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Anyone else starting to feel optimistic?

K

keyser

Veteran
Is anyone else starting to feel optimistic about the team again? Honestly, I've been pretty down on the team since about midway through last year. It was hard to get excited about the draft, and then the actual draft left me underwhelmed. I thought that the QB situation (which I still am not happy with) was going to spell disaster. Even though I thought our team wasn't as fundamentally bad as last year's record appeared, I thought we'd really struggle all year.

I know we are only two weeks in, haven't played the strongest teams, and we also started off 2-0 last year. But, if you had told me that at the 2 week mark we would be one of only 7 teams with perfect records, and have the best point differential of any team in the NFL, I would not have believed you.

I was guessing we were looking at around a 6-10 record this year (which is where I really thought our talent should have had us last year). But, I'm starting to get more optimistic... I'm wondering if others are starting to feel the same, or if you all are chalking the current record up to just good luck/bad opponents/etc.
 
It's too soon for me. Maybe after 8 more games I can start to see where this team is headed.
 
It's too soon. I still think we are a fringe Wild Card team at best, but I am very excited about the direction of the franchise under O'Brien.
 
I'll wait till midseason but I'm cautiously optimistic.

This has been a good season for me as a fan both in the pros and in college so far.
 
keyser said:
Is anyone else starting to feel optimistic about the team again? Honestly, I've been pretty down on the team since about midway through last year. It was hard to get excited about the draft, and then the actual draft left me underwhelmed. I thought that the QB situation (which I still am not happy with) was going to spell disaster. Even though I thought our team wasn't as fundamentally bad as last year's record appeared, I thought we'd really struggle all year.

I know we are only two weeks in, haven't played the strongest teams, and we also started off 2-0 last year. But, if you had told me that at the 2 week mark we would be one of only 7 teams with perfect records, and have the best point differential of any team in the NFL, I would not have believed you.

I was guessing we were looking at around a 6-10 record this year (which is where I really thought our talent should have had us last year). But, I'm starting to get more optimistic... I'm wondering if others are starting to feel the same, or if you all are chalking the current record up to just good luck/bad opponents/etc.
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We can very easily go 4-0 and be one of three teams that are undefeated. The problem is the teams we have/will/may beat are absolutely awful. Im interested to see how we do against the Colts, Bengals (who look like one of the best teams in the NFL so far) and the Ravens.

I am excited (and more excited than I thought I would be) but I feel its a false hope. I am in a "prove it to me" mode. If we can end the first half of the season with a winning record, I will be happy.
 
I'm not a koolaide kinda' guy, but I am certainly feeling good about the direction of the team under O'Brien.

Charlie Palilo believes this team could potentially be 5-0 when they meet the Colts. And honestly, it's not that far fetched to buy into it.

"Complimentary football" is where it's at for the Houston Texans!! :texflag:
 
It depends on what you mean by optimistic. They are going to be better than I expected. They aren't going to be a legitimate playoff team. If they get in, it's because of the awful schedule coupled with a bad division.
 
I've been optimistic about the Texans since Kubiak was fired. I think there was a "predict next season's record" poll taken shortly after he was let go, possibly even before O'Brien was hired. I predicted 9 or 10 wins I think. I based this on:

1) The 2-14 record included some close losses, so with proper leadership they might not have been quite so bad.
2] The team had some talent; an upgrade at quarterback might make a huge difference.
3) I truly believed Kubiak was a very poor leader and mediocre coach outside of the leadership. Replacing him would certainly give the team a boost in my opinion.

=============

I expected a bigger upgrade at QB, so that is still hanging out there. However, Fitz is doing OK so far.

I'm still optimistic right now, but that optimism can change given sufficient evidence things aren't going well as the season progresses.

Given the schedule and assuming a fairly healthy season? 10-6 sounds about right.
 
