Does anyone still think 8-8 is still out of the picture?

[MorKnolle]

I knew this team had some decent talent, but initially I wasn't sure how well/quickly they'd be able to put things together, but after two preseason games I've very encouraged with what I've seen. I know it's just preseason, but after the Saints/Cowboys game tomorrow, we'll be one of 6 unbeaten teams in this preseason, and we're currently the 3rd highest scoring offense and 6th best scoring margin in the league. In the first game our team looked very disciplined overall, we made minimal penalties and turnovers, allowed 0 sacks, our defense was pretty stout against their passing game, and our offense sustained several drives pretty nicely as we tore it up in total yards gained and time of possession. The second game we switched our defensive front 7 around and looked very solid against the run, albeit a little worse against the pass but McCleon was a starting CB and shouldn't have been, and I think our 1st team DLine played with a lot more intensity, and our special teams looked very good other than Brown missing a FG, although we did give up our first sack of the preseason and committed more turnovers, some of them pretty dumb and costly, a few were questionable calls. I also like what I'm seeing out of several of our players that I had minor questions on, and I think our RB situation is looking like it will be quite satisfactory if Davis can't come back and be effective. I definitely like the intensity and confidence that most of our guys are showing on the field.

I haven't had a chance to re-watch the 2nd game yet to offer any kind of more detailed critique, perhaps Coach and I can get together this week and type up a more thorough analysis of the games so far, although we might wait until next week after the first round of cuts. Anyways, I am quite encouraged by many things I've seen thusfar, and bottom line our team is definitely on the way up and I think we really are a solid enough team to compete in every game and "steal" a bunch of those home games in there, and I can definitely see us going 8-8 or better and being in the wild card chase down to the last couple weeks of the season. Any concurrings, disagreements, or general comments?

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by MorKnolle

I knew this team had some decent talent, but initially I wasn't sure how well/quickly they'd be able to put things together, but after two preseason games I've very encouraged with what I've seen.

I agree with you. I didn't expect us to look as good as we ahve so far. But it is pre-season after all so I'm going to stick with my original estimates:

5-11 - What I expect although now, I will be a little let down with this.
8-8 - What I'm hoping for.

We've got some tough stretches in our schedule but we've also got what appear to be some very winnable games this year. I expect to sweep the Titans, split with the Jags, and then beat the Bills and Raiders. We really, really have to beat the Cowgirls (especially now that it appears that I'll be in the stands for that one). I think we can take the Jets and Browns. So... 8 is definitely do-able.

[TexanSam]

I think 8-8 is very possible. I believe we have better talent than our 7-9 season from two years ago and I definately believe we have better coaching.

[Ibar_Harry]

I'm further out on the limb than that at 13-3, but I really do think it is all coming together. Kubiak is one heck of a coach.

[MorKnolle]

Originally Posted by Ibar_Harry

I'm further out on the limb than that at 13-3, but I really do think it is all coming together. Kubiak is one heck of a coach.

I can't honestly say this, I can see 10-6 with us winning 3 out of the first 5 (likely Philly, Miami, and Dallas, losing to Washington and Indy), then sweeping Tennessee, splitting with Jacksonville, beating the Jets, Raiders, Browns, and Bills, which would put us at 5-2 after week 8 and definitely turn some heads, and we'd be in the wild card hunt all the way to the end, but I think 8-8 is more likely.

[HJam72]

1-15 baby!!!

They can't keep us from winning one at some point!

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by MorKnolle

I can't honestly say this, I can see 10-6 with us winning 3 out of the first 5 (likely Philly, Miami, and Dallas, losing to Washington and Indy), then sweeping Tennessee, splitting with Jacksonville, beating the Jets, Raiders, Browns, and Bills, which would put us at 5-2 after week 8 and definitely turn some heads, and we'd be in the wild card hunt all the way to the end, but I think 8-8 is more likely.

The games that worry me are the Philly and Miami games. I don't feel good about those. Andy Reid is a sneeky bastid and thems some damn fine O and D lines. We could win that one though because Philly/McNabb have a history of starting slow.

Miami finished strong last season and I expect them to be better with Culpepper. They scare me.

I don't see us winning those games. I'm afraid we open 0-4. If we open 2-2, I think we win 10 games and pressure for a wild card.

[TexansBull]

Games we should win:
Miami, Washington, Jags, Titans, Bills, Jets, Raider, and Titans.

Those are 8 games with teams that we should defeat only the first two being what some would call hopeful. But those are games that stand out to me that we should win.
I think Culpepper cant cut it without Moss.
Washington is will be over rated and with our new D, that Portis is going to have a lot more to worry about than his shoulder. Ramsay is gone and their QB is a year older.
All the rest should be easy W's if the team falls into place.
Other games on our schedule: we could win a couple more IMHO.
I think 8 is doable, and 8+ should be the teams goal.

