Why can't the Texans have the Eye of the Tiger like the 'Stros?

[Texans34Life]

The Astros sucked for most of the year and with their backs against the wall, they have fought back and now have a good chance of winning the division.

Why can't the Texans generate that fire? The offense is starting to gel, but that defense is acting as if someone kicked them in the bawls.

I thought 4 losing seasons would have knocked some sense into them.

What do you guys think?

 

[powerfuldragon]

the fact that we are running brand new defensive scheme with a bunch of people who weren't here last year might be it, but that's not a valid excuse in the NFL.

 

[Texans_Chick]

Is that you, Richard Justice?

link

Meh.

You criticize the heart of a team when it has lots of talent and underperforms. Killer instinct comes when you are killers first. With the Texans I see a lot of effort, but not a lot of teamwork, and creating team usually isn't an instant process.

Lots of veterans on that Astros team. People that some talk radio people want to kick to the curb.

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

I can't get inside the Astro clubhouse to determine what has and hasn't been right this year, but they are finally playing some good ball. I still believe it is a little too late.

That being said, you can't compare a baseball season to an NFL season. In the NFL every game is critical. In baseball, you are playing a marathon where you try to stay on or near the top. In August and September is where you try to run to the playoffs.

You can't compare a 162-game season comprised of untimed games where one person (pitcher) is so important to a 16-game season of timed games where every player has to be on the same page every play. Yes, there is a team element to baseball. There are situations in baseball where individuals can sacrifice glory for the greater good, but the ultimate team game in these United States of America is football.

The latest collection of Texans that we have been watching have not had the time to become a "team" yet. "Team" may not happen until sometime late in this season.

My only guarantee is that Gary Kubiak will eventually find his "team". No matter what it takes I believe he will get the job done. He has had entirely too much on the job training and entirely too much pride in himself to fail. I also believe that Bob McNair is going to give Kubes a reasonable amount of time to undo all the bad that has been done here the last four years.

Look for a playoff team in 2008.

 

[threetoedpete]

No knee jerk form me. Will post that i have never walked in the stros room and stirred the pot. So How many world Series penates after forty years big guy ? Stros are heartbreakers. Always have been. Always will be. They are the standard bearers of mediocrity. You can drink the coolaide for me big guy. The only thing the stros could teach the Texans is how to spit the bit at the end. As bad as we are now, Thanks but no thanks.

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

No knee jerk form me. Will post that i have never walked in the stros room and stirred the pot. So How many world Series penates after forty years big guy ? Stros are heartbreakers. Always have been. Always will be. They are the standard bearers of mediocrity. You can drink the coolaide for me big guy. The only thing the stros could teach the Texans is how to spit the bit at the end. As bad as we are now, Thanks but no thanks.

There are a lot of baseball fans (most of them) that would love to have a team that has been as successful as the Astros have been the last ten years or so. 99% of professional sports team fans don't see their guys win it all. If winning the big one is your standard of success, you are going to live a life of near constant misery.

 

[threetoedpete]

go away baseball guys. The sport is dull. And so are those who spend the time to follow it. Baseball is a cadaver looking for a coffin. Those of us who saw the writting on the wall long ago, let it go. What was the average share in ratings for the srtos this year ? Enough. You wanna call me out as some sort knuckle dragging troglodyte...fine. The people are voting with their feet. It's just a matter of time now. You gotta a doped up freak shattering your record books...getting a raise next year, just mind boggleing. If it was a dog a desent man would shoot it and put it out of it's misery. Go away baseball guys . away away away.

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

go away baseball guys. The sport is dull. And so are those who spend the time to follow it. Baseball is a cadaver looking for a coffin. Those of us who saw the writting on the wall long ago, let it go. What was the average share in ratings for the srtos this year ? Enough. You wanna call me out as some sort knuckle dragging troglodyte...fine. The people are voting with their feet. It's just a matter of time now. You gotta a doped up freak shattering your record books...getting a raise next year, just mind boggleing. If it was a dog a desent man would shoot it and put it out of it's misery. Go away baseball guys . away away away.

OK

You are a knuckle dragging troglodyte.

I say that with all due respect.

 

[threetoedpete]

Of course you did Dorthy. Truth stings. If that was the best you could come up with....you proved my point.

 

[Scooter]

The Astros sucked for most of the year and with their backs against the wall, they have fought back and now have a good chance of winning the division.

Why can't the Texans generate that fire? The offense is starting to gel, but that defense is acting as if someone kicked them in the bawls.

I thought 4 losing seasons would have knocked some sense into them.

What do you guys think?

we're in the attention defficit era. everything is "what have you done for me lately". "RIP" articles and hating the astros was the thing to do early last season ... a few months later they were in the world series. a month ago, this post would be backwards. the texans are fired up and kicking butt in preseason while the astros were moving farther under .500. as for rallying to end a season on a high note, lets wait and see what happens, instead of throwing them under the bus during week 3.

that, and as TC mentioned and something i've harped on a bit is veterans. the astros have 19 years worth of drafting on their current roster (biggio, a first rounder in 87). clemens was a HOF lock before even joining the team and has been playing for 22 years (mario is 21 years old). oswalt & berkman have been staples on that team longer than the texans have existed. those are the guys that "rally the troops" when things arent going well ... the guy doing that for the texans is a 3rd year cornerback (not exactly the same impact). the astros have been around long enough to build a foundation and then add players that fit around them. the texans dont have the tenure to compare with that yet, but with a stable head coach and the foundation forming (ryans, robinson, AJ, mario, carr, pitts, babin, spencer) we'll be there before you know it.

