Apologies for the delay in posting the second part of the final PGB of the season (Part I here). Work, prayers getting answered and Riott's arrival (not to mention his subsequent badarsery) kept my plate full last week. We already checked out the offense's performance against Da Bears, with an eye toward output over the 2008 season; now I turn our attention to the defense and special teams:

1. DE--Pretty simple analysis here. Super Mario is a demigod. Potential wrath of the Almighty aside, I think we should all construct statues in Mario's honor.

I'm also bullish on Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading, and Earl Cochran. All of those guys, especially Bulman, looked like they have the ability to be in a rotation at DE in '09. While none of them may be an ideal long-term solution opposite Mario, I hope that at least one, hopefully two, and perhaps all three, is/are brought back next season. If I have to choose between them, give me Bulman, who has the benefit of not coming off an injury and the flexibility to play DT.

Finally, we come to Anthony Weaver. Anthony Weaver, who signed a five (5) year, $26,500,000.00 contract ($12,500,000.00 guaranteed) in March of 2006. Anthony Weaver, who has posted one more sack than a dead man during his three (3) seasons (none since 2006!) in H-Town. I'll leave the cap implications of parting ways with him to Riott. I'll just say this: If Anthony Weaver is a Texan in 2009, it had better be the result of a drastic, Ahman Green-esque restructuring of his contract (suggestion...$200,000.00 for every sack or tackle for loss?). Further, if Weaver starts another game at DE, I'm giving myself a gasoline shampoo/lit match conditioner job. I can't take it anymore.

2. DT--Tim Bulman and/or DelJuan Robinson were your best DTs last week, as well as the entire season. Considering your Houston Texans "boast" two (2) recent first-round picks that "play" defensive tackle, that's rather troubling.

Staying on DelJuan Robinson...he even stepped in and looked solid at DE when Mario went down in the second half against the Bears. Considering his relatively low salary demands, you'd think the Texans would be interested in bringing him back in 2009.

There's no denying that Amobi regressed in his second season of professional football. He showed flashes of promise as the 2008 season wound down, but flashes ain't enough for the tenth overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has to get markedly better in '09, or the bust talk will get increasingly loud.

That said, Amobi needs a planetoid DT lining up next to him to be able to do the things Amobi can do. I thought Frank Okam could be that guy, but the coaches, via the fact that Okam was not even active for most of 2008, clearly disagree with me. Whose call was that, I wonder? Kubes? Richard Smith? Jethro Franklin? Two of those guys don't have a say anymore, so it'll be interesting to see if Okam sees more action in 2009 (though I think it's far from certain that Okam makes the team next year). If Okam's not the guy to line up next to Amobi, bringing in a mammoth DT, likely via the draft, has to be one of the top priorities of the offseason.

Remember what I wrote above about Anthony Weaver? Plug in "Travis Johnson," and re-read it. Same thing. Self-immolation all around!

3. Quick anecdote about Jethro Franklin from the final game of the 2008 season...one of my buddies procured seats that were a few rows off the field, right behind the Texans' sideline. As such, I had a vantage point I typically don't have last week. What did I see? I saw Tim Bulman and Super Mario yelling at Jethro at various points throughout the game. Bulman in particular looked pretty hacked off. Of course, this could just be heat of the game interaction between a coach and his players, but I found it to be interesting, as players typically don't shout down their coaches. For his part, Franklin looked completely unfazed; he didn't give off the impression that it was a big deal at all. In fact, maybe that's the relationship he had with his players; I don't know. Still, I remembered those exchanges when the slightly surprising decision to jettison Franklin (who Super Mario had praised at length on several prior occasions) came down on the Eve of New Year's Eve.

4. LB--This is easily the strongest unit of the defense. DeMeco is one of the best in the business. Zac Diles, though undersized, was a tackling machine until he managed to kick himself to the injured reserve in early November. Xaiver Adibi looked fast and sure when he finally stepped in for Morlon Greenwood. Greenwood, meanwhile, looked nothing like the criminally underrated Morlon Greenwood we saw in 2007. If Morlon was a pitcher, we'd say he lost his fastball. If he was a horse, we'd shoot him. While Greenwood may still be capable of contributing in a rotation at LB, I'd be surprised if he was plying his trade in Houston come September 2009.

I'm intrigued about how Smithiak will handle LB in the 2009 NFL Draft. Assuming Diles can come back from his injury, I think a starting troika of him, DeMeco, and Adibi has real potential. I like Kevin Bentley a ton, but there's not a lot of depth after him. If you can get a stud linebacker in the first few rounds, do you take him? It's not nearly the area of need that DL or secondary is, so perhaps not. Then again, we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking the Texans are so stacked at LB that they should pass on the best player available simply because of the position he plays.

5. CB--I am positively terrified at watching the Dunta Robinson negotiations play out, because there's a very real possibility that Smithiak has a totally different take on what should comprise a long-term contract for Dunta Robinson than Dunta and/or his agent does/do. If not for the injury, Dunta would be getting paid top corner money. Nor should we underestimate the fact that Dunta is the emotional leader of the Houston defense; in that respect, he'd be awfully difficult to replace. Plus, even coming off the injury, Dunta's the best CB on the roster. I think he's going to get his long-term deal. I hope he gets his long-term deal. I'm still scared.

