Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

The Wild Card situation...

Air Canada

Waterboy
After today's nice win...it appears everything is all topsy turvy and the Texans have gained ground...if we can't get the division from the Colts(not likely) we are in a great position to compete and win a wild card.

The Ravens lost to the Vikes on a missed field goal...3 losses in a row
The Jets lose in OT to the Bills on a field goal....3 losses in a row
The Jags won in OT against the Rams...

all 3 teams are knotted a 3-3 and the Texans are in a position that we need to take advantage of from this point forward...

Next up 49ers! Let's do this Houston!:texflag:
 

JCTexan

Hall of Fame
After today's nice win...it appears everything is all topsy turvy and the Texans have gained ground...if we can't get the division from the Colts(not likely) we are in a great position to compete and win a wild card.

The Ravens lost to the Vikes on a missed field goal...3 losses in a row
The Jets lose in OT to the Bills on a field goal....3 losses in a row
The Jags won in OT against the Rams...

all 3 teams are knotted a 3-3 and the Texans are in a position that we need to take advantage of from this point forward...

Next up 49ers! Let's do this Houston!:texflag:
It's way too early in the year for me to give up on the division, or to care if they're 1 or 2 games back in the wild card standings. Houston is three behind the Colts, but they still face each other two times. Not impossible to come back from that. I have the same feelings for the Texans as I do for the Longhorns: all they have to worry about is winning their games this early in the season.
 

C Madd

Waterboy
I was just looking at this and was surprised. Don't forget San Diego, though, they're 2-2 going into tomorrow.

Also, the rest of the schedule isn't too bad, with the exception of the 2 Indy games and New England, so hopefully Houston will take advantage.
 
I was just looking at this and was surprised. Don't forget San Diego, though, they're 2-2 going into tomorrow.

Also, the rest of the schedule isn't too bad, with the exception of the 2 Indy games and New England, so hopefully Houston will take advantage.
Personally, I'm hoping the Patriots have already clinched something by that time and sit everyone. I don't want to see them if something is on the line. The key going forward is to win the games at home. Win those and the Texans can at least be in position to in the hunt.

A lot of mediocrity amongst the AFC right now. A team looks good one week and struggles another. Outside of Indy nobody has looked unbeatable. The wildcards will be wide open to a multitude of teams. Only the Titans, the Chiefs, and the Browns should already be excluded. I think the Raiders and the Bills (both with victories today) have too many issues to really be a factor as well. So, that leaves 11 teams still in the hunt for those 6 playoff spots. That's why those 2 tough losses hurt so much. The Texans could be in a driver's seat for a spot instead of tied right now. But ... it is way too early in the season. There are a lot of games left and many things could still happen either way.
 

ObsiWan

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
It's way too early in the year for me to give up on the division, or to care if they're 1 or 2 games back in the wild card standings. Houston is three behind the Colts, but they still face each other two times. Not impossible to come back from that. I have the same feelings for the Texans as I do for the Longhorns: all they have to worry about is winning their games this early in the season.
My sentiment ends right there. It's too early. Show some consistency. Let's roll 3 or 4 wins in a row. Then I'll let myself peek at the standings in an "can we make the playoffs" kinda way.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Also, the rest of the schedule isn't too bad, with the exception of the 2 Indy games and New England, so hopefully Houston will take advantage.
That's the best part of the schedule. We control our own destiny. Two wins against Indy will give us the tie breaker, if we need it for the division.

A win against the Patriots will probably give us the tie breaker for the wildcard.
 

gary

Hall of Fame
I hope this thread is right but at best I see one win against Indy and unless a playoff spot is asured for NE by week 17 I don't see the Texans beating them. I don't mean to be a debby downer and hope I'm wrong. GO TEXANS
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
Lets look at it this way:

