because you guys make too much out of a schedule. The only thing that is a given is that Tom Brady will not age and the pats will make another SB run. Chiefs were 2-4 against playoff teams last year. Chances are that out of the first 4 teams you listed, 2 will have have down years. The 2016-2017 campaign had the chargers and saints with a combined 12 wins between the 2. Anything goes.
Small ball works because every bench made a three in the Utah series, which was surprising. Every bench player made three which forced Kenneth 'farweed' weed to the far bench.
I have a hard time believing that Watson will survive the season if the line is as bad as it was last year. I was shocked he made through last season with all the hits he was taking. So playoffs... doubtful.
For the Texans to make the playoffs they need to go back the offense that worked so well with Deshaun Watson two years ago. Then they need to trade for Trent Williams to boost that offensive line. If they do that they will be a 9-7, or 10-6 team.
Yes... we are back to that warm and comfortable feeling of mediocrity where we count on being in a bad division and squeaking into the playoffs at 9-7 and promptly turn into playoff cannon fodder. Then BOB comes out after the inevitable playoff loss and brags about winning a shitty division like it is an accomplishment and chuckles to himself that his job is safe for another few seasons.... and then he signs an inevitable contract extension. @J.R.
Our season plan: be less shttier than the other shtty teams in our AFC South Division = we make it into playoffs Utilize star power and over come incompetent coaching and nonexistent oline Lean on watson to carry and pray he doesnt die from the sacks
I'm not a fan of the "pencil in wins and losses before the season starts" exercise. Every season there are half a dozen teams that pretty drastically overperform their expectations and another half dozen that drastically underperform their expectations. And even with that, there a ton of games where you look at the end result and scratch you head thinking "How did that team beat that team?" There's far more parity in the NFL than in some of the other professional sports, and when you only play 16 games and 1-2 coin flip plays like turnovers can ultimately decide the outcome, there are very few teams where you look at their roster and can pretty much immediately rule them out as playoff contenders. I'm not especially high on this Texans team either, but I think it's a little ignorant to just go into the season with the expectation of "Their schedule is hard. They won't make the playoffs." Let's just see how it plays out, and save the criticism for the end result.
Everybody talking about how bad our division is....I can’t remember the last time the pats where challenged in their division. Not to mention right now damn pats got a tough division with the dolphins jets and bulls man New England has it rough.
Yeah except the Patriots are the greatest dynasty ever... they are NOT content winning their division with a 9-7 record and getting pasted in the first round. You will never ever hear Belichick say “Doesn’t matter Brian, division champions Brian.”
One team has maxed out at 9-7 and now can't decide between their terrible franchise QB and a mediocre free agent QB they signed as a backup. Another went 5-11 last year and is a big unknown with a new QB that's never had success outside of Philly's system. The one legit good team is built around a QB that has had a 5 month calf injury that no one can explain but won't let him get on the field. The 4th team likes to go 9-7 beating up on a weak division and then getting obliterated in the playoffs whenever they run into a real team.
This is strictly about the afc south vs the afc east and trust me it’s not even close. Just last year 2 teams made it to the playoffs in our division. The other year Jacksonville went to afc championship game. This year then colts are super bowl contenders to some people. People want to call our division trash or weak have no clue what they are talking about. The afc south is one of the toughest divisions in football period. If I remember correctly just last year or the year before 3 teams in our division had at least a 500 record or better. It was the Texans Colts and Titans all had 500 or better records.
No, it isn’t strictly anything. The Texans division is often won with a 9-7 record and the Texans coach and ownership act as if it is some fantastic accomplishment. The AFC East winner almost always has 11-13 wins and reaches the AFC Championship game or the Super Bowl. The Texans would have zero AFC East titles if they were in the AFC East. How many titles would the Texans have in the AFC West? At the end of the day the Texans have banked on mediocrity from top to bottom of their division to keep them afloat. They bang out 8,9 or maybe 10 wins and call it a day. The only playoff game this group has won was against the Raiders that started their third string QB. When it is pointed out that this group has been around .500 and has never been a threat, the Texans fall back on winning mediocre AFC South titles as if it means a damn thing... it doesn’t.
There is no game in the afc south that is a gimmie for any team. Pats can go ahead and chalk up 6 wins easy right off the back. The Texans don’t have that luxury. My whole point is the afc south is nothing to scuff at when compared with the easy divisions of other teams. Take the saints for example they can also chalk up 6 easy wins in their division as well. Playing the bucs panthers and falcons is a real luxury. Winning your division and division games is huge and to stick your nose up at that is being ridiculous. Winning your division gets you into the playoffs and winning division games can come down to seeding and or home field advantage.