Sunday's collapse was historic and familiar
The Texans are innovative heartache pioneers
I'm not the best source of consolation after Sunday's disaster up in Kansas City. I might actually be one of the worst. When asked at brunch earlier that afternoon why I wasn't more excited about the Texans' divisional round I calmly explained my relationship with the Texans as loveless, but necessary. I was met with blank stares. We changed the subject.
I've come to realize that the Texans are the embodiment of Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. They are Marvin Lewis' Bengals. They are every Power Rangers episode.
They are the same thing every year. Predictably mediocre with an end result you can see from a mile away.
For everyone that shares my same mindset, this loss was frustratingly validating. There's nothing you can take from it. That's a game film reel that can be tossed in the garbage.
When you look at the Ravens' loss from last week, you can at least look positively on the direction your team is headed. The Texans, however, flew back to Houston with a stack of concerns leading into next season.
To be honest, Rooting for the Texans is exhausting. The Astros are at least either really good or really bad. The Rockets are typically good, always exciting, and generally sputter in the second round. The Texans, however, are true innovators in new forms of heartache.
This year was a historic collapse after an overtime victory. Last year they overcame an 0-3 start to clinch the division, only to be unceremoniously steamrolled by the Colts in round one. The year before? A rookie quarterback showing flashes of brilliance only to be lost early on to a freak ACL injury in practice.
The only way to break out of this perpetual cycle is for the franchise with no GM to have a good draft that they won't participate in until day 2.
I'm not trying to do a deep dive into the offseason woes the Texans are facing, there will be plenty of those articles coming down the pipeline. It's just hard to see the same team that has done the same things do anything different without some sort of substantial change made on the sidelines.
I lost what remaining confidence I had in Bill O'Brien in August of 2017 when he declared "Tom's the starter." Anyone who thought that Tom Savage had any business getting in the way of the development of Deshaun Watson was out of their mind in my opinion. O'Brien's production has remained mediocre while his influence on football operations has only increased. What about that formula suggests a breakout from what we've all grown accustomed to?
Personally I don't know what would be a worse scenario: having a terrible, mismanaged team that cycles through coaches, or a mediocre team that flashes potential that will seemingly never be achieved due to owner complacency? At least the terrible teams get good draft picks. In the meantime, Texans fans will always have their division championships to brag about I suppose. It doesn't seem like there will be much beyond that to celebrate anytime soon.
