So, this one felt good, even though it may cost the Texans Andre Johnson for a game.

Cortland Finnegan wants NONE of that. What a coward. Starts a fight (and yes, Finnegan DID throw the first punch, though it was when Andre still had his helmet on) and then runs for his teammates to hold him back… or in this case, for Chris Myers to hold him back instead of slamming his face into the turf (WTF, Myers?) Finnegan’s always been one of our most hated players (certainly the most hated Titan), and he more than lived up to that today. I fired off this tweet long before the beating Andre handed out to the little orange-haired rat bastard.

Frank Bush apparently got a game ball, and that should worry you
I’m not going to be all cynical and whiny about a win – especially a win over those punk Titans, and a shutout to boot. But let’s not get insane as I’m sure certain media members will. Frank Bush got a game ball? Uh, okay. I witnessed one of the WORST quarterbacking performances ever ever today by Rusty Smith. I mean, the guy’s a rookie. There was always a chance he would have a bad game, though nobody would have been surprised had he done well. But, he didn’t. He was awful. Yet, the Titans bailed the Texans out with dropped passes and Smith specifically cost his team SEVERAL times. Had the Titans trotted out an even average quarterback, this would have been a much different game.

Not to say the Texans would have lost, because I don’t think they would have – but the Titans are a disaster right now. Still, the Texans deserve lots of credit for shutting down Chris Johnson, who is absolutely one of the most electric players in the NFL. Chris Johnson was thoroughly dominated by the Texans, much the same way that Cortland Finnegan’s face was dominated by Andre Johnson’s fist.

Arian Foster gets 39 touches. Halle-FREAKING-lujah.
It took until week 12 for the Texans to figure it out, but Arian Foster is pretty good. There’s not a running back in the NFL who’s playing better than Foster right now. I have no idea why the Texans haven’t done this to this point (they’ll give you reasons, but none of them make sense) but I’m glad they finally did it. It will probably turn out to be too little too late, but still – you love to see Foster get a full workload the way he did today. He finished with 218 total yards, and if not for a face mask penalty that was inexplicably called a horse collar tackle, he would have probably had another 20+ yards.

Also in week 12 – Texans hold at least one secondary player accountable.
Perhaps another one from the files of too little too late – Brice McCain was inactive for today’s game, for performance reasons. I mean, they’ll never SAY it was for performance, but he was not on the injury report at all this week and if you’ve watched the games you know he’s been as bad or worse than Kareem Jackson. Why it took this long to send this message, I have no idea. Well, I guess I do. Surely it’s because they had no other alternative until Jason Allen was picked up off waivers from Miami.

Jason Babin – AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Yeah, Babin got a sack. Great job, guy. You got a sack when your team was getting blown out, and you celebrated like you just won a playoff game. Seriously, you really showed the Texans how bad they screwed up when they got rid of you for being a huge turd of a draft pick. Oh, I know – you weren’t a good fit for the 3-4 defense. Then you went on to other cities… cities who ran 4-3 defenses – and… drumroll……….. turd. What, you were still out of position on those teams? But aren’t you a first-round talent in the NFL? Think you could adjust a little? No, not until the PERFECT situation arises and the stars align for you. So now you’ve had some success with the Titans. Well, congratulations, that’s fantastic for you. Your tattoos are awesome and I remember those cool cowboy boots you sold on eBay. Have fun looking at your stat sheet today, because you really showed us. We were so wrong about you! Also, make sure you check out the final score. See you in a couple weeks! Maybe by then you’ll have a new “tough guy” tattoo of your stat line today. I’m thinking a good spot would be your lower back, or between your boobies.

Here’s a postgame quote from Babin. Try not to blow a snot on your computer when you laugh:

(on if he feels he proved a point to the Houston Texans for letting him go) “I think it’s not just this week, I think it’s every game. Everybody always watches what everyone is doing around the league.”

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Yeah, every week. Really, Jason, it’s every second of every minute since you were traded. The organization, the fans – we all spend every second WONDERING WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN HAD YOU STUCK AROUND IN HOUSTON AND NOTCHED THREE MORE CAREER SACKS IN FOUR YEARS!!!! Oh, but it’s the coaches. Right.

I really hate the new enforcement of the “helmet-to-helmet” rule
Bernard Pollard’s hit today on Justin Gage was yet another example of a terrible rule, and/or terrible enforcement. He led with his shoulder, and laid a guy out – but since it came soon after a very emotional moment in the game, the flag was nearly automatic. Some would say Pollard should play that smarter – horsebleep. You make guys change the way they play, and even MORE guys will get hurt. The most maddening thing about that horrible call is that the hit happened a yard inside the sideline, but the referee said “after the play” when describing the penalty. AFTER THE PLAY?? What was that ref watching? Answer: he was watching the same thing we all were, but he let the emotional buildup of the game affect his performance. No way was that a penalty, and NO WAY was it “after the play.” Ridiculous.

Texans will have to ramp up quickly for Philly on Thursday
If you made a list of NFL teams that you would NOT want a short week to prepare for, the Eagles would have to be close to the top of that list. The Texans will undoubtedly have to win out to have any shot at the playoffs (unless the Colts keep losing) and the next step to a hopeful but very unlikely six-game winning streak is a tough road assignment in Philadelphia. The Eagles have issues on defense, though, and the Texans can surely give them a lot of problems. We will hit on that more during the week, but until then – let’s savor a win over those hated Hillbillies.