From Baby Steps to Leaps

It's seems last year and actaully into this year's preseason we were taking baby steps. Somehow, we all missed the memo. With these last two games we went from last place finishers to maybe wild card winners. Unless we beat the Colts this week, which would mean we would have first place, and it would be ours to lose. But let me not get carried away.

A defensive line unit that had its shares of problems and heat for the past couple of years are now looking like one of the top in the NFL. Amobi Okoye is growing up faster than anyone thought, getting 2 sacks and a forced fumble Sunday. Travis Johnson was out due to injury, but it was something he says he could have "played on". TJ's replacement, Killings, was a presence on the field. Mario Williams was too, he was constantly double teamed which probably led to Akoye's sacks. This defensive line is certainly going to be special.

Our defense is in the top 10, for real this time. Last year and at the beginning of this year we used "We were a top 10 defense for the last 10 games of the 2006 season" as a reason we might beat the next opponent. Well, we can throw that out the window because we've been one for the season, even if the season has only been 2 games long.

While we may only be in the middle of the pack with total offense (averaging about 15th place between the categories), its still somethieng we've never felt before as a franchise. Matt Schaub is throwing more touchdowns than interceceptions, we have a running game with Green behind Schaub and Leach, and Andre Johnson is 4th in the league in recieving yards and tied for 4th in receptions. He might fall behind because there's a chance he might not play this week.

There's a reason I posted this a day late. I wanted to see the reaction at my school. Last year and the year before it, I was the only person to wear my Texans shirts and jerseys at school. Now, I'm not a fan of the the fairweathered fan, but I could see a significant difference in the number of jerseys around school. I counted 9. What a difference 2 games makes.
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Okay, on to the game. Texans win 34-21.

Matt Schaub looked poised again, proving the Panther's defensive line may not be as good as what ESPN thinks. Our offensive line manhandled the Panther line, proving the Texans offensive line may have been much better than what ESPN thinks. And you know, what ESPN says, its truth. :/

My, my, our defense was great. Panthers fans were running around saying "zomg! Texans suck and our running backs will run all over your crappy players! RAWR!". This wasn't the case, the same Panther running backs that dominated the Rams didn't even get 70 yards against the Texans.

The Texans fell behind quickly, as did many Texans teams did in the past. But this time it was different. There's a different mindset in place now. We have the mind of a winner, and the city of Houston realizes that now after the win. After the initial 14 points by passes from Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith, the Texans rallied to score 34 unanswered. Both the consecutive points and the point total are now team records. The funniest quote out of the Panthers locker room is from Dan Morgan, their linebacker, when what happened. "I don't know." Exactly. No one knows what this team is capable of. Maybe even, beating the Colts.