Texans need fixing but keep it in perspective

The Houston Texans suck!

That seems to be a prominent sentiment in the sports world. The Houston broadcasters, at least at the station I halfway listen to, appear as if they are either jumping for joy or are just plain pissed off at the nine-game losing streak Houston has amassed. Even the heart and the soul of the team, Hall of Fame-bound receiver Andre Johnson, cannot let slide the horror that has become the Texans’ season.

“We suck,” Johnson told reporters.

Okay, at 2-9, the Houston Texans are bad. We get that. Why, will be one of these things studied like the conspiracy angles of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Well, perhaps not examined that deeply but will require study. The Texans were 11-2 last year, losing in the AFC playoffs to New England. Those two teams meet — Houston 2-9 and New England 8-3, oh my — Sunday in Houston. Houston was touted by many of the sports luminaries during pre-season as a Super Bowl favorite. But instead, the team has fallen like a house of cards. Why? We keep asking ourselves that very question.

The Texans have played while missing key stars including injured running back Arian Foster and linebacker Brian Cushing. On the coaching side, head coach Gary Kubiak suffered a transient ischemic attack, a.k.a. TIA or a mini-stroke. The last two games saw him leading from the boxes upstairs. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips served as interim coach in two games, likewise losses, after losing his father and Houston favorite coach Bum Phillips. Phillips has held this interim position with several other teams and came to Houston after an unsuccessful stint as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The difficult times for these coaches, in addition to coaching a losing team this year, came toward the last month or so. This story from Eric Frenz of Boston.com (Boston Globe) doesn’t really address why Houston is bad this season, rather he puts the Texans’ losses in context with what the Patriots face this Sunday.

Put this all together and you have a team that is losing and thus is hurting. That’s not a good situation for anyone, especially a pro football player or coach. There are mechanical aspects of the losses by Houston. Likewise there are psychological reasons both individually and team-wise. But it is, thus, the individual who knows they will feel the boos from the crowd. Plus, in this age of 24/7 news and gossip-mongering, the Houston players have to know that the most innocuous slip can put them in the headlines. Take this ridiculous excuse for a sports article: A big wad in the knickers seem to exist by someone over Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III receiving a visit in the locker room from his father after the team’s 26-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers Monday night. How ridiculous!

There looms a ton of stupidity out in the world among those who watch and cheer for the NFL. Some of the ridiculousness will be shed off the backs of players. For others it will be too much. Take this sad tale of when NFL glory crashes and burns.

If something is wrong the problem may eventually be patched up and sent along its way. Too bad Jovan Belcher, who killed his wife then himself — the latter in front of his former Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel and GM Scott Pioli — could not find that fix.

Hopefully the ship that is the Texans will be righted. It might cause some heartaches. Some goodbyes, even to favored coaches or players, will probably happen. But hopefully fans and those involved in the game can keep in context that pro football is a game, albeit a very well-paying one at that.