2012 NFL season outlook: Houston Texans set themselves higher standards-NFL Feature – Part Three
The Houston Texans are aiming to start the 2012 National Football League (NFL) season campaign from the point they had finished the 2011 season.
They are shortlisted as the Super Bowl contenders this year. So they have new heights in front of them to achieve this season.
A year earlier, they have won the divisional title and were the only team to have made to the second from the AFC South division.
Texans, who were helped by the poor performance of the teams in front of them in the past season, must be aware of the fact that lucky escape might not happen again this season.
Almost all the competing teams have gone into extensive rebuilding exercise this year and are likely to come as the far better and competitive units.
The Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans have added new faces at almost all positions. Colts and Jaguars are the two sides who have parted ways with all their managers, coaches and assistant staff and maintain a newish outlook.
So, the likelihood of a significant improvement in their performance is very much there. The owners and managers of those teams have respectively spoken of their plans to help them stage turnaround this season.
Jaguars’ new owner, Shahid Khan, for example, has set himself the ambitious target of making his franchise as the consistent winners on the field.
Obviously, it remains to the performance on the field to prove how credible his claims about the team are going to be, some commentators do expect a greater improvement in their form.
Texans must be aware and wary of all these developments. They should even note the aggressive nature and pace of all the changes in these teams and if all goes well with their plans and aims, Texans would be left to an out-of-way chance for maintaining the
past year’s run, let alone going ahead of it.
A good news for them however is that they will have back their main quarterback, Matt Schaub. He is reported to have been recovering from the foot injury faster than the schedule and is definite for 2012 NFL season.
Meanwhile, Texans have cut Matt Leinart. The rookie, T.J. Yates, will return to the squad into second year of his professional career. He has been backed for improvement in his form.
In addition, the team has the veterans, Jake Delhomme and Jeff Garcia, as backup. So far, there is no confirmation from the management if they are going to retain them, it remains a possibility due to the fact that they have released Leinart.
There is no other major change in the team. Another player, who is expected to be fit is the wide receiver, Andre Johnson, who had missed most part of the past season due to a hamstring injury.
His presence is going to be significant if the team goes with T.J. Yates at the starting position.
This certainly will not be the case if Matt Schaub rejoins the squad. He had started for the team for many consecutive seasons before being hit by the injury last year, and had success in the majority of starts he made.
It was his greater role in the team’s attack-line that many commentators presented a disappointing outlook after he was lost to the season-ending foot injury.
By and large, the AFC South division is going to be very competitive and Texans will find it very difficult to maintain their past year’s record, let alone looking to improve it further.
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