Nitrofish

Agree fully with you. Can't wait to see him in action, and the thought that he gets to learn from one of the best safeties to ever play the position is exciting and could potentially produce a player even greater than Reed is or was. You seem to be confused. I never said it was scheme, I said it was injury to LB's and DB's that allowed that scheme to beat them. The Texans simply did not have the cover guys to defend those schemes anymore due to injury. Had their players been healthy they would and could have, and I believe this year will. In regards to being a Manning apologist... If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck. You are making excuses for Manning and giving credit to him and the Broncos when they do not deserve it. Nearly every time they played a playoff caliber team they lost. The 11 game win streak is smoke and mirrors, nothing more. You said the Texans did not destroy the Broncos and they clearly did, then you went on to make the excuse of not having enough time to gel when they had been practicing together since May . That is an excuse plain and simple. The Broncos lost to the Texans because the Texans were the better team on that day. Every team has injuries, and depending on what position those injuries occur, certain schemes will naturally take advantage of those weaknesses, while others won't. I think we all can agree that winning the Super Bowl is not all about being the best team, but rather getting hot at the right time, match ups, and yeah even some luck. The Texans are, and have been Super Bowl contenders for the last few years and will be favored again this season. But it seems to me people like you will make excuses if the Texans win and say things like, "yeah but Manning left the AFCS", or "Brady went down", etc, etc. You will never give credit to the Texans no matter what happens. Especially those on the East coast who tend to have a bit of a supremacy complex when it comes to sports teams. After all, Texans and their fans are just a bunch of beer guzzling rednecks right?

You obviously did not watch the Texans vs Broncos or you would know that it was garbage time when the Broncos made it closer that it actually was, and a late game turnover by Ben Tate when the Texans were driving for another score allowed another garbage time score by the Broncos. In regards to the convenient excuse that the Broncos had not gelled, it seems funny to me that they played and beat the Steelers (non playoff team) 19-31 and seemed to be gelled pretty well, Manning threw for 253 and 2 TD's no INT's. The Broncos then went on the road and lost to an eventual playoff team in the Falcons 21-27. Close game but never the less the Broncos lost. Manning threw for 241, 1 TD and 3 INT's. Hmmm So they play a good team and lose, but people cry "oh they are not gelled yet". Broncos return home in week 3 to face the Texans and never led. The Broncos trailed the entire game and only made up ground in garbage time when the Texans had let off the gas and pulled most of their starters including Foster. Ben Tate then fumbled the ball and turned it over when the Texans were easily driving for another score late in the fourth, allowing the Broncos to score making the game closer than the score indicated. So once again the Broncos play an eventual playoff team and fall 31-25. Manning threw for 330, 2 TD's and no INT's but was held without a TD until garbage time late in the 4th. Watch the highlights and you will see it was never close and yes, the Broncos were destroyed by the Texans in a legitimate fashion. The Broncos had a full off season to gel so that is just an excuse for Manning apologists. Now the Broncos face the mighty Raiders (non playoff team) in Denver and destroy them 06-37 and Broncos fans scream now they are gelled. Finally a convincing victory right? NOT. Manning throws for 338, 3 TD's and no INT's. Do you see a pattern developing here yet? Week 5 the Broncos face the Pats in New England and you guessed lose and it was never close. Manning still manages to throw for 337, 3 TD's and no INT's. More garbage time stats padding against 2nd team defenders. Now is when the 11 game win streak you talk about begins against some of the worst teams in the league with the exception of 2 legit playoff teams in the Bengals and the Ravens. The rest were a combined 39-73. During that run the Broncos faced these awesome teams. Chargers - 7-9 Saints - 7-9 Bengals - 10-6 Panthers 7-9 Chargers - 7-9 Chiefs - 2-14 Buccaneers - 7-9 Raiders - 4-12 Ravens - 10-6 Browns - 5-11 Chiefs - 2-14 So that 11 game win streak had two legit games and the rest were against sub .500 teams. Is that really something to brag about? I think not. Almost every time the Broncos faced a legit team they lost plain and simple.Ultimately that is what happened when they got beat in the Playoffs by the Ravens in Denver who they had beaten convincingly earlier when the Ravens still had many players out from injury. The only thing the Texans were exposed for against the Pack and the Pats was the fact that their LB's were decimated by injury and had huge mismatches against teams who spread them out. So the Texans D was thin at LB, and DB and you wonder why they could not beat teams like the Pack and The Pats? The Texans are not an elite team until they break through the divisional round, and beyond, but they lead the AFC all season until the final few games when injuries caught up with them, and they have dominated the AFCS for two years straight and there is every reason to believe they will do it again this season and for many seasons to come. The Texans are the clear kings of the AFCS and easily a top AFC team, and Super Bowl contender.

Come on bro that is not true. Anyone can go to the Ravens official MB and see what you all were saying. You did not dump him anyway. He signed with a different team, rejecting the offer made by the Ravens, and let's be honest, it was not a Brian Urlacher kind of offer. It sounds like sour grapes to me on behalf of some Ravens fans, but hey what do I know? As long as Reed is healthy and ready for the Playoffs, the Texans will be good. Reed was brought in for his playoff leadership and experience. The Texans do not need him on the field every down during the regular season like the Ravens did so his exposure to injury should be lessened, You will see Swearinger in there allot I would bet, saving Reed for when the Texans need him most. PLAYOFFS!

