Did none of you enjoy the last few years of laughable-hate-watching? I did. It was hilarious, but we knew there was a future at some point. The future is now.
I sincerely didn't because, honestly, I couldn't see a path forward. I was very fortunate in that my work put me in contact with the Astros and I spent a very long afternoon with Jeff Luhnow (this must've been... 2013?) and I knew after that that the Astros were going to be good. He was just too smart to not succeed. But what hope did the Texans give? I had hoped Cal would be a better owner than his dad (Bob was a fine owner; but he wasn't an actively good owner) but then he almost immediately turned the franchise over to BOB, then Easterby, drove off his franchise QB, and then hired a BOB/Easterby crony. Hiring Culley and then Lovie were comically bad decisions and - while some have emerged - it didn't feel like the team had a single building block in-house. So, no - I couldn't even bring myself to hate watch the team. And it is downright shocking they reversed all of the above (and so much more) in about two months.
@B-Bob, @MadMax, @ME, @others....it was fun to laugh and talk s!!t about them (it was the only way you could watch the games without going insane), talk about the money line, etc.... We ain't laughing now.
I did get amusement out of it, but I love having them play like an NFL team now. It used to be: "Will I get to see something awesome like a butt fumble this week?" and now I get to legit ask: "If they can scrap together another win, they could still sneak into the playoffs, and if their new QB is healthy, look the hell out." That's a really fun transition. I know the coaching staff gets a lot of grief (maybe more of a Houston football tradition than I've ever realized, starting with Bum, who really was pretty bad), but I think they've done a great job changing the culture and just the down-to-down execution. Part of it is that football players crave that culture so they're probably mostly ready to snap into place, given the right voices and orders.
The football gods are never on our side. I hope next season they allow us to have a healthy and prosperous season and let our talent and skill decide our journey to the superbowl, and not injury. It really saddens me that we have the right offensive pieces and could have definitely made some noise in the playoffs this year. Dell/Nico combo with CJ has been fun and I’m praying we can have an injury free season next year. I’m looking forward to the Texans being back in business for us, and let’s not forget the Rockets as well. I hope I’m alive and agile enough to enjoy the Texans winning their first Super Bowl and the Rockets winning their 3rd. Let’s go boys!
I felt like the team was going to be good when Caserio was hired, but it would take a couple of years to cleanup the cap and three drafts because the 1st year Caserio didn't have 1st/2nd rd draft picks. I also felt like they would never win because Watson was overrated. Once Watson was traded for the haul he was traded for, I was fairly certain the team would be good. Then because of the Flores lawsuit I thought the team wouldn't be good because Cal hired Lovie instead of the guy Caserio wanted. (Gannon) Then I was on board with the Demeco hire even though Caserio wanted to hire Gannon again. Why I thought the team would turnout to be avg after the rebuild was that I thought Stroud would be an avg QB. So in short I've had a lot of mixed emotions during the last 3 years of this rebuild.
I didn't think there was a future at some point. I could handle the 100-loss Astros seasons (even though I couldn't watch them on TV) because I knew there was a master plan. Same with last year's Rockets. I just never got that feeling with the Texans...until the Demeco hire. I honestly think Demeco and Stroud will be raising the Lombardi trophy in a few years. Haven't had that feeling about Houston football since halftime of the Oilers/Bills playoff game.........
You all feeling good about the Texans because CJ Stroud has been the truth! Without Stroud, these good vibes wouldn't be what the fans are feeling today. Hannah and Cal (he's just there really) wouldn't look as competent as they do now with all the love, especially towards Hannah. We've gotten a taste what this team would've been like without Stroud throwing the ball. I'm glad I was wrong about Stroud before the draft and he has shown he is the future...and DeMeco is an above average coach (not sure if he's great yet).
I'll be the first to admit I didn't know anything about Stroud before the pick. I thought he was just a typical Big 10 QB. I also thought Mahomes was a system QB, so what the hell do I know. The cynic in me isn't so sure if McNair would have had the wherewithal to hire Demeco if he wasn't so popular here during his playing days. I think we got lucky in that the 'feel-good' hire also happened to be the best candidate on the market. But hey....we finally made the right hire - who cares what the motive was.
Do you watch any college games or do research? Just curious. I know some of us have way more time than others so I'm not knocking you. Just a fun process that none of us, just like scouts, have never been 100% accurate on.
Playing with "house money" going forward. The Texans will be a relaxed team in the playoffs. Add dangerous.
