It’s getting late early in season for beleaguered franchise
The Texans are on the brink. There is no such thing as a must-win game three weeks into an NFL season. Unless, that is, a team has lost its first two games and has plans to make the playoffs.
If the Texans lose at home to Tampa Bay on Sunday, their 2015 season wouldn’t be over. But they would be done.
Oh, we’ll ride the “keep hope alive” wave, chronicling them as if they have a chance until they are officially eliminated from the playoffs. But the dream would be dead.
Since the Texans joined the league in 2002 and each conference was split into four fourteam divisions, no team has started 0-3 and found its way to the postseason. The Texans won’t be the first. If they can’t beat the Buccaneers at NRG Stadium, they simply aren’t good enough.
“One thing that frustrates me the most is this is a good football team we have and we have yet to show it,” Texans defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said.
Are the Texans a good team that hasn’t shown it, or a team that has shown it isn’t good?
Most of what the Texans have put on display this season has been bad, and their problems in an opening loss at home to Kan-
sas City and the next week on the road at Carolina were widespread.
The quarterbacks aren’t good enough to make up for the weak pass-catching group, and the pass catchers aren’t dependable enough to help the offense overcome inconsistent quarterback play.
The running backs aren’t talented enough to do damage when holes are not there, and the offensive line is so damaged the holes have not been there.
Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell is supposed to serve as a makeup artist, using his defense to hide the team’s flaws.
Instead, the turnovers the defense forced a year ago — a league-leading 34 — haven’t come. Without the ultimate concealer, the Texans’ defensive weaknesses have been put on display.
J.J. Watt isn’t supposed to be the only playmaker on the unit, yet he is the only member of the defensive line and front seven with a sack in the first two games.
Jadeveon Clowney is starting to round into shape coming off knee surgery, and he seems to be a blink of an eye from making game-changing plays. But he is not there.
The linebackers have been exposed as poor in pass coverage, have yet to contribute a sack and have only one quarterback hit to their credit. Pressure on secondary
With less pressure on opposing quarterbacks, cornerbacks Kareem Jackson and Johnathan Joseph haven’t been as good as they should be.
Last year, the safeties were an active bunch, but they are active with different teams this season, including D.J. Swearinger with the Buccaneers.
This is a good team in hiding?
As is the case with most bad teams, the Texans have talked about consistency the last couple of weeks.
Aflash play here or there won’t get it done. But are the Texans better than that?
Coach Bill O’Brien went on and on and on all offseason about consistency being the most important factor in his choosing a starting quarterback.
He said he picked Brian Hoyer because Hoyer was more consistent than Ryan Mallett in the six-month competition for the position.
That all went out of the window before the first game was over. Favored over Bucs
The Texans are favored over the Bucs. This is a game they should control and win.
The Texans’ defense should have a decided edge against a rookie quarterback — even if it is the No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston — playing in a tough environment in just his third game.
This would be a good week for Mallett and the offense to get going.
The offense was among the least productive units in the first couple of weeks, ranking 26th in scoring with 37 points and 30th in points per possession at 1.32, but only two teams allowed more points than Tampa Bay in the first two games.
Perfection isn’t attainable, but if the Texans don’t show marked improvement and win this week, the rest of the season will be much ado about a non-playoff team.
The NFL’s popularity is less about violence than it is about hope. And gambling.
Degenerates will continue to find ways to enjoy the games, but poor Texans fans, those who allow themselves to dream despite years of reality, will only suffer.
The playoffs aren’t on the line Sunday. The realistic chance at having a chance at them is.
Good teams take care of business in these situations.
So far, the Texans have shown they are a bad team. Or, according to Wilfork, a good team incognito.