I'm on pins and needles. This is it. The opener. I wish I could give the pregame speech in the locker room. The vibe on the street and through the talk radio lines is that this team will be better, but don't expect it right away. Philly is tough and talented. I get all that, but why not shock the world Sunday and take them down? Everybody is beatable.
Big questions:
1) How will David Carr respond in live regular season action?
2) Will the team really be able to get yards on the ground with Wali Lundy and Vernand Morency?
3) Will the defense be able to stop the run and get off the field consistently on third down?
4) How will Gary Kubiak perform all the game-time responsibilities of a head coach?
5) How will the fans react if David Carr and the offense struggle?
We've waited a long time for this. The last time you went to a Texans game thinking that something really meaningful was on the line might have been game 4 last year when they took on Tennessee with a chance to go 1-3 and jump start their season.
Houston Press
Many of you have e-mailed me on the Houston Press article poking fun at the Texans. I have a sense of humor (really) and found some of it pretty funny (some of it was downright nasty, though). I also wish they would be accurate. There were plenty of mistakes that hurt the credibility of the satire. I always tell students that mistakes in news reporting often go undetected, but mistakes in sports reporting are constantly flagged by watchdog fans who won't tolerate inaccuracy.
Reggie with Bob Costas
Reggie Bush's visit on Costas gave us a glimpse of a confident young athlete who is also a humanitarian. It's wonderful to see that he will funnel much of his cash to aid Katrina victims. But I wonder if the $5 million a year doled out by his corporate benefactors will ultimately be worth it (the marketing side, not the charitable side). That's a lot of bread for a guy who has yet to carry the ball.
When the Texans were sliding downhill toward 2-14 and many thought they should perform in such a manner to guarantee the number-one pick (read: lose), I never felt that way. I never felt Bush was so sure a thing that you should pull for your team to tank to get him. Of course, we did end up with the number-one pick. I would say "the rest is history," but we begin writing a very important chapter Sunday afternoon.
Remember to wear white. I'll talk to you from Reliant.
Big questions:
1) How will David Carr respond in live regular season action?
2) Will the team really be able to get yards on the ground with Wali Lundy and Vernand Morency?
3) Will the defense be able to stop the run and get off the field consistently on third down?
4) How will Gary Kubiak perform all the game-time responsibilities of a head coach?
5) How will the fans react if David Carr and the offense struggle?
We've waited a long time for this. The last time you went to a Texans game thinking that something really meaningful was on the line might have been game 4 last year when they took on Tennessee with a chance to go 1-3 and jump start their season.
Houston Press
Many of you have e-mailed me on the Houston Press article poking fun at the Texans. I have a sense of humor (really) and found some of it pretty funny (some of it was downright nasty, though). I also wish they would be accurate. There were plenty of mistakes that hurt the credibility of the satire. I always tell students that mistakes in news reporting often go undetected, but mistakes in sports reporting are constantly flagged by watchdog fans who won't tolerate inaccuracy.
Reggie with Bob Costas
Reggie Bush's visit on Costas gave us a glimpse of a confident young athlete who is also a humanitarian. It's wonderful to see that he will funnel much of his cash to aid Katrina victims. But I wonder if the $5 million a year doled out by his corporate benefactors will ultimately be worth it (the marketing side, not the charitable side). That's a lot of bread for a guy who has yet to carry the ball.
When the Texans were sliding downhill toward 2-14 and many thought they should perform in such a manner to guarantee the number-one pick (read: lose), I never felt that way. I never felt Bush was so sure a thing that you should pull for your team to tank to get him. Of course, we did end up with the number-one pick. I would say "the rest is history," but we begin writing a very important chapter Sunday afternoon.
Remember to wear white. I'll talk to you from Reliant.
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