[TexanSam]

Just running down the schedule I'll make some early predictions:

Philly: I think we'll win this one. I don't think Philly is as good without T.O. and I don't think they'll be as good as they were before T.O. W 1-0

at Indy: I don't think we'll beat Indy at home. Peyton won't have it as easy as he has before against us, but he'll do enough to win the game. Mario Williams will sack him though! Then we can have that avatar than some of us want! L 1-1

Washington: May be the best team in the NFC East. They have Al Saunders as their coordinator so the offense won't be as dull as it was last season. Mark Brunell is servicable as a QB. We'll lose this game, but we'll make it close. L 1-2

Miami: I think they're the team to beat in the AFC East. I think they are better than the Patriots and I think Daunte will be back to the Daunte of old. Especially with Chris Chambers at wide-out. Unfortunately, Capers will get revenge on his old team. L1-3

at Dallas: It's Dallas. They're talented. They have a good coach. But no way I predict us to lose to the Cowturds. W 2-3

Jacksonville: Byron Leftwich is way overrated. Is Fred Taylor going to be healthy? With Jimmy Smith gone, do they have any WRs? We'll win this one. W 3-3

at Tennessee: We'll win this game. No particular reason. Tennessee just sucks. We also have our first 3 game winning streak ever (I think!) W 4-3

at New York Giants: Eli Manning will do what his older brother does to us. Tiki Barber will have a big game too. L 4-4

at Jacksonville: Three games in a row on the road will get to us. The Texans will play it close, but we'll have to settle for a split of the Jaguars. L 4-5

Buffalo: May be the worst team in the league. Eric Moulds will have a huge game against his former team! W 5-5

at New York Jets: If Buffalo wasn't the worst team the week before, this may be it. Eric Mangini has a lot of work to do. By this point, Kellen Clemens may be the starting QB for the Jets. We'll have a field day this game and we split our games at Giants Stadium. W 6-5

at Oakland: We play three bad teams in a row! We win three games in a row for the 2nd time this season also! Mario Williams will go wild chasing Aaron Brooks and Andre Johnson will prove to be one of the top 5 WRs in the game just like Randy Moss said (on the radio a few months back). Randy Moss will also prove why he's not an elite WR anymore. W 7-5

Tennessee: Bud Adams will make Vince Young start even though he's not ready and he'll go 10-25 with 3 INTs. Jerome Mathis will be back and healthy and he'll return a kickoff for a TD. David Carr will go 25-30 for 320 yards and 4 TDs. Morency will run for 2 TDs. Mario Williams will sack VY 3 times and will be a force all game long and we'll steamroll over the Titans 52-3! We also have a four game winning streak and would be one of the wild card teams if the season ended today. W 8-5

at New England: Tom Brady and the Patriots are in the hunt for the division against the Dolphins and won't lose this game. L 8-6

Indianapolis: We will beat Indianapolis for the first time and it can't come at a better time or a better place! Reliant will be rockin because the Texans are in the midst of one of the most dramtic single-season turnarounds in NFL history. We win a game with a Kris Brown field goal as time expires. Reliant is the loudest it's ever been...until the Browns game the next week: W 9-6

Cleveland: The Texans will not lose this game, unlike 2004. Also unlike 2004, the Texans are in the playoff hunt and a win guarantees the Texans a spot in the wildcard! Reliant is crazy. David Carr is in the midst of a Pro Bowl season, as is Andre Johnson and Dunta Robinson. We win this game and the Texans make it the playoffs as a wildcard! And the fans tear down the goalposts! W 10-6

-------------------
I never really looked at the schedule closey until just now, and I really can see the Texans winning 10 games. I can't wait until the season starts! So 8-8 isn't out of the picture! Neither is 10-6!

[phan1]

I think an outside shot at a wildcard in the latter weeks of the season is very feasible, and it is what I would actually hope and expect. The Jaguars had an outside shot the season before last (before we ended their hopes), and they made a wildcard last season. Sorry, but I think we are a better team, and if the Jaguars can do it, we can too.

[SAMURAITEXAN]

I'd originally posted that I would be happy with more than 7 Wins and still am. However, I'm getting a little be greedyer and hoping for a few more wins this season. I know it is only preseason and all but, stopping oppnents' run like we'd been doing for first two games, I can't stop getting excited about the TEXANS. To me, 8-8 isn't out of the picture at all for us.

[Corrosion]

Mork , Looks like your opinion of the team is about the same as mine has been since May . I posted this back on May 3rd of this year . Lot of people probably thought I was nuts .... If I wrote it today I wouldnt change a thing.....

http://www.houstontexans.com/fan_zon...749#post342749

Originally Posted by corrosion

Last year was .... Brutal to watch and thats putting it mildly . Several of us even pointed out during the pre-season that the team was not performing to expectations .... But it was only pre-season . Turns out this was just a taste of what was to come ..... 2-14 sucks !

The offense was again near the bottom of the league in passing and the top of the league in sacks allowed , something we have seen here before . This is something several long time board members have been clamouring about since we first heard Bosselli wouldnt ever suit up. (myself included)

The defense was pathetic against both the rush and the pass . The pass rush was almost non-existant . Turnovers were few and far between . They just didnt force many mistakes .

Capers and Co were just too conservative in their offensive aproach and far too complex in their defensive strategies for the players to excell . Their 2-14 performance got them the boot and not a moment too soon .

