Being a Texans fan in January necessarily means that it's the perfect time to engage in completely baseless speculation. What's that? You say there are playoff games going on? What's this "playoffs" you speak of?

Anyway, I received an interesting e-mail from none other than BRB co-founder/onetime contributor/real-life person Scott this morning. Because I love nothing more than stirring the pot and debating things that will never happen, I provide that correspondence (entitled "Proposal") in its entirety for your review:

Texans send fourth round draft pick to Nashville for Vince Young, with Vince agreeing to serve as the #2 QB, #3 WR, KR and PR. It is patently absurd that the Titans' hapless offense muddles up and down the field without a single downfield playmaker when they have such an incredibly dangerous weapon sitting on their own bench.

Before we all start tearing this theory apart, let's get reality out of the way first. This is purely hypothetical. Your Houston Texans aren't going to acquire VY from the Titans. Not happening. Won't happen for any number of reasons. First, VY could very well still be in the long-term plans for Bud Adams' Army of Darkness, Kerry Collins' meteoric and unexpected rise and/or VY's meltdown notwithstanding. And VY's contract, as currently constructed, would surely be a huge impediment to any such deal. And there's no way that Smithiak would pull off a deal that would be the equivalent of changing the team name from "Texans" to "Totally Unnecessary Quarterback Controversies." Oh, and Sage Rosenfels remains under contract for one more season, so it's not like backup QB is a dire need. Under any interpretation, Scott's proposed trade would not and will not happen.

Still...would you give up a fourth-rounder for Vince Young? If so, why? If not, why not? Is there anything you'd trade for VY, or is the thought of him coming to H-Town such a repugnant idea that you refuse to even consider it? I have a sneaking suspicion that this post may elicit some rather lively commentary.

That was a ball, was it not? Not a pretty game aesthetically, but you won't see me even beginning to turn my nose up at the first four (4) game winning streak in franchise history. It could have been 2-0 and I'd still be ecstatic. Tons to talk about, so let's dive in:

1. I love that all it took for Andre Johnson to get some love from places outside H-Town was an 11 reception, 207 yard, 1 TD game. I'm not going to play the "no respect" card, yet it's laughable that 'Dre is the best WR in the league and 90% of NFL fans don't know it. All the guy does is make big play after big play on the field while keeping a ridiculously low profile off it. The only non-statistical headlines you ever see his name in are the ones you'd pray to see every player's name in. We should thank our lucky stars every day that we've got 'Dre. In a related story, Cortland Finnegan should thank his lucky stars every day that he only has to see Andre Johnson twice a year.

2. Although he made a few curious throws that appeared to be aimed at the dirt, I was incredibly impressed with Matt Schaub's performance yesterday. He was under a good amount of pressure all day and took some hard shots, yet he stood tall and made some huge throws. Some of those needles he threaded to 'Dre and Kevin Walter were simply ridiculous. His failure to feel pressure from Jevon Kearse and subsequent fumble aside, it was awesome to see him hang in there and move the ball against a great defense.

3. Speaking of Kearse...Eric Winston was used and abused all day. That said, I clearly remember one third down run by Steve Slaton that was essentially stopped a couple yards short of the marker until Winston single-handedly dragged Slaton to a first down. I actually jumped out of my chair and was ready to make Winston the player of the game on that play alone.

4. I thought the middle troika of Brisiel, Myers, and Pitts did yeoman work all afternoon long. They lost a few battles, but they were approximately ninety-seven (97) times better than they were in the first match-up with the Titans.

5. I remain puzzled as to why Ephraim Salaam continues to take snaps from Duane Brown. Brown ain't Orlando Pace (yet), but he's the future at LT, and he sure as heck looks better than Salaam, including but not limited to Salaam's sudden penchant for being penalized on what seems like every third snap.

6. Really, really surprised how quiet K-Dub and Owen Daniels were yesterday. I'm going to chalk that up to 'Dre imposing his will on the Titans and The Schaub exploiting that mismatch. Know this, though: We'll need big games from both of those guys on Sunday at Oakland, because Nnamdi Asomugha's going to be in 'Dre's hip pocket all day long.

