THE PALLILOG
Here's why you could see something bold from the Astros in the very near future
Nov 23, 2022, 12:17 pm
Will the Astros spend big on Justin Verlander? Composite image by Jack Brame.
With the holiday season upon us, the song says it’s the most wonderful time of the year. On the pro sports front in Houston it’s mixed holiday tidings. The Astros continue to bring joy to the Houston sports world, their second World Series crown is a gift that will keep on giving for many around here. The Texans and Rockets are two turkeys. Two rancid foul-tasting fowls. Here’s one simple numerical way of looking at things. The Astros won four games with two losses in beating the Phillies to win the World Series. The Texans and Rockets have combined in their seasons to date for four wins and 22 losses (and one tie). Has a city ever had one of its big league teams be so great while all the others were so pathetic (if you’d like you can include the Dynamo in the dreck pile)?
Baseball’s Winter Meetings convene in less than two weeks. Does Astros’ General Manager (errrrr, lead owner) Jim Crane have a major move up his sleeve? It seems part of Crane’s professional disdain for James Click relative to Jeff Luhnow was Click’s lack of bold strikes. Upgrading at first base from Yuli Gurriel to Jose Abreu would be solid but I wouldn’t call it bold. Likewise signing or trading for a left-handed hitting centerfielder. Going to three years 125 million dollars to keep Justin Verlander would be bold.
We are Texans?
Do you know that the Astros scored more than 20 runs in a game this year as many times as the Texans have scored more than 20 points in a game? Now you do. It’s one time apiece. In an August laugher the Astros pasted the White Sox 21-5. The Texans generally get laughed at. Naturally, the Texans lone game topping 20 came in a loss, 34-24 to the Chargers. The last time the Texans scored more than 17 points in a game, Texas A&M’s season wasn’t yet a full-blown debacle. That would be October 23.
Some guys are late bloomers, others are non-bloomers. Davis Mills looks like the latter. Nick Caserio’s first draft choice (a third rounder) has shown nothing to indicate he is a quality NFL quarterback in development. He’s 13th in the NFL in pass attempts, number one in interceptions thrown. He’s 30th in the often dubious official quarterback rating, and 30th in the better methodized QBR. You walk like a duck, talk like a duck, and throw enough wounded ducks, you’re probably a dead duck in terms of upside. While the Texans’ offensive line is still too often sieve-like, it’s not as if Mills has nothing adequate around him. Running back Dameon Pierce is in the mix for best offensive rookie in the league. Brandin “Sure I happily signed a contract extension with a garbage team but now get me outta here!” Cooks and Nico Collins make up an at least decent tandem of wide receivers.
With every other team in the NFL having at least three wins and the Texans quite possibly not getting two more wins to reach three, the number one pick in the 2023 Draft is almost certainly theirs. Helllllloooo Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. The Texans almost have to go QB this spring, though the top of the 2024 QB draft class may be stronger with USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. It’s not that the Texans taking a stud defender like Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson or Georgia defensive tackle beast Jalen Carter would be a poor choice, but without a decent QB you’re nothing. Imagine if the Texans pass on Young and Stroud but next season stumble into five wins and pick fourth or fifth in the 2024 Draft. They would then be out of the mix for Williams and Maye unless paying a king’s ransom to move up.
Failure to launch
Unless I missed one in passing some time researching it, no franchise in NBA history has finished with the worst record in the league three consecutive seasons. The Rockets have a shot. They finished dead last the last two seasons and their pitiful 3-14 start this season has them back in the NBA basement. The Rockets play defense about as well as the Texans play offense. Youth isn’t an eternal excuse. The progress under Head Coach Stephen Silas has been minimal. For all of Kyrie Irving’s narcissistic BS and overall Brooklyn Nets dysfunction they still have a much better team than the Rockets. If the Nets make the playoffs, or if they miss the playoffs but don’t leapfrog the Rockets in the draft lottery, for the second time in three years the Rockets first round draft pick swap rights with the Nets acquired in the James Harden trade will be rendered worthless.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving. And be reeeeeally thankful for the Houston Astros.
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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