The hiring of Kubiak to replace Capers was probably the best move of the off-season . Kubiak may have been a quarterback as a player but he knows the value of a running game and a solid defense is the key to winning in tthis league .

For those of you who expect an air it out offense here in Houston next season .... sorry , not gonna happen . This offense will look more like Denver or Carolina's offenses . They will establish the run . They will protect Carr . They will actually throw to the TE (thats funny).

They did as well as you could expect a 2-14 team to do in free-agency . They filled some holes starting with Anthony Weaver at DE and Sam Cowart at LB . The O-line was upgraded with the signing of center Mike Flanagan . Which in turn moves Steve McKinney back to his natural position of guard. We wont have to watch Milford Brown and Fred Weary at the guards this season .... They were likely the worst guard tandem in the league .

Kevin Walter , Eric Moulds and Jeb Putzier are upgrades over Corey BADford , Jabar (im not looking) Gaffeny and the never played in a meaningful game B.Joppru . Carr has some weapons to work with now ....Sage Rosenfels was Kubiaks choice for replacing Tony Banks .... Just about anyone would have been an upgrade there .

The Cuts that Kubiak made at the begining of his tenure sent a message .... I was happy to see Coleman and Hollings go , G.Walker just couldnt seem to stay on the field and although his cap hit hurts it was the right move in my opinion .

The draft went much different than many expected and or hoped . I for one am excited about the guy's they drafted in tthe top of this years draft . Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans give them two very athletic players in the front sever . Thats something this defense has lacked from day one . The secondary will benifit from this more than anything .
The choice of Williams over Bush changes more than meets the eye . This D-Line could turn out to be the best in the league next season w/ Williams , Johnson , Payne , Smith and Weaver . Johnson stands to gain the most in the change from 3-4 to 4-3 as he is more of a one gap player .

Eric Winston was a steal in the third round , he has first round talent . Along with Charles Spencer they have added some youth and talent to one of their weakest area's . Carr should spend a lot less time on his back or running for his life than he has in the past.

Owen Daniels should provide some competition at the TE spot , From what Ive seen and heard the guy can both block and catch . I dont know a lot about Wali Lundy but just about any back you plug into Kubiaks system is going to succeed .

All in all I expect this team to improve by leaps and bounds this season . No more Pendry and his horrid play-calling , No more Fancio errr Fangio and his defense that takes a rocket scientist to comprehend .... That in itself would be worth 3 wins . With the additions and changes in schemes they have made thus far I could easily see them break even at 8-8 But wouldnt count out a monumental turn around of 10-6 .....

Before you go calling me a .... If you read my breakdown of last years offseason you will know that Im Brutally honest in my opinions and was pretty much spot on in my assessment prior to last season .....

Texans 2 , Dolts 0

[Kaiser Toro]

I am still holding tight to six wins. The way Carr is looking makes me stay there. However, this is Carr's first year in a true NFL offense and with him at the helm next year I still believe we win the AFC South and get a bye.

[nunusguy]

C'mon fellas, lets not get carried away here. Apparently much of the time our top unit was on the field Saturday, it was against the Rams #2s, so you'd want to discount the results of Saturdays game a bit.
Sunday night in Denver being the third preseason game and accordingly "the" real warmup for the regular season, good chance the Broncos play their starters a whole half. So we should get a real indicator of where the Texans are at this weekend.

[the wonger need food]

9-7 after a tough start. They are going to continue to improve under Kubiak.

[veazeyt]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

C'mon fellas, lets not get carried away here. Apparently much of the time our top unit was on the field Saturday, it was against the Rams #2s, so you'd want to discount the results of Saturdays game a bit.
Sunday night in Denver being the third preseason game and accordingly "the" real warmup for the regular season, good chance the Broncos play their starters a whole half. So we should get a real indicator of where the Texans are at this weekend.

On the upside, we held their first team offense to only 3 points, The Greatest Show on Turf still has a lot of weapons.

But all-in-all this is just PRESEASON!

[Malloy]

I hope and think that we should be able to whip out a winning season this year, with a possibility of reaching the playoffs. That being said I also want to stress that if this scenario does not play out (and chances are it won't) I won't be grumpy with the team IF the team has shown progress, talent, and the ehart to win games. Winning season sounds cool, but for me it's more important that we look good, we'll screw em all in 2007 then

[TheOgre]

I still think this is a 6-10/7-9 team, but some lucky breaks could get us 8-9 wins.

[TEXANRED]

Originally Posted by caddy

How can your judge the team with two preseason games. At best 7 reg. seasons win with a new coaching staff would be great against this tough talent Any more wins than 7 would mean that there is no teams are stronger than us. Wake up the new staff is not going too suit-up for the games. I got $$ too back this up..

I got money too but it doesn't hurt to be optimistic.

I say 10-6 and we beat the Colts!

[edo783]

Folks who are calling Philly, Miami and Wash., as wins need to go see and read what they have done in the off season. Philly has been looking REAL good and so has Miami. These are tough well coached teams. Washington will be a bit more predicated on how Portis comes along, but hardly a Gimmi. If we can get a 2-2 split in the NFC East I will be very surprised.