7. Tell me another RB you'd rather have for the next three (3) years instead of Steve Slaton. If that list is more than five (5) players (maximum) long, I call shenanigans. I continue to be amazed with Slaton's toughness each week. He keeps his legs moving and seems to pick up tough yards you wouldn't expect from a back his size. And then he breaks one off, and there are no words to describe it, so I'm forced to make one up. And I'm going to do so right now. Scrumtrilescent.

8. It was said a couple of times in the second-half live game thread, but it bears repeating: Only one (1) player has rushed for 100 yards against the vaunted Tennessee defense all season, and said player did it both times he played 'em. Steve. Effing. Slaton.

9. Despite missing a chip shot, Kris Brown gets a free pass. He's banked more than enough capital to warrant that, and he did rebound to kick the FG that proved to be the difference.

10. It was negated by K. Brown's shank, but Apostrophe Davis had a big-time return in the third quarter to set that drive up, and he downed one of Turk's punts awfully close to the goal line. The best part about Apostrophe? Unlike Jacoby Jones, my heart doesn't drop into my stomach every time he touches the ball.

11. If you didn't watch the game, you might think that the Houston secondary had a very good day. And yes, Fred Bennett did pick Kerry Collins off, albeit on what was the equivalent of a punt by Collins; it was that bad of a throw. To my eye, the lack of success in the Titan passing game was far more about Collins' inaccuracy than the secondary's coverage. Collins was off all afternoon, and his receivers were dropping many of the balls he did put in their breadbaskets. Even on the much ballyhooed 4th and 3 play that clinched the game for the Texans (more on that in a bit), Justin McCareins had Jacques Reeves beat. The throw was juuuuuust out of McCareins' reach. Consequently, I do not see Tennessee's paltry passing stats as some sort of a breakthrough for our secondary. Kerry Collins had a greater responsibility for his team's struggles than Richard Smith's secondary did.

12. Speaking of Richard Smith...don't look now. It's happening. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

13. DelJuan Robinson was a freaking animal yesterday, getting in the backfield and making plays seemingly every time he was in there. By my count, it's now official: Every DT on the Houston roster should be playing before Travis Johnson. Yet none does. That in and of itself should be a fireable offense.

14. Two (2) season-ending injuries of note for the good guys: Both Xavier Adibi and Antwaun Molden are done for the year. The silver lining with Adibi is that we have a pretty good idea what we've got with him, and it's much better than Morlon Greenwood. I'm still bent we didn't see more of Molden at CB this season.

15. Welcome back to the land of the living, Amobi. That stop of LenDale White in the early fourth quarter was HUGE.

16. While I think DeMeco could have done better in mocking the White-Johnson tandem, the message is accurate. The Titan running game was a non-factor when it mattered the most, though we should thank the Tennessee coaches for not continuing to give the ball to Chris Johnson. Seemed like he was good for ten (10) yards every time he touched the ball, especially in the first half.

17. I miss Zac Diles, but Kevin Bentley has done a great job filling in for him. Bentley has shown a knack for making plays in the backfield that we didn't really see with Diles, though that may be entirely due to Richard Smith finally allowing his linebackers to cross the line of scrimmage.

18. Thank you, Jeff Fisher. Thank you for not using Bironas to try to win the game, even though he'd hit from 51 in the first half. Yeah, yeah...the wind. Whatever. You can't fool me. My Christmas gift to you is in the mail.

19. Not to spoil the surprise, Coach, but it's a Vince Young jersey.

20. Some of the quotes from various Titans after the game simultaneously baffled and enraged me. To wit:

"Slaton didn’t do anything," Titans outside linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "Slaton busted that run (34 yards) at the end of the game, and we pretty much had him in check. To tell you the truth, I don’t think their running game hurt us at all today."

