Tag Archives: Houston Texans

Red’s 202(4) NFL Conference Semi-Final Picks

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For those of you paying attention and thinking about throwing some hard earned money at the misnamed “gaming” industry this weekend, you might note that Red was 6 for 6 straight up last week.

For those of you playing the line, Red was 5-0-1, with only the Commanders/Buccaneers matchup being a push. Red doesn’t typically pick base on the odds, but you might just want to think about that.

So on to the misnamed “Divisional Round” – a round in which two teams who were not division champions could face each other. Red will go to the mat in fighting to call this weekend the Conference Semi-Finals – only because that is exactly what these games are. On to the picks:

Texans over Chiefs. Call Red crazy – he doesn’t mind because he probably is for making this pick. Let’s look back at the Texans’ painful playoff history against the Chiefs.

In the 2015 playoffs the Chiefs walloped the 9-7 Texans at NRG 30 to ZIP. This game was pretty much over after Knile Davis took the opening kickoff 106 yards for a score. Ugh. Red had almost forgotten that long Saturday afternoon.

What Red clearly remembers is the beacon of hope that shone in the first 18 minutes of the Texans/Chiefs game on Jan. 12, 2020. The football world was shocked when the Texans went up 24-0 on the Chiefs. Normality was restored by halftime with the Chiefs leading 28-24 in route to a 51-31 rout. It would take several years for the Texans to shake off that ass whomping.

So why should this year be any different? The Chiefs are not the same juggernaut they have been for the past many years. The running game is suspect. Mahomes has to carry the team – which would be a dream come true for most. CJ Stroud seems to have shaken off his sophomore slump and if Joe Mixon can bruise and cruise for over 150 yards and a brace of TDS, the Texans have a chance. But more critically, Red thinks the Chiefs have run out of rabbits and maybe even the hat to pull them out of. A team only gets some many miraculous finishes in one season. And the Texans showed real signs of life last week against a very good Chargers team. It’s a close call. Houston 27 KC 24.

Lions over Commanders. The Lions are the best team in the NFC by a long shot. Red thinks that only the Rams might have a chance against them if they make it through a frigid Sunday afternoon in Philly. Goff is playing at his best (ask the Vikings), Gibbs is bruising defenses and the Lions defense is good enough to hold down the fort. The Commanders have had a good season (meaning any season the Cowboys don’t win the NFC East) and certainly should be thinking they have a chance. But Red isn’t saying that. Take the Lions forget about the spread. Detroit 45 Washington 17.

Eagles over Rams. People are raving about how the Rams played down the stretch. But tell Red this, other than beating the Bills at home in a wild 44-42 game that could have gone either way – who did the Rams beat before waxing the overrated Vikings in the Wildcard round? The Patriots, Saints, Jets, 49ers, Cardinals – no one of consequence. Red knows you can probably say the same thing about the Eagles. And while Red doesn’t normally place much meaning in a regular season matchup, the Eagles did dispatch the Rams with some ease back in November. Only a garbage time touchdown by the Rams kept that game from looking like more of a rout. The Rams had no answer for Mr. Barkley who had 255 yards on 26 carries. Red will let you do the math. If Hurts has just an average game, with the best back in the game right now controlling the ball, Red just doesn’t see the Rams as being able to keep up. It may be close for a while, but the Eagles close out strong. Philadelphia 31 Los Angeles 20.

Bills over Ravens. Red hates picking this one. These are two teams who both deserve a shot at the Conference title. The Bills have been pretty consistent all year with but a few bumps in the road (maybe the loss to the Texans doesn’t look so bad and losing to the Ravens and Rams is no mark of disgrace). The Ravens started the season 0-2, then corrected course for a while beating the Bills 35-10, then it was up and down but come mid-December they have been really unchallenged and playing their best football. This one all comes down to who has the better game Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. The difference might be a single sack, an interception or a turnover on downs. This one is down to the wire as it should be. And is too much to ask for a blizzard game? Buffalo 31 Baltimore 28.

