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We don't look as good as the Broncos

thunderkyss

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
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Why not?


They lost their center. Dressen's recovering from knee surgery. Tamme isn't 100%. They have no RB. Von Miller has been suspended for 6 games. Dumervil is in Baltimore. Champ Bailey is old.

I'm pretty sure there are other things that I forgot.

We've got the OL that we want (stretched for Newton).... we're starting our front 7 defensively from last year. We got Cush back, Jjo is healthy, we've got an upgrade at WR2. OD is healthy, Andre is healthy, Tate is healthy....

So what's up?
 
It's probably something rather simple like: Manning>Schaub. Or it could be that the Titans & Chargers are actually going to be good this year, which doesn't seem like much of a stretch with the way they've played so far, and the Ravens & Giants aren't? The Ravens barely beat the Browns this week and the Giants are currently 0-2 with a ton of turnovers vs. Dallas.
 
thunderkyss said:
Why not?


They lost their center. Dressen's recovering from knee surgery. Tamme isn't 100%. They have no RB. Von Miller has been suspended for 6 games. Dumervil is in Baltimore. Champ Bailey is old.

I'm pretty sure there are other things that I forgot.

We've got the OL that we want (stretched for Newton).... we're starting our front 7 defensively from last year. We got Cush back, Jjo is healthy, we've got an upgrade at WR2. OD is healthy, Andre is healthy, Tate is healthy....

So what's up?
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Well, their offense just got a scary addition in Welker, J. Thomas seems to be by far their best TE, Moreno finally starts to figure out what he has to do and guys like D. Thomas have another season under their belt.

Their D doesn`t look that good - it is their O that doesn`t stop and their D just doing their part. Give a guy like Manning so many weapons and still a good line and he will hurt you.

And us? We haven`t looked that bad - but we made way too many mistakes. If we can turn those off, and get a little more consistency with our line (I was complaining all offseason, that our O-Line is our biggest weakness) we will be hard to stop.

Oh and as good as Denver looks offensively, we did look defensively (if you cut out the first half against SD) - more 3 and outs then you can count and playmakers all over the field.
 
cstyle42 said:
There is always hope in the Ed Reed factor.
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Playoffs said:
Yeah, we should just quit.


:toropalm:
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Hold on..... it's an honest question. No one said anything about quitting.


I remember three weeks ago we were giddy that we got through TC & the preseason relatively injury free. & we mentioned the Broncos as one of those teams that weren't so lucky.

If we had the issues they had, we know (or at least I know) we wouldn't have looked as good as they do. We would use those issues to excuse the play we've seen... but we don't have those issues, so we're making other excuses.

The popular opinion on the AFC is that it's "Denver & everybody else."

It's not "Denver, then Houston, then everybody else...... " & it should be. Why not? What are we missing?

As fans... as analysts of our team? What are we not seeing? What is it that we are failing to accept?
 
thunderkyss said:
Hold on..... it's an honest question. No one said anything about quitting.


I remember three weeks ago we were giddy that we got through TC & the preseason relatively injury free. & we mentioned the Broncos as one of those teams that weren't so lucky.

If we had the issues they had, we know (or at least I know) we wouldn't have looked as good as they do. We would use those issues to excuse the play we've seen... but we don't have those issues, so we're making other excuses.

The popular opinion on the AFC is that it's "Denver & everybody else."

It's not "Denver, then Houston, then everybody else...... " & it should be. Why not? What are we missing?

As fans... as analysts of our team? What are we not seeing? What is it that we are failing to accept?
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What are we missing? That`s easy:

1. Consistent good O-Line play. On way too many plays we give up early pressure or fail to open a real running lane inside.

2. Elite QB - I am not hating on Schaub, I think he is a very good QB and one that can win a superbowl. But he is far from elite. Manning, Brady or Rodgers make everyone around them better - Schaub just gets the job done (as good or better than most other QBs, but still far away from the elite ones).

3. A kicker - both games would`nt have been half as close if our kicker would`ve made his kicks.

4. Staying away from stupid mistakes - real bad passes, mental lapses in coverage, not hitting the right holes - we`ve done lots of mistakes this season...

An elite QB helps you overcome adversity - and don`t forget, Denver made it to the second round of the playoffs with Tebow as their QB, simply because the rest of the team is that good.

This doesn`t mean we can`t beat them or that we can`t get the #1 spot or win a superbowl - it just means we have to correct our mistakes and always play harder than the other team.
 
