Dec 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen (97) scoops up a fumble from Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates (13) during the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Vikings won 23-6. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
In recent years of watching sports, I’ve turned into a hardcore realist. The more I rewatch the Minnesota-Houston game, the more I feel like the Texans may have been just a tad over-hyped. They’ve beaten relatively weak teams and were blown out in the heavyweight, marquee match-ups, E.g New England and Green Bay. They’ve also squeaked teams they should have throttled, taking both Jacksonville and Detroit to overtime. Sloppy wins like Buffalo and Chicago where the defense carried the offense only adds fuel to the critics’ claim that the Texans cannot play from behind.
The Green Bay and New England games show that they hit the panic button too early when they’re down.
The Minnesota game made me sick, to be quite honest, it was hard to watch. The small, ten point lead at half seemed insurmountable. I really do not want to come off as a negative type of guy, personally I feel Texans fans get enough negativity from John McClain, but for the life of me, I just cannot shake the feeling of futility.
Watching ESPN’s NFL Live, the annalists made a unanimous judgement that the Texans are NOT overrated, that they just had a stumble, and to win 12 out of 15 games (one game left) is a tough task to accomplish in the NFL regardless of who the opponents are.
If the NFL’s seeding system was anything like the BCS, the Texans would be in deep trouble as their wins against “top tier” opponents are not dominating wins, their dominant wins are against teams who have not done well, and clearly outmatched against a favorite of the people running the polling. New England would be the NFL’s version of Alabama, LSU, Georgia, or any SEC “flavor of the week” team and Houston would be a snubbed Big 10 or Big Twelve team.
I have a feeling deep in my heart that the Texans are NOT overrated and that everything will be sorted out. The game Sunday will reassure us of that…
– Richard Perez