Jacques Reeves is who I thought he was, though I'll admit that his speed is top-notch. Here's hoping that our as-yet-unknown new secondary coach threatens him with bodily injury throughout the offseason in an attempt to get him to turn his freaking head to locate the ball and/or to get his effing hands up. That, or cut him. I'd be good either way.

I have no idea what happened to Fred Bennett this year. I know he's not as bad as he appeared to be. I also know he's nowhere near as bad as Reeves and/or Petey Faggins, both of whom took snaps away from him. How does somebody go from young stalwart to barely getting on the field? Was it entirely Richard Smith's diabolical work? Jon Hoke's? We may never know.

6. S--A true FS is still nowhere to be found on the Houston roster. Generally speaking, I thought Nick Ferguson and Eugene Wilson did yeoman work in '08. Neither's going to Honolulu anytime soon, but they were tremendous in run support and definite upgrades over Will Demps, C.C. Brown, and Brandon Harrison in coverage. I hope both Ferguson and Wilson return to Reliant Park in '09, though I'm equally hopeful that a young safety acquired in the draft pushes one of them to a backup role.

Demps, Brown, and Harrison? Maybe C.C. returns. Maybe. Demps and Harrison seem like surefire goners.

7. K/P--Kris Brown and Matt Turk go nowhere. Might be a good idea to bring in a young punter to push Turk in training camp, but I'd be surprised if someone besides Turk is punting for your Houston Texans in 2009. What can you say about Brown? A golden leg, plus recovering a fumble against Chicago. What else do you want from a kicker?

8. LS--Welcome to the big leagues, Clark Harris. You were better than Bryan Pittman, and you haven't been suspended for violating the league's banned substance policy. No reason Harris shouldn't be the guy snapping to Turk and Brown in '09.

9. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub; Defense--DeMeco Ryans; Special Teams--Kris Brown.

So there you have it. 8-8 doesn't get you to the playoffs (unless you're the Chargers, that is, who surely showed they deserve to be there last night). Time for us to avert our glances to the majesty that is free agency and the draft. One of these years (e.g., 2009), we'll still be talking about Texans football in January. For now, we have to make due with more of the same wait-'til-next-year we know all too well.

It is with glee that I come to you with the latest PGB tonight. After yesterday's dramatic win...on the road...at the most hallowed site in all of football...your Houston Texans are a game under .500 after starting out 0-4. In other words, the good guys are 6-3 since this, a moment that could have cratered a team of weaker men and served as the signature moment of a crushing 2008 season, happened.

Instead of crumbling, the Texans rallied. The naysayers can point to the ongoing disasters that are the Lions and Bengals as the perfect tonic for what was ailing a reeling team, and I'll readily admit that Houston was fortunate to play those squads (at home, no less) instead of the Giants and/or Patriots in October. And yes, the Jags and Browns have appeared to be unwilling or unable to shoulder the burden of greatness that many predicted for them in '08.

All of that is true. I don't care.

Say what you will, but don't doubt that these Texans refuse to quit. I can't say enough about the heart this team has shown in battling back from a winless first quarter of the season. The sad truth is that the players get paid win or lose. While it's despicable to see professionals roll over, it happens. The check clears regardless of the team's record, so the only thing(s) keeping guys on a losing team striving for excellence is (1) pride and/or (2) respect. From what we've seen, it's clear to me that these players have an ample supply of each, both for each other and Kubes.

I have no idea what's going to happen during the remaining three (3) weeks of the season. I only know that we can be proud to support a team like the one we saw in Green Bay yesterday. While I'm sure a great portion of this goodwill will dissipate if the Texans lay eggs against Tennessee, Oakland, and Chicago, I'm going to focus on the fact that our squad has put together two (2) three-game winning streaks this season when a single such streak had never been achieved in the previous six (6) seasons of the franchise's life. After a game like yesterday's, we should revel in the positive. On to the specifics:

1. Despite the moronic ramblings of a pathetic wannabe psychic, The Schaub did not look like a dude who'd missed the last month with a knee injury. 414 yards (a franchise record, but you knew that), 2 TD (the scoring pass to 'Dre was as good a throw as a QB can make), and a game-winning drive is all I need to say about his excellence.

2. I will vote Vonta Leach to the Pro Bowl on the basis of that fourth quarter grab alone. Unbelievable catch that completely changed the complexion of Kubes' strategy; if Vonta doesn't make that catch, Kubes starts running Slaton into the pile and takes his chances in OT. Instead, the Texans win in regulation.

3. Speaking of big catches on that last drive...Owen Daniels, huh? Yes, he was sort of by himself. And yes, that fumble at the goal line was wretched. We won't remember either of those things in a year. Quite the homecoming for the former Badger.

4. Ignore Kevin Walter at your peril, NFL. After yesterday's 6 catch/146 yard/1 TD performance, K-Dub is very quietly averaging 15.5 YPC with 8 TD this season. Not bad for a seventh round draft pick from Eastern Michigan.

5. The offensive line, in particular Eric Winston and to a lesser degree Chris Myers, dealt with some adversity yesterday. On balance, however, the OL was nails. That unit has gone from mediocre to very good. Alex Gibbs is a witch.

6. I am MAYBE one week away from composing an original love song about Steve Slaton.

7. Matt Turk could walk up to me on the street, slap me in the face, and call me a nancy boy, and I could not get angry at him after he turned a sure blocked punt into a momentum-stealing first down.

8. When do we all officially decide the Jacoby Jones is too much of a liability to trust him in the return game? When he's right, he's brilliant. But those flashes of brilliance seem like they're canceled out all too often by flubs. His muffed catch of that punt was as ugly as it gets.

9. On the other hand, did anyone doubt that Kris Brown was going to nail that game-winning FG? Even after the earlier miss? Brown's as clutch as it gets.

10. A special tip o' the cap to Clark Harris, who made his first start on the road while making Bryan Pittman's struggles earlier this season even more inexplicable.

11. I think the Houston DBs made more plays on the ball yesterday than they have in a single game all year. Dunta's pick was monstrous, but Fred Bennett and even Jacques Reeves managed to knock a couple of balls away while looking like somewhat credible cornerbacks.

12. I said "somewhat." I'm still not sold on Reeves, and I remain perturbed that the Fred Bennett looked infinitely better as a rookie than he has this season.

13. The secondary really, really missed Nick Ferguson. Brandon Harrison is not anywhere close to being in Ferguson's league, and Ferguson is not exactly Ed Reed.

14. 2008 Eugene Wilson is 2007 Will Demps. Pulled off the street in early September and making big plays after being inserted into the starting lineup, Wilson's been a real find. Let's hope that 2009 Eugene Wilson is more 2008 Eugene Wilson than 2008 Will Demps.

15. Tim Bulman's timely sack on third down in the second quarter gives him four (4) sacks on the season, which places him second on the team behind a certain demigod that played collegiately at North Carolina State. If Richard Smith continues to refuse to start Frank Okam, why not use Bulman at DT? Or better yet, put Bulman at DE and let him be the bookend to Super Mario?

16. If I was Aaron Rodgers, I'd still be hearing Mario's footsteps today. No sacks for the franchise DE, but man...he was so close so many times that it had to have taken a toll on Rodgers.

17. DeMeco's sack of Rodgers late in the fourth took the Packers out of field goal range and provided the opportunity for the offense to win that game. That sack was right up there with Turk's sprint to freedom as the play of the game.

18. Blitzing? Aggressive scheming? Holding the opposition to a 10% success rate on third down? I'm now officially scared.

19. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub; Defense--DeMeco Ryans; Special Teams--Matt Turk. That's right, people. I thought Turk's scramble was more impressive than Kris Brown's game-winning FG as time expired. That's how spoiled we are by Kris Brown.

Now that three (3) game winning streaks are old hat, your Houston Texans have a chance to again venture into uncharted territory when Bud Adams' minions come to town on Sunday. By virtue of what I imagine is some sort of unholy alliance with the forces of evil, they've only lost once this season, and they're indisputably nasty. Can the Texans shock the world?

According to both ESPN and the Chronicle, Bryan Pittman won't be long-snapping for your Houston Texans for the rest of the 2008 season, if ever again. Pittman was one of the six (6) active players accused of violating the league's banned substance policy about five (5) weeks ago; we've been waiting for resolution of his appeal since then. As such, this doesn't really qualify as shocking news.

A simple search of BRB for "Bryan Pittman" will reveal that I'm not exactly broken up about this. Smithiak signed Clark Harris as a contingency plan for this very occurrence, so it hasn't caught the organization off guard. Thus, we're left with Harris getting his first taste of action in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field on Sunday in what's projected to be rather nippy, albeit clear, weather. No pressure, Clark. Here's hoping for an offense that is running on all cylinders, thus minimizing the number of times Harris has to see the field for punt duty.

Have to admit, people...Monday Night games are rather fun. Not that I have anything more than a single game point of reference, but I had a heckuva time last night at Reliant. Tailgating was top-notch (many thanks to GlassJoe and the Bellville crew for their hospitality), and the atmosphere was as good as it's ever been at Reliant, which is to say that it was on par with last year's Thursday night game against Denver and/or the inaugural win over Dallas. I had a blast. And the football wasn't too shabby either.

Just when we think the season's become a foregone conclusion, your Houston Texans go on a two (2) game winning streak, complete with a road victory over a team that won ten (10) games in 2007 and a prime time win over a division rival that many pundits had tabbed as a Super Bowl contender in 2008. While it goes without saying that things haven't worked out for those two (2) teams as they had hoped this season, winning streaks in the NFL are a rarity and should be enjoyed accordingly.