"We know this team isn’t better than us," Titans tight end Bo Scaife said. "This team isn’t going to the playoffs, and we played down to their caliber today.’’

[LenDale White said] "This game means nothing anymore. We will not be playing this team anymore. It’s a big win for them as an organization I guess or supposedly. No matter what they do they’ll still go home on playoffs. We have a lot to look forward to."

[Cortland Finnegan, on his helmet-to-helmet cheapshot on The Schaub] "If I did I was just giving him a quick, you know - kiss, welcoming him back to Houston you know from the Oilers. So that is about all that is."

Why can't these guys just say the classy thing? Something to the effect of, "Give the Texans credit; they were the better team today." Why demean the accomplishment of your opponent? What good does that do? All it does is make Houston fans hate Bud Adams' troops even more than we already do.

21. Since we're on the subject of hate, you know I couldn't let a Texans-Titans game pass without checking in with my buddy Jay. As longtime readers will recall, Jay became a bit of a legend around here after his showdown with Bud Adams in Nashville last year. As expected, Jay had a few choice words for Albert Haynesworth when he went down with an injury that will keep him sidelined until at least the postseason. Haynesworth's run his mouth and been an absolutely classless piece of garbage to Matt Schaub and the Texans, so I don't think there were many Houston fans broken up to see him go down. As you'd figure, Jay was not in the "awwwww, I hope he's okay" camp. Quotes from the man who may hate the Titans more than anyone in the world:

"You're killing the grass, Albert! Get up!"

"I hope it's broken."

"Where's your contract now, Albert?"

Classy? Perhaps not. But if anyone deserved a dose of what he's dished out over the years, it's Haynesworth.

22. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--DelJuan Robinson; Special Teams--Apostrophe Davis.

On to the Black Hole, and a shot at the first .500 plus record of the season!

Fresh off one of the most inspiring wins in franchise history, your Houston Texans return home to host the franchise that was ripped from our bosom years ago. Sunday's game also marks the final divisional game of the season; a win tomorrow would give the good guys twice as many wins in the AFC South (2) as they had last year (1). Yes, I'd rather tomorrow's game was about chasing the first postseason berth in franchise history, but it's not. Speaking of the postseason, however, the Titans need the win to lock up home field advantage in the AFC playoffs. Thus, in addition to finishing with a better record in the division than they posted last year, your Houston Texans can play spoiler to Bud Adams' dreams of hosting two (2) playoff games in Nashville. That'll have to do.

How's it going to shake out? Like this:

1. The Schaub's last tussle with the Titans was a freaking nightmare. He won't have to deal with Kyle Vanden Bosch tomorrow, and that's going to help. The remainder of Tennessee's salty defense is still going to make plays, but I'm optimistic that Schaub's going to keep a lid on his turnovers. In fact, I foresee only one (1) fumble, and no interceptions, from him tomorrow. I predict 269 yards passing and 2 TDs from the reigning AFC Player of the Week.

2. I keep waiting for Owen Daniels to explode back onto the scene with a big TD catch. It would've happened in Green Bay if not for that fumble on the goal line. Well, it happens tomorrow. I'm on record that OD finishes with seven (7) catches for 79 yards and a TD.

3. Let's cap this set of "Three And Out" off with a bold defensive prediction. Jacques Reeves had a nice pick off Kerry Collins the last time these two teams met; I'm calling for him to do it again. No, I am still not sold on Reeves as a solid CB.

PUT YOUR NAME ON IT: By all accounts, the Titans should thump the Texans. Yet there's something--call it mojo, intuition, blind faith, or a gas leak--that makes me think the Texans are going to pull off the shocker tomorrow. Titans 20, Texans 24. Pass the aerosol.

Okay, I was non-existent for this week's live game blog and it was with good reason, I was fulfilling my commitment to the USAFR.  Now, be being the true fan that I am, I had my better half record it and didn't watch what happened until after the game had long been decided.  That's not to say that I didn't have an idea of what happened - a chance meeting with my unit's only other proclaimed Texans fan pretty much clued me in - his expression told me all I needed to know...

