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Is Influx of New Players driving up unrealistic Expectations?

thunderkyss said:
But I don't think we were a 2-14 team last year..... & I don't think we were a 7-9 team the year before..... I think we were better than that record both years running, and the main reason it didn't show, is gone.
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Hate to say it...but scoreboard doesn't lie. We just sucked last year, and no amount of "we were better than that" can heal the wounds of a 2-14 season.

It's best just to let it scab over and quit picking at it, because nothing will make the ugliness of the 2005 season any prettier, IMO. It is an experience that I won't soon forget, on many levels.

If we were better than that, then we would have been better than that. :rolleyes:
 
I'm actually glad we were 2-14 as opposed to say 5-11. It prompted action to be taken, gave us the #1 pick overall, and gave most of the fans a more realistic expectation for this season.
 
TheOgre said:
I'm actually glad we were 2-14 as opposed to say 5-11. It prompted action to be taken, gave us the #1 pick overall, and gave most of the fans a more realistic expectation for this season.
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& what's realistic??

If our line does their job, is it unrealistic to expect us to score 30 points a game??


how 'bout 26?? would that be unrealistic??

without a doubt, my 13-3 contains a lot of ifs..... but at this point of the season, all those ifs look like more than likelies......

David doesn't throw interceptions..... we have two #1 recievers....... and we have THE runblocking guru........ a ProBowl Center, 5 first day picks on the OLine... we've got Putz, another tightend newly acquiered in the Draft, another tightend that had a great....... good..... NFLE season.... young talented players in all skilled positions hoping to make our team...

a head coach with 2 superbowl rings, an assistant head coach(offensive quality control manager) with 3 superbowl rings.....

I'm telling you guys 30 points a game is pretty conservative.

defensively, what have we got??

2 guys capable of being premier corners..... I'm really high on Earl as a safety, I like our Linebakers, Orr, Greenwood, Cowart....... I think our tackles are solid... regardless who is starting.... we've got speed at both ends.... Babin & Mario first rounders...... and pretty strong.....

I don't think we'll give up more than 20 points a game... I'm just not seeing it.
 
thunderkyss said:
& what's realistic??

If our line does their job, is it unrealistic to expect us to score 30 points a game??


how 'bout 26?? would that be unrealistic??

without a doubt, my 13-3 contains a lot of ifs..... but at this point of the season, all those ifs look like more than likelies......

David doesn't throw interceptions..... we have two #1 recievers....... and we have THE runblocking guru........ a ProBowl Center, 5 first day picks on the OLine... we've got Putz, another tightend newly acquiered in the Draft, another tightend that had a great....... good..... NFLE season.... young talented players in all skilled positions hoping to make our team...

a head coach with 2 superbowl rings, an assistant head coach(offensive quality control manager) with 3 superbowl rings.....

I'm telling you guys 30 points a game is pretty conservative.

defensively, what have we got??

2 guys capable of being premier corners..... I'm really high on Earl as a safety, I like our Linebakers, Orr, Greenwood, Cowart....... I think our tackles are solid... regardless who is starting.... we've got speed at both ends.... Babin & Mario first rounders...... and pretty strong.....

I don't think we'll give up more than 20 points a game... I'm just not seeing it.
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Good positive thinking and some very rational reasons. However, I think your overvauling some of the changes. We have had a lot of good changes and I like what is going on, but to expect all of the changes to work really well such to bring a 13-3 season is just not real likely. IMO, 6-10 is a probable season with 8-8 possible with a few good bounces.
 
what does that add up to rating wise 30 pts on offense should be what? top 10? 20 points on defense? top 15 or so? I could handle that and call it progress :)
 
thunderkyss said:
& what's realistic??

If our line does their job, is it unrealistic to expect us to score 30 points a game??


how 'bout 26?? would that be unrealistic??

I'm telling you guys 30 points a game is pretty conservative.
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Yes. Only three teams, the Manning 49 TD Colts (32.6 ppg) and KC twice (30.2 ppg both times) have averaged over 30 points in the last 3 years. Nothing conservative or reasonable in expecting 30 ppg. Only 5 teams were over 26 points in 2005 and 2004 and 6 in 2003--Denver by the way was never one of them. Is it realistic to expect the O to be much better--yup, but it isn't realistic to expect them to be top 5.