Honestly, and I don't actually mean to say this negatively, but it's Schaub, IMO. The Texans have scored plenty of points through two games (61). The problem is coming out and putting up nothing for the 50 minutes between the scripted opening drive and the frantic come from behind drive. Manning doesn't tend to go into lulls like that. Every QB has games like that, of course, but we've seen this from a Schaub offense before. He'll move the ball up and down the field, but settle for short field punts or FGs. It's one reason I have spent years complaining about landing on 16 points with a TD and 3 FGs. The Texans do it all the time.

Schaub's good, but he's not good enough, IMO. If the defense is terrible, you get what we had a few years ago, with the team being down 28-7 at the half (or 21-7 against the Chargers this year). If the defense is playing well, then you get what we had this week, which is the team being down 10-7 at the half. Scoring 7 points in the first half is not good enough; I don't care how many they ultimately end up with. I'm happy for the wins, but that kind of play will come back to bite them. I'm sure they'd tell you the same thing and I'm sure they're working on it.

And before anyone jumps the shark, I'm not suggesting replacing Schaub or something stupid. He's what we have, and we'll roll with him.
 
OzzO said:
Denver plays "good / quality" for 4 quarters and the Texans perhaps 2?
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Uh... no. The Broncos have been playing a bad first half and a good second half just like we have.

It's all about perception and the amount of points you score.

Against the Ravens, the Broncos were losing 17-14 at halftime. And then outscored them 35-10 in the second half.

Against the Giants, the Broncos were only up 10-9 at halftime. And then outscored the Giants 31-14 in the second half.

But take another look at who they faced. The Giants D has given up a LOT of points and their offense has made a lot of turnovers so far this year. The Ravens looked anemic against the Browns and their offense actually performed a lot better against Broncos.

The Broncos are going to be tough, don't get me wrong, but they're looking good right now because I think they're crushing crushable opponents. We did a good bit of that last year, ourselves. Hopefully, we can get back into that mode soon.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Uh... no. The Broncos have been playing a bad first half and a good second half just like we have....

...The Broncos are going to be tough, don't get me wrong, but they're looking good right now because I think they're crushing crushable opponents.
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Thanks for clarifying, I haven't watched much of Denver's games nor looked up their boxscores.
 
thunderkyss said:
The popular opinion on the AFC is that it's "Denver & everybody else."
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Yep, and it always will be when they have one of the best QBs to ever play the game. Sitting around fretting about things we have no control over -- popular opinion -- is just mental masturbation. I've done it, not going there anymore.

We have the Super Bowl Champions this week. Then the top 2 NFC teams after that. One game at a time. I'll worry about Denver when we can actually do something about it, which is December 22.
 
QB and K. That's basically most of it in a nutshell.

When your QB is throwing horrible picks at key times, and throwing short of the stick 9 out of 10 times (until he HAS to) what can you do. Not to mention a young fat Aggie that can't hit the broad side of a barn.
 
Porky said:
QB and K. That's basically most of it in a nutshell.

When your QB is throwing horrible picks at key times, and throwing short of the stick 9 out of 10 times (until he HAS to) what can you do. Not to mention a young fat Aggie that can't hit the broad side of a barn.
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Vegas has the Texans as the second favorite in the AFC.
That's the leading indicator as far as I'm concerned.

And Bullock did hit the post on one occasion and put the ball through once but a time-out voided it. :lol:
 
Did anyone mention Peyton Manning?

Or we are two games into the season?

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
 
eriadoc said:
Honestly, and I don't actually mean to say this negatively, but it's Schaub, IMO. The Texans have scored plenty of points through two games (61). The problem is coming out and putting up nothing for the 50 minutes between the scripted opening drive and the frantic come from behind drive. Manning doesn't tend to go into lulls like that. Every QB has games like that, of course, but we've seen this from a Schaub offense before. He'll move the ball up and down the field, but settle for short field punts or FGs. It's one reason I have spent years complaining about landing on 16 points with a TD and 3 FGs. The Texans do it all the time.
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The Texans are not out of line on field goal attempts.

% field goal attempts to total field goal attempts and TDs.

Texans 46%
Ravens 46%
Bengals 47%
Broncos 40%
Colts 49%
Patriots 37% (so far this season 67%)

So of the AFC playoff teams the big standout is the Patriots. Broncos did well. Everyone else clumped.
 
It's a long season and at some point the Bronco's are also not going to look as good as the Broncos have looked.

I just want the Texans to win enough games this year to get into the playoffs and not be staggering around like Apollo Creed at the end of a "Rocky" fight when they get there. That's really all that matters. It took me a long time to see the regular season and particularly early season winning for what it is. A qualifying round and a beauty pageant.
 
