Looking for a playoff sleeper? Try Houston

[Brando]

Waking people up!

Come December, Houston will be in the playoff conversation.

That conversation begins with coach Gary Kubiak and the offensive philosophy he brought from Denver after spending 11 years as Mike Shanahan's offensive coordinator. The foundation is a strong running game, but it must be complemented by explosive plays in the passing game. And Kubiak, like Shanahan, is adept at producing big pass plays with formations that scream "run."

A great example is the 77-yard touchdown pass from Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson in Week 1. It came out of a two-back, two-tight end package on first down; Johnson was the only wide receiver on the field. The Texans had running personnel in a running formation. The Chiefs' defense responded accordingly, and Johnson got behind the secondary for the touchdown. That's smart game-planning.



Schaub is impressive. He understands the timing and rhythm of the passing game, makes quick, smart decisions and is accurate. He also gets the ball out quickly to the right receiver, which will make the Texans' line, long ridiculed for its inability to protect David Carr, a better unit. You won't find the Texans near the bottom of the NFL rankings in sacks allowed anymore.

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[badboy]

Not ready to jump to playoff guarantees yet, but it is heady to be able to talk about defensive line being more productive and seeing Dunte back on probowl run. I was very concerned about two areas this season # 2 WR and #2 CB. After watching Schaub spread the ball around between TEs and backs we have a go to option even if AJ is covered. Walter has 1 catch each game for 8.5 avg but even that can make the rest of offense click. I am still not a big fan of this guy. JJ and Mathis might yet work in at WR. The other area of my concern is DB. To make matters worse we lost our SS in Earl and then had another set back. Brown stood out with the knock down of the reception and that made me do the macarena. Bouleware and the other pick up may also start at some point and we can still win. This leaves # 2 CB. Faggins and Fletcher may occupy this spot during the season but unless Bennett moves up, this is now THE weakness. Does not mean we can't win but I will continue to worry every time the QB looks to the right. Good news is we can still have a good season and with Smith's team of scouts, look at a FS and #2 CB with first day picks in draft. A lot is coming together under this management team.

[ledzeppelin229]

Originally Posted by badboy

Not ready to jump to playoff guarantees yet, but it is heady to be able to talk about defensive line being more productive and seeing Dunte back on probowl run. I was very concerned about two areas this season # 2 WR and #2 CB. After watching Schaub spread the ball around between TEs and backs we have a go to option even if AJ is covered. Walter has 1 catch each game for 8.5 avg but even that can make the rest of offense click. I am still not a big fan of this guy. JJ and Mathis might yet work in at WR. The other area of my concern is DB. To make matters worse we lost our SS in Earl and then had another set back. Brown stood out with the knock down of the reception and that made me do the macarena. Bouleware and the other pick up may also start at some point and we can still win. This leaves # 2 CB. Faggins and Fletcher may occupy this spot during the season but unless Bennett moves up, this is now THE weakness. Does not mean we can't win but I will continue to worry every time the QB looks to the right. Good news is we can still have a good season and with Smith's team of scouts, look at a FS and #2 CB with first day picks in draft. A lot is coming together under this management team.

Fortunately Faggins won't usually have to cover guys like Steve Smith (unless they decide that gameplan should be used again.) However, he does have to cover Reggie Wayne next weekend...hopefully the DL makes sure Manning can't throw it too deep.

[Mike Kerns]

The national love is nice. Im just not ready to start placing any playoff expectations on the boys. I believe in them and believe it is possible, but this is a tough conference. Im just going to enjoy this for now. Cautiously Optimistic, thats me.

[brakos82]

Not this year, but next year, why not?

[Double Barrel]

I feel like I'm in Bizarro World when I read about the national media mentioning Houston Texans and playoffs in the same sentence. It's nice, though.

However, I'm not ready to predict playoffs. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. 2-0 is certainly nice, and obviously we have a different team this year. So I'll still stick to my first winning season prediction, but with the AFC, playoffs might require a 10-6 or 11-5 record for a wildcard berth.