Written by : Arlington "The A-Train" Lane
Let’s take this first edition of “The Train Ride” to Houston, Texas. Why? Because one, I miss the city and its sports scene, and right now it has one of the best sports teams to look out for…the Houston Texans.
Yes, that’s right, THOSE Houston Texans.
Have you ever seen a top spot get stolen so fast? The Jacksonville Jaguars were legit primed to be the leaders of the AFC South for years and Houston snatched that away in just one season. It took the McNair family some time and effort to make this possible. The son Cal takes over the team from his mother, Janice. Then hiring Nick Caserio as general manager after 20 years with the New England Patriots, to finally adding (what I truly believe could be) the best head coach in this franchise’s young history in DeMeco Ryans.
Ryans showcased himself to be THE guy for the job with what he did as San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator, along with the bonus of being a former Texans star in his own right. In those two seasons as DC, the 49ers had the Top 10 best defense in total points and yards, taking the #1 spot in both categories in his 2nd season. It just made perfect sense to bring Ryans home and take over the Texans, and ownership would have been crazy if they didn’t make the move.
I had talked to a few friends and colleagues about this hire, and I said that the Texans won their Super Bowl. But I didn’t think he was going to turn that team this quickly. AT ALL. I had 7 or 8 wins for his debut year, and he surpassed that by 2 games going 10-7, it should have been 5 or 6 games, but that’s another story for another time…maybe. I’m still red hot that he didn’t win NFL Coach of the Year, because he literally took a team that was at the bottom of the standings the previous season, and not just made the playoffs, but he snatched the division crown away from Jacksonville.
NO ONE SAW THAT COMING. NO ONE. If you did, you’re lying to me and to yourself. Argue with your uncle.
Not to mention that he got a playoff win at home against the Cleveland Browns, whose head coach Kevin Stefanski was Coach of the Year. The absolute irony. And let’s not forget the Texans made NFL history with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback leading their team to a division. And you’re telling me that DeMeco didn’t deserve the award? Seriously? The voters completely missed that one. COMPLETELY.
Ryans’ first season showed me that this squad is in the driver’s seat to being not one of the best teams in their division, but maybe one of the best teams in the NFL. I made a parlay bet for the 8 division teams back on August 1st, the Texans had the 7th best odds to win the Super Bowl. Not the division, the SUPER BOWL. Now that’s saying a lot for a team that finished 4-13 and 3-13-1 prior to Ryans’ arrival.
You're still with me, right? Let’s continue on the journey.
Somehow the Texans got double blessings (for my church people) finding a franchise quarterback. To catch lightning in a bottle twice is amazing. First it was DeShaun Watson, who practically had the whole city in his hands and messed ALL that up with drama that’s too good to mention in this post. GOOGLE will tell you everything that happened and I don’t need…or have time to explain.
SO, then they draft THE (potential) franchise QB in C.J. Stroud, who would go on to be the youngest QB to win a playoff game (22 years, 3 months, 10 days), throw the most attempts without an interception to start his career (191) and throw the most yards in a single game as a rookie (470). THEN, he tied the records for most games with at least 350 yards as a rookie (three) and passing touchdowns in a game by a rookie (five), along with breaking 4 team records for yards, completions, touchdowns and passing attempts in a season, while securing the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and being a Pro Bowler in just year 1. WHEW!
That’s a mouthful, but let’s be real here, did Texans’ fans really believe they were going to get this type of play with…Bryce Young as the starter? I mean he did 1-up C.J. in Week 8 last season so I guess we will never know. Plus, I don’t think Texans fans want to know either. They’re sitting back like, “We’re good.” And they should be.
Let’s get back to Nick Caserio for a second here. He has truly begun to take this franchise in the right direction towards championship-caliber levels. He added significant draft pieces so far like LB Will Anderson, Jr., who became Defensive Rookie of the Year and WR standout Tank Dell from last season’s draft, DBs Derek Stingley, Jr. and Jalen Pitre from the 2022 draft and WR Nico Collins in the 2021 draft. then making significant veteran upgrades via trade at running back and wide receiver with the additions of Joe Mixon from the Cincinnati Bengals and Pro Bowl wide receiver Stephon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills. Oh, I forgot that players want to play in Houston as well, thanks to the key free-agent signings of cornerback Jeff Okudah and defensive end Danielle Hunter, who recorded a career-high 16.5 sacks with the Minnesota Vikings. I will admit though, cutting WR Noah Brown was a bit surprising because he looked like he found a home in Houston and had a career year in receiving yards, yet the team is loaded at WR with the addition of Diggs, the re-signing of Collins, and the returns of Dell and John Metchie III.
The Texans may have finally found their breakthrough. As they go into their 23rd season as an organization, this team had to go through the hard times of Dom Capers, the highs and lows of Gary Kubiak, the crazy side of Bill O’Brien (despite winning 4 division titles), and losing three franchise players (DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt and DeShaun Watson) thanks in part to O’Brien, three one-year tenured coaches, and now potentially striking gold with Ryans.
Success is looking good for this franchise, and it’s seriously time for those fans to get behind it. This looks like a serious playoff contender with potential opportunities to have some fans buy Super Bowl tickets and see them win the BIG ONE. Sounds crazy, right? Sounds like a dream, right? Oh no, this is real now. Very real. The Rockets have two titles. The Astros have two titles…tainted or not. The only thing missing in this “city of champions” is the Lombardi trophy. It’s time.
EVERY TEXANS FAN OWES LOVIE SMITH AN APOLOGY. Yep, I said it. An apology.
Before we end this ride, you should follow @BigSargeSportz on Twitter because he gives you the BEST on everything Texans. I mean the BEST. Hands down, bar none. It’s great to see him making a name for himself and he’s LITERALLY the busiest sports personality I know from H-Town. Keep doing your thing, Big Sarge. You will always have a supporter from this guy. I see you. #TexansTailgate
We have reached our stop on “The Train Ride”. We’ll take another journey soon and head somewhere, maybe St. Louis or even Indianapolis.
Thanks for riding.
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