That said, we should remain realistic. The Texans aren't going to the playoffs, which means they won't be winning the Super Bowl this year. In the final analysis, that's what matters. We should celebrate the positives along the way, and we should study why other facets aren't working. Lest there by any confusion, there are still several things that should continue to raise the collective eyebrow of the Battle Red community, even after a big-time win. Fortunately, that's what we have the PGB for. Away we go:

1. One guy that doesn't concern me in any way, shape, or form is this dude. Five (5) tackles, three (3) sacks, and a forced fumble. I'm beginning to think the Texans' lack of prime time games is chiefly due to a conspiracy by Goodell, the Free Masons, and Opus Dei centered around keeping Super Mario from breaking the single-season sack record. Gushing aside, we need to start a serious discussion about whether Mario Williams is the best DE in the league. If not him, then who? At minimum, if Super Mario isn't considered one of the best five (5) DEs in the league, I'd like to know who you'd rank higher.

2. You're not fooling me, Corpse Formerly Known As Anthony Weaver. Two (2) good games does not justify $6,206,720.00 this season.

3. Pedestrian stats aside, last night may have been as good as Amobi Okoye played all season. Not tenth-player-taken-overall-in-2007 good enough, but improvement nonetheless. I'm intrigued by Matt's suggestion of temporarily moving him to DE, though I'm considerably less bullish about Okoye's ability to stop the run at the edge.

4. Another week of Frank Okam not even suiting up. Yet Travis Johnson continues to start. What is it we're missing here? In related news, DelJuan Robinson's forced fumble makes him a more productive Texan than Travis Johnson has been or ever will be.

5. Don't look now, but DeMeco Ryans has returned to form. That's too bad for the teams left on the Texans' schedule.

6. Xavier Adibi continues to excite me. His speed and nose for the ball make him the perfect complement for DeMeco. I said it last week, and I'll say it again: The potential LB triumvirate of Diles, Ryans, and Adibi in 2009 should be a joy to watch.

7. Speaking of last week, I said this about Jacques Reeves:

8. The stats indicate that Jacques Reeves played very well yesterday. And yes, he actually did make a nice play (with his hands!) in knocking away what could have been a TD pass to Braylon Edwards. And yes, he did show some nice awareness picking off a deflected ball. And yes, he did force a fumble. If he can replicate that effort in every game for the rest of the season, I will consider backing off my assertion that he is one of the, if not the, worst CB(s) in the NFL. Not until then.

I stand by that, even in the face of recent praise of his play. His pick last night was a thing of beauty, though, and the best read I've seen him make all season.

8. I'm still amazed every time I see Dunta Robinson on the field. I'm even more amazed that he looks significantly better with each passing week.

9. Fred Bennett, however, does not look good. At all. At one point last night, he got completely turned around and managed to lose both his assignment and the ball at the sideline. What happened to him? Do opposing teams have enough tape on him now to exploit his tendencies?

10. I continue to be impressed with Nick Ferguson and Eugene Wilson, especially in run support. Both of them, especially Ferguson, sure can hit. Neither guy is a long-term solution at safety, but they've stepped in and shored up what was a complete disaster of a secondary.

11. I'm going to flesh this out in a separate post, but I'll tease it here: Should we be worried that the defense may be looking too good and thus enables Richard Smith to remain as DC in 2009?

12. Bryan Pittman is the Travis Johnson of the special teams unit. He underwhelms every week, yet manages to hold onto his job. Why? I can't imagine that finding a decent long snapper who hasn't (allegedly) run afoul of the league's substance abuse policy is that tough to do.

13. Three (3) punts by Matt Turk, all of them inside the twenty, and one of them was on the JAC 1. Nice work.

14. Kris Brown has been the most consistently excellent Texan throughout the franchise's history. Andre Johnson's been the best, but you can set your watch to Kris Brown. Which is why I do not understand Kubes' refusal to let Brown tee it up from 54 yards toward the end of the first quarter. It worked out, as Turk boxed 'em in at the JAC 1, but still...let Brown boot that and take the points.

15. That last point underscores a very distinct feeling I got from Kubes once your Houston Texans went up ten (10) points: That we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Steve Slaton rendered that feeling obsolete with his fourth quarter heroics, but the calls still struck me as too conservative.

16. That previous point begs the question as to why Kubes played it so close to the vest. The answer, I'd bet, is that he doesn't trust Sage Rosenfels. That's well and good; I can understand that. If Kubes really doesn't trust Sage, then why wasn't Matt Schaub starting?

17. The most unfortunate byproduct of Kubes/Shanahan not opening things up was that they implicitly reduced Andre Johnson's impact, which should have been much greater, especially when Rashean Mathis left the game. And that's not even playing up the fact that Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter were afterthoughts in the offensive scheme as well.

18. This is all palatable, of course, because of the singular brilliance of Steve Slaton. 182 total yards? Two (2) TDs? Are you kidding me? Now the rest of the country knows what we've known for months: Steve Slaton was the steal of the 2008 draft. If Smithiak brings in an effective short-yardage RB to shoulder some of the load next season, the running game will have been completely transformed in one year's time.

19. A big part of that transformation has been the development of the OL. They were brilliant again last night, opening up holes and not yielding a single sack. I don't know what Bob McNair is paying Alex Gibbs, but it's not enough.

20. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Steve Slaton; Defense--Mario Williams; Special Teams--Matt Turk.

