Who Are You?
The Texans fan base has been eroding steadily since the plunge early on last season. I’m not saying beating the Jaguars is going to be the turnaround that catapults this club into 8-win territory. There are still problems up and down the lineup. But I think this win is just as big for the fans as it is for those players. It was the second straight win at home and it was damn near dominant. Yeah, the Jaguars are hurt and yeah, they were dumb for not playing David Garrard, but a 27-7 win is a 27-7 win. I hope every fan got to see Gary Kubiak address his players in the locker room afterwards. It was on Inside the Game and it gave an inside glimpse of the atmosphere in that place. Kubiak gave a great speech talking about the look he saw in David Carr and how Carr wanted it on his shoulders. Even if for just a moment it made you believe David truly is the guy. The only game ball he presented was to Eric Moulds for being one of just 23 players to ever have 700 or more catches. Kubiak thanked him for coming down here and Moulds stood up and spoke about how he knew after two games against this franchise in the past that eventually it was going to go places and he wanted to be a part of it. He also talked about how much the coaching staff believed in every single one of the players in that locker room. My b.s. detector is always on, but the words being spoken in that locker room came straight from the heart. Very good stuff, the kind of stuff that makes you want to think the Texans are on the right track and yeah, there are going to be a lot of obstacles along the way, but life is pretty boring without obstacles. Good for those guys and good for the fans. Now if we can just petition the NFL to always wear Battle Red and just go ahead and eliminate the 3rd quarter then we might be looking at a 7-win season. (It feels weird to be in a positive state of mind on a Monday after a Texans game.)
--In 3rd quarters it’s… Opponents 48 Texans 0 .
--It’s crystal clear after 9 games Houston owns Jacksonville. Yeah, it’s only up 5-4, but that counts as ownership in my book. The only other bigger margin of victory than the 20 point difference was when the Texans beat the Jags by 21 two years ago.
--Houston has won the time of possession twice this season and those were both the wins.
--It was the first game the Texans outrushed somebody since last year when they outrushed the Cardinals, which shouldn’t really count.
--I’m not dogging him because he has been playing better, but have you ever seen 2.5 weaker sacks than the 2.5 Mario has?
--NFL.com has DeMeco Ryans listed with one fewer total tackle than Brian Urlacher and three more than Ray Lewis. Good company.
--Ladies and gentlemen your NFL leader in receiving yardage and in receptions…Mr. Andre Johnson. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Are we sure he went to Miami?
--Don't know if you caught the story last week on SportsCenter on Earl Campbell, but it wasn't pretty. Most of us are aware of the pain this man endures every single day after giving Austin and Houston everything he had. This one from Austin...