Red’s 2024 – NFL Rankings Week 4

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Red was undecided about the title. Should it be Week 3 because that is the week have just finished and rankings are based on those results or Week 4 because that is the week that is coming up. Not that it matters, but the consensus is this is Week 4.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs seem to be living on borrowed time. They are not scoring in the red zone, relying on field goals and where the hell is Mr. Kelce? But as noted until they lose the defending champs hold on to No. 1 spot.
  2. Buffalo Bills – The Bills offense is just playing better than any other team in the league right now.
  3. Minnesota Vikings – Surprise, surprise, surprise. With apologies to PFC Pyle. And if you don’t get that reference – well good for you. Total domination of the previously undefeated Texans.
  4. Seattle Seahawks – Seahawks will be hard pressed to stay undefeated unless the offensive line plays better.
  5. Pittsburgh Stealers – Red zone offense is horrible, yet they are 3-0. Red doesn’t argue with success.
  6. Philadelphia Eagles – Injuries and turnovers by Mr. Hurts abound. Eagles need to right the ship before division play.
  7. Detroit Lions – Another team with red zone troubles. Red senses a trend here.
  8. San Francisco 49ers – Injuries to the big playmakers (Deebo, McCaffery and Kittle) are a major cause for worry in Santa Somewhere.
  9. New Orleans Saints – Tayson Hill makes this offense very hard to defend against. Saints fans hope for a quick return.
  10. Los Angeles Chargers – Without Herbert look for a quick drop in the rankings next week.
  11. Green Bay Packers – Red doesn’t believe. But then again who cares what Red thinks?
  12. Houston Texans – Last week the Texans were . . . um . . . pummeled . . . yes pummeled is the word Red was looking for. And they get the biggest drop of the week as a reward.
  13. Baltimore Ravens – Ravens got a desperately needed win against the sagging Cowboys. They were swirling the drain in the 4th quarter but managed to hang on in what could be a season saver.
  14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Lack of rushing yards, not a problem as yet.
  15. New York Jets – Beating up on the weak sisters of the league only gets you so far.
  16. Washington Commanders – Moving in the right direction. Win over the Cardinals would be big right now.
  17. Arizona Cardinals – Trouble on the O line gets the Cards top spot as mediocre team of the week.
  18. Los Angeles Rams -Being down your top two wideouts usually spells trouble in this league.
  19. Atlanta Falcons – A credible showing against the Chiefs. NFC South looks to be a dog fight between 3 teams right now.
  20. Dallas Cowboys – Cowboys defense has been wretched in first 4 games. Barely beating the Giants on Thursday was not a good look.
  21. Cleveland Browns – Is Flacco Joe still available? No. Hmmm.
  22. Miami Dolphins – Is Flacco Joe still available? See above.
  23. Las Vegas Raiders – An unbalanced attack forced by having to continually play from behind spells trouble in the desert.
  24. Indianapolis Colts – Should not be this bad. Anthony Richardson needs to step up or step down.
  25. Chicago Bears – Untapped potential so far this season.
  26. Denver Broncos – Red always manages to end up with a worthless Bronco running back on his fantasy team.
  27. New York Giants – Credible effort against a sagging Cowboys squad.
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars – “I’ve seen teams suck before, but they were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.” H. Simpson. A useful quote likely to be heard again this season.
  29. Carolina Panthers – Who needs Flacco Joe when you have the Red Rifle? Very impressive, but can he keep it up?
  30. New England Patriots – How the mighty have fallen. Flat on their face apparently.
  31. Cincinnati Bengals – On life support right now.
  32. Tennessee Titans – Someone pull the plug, please.

Red’s 2024 NFL Preseason Picks (sort of)

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AFC South

At one time the division of excellence.  Who knows now?  The TV schedulers don’t seem to think much of the divisions as it is the only one without a division matchup in prime time in 2023. 

