I think so.. And I believe we are catching them at the perfect time.. I'm not sure why they are getting so much hype..their not a better team than they were last year Imo. Eric Winston..D Ryans and Mario Williams, Jacoby Jones, Lawrence Vickers, All missing, a QB who's coming off a linfranc injury, tells me he hasn't trained on the field, or in the weight room (and trust me, he could if used it.) as much as I think you need to to keep elevating your game.. Also, Andre Johnson had offseason surgery on that knee, and missed all OTAs..He said he was doing normal things in the offseason and it just started swelling up, got it scoped and should be 100 percent come training camp, now he is one bad dude, we know that, he's 31, was injured most of the season last year, and all I need is one game for him to be not a monster and get the hell out of there with a W, so maybe that scope kept him from training like a mad man in the offseason, we'll see. They lost Vickers their fullback who helped pave the way for Foster and Tate, and previously Peyton Hilis's big year, moving James casey to fullback who is not one..I like Casey as a player in route, very similar to our own player in Clay, but when it comes to blocking, not so much, I'm thinking there might be an adjustment period for Foster who seemed comfortable running behind Vickers..Speaking of Foster, he has decided to become a vegan, there is usually a bit of loss of size involved in that so I'm hoping that his body has an adjustment period, like til after week one..seriously, I'm sure he knows what he's doing but he's got to eat very strict if he's gonna get that protein in his body to retain that size and strength. They picked up Dwight Jones and Devier Posey in the draft, and after Kevin Walter, they're pretty thin in the receiver unit, Posey I don't like, Dwight has some good talent, but If Johnson isn't 100 percent, we should dominate that matchup.. They replaced D Ryan with bradie James, reports are that he's looked good in place of Ryan, but I wouldn't say upgrade. Eric Winston being let go was a shock to texans fans, who consider him a top 5 right tackle, Rashad Butler is his replacement, I'm not saying that he isn't talented, but, considering they have to replace the guard they lost in Briisiel as well,, (rookie replacement likely in Brandon Brooks) They on the line, and the slow Matt Shaub, might be a bit vulnerable to our good pass rush.. Losing a player the caliber of Mario Williams would hurt any team, I'm not his biggest fan, but offenses had to account for the guy, and now they dont, and nor will we come week one..Connor Barwin and JJ Watt are very good players, but they now will be getting more attention.. I know they are the medias little darling, and I know we haven't beat them, but their squad just doesn't scare me this year, and I think playing them in the first game with all their offseason transpirings, gives us a decent chance to get a W.. Whatta y'all think about the texans, can anyone make a case that they have improved their team?
Because they limped into the playoffs (for the first time in franchise history) without their star QB and still won (for the first time in franchise history). A second round playoff team getting their first string QB back is a big deal.
They have a young defense that is a yerar better and a full offseason with the best DC in the NFL. They didnt have Mario much anyways and losing Jacoby Jones is a good thing. We CAN beat them but its the toughest team we will face until NE if you ask me.
They've been a good team for a while now but they seem to underachieve. It'll be interesting if they can repeat their effort from last year or will underachieve once again.
They're our kryptonite man, it just seems something always goes right for them at the worst time for us. The game in 2008 when I almost cried and broke everything in my house after that last drive. Jeez would it be great to finally take them down week one.
6-10 team with a new offense, new QB, new defense going up against a playoff team with its franchise QB returning. Don't expect the Joe Philbin era to start off with a win.
i think the loss of d ryans is a pretty big loss. Not sure how he would do in our scheme but i really like him as a player and wish we had of picked him up, coming off a season ending injury last season but i don't care, he's a player.
i like schaub, but i think he could be a little bit rusty, andre is also maybe not a concern, but he also has not played a meaningful game in some time, not really any game tape from the new offense we will show, i think we can win this game
Theyre the toughest team we face including NE imo. Thats a hell of a good defense even without mario and their offense isnt bad either. a lot of their players are younger and getting better. Sadly youre probably right.
"star" Qb is a bit of stretch for me Des..I know he"ll improve the position for the team that lost three strait without him, but I don't think he's a top 10 Qb, and he's coming off a severe injury that robbed him of his offseason..I don't expect an improved Matt Shaub that first game. That team lost some good players who were also considered team leaders, and wasn't exactly players in free agent market. I think their a vulnerable team first game of the year..
