The Houston Texans suffered through a miserable 2013 season that forced the franchise to engage in a rebuilding process. The Texans began the year thinking that they could make one more run at the playoffs with the group they had. Now, Houston is trying to rethink the way it does business, as shown by a whole host of changes that have occurred in the offseason. Most of what you’ve known about this team is no longer true.
Strengths
The Texans watched coach Gary Kubiak suffer a scary cardiovascular event during a game last season, and Kubiak had to step away from the team as a result. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips took over the team, and while the Texans didn’t win a lot of games, their defense remained a team strength. The Texans had one of the better front sevens in the league, with J.J. Watt anchoring the group at the defensive end spot. The best and toughest athletes on the team are in the front seven. When Houston went wrong, the defense was rarely if ever the reason for it. Even late in the season, when everything was lost and the team was just playing out the string, the defense played three very solid quarters against the Denver Broncos before the eventual AFC champions finally pulled away in the fourth quarter because the offense hadn’t been staying on the field long enough to give the defense any support. This is still a quality defense. It’s going to be even better now that the Texans have drafted a bookend defensive end to support Watt: Jadeveon Clowney from South Carolina.
Weaknesses
The Texans are fine on defense. It’s on offense where they fell apart last season and are still not whole. Matt Schaub collapsed as the team’s quarterback. He continued to throw interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. He couldn’t fix his problems, and he was replaced in the middle of the season as a result. Case Keenum did a decent job for a first-time NFL starter, but his inexperience still came across, making him a backup for the near future. Another Houston backup, T.J. Yates, tried his hand at the position but could not take away the job from Schaub or Keenum. The team has tried to find new solutions at the position. It drafted Tom Savage out of Pittsburgh, and it picked up Ryan Fitzpatrick, a journeyman who was most recently a member of the Tennessee Titans. Fitzpatrick has been named the starter, and that’s not encouraging news for Houston, given his record of mediocrity as a quarterback.
Schedule
The Texans draw the NFC East for their interconference games. They get Philadelphia at home, which is a plus. They have to go to New York and Dallas, which should rate as negative developments. They would have rather traveled to Washington instead of hosting the Redskins, so that they could host the Cowboys. Houston’s non-division AFC games have some winnable matchups (Oakland, Buffalo, Cleveland) and some games that are likely to be rough (Cincinnati, Baltimore, at Pittsburgh in a night game). The season will be defined by how the Texans fare against Indianapolis and Tennessee. A split of those four games (two against each team) is an absolute must. Three wins are what might be needed to make the playoffs.
Outlook
With Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback and receiver Andre Johnson unsure of where he stands on the team, the offense looks like a mess. The defense can win some games, but the offense does not look ready at all. Go with the under here.
Pick: Under 7.5
