Frank Reich has been an assistant with the Colts the last two seasons which happen to include the two 17 point blown Houston leads. Also, Tony Boselli was doing national radio for the last two games at Reliant. Just Sayin'

These are the times that try fans souls. Four weeks ago the Texans were 5-3 with the promise of a great second half season run on the horizon. Three losses later and Houston has dropped three straight while dropping to the cellar of the AFC South into a tie with Tennessee. The Titans are no small part of the story. The fact that they have won five straight with Vince Young at the helm during the Texans dive has not been lost on the sporting public.

Sunday was the best of times and the worst of times. The Texans had everything going for them but somewhere along the way lost their edge. Everything they tried in the second half felt like shoveling sand against a tsunami.

No matter what anyone thinks will happen following the season we must remember there are still games to play. It's too early to write the obituary. Jacksonville is the last house on the left. If the Texans lose it's time to take a hard look at the future. You hate to put that kind of pressure on the team but they did it to themselves.

The most perplexing thing about the Texans through ten games is their inability to run the football. The fact that Steve Slaton leads the team in rushing with only 380 yards is tough to stomach. Chester Pitts and Mike Briesel are out but that alone cannot possibly be why the Texans can't get anything consistent going on the ground.

The running woes make what Matt Schaub has been doing all the more impressive. The last two games Schaub has been able to move his team in position for late ties only to watch missed field goals. He has thrown 19 TD passes and is third in the NFL in yardage behind Manning and Brady.

Eugene Wilson being out for the season is hard news to swallow. He's been quite a playmaker and his services would have come in really handy against the Colts Sunday. Bernard Pollard had two picks against Manning. Somehow the Texans will have to find a way to get to Manning. If the Reliant crowd can bring anything close to what they had Monday night it could make a big difference.

As difficult as it's been to digest the last two losses, the Texans showed they have the mettle to hang with Indy. Can they go toe to toe again and finish the job? That's why we love sports. It's unscripted entertainment.

"I'm in a glass case of emotion"
- Ron Burgundy, Me

Here is the link to the photo that will have Texans fans even more upset than they are right now...

http://www.life.com/image/93344787

The AFC South is the best division in football again.

The Colts are undefeated. They stormed back in the fourth quarter against New England and took advantage of Belichick's bad gamble at the 28 yard line. Manning is 5-1 in his last six games against the Patriots.

The Jags are 5-4 and tied with the Texans after a nice road win over the Jets.

And the Titans are a winning team disguised as a 3-6 club. They haven't beaten great competition during this three game winning streak but their defense is back to turning people over and the offense has really cut down on the cough-ups.

Monday Night Football is going to be a war.

On the Controversial Ryan Moats Fumble...

Here is photo proof that the ball touched the defender out of bounds in the Texans-Colts game.

The original call was that Moats coughed up the ball but was out of bounds. They overturned it because they thought the ball never went out of bounds. Clearly it was. The Texans eventually had a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter but fell 20-17.

So Close Yet So Far

It's bye time and the only thing that's going to remove the pain of Houston's loss to the Colts is the Monday Nighter with the Titans.


It's too bad but the Texans have earned the label of being a one half team. Against the Colts, Bills and Arizona it was the second half. Against the Raiders and 49ers it was the first half. Cincinnati and Tennessee were a mixed bag. At some point the Texans will have to play 60 minutes and when they do they will be very dangerous.

The Colts game was a chance to show the NFL world that the Texans were for real. They can't make that claim until they play more complete games. Certainly all teams go through an ebb and flow of performance on both sides of the ball. But the Texans are making a bad habit of playing way below satisfactory on one side or the other of intermission.


Don't blame Kris Brown for the loss. Sure it would have been great to hit the 42 yarder but that was just part of the problem. The two picks were huge. Moats fumbling was devastating at the time. Houston must finish more drives to be a playoff team. If you had told me before the game that the Texans would hold the Colts to 20 points I would have almost guaranteed a win. Yet here we are.

This is not a bad spot to be in, by the way. Five wins after nine is their best record. The next two games are at home where they should be able to play well. They'll be favored in at least four or five of their final seven games.

The bye week is a great time to self scout and make corrections. If the Texans are going to make the push we all want they'll have to get the turnover situation together. Every running back is a marked man now and Schaub is coming off back to back two-pick games.


Good thing the defense is still smoking. Just when you thought the Colts might put up 40 points the Texans slowed them down, forced turnovers and got off the field enough to help their offensive friends get back to work.

Houston is very close to being a playoff team but close hardly matters when you're feeling the pain of a kick-in-the-gut loss.


Hang in there. Monday Night will arrive soon enough.

The New Texans

These are the new Texans. These are the Texans that can go into an opponent's stadium, stink it up for a while, gather themselves and still win in a runaway. These are the Texans who can lose a pro bowler (Owen Daniels), remove the 2008 AFC yards from scrimmage leader (Steve Slaton) from the game and still put up 25 second half points. These are the Texans who will enter the second half of the season as winners for the first time ever.

This team is far from perfect. They laid an egg on opening day. They failed to capitalize in late goal line plays against Arizona and Jacksonville. They played flat offensively in the second half against the Raiders. They played flat defensively in the second half against San Francisco. They handed the ball to Buffalo three times in the first quarter Sunday. But, despite it's faults, this team is developing a knack for getting the job done.

Forget about the drama on offense for a moment. The defense continues to take steps toward being a playoff-caliber unit. The one touchdown the crew allowed Sunday was on a T.O. end-around. The only other points were on a field goal. This was as solid performance as you could ask for. The Bills are not to be confused with the 1999 Rams but the Texans 'D' took care of business.

This was the type of game the 'old' Texans would have lost. If they opened flat they would have stayed that way. If they committed early turnovers they would have found a way to be generous late. But there is something different about this group. They are slowly but surely learning how to win.

Next up: Indianapolis. The Texans have never won at Indy. Even with a loss, they'll go into the Monday nighter with Tennessee no worse than 5-4. It's possible that the losses to the Jaguars and the Jets will come back to bite Houston but for now we're on a wild ride that must be appreciated.