woodsmall12
All-Star
The Houston Texans are coming off a disappointing 2016 season in which the team finished 5-11 overall - The team was decimated with injuries throughout the year to some key performers, namely Jonathan Joseph and Lamar Miller - Big free agent pick up Brock Osweiler threw for over 4,000 yds yet turned the ball over twice as many times as TDs thrown - Defensive miscues throughout the season continued to haunt the team at critical moments - And when you look back at the schedule, you will notice that Houston was in every game they played - Their largest defeat coming in at 12 points and the remaining 10 games were decided by 8 points or less, a difference or no more than one touchdown! Coach O'Brien will need to clean up these issues in order to get this team back on the tracks and playing winning football again ... so let's talk about some positives and what the team plans to look for this offseason:
- WR Will Fuller's development took off this season and spilled over into off-season workouts as well - Fuller finished the season with over 1,000 yds receiving and was awarded the AFC Rookie of the Year - Along with that the rookie was named to the Pro Bowl team - After arriving back from Hawaii, Fuller decided to spend his off-season with Deandre Hopkins to step up his game and it paid off ... Fuller was awarded Superstar development and has improved his attributes upwards to an 80 overall after only one season - Expect big things from Mr. Fuller in 2017
- With the #4 pick in the upcoming draft, the Texans are looking to add a defensive player to shore up their coverage skills ... the question remains, will they stay at 4 and take the best available player or opt to double down and possibly add some more picks or pieces to their team - Really can't go wrong either way and we don't expect the decision to be made until Draft Day - Some early conversations have been fruitful in relation to upgrading some soft spots on the team - Look for the Texans to make some trades once the off-season hits
- The defense will move to a 4-3 this year - We saw the Jaguars and Vikings have immediate success this year when running from a 4-3 defense - The Texans have quite a bit of athleticism on the team and believe this transition will be one that could be very beneficial - The defense will continue to be led by superstars JJ Watt and Jonathan Joseph and the younger talent on D, such as Clowney, Mercilus, and CB Kevin Johnson, should continue to develop and wreck havoc with some of their elite level attributes
- O'Brien has admitted to the struggles with the current playbook - Our run game has been easy to shut down which seems to make us a one trick pony - Coach has revised the playbook and will make the transition this season to one that suites our team and can really showcase the offensive talent without limiting our possibilities - Osweiler has a rocket arm so we need to stretch the field more often and get players into space in order to be successful
I critical year for the Texans as a few fading stars will ride their last rodeo this year in Vince Wilfork and talks of Jonathan Joseph retiring - The youth will need to continue to develop at a furious pace in order to replace the veterans - Also Coach O'Brien's seat will be heating up if the team were to lose a few of their first few games - I can't imagine coach making it through yet another losing season - Expect him to let it all hang out each and every week with the weapons he has on this young and talented offense!