Matt Schaub was 6th in the NFL in 2011 with a passer rating of 96.8. He was 9th in the NFL in 2010 with a rating of 92.0. He's a top 10 QB. Most winning teams have easy schedules. There's nothing unique about that. Look at the strength of schedule of playoff teams each year and you'll find that they aren't exactly running the gauntlet. The 2007 Patriots did, though.
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Bree's, Ben Rothlesberger, Eli Manning, Matt Stafford, Mike Vick, Tony Romo, Phillip Rivers.. Got him at 11 for now, but not for long with Cam newton and Andrew Luck in the league...He's a good Qb, but not a star to me, and very beatable, especially after his offseason.. IMO, Shaub isn't a guy who trains his body very seriously, so I'm hoping him not being able to do much on that foot for months, will set his progression back a bit.
In 2011, Schaub was better than Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Michael Vick, and Philip Rivers. Some of that can be attributed to Schaub's improvement, some of that can be attributed to down seasons by some of those players, particularly Rivers and Roethlisberger, both of whom played below their career average passer rating. Schaub is a top 10 QB.
Ok, but does that mean he is better than a Philip Rivers? No. I like Schaub always have but sometimes figure lie.
Very good indeed, I like Barwin a lot and expect him to play really well. Obviously these things change but right now I'd personally have the Texans and Patriots as the top dogs in the AFC. Hopefully we can sneak a win but it won't be easy.
They're not overrated but we are playing them at the best time of the season. Matt Schaub coming off the injury, maybe a little rusty. Arian Foster coming off a big year, gets his big contract, sometimes when that happens the guy doesn't exactly come out of the gates running for big yardage. The big wildcard is Andre Johnson. He didn't do much the last time we played him and I'm sure he'll remember. He can take over the game.
Don't worry, that's just the usual defeatist attitude. It's safer among Dolphin fans to denigrate the team. It's been earned over the years, so much so that any statement, true or untrue, feels safe.
I don't think they texans are better than the steelers or Ravens, don't trust that team to win big playoff games..beating the bengals isn't gonna do it for me.
Both solid teams and Steelers could be stronger, don't trust the Ravens myself. The Texans played pretty tough against the Ravens in the playoffs with a fifth round rookie under center and Andre Johnson had been banged up nearly all season. You make some good points but a tough defense going into the second year with their DC, good running game with two talented backs, and a solid QB with a dangerous WR if he's healthy. Would be nice to catch them off-guard week one, you know every analyst will have them winning and that's the correct call, but always some surprises.
which makes him a better QB that year although he played in only 10 games, schaub has done some things in this league, he once also led the league in passing yards if i remember correctly, but still DJ's list is good, these guys even with some down years for some of them belong didnt dwight jones quit during OTA's and retired ?
not sure why you dont trust the ravens, they could of very easily been the afc reps in the superbowl, strait up, I would take Flacco over Shaub, much better ceiling with Flacco..
Never to early to talk about the first game of the season, I'm sure the coaches have already started to gameplan and scout a bit.
They have a top 3 Wr and the best running attack in football. They dont need to line up 3 and 4 wide. Oh yea, their defense is pretty good too. And Flacco over Schaub? No way, Flacco is Chad Henne in a much better situation.
Without Googling it, just a guess off the top of my head, but Kevin Walter, DeVier Posey, the other MSU receiver drafted this year, and Jauquin Iglesias - I at least know those guys are on the team. Obviously Owen Daniels the TE is pretty good, and is probably more of a receiving threat than some or most of those guys. I'm not sure it matters though when you can put Andre Johnson out there with Daniels, and still have Foster and Ben Tate in the backfield. That alone is more proven firepower than Miami's got.
Flacco is Henne huh..well, seeing this is a Texan thread I won't get into that, but I disagree, Flacco can play, and as we've already seen, play very well in big games.. Flacco is 6'6, solidly built who can scramble and makes plays alongside very good QB athleticism for a man of this size,he can also throw the football with great arm strength and touch, the throwing talent is undeniable, he's still a young player, and has accomplished three times as much as Shaub in his short career.
