Homers Circle: C-C-C-Combo Breaker?

via z.about.com

Loss!!  Win!  Loss!!  Win!  Loss!!  Win!  Win???

Its no doubt that the season so far has been a rollercoaster of emotion. Plagued by inconstistency, we never knew which team was going to show up on sunday. Either the offense played well and the defense stunk the place up, or vice versa. Not until the Bengal game did we see both sides play well and saw what the results could be when they do that. In my orginal prediction of 10-6 for the season, I counted the 49er game as a game we would lose, but sitting here today I am ready to reverse that opinion and this is why:

The 49ers are a good team, I dont doubt that. Singletary has brought his pyhsical nature and energy to the team. They are coming off a bye, having 2 weeks to prepare for the Texans, and 2 weeks of being sour after losing to the Falcons badly. That works against us greatly, but I think the Texans are going to be hungry. They are 1-2 at home right now, and Kubiak knows you cant play poorly at home and expect to do well in this league. Winning on the road is too hard for that. Our combo of losing and winning and losing the next game weighs heavily on the team. Even after an impressive win in Cincy, the current trend was on the mind of Kubiak and the players, they KNOW the history so far this season, and I think they will be very hungry to prove to everyone that they can come out and break the cycle. San Fran is a running team. They have a very good back in Frank Gore. What they do not have is a good passing game, or a QB who can bring the team back from behind. This works in our favor. They have a good defense, with an excellent LB core. Some would say they have an excellent secondary as well, but some said the same thing about the Bengals defense. The key for the Texans is to come out of the gate hungry to score quickly. If you put the 49ers behind early, they have to abadon the running game, which is their offensive strength. Make Shaun Hill throw the ball. I believe this is what the Texans will try to do. Attack the 49er defense early, and then establish the running game if you get a lead.

Our defense will have an opportunity to prove that they can stop the run this sunday. Last week was the first time they stopped a good running team. Now they have to do it again to show they are for real. Make Shaun Hill beat you, not Gore. The San Fran defense has been good at forcing turnovers, our defense is going to need to take a page out of their book this week and win the turnover battle. I said before that the Texans are 1 in the hole in games I thought they would win vice ones I thought they would lose. They have an opportunity to pull even this sunday against the 49ers. Heres my original predictions from the preseason:

Jets W (L)

Titans L (W)

Jags W (L)

Raiders W (W)

Cardinals L (L)

Bengals W (W)

49ers L ()

Bills W ()

Colts L ()

Bye - 5-4 at the break

Titans W ()

Colts W ()

Jags W ()

Seahawks W ()

Rams W ()

Dolphins L ()

Patriots L ()

Overal 10-6

I've restocked my Victory Beer collection, so lets hope the same team we saw last week shows up again so we can all drink the sweet nectar!