21. One final point: Last night's open game threads (here and here) were the best we've ever had at BRB, both in terms of number of participants and quality of comments. Thanks to all of you; you make BRB what it is. Special thanks to HuskerDolphin and Mike Clark for being tremendously classy fans on a foreign site. Hope to see all of you back here.

Your Houston Texans have a short week before they travel to the Frozen Tundra to take on the Packers of Green Bay on Sunday. That's a tall order for any team, and it's an especially tall order for a young team that's trying to handle an unfamiliar bout with success. I don't love our chances, but we'll worry about that in another day or so. Until then, let's just savor the first Monday Night game, and the first Monday Night victory, in franchise history.

A win on the road. Whoda thunk it? The impotence of your Houston Texans on the road has been well chronicled, so no need to delve back into it in this space. It should be noted, however, that the Browns were beyond hospitable yesterday. It's a rarity for any team to turn the ball over five (5) times in a single game. It's even rarer for the Houston Texans to be on the receiving end of that kind of generosity. As is his custom, Sage Rosenfels did his best to swing the turnover margin back in favor of the opposition. Yet even Sage, in all of his nine-picks-in-five-games glory, couldn't overcome the hopelessness of Romeo Crennel's crew. Truly, yesterday was a battle of the titans, if the titans were the professional versions of the Washington and Washington State football teams.

Despite the complete lack of aesthetic value in the contest, there were several items of note to discuss. Without further ado:

1. The Texans' first offensive drive of the game was the sharpest they've looked all season. Fourteen (14) plays. Seventy-nine (79) yards. 8:11 off the clock. And capped off with a beautiful TD pass from Sage to Kevin Walter. Simply amazing. The only negative I found was that the drive's conclusion meant that Houston's defense would have to take the field.

2. For much of the first half, it looked like Kubes and Shanahan were content with implementing their patented 'Dre-As-Decoy strategy. Though I grow apoplectic when this plan is put into motion, I have to admit that Kevin Walter made it tolerable. The return to 'Dre, especially that twenty-two (22) yard catch he made on fourth down to set up Kris Brown's FG right before half, set me at ease (though I still wish Sage would look at 'Dre more in the red zone).

3. More Owen Daniels, please. The guy's a Pro Bowl TE. He should be targeted accordingly.

4. I was on record that Shaun Rogers would eat Chris Myers alive and boy, was I wrong. Myers, with help from Brisiel and/or Pitts, was tremendous. It was easily the best Myers has fared against a mammoth DT, and it's very encouraging.

5. For much of the game, the OL was opening up sizable holes for Slaton and Green. The progress of their run-blocking each week has been one of the few consistently awesome sights of the season.

6. If you're looking for a single stat from the offense that indicates why your Houston Texans won, look no further than the fact that they had the ball for 37:25.

7. Was it just me, or was anyone else disappointed that Kubes didn't order a shot or two at the end zone on that second possession of the game when the Texans had first and ten at the CLE 12? It reeked of settling for a FG and/or not trusting your QB. Certainly, the latter is totally understandable considering Sage's habit of making Christmas come early for opposing defenses. I'd still like to see a more aggressive mindset that early in the game. You're only up a TD; don't start playing not to lose before half, for crying out loud.

8. The stats indicate that Jacques Reeves played very well yesterday. And yes, he actually did make a nice play (with his hands!) in knocking away what could have been a TD pass to Braylon Edwards. And yes, he did show some nice awareness picking off a deflected ball. And yes, he did force a fumble. If he can replicate that effort in every game for the rest of the season, I will consider backing off my assertion that he is one of the, if not the, worst CB(s) in the NFL. Not until then.

9. On Braylon Edwards...wow. The crew over at Dawgs By Nature tried to prepare me for it, but I had to see it to believe it. I honestly cannot recall the last time I saw such a set of stone hands on a wide receiver. Edwards should have had at least ten (10) catches for 150 yards yesterday.

10. Excellent INT by Fred Bennett. Here's hoping it's the spark he needs to return to his 2007 form.

11. Anthony Weaver had an interception. Not saying that Brady Quinn should give up football or anything, but he'd be nuts not to question it.

12. I can say without any reservation that Anthony Weaver played the best game of his Texans career yesterday. That shouldn't make me sad, but it does.

13. Although Super Mario didn't pick up a sack against the Browns, he did do two (2) things I have never seen on a football field. First, he actually picked up Jamal Lewis and body slammed him. Second, he nearly sacked Derek Anderson over and/or through Joe Thomas. Seriously...after pushing his way into the pocket, Mario Williams almost got a sack with a stud LT in between him and the QB. Unreal.

14. You know who's going to start being labeled a bust pretty darn soon? Amobi Okoye. And unlike when we rushed to Super Mario's defense, there's not very much evidence available to defend against that assertion.

15. Something to look forward to in 2009? A starting LB corps of Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, and Zac Diles. That troika could be very, very nasty.

16. As Solis texted me during the game, we had an Antwaun Molden sighting! I don't recall much of what he did at CB, and that's probably a good thing; means he didn't get torched. He also was vital on special teams...

17. ....by recovering Jacoby Jones' fumble. I fear that we're never going to able to completely trust Jacoby with the ball.

