NO QUIT IN THEM
Texans still believe playoffs possible despite long odds
Romeo Crennel is the quiet after the storm. Soft and warm.
Hurricane Bill made a long crawl through Houston, six-plus years, wreaking havoc and leaving behind damage to a football franchise that will require years of repair.
What went wrong and why are good questions to ask in the wake of the Texans firing Bill O’Brien, but the players and remaining coaches have more pressing concerns.
It is rare for a coach to be fired so early in the season. There aren’t many George Allens, who was sacked by the Rams in ’78 after just two preseason games.
With O’Brien’s departure four games into the season, there isn’t time to sulk and it is way too early to start planning vacation trips. There is a lot of football left to play.
How will the Texans handle it? “We’re not sitting here at 4-8 with four games to play here or 2-13 with a game to play,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “We have 12 games to play. So, we’re certainly not just going to fold up and lay on the mat.”
The Falcons and the two New York teams, who are also winless, are saying the same things.
At least the Texans believe they are the best 0-4 team in the league. Hey, this broken glass is half full.
“The expectations are we’re a playoff team and we want to play playoff-caliber football, and we haven’t been doing that,” Crennel said. “That’s why we’re 0-4.”
Since 1978, when the NFL went to a 16-game schedule, 123 teams started the year 0-4. The average finish of those teams was 4-12, and only the 1992 Chargers rebounded from that start to make the playoffs.
But as you have heard many times, many ways, 2020 is a different year.
The NFL has expanded the playoffs this season, meaning an extra team from each conference will qualify for the postseason. This increases the Texans’ chances.
If, that is, they are able to turn their season around.
The reasons not many teams turn around 0-4 starts are the same reasons those teams started 0-4: They weren’t that good.
That isn’t the case for the Texans. They haven’t played well, but they are capable of so much more.
O’Brien was the biggest problem, but hardly the Texans’ only issue. While he wore out his welcome with many fans long ago, players were still buying in, for the most part. But the pressure of losing week after week began to wear on the squad.
It seems O’Brien’s ability to keep the team from falling apart, something that saved his job a few times, wasn’t showing this year.
J. J. Watt, now in his 10th season, knows he is closer to the end than the beginning. He doesn’t have games, seasons, to waste.
“When you have the talent that we have, specifically at the quarterback position in this league, you can’t be 0-4,” Watt said.
Of course, the Texans are more likely to finish 11-5 as did the ’92 Chargers, than 0-16 like the ’08 Lions and ’17 Browns, but San Diego is the only team to start 0-4 and reach doubledigit wins.
Only two others — the Bills in ’04 and Chargers in ’17 — even managed to finish the season with a winning record.
The odds are long.
You can’t win nine or 10 games until you win one. It all starts Sunday against the Jaguars, who have lost three games in a row.
The Texans are 5½ -point favorites. “I think that when you’re in this situation, any win will help and this one is the next game,” Crennel said. “Particularly if you can win this one, it will be good. I’ve talked to the guys about you’re playing at home, your home stadium, let’s win at home because if you can win at home, that helps you throughout the rest of the season.”
“But winning helps everybody’s attitude. Everybody feels better after a win. They feel better during the week. They do better in their preparation for the next game. Winning is critical. If we can win a game, that will help us tremendously.”