10
DEFENDER | NOVEMBER 21 | 2013 defendernetwork.com
sports
Houston Texans season of horror continues
I
By MAX EDISON Defender
t has been legitimately confirmed. The Texans are one of the worst teams in the National Football League. Having lost a team record eight consecutive games, they boast a record of 2-8 on the season. With the recent embarrassing loss in front of a packed house at Reliant to the Oakland Raiders, who came to Houston with a robust 3-6 record, the Texans were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in November, with six weeks remaining in the season. Who among us saw this coming? At this same point in 2012, the Texans were 9-1 and competing for home field advantage in the playoffs. Most preseason experts had the Texans rated among the top teams in the AFC. It was a team that one could honestly say had a chance to play in New York/New Jersey – site of the Super Bowl – in February. To say that frustration within the fan base is high would be an understatement. It also runs just as high within the team, starting with the head coach. “I’m as frustrated as everybody else is,” Gary Kubiak said. “I totally understand, from a fan’s standpoint, from a player’s standpoint. We’re trying to work through some things with some really young guys playing football in some situations. We have to stay positive with them. “I know it’s very hard on people like Andre [Johnson] and people like that who have played a lot of football here right now. But it’s frustrating for me too. I want everybody to understand I’m right there with them. It’s very difficult and something I have to try and work us through.” For the team’s elder statesman, 11-year veteran Johnson, the feeling is one of déjà vu. He experienced
the franchise’s lean early years. “It’s been very tough,” Johnson said. “I think it’s been the season period, just everything that’s been going when you pile up the losses in a row. Like I said, it’s been frustrating not just for me but for everyone.” Those feelings are ditto for the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, J.J. Watt. “Whatever is beyond frustrated, that’s where I’m at,” Watt said. “Every single loss is extremely difficult. We’ve lost eight games in a row. We need to find a way to win a football game. Eight times we’ve gone out there and tried to do it, and eight times we haven’t done it. “So something’s got to change. We’ve got to figure something out. Every single week I go back and watch the film and try to figure out what we need to do, what we need to change. Every single week, I go out confident and expecting to win. And obviously, eight times it hasn’t happened.”
J.J. Watt Andre Johnson
Coach Gary Kubiak
Commentary: New coach needed The Texans are on track to lose 10 games minimum this season, after going 12-4 in 2012. Dating back to the last quarter of the 2012 season, the Texans record is a very unimpressive 3-11 over their last 14 games. Last season they were unimpressive in a home playoff win over Cincinnati (19-13) and annihilated by New England for the second time in six weeks (41-28) the following week. When you have a total team collapse of this magnitude someone has to pay and it should cost head coach Gary Kubiak his job. This team has too much talent to be floundering the way it has this season. They obviously need a new direction, a new voice at the top. As a benefit to my friend Texan GM Rick Smith, I offer a few suggestions for a Kubiak replacement. Winston Moss – Assistant head coach/inside linebackers, Super Bowl-winning pedigree and former player Jim Caldwell – Offensive coordinator Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl rings at Indy and Baltimore as a coordinator, Super Bowl participant as Colts head coach Pep Hamilton – Offensive coordinator Indy Colts, former Stanford OC, known as a developer of QBs (see Andrew Luck and Alex Smith) Lovie Smith – Former Bears head coach, Super Bowl participant, Texas native, defensive guru fired after winning 10 games in Chicago in 2012.
defendernetwork.com • Serving the Houston area for over 80 years