| Dennis Silva II. 20th September, 2007 - 7:43 pm
 These certainly aren’t your father’s Texans.
Not your mother’s, or even yours, for that matter.
It’s not necessarily that the Houston Texans, the NFL’s laughingstock since their inception in 2001, are 2-0, though that is quite amazing in itself.
It’s the way the Texans have achieved that spotless mark.
They’ve dominated. They’ve out-willed. They’ve made plays – such as a smooth 16-yard slant across the middle for a score – that had only been dreamt about by even the most dedicated of fans.
Houston has outscored its opposition – Kansas City and Carolina, respectively – by a score of 54-24.
Through two games, four receivers have caught at least four passes. New quarterback Matt Schaub has completed 72 percent of his passes and has the second-best QB rating in the AFC, 111.4.
Schaub has established his tailback, fullback and tight end as legitimate receiving options on most downs; positions fans didn’t even know could be considered as offensive threats until the Gary Kubiak-era spawned in 2006.
The Texans have done so by completely annihilating their opposition – they routed Kansas City at home from start to finish – and by posting mesmerizing comebacks.
Remember when a 14-point deficit was considered doomsday for Houston? Not anymore.
At least that much has been dismissed as the Texans stormed back from a 14-0 first-quarter drowning at Carolina last Sunday, doing so with a poise, confidence and meticulous execution that had been non-existent.
But that’s not it.
No, that’s not at all what these Texans are about; these Texans where ballyhooed second-year defensive end Mario Williams has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush; where Schaub has Texans fans finally thinking that, yes, maybe passing up on Vince Young worked out after all.
No sir, these Texans are about defense; the same defense that NFL nerds were claiming how dare it be built through the draft, with such sexy picks.
Well, Williams, 2006 second-round NFL Defensive rookie of the year DeMeco Ryans, and 2007 first-rounder Amobi Okoye have something to say about that.
Whether it’s Williams’ six total tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery for a score, or Okoye’s five tackle, two-sack coming-out party against the Panthers in his first NFL contest, pick your poison.
Run the ball against those three, as well as lineman Travis Johnson, yet another heady draft pick made during the Kubiak era?
Or throw in the direction of defensive backs Dunta Robinson, C.C. Brown or Will Demps, a free agent pickup who fit right in as a replacement for veteran Jason Simmons.
You choose.
This team has direction. Leadership. Definition.
They have Schaub, who knows when and where to get rid of the ball and has shown brilliant accuracy, backs Ahman Green and Ron Dayne, and an obscure yet dangerously efficient receiving corps of Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones, who will easily be the most electric rookie of 2007.
Heading into their bye week on Nov. 4, the Texans could easily be 7-2. After the Colts this weekend at home, Houston will face Atlanta, Miami, Jacksonville, Tennessee, San Diego and Oakland.
If Houston comes away from that stretch strongly, then four of its last seven contests will be at home.
And do you hear that? Those whispers that slowly creep, ever so slightly, but still creep nonetheless.
Yep. That’s the sound of playoff talks, my friend.
And not because of 2-0, though that certainly doesn’t help.
But how they arrived at 2-0, by a plethora of avenues they would have never thought of taking before.
No, these are definitely not your Texans.
But more importantly, these are not the Texans of the past five years either. |
