mean defense and about protecting our QB with an athletic line and with scheeming with a proven system. Kubiak also likes a balanced attack that is tilted more toward the run. His offenses are dynamic and fun to watch

These are all good, sound football principles that have worked well for many in the past. Tactically, it is the style that can beat indy.

The closer i look at what kubiakc is doing the more i like it. I really believe this team is going to be something special this year and amazing next year.
By his moves, he looks to be seriously focused on building a team to beat Indy.

Now, we all like good offense and kubiak is no exception. It's fun to watch (and very effective) if you can really lay it on. But the team that beats Indy also must have a fast, brutal defense that can get to the passer. The offense may prove to be powerful enough to win SOME shootouts with indy but the game will come down to who's defense held.

With the switch to the 4-3, moving players back to thier natural positions, and adding some depth and talent, I really think our defense will be dominant THIS year and absolutly terrifying next year. I believe this is a defense that will keep Indy under/at 17 ppg. and land peyton on his arse. That is why Demeco and Mario were drafted and some free agents were signed...to cause manning problems. I predict we will be a top 10 defense THIS year and top 6 next year.

Now to the fun part.-offense
This is going to be a good offense. Hate if you want to and doubt away, if that's your way, but this team is going to win you back. In the first half of the season, the bookies will be pulling thier hair our and by the second half of the season i think people will be talking about this offense in a good way.

The most important thing we added to our offense in this off season was a plan and an man to implement it. LIke in war, you can have fierce, brave men, but if they are using inferior tactics-they will most often lose. Kubiac is a proven leader who is carrying not only proven blueprints to build a winning team but also the fighting manual and plan of attack.

so We got the man.

After that, We added probowl and playoff starter talent
at key positions. then we added two solid looking rookies in the draft. Putting that together with the two probowlers we already have , a durable strong-armed QB, 1000yd rusher and then finishing it off with Fierce competition in many positions.

This offense is going to explode.
Boom!
I predict a top 15 offense this year and top 10 next. i think they can do even better.

I look for the Texans to do much better than many think this year. I fully expect to win the division NEXT year but I would not be shocked to crack Indy this year.

GO Texans!

Good points!! With Capers & Co. gone, we have coaches that demand a winning attitude for their players... I also like the fact that Kubiak is from the houston area, so he has alittle bit more pressure to win.. I wonder though, do our coaches expect to win immediately with the talent capers/casserly accumulated? Is kubiak really satisfied with his team right now? The moves we have made leads me to say that he is not. After last season, we cut or opted not to resign almost every receiver on our team (aside from aj), and we also used our top two picks on positions (williams & ryans) that we have an overload of players at. But, who knows, I personally think it'll all work out. Only time will tell.... is going to be great!!!!!!

This is a rebuilding year to see who can hack it and who can't. Also, to see what positions we are weakest at and need to improve on. Hopefully next year we will make a serious run at the playoffs and suprise all the East coast media.

I like the fact that on both sides of the ball the Texans made significant coaching changes. It was something this team absolutely had to do in order to gain respectability around the NFL. There is now proven leadership everywhere on this team with a ton of experience to boot.

CoastalTexan said:

This is a rebuilding year to see who can hack it and who can't. Also, to see what positions we are weakest at and need to improve on. Hopefully next year we will make a serious run at the playoffs and suprise all the East coast media.

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Mcnair and kubiak have said that they want to win now and are not looking to wait for some prolonged rebuilding process.

that said-we are always rebuilding but everyone is always adding and subtracting players. it's NFL life.
I agree we will make a serious run next year but i also believe we will threaten this year.

jmerog said:

Mcnair and kubiak have said that they want to win now and are not looking to wait for some prolonged rebuilding process.

that said-we are always rebuilding but everyone is always adding and subtracting players. it's NFL life.
I agree we will make a serious run next year but i also believe we will threaten this year.

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No way in hell we win division this year (not to imply that you were stating we would.)

