Once Again, ESPN Makes Me Scream

by Tim on May 17, 2007 3:46 PM CDT in News Comment 8 comments

I realize your Houston Texans are coming off a 6-10 season. I realize that there is still a relative dearth of talent on the roster compared to many other teams in the NFL. I realize that there are real questions concerning several positions. And I know that we should take preseason rankings and ESPN propaganda with copious amounts of salt. But there is simply NO WAY that the Texans are the fourth-worst team in the league.

I'm choking on my own rage. Again.

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I know it's a long off-season but...

havent we all grown old listening to teams and fans play the disrespect card? Lets not go down that road ourselves. The texans have been one of the very worst, if not the worst, teams in the league over the past 5 years. They have a lot to prove-not just to the natonal media, but also to the fans here at home. The texans have been wrong about every major personnel decision they have ever made (well, almost). What makes anyone think they deserve even a shred of the benefit of the doubt? look at the teams at the very bottom of the list;they all have a culture of losing. Frankly, I think the raiders have more talent than the texans, but because their track record has been so putrid, I dont blame the punditocracy for picking them last.

by mello on May 17, 2007 10:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Disrespect

Mello-

Forgive me if it looks like I'm playing the vaunted "we don't get no respect" card, but I respectfully disagree with the notion that the Texans don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. It's a new regime, and one that did an admirable job last year with a roster that the previous regime saw fit to stock with inferior talent.

Smithiak started their time in H-Town behind the eight-ball, and I think the vast majority of their actions thus far (signing street free agents in Leach/Maddox/Johnson to plug holes during the season, drafting DeMeco, drafting Spencer, drafting Winston, drafting Daniels, signing Ahman Green, trading for Matt Schaub, cutting Domanick Davis, cutting David Carr, and drafting Okoye, just to name a few) show that they've improved the team by leaps and bounds in their short time here.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 18, 2007 10:07 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

kinda agreed

Have to agree with both mello and Tim. Look, we've earned the reputation of being crappy, and the only way we can shed that tag is by doing it out on the field.

There are a lot of people who think our draft sucked and are downgrading us accordingly, too. But I will say here and now: if Mario is as healthy as he sounds
(http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/05/17/17texans.html)
then this defense will be pretty dang tough. The offense still needs a little love, but if Schaub can pick up the O (no reason he shouldn't), Spencer is healthy, Daniels progresses, and we get early production from Jacoby? Yeah, we should be improved.

Also, we still don't know what'll be out there as we start seeing cuts, for salary and talent reasons. I have considerably more faith in Smithiak to sign talent than the former regime.

by bigfatdrunk on May 18, 2007 8:26 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Defense

I think this year's defense will be infinitely better than last year's, especially with regard to the pass rush. I'm a little more hesitant to proclaim an immediate improvement on the other side of the ball. Though I think Schaub will be a noticable upgrade at QB, the absence of a No. 2 WR has me worried. Kevin Walter or Jacoby Jones may well show that he's a No. 2, but I won't believe it until I see it.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 18, 2007 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is just dumb

Two things bug me about that article. One, I want someone to explain to me how the Texans are worse than the Redskins, Bucs, and Dolphins. Go ahead... I'm listening.

Second, and more importantly, I am tired of people just using "Texans have no o-line" as an easy blurb, when it is not true. There is no reason to think this line won't be MUCH better than last season.

Ugh.

by MDC on May 18, 2007 9:26 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed On All Counts

That's what was most frustrating to me--the fact that teams who are clearly worse than the Texans are ranked ahead of them. It's ridiculous.

The improvement of last year's OL, despite Spencer and Flanagan missing most of the season, is the great untold story of Kubiak's first year. It was markedly better than anything we saw during the Capers Era, and I have zero doubt that it will continue to improve. Anyone who actually watched the games last year realizes that the line is nowhere near as bad as the pundits would have us believe.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 18, 2007 10:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

re:

You know what? Screw the punditocracy. If they think we suck? Great. More power to them. Let's settle this sh!t out on the field of battle. I know I'm looking forward to it and feeding the supposed media brain-trust a big bottle of STFU.

Seriously, if I was so worried about what people thought of me, I wouldn't be the well-paid male model I am today.

BFD

by bigfatdrunk on May 18, 2007 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Viva STFU

Just remember, if ESPN was one-forth as good as they value themselves....well, it wouldn't be near as satisfying to watch them eat crow. Except for Hoge, because he is just too damn stupid/ignorant/conceited/cocky/ugly to realize that anything that flows from his mouth could be wrong.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on May 18, 2007 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs