No buts about it, Texans are unqualified good this year
One of these days, when the Texans are all grown up, asterisks will no longer be required for analysis of games like Sunday night’s contest against the Green Bay Packers.
I understand it is a challenge to simply think of the Texans as one of the NFL’s best without a “but,” but you should know other teams in the league are more worried about the Texans than the Texans are about them.
“We knew how good we can be,” And e Johnson said. “We’ e all about showing it. It’s not about p oving anything, it’s showing.”
The Texans a en’t playing with a chip on thei shoulde s. They a e playing with a mission on thei minds.
The questions, the buts, have ha dly been noticed inside the Texans’ locke oom. Media have asked the questions, and on occasion those qualifie s have slipped into a p egame pep talk, but fo the most pa t this season the Texans haven’t been doing the but.
You know, the “I know you’ e good …”
But you’ve neve been 3- 0 to sta t a season.
But you’ve neve beaten PeytonManning on the oad.
But you’ve neve been 4- 0.
But you’ve neve beaten rex ryan.
But you’ve neve beatenMa k Sanchez.
But you’ve neve beaten the New Yo k Jets.
But you’ve neve won a “Monday Night Football” game.
But you’ve neve won a p ime- time game on the oad.
But you’ve neve won in TheMeadowlands.
But you’ve neve been 5- 0.
Did you hea the but about the Texans having yet to beat a team with a winning eco d this season? Well, imagine the talk if they beat the Packe s, who won the Supe Bowl in 2010 and posted the NFL’s best eco d at 15- 1 last yea .
But the Packe s don’t have a winning eco d in 2012 eithe , and they have lost both of thei p evious oad games to teams led by ookie qua te backs. But G een Bay was so beat up by inju ies.
And the buts will keep on coming fo a f anchise looking to imp ove to 6- 0 fo the fi st time in its histo y.
When seve al Texans desc ibed Sunday’s game as an oppo tunity, they we e talking mo e about showing a national television audience what the Texans a e made of than p oving they a e a contende .
In many ways, the 2- 3 Packe s have mo e to p ove than the Texans.
“Fo us … it’s just anothe game,” Matt Schaub said. “It’s anothe piece to this puzzle. One
out of 16.
“So we’re a roaching it the same way ( as e ery other game this season). We got to go out an o the little things an the etails to go win.
“It’s ob iously a big challenge for us, a great team coming in, a team that won the Su er Bowl two years ago. We got a lot of challenges in front of us, but we’re going to re are har like we always o this week an be rea y for them.”
The Texans’ confi ence might be a quiet one, but it is not an unstate one. They are sure of what they are ca able.
Yeah, they will be more hy e u for the nighttime kickoff, an they know Green Bay is a team ca able of winning it all — many ex erts icke it to re resent the NFC in the Su er Bowl — but the Texans are worrie more about the Texans than Green Bay.
That the kickoff is at night for the secon time in six ays also is secon - ary.
There aren’t as many “Breakfast with the Texans” Sun ays with those stan ar noon kickoffs on the Texans’ sche ule this season.
“Yeah, we’ e come a long way, man,” Texans offensi e tackle duane Brown sai . “To ha e a Mon ay night game then the next week ha e a Sun ay night game just shows how much res ect the nation has for this organization an how much we’ e shown what we can o an how much ability we ha e.”
But can a team that has ne er ha such a s otlight on it han le the success?
“I think we’re learning to han le things better because we stay focuse on oursel es an on’t get too tie u with who we lay, but let’s make sure we’re rea y to lay,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak sai .
After years of waiting an won ering, amning an oubting, loathing an laughing, maybe it is time for more of you to face it: The Texans aren’t measuring themsel es against other teams so much as other teams are measuring themsel es against the Texans.