20 points allowed by the D is more reasonable--that would have ranked 16th in 2005, 12th in 2004 and 12th in 2003.
 
edo783 said:
Good positive thinking and some very rational reasons. However, I think your overvauling some of the changes. We have had a lot of good changes and I like what is going on, but to expect all of the changes to work really well such to bring a 13-3 season is just not real likely. IMO, 6-10 is a probable season with 8-8 possible with a few good bounces.
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I tell you what.... If I ever see Gary Kubiak come up to the podium, and say.... "well guys..... Houston Texans fans... we've made a lot of changes in the off-season..... we've got some new faces in here, and a revamped coaching staff.

You guys should look forward to a 6-10 season....... "

I'm just going to throw my hands up and be done with it.

Realistically, we should expect to win every game..

I won't believe that we won't be 13-3 until we loose 4 games.
 
After reading some of these predictions, I immediately cashed in everything, sold my car, boat, watch and tried to pull the gold out of my fillings. Going to place it all on Texans in Las Vegas. Have you seen the odds those dummies have us at? What do they know? Anyway, if it doesn't work out for me, I'm sure some of you will let me sleep on the couch?
 
Meloy said:
After reading some of these predictions, I immediately cashed in everything, sold my car, boat, watch and tried to pull the gold out of my fillings. Going to place it all on Texans in Las Vegas. Have you seen the odds those dummies have us at? What do they know? Anyway, if it doesn't work out for me, I'm sure some of you will let me sleep on the couch?
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pssshhhh... come on over buddy.
 
Ibar_Harry said:
I have been saying 13-3 for a very long time and have taken a lot of heat. I would say right now the biggest problem is DD or an equivalent replacement. If DD is healthy then we are a very difficult club to defend. Our defense is a question mark until we see it on the field. You can say the same for the offense, but I think we can have more confidence in it than the defense at this point. You can look at people like AJ, Putzier, Moulds, DD (if healthy) and Carr with an O-line that is getting a lot better and say you can have confidence in the Offense. Its not that I don't have confidence in the defense I just want to see how its being put together. The preseason games are going to tell us a lot about this ball club.
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New coaching staff...new schemes...new players...I would say the entire team is a question mark. 13-3 sounds good, and in this day and age, is entirely possible. Please keep in mind the Cardinals, Rams, Browns, ravens(SB run BARELY included), Titans, Jets, Dolphins, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, etc...
THEY all think they improved their team 2. Free Agency makes it possible. Ravens+ SB victory??? Only today. The Steelers, Cowboys or Raaams wouldv'e crushed them 30 yers ago.:spy:
 
HOOK'EM said:
I still got us going 9-7. Having a Miami 05' type of turn around. After going 1-15 in 04' (only beating the Pats) they picked up Saban in the offseason added some key players. They had a slow start in 05', but finished winning their last 6 games. I think they will beat out the Pats for their division this year. Now compair the Texans, we had our down year in 05' winning only 2 games. In the offseason added new coaches (Kubiak & staff) and some key players. The start of our 06' season is pretty brutal, but if we could win a couple and give our team a little time to gel. The second half of our season we should be looking pretty dang good! Then in 07' have a real good shot at taking the AFC South!
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Good analysis. yes my Dolphins put in a good turn around in '05....and now I think we may be on the brink of Super Bowl contention(we will see!). The same is possible with the Texans. It all starts with coaching..as it did with my Doplhins and Saban. Maybe Kubiak will have similar success?

That said...Miami brought in a very strong rushing attack in 05 with rooikie Ronnie Brown and the wayard Ricky Williams. I believe that it is essential that the Texans be able to run the ball in '06 if they want to have a successful season and contend for a playoff berth. we won 9 games in '05..and I have to give much of the credit to Sage Rosenfels for two of those wins(Bills and Jets). We were down something like 23-3 well into the 4th quarter when Sage engineered a great comeback...perhaps one of the best in Dolphin's history. He managed to do it again against the Jets a few weeks later. Way to go Texans on that pick up to back up David Carr.

