The Texans got another bitter mouthful of reality Thursday night against the Colts. The offense has been a sad sack since Matt Schaub went down, but up until the last two games, the Texans were able to get away with it. I assume Gary Kubiak will now stop with his “I call the game the same way as I would for Matt Schaub or Matt Leinart” because obviously that is completely false.
Right now, the Texans certainly have the look and feel of a team that is headed for a one-and-done turn in the playoffs, but as long as the defense doesn’t fall apart, they have a shot to be in every game. But hey – the big takeaway from Thursday’s loss to Indianapolis is “if TJ Yates can’t move the ball against the Colts, then which playoff team is he going to move it against?” Really, you could have said the same about last week’s game against Carolina as well.
The fan base also has to accept the fact that at some point all these injuries were simply going to catch up to the Texans. Houston’s defense is also slipping a bit, but I can’t put this loss on them. They certainly share the blame, but if not for Brian Cushing’s sack/strip/fumble play on Dan Orlovsky to start the game, the offense wouldn’t have had a touchdown for the entire game. Arian Foster’s early TD was a gimmie courtesy of the defense.
I hate that it’s finally happening, but I’ve been prepared for this since Matt Schaub got hurt. Hopefully the “Return of Wade” will get the defense back to where they need to be (even though they’re not that far off).
The 2011 Houston Texans are only going to go as far as their defense can carry them, but realistically how much more can we expect from that group? Houston has one more shot to right the ship and get some positive mojo going again before the playoffs, and it will be against the hated Titans.
The final game against Tennessee may or may not end up meaning anything for Houston as far as playoff seedings go, but they absolutely must get the offense going. I’ve never been a big believer in game-to-game momentum being a big factor in wins and losses, but the Texans could certainly benefit from some right about now.
Oh, and hey – let’s definitely put Kareem Jackson in man-to-man coverage with Reggie Wayne. What could possibly go wrong aside from A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST.
*A brief pause as I let out a heavy, heavy sigh*
I’m not comfortable with the fact that Dan Orlovsky has been inappropriately stuffed into my Christmas stocking. Dan Orlovsky!??! Incredible.
Dec 23, 2011 at 08:10:35
Well,that didn’t feel good! What the heck is going on? Did our defense just get beat up on by a last place team? I think my Christmas list just got a bit longer!
Dec 23, 2011 at 10:34:14
There were several very bad calls by the refs; apparently, according to refs, you’re not allowed to tackle the quarterback from behind or when he’s bent over at the waist.
Dec 23, 2011 at 12:33:52
Kubiak seemed to have Placed the handcuffs on Yates just a little bit. If I recall he threw the ball effectively when he was allowed. The defense held as long as it could, but when your offense isn’t working there is just so much your defense can handle.
Dec 23, 2011 at 22:45:53
Terrible calls by the refs throughout the whole game. Offense was very vanilla. I think Kubes was playing close to the vest so they can not show anything before the playoffs.
Dec 27, 2011 at 09:20:42
I agree with Mike