With the start of the new season only 24 hours away, the Texans find themselves in uncharted territory. Just two years removed from a dismal 2-14 record, the Texans finished with a franchise best 8-8 last year. Most would agree that the Texans would have made it into the play-offs if injuries didn't play a key role in stopping them. They lead the league last year with 17 people on the injury list. Despite having so many people out last year, only 3 remain on the IR from last years team. Good news heading into the new season.

There are, however, a few key things the Texans are going to have to do if they want to improve from last years record and take the next step in becoming a play-off team. It's not going to be easy, but it can be done.

1. Division wins- The Texans finished 1-5 in divisional games last year. Granted the AFC South is probably the toughest division around, but you need to improve on your win/loss record within your own division. This is the overall breakdown since 2002. Colts 1/11, Jaguars 7/5, Titans 2/10

2. Stay Healthy- Schaub (QB) missed 5 games and part of two others last year. Johnson (WR) missed 7 games. Robinson (CB) missed 7 games. Green (RB) only 216 yards. Still, even with all the injuries the Texans had, they still managed to set franchise records in- points, average yards per play, touchdowns, passing touchdowns, total yards per game, kick-off returns, punt returns, and sacks. Not bad!

3. Protect the ball- We all know that turnovers kill a team, and the Texans have had problems in the past with turning the ball over.

4. Touchdowns not Field Goals- Not to take anything away from Kris Brown, who is probably the best Kicker out there, but the Texans need to score touchdowns in the red zone to compete with higher caliber offenses. 

Expectations could not be higher for this team and the fans. Coach Kubiak has made some good moves, but there are still a few pieces missing from the puzzle. Dunta Robinson will be a big help on the defensive side when he returns in six weeks. Steve Slaton (RB) has shown some skills in the preseason. I think he will be a difference maker and help the running game out tremendously. Mario Williams is coming off a season high 14 sacks and should only improve on that. The addition of some new key players are going to make this a team to watch. 2 months ago I said the Texans would finish 8-8 again this year. I hope they can prove me wrong.

Let me begin this blog with the famous words of Michael Vick "how many times can you beat a dead dog". This is exactly how I felt about answering this week’s blog competition question. With all the media attention that has been surrounding the Cowboys since their loss Sunday, and the names Romo and Simpson circulating in blogs and chat forums like it was headline news. It’s no wonder why I (like the hundreds of other sports fans) have become tired of hearing about Romo and his “bad game”.

 Anyone who knows Football will be quick to point out that the Quarterback is the main component of a team. Like the engine of a car so to speak.(I know some people will tend to differ)  but if your engine is not running correctly then everything else falters. Simply put, this was the case last Sunday for the Cowboys and Romo. We are so used to the fact that as a professional team/player you are supposed to come out and play a perfect game. Somewhere along the way we have forgotten that these players are human and are entitled to make mistakes. In Romo’s case he just made one after another, after another. You can just look at his stats and agree that he had a bad game. A QB rating of 22 says it all. Throwing 17 passes and completing only 5 in the first half is horrible. Throwing 3 interceptions….well, in his case he threw 5 before and still won, so you can’t say that’s too bad for him. Even after it was all said and done he still managed to finish the game with 214 yards.

 Sure Simpson was there in her pink Romo jersey smiling at the camera and pointing to the number nine on her jersey. But do I blame her for adding more pressure to Romo? Heck, no! I credit the Eagles defense for that. Do I blame the thumb injury Romo sustained in the third quarter for the outcome of the game? No, but it may have played a small part in it. So to answer the big question “Do I blame Romo for the Cowboys loss Sunday?” Damn right I do! He is the engine of that team and had a complete breakdown Sunday. From start to finish he was terrible. You can argue that it was a team effort, but if your a QB your the main focal point. Do I think he will rebound this week? Of course he will!

 It’s funny now that I look back on the game most of what I remember are the comments people were making about Romo and his personal life. Sadly, I hardly remember anything else about the game except for Jessica. Have we let “Reality T.V.” become such a factor in our lives that we let it influence our decision making? Has it become second nature to us to play judge and jury and hand out verdicts before knowing the truth about a case, maybe so? Will this “bad game” affect the Cowboys future? No way! It was only their second loss of the season. Thanks to Seattle’s loss to Carolina, Dallas still gets a first round bye in the playoffs and that's huge.

 We all know how Romo can bounce back from a disappointment. We just need to see how quick he can do it this time. Even though he has not practiced at all this week, the coaching staff said he would be back for Saturday’s game against the Panthers. Watch out Carolina!

Okay, I get it, Micheal Vick did something wrong! We all know this already! He went to court, he turned himself in, he got sentenced, he is moving on. What is the problem!  Why is it that there are still a 100 blogs being posted on Micheal Vick? It's time to accept it and move on. I know that there are people who support him and want him free, and there are people who want to see him locked up for good. I am one of many that happens to like Micheal Vick as a player. But I also still believe in something called the  judicial system. It's been in place for years. We all know it, some of us even fear it. I have always been brought up with the saying " if you do the crime, then you do the time". Reguardless of how much involvement that you played in it. Even if you had the smallest part, you are going to suffer some type of repercussion. Two years might seem to long for some and not enough for others. The point is its finally over for everyone involved. Let it rest already. Find another topic to write about . Close this chapter in his life and learn to move on like he is. Is that to much to ask?  

When the Texans started off the season 2-0 things were looking rather good. Finally, we would have a chance in the hardest division around. The AFC South. But like every good dream you have to wake up and face reality. Injuries were the Texans reality, and they began to take place on a regular basis. What started out so promising, slowly began to fade away. What was once a dream became a nightmare that we couldn't wake up from. With each lose came another injury, and they began to pile up. Most of them at key positions.

 To date the Texans have 17 people on the injured list. (9 on offense, 8 on defense) The most in the NFL, but not a record any team would want to be noted for. With that said, the Texans back-ups stepped in to fill the shoes of their fallen teamates. Through the first few games you could see the lack of experience and leadership. We were given a glimpse of the all to familiar Texans of old. Could this be a repeat of what we were used to seeing the previous years? Would we have to wait again and say to ourselves that this is a team being built from the ground up? I don't think so. The back-ups stepped up in a big, big way. They have showed a desire to win and have proven to themselves, to us, that they could do it. The dedication and the heart to win as a team was shown against Tampa Sunday.

Tampa Bay came into Houston with a chance to clinch their division.(without help) and couldn't do it. The Texan's played like they played at the begining of the season, but this time it was with most of their back-ups. This wasn't the Texans of old I was watching, but a much more improved team, that played like a team. Finally! I was the first to write the Texans season off because of all the injuries they have sustained. But when you look back at the positive things that have happened, this is one you could really build off of.