So with the power of DVR, I watched the game twice... first time building a buzz, and the next stinking drunk.  Now, the funny thing is that I didn't start taking game notes until the second game.  The following is based on what I saw with my two bloodshot eyes.

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I finally got to watch and think about every minute of this weeks game and I am nothing but excited.  Sure the score says it was 31-12, but that's not what I saw on the field.  I saw a solid exciting football team playing their hearts out.

The Texans have faced 2 of the nastiest challenges possible back to back and have gotten better each week.  They to Pittsburgh and got buried, but gave them a few good licks.  And then the Texans got battered by Hurricane Ike before taking the field on the road again to battle the Titans.

And battle they did.  I don't think I saw a single play where I wondered "what in the hell are they doing".  I was cheering into the final seconds.

Gary Kubiak

Many congratulations are deserved this week.  First and foremost, Gary Kubiak for having the balls to go for it on 4th down 6 times.  This was an all out dog fight.  What better way to show your players that you have confidence in them than to let them make a play.  The Texans didn't catch as many breaks as they needed, but they still made huge plays, especially on 4th down.  Keep calling them Kubiak.

Richard Smith

Whatever it was that got him to call this game the way he did, please, please let it happen again.  Our defense blitzed and pressured all game.  Yes, we didn't have any huge game changing plays this week, but there was real life there.  There was a real defense on the field.  Most plays 5-6 guys were crossing the line of scrimmage.  The Texans gave up some coverage and Collins found some holes, but they kept battering him.  By the second quarter, he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.  Several of his throws were off target and several plays, both runs and passes, were blown up.  That's the kind of Texans defense I want to see. 

Kyle Shanahan

Whether it was Kubiak or Shanahan calling the offense, they did worlds better this week.  They got Schaub moving and it showed in the line play.  The offensive line was much better in their protection.  Most importantly, especially with our undersized mobile line, we had the Titans big fat men, running around laboring for breath.  At one point we even chased Albert Haynesworth off the field. 

Another thing they did well was adjust the play calling.  For some reason they started Schaub with 5-7 step drops and the Titans were getting to him.  By the second quarter they had switched to 3 step drops and screens which was really tearing up the Titans defense.

Third, they tried several different things and stuck with what worked.  There were no vanilla formations for the Texans.  They showed several different looks and both ran and passed out of them.  The Titans defense was noticeably slowed until the 4th quarter when they could pin their ears back. 

Fourth, Kubiak's philosophy is starting to get traction.  Schaub had several good bootlegs.  The running game actually worked this week and Kubiak was able to execute a few of his favorite plays off of it.

Lastly, They absolutely attacked the end zone.  They ran plays attacking the end zone from all over the field.  If any of those plays and scored, this would be an entirely different game.  None the less, they attacked over and over again.  The Texans will score on these plays.

Offense and defense both played a great game.  A loss to a division opponent sucks, but I've never been happier about where an 0-2 team is.

More on some individual players after the jump.

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With the ghost of Ike still maintaining a strangle hold on Tim's power grid, I've again been given the opportunity to pick up the proverbial ball here at the BRB and run with it.  So here goes the latest installment of Three and Out: Useless Predictions for Sunday's game.

1. We'll see the Texans will effectively pressure Kerry Collins in 3^rd and long situations. I can't see Kerry being able to avoid the pass rush of DE Mario Williams. Mario gets a sack and a half. Side bet: DT Amobi Okoye has a big game and also picks up a sack and a half.

 

2. The Texans will be forced to get RB Steve Slaton the ball in open space. Expect to see the Texans use a bevy of screens and sweeps. I expect Slaton to go 17 for 73, with two runs over 8 yards. Side bet: RB Chris Taylor gets the call and finds the end zone from the red zone.

