Diner Morning News: The Texans Debate

As much as people like to bash Sage, i still do not understand the trade to the VIkings for a Four. They did nothing to adequately replace him. I know that might bring the laughs, but when you have a fragile starter--the backup may be one of the best investments you can make.

It boggles my mind that someone in the Texans front office--who undoubtedly has playoff aspirations for 09-- can say they are better off with Anthony Hill (the 4thround TE) over Sage.

Antonio Smith and Brian Cushing will bring some grit to the Texans' D. In passing situations, Connor Barwin will bring speed off the edge opposite Mario; Smith then dropping inside. IMO, Barwin is odds-on to lead all rooks in sacks. We'll see.

However, points related to Schaub are well taken.

Indy's loses are pension related, Coaches Moore and Mudd, and those are very serious.

Therefore: TENN will win the division. While they lost Haynesworth, KVB is coming back and, speaking as a Steelers' fan, Jason Jones certainly looks ready. More to it: TENN lost nothing from their OL, and that is a very fine, dominating unit.

I want to poopoo the Texans band wagon as well. They seem to be very similar to the 2008 Cards in some respects; (1)Powerful offense, (2)Not so good defense, (3)the popular bandwagon team, however the Cards played in a crappy division while these Texans do not.

Interesting opinion piece.

I'm a little unsure of why I'm defending the Texans here, but you asked, "where's the pass rush?" In fact, that's all anyone asked as the season ended and every "pundit" said they had to fix things. So they get the best free agent DE available, draft an elite college linebacker in the first, and a DE/OLB pass rushing hybrid in the second. I'm not saying they're going to turn into the Giants or anything, but before we shoot them down, let's at least see how their plan to improve that pass rush works out for them.

As for the Schaub opinions, obviously you're more informed than me, but there needs to be some sort of "I've been told from people close with the Texans..." in there. How am I supposed to just assume Matt Schaub isn't a good leader? How do I know that Andre Johnson doesn't think he's "the man"?

Just too much fluff backing the opinions. Not my favorite Lombardi post.

I was a bit surprised at the money Antonio Smith commanded. He's a good football player and a great locker room guy but he's not really an elite pass rusher. Like Calvin Pace he benefited from Clancy's schemes and the other talent around him. I think he's a great addition and wish the Cards could have kept him...but not at the price the market settled at. He's certainly an upgrade but I don't think he'll provide a lot of sack production (5-7 maybe?)

Look. Everybody said the Titans were going to be last in the division last year (before the season even started).... and they went on a 10-0 winning streak. The Texans were supposed to be great LAST year. Granted, the hurricane at the beginning of the season surely affected their groove.... but they are NOT going to be better than the Titans or the Colts this year.

The Colts shored up at RB and DT. The Titans... well.... not a lot changed. We lost Haynesworth. Big deal. We stacked our D-Line in the Draft, and we improved our receiving corps in free agency and the Draft.

Yeah - the Texans beat the Titans once last year - but watch the game again. The refs weren't blowing the whistle when they should have. Slaton got some first downs he shouldn't have gotten.

Now. You're looking at an improved/healthier Colts team and an improved Titans team. The Titans will be so deep at DT/DE that Slaton will be facing fresh faces every two downs. They don't have the secondary to defend tall receivers like Britt, either. And Kerry Collins is starting the seaon as the STARTER and will have put in much more work prior to season start which translates into better performance.

Manning will not be coming off of knee surgery, Jeff Saturday is healthy, they re-signed Ed Johnson who hopefully will have learned his lesson but who can also thicken up their D-Line. And don't forget Antonio Johnson. He's no Albert Haynesworth, but he's big and he's tough. The Titans hated to lose him.

Aside from that - losing Marvin Harrison is not that big of a deal. Have you paid attention to Anthony Gonzalez? That kid is like lightning. He is going to bring big things to the Colts offense this year. Oh - and Dallas Clark will not be entering this season coming off an injury.

So... the AFC South is going to come down to head-to-head battles between the Colts and Titans. The Jaguars are too dysfunctional to even register this year, and the Texans are still the red-headed stepchild of the AFC South.

I'm sorry, but predicting the Texans will overpower the Titans and Colts this year is fantasy. Pure fantasy.

If the Texans win the division, I vow to board the Starship Enterprise, put Spock in a pod and shoot him into Deep Space and beam Captain Kirk to Klingon Hell. Because I can DO that. Because I wrote it. It will become truth.

The Texans would have to improve by leaps and bounds to even win one game against each this year.

Texans Defense:

Their secondary is thin, but Dunta Robinson, their best CB, did not play last season so his presence on the field will serve as a huge upgrade in their secondary over last season. Now with that said they are still not stout in the secondary and desperately covet an effective pass rush. You address this by saying this a weakness because Mario Williams is their only premiere pass rusher. However, a 2nd round draft pick by the name of Connor Barwin has the potential to be a very effective pass rusher on the opposite side of Mario. His presence coupled with Cushing and June using their speed and agility to make plays in the middle of the field will monumentally enhance the success of that defense. With that said, Indy is still the unquestioned favorite to win this division, but it is a lot closer than you think. If the injuries swing from the Texans to an aging Colt team, this could be their year to flourish.

Saints-Texans in the SB ?

N.O. can I can buy. I too expect a
big bounce-back season from those guys.

But vs the Texans ? Methinks that the
Budweiser distributors in Shytown must
really be scrambling to restock their
clients supplies of Bud Heavies. Bowen
obviously consumed WAY too many of
them prior to making that prediction !

Saints-Texans??

Good heavens!

Lombardi, maybe Bowen actually knows more than you. Because I'm not sure where you got your "leadership" information. Most teammates have talked about Schaubs since he arrived, mostly without provocation. You need to research before doing your schtick.

Totally agree on the Texans, they just aren't quite ready to make the next step, and a little bit over-hyped right now.

I think the "surprise" team to come out of the AFC South is actually the Jags this year. That, of course, is contingent on the players respecting Del Rio.