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

Of course you did Dorthy. Truth stings. If that was the best you could come up with....you proved my point.

I can't convince anyone to enjoy something they are dead set against. I love baseball. You can talk about market shares, speed of the game, and (something you didn't think of) an increasing number of foreign born players all you want. It is a great game. I will always love it, and you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[HJam72]

It's not unusual for a mouse to lack the eyes of a tiger.

 

[Texans34Life]

Is that you, Richard Justice?

link

Wow, spooky.

 

[afcman]

Oh dear Lord!!! Can't baseball just go away?

It's FOOTBALL SEASON BABY !!!!!!!!!

 

[El Tejano]

I have a feeling that because unlike the Astros if this team does something big it is going to bring a champion home and not just tickle the nads.

 

[Kaiser Toro]

Yeah, there is a lot of fire in baseball. A couple of hotdogs, beers and a lot of sitting around for some action will generate all the fire you need.

 

[rafterticket]

The Astros sucked for most of the year and with their backs against the wall, they have fought back and now have a good chance of winning the division.

Why can't the Texans generate that fire? The offense is starting to gel, but that defense is acting as if someone kicked them in the bawls.

I thought 4 losing seasons would have knocked some sense into them.

What do you guys think?

This is just one observation, but the Astros are drifting tumbleweeds. They have been "in" the race and "out" of the race so many times this year, and they've done nothing to capitalize on these opportunities. This is just another chance that falls in their lap - maybe they'll win the division, maybe they won't. But it is only their good fortune that the Cards are collapsing, and they finally go on a big hot streak.

I'm not a baseball fan, but I keep up. If I were a fan, it would be very hard to root for the Astros.

That is why I like football. I love the consistency necessary to win. You gotta be ready, and you gotta fight to keep it going. Right now, the Texans are a little short in some areas. This will change in the future, though.

 

[TD]

That is why I like football. I love the consistency necessary to win. You gotta be ready, and you gotta fight to keep it going. Right now, the Texans are a little short in some areas. This will change in the future, though.

Seems to me consistency is more important in a 162 game season than a 16.

Back on topic, at some point you need a history that leads players to believe they can respond to adversity. Most of the Astros know they can come back because the have. I would suspect it doesn't take long for Texans players to just get that "here we go again" feeling.

 

[rafterticket]

Seems to me consistency is more important in a 162 game season than a 16.

Yes, I know what you are saying. But in a 162 game season, you can have several hot streaks and several cold snaps. The ones that win divisions and go to the playoffs are the ones with leadership, and a little more character, that are able to fight out of their funks a little quicker.

Because there are so few games in a football season, I maintain that consistency is even more important. Again, it's just my opinion.

 

[Tulip]

I dunno, maybe we should revisit this later in the season, when the Texans have been (or are on the verge of) being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Right now, it's pretty darn hard to compare, eh?

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

I can't get inside the Astro clubhouse to determine what has and hasn't been right this year, but they are finally playing some good ball. I still believe it is a little too late.

That being said, you can't compare a baseball season to an NFL season. In the NFL every game is critical. In baseball, you are playing a marathon where you try to stay on or near the top. In August and September is where you try to run to the playoffs.

You can't compare a 162-game season comprised of untimed games where one person (pitcher) is so important to a 16-game season of timed games where every player has to be on the same page every play. Yes, there is a team element to baseball. There are situations in baseball where individuals can sacrifice glory for the greater good, but the ultimate team game in these United States of America is football.

The latest collection of Texans that we have been watching have not had the time to become a "team" yet. "Team" may not happen until sometime late in this season.

My only guarantee is that Gary Kubiak will eventually find his "team". No matter what it takes I believe he will get the job done. He has had entirely too much on the job training and entirely too much pride in himself to fail. I also believe that Bob McNair is going to give Kubes a reasonable amount of time to undo all the bad that has been done here the last four years.

Look for a playoff team in 2008.

I'm quoting myself in response to the last couple of replies. Again gentlemen and ladies, baseball has a marathon season. In football every game is critical. In baseball the pitcher is nearly everything. In football EVERYONE has to be on the same page.

 

[Meloy]

The Astros sucked for most of the year and with their backs against the wall, they have fought back and now have a good chance of winning the division.

Why can't the Texans generate that fire? The offense is starting to gel, but that defense is acting as if someone kicked them in the bawls.

I thought 4 losing seasons would have knocked some sense into them.

What do you guys think?

Uh, pardon me, but the Astros don't get that Eye until the season is almost down the toilet. So using that example, the Texans may still be in the hunt for the Super Bowl.

 

[Texanfan4ever]

My thoughts exactly! Matter of fact, they do it that way every year, so hey, maybe the Texans can still get there!!!!

 

[Kathmandu]

You wanna call me out as some sort knuckle dragging troglodyte...fine. The people are voting with their feet.

6 million feet cast their votes by walking through Minute Maid Park this year, you knuckle dragging trogledyte.

 

[rafterticket]

In baseball the pitcher is nearly everything.

Well, tell that to Roger Clemens and his outstanding ERA and his very mediocre W-L record.

 

[Bamaborn-Texasbred]

Notice the word 'nearly' in that statement.

 

[OzzO]

Hard to have the eye of the tiger when your playing like the culo of the monkey.

 

[Double Barrel]

The Astros have winning seasons and post-season appearances in their history, so they have experience to draw knowledge and inspiration from.

The Texans, on the other hand, have futility and losing records as a history (along with some rather dubious NFL records).

It's comparing apples to toilet paper. The Texans might not have the "eye of the tiger", but I'd be willing to bet that we have some other part of that animal right now (and no, not the tail, but that's close ).