Damn you Pat Kirwan!

[Mari-OWNED!]

So Pat Kirwan was doing a chat on NFL.com answering our questions. So I decided to ask him "The Question" when it comes to the Houston Texans, and he answered it!

This is what he had to say...



Although what he says is true, I hope the Texans can prove him wrong this year!

[Texsker]

Hopefully Pat's wrong. I do know that his team rankings are updated regularly based on a number of factors. He may be underestimating the Texans, but, to me, he's the single most knowledgeable football mind in the media today, and his opinion holds a ton of weight with me. That doesn't mean he's right, of course, but you can bet that his opinion on the Texans was well thought out and not made lightly.

[ObsiWan]

he didn't do anything but state the obvious.
yes, we improved. but the other guys didn't exactly stand still. The $64,000 question is: did we leapfrog any of our division foes?

time will tell...

[Texsker]

Originally Posted by ObsiWan

he didn't do anything but state the obvious.
yes, we improved. but the other guys didn't exactly stand still. The $64,000 question is: did we leapfrog any of our division foes?

time will tell...

The real wildcard this year in the AFC South is the Colts. They experienced a lot of turmoil over the off-season with the loss of Dungy, Moore and Mudd. It's unknown at this point to what extent those losses will affect them.

[gtexan02]

I prefer people expecting nothing of us. I like being ranked 20+. It makes it even more humiliating for the other teams and even more exciting for us when we win

[Insideop]

Originally Posted by Texsker

The real wildcard this year in the AFC South is the Colts. They experienced a lot of turmoil over the off-season with the loss of Dungy, Moore and Mudd. It's unknown at this point to what extent those losses will affect them.

I think this year the AFC South is full of wildcards and could be open for anyone to take. Like you said, the Colts are an unknown with the loss of their coaches, but look at the "tacks." They lost Haynesworth and their Defensive Coordinator, who went to Detroit. Jacksonville is still in turmoil from last year but could surprise if they get their running game going again.

Then there's our Texans. Out of all the teams in the division, to me, they look like the ones that could make the biggest improvement. Smith/Kubes have been slowly building the team through the Draft over the last 4 years while the Colts, "tacks" and Jags were all on top and making their runs. Last season saw the Colts and Jags slip while the "tacks" claimed the division and best record in the NFL. This season, though the Colts and "tacks" could be just "reloading" for another run, they are starting to lose key players and coaches to FA, retirement, injuries, etc... I'm looking for both to take a step or 2 back. How far back remains to be seen. How big of a step the Texans take forward remains to be seen also. Looking forward to the season getting underway!

[Texsker]

Originally Posted by Insideop

I think this year the AFC South is full of wildcards and could be open for anyone to take. Like you said, the Colts are an unknown with the loss of their coaches, but look at the "tacks." They lost Haynesworth and their Defensive Coordinator, who went to Detroit. Jacksonville is still in turmoil from last year but could surprise if they get their running game going again.

By the way, since I posted that, it was announced that Howard Mudd and Tom Moore were re-hired by the Colts as consultants, whatever that means. I'm not sure how their roles on the team will change, if at all.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by Texsker

By the way, since I posted that, it was announced that Howard Mudd and Tom Moore were re-hired by the Colts as consultants, whatever that means. I'm not sure how their roles on the team will change, if at all.

I'm sure they wont be able to be on the practice field or in the booth come game day. They'll just insure they have the same system, but wont be able to help with the on the fly adaptation.

[Insideop]

Originally Posted by BigBull17

I'm sure they wont be able to be on the practice field or in the booth come game day. They'll just insure they have the same system, but wont be able to help with the on the fly adaptation.

Just curious, but are there rules stating what a "consultant" can and can't do on an NFL team?

[Wolf]

I am going to drink some kool-aid.. I hope that with the new DC, it will be a HUGE difference with this team. Offensively we are fairly set at this point (slaton has to stay healthy among others).. we improve our red zone offense and we wil grind out a few more "w"'s with TD's instead of FG's ..

and yes I am stating the obvious

[Carr Bombed]

As long as a devastating hurricane doesn't roll in here and screw up the start of the season I think we'll be fine....

