The Houston Texans took a major nose diver last year, losing their last 14 games to finish at 2-14 on the year. I don't expect them to stay down for long, as this year it looks as if they could bounce back with at least a .500 record. Vegas odds currently have the Houston Texans at +280 to win the AFC South and +6500 to win the 2015 Super Bowl. Let’s take a quick look at the Houston Texans, along with their 2014 Schedule.
Last year the Texans ranked 31st in the league in scoring, at 17.3 ppg, while also ranking 11th in total yards (347.3 ypg), 15th in passing (238.3 ypg) and 20th in rushing (108.9 ypg). Matt Schaub was a big reason for the struggles on offense and was benched in favor of Case Keenum and that provided no spark at all to the offense. The Texans did draft Tom Savage with the 135th overall pick, but he is just too raw for the NFL right now, so Ryan Fitzpatrick was brought in to mentor him. The running game should be solid with a healthy Arian Foster back, while WR’s Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins for a lethal downfield duo. The OL got a bit of help when they took Guard Xavier Su’a-Filo (UCLA) with their second pick. Fitzpatrick should provide stability to QB spot and he does have some nice weapons to work with, which means this offense will be much better than last year.
Defensively, the Texans ranked 24th in points allowed (26.8 ppg), 7th in yards allowed (317.6 ypg), 3rd vs the pass (195.2 ypg) and 22nd vs the run (122.4 ypg). Very good in yards allowed, but too many INT’s and pick sixes by Schaub really inflated the ppg allowed. This is a much better defense than that number showed and they will be even better this year, especially after taking Jadaveon Clowney with the first overall pick in the draft. They then solidified this defense even more with their 4th pick, who was NT Louis Nix (Notre Dame). Nix for some reason slid down to the 83rd pick, after being projected in the top 30. The Texans got a steal there. What few holes this defense had were plugged up and this defense should again be one of the best in the league.
Last year’s defense wasn’t that bad for this team, as the offense really put them in bad situations. The Texans were 7 th in total yards and 3 rd against the pass and with the additions of Clowney and Nix, that run defense has been upgraded as well. This has a chance to be a top 5 defense. Fitzpatrick will not make many big blunders like Schaub and Keenum did and that will also help the defense. I also like the weapons that Ryan has to work with. This offense will be better than average this year. The Texans had a miserable year, but it looks like a quick bounce back for them. No Im not expecting playoffs, but I do see them posting at least 8 wins to get them over the posted win total of 7.5.
2014 Houston Texans Schedule
Sept. 7 Washington Redskins, 1
Sept. 14 at Oakland Raiders, 4:25
Sept. 21 at New York Giants, 1
Sept. 28 Buffalo Bills, 1
Oct. 5 at Dallas Cowboys, 1
Oct. 9 Indianapolis Colts (Thu), 8:25
Oct. 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers (Mon), 8:30
Oct. 26 at Tennessee Titans, 1
Nov. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1
Nov. 9 BYE
Nov. 16 at Cleveland Browns, 1
Nov. 23 Cincinnati Bengals, 1
Nov. 30 Tennessee Titans, 1
Dec. 7 at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1
Dec. 14 at Indianapolis Colts, 1
Dec. 21 Baltimore Ravens, 1
Dec. 28 Jacksonville Jaguars, 1
Info Gathered From CBS Sports
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