Dear TJ,

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 16, 2012 8:50 PM CST

Yeah, that sucks, bro. Really sucks. So close. So effing close. Yeah, the rest of us keep playing those picks over in our heads, too. Really sucks, man. This one stings. Stings bad. And New England is SO beatable this year....

Bet you didn’t get much sleep last night.

You know, when Matt Cassel went down early in the year, I thought KC would still be tough, after all, they won their division last season. And Oakland... they beat us at Reliant before Campbell went down, but I thought they were still a lock to win their weak-ass division with Palmer. Didn’t happen.

Chicago also won their division in 2010, and since Martz is such a system guy, I’d have figured that Hanie could have at least enough success to get them a wildcard berth. No such luck. And Manning.... you talk about being exposed. The Colts were so bad they even surprised themselves with the mess they put behind center for 4 months.

Somehow I’m sure no one is giving you as hard a time as you’re giving yourself right now.

The fact is dude, you got us into the playoffs. You did enough to win some big games... to win our division. You brought home the gold in Cincinnati. You hit Dre with that 40 yard TD to seal the deal last week, right in front of my seats. I thought I was gonna lose it, right there in public. Did you notice Dre carried that ball off the field with him? Wonder how special it was for The Greatest to score his first postseason TD?

Ya know, I’m kinda wishing that you’d have had about 2 years on the bench before something like this happened. I can’t help but think you guys would be hoisting Lombardi on Feb. 5th if you had....

When bad things happen, a man is always compelled to evaluate what’s happened, so he can apply what he’s learned. It’s not easy, and it’s not painless. But you gotta do it. Do it, bro. Be the massive student of the game for the next couple seasons. Soak it all in... push yourself to the limit. Pick Matty and Greg and Rick and Kubes brains until they tell you to shut up. Do it.

I keep thinking about Aaron Rodgers first couple years behind what’s-his-name. Didn't turn out too bad for him, ya know? And I keep thinking about you, and all your brothers in steel blue, hoisting Lombardi... soon .

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Fun thought...

T.J. Yates won more playoff games than Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers this year.

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on Jan 16, 2012 9:55 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

Actually, he won the same number as Drew Brees

by ehburrus on Jan 16, 2012 9:57 PM CST up reply actions

Still beat Rodgers and Big Ben

so he deserves to stand up and say “nah nah nah nah poo poo, I’m better than you”

by SoCalTexan on Jan 16, 2012 10:58 PM CST up reply actions

I forget that they had a wild card game...

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on Jan 17, 2012 12:39 AM CST up reply actions

Dont forget about old Timmy!

He won a playoff game as well.

Miss-placed Houstonian living and going to school in the wilderness of Wyoming.

by BigNate7 on Jan 17, 2012 1:25 AM CST up reply actions

Very well said.

Just my $.02
Even duct tape can't fix stupid

by txknight on Jan 16, 2012 11:34 PM CST reply actions

You're a gentleman and a scholar...and well, a knight...

"You mean, besides two chicks at the same time?"

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 18, 2012 7:04 AM CST up reply actions

Nice

…and rec’d.

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

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by tehGrindCrusher on Jan 17, 2012 2:31 AM CST reply actions

Thank you, sir.

"You mean, besides two chicks at the same time?"

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 17, 2012 6:23 AM CST up reply actions

Nice Work

Rec’d.

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

by Tim on Jan 17, 2012 9:29 AM CST reply actions

Thank you, sir.

"You mean, besides two chicks at the same time?"

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 18, 2012 7:03 AM CST up reply actions

Great post, Ezekiel

Rec’d

My thoughts are like Brian Cushing on the field: Everywhere.

by f22a4bandit on Jan 17, 2012 10:28 AM CST reply actions

Moltigrazia...

"You mean, besides two chicks at the same time?"

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 18, 2012 7:03 AM CST up reply actions

TJ has just as many playoff wins in 7 games

as Tony Romo had in 6 seasons

Official hype-man of the Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon team

by thebluffrat on Jan 17, 2012 12:12 PM CST reply actions

Yah, TJ's already got as many as Romo will EVER have....

…and he’ll have AT LEAST one more ring than Romo before it’s all said and done…

"You mean, besides two chicks at the same time?"

by Ezekiel 25 17 on Jan 17, 2012 12:21 PM CST up reply actions

Great post!

I think the end of that Baltimore game was so strange. We had almost two minutes from their 38, and the decision on that play didn’t make sense.

It seemed like TJ had that rare confidence that he showed on the 80 for 80 drive at the end of the game. The throws weren’t there on some plays throughout the game, but two straight to AJ to put us in position, it seemed like we were gonna do it.

Then it seemed like he played like a rookie, finally. Unfortunate timing, obviously. But great points about all the rest. The Cincy games are easily top 2 games in Texans history for me, both won by the young Mr. Yates. And I think the experience he got this year, if he keeps the attitude he had going into the season, will make him a solid starter in this league.

I feel very confident in going into next year with him at QB2, even if Matt goes down.

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Jan 17, 2012 12:56 PM CST reply actions

When Leinart went down

I went back to those pretty throws that Yates made to Lestar Jean in the preseason, and how I thought to myself, “this guy’s got something.” The only thing I wondered was if he was ready.

He answered that and then some.

In the short term, this stings. But in the long term, it could turn out to be a blessing. After years of feeling nervous with Dan-O and Rexy, we now have a backup that we KNOW we can count on, and maybe even a future starter. Well done, Gary.

Kubiak believes in you

by JayRedd on Jan 17, 2012 5:44 PM CST up reply actions

Nice job, Zeke.

And nice job, Weejay.

"How can an idiot be a policeman? Answer me that!"
-Chief Inspector Dreyfus

by FreedomRide on Jan 17, 2012 1:55 PM CST reply actions

Well said indeed.

Yates was thrown into a near impossible situation, and IMO he handled it the absolute best he could. Not a lot of rookies with that kind of maturity.

Kubiak believes in you

by JayRedd on Jan 17, 2012 5:37 PM CST reply actions

Truthfully

What TJ will need to do is learn the lessons from his mistakes then blow the sting out of his memory.

Kubiak has been admiring how short his memory is as far as the mistakes. I hope he learns what needs to be learned and then keeps that short memory active ;-).

Focus on the positive, TJ and it will magnify! You have a VERY bright future!

#Texans2011 — Where reality and dreams collide!
~~ Fuzion
"This is a grown dog’s game. Ain’t no puppies out here." ~~ Cushing #56 to Antonio Smith #94

by BattleRedFan on Jan 18, 2012 3:31 AM CST reply actions