The Locks // Division Winners for Sure

Colts, Broncos, Patriots

Wild Card Contenders/Iffy Division Lead

Steelers - Should win their division but started slow and tough division
Ravens - Really fallen off hard, how far do they fall?
Chargers - No pass rush, can't stop the run, iffy at running the ball
Texans - See Chargers, but more hope here and track record of playing better in the 2nd half of season
Jaguars - They're hanging around and will continue to, their schedule is easy kinda from here on but they lose games they should win
Dolphins - Henne basically in his rookie season right now, defense is very beatable and has been beat by bad offenses this year
Bengals - Weird team, very lucky for a stretch and came back to reality today, I don't think they're as good as they started the season and aren't as bad as today, probably an 8-8 team
Jets - Rookie Sanchez is coming back to reality and despite being a good blitzing team they're last in the NFL in sacks, lots of questions here and they're falling on hard times
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
We have an excellent opportunity to be on a 3 game winning streak with momentum heading into Indy. That will give Reeves 4 games back in the lineup along with Quinn gaining experience and Pollard having more time as the starter and the defense should be hitting on all cylinders by then if we keep playing like they have been since the 2nd half of the Arizona game.

We've got a pissed off 49ers team that's had an extra week to prepare for us though and we need to look at them first and foremost.
 

utahmark

markbeth
We have an excellent opportunity to be on a 3 game winning streak with momentum heading into Indy. That will give Reeves 4 games back in the lineup along with Quinn gaining experience and Pollard having more time as the starter and the defense should be hitting on all cylinders by then if we keep playing like they have been since the 2nd half of the Arizona game.

We've got a pissed off 49ers team that's had an extra week to prepare for us though and we need to look at them first and foremost.
i'm not real happy about playing another team coming off a bye week. arizona sure looked good in the first half after having that extra week.
 

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
thats the cards we been delt with


anywayz our divison is not out of reach we still play indy 2 times


we just need indy to implode a little

yes iam drinking that kool aid :chef:
 

Speedy

Former Yeller Dweller
The loss to Arizona hurts, but if you're going to lose, better that it's a non-conference team. This Cincy win was big because it helps in tie-breakers should it come to that. We're 3-2 in conference play.
 

Air Canada

Waterboy
Who would've of thought the Jet's would start imploding a little bit....

I did! Sanchez was getting way too much love and I had feeling that things may start fallin apart. The media practically crowned them SB contenders...

:runaway:
 

Insideop

All Pro
Aaaaah! It's so much nicer to come here on the MB after a win and hear all the talk of playoffs than to come here after a loss and hear all the negative whiners!

Anyway, I still think it's too early to speculate about the playoffs, but I like the way this Defense is starting to play. If they keep this up, and we continue to score the way we have and put a string of wins together, the talk of playoffs will take on some meaning. Now, if we can only find our running game .... :jogger:
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Let's take advantage. These next two games are key. I hope we're standing at 5-3 before our showdown in Indy!
A win against San Francisco would be nice. For where the team & fans are emotionally. But post season wise, if we're going to pick which games we win/lose.... it would be better for us to win against Buffalo, an AFC team who may be looking at a Wildcard spot themselves in December.

Our biggest challenges coming up, is to beat Indy twice. If we both end up with 10 wins, that will put us in the play-offs as division champs.

If we split the games with Indy, the next tie breaker would be our record in the division.

They are 2-0 in the division. If we split, they'll be 3-1. If they also beat Jax & Ten a gain, they'll be 5-1.

We're 1-1. If we split, we'll be 2-2, and if we beat Jax & Ten, we'll be 4-2, we lose the tie breaker.



Our best hope, for post season play is to win out... so I guess SF is a key game... & win the rest of our division games. That's a 5 week stretch (including a bye) of back to back division games.

November 8th at Indy
Bye
November 23rd Monday Night @ Reliant... Tennessee (can't look past these guys)
November 29th Indy @ Reliant. it's a short week, but we've got to win it.
December 6 @ Jaxsonville....

If we can pull off a 4 game win streak in there.. 5 games, if we beat the Bills to start it off..... then finish the season with a win against Miami in Miami, & New England @ Reliant we'll either be the division champs, or looking pretty good for a wild-card.

I know 11-5 didn't get New England in last year. But how often does that happen.

I know you can't pick & choose which games you lose.

I'm just saying, best case scenario, next to winning out.. would be to win all our AFC games remaining on the schedule.
 

Air Canada

Waterboy
Wild Card?? Huh... They've only played 6 games, and already talks of playoffs...
Yeah, week to week we improve or worsen our position wouldn't you agree?

It's better to speak of how we can get in than to speak of no playoffs....:shades:
 

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
Wild Card?? Huh... They've only played 6 games, and already talks of playoffs...
Hey, we need to get our rooters right. You see, we are all out of practice given the slow starts and the no way they can win teams.