Houston –  Disclaimer – the Texans are Red’s favorite team despite their record of tepid mediocrity.  And here is a good stumper: Since the Texans came into the league, which team has won more playoff games – the Texans or the Cowboys?  I think you can guess the answer.  But on to this season.  Texans fans have a lot to look forward to this season.  Second year QB (and 2023 Offensive ROY) CJ Stroud has every appearance of being the real deal and with new found help from pickups Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon, there are now legitimate A-players at RB and WR.  Beyond Diggs there are a solid possession receiver in Nico Collins and Tank Dell who can stretch the field.  This takes a lot of pressure off CJS and if the O Line holds up, this could be a very dynamic offense.  On the other side is at least a mid-pack defense who should be able to hold most teams to the twenties and give the offense a chance to win games.  And the defense could be better if top notch players like Derek Stingley, Jr., Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter don’t have to carry the load.  It seems that good players want to come to Houston to play for an up and coming coach in DeMeco Ryans.  The schedule has some legit opponents and time will tell if the Texans are able to compete with the likes of the Bills, Lions, Cowboys, Dolphins, Chief and Ravens.  And moving into the spotlight has its challenges, in the  second half of the season, the Texans will be playing on short rest several times.  But on a positive note, they have 3 primetime games in a row in weeks 9 to 11 including the Cowboys on MNF. Closing out the season with the Chiefs and Ravens (on Christmas Day) in weeks 16 and 17 is a tall order.  The Texans better have 10 wins under their belt by then.  Texans go 11-6 to take division.

Jacksonville –  Red has nothing really bad to say about the Jags.  A late season collapse in 2023 cost the Jags a playoff berth – which the Texans happily filled. Is Trevor Lawrence truly the franchise quarterback that his $275 million deal says he is?  The Jags may have the second best defender in the division in Josh Hines Allen who had 17.5 sacks in 2023.  But this does not look like a playoff team right now?  Hey, it could happen if the Jags can beat at least 3 of the 5 very good teams they will face (Texans twice, Bills, Eagles, Dolphins).  That’s a tall order.   Jaguars go 9-8 and are on the bubble. .

Indianapolis –  The Colts have talent, they have a good quarterback (we think) in Anthony Richardson who has only played in a small sample size of  4 NFL games.  The Colts also have a good coach, good stadium and loyal fanbase.  Red never discounts any team that has Flacco Joe on the roster.  FJ had the greatest start of any quarterback in NFL history leading his team to playoff wins in each of his first six seasons with a Superb Owl victory in the 2011 season.  Of course he got smoked by the Texans in the playoffs last year, but still won Comeback Player of the Year.  All in all, and despite the magnificent presence of FJ, it  adds up to another losing season.  Colts are 7-10.

Tennessee – Steady decline best describes the trajectory of this franchise as of late.  Just a few years ago, this team had Super Bowl pretensions that seemed credible.  Breaking out the Oilers throw-back jerseys against the Texans in Week 16 last season pretty much backfired with the Titans losing and none other than JJ Watt claiming that the Texans “get the uniforms back.  That’s how this works.  Sorr, not sorry.  Too bad, so sad.”  Which probably sums up the Titans’ 2024 effort.  6-11.

Red’s 2021 NFL Predictions – AFC South

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Red used to refer to the AFC South as “The Division of Excellence” or something like that because like Rodney Dangerfield it “got no respect” from most of the pundits despite frequently having among the best collective records of any division in the NFL.   Of course, the AFC South has all of one – count it one – NFL Championships coming with the Colts win over the Bears in 2006.  The Colts accounted for the division’s only other AFC Championship but lost to the Saints in the 2009 Superb Owl.

Last season, the division was dominated by two excellent squads with Tennessee and Indianapolis both posting 11-5 records while the Texans (4-12)  and Jaguars (1-15) soiled the bed linens.  Neither the Colts nor the Titans could make it out of the Wild Card round as the Titans lost a tough game against the Ravens while the Colts almost knocked off the Bills. 

Moving on to this season, Red doesn’t see much reason for change at the top or the bottom of this division.

