CORPUS CHRISTI At 8-3, the Houston Texans are having the best season in franchise history by miles.
Number 1 in defense, Number 3 in rushing, Number 1 in the AFC South, and tied for Number 1 in the AFC. Oh, and theyre currently riding a five-game winning streak.
The Texans are finally one of the best teams in the football and yet, were all feeling doomed because in two consecutive games, both road wins, the Texans have lost QB Matt Schaub and second-string QB Matt Leinart to season-ending injuries. As far as success stories gone horribly wrong go, the Texans have cornered the market on ironic twists of fortune. This would be like if Rudy Ruettiger never went back to practice after initially quitting because he didnt make the final gameday roster. In this movie, nobody remembers the Titans because once Gerry Bertier got whacked, the Titans lost the next game got creamed actually and Herman Boone was swiftly fired. If this was Zombieland, and the Texans were a zombie, this would qualify as a double-tap.
When the season started, the Texans had Matt Schaub, Matt Leinart and T.J. Yates in their QB depth chart. As of today, that depth chart now has T.J. Yates, Kellen Clemens and Jake Delhomme. I cant even quantify how depressing that is. First, the Texans lose Schaub to an injury that he played an entire half with, not thinking it was anything big, and then finds out its season-ending a day later. Then, the Texans get us all used to Matt Leinart and convince us hell be fine. Then his collarbone breaks a quarter and a half into his tenure and just like that T.J. Yates is a starting quarterback in the NFL. All it took was a mini-apocalypse.
The sheer audacity of the situation is stupefying. But whats even more stupefying is finding a reason to hope. Look, for a moment, we had visions of a Super Bowl berth in February. For a fleeting few minutes, the entire NFL nation started to wonder, Can they actually get to Indy? and then just like that, in the blink of an eye, Matt Schaub was lost and that was really the nail in the coffin. Matt Leinart may have played well and won some games, but our expectations and hopes were already tempered from playoff success to just getting there. With five games left and the Texans holding a two-game lead in the division along with the tie-breaker with second-place Tennessee, its not at all out of the question that Houston still wins the AFC South, but itll be a lot harder than we thought it would be.
In steps T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick out of North Carolina in 2011. Its a safe bet to assume that Yates probably never thought hed see the field this year.
Catching the eye of Gary Kubiak and not many others during the NFL Combine, Yates was drafted because he displayed the things that Kubiak values most: leadership, poise and ability. When UNC handed out suspensions to what seemed like every significant player on the roster in 2010, it was Yates who kept things rolling, picking up the slack, tossing for more yards and more touchdowns then he ever had before. In fact, Yates is record-holder for every significant passing record in terms of yards and completions, single-game, season and career; in the history of UNC football (He holds 37 records in all).
While that may not be as heavy a statement as it would be for someone from, say, Stanford or Florida, its still a nice stat to have. Throughout his career at UNC, Yates never let adversity get him down. After regressing his junior year and being pelted with boos from his home crowd, Yates threw for a school-record 3,418 yards and completed nearly 67 percent of his passes, leading the Tar Heels to an 8-5 record and a win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
One of the best traits Yates brings with him is an ability to run Houstons bootleg-heavy offense, which is what Yates ran under Butch Davis at UNC. If Houston is going to succeed beyond this mini QB apocalypse, they need a guy who can make throws and avoid critical mistakes. By all accounts, Yates is far more suited than Leinart ever was. What he lacks is experience, which hell get in bucket loads starting Sunday against Atlanta. The importance of these next two games cannot be stressed enough a split against 7-4 Atlanta and 7-4 Cincinnati would all but doom the Tennessee Titans given Houstons remaining schedule (3-8 Carolina, at 0-11 Indy, 6-5 Tennessee). The last thing the Texans, or Yates, would want is a week 17 showdown for the whole enchilada against Tennessee.
Really, we dont know what were going to get over time with Yates at the helm. Is he another massive success story waiting to happen? Given the kind of luck Houston is having at QB this season, it would seem unlikely. But the Texans are also 8-3, and with all the adversity this team has had to overcome, losing every significant star it seems at one point or another, a couple for the season, it would behoove those who truly feel doomed to take a step back and simply let things unravel. The Texans have had every excuse in the world and every excuse in other, far-away galaxies to pack it in, to make legitimate excuses and collapse on into themselves. But so far, they just keep winning. That may very well end this Sunday against Atlanta, it almost certainly will, but that could still mean little to the Texans in the long run. If they beat Cincy, Carolina and Indy, theyre still staring at 11 wins.
Perhaps those Super Bowl dreams will have to wait another year, but that doesnt mean the seasons over. Theres still lots to do and lots to accomplish. It may be with a heavy heart or a full stocking, but we have to put our trust in T.J. Yates. Its all or nothing now. Just when winning was starting to get boring.
NO FAVRE
People really are fickle. The moment Matt Leinart went down last week, everyones minds immediately shifted to Brett Favre, wondering if he was interested. As if the guy is sitting in Mississippi in his Bat Cave, waiting for the Bat Signal to light up. BTW I had a funny vision of what Favres Bat Signal would be. It involves his cell phone. Nevermind
Last I checked, Brett Favre was not only terrible last season, he was also officially older than four planets in our solar system. The last thing the Texans need is a circus covering every move a senior citizen makes while they try to piece together 3 more wins to lock up the AFC South. For a team thats been playing like the true definition of the word, Favre isnt even close to a viable option. It makes no sense and to hear so-called experts call for it really drives my opinion of them down. Way down.
My buddy, Gordo did have a good question today: How long will people still call for Favre to come play for them? 5 years? 10 years? Post-mortem?