How good did the Ravens look early in the season last year? Long season, there is a reason they play all the games.
 
We went into Mile High Stadium and Matt Schaub won a shootout with Peyton Manning that was later brushed off as "early in the season, Peyton isn't Peyton yet."

But the Broncos only lost one more time after that in the regular season.

I have a feeling this team will rise to the occasion over the next 3 games and surprise some people. We are every bit as talented as any team in the league and now have the experience to go with the young talented stars of this team. This is our year to win a Super Bowl and by golly we're gonna take that Lombardi Trophy which is our's by rights!
 
thunderkyss said:
Why not?


They lost their center. Dressen's recovering from knee surgery. Tamme isn't 100%. They have no RB. Von Miller has been suspended for 6 games. Dumervil is in Baltimore. Champ Bailey is old.

I'm pretty sure there are other things that I forgot.

We've got the OL that we want (stretched for Newton).... we're starting our front 7 defensively from last year. We got Cush back, Jjo is healthy, we've got an upgrade at WR2. OD is healthy, Andre is healthy, Tate is healthy....

So what's up?
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Tell you what, let's revisit this question after we play the Ravens. They will be the only common opponent between us and the Denver Foreheads.

If you recall, the Foreheads looked pretty mundane for the first half of that game; in fact, the Ravens were up 17-14 at the half.

Then, in the second half, the Ravens morphed into the Jaguars. Post-season Flacco went back into regular-season Flacco; i.e., 3 & outs and INTs, blocked kicks and other S/T screw-ups, dropped TD passes... the Ravens' DBs forgot they were supposed to actually cover and tackle. In short, they pretty much gave that game to the Foreheads in the second half. Did I mention these same World Champ Ravens could only score two TDs on the Browns??
Are you really impressed with that win?

Then there's the NYG game. The Giants don't look like they can beat anybody. Eli's thrown, what, seven INTs in TWO games and the Giants' D has given up 77 pts in those same two games... Not very impressive either.

I WILL give Peyton this much, when he sees a weak sister, he has no hesitation in stomping them into the ground. ...even if he's got kinfolk on the other team.

But I want to see Peyton up against SF or Seattle... In fact, I think Tennessee will give them more fits than the Ravens did because they won't hesitate to smack Peyton and his receivers around.
 
Denver gets easy points with special teams.
Denver's offense is more explosive. They can score fast and often.

Their big weakness is their defense. I wanna see how it holds up in a 16 game season. I think they have looked really good like we did last year against mediocre competition. Let's see how they do against playoff calibre teams.
 
JCTexan said:
It's probably something rather simple like: Manning>Schaub. Or it could be that the Titans & Chargers are actually going to be good this year, which doesn't seem like much of a stretch with the way they've played so far, and the Ravens & Giants aren't? The Ravens barely beat the Browns this week and the Giants are currently 0-2 with a ton of turnovers vs. Dallas.
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Or the Broncos have faced two mediocre defenses and we faced two that have improved quite a bit from last year. If the Broncos blow out the Chargers and Titans give me a call
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Uh... no. The Broncos have been playing a bad first half and a good second half just like we have.

It's all about perception and the amount of points you score.

Against the Ravens, the Broncos were losing 17-14 at halftime. And then outscored them 35-10 in the second half.

Against the Giants, the Broncos were only up 10-9 at halftime. And then outscored the Giants 31-14 in the second half.

But take another look at who they faced. The Giants D has given up a LOT of points (77 pts in two games, thank you) and their offense has made a lot of turnovers (TEN ...in just two games; 7 Eli INTs and 3 fumbles) so far this year. The Ravens looked anemic against the Browns and their offense actually performed a lot better against Broncos.

The Broncos are going to be tough, don't get me wrong, but they're looking good right now because I think they're crushing crushable opponents. We did a good bit of that last year, ourselves. Hopefully, we can get back into that mode soon.
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I had written up a long, explanatory diatribe but you've captured what I've seen too. Denver really hasn't had a tough game yet

We've played two young and hungry teams trying make a name for themselves. Chargers were playing their home opener for a new coach and the Titans were still high off the butt-whipping they gave the team formally known as the Steelers (I don't know who those guys are now)...

And how better to make a name for yourself and prove all the preseason talking heads they underestimated your team than to "take it to" one of the preseason Super Bowl faves... ...that would be Us.

The Foreheads, on the other hand, have played two over-rated teams who got their preseason rankings on past reputation. And many of the players responsible for attaining said rep are gone or injured.