I think the AFC South is already one of the most competitive divisions in football and given ours and the Titans already substantial rebuilding progress, I think it will only get better. As improved as I expect us to be this year, I think any of our division rivals can give us one hell of a matchup and we are looking at six very hard-fought games.

Foresight of the era in which we can legitimately compete for the title of division champ is still too far down the road, without having even seen our new team take a snap yet. I think we will make excellent progress this year, but too much remains to be seen before we can pencil in the rest of the journey.

You are going to be in a hard fall like most posters were in last year while they were in denial that we somehow got better with addition by subtraction. We have some very good moves in the offseason, but there is plenty of room to grow. There is a lot of change on this team and you'd be putting a lot of pressure on them to be successful in only a few months. Put your expectations low, you might enjoy the season more.

I agree with SESuper. This team will prob start out slow and gain momentum as the season wears on. I just hope it is sooner rather than later. I want these guys to go into Texas Stadium ready to kill! I believe that is week 6. Correct me if I am wrong. No game on this year's schedule means more to me than that Cowgirl game. I have too many Cowgirl fans for friends, and I have been giving them a lot of grief these last four years.

Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Indy are all known for prolific throwing offenses. BL, Peyton, and McNair (assuming he stays) are three great QBs. Keeping their lanes filled is going to be tough, but we should be better at it. With several key losses this year, I think Indy could be closer to the other AFC South teams than we think. I'm not saying they won't win every game, but it shouldn't be as easy as it was in the past. I expect the other three teams to trade off wins with each other.

Our biggest question mark going into this season is not David Carr, IMO. It is DD and the running game. Can DD stay healthy, and can he put yards on the field? If he gets injured like he has in the past, it will be along season for the Texans. But if DD can break more than a 1000-yd season, then we should do well. He holds the ball well, so I don't think that turnovers will be a priority. It's the breaking into the backfield, which several people on the boards have said should be easier due to the new cut-blocking schemes.

SESupergenius said:

You are going to be in a hard fall like most posters were in last year while they were in denial that we somehow got better with addition by subtraction. We have some very good moves in the offseason, but there is plenty of room to grow. There is a lot of change on this team and you'd be putting a lot of pressure on them to be successful in only a few months. Put your expectations low, you might enjoy the season more.

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I want to see what happens in training camp before making any win/loss predictions, but regardless of the record, I think the team will be much more fun to watch than the 2004 team (I am ignoring the 2005 team/season as a calamity because of the multitude of errors that built on each other).

I think the AFC south is going to be a lot weaker than everyone thinks. The colts minus edgerrin are not going to be dominant...just a good team, probably 9-7 or 10-6. Tennessee is still going to be terrible, as are we most likely. Jacksonville will probably be average as well. I could see this division not having a 10 game winner in it. The AFC East and NFC South are the most stacked divisions in football right now IMO

It's a learning and growing year...8-8 is something to hope for.

This is the year we make the playoffs you will see.

Indy is going to win the division. You don't have an MVP Quarterback in Peyton Manning who in the past two years has been OVER 100 QB rating, completed almost 70% of his passes and thrown for 49 TD's a season ago (28 last year which ain't too shabby) and then just fall off because you lose your RB. Edge didn't create those numbers for Peyton, Peyton created those numbers for Edge. Expect them to lose a couple of more games....but unless their D goes to **** again....they will be winning the division.

jmerog said:

''What gives us our best chance to beat Indy'[/B]GO Texans!

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Injuries to Feeney, Manning, Harrison, Wayne and about four other players.

JAXwithanX said:

Indy is going to win the division. You don't have an MVP Quarterback in Peyton Manning who in the past two years has been OVER 100 QB rating, completed almost 70% of his passes and thrown for 49 TD's a season ago (28 last year which ain't too shabby) and then just fall off because you lose your RB. Edge didn't create those numbers for Peyton, Peyton created those numbers for Edge. Expect them to lose a couple of more games....but unless their D goes to **** again....they will be winning the division.

