Sorry for the REALLY long post but its worth reading... Houston Texans Will Have a Winning Season in 2014 Last year’s unpredictable misfortunes for the Houston Texans took them from a playoff contender to the team with the worst record in the NFL (2-14). How then is it feasible for the team with the worst record in the league to come back and have a winning season? Let’s take a look at three factors that I believe will be the keys to the Texans turning their dismal record on its head. #1 – A Whole New Team Let’s face it; this year’s Texans team is dramatically different from that of last year. From the head-coach, down to the roster, this team has gone through a “rebirthing” process. After Coach Gary Kubiak proved that he was not the man for the job in Houston, Bob McNair brought in recent Penn State savior Bill O’Brien (B.O.B.). As is the case with many new head-coaches, B.O.B. cleaned house. He fired the entire Texans coaching staff with the exception of Bob Ligashesky (promoted to special teams coordinator) and Bill Kollar (defensive line). O’ Brien then brought in Romeo Crennel (defensive coordinator), Mike Vrabel (linebackers), Craig Fitzgerald (strength and conditioning) and a slew of other coaches who have proven track records in the NFL. But B.O.B. wasn’t satisfied with just cleaning out the coaching staff, he wanted to clean the roster too…and he did! During the offseason the Texans parted ways with DT Earl Mitchell, DE Antonio Smith, IL Darryl Sharpton, IL Joe Mays, OLB Bryan Braman, NT Terrel McClain, RB Ben Tate and “non-essential” players. Along with O’Brien’s housecleaning job came a whole new attitude and way of thinking for the Texans. #2 – Team-First Mentality For the past few seasons fans have watched with stifled amusement as the Texans have gallivanted around the stadium on Segways and relived their college years with letterman jackets. All the while fans have been wondering when the team was going to get past the second round of the playoffs. When B.O.B. came into town he kicked all of that nonsense out the door. No longer were players allowed to ride Segways to practice, around the stadium, or anywhere for that matter. He made them take their letterman jackets home where he said they should remain. As if that weren’t enough he then went a step further and removed players’ names from their lockers and, perhaps more stunningly, from their jerseys! The O’Brien way, as he jokingly calls it, is a team-first mentality. There is no player on this team who should consider themselves more important than any other player on the field. Additionally, each player must be ready and able to play multiple roles for the team. No longer can a player come in and learn his “role” at a single position but now he must be willing to take on the mantle of being a versatile player. B.O.B. also brings a new fiery attitude to the Texans facility. Compared to the former coach he appears to be very intense and in the face of many of the players – which they appreciate. He holds players accountable for their actions and makes them pay the toll (physically) if they screw up. The entire feel of the team is new – as if a breath of fresh air has completely changed the atmosphere, and attitude, of the team. The new direction of the team, in terms of attitude and the team-first mentality, will add a new dimension to the team this year that should help push them past the roadblocks that they faced last season. For that reason they should win more of the close games that devastated them last year. #3 – Strength of Schedule As most NFL fans know, the AFC South tends to be the easiest division in the NFL. How easy is it exactly? Well the Strength of Schedule (S.O.S.) for the AFC South has all four teams at the bottom of the entire NFL. Coming in with the 29th weakest S.O.S. are the Jacksonville Jaguars followed by the Houston Texans at 30th, the Tennessee Titans at 31st, and the Indianapolis Colts with the weakest S.O.S. in the league at 32nd. Having the 30th weakest S.O.S. should help the Texans add a few “W’s” to the win column this season. But let’s break down their season schedule and make some bold predictions. Week 1: Redskins @ Texans – This should be a win for the Texans; note that I said “should”. The Redskins had a mediocre draft and made one big move in the offseason by acquiring WR DeSean Jackson. There are, in my opinion, two key elements of this game that will determine who comes out on top and they both involve the quarterbacks. Redskins QB Robert Griffin III is looking to come back with a big season and, with the addition of a weapon like Jackson, could do just that. On the flip side, if new Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick can find a way to connect with WR Andre Johnson or WR DeAndre Hopkins he could put some big points on the board. Given that this game is at their home stadium I am going to give this game to the Texans (1-0). Week 2: Texans @ Raiders – The Texans’ first road game will pit them against their former starting QB Matt Schaub. Schaub and the Raiders do not have any high profile wide receivers but they do have Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew at the RB position. This two-hit combo is sure to create hell for many defenses in the NFL and the Texans will be no exception. This game is truly going to come down to which team puts the best defense on the field. The Raiders defense will have to be able to stop a prolific passing game while the Texans will be faced with a ground-and-pound game. This game is hard to call but I am going to give the edge to the Houston Texans on this one because of JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and the rest of the Texans front seven of the defense (2-0). Week 3: Texans @ Giants – I am going to come right out and say that this game will be the first loss for the Texans in 2014. Playing away from home is never easy and traveling to New York to take on the Giants will be a real test of the Texans mettle. Eli Manning is a proven QB with a Super Bowl win under his belt and, with the addition of WR Odell Beckham (LSU) could do some nasty things to the Texans secondary. In order for the Texans to have a chance in this game they will need to put up points early in the game and then shut down the Giants offense late in the game…something they have struggled with in the past. Therefore I predict a loss for the Texans (2-1). Week 4: Bills @ Texans – This is a tough call to make. Coming off of the previous week’s loss, the Texans will look to rebound at home against the Buffalo Bills. However, I also predict that the Bills will be rebounding from a loss and will look to use the Texans as a stepping stone. With the addition of WR Sammy Watkins (DeAndre Hopkins’ former teammate) the Bills will be much more versatile in their passing game. Additionally, running backs C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson (who combined for more than 1,800 yards rushing 11 TDs last season) will look to balance the Bills’ offense and keep the Texans guessing. I’m not sure that the Texans will be mentally ready for the Bills versatile offense and, therefore, I’m predicting another loss for the Texans (2-2). Week 5: Texans @ Cowboys – There is no team that Texans fans hate more than the Dallas Cowboys, the same may hold true for Texans players as well. The battle to be Texas’ best NFL team will carry not only a win but also bragging rights. The Cowboys will look to their fans to bring the homefield advantage and they will need as much of an edge as they can get. Outside of QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant the Cowboys have a lackluster offense. If Bryant manages to play like he has for the past two seasons then the Texans defense will have their hands full. However, if the Texans can handle Bryant then the Cowboys become much less of a threat. Look for the Texans offense to spread the ball around in both the receiving and running game. As long as they can keep the Cowboys’ defense guessing and Bryant out of the endzone, the Texans should be able to manage a win in this game (3-2). Week 6: Colts @ Texans – During the Peyton Manning era the Texans struggled to pull off a win against the Colts. However, during the previous four seasons the Texans have won almost every home game against the Colts with the exception of last year during the teams’ meltdown. Colts QB Andrew Luck will be looking to his TE Coby Fleener and RB Trent Richardson to open up passing lanes against the Texans defense. If the Texans over commit to either one of these two players then the Colts will walk away with a win. However, this is not the old Texans defense. Romeo Crennel will provide different looks for Luck and, in my opinion, will find a way to keep the Colts from visiting the endzone very often. The Texans offense, by week 6, should be able to produce ample scoring opportunities and, with homefield advantage, should pull off a (slim) victory over the Colts (4-2). Week 7: Texans @ Steelers – The Steelers are traditionally not known for their offense, what they are known for, however, is their hard-hitting, unforgiving defense. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has a questionable offensive line (he was sacked 42 times last season) but still found a way to pass for more than 4,000 yards and 28 TDs. If the Texans can capitalize on the weak offensive front of the Steelers they could make the day very traumatic for Big Ben. However, being that this is a road game against one of the nastier defenses in the league I am going to have to give this game to the Steelers, albeit by a very small margin (4-3). Week 8: Texans @ Titans – Last year the Titans had a middle-of-the-league offense and a defense that ranked in the bottom third of the league. This year they did not appear to make any great improvements to the team. Their best addition in the draft was O-lineman Taylor Lewan who should be a much needed starter for the Titans seeing as how the Texans have a taste for QB Jake Locker’s blood. Locker started seven games last year where he had only 8 TDs and 16 sacks. The Titans lost RB Chris Johnson so their running game will be suspect this year. The Titans were one of the only teams that the Texans defeated last year during a home game and their road game was won by the Titans but with a margin of