The Texans are a team that is good enough to win or lose to anyone. We obviously want more wins. Who knows, maybe they get on a roll.

One way or another, we not only have a team to root for but we have many teams to root against. Not just division games, but throughout the league.

So yeah, I was pretty happy to see the Ravens and Jets lose. The Texans have two games against the Colts, and with that team you never know--if anything ever happened to Manning that entire team could collapse into a pile of rancid goo.

Part of the fun of the NFL is rooting for and against. We've not had that experience too often so we need to practice getting our rooters right.

:fans::fans::fans:
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
After today's nice win...it appears everything is all topsy turvy and the Texans have gained ground...if we can't get the division from the Colts(not likely) we are in a great position to compete and win a wild card.

The Ravens lost to the Vikes on a missed field goal...3 losses in a row
The Jets lose in OT to the Bills on a field goal....3 losses in a row
The Jags won in OT against the Rams...

all 3 teams are knotted a 3-3 and the Texans are in a position that we need to take advantage of from this point forward...

Next up 49ers! Let's do this Houston!:texflag:
As it stands right now:

http://www.nfl.com/standings?category=conf

Division leaders are the Colts, Broncos, Bengals and Patriots.

Pittsburgh has the inside track on the 5th seed with a 4-2 record but tiebreaker goes to Cincinnati so they get bumped down to wild card. We would be best served with Pittsburgh winning the division and it coming down to a wildcard tiebreaker with Cincy if we cant catch the Colts.

Jaguars would have the 6th seed if the season were to end today. Its a 4 way tie between us, Jags, Jets and Ravens at 3-3. Jags win the tiebreaker against us and they have a superior conference and division record than the Jets and Ravens (I dont know which tiebreaker is used first when teams haven't played eachother yet).

The Dolphins had a bye week so they're sitting at 2-3 but look to be coming on strong the last two games and figure to factor into the race down the stretch. The Chargers already had a bye week and are 2-3 as well, they're still in the race but I dont think they're as big a threat as the Dolphins.

All we can do is keep winning. We've got a tough schedule down the stretch in that we've got Indy 2x, Miami on the road, New England at home and Jax on the road. But that's good because like someone said earlier it means we control our own destiny. We get to decide whether we're going to the playoffs instead of hoping certain teams lose all we need to do is beat whoever is in front of us and let the rest take care of itself.

All the teams mentioned in the last paragraph look to be in the playoff race so that means we've got 5 chances to gain tiebreakers outside of winning the nonconference games and beat the Tacks and Bills as well to grab a playoff spot outright. We can pull this off as long as our team shows up and plays consistent football!!!
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
Playoff seeds as of right now:

1) Broncos 6-0

2) Colts 5-0

3) Bengals 4-2

4) Patriots 4-2

5) Steelers 4-2

6) Jaguars 3-3

Borderline:

7) Jets 3-3

8) Texans 3-3

9) Ravens 3-3

10) Dolphins 2-3

11) Chargers 2-3

Still in the hunt:

12) Raiders 2-4

13) Bills 2-4

On life support:

14) Browns 1-5

15) Chiefs 1-5

16) Titans 0-6 (Gotta love that goose egg!!!)
 
Last edited:

gtexan02

Working?
Who to cheer for:

IND @ STL - Obvious choice, go Rams!
NE @ TB - I usually cheer for NFC teams, although if we assume the Patriots will win the division, it would better for them to secure it early enough that rest starters by the last game and increase our SOS with a win here
GB @ CLE - Cheering for NFC
MIN @ PIT - Cheering for NFC, also a pit loss and Texans win would tie us in WC race
SF @ HOU - Obvious
SD @ KC - SD has a chance at pulling into a wild card race, so having them pick up a 2-4 record would be great
BUF @ CAR - NFC Win
NYJ @ OAK - Oakland win would be better for our SOS and also put some serious hurt on the Jets
ATL @ DAL - Who cheers for the Cowboys? Not me
NO @ MIA - NFC Win again. Plus the Saints are cool this year
CHI @ CIN - Bengals loss helps move us up
ARI @ NYG - Cardinals win helps our SOS
PHI @ WAS - No direct measure here as far as I can tell
 

DexmanC

Hall of Fame
To steal a line from Mike Singletary, "What I'm saying is THIS (10 sec pause)"

The Texans have talent enough to win EVERY GAME on their schedule. Last
year, after a 3-7 start thru 10 games, they went 5-1 and beat teams
looking to clinch wildcard spots. They were a Rosencopter and a decent
defense away from sweeping Indy last year.