Being able to run the ball seems to open up all kinds of options for your offense. The opposing defense is always off balance for one. The receivers seem to get more room...plus pounding the lights out of the opposing defense on the ground is a great way to break the spirit of the opposing team. What is more...you have a huge advantage in the fourth quarter when the opposing defense starts to wear down physically. Some of Ricky and Ronnie's biggest plays came in the 4th quarter when the opposing defense started to miss those first tackles at the line of scrimmage. That's an automatic 10-15 yards if you have an explosive running back.

We are excited about Ronnie Brown in '05...but again..it all starts with coaching...as Nick Saban was the one who drafted Ronnie Brown and Channing Crowder...both of them having a huge impact on our team as rookies.
 
I am excited about the new coaching staff and the changes they are making. They seem to be making great decisions so far. Have you noticed the free agents they are bringing onto the team seem to be carefully selected to bring a specific piece of culture from a successful program or position? I am thinking genius. It is hard not to get excited, but I realize we probably will not win the super bowl this year. It is just good positive change on a team that really needed it.
 
WildBlackBear32 said:
RB doesnt concern me, but CB DEFINETLY does.
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I have to admit to a certain amount of concern about CB...not DRob, then got to thinking why did our CBs get victimized...NO PASS RUSH!!!!!

Any team we played last season could have had QB's grandma in there and not worried, I think Peyton, Byron and Volek had better have health insurance card handy to save time:drool:
 
aquafin said:
Good analysis. yes my Dolphins put in a good turn around in '05....and now I think we may be on the brink of Super Bowl contention(we will see!). The same is possible with the Texans. It all starts with coaching..as it did with my Doplhins and Saban. Maybe Kubiak will have similar success?

That said...Miami brought in a very strong rushing attack in 05 with rooikie Ronnie Brown and the wayard Ricky Williams. I believe that it is essential that the Texans be able to run the ball in '06 if they want to have a successful season and contend for a playoff berth. we won 9 games in '05..and I have to give much of the credit to Sage Rosenfels for two of those wins(Bills and Jets). We were down something like 23-3 well into the 4th quarter when Sage engineered a great comeback...perhaps one of the best in Dolphin's history. He managed to do it again against the Jets a few weeks later. Way to go Texans on that pick up to back up David Carr.

Being able to run the ball seems to open up all kinds of options for your offense. The opposing defense is always off balance for one. The receivers seem to get more room...plus pounding the lights out of the opposing defense on the ground is a great way to break the spirit of the opposing team. What is more...you have a huge advantage in the fourth quarter when the opposing defense starts to wear down physically. Some of Ricky and Ronnie's biggest plays came in the 4th quarter when the opposing defense started to miss those first tackles at the line of scrimmage. That's an automatic 10-15 yards if you have an explosive running back.

We are excited about Ronnie Brown in '05...but again..it all starts with coaching...as Nick Saban was the one who drafted Ronnie Brown and Channing Crowder...both of them having a huge impact on our team as rookies.
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I've got a question for you, how effective do you think Saban will be when most of SEC players he saw and recruited no longer there??
 
Personally I'm a Saban fan..... he went to LSU with the rep for quickly turning a team around... because of what he did at MichaganState......

& he did a darn good job at Party U...... So he gets picked up by Miami to do the same thing. So far, so good.

I think he is the real thing, and will be around for a long time.
 
thunderkyss said:
Personally I'm a Saban fan..... he went to LSU with the rep for quickly turning a team around... because of what he did at MichaganState......

& he did a darn good job at Party U...... So he gets picked up by Miami to do the same thing. So far, so good.

I think he is the real thing, and will be around for a long time.
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I agree....and add that Saban runs the show and everyone in Miami knows it. He gets top performance out of players because they'll do anything to stay on the guys good side. Some hardcore coaches alienate players and eventually see subpar performance. I've never seen this from Saban players so he obviously knows how to get the job done.

Look for Miami to be a contender for the duration of Saban's tenure.
 
