Earlier this afternoon some Texans fans were ecstatic with the possibility of a playoff run. However most knew the reality of the situation, the Texans needed two bad teams to win and the Bengals to play well in a meaningless game. After the Kansas City Chiefs won playoffs looked like they could be on the horizon. But as we all know by now the Jets beat the Bengals and got the much coveted second wild card berth. So let the blaming begin! The scapegoat of the bunch is Kris Brown, a veteran kicker who lost his confidence Brad Lidge style. While he didn’t do his job, Kubiak put him on the hot seat by not using his stellar offense to score touchdowns. Coach Kubiak opted to set up for field goals at the end of the game. (Someone should have told him he had a good offense.) Of course Kubiak is on the list as well. And maybe Steve Slaton losing the magic he had in the first season. (Which might be attributed to the loss of our two starting guards but that seems like a free pass.)

While we could sit here and play the blame game, which I’m sure myself and many other fans will do in the off season, I’d like to look at some positive.

First the defense.  After last seasons miserable excuse for a defense we made a new hire in DC, Mr. Frank Bush. Frank Bush’s defense had a rocky start, but as it started to gel with the hardcore tendencies of Brian Cushing and the acquisition of Bernard Pollard. The linebacking core was amazing and as the year went on the defense only got better.

Second, Matt Schaub started 16 games and silenced all doubters. With a little more leadership and charisma the guy should be a pro bowler next year.

Third Arian Foster. The main reason we even won the game against the Pats was the rushing effort on the new guy. He might not be the answer but he was a Godsend for the closing of our first winning record.

The season shouldn’t have ended like this yes. (Relying on other teams to win games instead of letting our record speak for itself.) We only have to look at the first game of the season and think that if we would have beat the lowly Jets we would be in the playoffs right now.

My hopes for the Houston Texans have packed their bags and walked out the door. The Houston Texans loosing to the Jacksonville Jaguars broke my heart, but I saw it coming. Something told me that the Texans were going to disappoint me.

This season has been full of heartache and indigestion for me. All of our losses have been winable. All of our losses have been within 7 points. (With the exception of the Colts loss last week, we lost by 8.) I keep coming back to this because it is my biggest complaint: Gary Kubiak is a bad game manager. He might be an ok player manager (I doubt it though, look at all of the penalties) but he cannot manage a game to save his life. Stupid play calls (A Chris Brown option…what?), poor clock management (not taking a timeout in the fourth quarter of the first Indy game) and settling for field goals when a touchdown will win the game (has anyone told Coach that we have a potent offense?) Say what you want, but Kubiak should instill confidence in our offense by putting the game on their shoulders. Let Schaub take us to the promise land and win a game with some big passes. That’s telling your offense, ‘I believe in you guys, win the game for us.’ Trying to tie the game instead of winning it is saying, ‘Our offense can’t score, let’s just settle for three.’

But then again, maybe that was a good decision. Poor Kris Brown is on suicide watch. Kris Brown is an original Texans and has been a clutch kicker his entire career. But putting so much pressure on a kicker when he’s in a bit of a slump is making him the scapegoat and writing him a ticket out of town. Maybe Kubiak wanted a scapegoat for the season. I’d hate to see Kris Brown have a Brad Lidge meltdown of confidence but that could happen. Brown might be in another jersey soon even though these games shouldn’t have been on him to begin with.

And speaking of men named Kris Brown, let’s move on to the other: Chris Brown. What a stupid option play to call. Every Texan fan died a little bit when that play was called. You never, never, never let a running back have an option of throwing the ball…because they’ll THROW IT. 99.9 % of the time a running back will go with the option to throw instead of run because it’s in all of our natures to want to be the quarterback. We aren’t a wildkat team, Kubiak. Did you call that play on a dare?

Here’s a dare: Andre Johnson, I dare you to stick around. Andre said in an interview earlier this season that he wanted to stick around and make this team great. Andre Johnson is the best receiver in the league. He’s tough, has great hands, unselfish, not a media hog, or a lunatic, and he’s fast! That’s the perfect receiver for a franchise. I’ve heard so much talk nationally and locally about Johnson’s future. I believe Andre when he says he wants to stick around, but we have to prove that we want to be a winning team.

Gary Kubiak wants to coach a winning team, but I don’t think he’s a head coach. He’s not a bad coach. Gary Kubiak brought the Texans into contention. The Texans can compete with any team. The thing is the Texans beat themselves. Gary Kubiak is vanilla. He’s mediocre. And because he’s mediocre the player are mediocre. The Texans might be the biggest group of underachievers this year. I don’t see Kubiak turning this around. We need to move on. Which is ridiculous of me to say because I subscribe to the give the coach a chance to get his system going philosophy.

I just don’t see this working out. I see a good offense system. I see a defense that’s improving. But I do not see the leadership that takes it to the next level. I’m afraid we suck this year, again. We’re worse than a bad team, we’re a good team that can’t play like a good team.

Falcons over Redskins

Face it, the Redskins aren’t winning any upset games this season. Even though he is talented Jason Campbell is going to lose his job. The Redskins are the most disappointing team in the league.

Bears beat Cards

This is going to be a close game. I think these teams matchup well and the main reason I’m choosing the Bears is because they have home field advantage. Winning in Chicago can be tough for a team that plays in Arizona.

Ravens over the Cardiac Cats

This week five matchup was amazing. The Bengals are a good team and could very well win this game. But I’m going with the Ravens monster offense in this one. The Ravens want this win after getting a game taken from them. My bet would be this game won’t be as close as the last but it will be a good test for the Bengals.