This is the first year in which this team has PLUS talent on both sides of the
ball. The difference will be if they can figure themselves out early enough
to finish the season strong. 10 games left. They are good enough to go
9-1. However, they are also young enough to go 5-5. They need to
get that veteran mindset IN A HURRY.

Hey. It's almost mid season, and they are still in the race. They dominated
an AFC Division leader, with 3 wins over its division rivals, IN THEIR HOUSE.
Frank Bush's adjustments to the defense makes them a solid bunch. With
an offense like ours, THAT'S ALL THEY NEED.

But. We'll see.
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
Gil Brandt's take in his live chat today:


Chris , California
12:05 PM ET
Since San Diego might not get to the playoffs, do you think Houston has a shot?
Brandt40x55
Gil Brandt, NFL.com
Yes, I do. San Diego has to be very careful this week, in fact, going into Kansas City. Five the San Diego's wins against the Chiefs this decade have been by a total of seven points, so it could be a close game.

The wild-card is certainly a jumble right now, and the Texans still have to play the Colts twice among others. But they are starting to play a lot better. They were very impressive against the bengals. The key is that Matt Schaub must stay healthy.
 

gary

Hall of Fame
Man that loss to Arizona hurts. 4-2 would be so sweet right now
Forege n t 4-2 for that matter. How about 5-1? That Jags game at home should have been a win. Watch them go to their house and beat them after losing to them at home. Eh, so upsetting but that's how things go in the world of sports.
 

Air Canada

Waterboy
I know I'm crazy for doing this, but it goes with the thread....

I actually think we can have a chance to split with the Colts....I also believe 11-5 or 10-6 is very attainable looking at this schedule(with or without the Indy split)... if the defense can continue to play tough and improve like they are doing, then I think we are right there fighting for the wild card coming down to the wire.:thisbig:

Now this is just a early look and see at this point, but....

I believe the Colts, Broncos, Pats, and Steelers all win their divisions.


Then it will come down to the Bengals or Ravens, and Texans for the wild card spots.... I like our chances to keep pace with them...

The Jets are going to implode again IMO, with Sanchez playing like a "rookie" struggling and them losing Kris Jenkins(that is HUGE)...I think they are done...just wait and see...

:fans:
 

devo-x

Waterboy
Let's hope that the Texans stop being inconsistent and start consistently imposing their will (winning) on the other team
 

ReliantTexan

Waterboy
Forege n t 4-2 for that matter. How about 5-1? That Jags game at home should have been a win. Watch them go to their house and beat them after losing to them at home. Eh, so upsetting but that's how things go in the world of sports.
Look at it this way,the two teams who will probably be in the WC hunt with us also had some tough losses. Of course Stokley last second TD against Cinn, and then the Ravens could be looking at 5-1 if not for a drop and a missed FG. Makes me feel somewhat better I guess.:tiphat:
 
Last edited:

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Umm when was the last time Matt played the colts if i remember Sage played the colts both times last year ?????


will he fair better Sage was ripping the colts up last year intill the end
 

dalemurphy

Hall of Fame
Look at it this way,the two teams who will probably be in the WC hunt with us also had some tough losses. Of course Stokley last second TD against Cinn, and then the Ravens could be looking at 5-2 if not for a drop and a missed FG. Makes me feel somewhat better I guess.:tiphat:
When we are 5-3 and traveling to Indy then I will be going out of my mind. I may have to hide under the covers during that game. Turns out that I don't have the stomach for all of this. I miss being a young expansion team without expectations...

I was an Atlanta Braves' fan since I was about 5 years old. I think the 90s' ruined me. My heart simply can't take these high risk situations anymore. Perhaps I should root for a cute and really pathetic team again... like the TITANS!!!
 

Air Canada

Waterboy
When we are 5-3 and traveling to Indy then I will be going out of my mind. I may have to hide under the covers during that game. Turns out that I don't have the stomach for all of this. I miss being a young expansion team without expectations...