 

3. Kerry Collins is has a career 73.5 quarterback rating and has almost a one to one ratio on his TDs to Interceptions (175:172). That being the case, I think we see the ball hawking kid from South Cackalaky have a much easier time this week than he did in week one. I expect Fred Bennett to have a gem of a game. Side bet: Jacques Reeves endears himself to Texans fans with his first interception.

PUT YOUR NAME ON IT:  I've gone on record as saying that the Texans would sweep Tennessee this year.  I won't let one shaky start and a stupid hurricane change my opinion.  Texans come out guns ablazin' and win 24 - 14.    Hell yeah.

With Tim still blogging by candlelight, I was given the opportunity to interview Jimmy of the Music City Miracles for this week's installment of the pre-game recon.  I tried to keep the Vince Young questions to a minimum... but who am I kidding?  The burning question is whether or not we've seen the last of Vince Young.   So with out furher ado, here's how it went: 

With the Jags and Colts both off to a slow start, and the Titans in sole control of first place, how likely is it that the Titans will finish the season as the top team in the AFC South?

It is entirely too early to declare anything, but I think the Titans have a great shot to win the division.  They have a really good defense and running game, and the gap that was between them and the Colts is pretty much gone.  I don't think there was ever much of a gap between them and the Jaguars.  This division is wide open, and the Titans have as good of a shot as anyone to win it.

***

The Titans had a top-five defense in 2007 and are looking every bit as impressive this year, but that wasn't always the case.  In 2006 they were dead last, allowing a league worst 369.7 yards a game.  Who gets the credit for this dramatic turn around?  Which defensive player could you least afford to lose?

It was a combination of things; Albert Haynesworth finally turned into the dominating player they thought he was going to be when they drafted him.  The Titans signed David Thornton and Chris Hope before the 2006 season, and they finally got acclimated to the defense.  Cortland Finnegan moved from the nickel back to corner and played really well.  Antwan Odom and Travis LaBoy stayed healthy for most of the season.  All of those things came together at the same time and made for a dominant defense.

The answer to the 2^nd question is Fat Albert.  He collapses the middle of an offensive line and opens everything up for the rest of the team.

***

With a career passer rating of 68.3 (45.6 in 2008), Vince Young is clearly not the next Steve Young.  Did the Titans fail Vince Young or did Vince Young fail the Titans? Who takes the blame? 

I am not sure that anyone has failed yet, but if I had to answer your question it would be VY that failed the Titans.  He showed the playmaking ability and leadership in his rookie season that the Titans knew he had when they drafted him.  Something happened between the end of that season and the start of the next season, and he lost that competitive fire.  It is too early to close the book on VY's career.

***

Think back to the 2006 NFL Draft.  Where do you think this team would be right now if the Titans had drafted Vanderbilt's own Jay Cutler instead of Vince Young? 

Not real sure how to answer this one.  Cutler would not have led the 2006 team to an 8-8 record, but it is pretty obvious that Cutler is a better quarterback than VY right now.  Put Cutler with this defense and running game and the Titans could probably go 14-2.

***

With Jeff Fisher saying that he will stick with Kerry Collins as long as the Titans are winning, how close are we to seeing the end of the Vince Young era?  Is it possible that we would see Vince play another position?

The VY era is far from being over.  This might be Kerry's team for this season, but VY will get his shot again in training camp next season, if not earlier.  You don't take a guy #3 overall and give up on him after less than 30 starts.

I don't see VY moving to another position.

***

So far, Chris Johnson has lived up to his game breaker billing.  He's averaging nearly six yards a carry through the first two games. We know the kid is fast as lightning (a record 4.24 at the combine), but what is it about his game that makes him so effective on the field?

Well it starts up front with the offensive line.  The Titans have one of the best O lines in the NFL.  He also has really good patience and vision to go along with his speed, and he catches the ball well out of the backfield.

***

Extra Point: The final score between the Texans and Titans will be  24-10 Titans  because the Titans will play really good defense and run the ball effectively.

Our many thanks to Jimmy for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions.  You can see my answers to his questions here.