Future Must Become Present for Texans
At a certain point, we all get tired of saying, “ah we’ll get ‘em next year." We’ve been sitting here for the past three or four years talking about how good the Houston Texans are and how each and every year will be the year they finally make the postseason. Enough talk, enough looking to the future. It’s time for the expansion franchise to get it done in the present and do what their talent suggests they should do, which is make the playoffs and give the Indianapolis Colts a scare for the division title in the AFC South.
Head coach Gary Kubiak has done a good job with this team as he led them to consistently improving seasons, from 6-10 in 2006, to 8-8 seasons in 2007 and 2008, and leading the franchise to their first winning season in 2009 at 9-7.
The organization has also built well through the draft and has brought in some great talents from Matt Schaub, to Andre Johnson, and Mario Williams. Now it’s a question of the team putting together their chemistry and their mental toughness required to consistently succeed in the NFL. They have all the talent you can ask for; it’s up to them to translate that into a playoff season.
Many have questioned Schaub’s arm, saying that’s what has separated him from being great, but he led the league in passing yards last season, beating out Manning, Brady, Rivers and Brees. What he must do is become the leader that everyone has been telling him to be. The 29 year old has now mastered Kubiak’s system and must stay healthy because the team will be in big trouble if they have to turn to Dan Orlovsky.
Schaub also benefits from having the best receiver in football in Andre Johnson. Johnson catches 100 balls a year consistently, despite facing double-team coverage all season. His presence also allows Schaub to spread the ball around as Johnson creates a lot of open space for his teammates.
The Texans may also have the best pass-catching tight-end in football in Owen Daniels.
The only thing that may prevent Houston from being a full-fledged powerhouse is that their offensive line is not the strongest. That has prevented them from having a great running game, making the offence very reliant on the pass.
Steve Slaton must bounce back after a disappointing 2009 campaign. If the Texans aren’t able to effectively commit to the run, they will once again be a one-dimensional offence.
The Texans may have the best line-backing core in football, but Brian Cushing will be suspended for the first four games. DeMeco Ryans and Zac Diles should combine with Cushing and will try to make life more difficult for the likes of Peyton Manning and Chris Johnson in the division.
The Texans seem like they should be able to stop the run and they’ll need that when playing the Titans, but their pass-defence will have to drastically improve. Defensive end (DE) Mario Williams will have to provide the boost in the pass-rush and continue to play unbelievably well, like he’s done so far.
Elsewhere on the D-Line, Antonio Smith is a solid compliment to Williams and Connor Barwin, who is last year’s second round pick and who will likely get more playing time. Also, Amobi Okoye must show he’s improved and worth the first-round investment the Texans made on him a few years ago, or his days in Houston may be numbered.
Jacques Reeves and Sherrick McMannis are likely to be the team’s corners, as McMannis being drafted spelled the end of Antwaun Molden and Fred Bennett in the starting role as they have been very unreliable.
At safety, Bernard Pollard is an attacking strong safety, while converted corner Eugene Wilson will have to be more of a ball-hawk at free safety and stop being too conservative.
On special teams, the Texans need to improve, especially Kris Brown, who missed 11 field goals last year, and timely ones too. A couple of more field goals made by Brown could have meant two more victories and a playoff spot.
Now Neil Rackers has been brought in from Arizona to compete with Brown for the starting job. Matt Turk is reliable and consistent as a punter. The height he gets on the ball allowed the Texans to be 2nd in the league in coverage.
Houston also have threats to score in returns, including Andre Davis for kick returns, and Jacoby Jones off punts.
Seriously, the Texans have to make the playoffs this year, at least given the talent they have. If they don’t, they’ve reached the point where their season is a bust. They have more depth this year for their talent and they’ve had plenty of transition time since they entered the league. We can’t talk about their future every year can we? Their future must be now.
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