After reading Dale Robertson's informative article in today's Chronicle, I was moved to check out how the Texans are currently stacking up in several pertinent categories. As you'd probably expect with a 3-4 team, it's a rather mixed bag. All of this information is courtesy of NFL.com:
Points Scored Per Game: Fifth best in the league (24.1).
Total Yards Per Game (offense): Tenth best in league (341.1).
Passing Yards Per Game (offense): Fifth best in league (265.6).
Rushing Yards Per Game (offense): Second worst in league (75.6).
Points Allowed Per Game: Eighth worst in the league (24.9).
Yards Allowed Per Game (defense): Eleventh worst in the league (343.1).
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game (defense): Twelfth worst in the league (220.9).
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game (defense): Twelfth worst in the league (122.3).
Fumbles (offense): Fourth most in the league (15).
Fumbles Lost (offense): Most/Worst in the league (10).
Fumbles Forced (defense): Third most in the league (11).
Fumbles Recovered (defense): Best/Most in the league (9).
Interceptions (defense): Second least in the league (4).
Turnover Differential: Sixth worst in the league (-5).
Third Down Conversion Rate (offense): Twelfth best in the league (44%).
Fourth Down Conversion Rate (offense): Fourth best in the league (88%).
Third Down Conversion Rate (defense): Eighth worst in the league (45%).
Fourth Down Conversion Rate (defense): Worst in the league (100%).
Yards Penalized (offense): Ninth most in the league (340).
Yards Penalized (defense): Ninteteenth most in the league (248)
Sacks (defense): Nineteenth most in the league (12.0).
So what does it all mean? Probably nothing that anyone who's watched the Texans this year didn't already know. Houston is very nearly the worst rushing team in the NFL, while ranking as one of the best passing teams in the league, even without Andre Johnson. The defense is mediocre, except in the areas of forcing and recovering fumbles (where they excel), interceptions (where they've been awful), and sacks (where they've been less than stellar, which likely directly influences the lack of interceptions, as QBs aren't under as much pressure as they should be and therefore aren't making ill-advised throws). All of this adds up to a tremendously inconsistent team, which is certainly supported by the season's events--looking like viable contenders for the first three weeks and looking poor on balance since then.