TEXANS 2011 SEASON WRAP

Posted by richardson on February 2nd, 2012

The 2012 season looks promising but offers no guarantees

HOUSTON – Now that the 2011
NFL season is coming to a close and all of the ire and frustrations of the
Texans’ first-ever playoff appearance have simmered, I thought now might be about
the right time to reflect back on what was the culmination of the most
interesting season of football that this team has ever experienced.

After nearly a
decade of futility and a season filled with as much adversity as a movie from
the Lifetime Network, the Guys on Kirby were finally able to breakthrough the
playoffs barricade — and even win a playoff game. I’m willing to bet that no
matter what happens with this team over the next decade or so, very few of us
will ever forget the 2011 season.

Without question,
with the AFC South now the lousiest division in all of football, it’s easy to
suggest that Peyton Manning’s absence opened the door for the Texans in 2012. Although
there are those who have suggested that a healthy Manning would have nailed-down
his eleventh straight ten-win season and out-dueled the Texans for the division
crown, I beg to differ. The Colts were already beginning to show signs of slippage
on both sides of the ball before this season. The Texans were destined to
overtake the Colts at some point and 2011 offered the perfect storm for things
to coalesce.

But let’s not get
too crazy with this. I’ve heard the argument from many Texans fans who believe
that the Texans would have breezed past the Ravens, Steelers or whoever else in
the AFC if only Matt Schaub could have remained healthy. Obviously, a healthy
Schaub would have made some difference. It’s not even out of the realm of
possibility that the Texans would have nabbed a bye and played for the right to
go to the Super Bowl right here in the confines of Reliant Stadium. But the
world of sports is a funny business. Who knows for sure how things would have
played out with a healthy Schaub? Perhaps the defense wouldn’t have been as
aggressive. Or, maybe the offensive line wouldn’t have held their blocks as
long with their top signal caller in the mix. You just never know for sure.

I predicted at the
beginning of the season that the Texans would win ten games and collect their
first division title. My prognostication came on the heels of Peyton Manning’s announcement
that he would miss the first few games of the season. I had no idea the future
hall-of-famer would miss the entire 2011 season, but I never bought into the
notion that his lingering neck issues would be resolved early enough for the
Colts to be a factor at any point of the 2011 season.

Admittedly, I never
figured on the Texans playing out the last quarter of their season with a third
string rookie quarterback anywhere in the process. I also didn’t account for
Mario Williams, Andre Johnson, and Danieal Manning missing 22 games
collectively. Echoing the sentiments that I expressed weeks ago, Gary Kubiak
was splendid for most of 2011. However, I thought the ghost of Kubiak past
reared its ugly head during the playoff game in Baltimore. There is simply no
way to justify for allowing TJ Yates to carelessly sling the rock the way he
was allowed to do on the road against a veteran defense like the Ravens. That
strategy made no sense. But Kubiak, being the player-friendly coach that he is,
allowed for it to happen.

But this article is
definitely not meant to be an indictment towards Kubiak or his coaching staff.
No one could have really expected much more from this team at the beginning of
the season if you would have factored in the injuries. I also want to remind
everyone that I have consistently preached how fortunate the Texans have been
over the past few years on the injury front. Injuries are always a huge part of
the fabric of sports and sooner or later they were destined to catch up with
the Texans.

Wade Phillips
resurrected one of the most moribund defenses in the history of the league and
positioned it to become one of the most aggressive units during the 201l
season. Fortunately for Texans’ fans, the
venerable defensive coordinator will be back calling the shots in 2012. Schaub
will be back also. And I expect the Texans to replace the oft-criticized Jacoby
Jones with a quality compliment to the aging Andre Johnson. Jones didn’t cost
the Texans that game in Baltimore a few weeks back, but he certainly didn’t do
much to help it to get into a position to win it.

Simple logic would
have you believe that things can only look up for the Texans from here based on
how things went in 2011. I do however want to remind you that things don’t
always play out the way they appear that they should. Life offers no
guarantees. The only saving grace for
the Texans over the next few years is the fact that they play in such a retched
division. But with new coaches and young quarterbacks sprinkled throughout the
AFC South, who’s to say that that Jacksonville or Tennessee won’t catch fire
and suddenly become the Cowboys of the 90’s and rule the division for years to
come? You just never know.

My money is on the
Texans to win the AFC South for the next two seasons at least. But then again,
who would have ever thought five seasons ago that Peyton’s little brother would
be playing for his second ring, and a chance to cement his case to one day have
his bust prominently displayed in Canton.

Sports can often
offer a surreal dynamic that can’t be replicated. I guess it’s the reason why
we continue to watch.

And speaking of
games, I like the Giants 27-21 over the Patriots this weekend. In one game, the
Giants are perhaps the team in the NFL who has a quarterback who possesses the God-given physical talents to outplay Tom Brady and a head coach in Tom
Coughlin who might be smart enough to out-strategize mad scientist Bill
Belichick.