I'm cautiously optimistic, been that way since I learned who our opponents for this season would be... so I guess since the end of last season. The schedule more than anything gives us a chance to have a winning season, regardless of the perceived talent level. Our schedule is loaded with teams that beat themselves, all we have to do is stay out of their way.

keyser said:
I was guessing we were looking at around a 6-10 record this year (which is where I really thought our talent should have had us last year). But, I'm starting to get more optimistic... I'm wondering if others are starting to feel the same, or if you all are chalking the current record up to just good luck/bad opponents/etc.
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Talent level wise, I thought we were a 10 win team last season. Had Kubiak made the switch to Tj, I believe we'd have won 10 games at least. What happened last year, I believe, was the result of a lot of off the field issues that we may never find out about, it just took it's toll on the field.

This year I believe that talent is obvious the way we've won our last two games. There's some struggling, yeah... but that's because of the new schematic changes going on. I predict we're going to have one of those seasons where it looks like everything comes together at the end of the year, we're going to go into the post season strong & have the kind of post season success that will make us all proud.

I don't know about winning the Super Bowl or the AFC Championship game, but we're not going to be saying, "Well hell, we beat the Bengals.... big whoop."

I know that sounds overly optimistic, but right now, I'm thinking Wild-Card + a strong play off appearance. Not division domination & Super Bowl appearance.
 
Vance87 said:
I just wanted them to be competitive. And they have been. But no celebrating yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Houston_Texans_season

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Arizona_Cardinals_season

Two totally different teams I know. But that can happen.
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Cardinals QBs tossed 11 TDs and 21 INTs that year. Skelton took over after Kolb's injury and was a disaster. Seems Skelton made the lowlights each week he played. If we can get consistent level of decent QB all season the team will be okay.
 
In short, not really

To me, It's really too soon to feel anything. But, if I had to dig up the tiniest bit of optimism, it would be due to our schedule.

It's not going to take teams long to figure out to do what it takes to stop Arian and make the Fitz beat them. Plus, do we really think we'll be raking in TO's like we have been? I don't. They need to show me they can win in different ways

However, like DB said, I like OB's philosophy and how he approaches each game. I like our future, but I'll try to kick back and watch a bit more before I start getting optimistic about this season.
 
DX-TEX said:
Me too but for some reason I am nervous as **** about this week. Maybe its the whole "WOOHOO were 2-0 !" thing. I mean last year......
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I'm afraid if we lose this game we'll go back into, "Whoa is me!!" mode. As if we're supposed to go undefeated this year.

Vance87 said:
I just wanted them to be competitive. And they have been. But no celebrating yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Houston_Texans_season

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Arizona_Cardinals_season

Two totally different teams I know. But that can happen.
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We also started 2-0 in 2011 & 2012.
 
I've been optimistic about the direction of this team even though I haven't been optimistic about this season. We've played better these first two weeks than I expected but it's a long season.

I started off predicting 6 wins but I said at the time that I'd be drinking the kool-aid and looking on the bright-side as soon as the season started. After the draft (which I really liked) and a few sips of kool-aid, I upped my prediction to 6-8 wins.

We've played well but there are chinks in the armor: our defense is giving up a lot of yards even though those yards haven't translated into points, our offense is relying far too much on Arian's legs, Fitzy has played out-of-his-mind efficient but hasn't had to really air it out and he could be exposed.

I like starting off 2-0 but I liked starting off 2-0 the past several years. And some of those years haven't turned out so well. So I'm cautiously optimistic.
 
Depends on where you're outlook for optimism lies ...

I feel optimistic about putting 2-14 in the rear view.

I'm optimistic that we are situated competitively in our division early, and that being 5-0 for our first encounter with the division favorite isn't crazy talk.

I'm optimistic that on both sides of the ball our strengths will be accentuated and our weaknesses rather hidden.

I'm optimistic that we've shown such promise with contributions from our heralded rookies still looming.

I'm optimistic that whatever jedi voodo Romeo Crennel is using on D.J. Swearinger will continue to work.

I'm optimistic that a Harvard degree plus a last chance to start in the league apparently equates to a tremendous sense of ball security.