I think that the word "Potential" clouds every fans mindl!! The Texans have a lot of Talent that includes the word "Potential". 13-3 records are riddled with "Potential".

"That's why they play the games" is a clichee too often heard after an underdog beats a team that was favorite.

When we Texan fans dream of 13-3 records, the best clichee we can hope for is "That's why they play the games" scenerios.


We just don't have new players, we have new offensive and defensive systems, and new coaches!!!! Come on, this team has to jell first before anyone goes all in with their hopes.


As a realistic fan, I know the Texans are not going undefeated. They will lose games. And they will lose games because of inexperience (both the coaches and players faults). They will lose games because of a bad bounce. And don't forget the ocassional bad call by the Refs!!!! That's just the way the NFL has been ever since it started. Law's of probability are there, no matter how much anyone fan cries, "fans must beleive their team will go undefeated"!!! Statistically speaking, I say that isn't going to happen!!!


But, I think the Texans will be competitive!! I think that they won't be a cake walk for anyone. I think that they can ride a hot streak, and win 3 or 4 games in row. If they jell just enough, a squeek into the Playoffs could be a possibity!!! And in the playoffs I'll be there supporting them!!! I'll be supporting them even if they just play hard and don't quit!!

I'm excited to see how the coaches can coach the talent. I'm excited to see the new defensive schemes. I'm excited to see if David Carr can get the protection he deserves. I'm excited to see Mario Williams wreck havock at the opposing teams offensive lines. I'm excited to see Andre Johnson become the best wide receiver in the league!!!

Even if the wins aren't there, I think there are a lot of things to be excited aobut this team. :redtowel:
 
Zac said:
But, I think the Texans will be competitive!! I think that they won't be a cake walk for anyone. I think that they can ride a hot streak, and win 3 or 4 games in row. If they jell just enough, a squeek into the Playoffs could be a possibity!!! And in the playoffs I'll be there supporting them!!! I'll be supporting them even if they just play hard and don't quit!!
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That's all you can ask and hope for. As a fan I just want to see our team be a threat to other teams. It would feel so good this year to just see our team be competitive, and to know we have a shot at winning going into every week.
 
Wow this board is waaay too optimistic

I am going with 5-11, and I think that's a stretch

1. Carr is still Carr. He has the expansion team mindset of "play well enough to not embarass myself", not "win". And he's still got no true competition for his position, and multiple years left on his contract. It's a HUGE leap of faith that he'll get better phyically and become a leader/winner all in one season. Don't count on it. Ever.

2. We've added an aging center to an OL that's otherwise pretty much the same. We're still depending on the likes of Pitts, McKinney, Weigert and Wand. I think to expect true contributions from two rookie 3rd round draft picks is way too optimistic. Maybe in 2008 -

3. We're definitely better at TE and WR but see 1 and 2 above.

4. DD is going to continue to be hurt and we don't have a legitimate alternative.

5. Our DL is picking up a new scheme with multiple new players. Travis Johnson is looking like a colossal bust as a 1st round draft pick. I'm happy we switched to a 4-3 but I don't see us having a DL that's going to dominate many teams. Certainly not a "13-3" type DL

6. Are our linebackers any better? We don't have a legit, injury-free candidate for MLB. Sam Cowart? Hmmm. And all of a sudden Greenwood is going to be better?

7. We have not improved a porous defensive backfield AT ALL. Do we really expect PBuc to get any better? Is Faggins a true front line CB? Earl and Brown as the starting safeties? Did anyone watch us play last year?

All of this optimism is unfounded. I like most of the draft picks but they aren't going to make a huge impact in 06. We're expecting our QB, OL, DL, LBs and DBs to get better based on "coaching". Call me skeptical. I think Mario, Ryans, Winston and Spencer are all a great start towards getting better but it's not gonna happen in 2006.
 
DenverBorn said:
Wow this board is waaay too optimistic

I am going with 5-11, and I think that's a stretch

1. Carr is still Carr. He has the expansion team mindset of "play well enough to not embarass myself", not "win". And he's still got no true competition for his position, and multiple years left on his contract. It's a HUGE leap of faith that he'll get better phyically and become a leader/winner all in one season. Don't count on it. Ever.