18. Dunta Robinson started his first game in over a year yesterday, and the Houston Texans won on the road. His last start, you ask? Why, it also occurred the last time the Texans won on the road, more than a year ago! Coincidence? I think not.

19. It had to come to an end sometime, Kris Brown. Don't beat yourself up too much. But feel free to toss a haymaker or two Bryan Pittman's way. He's back to snapping like it's October 2007, albeit keeping things fresh by snapping low instead of high this time around.

20. There's nothing Richard Smith can do to save his job, right? Holding a team to six (6) points on the road is nowhere near enough, correct? Even if the defense pitches shutouts the rest of the season, Richard Smith has to be a goner, huh? I need reassurance.

21. A non-Texan related note: What was Romeo Crennel trying to accomplish by pulling Quinn in favor of Anderson? Is he begging to get canned? How can you do that to the young QB you just installed a week or two ago?

22. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Kevin Walter; Defense--Anthony Weaver (I'm as surprised as you are); Special Teams--Kris Brown.

No football this Sunday, baby, because MNF comes to Houston! I'm pretty sure watching two 4-7 "stalwarts" tangle with nearly nothing on the line was not exactly what ESPN had in mind when they selected this game. No matter. It's Monday Night Football, and I'm psyched. Bring on the Jags!

If you've checked out ESPN in the last twenty-four (24) hours, chances are that you've read something about multiple players testing positive for a banned substance. Now the Chronicle is reporting that Houston long snapper and BRB foil Bryan Pittman (see, e.g., here, here, here, and most egregiously here) is one of those players.

Methinks there'd be a whole lot more consternation about this if the Houston player who tested positive wasn't the long snapper. Unlike Pittman's attorney, I find it very hard to believe that some malevolent soul leaked this story "...attempting to put their thumb on the scale (of) justice to harm Bryan." C'mon, dude. He's the long snapper for a 2-4 football team. This isn't Watergate.

Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but I'd have to say things aren't exactly looking up for Pittman these days. A couple of games without an errant snap probably isn't enough political capital to remain gainfully employed when the dust settles. Even though the process hasn't played out, it'll be interesting to see who's snapping on punts and field goals tomorrow afternoon.

As mentioned in Part I, it's time to take a closer look at some of the individual performances from Sunday's win over the Dolphins. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

1. Starting with The Schaub seems like the only way to go. I cannot be effusive enough in my praise when it comes to admiring the stones it took for him to lead that game-winning drive. I also cannot be critical enough when it comes to wincing in response to some of his throws/decisions. The first INT, I'm willing to forgive; he was hit as he threw, and the LB had to sky to get it. The second INT, on the other hand, was abysmal; it was a terrible decision to try to throw into double (triple?) coverage across the middle. It's simply inexcusable to throw that ball there. Schaub also got exceedingly lucky on a few other throws that probably should have been picked off. Bottom line is that The Schaub looked to be off all afternoon, made some horrific decisions, and won the game for his team. That's what the kids call the ultimate silver lining.

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A day later, I really don't feel any different than I did last night. I still maintain that Sage Rosenfels gave Indianapolis the game. I still maintain that the coaches and/or playcalling were not responsible for the loss, though I appreciate the solid back-and-forth that the two camps had going in the Comments to the previous post.

Regardless of how much affinity we have for the Texans, we will always remember yesterday for the last four (4) minutes in the fourth quarter. And that's a huge shame, because there were so many standout performances from other Texans. Although it's surely no consolation to Sage, I also think one Texan in particular should send Sage a cash basket in appreciation for keeping the suck spotlight off of him. Let's get to it:

1. The reason the Texans looked like a complete football team for the first time this season was due entirely to the appearance of an element that's been absent nearly the entire season. That magical component? A pass rush. Your Houston Texans, and specifically their front four, got consistent pressure on Peyton Manning and knocked him on his rear throughout the game. Super Mario notched two (2) sacks and was in Peyton's kitchen all afternoon, disrupting the flow of the Indy offense. We've come to expect that from Mario, so that's not a big surprise. But you know who did show up for the first time this season?

2. Amobi Okoye! He got more penetration than we've seen all season; he was getting to and knocking down Peyton consistently in the second half. Could yesterday have been Amobi's arrival as a force to be reckoned with, like Super Mario did against Kansas City last year?

3. Linebacking play was far better than it's been all season, too. While DeMeco is always going to be a stalwart, I was impressed with how well Zac Diles and (gasp!) Morlon Greenwood played. Greenwood in particular made some nice tackles at the line of scrimmage and slightly behind it.

4. That brings me to another crucial point: The tackling was infinitely better yesterday than it's been all season. The Texans wrapped up and generally didn't let the opposition squirm away, unlike their efforts the previous three (3) games.

5. Was it just me, or did anyone else think we got better safety play from the "reserves" than we have from Brown and Demps?

6. Fred Bennett had a couple of very nice plays, though I'm not sure that each one called for a celebration akin to having won the Super Bowl. Hopefully, like Amobi, this is the start of something big.