... So ya, until we stub the sh*t out of our collective toes, and as long as you're looking in the right places, there's a decent bit to be optimistic about.
 
thunderkyss said:
I'm afraid if we lose this game we'll go back into, "Whoa is me!!" mode. As if we're supposed to go undefeated this year.



We also started 2-0 in 2011 & 2012.
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I just feel the Giants can be a dangerous team. Back against the wall, at home and we will be traveling all the way to the NE coast after traveling all the way to the west coast the prior week.

In the past this was almost a sure fire lost game under Kubiak not so much under O Brien IMO. My only saving grace for this weeks confidence

What do I know though? I think the Jags beat the Colts this week.
 
keyser said:
Is anyone else starting to feel optimistic about the team again? Honestly, I've been pretty down on the team since about midway through last year. It was hard to get excited about the draft, and then the actual draft left me underwhelmed. I thought that the QB situation (which I still am not happy with) was going to spell disaster. Even though I thought our team wasn't as fundamentally bad as last year's record appeared, I thought we'd really struggle all year.

I know we are only two weeks in, haven't played the strongest teams, and we also started off 2-0 last year. But, if you had told me that at the 2 week mark we would be one of only 7 teams with perfect records, and have the best point differential of any team in the NFL, I would not have believed you.

I was guessing we were looking at around a 6-10 record this year (which is where I really thought our talent should have had us last year). But, I'm starting to get more optimistic... I'm wondering if others are starting to feel the same, or if you all are chalking the current record up to just good luck/bad opponents/etc.
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Texans are what you see. A 2-0 team that deserves to be 2-0 but has weaknesses just like all the other 2-0 teams and that includes Denver.
 
Not really, after all we have been 2-0 for the last 5 years. I am glad we're getting it done but I will keep my optimism in check until after the Tits game. Fitz still scares me
Nail%20Biting.gif
 
HOU-TEX said:
In short, not really

To me, It's really too soon to feel anything. But, if I had to dig up the tiniest bit of optimism, it would be due to our schedule.

It's not going to take teams long to figure out to do what it takes to stop Arian and make the Fitz beat them. Plus, do we really think we'll be raking in TO's like we have been? I don't. They need to show me they can win in different ways
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I'm still high on the schedule. Which teams on our schedule do you think is capable of stopping Arian? Jacksonville maybe? Cleveland? Cincy? Right now anyway, I'm not seeing a lot of defensive phenoms on our schedule, much less offense Juggernauts.

I do agree with you on the rate of TOs not holding up though.

HOU-TEX said:
However, like DB said, I like OB's philosophy and how he approaches each game. I like our future, but I'll try to kick back and watch a bit more before I start getting optimistic about this season.
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It was always my belief that part of the offseason program was to get ready for week 1. I was shocked, & impressed when OB said he & his staff had been working on the first three games. The team definitely looked prepared to play out the gate, both week one & week 2.

If they can keep that kind of thing going, a week or two in advance, without looking past the current week... well, let's just say I'm warming up to OB.
 
2slik4u said:
We can very easily go 4-0 and be one of three teams that are undefeated. The problem is the teams we have/will/may beat are absolutely awful. Im interested to see how we do against the Colts, Bengals (who look like one of the best teams in the NFL so far) and the Ravens.

I am excited (and more excited than I thought I would be) but I feel its a false hope. I am in a "prove it to me" mode. If we can end the first half of the season with a winning record, I will be happy.
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I'm a tell you this... if we go 16-0 through our schedule people will say we haven't played New England, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Green Bay or New Orleans so honestly trying to prove ourselves through beating certain teams can be thrown out the window until playoffs.
 
2slik4u said:
We can very easily go 4-0 and be one of three teams that are undefeated. The problem is the teams we have/will/may beat are absolutely awful. Im interested to see how we do against the Colts, Bengals (who look like one of the best teams in the NFL so far) and the Ravens.

I am excited (and more excited than I thought I would be) but I feel its a false hope. I am in a "prove it to me" mode. If we can end the first half of the season with a winning record, I will be happy.
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This pretty much sums up how I am feeling. I always enjoy the wins, but the team is going to have to beat some real competition before I start drinking the kool aid.

