Thoughts on the Texans-Dolphins game

Over on the BRB main page is a quote from yours truly. Apparently, they thought it was either a good summation of the atmosphere or just weird enough that it was the quote of the day so to speak. The gist of that quote was that right after the game on Sunday, I felt just like I did after winning a 7th grade football game. Back in 7th grade, I was playing on the B team, on account of not being particularly good. I don't remember what our record was, but I know that it wasn't pretty. After we won a game though, we were all so excited that we started chanting "We're # 1". The cheers on that bus lasted from the stadium all the way back to the school. If anyone on that team had stopped to think about what our record was compared to the other teams in our district, it would have been clear that, no, we weren't actually # 1, but at the time, we didn't care. We were caught up in the euphoria of a win. That euphoria was the spirit in which my quote was meant.

The game on Sunday was an ugly win. Despite a team record for receiving yards by a receiver (178 by Andre Johnson) and throwing yards by a quarterback (379 by Matt Schaub), we squeeked out a win with only 3 seconds remaining. At the end of the game though, I wasn't thinking about four (4) turnovers or squandered opportunities in the red zone, I was only thinking about how great it was to finally get that first win. For me at least, this euphoric feeling was largely caused by the relief of finally winning, not just the manner in which we won.

I can still remember the excitement that everyone on that bus felt as we rode back to the school, but looking back, I'm a little embarrassed about that chant of "We're # 1" because we weren't a very good team. Basically, the chant didn't match the team. My hope for this Texans team is that at the end of the season, we'll remember how excited we all were to get this first win, but we'll think that we were over-reacting; That our excitement for the first win did not match the team. To put it another way, I hope that we'll feel foolish for not having taken the first few losses in stride, and for not having confidence that our team is good, and will win games.

Enough of the walk down memory lane, on to the game itself.

The Bad -

• Four turnovers and a -3 turnover ratio for the game. We will not be able to win many more games if we continue to turn the ball over at this rate.
• Poor secondary play. The biggest gaffe of the whole game occurred when Brandon Harrison let Patrick Cobbs run right past him on the reverse pass play out of the wildcat formation in the first quarter. Cobbs actually ran past two of our players in the secondary, but only Harrison is playing safety, also known as the last line of defense.
• Our defense seems unable to make a big stop when it counts. This is not a recent occurrence, which is why it is even more troubling.

The Good -

• The name of the game today was redemption. Matt Schaub redeemed himself for those two interceptions he threw to start the game by setting a Texans record for yards in a game with 379 yards. In addition, Schaub was involved in both offensive touchdowns. In his defense, he was being hit as he threw the ball for the first interception, so I don't think he had full control over where that ball went. The second INT was just a bad play on Schaub's part, and there's no excuse for it.
• Andre Johnson started out alright, but he could have easily cost us the game when he fumbled the ball at the goalline. His fourth down catch late in the fourth quarter was a catch that only a few other Wide Receivers in the NFL could have made. In addition to that circus catch, he set a career high, as well as a Texans record with 178 yards through the air.
• Mario Williams continues to show everyone that he is the best Defensive End in the NFL. He had two more sacks, bringing his season total to six.
• This isn't related to the Dolphins game, but the Houston Texans website has announced that Dunta Robinson will begin practicing on Wednesday, and may see game time as early as this Sunday against the Lions. If he can somehow come back at even 80% of his former self, he'll be a huge upgrade in a very suspect secondary.
• Regardless of what this game looked like, a win is a win, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.