7. The worst player on the field whenever the Colts had the ball was easily Jacques Reeves. If not for Sage monopolizing the fanbase's scorn, Reeves' insistence on continuing to play CB as if he has no arms and wearing a neck brace would be the overriding negative of the game. He's simply awful, and he's clearly the weakest link in a weak secondary. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that I'd rather have Dunta Robinson hobbling around on crutches out there instead of Reeves at 100%.

8. In the rare event that Pepe Le Pew has any defenders, please do not point to the pass he "knocked away" in the end zone in the first half. Marvin Harrison had Reeves beat; Peyton simply underthrew that ball. Frenchy wouldn't have been able to lay a hand on it if he'd actually been in good position. That's not good corner play. But congratulations, Jacques Reeves. You've done the impossible. You've made me long for Petey Faggins to get more snaps. Do you know how dirty that makes me feel?

9. Seriously...I'd rather have Petey Faggins, who I thought was the worst DB in the league, get more playing time than a free agent acquisition inked to a multi-year deal mere months ago. Chew on that for a bit, and then try not to vomit.

10. The offensive line, both in run and pass blocking, was superb. Duane Brown in particular did an admirable job holding off Dwight Freeney. Freeney beat him a couple of times, but I thought the rookie acquitted himself in tremendous fashion. And did you see how Brown was sprinting after Gary Brackett after Sage's first fumble? Talk about heart.

11. The next decent snap Bryan Pittman makes will be the first I've seen in a month. How has he not been cut yet?

12. Steve Slaton continues to look like he was the steal of the draft. I honestly could not be any happier with him.

13. Was that Ahman Green I saw running hard between the tackles? And not pulling up lame? I must have been drunk.

14. 'Dre--Nine (9) catches for 131 yards and a TD. He's back.

15. Quick: Name five (5) current tight ends you'd rather have than Owen Daniels. Can you do it? Because I can't.

16. As a whole, the offense looked like a well-oiled machine. Well, at least until the unpleasantness at the end, that is.

17. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--Mario Williams; Special Teams--Kris Brown (with a special nod to Kevin Bentley, whose special teams play is becoming a consistent rave every week).

18. I'll leave you with an observation from my buddy Jay. You remember Jay; he become a bit of a legend around these parts after his conduct in Nashville last year. When we met up after the game, Jay attempted to express his feelings on the loss. I can assure you I am only barely paraphrasing here when I report that he uttered the following line:

If today's game was a hurricane, I feel like my house got blown away. And then I was raped by looters.

I'd love to sit here and tell you that your Houston Texans are "the best 0-2 team you'll ever see." Really, I would. But I can't, because they're not. The numbers don't lie.

Since the 2008 regular season began, the Texans have looked like something that is expelled from a canine's anus. In reality, your Houston Texans have looked far more like the two (2) win team of 2005 than the eight (8) win team of 2007. And yes, I know...the Texans have played two (2) teams that feature defenses likely to be ranked in the Top Five at season's end. And I also realize that the effects of Hurricane Ike surely weighed heavy on the minds of everyone in the Houston organization for the last week. The fact remains, however, that hurricane or no hurricane, talented opponent or not, the Texans we saw in Pittsburgh and Nashville could not have beaten anyone in the NFL. They sucked. Badly. Pure and simple. There's no way around that. And if they don't turn this thing around quickly, we're headed for a first-round pick in the first hour of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Luckily (right now; that may change) for us, there's still a ton of football to be played. All's not lost...yet. But yesterday reinforced several of the issues we saw in Pittsburgh. Let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?

1. There are very few positives to be gleaned from yesterday's abomination, so I'm getting those out of the way first. The brightest spot, of course, was Steve Slaton (18 carries for 116 yards and a TD). While nearly half of those yards came from one run, when was the last time a Texan RB even broke off a run of more than ten (10) yards? I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth. Not that we have to worry about it, because it would actually require Ahman Green to suit up, but there should be ZERO debate over who should be starting at RB.

2. Apostrophe Davis was also a solid contributor yesterday. Between his good returns and that forty-nine (49) yard reception, Davis did not make me want to vomit into an airplane pillowcase (consider that last phrase a bit of foreshadowing, gentle reader).

3. The offensive line wasn't great. They probably weren't even good. But I'd say they were passable. They got pushed around too much by another tremendous front four (especially up the middle), but they were not nearly as cringe-inducing as they had been at Heinz Field. I guess what I'm saying is that they sucked a good deal less than they did in their prior engagement. That's worth something, right? Kind of like being the prettiest girl in Oklahoma.

4. I suppose it's technically possible for Matt Schaub to play worse than he has the last two (2) games. After all, there's always another interception to be thrown, more happy feet to display in the pocket, more refusals to look at anyone other than your first read, etc. On an afternoon that saw several Texans striving to be declared the crappiest player on the field, Schaub won the title going away. His interceptions, like those that he threw against the Steelers, were atrocious. How in the hell can Schaub look so bad now when he looked so solid in several games last year? What happened?