Double Barrel said:
I'm not a koolaide kinda' guy, but I am certainly feeling good about the direction of the team under O'Brien.

Charlie Palilo believes this team could potentially be 5-0 when they meet the Colts. And honestly, it's not that far fetched to buy into it.

"Complimentary football" is where it's at for the Houston Texans!! :texflag:
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msr

Could this be the year the Texans finally get that no wins in Indy monkey off their backs? I don't know about you, but I took a great amount of satisfaction watching the Eagles beat them at home sending them into the 0-2 basement.
 
Nitrofish said:
This pretty much sums up how I am feeling. I always enjoy the wins, but the team is going to have to beat some real competition before I start drinking the kool aid.



msr

Could this be the year the Texans finally get that no wins in Indy monkey off their backs? I don't know about you, but I took a great amount of satisfaction watching the Eagles beat them at home sending them into the 0-2 basement.
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I'm back to one game at a time mode. Don't talk about 4-0 until we're 3-0 and don't even think about 5+ - 0
 
After two games, no. If they are still doing this well after 6-7 weeks then I'll get excited about them maybe making the playoffs. For now though, I still can't get too hyped.
 
Different team, different leadership. I am optimistic that the team will do much better under OB than with Kubiak. Other than that, I can't realistically say much more about this season until we see how they do against teams other than the two bottom feeders we just played.
 
I am feeling much more optimistic that the Texans will reach my goal of 6 wins. They haven't even played any AFC South opponents yet, and they already have 2 wins. Good stuff!

I can't wait to see how we match up against the Giants, Steelers, Colts(x2), Bengals, Ravens and especially the Eagles. I would be so happy just to win 4 of those games from that list. Should be a playoff team if that were to happen.
 
No, no optimism. Weak schedule due to the worst record last year. I want to see how we fare against some good competition.
 
color me impressed/surprised. OL play has been much improved w/o any player changes (expected Su'a-Filo to start). Fitz has not turned the ball over even once, that's huge improvement. Andre looks like Andre while Foster is in mid-season form. Defense bends but doesn't break. DB's look reborn. LB in process need to address early in next years draft ILB who can cover to relieve Swearinger of physical toll on his body. Special teams, what can I say. Probably the biggest improvement of all. Lechler always reliable but now so is Bullock. Keshawn out Damaris Johnson in really impressed with his ball security.
 
We're 2-0 and at the top of our division. Yes, I'm optimistic. There are enough bad teams on our schedule this year that the Texans can be a playoff team without actually being a playoff caliber team. Kind of like the Chiefs were last year when they went 10-0 vs. non playoff teams and 1-5 vs. playoff teams.
 
This is a very good coaching staff... Far better than any we have had. This year should be a fun journey and much less frustrating than our last good season (2012).

I don't know if we will win 8 games, or 10, or more. What is exciting to me is that the team, each week, will have a game plan that gives it a realistic chance to win, whatever the matchup.
 
thunderkyss said:
I'm still high on the schedule. Which teams on our schedule do you think is capable of stopping Arian? Jacksonville maybe? Cleveland? Cincy? Right now anyway, I'm not seeing a lot of defensive phenoms on our schedule, much less offense Juggernauts.

I do agree with you on the rate of TOs not holding up though.



It was always my belief that part of the offseason program was to get ready for week 1. I was shocked, & impressed when OB said he & his staff had been working on the first three games. The team definitely looked prepared to play out the gate, both week one & week 2.

If they can keep that kind of thing going, a week or two in advance, without looking past the current week... well, let's just say I'm warming up to OB.
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Cincy looks damned good this year and Cleveland just beat the sAints this past weekend. I'm not looking past any team on the schedule, regardless of the Texan's or their record

As for the thread topic, I am cautiously optimistic. The team has holes, but also shows signs of improvement. I like the play calling I'm seeing even though I'm concerned about the number of carry's Foster is getting. I'd rather see him getting more catches and fewer catches.

