Quote:In my opinion, the Texans turning point was when they got embarrassed by the Patriots in Foxboro. No matter the records, the Jaguars/Texans games are always good games and I know the Texans players never take them lightly. Going into overtime with the Jags wouldn't shake their confidence as they already respect them in the first place.

 

 

BattleRedBlood,   thanks for your reply.

 

You definitely raise a great point about the Jaguars giving the Texans all they can handle in many past games.     

 

My thought process was more along the lines of what Shack Del Rio expressed,  in that from my perspective the peak of the Texans was during the win in Chicago over a Bears team that was 7-1.     The Bears were very opportunistic going into the game,   forcing turnovers and scoring directly or directly on so many of those turnovers.      The were hitting on multiple cylinders.      The Bears downward spiral last season began against the Texans.    The next MNF,   they were beaten handily in SF against the eventual NFC Champion 49ers.      While I thought it was a mistake for the Bears to fire Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season,    if the Bears would have beaten the Texans,   Smith likely would still be the Bears coach.      Because the Texans were able to beat the Bears on the road,  their overall start to their season, and the difficulties the Jaguars were having,    I was very surprised that the Jaguars came extremely close to beating the Texans in Houston.       That was the game when the light came on for Justin Blackmon,   after he was going through growing pains as a rookie prior to that.   

 

One additional thought.   When looking at the overall body of work by GM Rick Smith,   I think it would be in the Texans best interest if Bob McNair retains him even if Gary Kubiak is fired.      Rick Smith has one of the best track records in the NFL.      Many people forget how far down the Texans were when Smith became GM.       Smith built a very good roster.     While it's an uphill battle for the current core group of players to get over the top,    it doesn't take away from the 2 Division Titles and a playoff win over the Bengals in both seasons.    The Texans wouldn't be the first team with a good core group to fail to get over the top and they won't be the last.      

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