less than 1 TD. This year I look for the Texans to dominate the Titans, in Nashville, and to win by more than 10 points (5-3). Week 9: Eagles @ Texans – The Texans are going to need all of the homefield advantage they can muster against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are coming into the 2014 with the 2nd best offense and 4th best defense in the league. With the addition of rookie WR Jordan Matthews the Eagles’ offense looks to be more prolific than it was last season. The Texans front 7 will need to apply all sorts of pressure to Eagles QB Nick Foles to keep him from tearing apart the secondary and, as if that were not enough, they will also have to deal with RB LeSean McCoy who racked up more than 1,600 rushing yards last season. Call me crazy but I feel that the Texans will be a little overwhelmed in this game and the Eagles will pull this one off by more than 7 points (5-4). Week 10: BYE WEEK Week 11: Texans @ Browns – Pending a tragic injury or catastrophe QB Bryan Hoyer should still be the Browns’ quarterback at this point in the season, which is probably a good thing for the Texans. Hoyer tends to be more of a traditional “pocket passer” and is not known for his rushing abilities. That, added with the lackluster offense of the Browns, should make it easy for the Texans to defend against any offensive threats. Last season the Browns allowed the 9th most points of any team in the league and their win-loss prediction for this year is 5-11. I believe that no matter who is under center for Houston, be it Fitzpatrick or Keenum, the Texans will walk away from this game with a much needed win (6-4). Week 12: Bengals @ Texans – The Cincinnati Bengals were an 11-5 team last season and, according to most respectable draft analyzers they got even better with this year’s draft. QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and company will look to dismantle the Texans defense. Meanwhile, their 5th ranked defense will look to stop the Texans from becoming productive at home. Unless the Texans’ homefield advantage can upset the timing and rhythm of the Bengals I do not see this going well for the Texans. The last time the Texans lost to the Bengals was back in October of 2005…but I predict that it will happen once again this season as the Texans drop this one to the Bengals (6-5). Week 13: Titans @ Texans – I predicted that the Texans would beat the Titans in Nashville this year and I see absolutely no reasonable explanation for why the Titans would be the Texans at home. The fans will make it very hard for Jake Locker to get his reads in and, consequently, will make it easier for the Texans to dismantle the Titans at home (7-5). Week 14: Texans @ Jaguars – This is one of the toughest predictions to make due to the fact that we lost both games to the Jaguars last year (although both games were lost by a TD). Our previous five games, before last season, were won by an average of 12 points, which makes me believe that we have the upper-hand in this matchup. However, the Jaguars drafted QB Blake Bortles, WR Marqise Lee, and WR Allen Robinson whom could all be difference makers for the Jaguars offense. Assuming that the Jaguars offense remains intact throughout the season, their defense will still have to stop the Texans’ offense. The Jaguars defense was dismal last season when it came to points allowed. The Jaguars allowed opponents to score 449 points for a -202 point differential. Assuming the Texans are still healthy at this point in the season I predict a road win for the Texans (8-5). Week 15: Texans @ Colts – The Texans have never, I repeat NEVER, beaten the Colts in Indianapolis. In fact, the closest they ever came was back in 2011 when they lost by 3 points. Luck and company will be out for revenge in this game and will handle the Texans with ease. I predict that the Colts win this game by more than 10 points (8-6). Week 16: Ravens @ Texans – Former Head Coach Gary Kubiak is the new Offensive Coordinator for the Ravens and I really hope that he game-plans for them much like he used to game-plan for us…with all sorts of predictability. Granted, the Ravens have a solid offense with QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WR Torrey Smith, and WR Jacoby Jones headlining but the Ravens defense was ranked only 21st in the league last year. They still have hard hitters like OLB Terrell Suggs and OLB Elvis Dumervil but they have lost the likes of S Ed Reed and LB Ray Lewis. Nonetheless, the Ravens will be playing in Houston and that spells trouble. I expect the Texans defense to step up big in this game as it will help decide the possibility of a post-season appearance for the Texans. I’m giving this game to the Texans (9-6). Week 17: Jaguars @ Texans – Coach O’Brien does not seem like he is one to be content with resting his starters for the last game of the season, even if he has secured a spot in the playoffs. For that reason alone I am giving this game to the Texans who will once again use the homefield advantage to topple the Jaguars (10-6).
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 22:18:47 +0000
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