Texans over Colts

Alright, half of my decision of picking the Texans is because whenever I want to pick against them I’m wrong. I think this game could be a shoot out. Matt Schaub and the Texans will find a way to spread the ball around (even with Owen Daniels out). The Texans have a good receiving core and can pass. Peyton Manning and the Colts will be…well Peyton Manning and the Colts. It won’t be a classic shoot out, punters will get some field time but I think it could be a game decided by who has the ball last. It’s going to be good, Go Texans.

Chiefs lose to Jags

Nothing would make me happier than the Jags losing to a bad team but the Chiefs are too bad. The Jags have more talent and should make easy work of the Chiefs.

New England over Miami

New England needs to win this game. Actually they really want to win this game. I think this game could go either way but my money’s on the Pats.

Bucs lose to the Pack

So enter Josh Freeman, the Bucs rookie quarterback, the third quarterback and the second by the name of Josh. The Bucs might be better but probably not this week. This will be a frustrating game for Freeman and Bucs fans.

New Orleans stay undefeated against Panthers

I keep hearing about a Panthers upset, but I’m not buying it. The Panthers defense might be improving and the offense is starting to click but the Saints are amazing and still the better team. The Panthers might give Brees unexpected trouble but I think that’s the closest this game is getting to an upset.

Seahawks over Lions

The Seahawks need a win to get going and they will probably take it against a struggling Lions team.

Giants over Chargers

The Chargers are on a winning streak and the Giants are digging themselves a hole. Not to mention that this is the “2005 Let’s Swap QBs” Bowl. This is going to be one tough fought game. I think that the Giants are the better team so I’m going with them.

Titans lose to ‘Niners

Looking at my picks I’m thinking this is going to be another tough week. Most of these games are too close to call for me. This is another good match up and I’m picking Niners because the Titans defense has been horrible. I want to go with Chris Johnson running  to a win but my gut tells me Niners will find a way.

Philly over Dallas

Hey, let’s get two streaky teams and give them a primetime game! I’m going with Eagles because their defense should fair better than Dallas’. Oh man, I’m going to consult a grammar book but I’m pretty sure that apostrophe is correct there. Harkins? Dallas is tough to pick in games you think they can lose on their own. Who ever wins this game gets to be Division Champ until New York beats them.

Pittsburgh beats Denver

This could very well be a nice good defensive game. I like shoot outs as much as the next guy but every now and then I need a good old school defensive smack down. While I do think Denver is good I’m not sure if their as good as their record indicates right now. I think Pittsburgh takes ‘em down a notch on MNF. Plus Coach Mike Tomlin is 4-0 on Monday nights.

Minnesota losses to Pittsburgh

The Vikings are for real and the Steelers need to continue to win to make progress. This is the game of the week. I’m taking the Steelers because they’re more hungry for a win and have a stingier defense than the Vikings. And the Steelers have home field advantage and Polamalu. This will be a tough game for both teams.

Texans beat the ‘Niners

So far this season the Texans have been taken odd numbered weeks off. However, now that the Texans have found their groove on offense and defense they will be more consistent. Or at least they should be, I’m probably speaking too soon. I think the Schaub and Johnson will find a way around the ‘Niners defense and the ‘Niners offense won’t be spectacular. Frank Gore will probably get 100 + yards but it won’t be easy. Man, I hope I’m right about this game…

San Diego beat the Chiefs

San Diego is sliding down a very slippery slope of failure. They are under .500 yet they should be their division leader. San Diego has played much tougher games than the Chiefs and have been relatively keeping the score close. In other words they could be winning they just aren’t. If that game they almost lost wasn’t a sign I don’t know what was. Because we all know Oakland isn’t a good team no matter what Richard Seymour says. The Chiefs are good but not good enough.

Green Bay over Cleveland

Cleveland is horrible. There is no way I can see Cleveland winning this, but every dog has it’s day…it’s just not on Sunday or this season for Cleveland. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cleveland can’t find a way to knock down Aaron Rodgers. Any time I turn on a Green Bay Packers game this season it appears Rodgers is napping.

Indy over St. Louis

The Rams are a little bit more of a contender with Marc Bulger back. They almost won a game! But Indy is too good of a team. Sorry Rams, your win will come someday.

New England over Tampa Bay

This week Tampa Bay is in London. The NFL International Series is presented to you by Pepsi Max. New England has proved that they are still a good team and the Bucs have proved they want the first pick of the draft. Did the NFL intentionally plan a mismatched game to make American football seem more exciting? Picking New England over Tampa isn’t really any news so I pick British people to politely clap their hands and mildly shout out, “Good shot!” and “What a pleasant forward lateral!”

Carolina beats Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills have had problems this year and this week they have a guy named Ryan Fitzpatrick starting under center. The Bills running game will not be enough to beat the Panthers who have a great running game themselves. Carolina has won their last two games and will probably win their next.

New York Jets over Oakland

So which quarterback will make more mistakes? Probably JaMarcus Russell. I feel bad for the guy but this team stinks. The Jets defense will look incredible and as long as the Jets can score once they will win.

Atlanta over Dallas

The Falcons offense will prove to be too much for Dallas. But I think it’s going to be a good game. The Cowboys offense will put up some points but I think the Falcons offense will be better.

Chicago loses to  Cincinnati

I like the Cardiac Cats at home. The Bengals lost last week and are a good streaky team which means we might count on a win from them.

New Orleans over Miami

The Miami Dolphins defense will be tested this week. But the Saints are good on both sides of the ball. This should be an easy win for the Saints.

Arizona loses to the New York Giants

Start spreading the news, the Giants are bouncing back this week. They suffered a tough loss against the Saints last week and are ready to prove themselves.

Philly over Washington

I asked Alex, my girlfriend and fashion consultant, who would win the Eagles or Redskins.  Alex says that the Eagles will beat the Redskins because they can fly. I have to agree. Even though the Eagles lost last week they should still be better than the Redskins…if not their season is over.