Yeah...I'm optimistic, just not ready to do the

images
 
playa465 said:
Not really, after all we have been 2-0 for the last 5 years. I am glad we're getting it done but I will keep my optimism in check until after the Tits game. Fitz still scares me
Nail%20Biting.gif
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I'm with you on all points. After last seasons awesome start I will be guarded about my optimism, but I am happy.
 
keyser said:
Is anyone else starting to feel optimistic about the team again? Honestly, I've been pretty down on the team since about midway through last year. It was hard to get excited about the draft, and then the actual draft left me underwhelmed. I thought that the QB situation (which I still am not happy with) was going to spell disaster. Even though I thought our team wasn't as fundamentally bad as last year's record appeared, I thought we'd really struggle all year.

I know we are only two weeks in, haven't played the strongest teams, and we also started off 2-0 last year. But, if you had told me that at the 2 week mark we would be one of only 7 teams with perfect records, and have the best point differential of any team in the NFL, I would not have believed you.

I was guessing we were looking at around a 6-10 record this year (which is where I really thought our talent should have had us last year). But, I'm starting to get more optimistic... I'm wondering if others are starting to feel the same, or if you all are chalking the current record up to just good luck/bad opponents/etc.
Click to expand...

It's the way i always feel about the Texans.............NO seriously ask anyone !
 
beerlover said:
color me impressed/surprised. OL play has been much improved w/o any player changes (expected Su'a-Filo to start). Fitz has not turned the ball over even once, that's huge improvement. Andre looks like Andre while Foster is in mid-season form. Defense bends but doesn't break. DB's look reborn. LB in process need to address early in next years draft ILB who can cover to relieve Swearinger of physical toll on his body. Special teams, what can I say. Probably the biggest improvement of all. Lechler always reliable but now so is Bullock. Keshawn out Damaris Johnson in really impressed with his ball security.
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Beat me to it and great eval and did not mention the Ws which is good on your part. I started season wanting to see player development and we are getting that and without any of our top draft selections. That is my biggest surprise as I thought Clowney, X, Fiedo and Prosh would all get much playing time and only Prosh is. That is huge!

Schedule wise we are doing what we are supposed to do.
 
2slik4u said:
We can very easily go 4-0 and be one of three teams that are undefeated. The problem is the teams we have/will/may beat are absolutely awful. Im interested to see how we do against the Colts, Bengals (who look like one of the best teams in the NFL so far) and the Ravens.

I am excited (and more excited than I thought I would be) but I feel its a false hope. I am in a "prove it to me" mode. If we can end the first half of the season with a winning record, I will be happy.
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This line of thinking kills me, were we not the WORST team in the NFL last season. When people say yeah but the teams you played sucked, i just shake my head.
 
cstyle42 said:
I'm a tell you this... if we go 16-0 through our schedule people will say we haven't played New England, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Green Bay or New Orleans so honestly trying to prove ourselves through beating certain teams can be thrown out the window until playoffs.
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I think the media would have to give the Texans a tremendous amount of credit if they went 16-0, regardless of who they play. It's happened twice in NFL history, iirc.

Besides, the Texans play Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Indy (twice and we all know how much they love Luck), Cincy (who is looking like a dominant team 2 weeks into the season :cool:). I don't think Cleveland is going to be a pushover but similar to the Texans: a tough defense and an efficient offense that takes care of the ball.

I would think victories over those teams would keep the soft schedule talk down a bit. Beat the teams you expect to beat then beat the teams you're expected to lose to. That's how you get r-e-s-p-e-c-t. :fingergun:
 
I am starting to feel optimistic and pessimistic at the same time.

I didn't expect our team to play so good so fast. I didn't expect Newton to improve the way he did, I didn't expect Foster to come back like this, I didn't expect Powe and Crick to hold their own like this, I didn't expect Swearinger to play a lot better, I didn't expect Bullock to hit his kicks, I didn't expect being this far ahead in the TO margin and I didn't expect our ST to look this good.