5. That said, I don't think you can pull the plug yet. At this point, we've got a body of severely contrasting work. Is he the guy we saw last year against the Saints? Or is he the guy we saw yesterday? I don't know, though I'd readily admit he's trending downward at a precipitous rate. The most important game of his professional career takes place on Sunday in Jacksonville. If Schaub doesn't play one hundred times better, the calls for Sage Rosenfels will be completely justified and may well be impossible for Kubes to ignore.

6. As horrible as Schaub was, he got absolutely no help from his WRs. Andre Johnson dropped two (2) surefire TD passes, and Owen Daniels bobbled away/dropped another one that he should have caught. If those guys aren't going to catch the balls that are thrown their way, the Texans will be lucky to stay within two (2) TDs of anyone all year.

7. Vonta Leach remains a viable option in the passing game, and I remain perplexed as to why this is so.

8. The offensive playcalling was extraordinarily suspect, and I'm not even talking about the six (6) times Kubes went for it on fourth down (that gets its own paragraph). One play really sticks out to me in particular. Third and four from the Houston 20, early third quarter, Texans trailing 21-12. And the call is a pitch outside to Slaton? Zuh? This ain't college ball, and Slaton ain't Barry Sanders. I cannot imagine a poorer call that would not have included taking a knee. But hey, at least that was on third down, because on fourth down...

9. Kubes treated the game like it was Tecmo Bowl. Punting? What's that? Field goals? Those are for wimps! Never mind that Kris Brown is as close to automatic as it gets, and that you could have cut the deficit to six (6) points by simply taking the three (3) each time, thus giving yourself a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. Nah--letting your anemic offense and jittery QB spit the bit to keep the deficit at twelve (12) is a far more sound strategy.

10. Of course, kicking those FGs would have required Bryan Pittman snapping the ball, which is apparently asking an awful lot out of a guy whose only job is to snap the ball. It was almost like he and Matt Turk got together before the game and said, "Remember last year's game in San Diego? Let's see if we can top it!" Well, congrats, fellas. Turk staggering around like a drunken sorority pledge, complete with his patented falling-down-on-ass-and-chucking-football-straight-up-in-the-air move, was priceless. It'll haunt my dreams for years to come.

11. While we're on the subject of field goals, you cannot settle for two (2) of them when the Titans turn the ball over twice early in the game, giving the Texans unbelievable field position. A good team gets ten (10) points out of those turnovers. A very good team gets fourteen (14). The Texans got six (6). You do the math.

12. You know what would be swell? A pass rush. Whereas in weeks past we've at least been able to rave about Super Mario, the Titans did a tremendous job making him a complete non-factor. Normally, you'd like to think someone else would step up to fill that hole, but instead we got more of the same from the DL: Nothing.

13. Linebacking play was below average. Not nearly as bad as the defensive line, but not good by any stretch of the imagination.

14. Jacques Reeves' first quarter INT was awesome. So awesome, in fact, that ol' Jacques decided he was done touching the ball for the day, steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that the football was coming his way a few more times when he was stride for stride with the WR.

15. Fred Bennett, please take a look at tape from last year and attempt to re-capture that technique. I beg you.

16. Will Demps made what I would say was the worst tackle I've ever had the displeasure to see in person on Bo Scaife's TD catch. Frankly, calling it a tackle is misleading, because Demps looked like he was aiming for the ground two (2) yards in front of Scaife.

17. Dunta Robinson was easily the most pumped up individual on the Houston sideline. Unfortunately, he is not playing for another several weeks.

18. One more note on Kubiak...his penchant for ill-conceived challenges has become laughable, but I don't know how much of that is on him. Doesn't he have someone upstairs who's watching the game on video and telling him when a play should be challenged? I believe he does, and I believe I'd be scouring the classifieds today if I was that person.

19. You probably think the title of this post is some sort of metaphor or exaggeration. Or you did, until I hinted otherwise. So here's the story: Dejected after the beating our squad took (and beginning to wonder if my travel to the road games was serving as some sort of jinx), I headed to the airport to fly home. My buddies and I stopped for some food in the Terminal A food court. I decided that some Chinese food would ease my troubled soul, and proceeded to order from Manchu Wok. As I ate it, I remarked to my friends that the chicken did not taste very good. But because I (a) was hungry and (b) am a dumbass, I ate most of it.

Fast forward an hour, and guess who unswallowed his dinner? Into an airplane pillowcase, no less, as his seat didn't have any barf-bags and the damn drink cart was blocking the path to the lavatory? There I sat for another hour, with a seeping sack of barely digested Chinese food at my feet and my sense of self-worth slightly lessened.

You might ask why I'm telling you this terrible tale, and the answer is simple: First, it's somewhat amusing. Secondly, it shows that things can get worse, even when they seem like they can't. Keep that in mind on Sunday when the Texans face the Jags.

In the name of charity and goodwill, the Texans took time to visit the Astros at Minute Maid Park for a round of batting practice. In the now sixth annual Reliant Energy Home Run Derby, the Texans hacked their way to the biggest donation to date, with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston.  The ten Texan players who made the ten mile trek from Reliant Park to Minute Maid were Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels, Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, Eric Winston, Kris Brown, Mark Bruener, Owen Daniels, Bryan Pittman, and Chester Pitts.

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