Tennessee  Titans (11-6).  Red picks the Titans to repeat as division champs.  Admittedly, it is hard to look at the Titans 2021 schedule and not wonder how exactly 10 wins will be forthcoming.   Other than the 4 games against the Texans and Jaguars there appears to be only one soft spot on the schedule in week 4 against the Jets.  But with loyal fans like Jana (originally from Germany but now woefully ensconced somewhere in Florida) who had her car “wrapped in the Tennessee Titans logo” and whose “biggest wish is for the team to autograph my car” – how can this team miss?  With the amount of offensive firepower Coach Mike Vrabel and new OC Todd Downing have at their disposal, this team should easily be among the AFC leaders in points scored if not for the fact that they play in the same conference with the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Browns.  Geez guys you got A J Brown, Derrick Henry and Julio Jones.  Even All-Mediocre QB Ryan Tannehill should be able to do something with that bunch. Red also likes the addition of wily veteran Jackrabbit Jenkins to the secondary  and Bud Dupree to linebacking corps.  JRJ earns the wily designation because he has scored 10 career touchdowns ranking first among active defensive players (JJ Watt may beg to differ).  If Dupree is fully recovered from his torn ACL he gives the Titans another legit edge rusher.  

Indianapolis Colts (9-8).   The most exciting news out of the Colts training camp does not involve who will replace P. Rivers under center, but rather the Throwback Game on November 28  against the NFL Champion Buccaneers.  The big feature of the throwbacks will be the double horseshoes on the back of the helmet.  Red for one can hardly wait to see the ghosts of  Weeb Eubank, Jonny Unitas , Don Ameche and Tom Matte rallying the Colts to an OT win over the hated Buccaneers.  And for Dad, the Colts Cheerleaders (claiming to be the NFL’s first cheer squad) will also be sporting throwbacks.  Sorry no pictures available.  As for the team, who knows?  Sam Ehlinger from Texas could be the starting QB by Week 13 when the Colts come to Houston.  Ehlinger is undefeated at NRG having trounced Rice in 2019 and Missouri in the 2017 Texas Bowl.  The Colts could do worse.  As with the Titans, the Colts don’t have a favorable schedule and one that is possibly harder than the Titans with the matchup against the aforementioned defending champion Bucs.  Other than the weaklings of the AFC South and the Jets, every game looks like a toss-up. 

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-11).  No team in the league has tried harder to get better with fewer results than the Jags.  Given the current pathetic state of London’s favorite team, it is hard to believe that the Jags were one touchdown away from playing in the Superb Owl in 2017.  Things do change fast in this era.  In the biggest news since Donald Trump professed his undying love for North Korean Dictator Kim Jung Un, new Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer recently declared, “I love Bobby Bowden” while mourning the death of his long-time Florida football rival at age 91.  Oh yeah, and in addition to adding the second most successful college coach of the last 20 years, the Jags have a new QB who is the latest in a long line of “can’t miss” top of the draft class rookies.  Red thinks the book is out on Trevor Lawrence until at least a couple of chapters are written.  Ask Jonny Manziel, Sam Bradshaw, Jamarcus Russell, David Carr, Vince Young, Andre Ware and Joey Harrington about this.  Coming into a sad-sack franchise often plays a role in the transformation from an NFL career back to being a working stiff (albeit a rather wealthy stiff) in civil society – and the sacks don’t get much sadder than they do in Jacksonville. 

Houston Texans (3-13-1).  Hey Bill, how many games do you think the Texans will win this year without your brilliant leadership skills? See photo above for answer.  Well the Texans would be right in claiming that  “Bad luck and trouble -my only friends.”  Perhaps the Texans were born under a bad sign.  Red won’t recount his personal travails with the franchise (like the 1422 days after the franchise opening win against the Cowboys and attending another game in which they eked out a win).  The fallout from the Bill O the Clown era will be with the team for a good while.  If there has been a more incompetent team leader, Red sure can’t summon up the name.  BO the C routinely gave the store away in trades, ran off good players, pissed off the media and the fans, repeatedly showed his incompetence in game management and yet, somehow managed to win four AFC South division titles and two playoff games.  Notably, BO the C only had one season with more than 10 wins in 2017 but then his team got gobsmacked by the Colts in the Wild Card round.   Admittedly, some blame has to be placed on the shoulders of Team President (and leading candidate for starring in a Captain Kangaroo revival) Cal McNair whose only qualification for the job is being winner of the lucky sperm club.  Oh enough whining Red.  Last year it took Red about 2 seconds to take the Texans up on their generous offer to defer purchasing season tickets.  This year it took Red at least 5 minutes to pull the plug on his 20 year run as season-ticket holder.  All that said, Red thinks the Texans will surprise a few teams.  Make  that embarrass.   Oh, and Red hears there is some news about DeShaun Watson.  Do tell.   

