I had Brian Sexton, the Voice of the Jaguars, on the show Thursday and he said people in North Florida were "a little nervous" about the game Sunday. The Texans don't exactly own the Jaguars, but a 5-4 record is nothing to sneeze at. The problem is that the ambush effect just isn't there this weekend. The memory of getting beaten 27-7 three weeks ago is too fresh in the Jags' minds.
Still, I like that the Texans are trending well in some key areas like defensive total yardage (top five in the last five games) and offensive passing yardage (15th for the season). If they can get some turnovers, the defense could be downright scary. If they could get a consistent running game, the offense could be in the top half of the league.
**Things I worry about:
-The rookies hitting the wall.** Their college body clocks are telling them that they've been in 12 games (including preseason). We have eight to go. Usually they are done by now. I'm not even talking about the five weeks of offseason practices in May and June.
- The running game never really showing up. It's like the ground hog or something. It popped up for a couple of games with Wali Lundy getting over 200 yards, then it went back into the earth.
**Things I don't worry about:
-Motivation**. This team still has plenty to play for. At 2-6, you hardly think about playing in January. But these guys know that they're getting better and the schedule is starting to ebb with some more competitive games on the horizon.
-Coaching. At 2-6, it hardly feels like the season is a smashing success so far, but there's no denying the team is better. This year will be defined by the next eight weeks anyway.
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On Thursday's show on Sports Radio 610, a couple of callers criticized David Carr for celebrating after his go-ahead TD against the Giants. Say What? You know if he was subdued he would have drawn criticism for not being emotional enough. This gives you an idea of what it's like dealing with some of the callers.
Rutgers has beaten Louisville and the ESPN talking heads are weighing whether they deserve to be in the BCS Championship game if they win out. Am I missing something? If they are unbeaten and beat the No. 3 team along the way, that should do it. But they were nowhere to be found in the human polls when the season started, so they won't jump over Florida or Texas. Where you start in the Harris and Coach's polls is absolutely key. Everyone knows it's a bad system, but I like to occasionally call the BCS "God's gift to Sports Talk Radio."
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