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iknowftbll
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Continuing this series of discussions on other presumed AFC contenders brings us to the Houston Texans. While they are not a favorite at this point in the off season to contend for an AFC Title, they are probable favorites to win the AFC South. The Colts just don't have the defense and Luck can't do it all on his own. The Jaguars appear to be building something, but I doubt they make the jump from 5-11 last year to playoff contender this year. And the Titans...are the Titans. While the division seems free for the taking, the Texans certainly appear to be a cut above the others due to having by a long shot the best defense. A revamped offense may experience some growing pains, but overall be significantly better than last year's.
The big story with the Texans was their signing of Brock Osweiler, luring him away from the Broncos with a headliner of a contract. Osweiler is a big part of why the Broncos reached the Super Bowl, but that doesn't change the fact he's a relative unknown as a full time starter. The assessment I keep reading on him is that he was fine when there was little to no film on him, but suffered setbacks quickly with the more film teams had on him. I'm not sure how much I believe it, though to some extent it does sound reasonable. And regardless, he should be a decent enough upgrade over the Hoyer/Mallet combo the Texans had last year.
To help him the Texans drafted heavily on offense, with two WRs, a C and a RB. That's not surprising; they are already pretty well positioned on defense. Despite their offense not being very effective, the Texans held opponents below 20 PPG, were top 3 overall on defense, 3rd against the pass and ranked 10th against the run. If they can build on that performance the Texans will repeat.
The last we saw of the Texans they were getting railed 30-0 by the Chiefs. They are probably going into 2016 eager to put that behind them and opening up what they consider a new era in Texans football. A close look at them suggests they are not dissimilar to the Broncos: great defense and an offense that is a work in progress. The Broncos are obviously further along, but the parallels are there.
Some key games:
Week 2: Vs Chiefs. As noted, the last time we saw the Texans it wasn't a good look for them. You never can fully avenge a playoff loss in a regular season game, but winning this one would go a long way toward achieving that.
Week 3: @ Patriots. If you're going to play the Patriots in their house, you may as well do it when Brady is still suspended. I'd give them no shot at all of winning that game with Brady. Without him...I'll give them a slim chance.
Week 7: @ Broncos. No explanation required.
Week 17: Vs Bengals. A late primetime game against another contender. Teams will be vying for playoff seeding, or maybe even trying to stay alive and lock up their ticket. From where we sit now, this looks like it's going to be worth tuning in once your Christmas Eve festivities begin winding down.
I consider the Texans the pick to win the South because of their defense combined with the expectation their upgrades on offense can elevate the production on that side of the ball over last year's unit. This still appears a soft division, but the Texans aren't so much better than the Colts and Jags they can expect to sweep it. I say they go 4-2 in the division and probably 10-6 or so overall.
Your thoughts?
The big story with the Texans was their signing of Brock Osweiler, luring him away from the Broncos with a headliner of a contract. Osweiler is a big part of why the Broncos reached the Super Bowl, but that doesn't change the fact he's a relative unknown as a full time starter. The assessment I keep reading on him is that he was fine when there was little to no film on him, but suffered setbacks quickly with the more film teams had on him. I'm not sure how much I believe it, though to some extent it does sound reasonable. And regardless, he should be a decent enough upgrade over the Hoyer/Mallet combo the Texans had last year.
To help him the Texans drafted heavily on offense, with two WRs, a C and a RB. That's not surprising; they are already pretty well positioned on defense. Despite their offense not being very effective, the Texans held opponents below 20 PPG, were top 3 overall on defense, 3rd against the pass and ranked 10th against the run. If they can build on that performance the Texans will repeat.
The last we saw of the Texans they were getting railed 30-0 by the Chiefs. They are probably going into 2016 eager to put that behind them and opening up what they consider a new era in Texans football. A close look at them suggests they are not dissimilar to the Broncos: great defense and an offense that is a work in progress. The Broncos are obviously further along, but the parallels are there.
Some key games:
Week 2: Vs Chiefs. As noted, the last time we saw the Texans it wasn't a good look for them. You never can fully avenge a playoff loss in a regular season game, but winning this one would go a long way toward achieving that.
Week 3: @ Patriots. If you're going to play the Patriots in their house, you may as well do it when Brady is still suspended. I'd give them no shot at all of winning that game with Brady. Without him...I'll give them a slim chance.
Week 7: @ Broncos. No explanation required.
Week 17: Vs Bengals. A late primetime game against another contender. Teams will be vying for playoff seeding, or maybe even trying to stay alive and lock up their ticket. From where we sit now, this looks like it's going to be worth tuning in once your Christmas Eve festivities begin winding down.
I consider the Texans the pick to win the South because of their defense combined with the expectation their upgrades on offense can elevate the production on that side of the ball over last year's unit. This still appears a soft division, but the Texans aren't so much better than the Colts and Jags they can expect to sweep it. I say they go 4-2 in the division and probably 10-6 or so overall.
Your thoughts?