Bill O’ the Clown Triumphs in First Round of 2020 NFL Draft

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All you Texans’ fans can be proud of what Head Coach/GM Bill O’Brien did in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.  Absolutely nothing.  Red was expecting Bill to trade away some more draft picks and All-Pro talent to pick up a player in the first round that the experts had going in the third round at best.  So Kudos to Bill for sitting on your hands.

It won’t last.

In an amazing (but not altogether unpredictable) turn-around, the Houston Texans lost to the Kansas City Chiefs by 20 points after being up 24-0 in the second quarter of Sunday’s playoff game.  The 44 point swing may be the largest post-season change in NFL history.  Red is going to bother looking that one up, because it doesn’t matter if the Texans C-H-O-K-E is historic – the humiliation and disappointment is enough.

The Texans were effectively gifted 14 points on a blocked punt (give the special teams credit) and a muffed punt by KC speedster Tyreek Hill (curiously attempting a punt return for only the second time this season).   But still a 24-0 lead should guarantee a competitive game down the stretch.  Not so for the hapless Texans.  Red does not fault Head Coach Bill O’ the Clown O’Brien for taking a field goal when faced with 4th and 1 in the “red zone”.   But after the Chiefs marched effortlessly down the field following a brilliant kick-off return, BO botched the next series with a foolish fake punt that even Red could see coming.  That gave the Chiefs another short field and after another quick score to make it 24-14 –  a new lease on their playoff football life.

The Chiefs proceeded to ultimately score touchdowns on seven straight possessions while the Texans offense returned to the BO tank in which in normally lives.  Being outscored 51-7 in any stretch of any game is agony enough.  But when you had the game in hand it is a franchise altering result – or at least it should be.

If this debacle is not enough to get Bill O’ the Clown fired, then it is hard to imagine what would.  He and defensive coordinator Romeo “I’m not on the take from our opponents even though it sure looks like it” Cremel need to exit NRG this week.  If not, the talent on this team (and there is talent) will be wasted for at least one more season.

Really, the Texans need a clean sweep from top to bottom.  It starts with hiring an actual general manager who may be able to find someone, somewhere willing to take over this reclamation project.

Texans Owner Bob McNair Crosses the Final Goal Line

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Billionaire owner of the Houston Texans, Bob McNair, passed away last week.  Despite his overall disappointment with the completely mediocre franchise McNair built, Red will say nothing bad about McNair.  McNair was perhaps loyal to a fault hanging on to coaches, general managers and some players longer than prudent.  But that is not a real criticism except in the modern “What have you done for me lately” world of pro sports and other endeavors.

Red will say that there were two games he attended, which if Red had been the owner he would have gone down to the locker room at halftime and fired the head coach.

The first game was the home opener in 2005 against the Pittsburgh Stealers.  The Texans were down 20-0 at the half against a team led by the young wunderkind Ben Rothlessberger throwing two TDs to the underappreciated Hines Ward.  That was bad enough, but Red had never seen a supposedly decent team look so unprepared and overmatched and completely out of it from the beginning.  The second half was not much better and the Texans quietly surrendered 27-7 on their way to a 2-14 season.  Dom “the Dud” Capers would have been a goner under a Red regime.  As it turns out, that would have just saved Bob some trouble as Capers was fired at the end of the season.

