Let’s get this party started. We continue the never too early season preview series with the Houston Texans.
Overview:
Last year’s AFC South title was won without any real competition, and the Colts are the favorite in the AFC NASCAR division this year. Houston is their biggest threat; they won it in ’11 and ’12 and they’ll rebound from last year’s disaster faster than you think. Tennessee has been running on a treadmill as a franchise for awhile, and Jacksonville is well, Jacksonville.
It’s Clear Eyes. Full Hearts for Houston Texans players this year. They made the absolute correct call with the #1 overall pick and Jadeveon Clowney means their defensive line is going to be insanely good. Combining him with former Big Ten stars J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus…WOW! Who are you going to double team when you have three monsters to stop now?
Of course, there is the quarterback position. And I, like everyone else, will keep mocking QBs to the Texans in NFL mock drafts. B.O.B. said it Ryan Fitzpatrick is QB1 and Tom Savage is QB2.
“Texas Forever 6.”
Offense:
All my exes live in Texas, and all the Texans hope on offense rests in O’Brien. He made Matt McGloin, who was hot garbage under Joe Paterno, into a NFL player. Phenom supreme Christian Hackenberg was the best passer in the Big Ten, he was merely a freshman. O’Brien’s done it with the New England Patriots too. He was dominant, and he’ll figure something out. Although his signal callers could put him deep in the hole of Texas this season.
When they get a real signal caller, in 2015, they’ll start completing for the AFC NASCAR division crown again. So I understand why Andre Johnson is bitching. Things will be better though, they have a healthy Arian Foster now. And they have the most boring soundbite in history in Tight End Garrett Graham. Seriously, he’s horrible at talking; so he must be good at football.
Defense:
To win the AFC South again, they need to take the ball away. The Houston Texans were dead last in this category last season. They also were terrible in the red zone. All in all, if they turned those two issues around quickly, they could actually compete with the Colts for the AFC NASCAR division. This season is about getting their basic confidence back.
ILB Brian Cushing is a big time player, the Texans gave up 268 yards a game with him in the lineup; 356 after he broke his leg. The new safeties should help make a difference. And the line gets even more depth with the drafting of Irish Chocolate Louis Nix.
By the way, you’ll enjoy this video. In which Bill O’Brien says no to Segway, and yes to walking
Bottom Line: 8-8 looks about right. I don’t think they’ll challenge the Colts too much. And they’ll stay in the hunt for the playoffs until about December.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)