The Texans destroyed Manning last season in Denver, and their rise to power has less to do with Manning departing than building a great team through the draft and some key FA acquisitions. People that say the only reason they are controlling the AFCS is because Manning was injured and then left are just Manning fan boys, or Texans haters as I would imagine most Titans fans are. No one can deny the decade long dominance of the Colts in the AFCS, but then again the rest of the teams in the league we pretty weak defensively during that time especially the Texans. All of that has changed now and who can honestly deny that the Texans are one of the best teams in the league? Last season the Texans had problems with teams that spread them out (Packers, Patriots) because they were so thin at linebacker, and DB they were bringing in guys off the street. Obviously Cushing will return this season as will the other two ILB's Sharpton and Dobbins. The addition of Ed Reed and Swearinger will make a huge difference against teams like the Pack and the Pats. You will not see them getting trucked by the big TE's like Quinn during the Pats games. The Texans will be in allot of nickle and dime when playing those teams and Reed will play center field while Swearinger slides into the LB spot taking on those TE's in Pass coverage leaving Cushing to play the run or be the extra rusher. The Texans pass rush aside from J.J. Watt was just not there last season and should be greatly improved this season with Mercilus in his second year, and Brooks Reed coming back from a groin injury, although the Texans are playing with the idea of moving Brooks Reed inside next to Cushing, and play Trevardo Williams, or Sam Montgomery outside in Reeds spot depending on how they develop. Of course Watt will be a force again and I doubt you will see any teams scoring 40+ on the Texans this season as long as they can stay relatively healthy. The fact that the Pack lost Jennings, and the Pats lost Welker will also have an impact on the potency of those offenses. The Texans will reach the AFCCG this season IMHO, and have a great shot at winning it all. Let's not forget even though the Texans were racked with injury last season, they were still in the drivers seat in the AFC until the final few games. The Broncos and the Pats lucked into their seeding only because the Texans fell off due to injuries in the last few games. The Colts will miss Bruce Arians on that you can be sure. The Titans could be a sleeper as they look improved on paper, but unless Locker can be more accurate, the Titans will battle it out for 2nd and a possible wildcard berth with the Colts, and the Jags finishing last which should help them land a good QB in next years draft. Gabbert is not the answer in Jacksonville IMHO. Texans win Division for 3rd year in a row, and finally break though to make AFCCG. After that it's any given sunday.

Gabbert was thrown to the wolves in his rookie season and he took a beating. It appears he has been shell shocked. There is no question he panics under even light pressure and is not looking down field, but rather at the rush. 3rd year players are usually more likely to click so if he is going to break out and become a decent QB, it would have to be this season. Personally from what I have seen I don't think he will be able to do it, but you know what they say about opinions right? I would agree with the poster who said the Titans would be this seasons sleeper in the AFCS. The Texans should take the Division with the Colts and the Titans battling it out for 2nd in the Division and a possible wildcard berth. Having said that, the Colts might fall flat on their faces with the loss of Bruce Arians, but only time will tell.

I respectfully disagree. The history of black quarterbacks in professional football is complicated. As recently as 2007, the New York Giants had never had a black quarterback throw even a single pass. On the other hand, as far back as 1921, Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard not only quarterbacked the Akron Pros, but was also the first black head coach in NFL history. Ever heard of a guy named Doug Williams? Williams was the only starting Africa-American QB in the NFL back then. Williams played from 1978-1989 and was the first African-American QB to play in the Super Bowl, and obviously win it. He was also named MVP. In addition Williams was selected 17th overall in the 1978 draft. The same year that Moon went undrafted and ultimately to the CFL.That shows it was not all about skin color, but rather people did not think Moon had what it took to be an NFL QB, but boy did he eventually prove them wrong! There very well may have been some racial issues with a few owners in regards to whether Moon was drafted or not, but then why did Doug Williams go 17th overall in the 1978 draft when prior to that no black QB had ever been selected before the 6th round of the NFL draft? Those interested in learning more should read The History of the Black Quarterback in the NFL

As a fellow Texans fan I am curious about what opinion regarding Matt Schaub is? IMO Moon did not have to go to the CFL because the color of his skin. He went there for the same reason Doug Flutie did. He needed to develop into a solid pocket passer and was not ready for a starting NFL QB job.

This kind of sums it up pretty well. Luck was a turnover machine, and luckily for him. 14 others were dropped. This is not to say he cannot be great this year, or any year, but you gotta be realistic and give allot of credit to Bruce Arians offense. He is gone now an as the poster above mentions Luck gets his OC from college in place of Arians, but this is not college, and I see a drop off if the Colts do not keep throwing deep as much as they did last season. I think more than anything it was Arians offense, and the whole ChuckStrong thing that led to so many wins last year. That won't be the case this season IMHO. Arians is a much better coach and OC than Pagano IMO, and we will see it in both the Colts and the Cardinals play this season.