The much-improved Houston Texans (11-7) battled toe-to-toe with the potentially Super Bowl bound Baltimore Ravens (13-4) for four full quarters, but came up just a hair short, as the Ravens prevailed 20-13 and advance to play the New England Patriots (14-3) on the road next Sunday at 3:00pm EST in the AFC Championship Game. However, it was far from a banner, dominate showing by Baltimore.  The Texans performed better in the running game.  Arian Foster chalked up 132 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown and five [...] Continue reading → | 2012 AFC Championship Game, 2012 NFL Playoffs, Arian Foster, Baltimore Ravens, Barry Barnes, Ben Reiter, Ed Reed, Houston Texans, Jacoby Jones, Jonathan Mathis, Kevin Walter, Matt Schaub, Michael Gartman, Ravens Beat Texans 20-13, Ravens Can Beat Patriots, Ray Rice, Ricky Williams, T.J. Yates, Texans Outplayed Ravens, Texans vs. Ravens Playoff Game Recap, Twitter

The Houston Texans (7-3) have suffered a significant blow following Sunday’s 37-9 blowout over the Bucs, as GridironGrit.com Senior Writer Tanner Thoms reports that Matt Schaub is likely out for the season (right foot) and might not experience a smooth recovery. Matt Leinart, a former first-round-pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, is taking over the reins in Houston.  This begs the question—can the Texans still get into the playoffs, win the AFC South and have a shot at the Super Bowl? In [...] Continue reading → | 2011 AFC Playoff Picture, Andre Johnson Expected To Return Week 12, Ben Tate and Arian Foster, Can Matt Leinart Win Super Bowl, GridironGrit.com, Houston Texans, Houston Texans Super Bowl Contender 2011, Jason La Canfora, Matt Leinart, Matt Schaub, Michael Gartman, NFL.com, Wade Phillips

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Sunday's game in Houston needing a complete effort from their offense to hang around against the explosive Texans. Based on the preceding seven games, there was no reason to expect that this would happen; the Jaguars did not disappoint the experts this week, falling in a hard fought game, 24-14. The Jaguars fell to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the division while Houston improved to 5-3 and 3-0 respectively. The AFC South division race appears to be reaching an early conclusion. The Jacksonville defense was up to the challenge for most of the game, which was tied at the half 7-7; the Texans scored on their opening drive and were shut out until their opening possession of the second half. Both of Houston's second half touchdowns came after taking possession of [...] Continue reading → | Arian Foster, Blaine Gabbert, Game Reviews, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Schaub, Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL

Three Keys to Victory:   1. Play inspired defense. We now know that the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense is capable of winning games for the team; the offense has yet to show this capacity. Against a Ravens' team that was averaging almost 30 points, the defense willed the team to victory with perhaps the most dominant performance in the team's history. This week, Jacksonville will face the explosive Houston Texans, who feature two excellent tailbacks in Arian Foster and reserve player Ben Tate as well as the league's seventh most productive passer in Matt Schaub. While the Ravens score points, the Texans feature more star power on the offensive side of the ball and even without star receiver Andre Johnson they are exceptionally dangerous. They [...] Continue reading → | Arian Foster, Blaine Gabbert, game previews, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jeremy Mincey, Marcedes Lewis, Matt Schaub, Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL

The Houston Texans’ Week 5 20-25 loss to the Oakland Raiders was—in a word—heart-breaking.  The Texans came into the week off a very impressive 17-10 triumph against the Steel Curtain and the contest was much more asymmetrical than the score indicated. With Baltimore and Tennessee on the road in the next two weeks, Sunday’s scuffle with Oakland was seen to be practically a must-win game.   Final Seconds The tight-knit battle came right down to the wire on the last play of the game. Matt Schaub went 24 of 51 for 416 yards with two touchdowns and two [...] Continue reading → | Al Davis, Andre Johnson Hamstring Injury, Arian Foster, Darren McFadden, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Houston Texans, Hue Jackson, Mario Williams Injruy, Matt Schaub, Oakland Raiders, Raiders vs. Texans, Raiders vs. Texans Review, Sebastian Janikowski, Texans Week 5 Post-Game Thoughts

