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Here's why the Texans will make the playoffs under Lovie Smith
Mar 2, 2022, 11:37 am
Where's the Love? Photo by Getty Images.
9 important Texans takeaways from Lovie Smith's press conference
When the Texans got rid of David Culley after one season, eyes immediately fixated on general manager Nick Caserio. Caserio made the bizarre Culley hire last offseason and had moved on from him with the prospect of hiring their new, presumably long term, head coach.
Rumors and speculation were running rampant on who’d get the job. People were choosing sides and collectively losing their minds. It really got tense when Josh McCown was assumed to be the next hire. It was a bad enough Culley was seen as a placeholder because he didn’t have any previous head coaching experience. Hell, he hasn’t even been a coordinator before! McCown was seen as a similar hire with buddy ties to Jack Easterby. Anyone associated with Easterby is pariah adjacent.
The shock when Lovie Smith was not only retained, but promoted to the head coaching gig was awesome! People were caught off guard because they got sucked into the rumor vortex and believed McCown, Brian Flores, or Jonathan Gannon were the finalists. (Mostly because that's what the Texans posted on their own social media platforms). When reports started circulating about Smith, lines were drawn and people took sides.
Some thought it was a great hire because of the yeoman’s work he did with the defense. Others were upset because the guy they wanted wasn’t hired. The subsets within are even crazier. Personally, I’m happy Smith was given the opportunity and believe he can lead this team through the rebuild and beyond.
When rebuilding a team, it’s void of talent. The best way to rebuild is through the draft so you have tons of young cheap talent and don’t over spend on vets. You want a mix of vets to help the youngsters along, but the right kind of vets who understand the goal. Lovie is the guy for this type of rebuild.
He’s been a head coach previously. He may only be slightly above .500 for his career, but he’s also brought a team to a Super Bowl and coached six playoff games (3-3). He’s been a coach and coordinator on the NFL and college levels. At 63 years old, he’s been around the game long enough to understand it, but has achieved players' coach status. That was evident when current Texans spoke highly of him after his hire.
If Caserio did his due diligence and settled on Smith, it was by design. He’s a smart enough guy to know the impact this hire would have and made his choice. He’s coming into his second year of a six-year deal. Getting this hire wrong could cut short his first GM gig and may even preclude him from getting another one. Why would he hire another placeholder as coach? That doesn’t make sense.
If Caserio believes in him, so does ownership. When the players expressed they believed in him and nobody had a bad word to say about him, that tells me he’s a man of integrity. An underrated part of this hire was keeping Pep Hamilton. He will man the offense while Smith handles the defense. It’ll be Caserio’s job to give them the ingredients to cook the right meal. I can see the three of them working well together.
I love Lovie and I love this hire. I truly believe he will lead this team to its next playoff appearance, provided Caserio does a good enough job of acquiring talent. If he can do what he did this past season with a defense void of much talent, imagine what he can do with a few more weapons? Let’s see how it goes this season and next. While I’m not expecting an 8-10 win season next year, I do expect an improvement. If they find a franchise quarterback and build around him, I can see playoffs within two to three years. I love Lovie! How about you?
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NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.