As far as the Colts, we proved last season that we can play with them. We could've won both games.....and that second game should've been a blow out in our favor....(*headache* just thinking about the final moments of that game....I had "the comeback" flashbacks)

As far as the Titans, I think they played way over their heads last season....not trying to take too much from them, but they won't have the best record in the NFL this year. Plus I think the win we had over them last season will help us this season confidence wise.

All Houston has to do is stay relatively healthy and cut down on T.O.'s and they should be in pretty good shape to take that next step and make the playoffs. (talent wise I honestly believe we can go toe to toe with any team in this division...with the Colts and Titans.) They left a god awful amount of points off the board last season.

[beerlover]

20th & selecting 15th in the draft. inverse logic suggests the Texans improve better than 17 other franchises, two of which are in our own division. since Jacksonville has the most opportunity for improvement they in fact are the wildcard team in the division. Tennessee lost their defensive MVP who just killed Schaub & the Texans while Peyton lost his #1 weapon & his OL FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAINST FRANK BUSH TEXANS D IS GOING TO STRUGGLE....BIG TIME....making it much easier for our offense to outscore Peyton & Co.

No, thank you Pat for stating the obvious. for those of us who follow the NFL like a religion we know better, don't mean to add any pressure but it wouldn't surprise me if the Texans pull what the Cardinals did last season & you can throw out this meaningless ranking along with it

[RipTraxx]

Originally Posted by beerlover

20th & selecting 15th in the draft. inverse logic suggests the Texans improve better than 17 other franchises, two of which are in our own division. since Jacksonville has the most opportunity for improvement they in fact are the wildcard team in the division. Tennessee lost their defensive MVP who just killed Schaub & the Texans while Peyton lost his #1 weapon & his OL FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAINST FRANK BUSH TEXANS D IS GOING TO STRUGGLE....BIG TIME....making it much easier for our offense to outscore Peyton & Co.

No, thank you Pat for stating the obvious. for those of us who follow the NFL like a religion we know better, don't mean to add any pressure but it wouldn't surprise me if the Texans pull what the Cardinals did last season & you can throw out this meaningless ranking along with it

Speaking of the Cards....There is an alarming statistic that shows the teams that LOSE the SB struggle to make .500 the next year. If im not mistaken the Pats beat this phenomenon by 1 game.

[BigBull17]

To be honest, we were one tackle of Gerrard and two bone headed Sageisms away from being 4-2 in the division. With an improved defense, I see no reason why we can't at least finish 2nd in the division.

[Hardcore Texan]

Just as we went 2-4 in the division last year, we could easily go 4-2 this year. Hell, last year should have been 3-3 if Sagencopter would have not happened. I think we have gotten better and for various reasons the other teams have question marks.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by Hardcore Texan

Just as we went 2-4 in the division last year, we could easily go 4-2 this year. Hell, last year should have been 3-3 if Sagencopter would have not happened. I think we have gotten better and for various reasons the other teams have question marks.

Or Gerrard's QB draw on 4th and 7. Thats 4-2.

[False Start]

Originally Posted by BigBull17

Or Gerrard's QB draw on 4th and 7. Thats 4-2.

I had almost forgot about that...... thanks for the memories..

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by Insideop

Just curious, but are there rules stating what a "consultant" can and can't do on an NFL team?

I don't know, but I seem to remember Gibbs getting into a little trouble when he was a "consultant" in Atlanta. Not real sure.

[Hardcore Texan]

Originally Posted by BigBull17

Or Gerrard's QB draw on 4th and 7. Thats 4-2.

There you go.......we are not that far away at all, especially to us fans who actually watch all the games, not some national sportswriter's take trying to cover everyone.

Oh, and thanks for the painful memory, I obviously managed to block it out.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by Hardcore Texan

There you go.......we are not that far away at all, especially to us fans who actually watch all the games, not some national sportswriter's take trying to cover everyone.

Oh, and thanks for the painful memory, I obviously managed to block it out.

Sadly, that was not the only run Garrard had on us. IIRC, there were a few he had that were painful. You'd think we'd go with a QB spy after the 1st run on 3rd down.

Now that I think about it, wasn't that the game when our QB spy missed the tackle? I think it was one of our LB's.