The second game was the season opener against the New York Jets in 2009.  It wasn’t quite as bad at halftime as the Texans only trailed 17-0.  But the Jets were led by a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez playing in his first game and tearing the home team a new one.  Head Coach Gary Kubiak would have been on the street by 2 p.m. if Red was in charge.  The Texans would rally to a 5-3 record at mid-season only to lose four in a row and stumble to their first winning season ever at 9-7 (courtesy of a Patriots team that sat Brady for most of the last game of the season with nothing to play for).

Alas, Red will never own a professional sports franchise and incompetent head coaches everywhere are the safer for it.

Red’s 2018 NFL Predictions – AFC South

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Finally we get to a division that Red pays attention to – not that it matters.   This is the division of “Why do these towns have NFL teams anyway?”

Houston Texans –  Red was shocked to witness in person the offensive onslaught that Deshaun Watson led against the Titans in October.  That 57-14 ass whipping was as impressive an offensive show that Red has ever seen in a regular season NFL game.  It made Red a believer.  Red was also sadly present the next week when JJ Watt and Red favorite Whitney Mercilus went down in the space of about 57 seconds.  Losing Watson, Watt and Mercilus was the death knell for the Texans season.  Barring similarly crippling injuries this season, the Texans should be good enough to secure a playoff spot this year.  A lot rides on that first game in New England.  A win or even a credible loss will put this team on the right track.  Texans are 10-6 and in.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Lots of pundits are writing off the Jaguars as one-hit wonders and shitting on journeyman QB Blake Bortles.  BB may be mediocre but the rest of this team has enough talent to cover up the cracks.  Jaguars are also 10-6 and lose tiebreaker to the Texans.

Tennesee Titans – Red wants to believe.  Red also wants a job where you don’t have to show up and the money just sort of rolls in. Titans are 8-8 material.

Indianapolis Colts –  The Colts are just an Andrew Luck away from mediocrity.  They have no offensive line, one decent receiver, running backs???,  defense???, coaching???. Colts are 6-10.

SI Names Jose Altuve and J.J. Watt as Co-Sportspersons of 2017

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Sports Illustrated has name two Houston legends – Jose Altuve and J.J. Watt as its Co-Sportspersons of the Year for 2017.  They were bestowed the award for entirely different reasons.

Altuve had one of the most magical seasons imaginable winning the American League batting title, MVP and Silver Slugger awards.  Oh, and yeah – winning the World Series for the first time in Astros history after the city was devastated by Hurricane Harvey.  Altuve carried the team at times during the post-season recording a record 17 hits, 6 home runs and batting .472 at Minute Maid.  Other than Mike Trout he is probably the best baseball player alive right now.  And by all signs a credit to his community for charitable works and tremendous attitude.

Watt on the other hand, had a miserable 2017 on the field.  He played in 4 games with zero sacks and was lost for the season early in the Chiefs game .  All of this coming after losing most of the 2016 season to injury as well.  Whether he ever returns to the greatness he showed during his first 5 years in the league is questionable at this point.  But in the face of Harvey, Watt determined to raise some money for relief.  He set his goal at $200,000 and ended up raising $37 million and it appears that almost all of that money has gone or will go to actual relief efforts.

So two Houston athletes get well-deserved kudos from SI.

Red’s NFL Picks – AFC South

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The AFC South (once the division of excellence) is out of the woods this season and will not be the pathetic excuse for a professional football division that it has been for the last few years – despite the presence of the Jaguars.

Titans  Marcus Mariota is the best quarterback in this division. Sorry Andrew, Tom and whomever is starting for the Jaguars.  DeMarco Murray is the best running back in this division.  Titans have the best offensive line in this division.  Delanie Walker (decidedly a late bloomer) may be the best tight end in this division.  The wider receivers – eh!  But you can’t have it all.  The defense is just good enough to keep the Titans close in a lot of games.  If the ball bounces the Titans’ way this season, then they just might post the best record in the NFL.  Everyone will know after week 3 if the Titans are for real. If the Titans beat the Raiders in the opener and the Seahawks two weeks later (both home games), the buzz will be incredible as they roll into Houston on week 4.  Red can hear the bees humming now.  After dispatching the Texans, the schedule gets much easier with only three potential playoff teams (Stealers, Cardinals and Texans) on the schedule.   Titans stun the league with a 13-3 record and stroll to AFC South title.