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Nice to see a poster realize that Peyton opened up running lanes for Edge. Most people dont acknowldge the fact most defenses drop 8 on Peyton. Edge rushed against lineman most of the time. Dont get me wrong, Edge is a great back. Done wonders for our team. It's just that everyone thinks we wont be able to show up with any form of a running game. This is insane, we dont use the run to set up the pass, we use the pass to set up the run.

Edge has not had a run over 25 yards in 2 years. Ever since the Kansas game where he tore his ACL he has lost the burst of speed he had. Still a great running back though. Just never a threat to take it to the house.

If the threat is no longer there then teams lose respect for it. Yea, he could grind out the yardage. But look at it from this perspective.

If a team drops 8 into coverage, and only rush 4 linemen. Once Edge gets through the line, he has 5 yards before a linebacker or saftey comes up to stop him. I'm not saying I would not like to still have him, of course I would. But for the price the Cards paid him. No way, he's 32(old by NFL standards)
lost the top gear,Gonna need that blocking though to chip off on Mario. Will Joe Addia be Edge, probably not. But as a Colts Fan I would love to see a 50 yard touchdown by someone other then a W.R.

I'm glad we saved the money because Freeny is a F.A. next year, then Sanders. Last thing I need is to see them teamed up with Mario......

erased

oso said:

Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Indy are all known for prolific throwing offenses. BL, Peyton, and McNair (assuming he stays) are three great QBs. Keeping their lanes filled is going to be tough, but we should be better at it. With several key losses this year, I think Indy could be closer to the other AFC South teams than we think. I'm not saying they won't win every game, but it shouldn't be as easy as it was in the past. I expect the other three teams to trade off wins with each other.

Our biggest question mark going into this season is not David Carr, IMO. It is DD and the running game. Can DD stay healthy, and can he put yards on the field? If he gets injured like he has in the past, it will be along season for the Texans. But if DD can break more than a 1000-yd season, then we should do well. He holds the ball well, so I don't think that turnovers will be a priority. It's the breaking into the backfield, which several people on the boards have said should be easier due to the new cut-blocking schemes.

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I wanted to add that a large part of the running game depends on the line, and so the level of lineman development will vastly affect the Texans' running production. My hope is that an improved line will keep DD healthy and help him reach the numbers he needs for the team to have a successful running game. DD could be key to winning the division. IMO, none of the AFC South teams are rushing powerhouses.

SESupergenius said:

You are going to be in a hard fall like most posters were in last year while they were in denial that we somehow got better with addition by subtraction. We have some very good moves in the offseason, but there is plenty of room to grow. There is a lot of change on this team and you'd be putting a lot of pressure on them to be successful in only a few months. Put your expectations low, you might enjoy the season more.

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I dont understand where you get the whole 'addition by subtraction' thing. We have only added talent this off season. Are you saying that makes us worse and not better? I hope that isn't what you are saying because that is nonsense. where's the subtraction? unless you mean butterfingers bradford.

If you re-read my post- you will notice that my prediction was that we would beat indy NEXT year but threaten this year. I still believe that.

Also, to whoever said it...it isn't the subtraction of edge that makes me think we will beat indy finally (although that helps) but rather a great pass rushing defense. that is the type of defense (the only type)that has made peyton look silly before.
No one knows what the season will hold obviously but i think we will have that type of defense by the second half of this year. I fully expect to win the division next year and to be 9-7 this year. I wont be terribly let down if this doesn't happen as some have suggested and will cheer for them reguardless. this is going to be a good year.

I think we could go 9-7.
W Philadelphia
L Indianapolis
L Washington
L Miami
BYE
W Dallas
L Jacksonville
W Tennessee
L NYG
W Jacksonville
W Buffalo
W NYJ
W Oakland
W Tennessee
L New England
L Indianapolis
W Cleveland