Didja look at the Foreheads' schedule?? It's CAKE?! SD and KC might well give them more trouble than the Ravens and the Giants did. Beyond that, the Texans and N.E. are the toughest games they have left this season. AND by the time they play us, here at Reliant on Dec. 22nd, both teams may be playoff locks and may well be resting their starters.

I just don't see Denver being "all that".
 
The Broncos played a Raven's team that is a shell of itself and a Giants team that is just awful. There are no comparisons to the Texans and Broncos.
We played a Charger team that is loaded offensively and a Titan team that is determined to make the playoffs. I doubt either the Ravens or the Giants make it to the post season.
 
Friendly reminder: we looked better than anyone for half the season last year, and we all remember what happened.
 
ObsiWan said:
The Foreheads, on the other hand, have played two over-rated teams who got their preseason rankings on past reputation. And many of the players responsible for attaining said rep are gone or injured.
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In your opinion, do you think the Chargers & Titans will be better than the Ravens & Giants when it's all said & done?
 
thunderkyss said:
In your opinion, do you think the Chargers & Titans will be better than the Ravens & Giants when it's all said & done?
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My short answer is "yes".

The Ravens are ranked #26 in team defense; they'd probably be worse if their 2nd game wasn't against the offense-less Browns (in two games they've scored ONE TD). The Giants are even worse; they're dead last in defense. Isn't tough D supposed to be the signature of both these teams? Where is it?

OTOH, the Chargers just went score for score with what was predicted to be a high octane Eagle offense. The Titans beat down the favored Steelers and gave us all we wanted in our house. Now whether the Chargers and Titans can keep bringing it the rest of the way remains to be seen.

Besides, with respect to this discussion, what happens in the future is irrelevant to now. And now, while the Giants and Ravens are playing truly sucky football is when the Broncos got to play those teams. Now, while the Chargers and Titans are playing very competitive football is when we had to play them.

Upon closer inspection our two wins could be considered better than the Broncos' two wins. But the popular East Coast manufactured group think will never admit to that.
 
Last year we came out like gangbusters through the first 3/4 of the season while the Broncos struggled out of the gate. We beat the Broncos in Denver. I was there. It isn't any easy place to win if you aren't the Broncos.

The Ravens were hot out of the gate and struggled over the last half of the season. We destroyed the Ravens here in Houston. I wondered if the franchise was going to fold after such a miserable performance.

So how did all of this affect the season?

Final results:

Broncos had the #1 seed and couldn't hold court because they have a QB that forgets that the NFL season goes into February.

Texans fell apart at the end, squeaked out a win against a Cincy team and couldn't get any breaks against the Pats.

Ravens snuck in because nobody else in the AFC North wanted the division. Got hot at the right time behind a QB that didn't play his best ball until it mattered (by this I mean right before his contract was up).

What does it mean?

The team that wins September, October, or November still has to play in December and January. These games mean nothing. I think the Ravens and the Giants aren't as good as some might have thought. The Broncos had a little revenge things going against the Ravens, too. Similar to what we had when they were here last season. (I think we get back at the Pats the same way). The Titans have a very good D, a solid running game, a good O-Line, and a crummy QB. Hmmm...sounds familiar except Schaub isn't crummy. He's not a Brady/Manning/Brees/Rodgers either, though. The Chargers have a good D, a rejuvinated passing attack thanks to Mike McCoy, and we were playing well past our bedtimes on the west coast.

I would love to have won each game by 20 points, but I'm more concerned about being ready to win in January and February. This team will be tested. They'll lose a few games, but should come out of the season better prepared to do what it takes.
 
TexanBacker93 said:
I would love to have won each game by 20 points, but I'm more concerned about being ready to win in January and February. This team will be tested. They'll lose a few games, but should come out of the season better prepared to do what it takes.
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Excellent post.... thank you.
 
Allstar said:
Friendly reminder: we looked better than anyone for half the season last year, and we all remember what happened.
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Pretty much.

Denver can look as good as they want to right now, and so can every other team.

Lets get hot around December. Lets get it in gear then.

We looked better than the Ravens at the start of the season last year too...
 
Should get a better evaluating metric after this Sunday. The Donkey's have played very good in spurts, I'm not sold on their ground game against a highly skilled defense, but then again Peyton has nasty weapons in the receiving corps. I'd still go ahead and say the Texans have more talent overall. Question is will all the elements start playing together at a high level at the same time? Good teams will find ways to win even when they don't deserve it, and that's what the Texans have done, but I'd like to see some good old fashioned ass whoopings for a few games in a row to start cementing their hold on the division, and building momentum for the late season clash with DEN, which I feel will be the game that decides home field throughout.
 
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