Right now I'd almost say we have only one real big hole - and that is QB. Don't get me wrong, Fitz is doing fine, also better than I expected. But I don't think he is enough to let us win in the playoffs.

And this is why I am pessimistic. I don't think we are good enough to compete because of our QB - and I don't think we are bad enough to actually draft a franchise QB. This can be a real bad spot to be in... let's hope we either already have our franchise QB on the roster, or we can somehow still get him either through a trade or a lucky draft pick...
 
LikeMike said:
I am starting to feel optimistic and pessimistic at the same time.



I didn't expect our team to play so good so fast. I didn't expect Newton to improve the way he did, I didn't expect Foster to come back like this, I didn't expect Powe and Crick to hold their own like this, I didn't expect Swearinger to play a lot better, I didn't expect Bullock to hit his kicks, I didn't expect being this far ahead in the TO margin and I didn't expect our ST to look this good.



Right now I'd almost say we have only one real big hole - and that is QB. Don't get me wrong, Fitz is doing fine, also better than I expected. But I don't think he is enough to let us win in the playoffs.



And this is why I am pessimistic. I don't think we are good enough to compete because of our QB - and I don't think we are bad enough to actually draft a franchise QB. This can be a real bad spot to be in... let's hope we either already have our franchise QB on the roster, or we can somehow still get him either through a trade or a lucky draft pick...
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I suspect that, if O'Bren sees a QB in next years draft that he has to have, he will get him, regardless of where we are picking.
 
LikeMike said:
I am starting to feel optimistic and pessimistic at the same time.

I didn't expect our team to play so good so fast. I didn't expect Newton to improve the way he did, I didn't expect Foster to come back like this, I didn't expect Powe and Crick to hold their own like this, I didn't expect Swearinger to play a lot better, I didn't expect Bullock to hit his kicks, I didn't expect being this far ahead in the TO margin and I didn't expect our ST to look this good.

Right now I'd almost say we have only one real big hole - and that is QB. Don't get me wrong, Fitz is doing fine, also better than I expected. But I don't think he is enough to let us win in the playoffs.

And this is why I am pessimistic. I don't think we are good enough to compete because of our QB - and I don't think we are bad enough to actually draft a franchise QB. This can be a real bad spot to be in... let's hope we either already have our franchise QB on the roster, or we can somehow still get him either through a trade or a lucky draft pick...
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It's a vicious cycle!!! The Texans can't win a playoff game because the QB sucks but doesn't suck enough to get a high draft pick. :brickwall:

What's your cut off for a franchise QB? Top 5, top 10? What would you be willing to give up for this franchise QB?
 
DocBar said:
I think the media would have to give the Texans a tremendous amount of credit if they went 16-0, regardless of who they play. It's happened twice in NFL history, iirc.

Besides, the Texans play Philly, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Indy (twice and we all know how much they love Luck), Cincy (who is looking like a dominant team 2 weeks into the season :cool:). I don't think Cleveland is going to be a pushover but similar to the Texans: a tough defense and an efficient offense that takes care of the ball.

I would think victories over those teams would keep the soft schedule talk down a bit. Beat the teams you expect to beat then beat the teams you're expected to lose to. That's how you get r-e-s-p-e-c-t. :fingergun:
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Andrew Luck is the best qb we would have beaten I don't think most would respect that but yeah 16-0 would be bragged about. Even 16-0 texans would be questioned as a pretender by the National media due to who we've played. It's a quarterbacks league according to the big sports network. I'll be proud of the Texans if we come out a play our best every week my whole point with all this is screw the media and what people think.
 
cstyle42 said:
Andrew Luck is the best qb we would have beaten I don't think most would respect that but yeah 16-0 would be bragged about. Even 16-0 texans would be questioned as a pretender by the National media due to who we've played. It's a quarterbacks league according to the big sports network. I'll be proud of the Texans if we come out a play our best every week my whole point with all this is screw the media and what people think.
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You think Luck is better than Big Ben and Flacco? I rate Foles about the same as Luck. Talented but ultimately an unkown quantity. Will you get that needed TD pass or the untimely INT?
 
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