Texans  The Texans have a great defense.  Not 84 Bears great, but possibly top twenty all time great if they force 30+ turnovers and have 50+ sacks this season.  And contrary to the public perception, it’s not all JJ Watt.  Red is suffering from a bit of JJW fatigue as heretical as that may sound.  Clowney and Whitney Mercilus (Red’s favorite) are the keys this year.  They both had tremendous seasons last year playing mostly without JJW.  Imagine what they can do when an offensive line has to focus on the big Wisconsinite as well.  The linebacking crew is solid enough and the secondary will miss Bouye but is good enough to hold coverage long enough to force opposing quarterbacks to make bad decisions.  But then there is the other side of the ball.  If the Texans can muster even a mediocre offense, they will be in a lot of games.  Red fears mediocrity may be an unreachable goal with either Savage or rookie DeShaun Watson under center and slim pickings at wideout.  Rookie D’Onta Foreman may be a force if not injured and Fiedorowizc may be moving up to elite TE status.   But may Red just say, he hopes Watson does not see serious action until late in the season.  In fact, Red will predict right now that DW will not take over until the mid-way in the Rams game in Week 10 with the 4-4 Texans trailing the Rams with the season on the line.  If Watson can right the ship at that point, the Texans have a chance to sneak into the playoffs.  But somewhere along the way, they are going to have to beat a good team.  Best chances will be at home against the Stealers or Cardinals.  Texans are 9-7 and slip under the door as the last wildcard team.

Jaguars  Can Tom Coughlin resuscitate the long dormant Jaguars? It seems like ancient history now, but when Coughlin was at the helm at the dawn of the franchise, the Jaguars surprised the football world by playing in the AFC championship game in their second season.  He made the playoffs the next 3 seasons as well – again playing for and losing the AFC title in season 5.  Since then, 3 winning seasons and no playoff victories.  By comparison, the Texans are entering their 16th season and have yet to make it past the second round of the playoffs in their 4 playoff appearances and a current 9 year playoff drought.  Coughlin has tidied up if not cleaned house with 5 new assistant coaches, multiple free agent acquisitions on defense and picking up LSU back Leonard Fournette with the 4th pick of the draft.  But under center is still Blake Bortles.  Red bet big on BB last season and doesn’t really want to talk about it. In his 4th season, BB had better show signs of life or accept his fate as a back-up quarterback.  The Jags are mediocre at best.  But after a 3-13 campaign in 2016, mere mediocrity may be viewed as a triumph.  Jacksonville goes 8-8.

Colts  Who are the Colts anymore anyway?  Red has no clue with the multiple roster changes since last season..  Unfortunately for the Colts neither does head coach Chuck Pagano who has seemed in over his head at times during back to back 8-8 seasons in a division that the Colts used rule like kings of old.  And speaking of old – there’s tired old Frank Gore who probably used up whatever was left in the tank last season when he became the first running back to rush for 1000 yards since John Riggins (OTNAs 1984).  Maybe the news gets any better on defense only because it really couldn’t get worse for the league’s 30th ranked defense.  A whole new linebacking corps led by Barkevious Mingo may help, but beyond Vontae Davis the secondary will likely remain porous.  The whole thing turns on the reappearance of Andrew Luck and that is not a good sign.  Luck at his best with a lot of fearsome weapons was not that good.  A more average Luck with little to work with could be plain awful.  But Luck is the Colts best chance to avoid ignominy this season. Maybe Punter Pat McAfee had it right.  After a nice 8 year career (including two Pro Bowl appearances) he hung up the cleats to try his had at stand-up comedy.  There will be laughs this season, but they’ll be laughing at the Colts not with them.  Indianapolis 2-14.