Next Man Up Equals Thunder Up?
Despite the comparison to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs franchise, The Houston Texans, as far as relation to recent success as a franchise, share a similar dream to ascend to the plateau of success, and track record of accomplishments to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since their move to Oklahoma City from Seattle, the Thunder have grown from a pushover of a franchise to making the NBA Finals in just a short span of 5 years.
The Houston Texans, established in 2002, spent multiple season bellowing as a team that could easily be blown off, but in the past three years, the Texans have risen from the pits of obscurity and mediocrity to flourish in to one of the NFL’s franchises with the highest potential, building their castle one block at a time.
Last season, the Texans reached the pinnacle of the franchise’s short existence, setting a new standard for the team, achieving a plethora of franchise firsts, a seven game winning streak, on the way to the best record of 10-6, the first division championship, the first postseason appearance. The Texans went in to the post season and won the wildcard, beating the Cincinnati Bengals at home in front of a record, sell-out crowd, on national TV, for the first time on NBC.
The Texans were eventually eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens, one of the most dominant teams in the AFC, but not without a fight, similarly to when the Thunder took the eventual NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers to 7 games; the Texans have built upon the greatness that they already have.There is no ceiling for the Texans, the goal is to be able to reach the AFC Championship and possibly compete in the Super Bowl and bring the Lombardi Trophy to Houston for the first time ever.
The Texans have started organized team activities (OTA’s) and are currently working out every possible player in every possible way. They have added new players such as former Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback Alan Ball, and former Seahawks running back Justin Forsett, Ball played for Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips during his tenure as head coach for the Dallas based club and knows Phillips’ system well and can fit into the Texans’ defensive machine like a brand new gear that was custom made by the machine’s manufacturer. Ball is simply refreshing and becoming reacquainted with Phillips’ system; “It makes a big difference when you’re refreshing, and not learning.” Ball said “It helps that I’m refreshing myself to the defense and not learning”
– Richard Perez