2. We've added an aging center to an OL that's otherwise pretty much the same. We're still depending on the likes of Pitts, McKinney, Weigert and Wand. I think to expect true contributions from two rookie 3rd round draft picks is way too optimistic. Maybe in 2008 -

3. We're definitely better at TE and WR but see 1 and 2 above.

4. DD is going to continue to be hurt and we don't have a legitimate alternative.

5. Our DL is picking up a new scheme with multiple new players. Travis Johnson is looking like a colossal bust as a 1st round draft pick. I'm happy we switched to a 4-3 but I don't see us having a DL that's going to dominate many teams. Certainly not a "13-3" type DL

6. Are our linebackers any better? We don't have a legit, injury-free candidate for MLB. Sam Cowart? Hmmm. And all of a sudden Greenwood is going to be better?

7. We have not improved a porous defensive backfield AT ALL. Do we really expect PBuc to get any better? Is Faggins a true front line CB? Earl and Brown as the starting safeties? Did anyone watch us play last year?

All of this optimism is unfounded. I like most of the draft picks but they aren't going to make a huge impact in 06. We're expecting our QB, OL, DL, LBs and DBs to get better based on "coaching". Call me skeptical. I think Mario, Ryans, Winston and Spencer are all a great start towards getting better but it's not gonna happen in 2006.
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See the posts above you. We make the grand gestures because it's fun and we are excited about our team. We can see the team getting better with the youth and the extra experience our young players have gained. Not to mention the confidence our team has in our head coach. Why would you say that DC is playing just hard enough not to embarass himself? For a guy to get up over 200 times from sacks over the last 4 years shows plenty of heart. Now, last year at the beginning of the season he was hanging his head some but the guy never quit on his team and he kept pressing on.
The center that we added ma be aging but he is not old as far as O-linemen go and he is a top 5 center in the league. You say that is all they really did but they also purged the team of players and the 2 biggest problems on our o-line from last year are gone. With Pitts back inside and McKinney playing his natural position our interior line is much more solid than it was last year. The only player that I worry about on the line is Wand but he was a rookie starter in '04 and the coaching staff ruined his cofidence last year by not giving him consistant playing time. So we shall see. It looks much better across the line to me.
The great thing about us going to the 4-3 is that every player on our defense has played in it. It should be a quick pickup for them. I am not sure if they will dominate anyone but you have to think that it will be an improvement over last years defense especially if they are not on the field for 45 minutes a game. The LB corp worries me also and I can definatly see why that could potentially be an issue. This is the one place on the Defense where scheme might be an issue simply because there wil be a few guys playing OLB in a 4-3 that were DE's in college.
Now our secondary, they are young particularly the safties. Earl played really well last year. Year 3 usually the year where safties get throuh the learning curve and make the least amount of mistakes. Plus after the Arizona game I think that WR's are beginning to fear him. Brown is now in his 2nd season and played pretty good in the 2nd half of the season. I think that he has to make far fewer mistakes to keep his job as the starting FS otherwise they will give the job to Stone. Our CB's also could be an issue but if PBuc can play just twice as good as he did last year then we can get through.(I know that argument is kinda weak)

Now, does or team need time to gel, heck yeah but it probably won't take that long as we still have a similar corp group of players and the team is excited about the new scheme on Offense. Typically Defenses do not take long to gel so I say by week 6 Our team will be firing on all cylinders. I think your 5-11 predictin is kinda insulting considering our team is better now than it was in '04. I feel that 9-7 is realistc but who's to say they can't go 13-3. No one thought the Chargers could do crud in '04 and they went 12-4. If you are just here to :stirpot: then whatever we need that every once in a while, but if your just pesimistic then try to have a little more faith in your team. We all hope you are wrong and I am sure that you hope you are too. These are the things that keep us going in this dreadfully long offseason.
 
Is Influx of New Players driving up unrealistic Expectations?

I hope so. It would would be depressing if the inlfux of new players were lowering our expectations.
 
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