I do like the signing of Jake Delhomme, if only because of his experience and locker room effect. Anything beyond that, like actually playing or anything like that would not be alright with me. Same goes for Kellen Clemens. Oh boy
Number 1 in defense, Number 3 in rushing, Number 1 in the AFC South, and tied for Number 1 in the AFC. Oh, and theyre currently riding a five-game winning streak.
The Texans are finally one of the best teams in the football and yet, were all feeling doomed because in two consecutive games, both road wins, the Texans have lost QB Matt Schaub and second-string QB Matt Leinart to season-ending injuries. As far as success stories gone horribly wrong go, the Texans have cornered the market on ironic twists of fortune. This would be like if Rudy Ruettiger never went back to practice after initially quitting because he didnt make the final gameday roster. In this movie, nobody remembers the Titans because once Gerry Bertier got whacked, the Titans lost the next game got creamed actually and Herman Boone was swiftly fired. If this was Zombieland, and the Texans were a zombie, this would qualify as a double-tap.
When the season started, the Texans had Matt Schaub, Matt Leinart and T.J. Yates in their QB depth chart. As of today, that depth chart now has T.J. Yates, Kellen Clemens and Jake Delhomme. I cant even quantify how depressing that is. First, the Texans lose Schaub to an injury that he played an entire half with, not thinking it was anything big, and then finds out its season-ending a day later. Then, the Texans get us all used to Matt Leinart and convince us hell be fine. Then his collarbone breaks a quarter and a half into his tenure and just like that T.J. Yates is a starting quarterback in the NFL. All it took was a mini-apocalypse.
The sheer audacity of the situation is stupefying. But whats even more stupefying is finding a reason to hope. Look, for a moment, we had visions of a Super Bowl berth in February. For a fleeting few minutes, the entire NFL nation started to wonder, Can they actually get to Indy? and then just like that, in the blink of an eye, Matt Schaub was lost and that was really the nail in the coffin. Matt Leinart may have played well and won some games, but our expectations and hopes were already tempered from playoff success to just getting there. With five games left and the Texans holding a two-game lead in the division along with the tie-breaker with second-place Tennessee, its not at all out of the question that Houston still wins the AFC South, but itll be a lot harder than we thought it would be.
In steps T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick out of North Carolina in 2011. Its a safe bet to assume that Yates probably never thought hed see the field this year.
Catching the eye of Gary Kubiak and not many others during the NFL Combine, Yates was drafted because he displayed the things that Kubiak values most: leadership, poise and ability. When UNC handed out suspensions to what seemed like every significant player on the roster in 2010, it was Yates who kept things rolling, picking up the slack, tossing for more yards and more touchdowns then he ever had before. In fact, Yates is record-holder for every significant passing record in terms of yards and completions, single-game, season and career; in the history of UNC football (He holds 37 records in all).
While that may not be as heavy a statement as it would be for someone from, say, Stanford or Florida, its still a nice stat to have. Throughout his career at UNC, Yates never let adversity get him down. After regressing his junior year and being pelted with boos from his home crowd, Yates threw for a school-record 3,418 yards and completed nearly 67 percent of his passes, leading the Tar Heels to an 8-5 record and a win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
One of the best traits Yates brings with him is an ability to run Houstons bootleg-heavy offense, which is what Yates ran under Butch Davis at UNC. If Houston is going to succeed beyond this mini QB apocalypse, they need a guy who can make throws and avoid critical mistakes. By all accounts, Yates is far more suited than Leinart ever was. What he lacks is experience, which hell get in bucket loads starting Sunday against Atlanta. The importance of these next two games cannot be stressed enough a split against 7-4 Atlanta and 7-4 Cincinnati would all but doom the Tennessee Titans given Houstons remaining schedule (3-8 Carolina, at 0-11 Indy, 6-5 Tennessee). The last thing the Texans, or Yates, would want is a week 17 showdown for the whole enchilada against Tennessee.
Really, we dont know what were going to get over time with Yates at the helm. Is he another massive success story waiting to happen? Given the kind of luck Houston is having at QB this season, it would seem unlikely. But the Texans are also 8-3, and with all the adversity this team has had to overcome, losing every significant star it seems at one point or another, a couple for the season, it would behoove those who truly feel doomed to take a step back and simply let things unravel. The Texans have had every excuse in the world and every excuse in other, far-away galaxies to pack it in, to make legitimate excuses and collapse on into themselves. But so far, they just keep winning. That may very well end this Sunday against Atlanta, it almost certainly will, but that could still mean little to the Texans in the long run. If they beat Cincy, Carolina and Indy, theyre still staring at 11 wins.
Perhaps those Super Bowl dreams will have to wait another year, but that doesnt mean the seasons over. Theres still lots to do and lots to accomplish. It may be with a heavy heart or a full stocking, but we have to put our trust in T.J. Yates. Its all or nothing now. Just when winning was starting to get boring.
NO FAVRE
People really are fickle. The moment Matt Leinart went down last week, everyones minds immediately shifted to Brett Favre, wondering if he was interested. As if the guy is sitting in Mississippi in his Bat Cave, waiting for the Bat Signal to light up. BTW I had a funny vision of what Favres Bat Signal would be. It involves his cell phone. Nevermind
Last I checked, Brett Favre was not only terrible last season, he was also officially older than four planets in our solar system. The last thing the Texans need is a circus covering every move a senior citizen makes while they try to piece together 3 more wins to lock up the AFC South. For a team thats been playing like the true definition of the word, Favre isnt even close to a viable option. It makes no sense and to hear so-called experts call for it really drives my opinion of them down. Way down.
My buddy, Gordo did have a good question today: How long will people still call for Favre to come play for them? 5 years? 10 years? Post-mortem?
I do like the signing of Jake Delhomme, if only because of his experience and locker room effect. Anything beyond that, like actually playing or anything like that would not be alright with me. Same goes for Kellen Clemens. Oh boy