With the 2011 NFL Preseason well underway, I thought it would be fun to skip ahead a couple chapters and orchestrate an early comprehensive preview of the 2011 NFL regular season with record predictions for all 32 teams.  I’m going way beyond your typical predictions. While most that cover this engaging and highly-debatable topic possess extensive knowledge and realistic expectations for the entire league, they don’t actually objectively gauge every single game on the schedule and come up with the correct win-loss ratio for the NFL—256-256. Additional Ingredients: Game-By-Game predictions for all 32 teams, and it wouldn’t be complete without bold surprises.  Some might make you laugh, scream, perhaps throw up, or even cause [...] Continue reading → | 2011 Houston Texans Game-By-Game Predictions, 2011 Houston Texans Schedule, 2011 NFL Record Predictions, AFC South, Andre Johnson, Antonio Smith, Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Blaine Gabbert, Brian Cushing, Brooks Reed, Bryan Braman, Connor Barwin, danieal manning, DeMeco Ryans, Derrick Ward, Earl Mitchell, Gary Kubiak, Glover Quin, Herschel Walker, Houston Texans, Houston Texans 2011 Preview, Houston Texans 2011 Record Predictions, Houston Texans Playoffs 2011, J.J. Watt, jack del rio, James Casey, johnathan joseph, Kareem Jackson, Kerry Collins, Luke McCown, Mario Williams, Matt Schaub, Michael Gartman, Mike Munchak, NFL.com, NFL.com Expert 2011 Predictions, Owen Daniels, Peter King, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning Injury, Troy Nolan, Wade Phillips

In the midst of NFL Network’s litigious list of the Top 100 Players of 2011 and a lockout that forces blood to shoot of our eyes, I thought this would be the [...] Continue reading → | 2011 Fan Voices, 2011 NFL Preview, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Bill Belichick, Bill Belichick Is Modern-Day Albert Einstein, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Drew Brees Career Stats, Eli Manning, Frank Caliendo, Jay Cutler, Johnny Unitis, Josh Freeman, Josh Freeman Is Modern-Day Warren Moon, matt ryan, Matt Schaub, Michael Gartman, Michael Vick, Michael Vick Career Stats, NFL General 2011, NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2011, NFL.com Senior Analyst Pat Kirwan, NFL’s Top 10 Quarterbacks in 2011, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning’s Losing Playoff Record, Phillip Rivers, Sam Bradford, Tom Brady, Tom Brady Is The NFL’s Best Quarterback in 2011, tony romo, Tony Romo Not In The Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks in 2011, Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks in 2011, Warren Moon

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended their season on Sunday with a 34-17 loss to the Houston Texans. The Jags, led by Trent Edwards, just could not manage to find a way to beat the Texans, mostly due to injuries.  Both David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew were out for the game. Edwards struggled throughout the whole game, and made it very clear that he is not the quarterback of the future for this team.  Garrard will come back next season as the starter. Rashad Jennings played very well, carrying for over 100 yards and a touchdown, but may have been the lone brightspot for team that has witnessed its second late season collapse in the past two years. Here are the awards for week 17's loss to Houston: Most Valuable Jaguar - Rashad Jennings had a big game, and [...] Continue reading → | AFC South, David Garrard, David Nelson, jack del rio, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaguars, Lockout, Matt Schaub, Maurice Jones-Drew, MJD, NFL draft, Peyton Manning, Playoffs, Week 17

With one month until the first regular week of the football season, the Jacksonville Jaguars still have two open starting roster spots at both safety positions. Why is this so important for the Jaguars?  Because they are in the same divison as star quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub.  Both of which threw for over 4,000 yards last season. With focus on the defensive pass rush this off season, the team has increased speed and power on the line in hopes of getting to the quarterback two or, hopefully, three times as much as they did last season. Hoping they have corrected their pass rush problems, that does not mean they have taken care of the secondary woes of last season.  A pitiful performance week after week by Reggie Nelson has sent him down the [...] Continue reading → | AFC South, Anthony Smith, David Nelson, Gerald Alexander, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaguars, Matt Schaub, NFL, NFL Off Season, Peyton Manning, Pre Season, Preseason, Reggie Nelson, safety, Sean Considine

This series in conducting the offensive, defensive and special teams projected depth charts on the four teams in the AFC South division continues with the Houston Texans. After revealing the defensive upgrades, it’s time to unveil the Texans’ fortifications on the already high-powered offense that happened to lead the league in passing in ’09. [...] Continue reading → | Ben Tate, Houston Texans, Houston Texans 2010 Depth Chart, Houston Texans 2010 NFL Preview, Kevin Walter, Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton