After the first half.. I was depressed. Throughout the whole half I was just angry.. thinking that these were the Texans I remembered, coming out flat and bombing a game that they should be competitive in.
What I loved though was how we came back in the second half and showed how much we have changed. The old Texans would have come out and been fired up but would have lost it again at the first sign of difficulty.. this team just would not be denied.
We talk about how winning in the NFL is not something you can coach.. its something you just have to be able to do. It takes toughness, both mentally and physically, and an unbreakable will to keep fighting and forget mistakes. That is what we showed in the second half.
Now I feel great.. I feel like THIS was the real test.. indianapolis was a necessary win for us to get to this point.. to be in a position where expectations were high and to go up against a good team and come from behind. This was a true test of whether or not we had learned how to win in the NFL and I think we passed with flying colors.
That being said.. we still have things to be concerned about. Our secondary is nothing without a pass rush.. we are very weak there... and we give up ALOT of big plays. It isnt until our defensive line figures out SOME way to bring pressure that our secondary becomes adequate.
Every team in the NFL is recognizing this and we are gonna see ALOT of teams abusing us in the first half with big passing plays if we dont figure out a way to fix this weakness, and quick.
Another concern is our passing game. Dont get me wrong.. it stilll looks good.. but not as good as it did last year. We are having trouble getting the ball to johnson, we had some dropped passes, and we arent getting the ball to our tight ends and FB like we did last year either. Some of this is because we have a more reliable running game to depend on, but I think some of it is also just shaking off the cobwebs and getting our timing down again. Schaub needs to quit making those scary passes to Andre in double coverage early in the game. That has cost us two interceptions in two games. I know that this is something that Schaub/AJ are capable of doing.. they have shown it in the past.. but maybe we can do a little dink and dunk and such to andre.. get warmed up a little, maybe work on setting up those plays a little more... so that we can avoid that early interception.
Anyway.. all in all.. very happy with this game, not necessarily for our play on the field but for the heart and determination and fortitude that we showed. Great game Texans! Playoffs here we come.
What I loved though was how we came back in the second half and showed how much we have changed. The old Texans would have come out and been fired up but would have lost it again at the first sign of difficulty.. this team just would not be denied.
We talk about how winning in the NFL is not something you can coach.. its something you just have to be able to do. It takes toughness, both mentally and physically, and an unbreakable will to keep fighting and forget mistakes. That is what we showed in the second half.
Now I feel great.. I feel like THIS was the real test.. indianapolis was a necessary win for us to get to this point.. to be in a position where expectations were high and to go up against a good team and come from behind. This was a true test of whether or not we had learned how to win in the NFL and I think we passed with flying colors.
That being said.. we still have things to be concerned about. Our secondary is nothing without a pass rush.. we are very weak there... and we give up ALOT of big plays. It isnt until our defensive line figures out SOME way to bring pressure that our secondary becomes adequate.
Every team in the NFL is recognizing this and we are gonna see ALOT of teams abusing us in the first half with big passing plays if we dont figure out a way to fix this weakness, and quick.
Another concern is our passing game. Dont get me wrong.. it stilll looks good.. but not as good as it did last year. We are having trouble getting the ball to johnson, we had some dropped passes, and we arent getting the ball to our tight ends and FB like we did last year either. Some of this is because we have a more reliable running game to depend on, but I think some of it is also just shaking off the cobwebs and getting our timing down again. Schaub needs to quit making those scary passes to Andre in double coverage early in the game. That has cost us two interceptions in two games. I know that this is something that Schaub/AJ are capable of doing.. they have shown it in the past.. but maybe we can do a little dink and dunk and such to andre.. get warmed up a little, maybe work on setting up those plays a little more... so that we can avoid that early interception.
Anyway.. all in all.. very happy with this game, not necessarily for our play on the field but for the heart and determination and fortitude that we showed. Great game Texans! Playoffs here we come.