THE FUTURE'S BRIGHT!
Dark times & hot takes can't dull Astros, Houston's bright projections
Nov 2, 2023, 5:12 pm
The future is bright for Houston sports. Composite Getty Images.
If the darkest hour is just before dawn, then Houston sports suffered a total blackout last week. In the span of seven miserable days …
The Houston Astros’ quest for a second consecutive World Series title ended in a thud 11-4 loss to eventual champions Texas Rangers. The Astros lost all four games of the ALCS at home. Proving they weren’t one-hit blunders, the Astros also accomplished that shameful feat during the 2019 World Series.
The Houston Texans fell below .500 for the season by losing to the previously winless Carolina Panthers. It was a matchup between the Panthers’ No. 1 pick Bryce Young and the Texans’ No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud. The Texans were licking their chops at proving they made the right selection and the Panthers’ blew it. Defying mathematics, one was greater than two.
The Houston Rockets started their 2023-24 season by going 0-3 out of the gate, including a 30-point defeat by the Orlando Magic.
The University of Houston Cougars were whitewashed 41-0 by the Kansas State Wildcats, the Coogs’ first shutout loss in nearly a quarter-century, 48-0 by Texas in 2000, and their worst pointwise beating since a 56-7 thrashing by Tulsa in 2007. UH fell to 1-4 in Big 12 Conference play and 3-5 overall. On top of everything, the NFL spanked UH for wearing Houston Oilers trademarked “Luv Ya Blue” uniforms and threated to haul their butts into court.
Mama said there’d be days like this. But a new day is dawning and already there are signs that Houston sports will be fine as the calendar turns to 2024.
The Astros will have most of their key players returning next season and, fingers crossed, pitchers Lance McCullers and Luis Garcia will be back from injury. All signs are pointing to burgeoning star Yanier Diaz taking over the starting catcher job. The Astros are looking for a skipper to take over for the retiring Dusty Baker and that should light a renewed fuse under the Astros rockets. Guess who Las Vegas has as favorites to win the American League pennant in ’24? That’s right, the Astros. Free mattresses for everybody!
Why the sad Texans face? The Texans already have won as many games, 3, as they did all last season. We have a fiery head coach DeMeco Ryans, who is respected and looks like he could suit up himself and sack the quarterback. Our quarterback, with only seven games under his belt, already is the best QB1 in Texans history. We have a defense. We have a kicker. We have receivers performing better than expected. And holy crap, fans have returned to NRG Stadium! Imagine, all it took was Texans management and coaching staff putting a team on the field that fans have pride in.
The Houston Rockets already have broken out of their 0-3 funk with a victory over the Charlotte Hornets. You just have to look at the Rockets bench for better days ahead. There sits new coach Ime Udoka, breathing fire and not about to take another dreadful Rockets season. Departed coach Stephen Silas, a nice guy (probably too nice), seemed to be on happy pills the last three historically losing teams. Have you seen Udoka up close? I walked next to him outside Kenny & Ziggy’s delicatessen a few weeks ago. He’s huge. His shoulders look 6-feet wide. I was so intimidated that I passed on my pastrami and corned beef combo sandwich and ordered a broccoli salad. Vile weed.
The UH season is a disappointment for sure but, really, what did you expect from the Cougars’ debut in the Big 12? They’re playing with the big boys now and a Power 5 conference is the real deal compared to UH’s previous residencies in C-USA and American Athletic conferences. The Cougars have four games left in 2023 and three of those opponents, Baylor, Cincinnati and UCF have losing records. The Cougars just might, I said might, find themselves in a bowl game yet.
Perhaps the funnest news coming out of UH is this: starting Friday, first-time, officially licensed, limited-edition bobbleheads of UH mascots Shasta and Sasha are available at bobbleheadhall.com/products. The figures are produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum and numbered 1-2,023.
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.
And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.
ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.
However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.
It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).
Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.
But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.
If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.
Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.
Bulls on Parade
Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.
Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.
The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.
Outlook on offense
We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.
Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.
X-factor
At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.
What does Vegas think?
The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!