I was an Atlanta Braves' fan since I was about 5 years old. I think the 90s' ruined me. My heart simply can't take these high risk situations anymore. Perhaps I should root for a cute and really pathetic team again... like the TITANS!!!
THE TITANS!!! NO!! NEVERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:aggressive:
 

DexmanC

Hall of Fame
I just heard an interview on 610 with Mario Williams given by N.D. Kalu.
I had no idea how much a student of the game Mario Williams is. What
gives me hope about this defense, and the team in general, is that Smith/
Kubiak have drafted a core of young film addicts.

The leadership, with more experience, WILL turn this team into a consistent
winner. I heard about how Cushing shows up HOURS before practice, just
to study film. When he's not practicing, he's taking "mental reps." Mario
said to N.D. that Frank Bush's scheme is more aggressive, but it's simple
enough for guys to pick up. The difference in the last 3 games, is that
guys now understand if they stay in THEIR gaps, and do THEIR jobs, then
the rest will take care of itself.

They've gone from playing like an all-time worst team in NFL history, to
one of the best defenses in the league. Also. Just take a look at the
Titans. They started 0-5, and COMPLETELY QUIT in that game at
New England.

The Texans started 0-4, then 3-7 last season. They FOUGHT like rabid
dogs to go 5-1 down the stretch to finish 8-8. They were a Rosencopter,
a Raiders game, and a Hurricane away from finishing 11-5 or better. The
talent on THIS year's team is MUCH greater. Jacoby was NOT a receiver.
Amobi was in a sophomore slump, and #56 was worn by Greenwood instead
of Cushing. Diles got hurt after the first Colts game.

11-5 for this team is NOT a reach. When they face adversity, they DON'T
QUIT. The day that happens is the day Kubiak will be fired. Record be
damned.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
Interesting take by the Kansas City Star.

With league playoffs in mind, what follows is a snapshot of teams that could come up big down the stretch, especially Weeks 14-16, based on current defensive trends and shootout implications.

Feel very confident

Houston Texans: The prolific aerial attack, led by quarterback Matt Schaub, will enjoy tremendous success in Weeks 11-16 against the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins. You may have to pay a heavy price, but trading for any piece of the Houston passing game – and this includes running back Steve Slaton – is strongly recommended if you have the depth to pull it off. This stretch schedule is too good to be true.
 

MojoMan

Hall of Fame
Interesting take by the Kansas City Star.

With league playoffs in mind, what follows is a snapshot of teams that could come up big down the stretch, especially Weeks 14-16, based on current defensive trends and shootout implications.
Good post, except that we close the season here against New England. I think that must be games 10-15.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Quote:
Feel very confident

Houston Texans: The prolific aerial attack, led by quarterback Matt Schaub, will enjoy tremendous success in Weeks 11-16 against the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins. You may have to pay a heavy price, but trading for any piece of the Houston passing game – and this includes running back Steve Slaton – is strongly recommended if you have the depth to pull it off. This stretch schedule is too good to be true.






Good post, except that we close the season here against New England. I think that must be games 10-15.

Yes, weeks 11-16...games 10-15 for us.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
If we tie with the Jets, we lose. They own the tie breaker. We better beat the Jags or ditto. It's way too early to worry about the Ravens. One game at a time, mates. If we lose to the 9ers, does it really even matter? We used up our mulligans against the Cards and Jags. We should've won those games, but didn't. That narrows the margin of error considerably.
 

Air Canada

Waterboy
If we tie with the Jets, we lose. They own the tie breaker. We better beat the Jags or ditto. It's way too early to worry about the Ravens. One game at a time, mates. If we lose to the 9ers, does it really even matter? We used up our mulligans against the Cards and Jags. We should've won those games, but didn't. That narrows the margin of error considerably.
Yeah, I'm expecting the Jets to collapse anyways especially without Jenkins....they are looking more like it....I won't be surprised if the Raiders beat the Jets as for some reason, the Jets struggle against Oakland. That will be 4 losses in a row...

We gotta beat the Jags next time, but right now my eyes are the Niners and taking care of business at home. We can maybe still lose about 3 more games at best and the 49ers cannot be one of them. We still have the Colts twice and we need to be 5-3 going into that game IMO.

:fans:
 
Top