Texans coach Gary Kubiak spoke about the Texans' 2009 schedule at a 6 p.m. press conference on Tuesday at Reliant Stadium. Below is a general recap of some of the points he discussed.
The league was kind to the Texans to start the season. Three of their first four games will be at home after they opened with four road games (thanks in part to Hurricane Ike) last season. The Texans fell into an 0-4 hole last season and cannot afford to get off to a similar poor start.
After the opening stretch, four of the next five games will be on the road. Then the Texans have their bye, giving them an extra week to prepare for what's sure to be an emotionally-charged game on Monday Night Football against the division rival Titans. Two of the next three will be at home, the two after that will be on the road, and the Texans will close the season at Reliant Stadium against the not-so-long-ago-mighty Patriots.
The schedule is favorable in a couple of other regards. For one, while having only one Monday Night game might come as a disappointment to many fans, it allows the Texans to stay in a consistent weekly routine throughout the season save for one week. Think about it this way - the Browns had the most primetime games in the league last year because many pundits had them pegged for a big season, and it didn't exactly help their playoff hopes (they finished 4-12, and their coach and GM were fired).
Secondly, the Texans lucked out with the weather. They could've had some tough draws with late November/December games at Cincy or, even moreso, at Buffalo. Instead, they'll play the Bengals and Bills by the first of November, and they get a December 27 trip to beautiful Miami.
