Texans vs Bengals

Agree, wouldn't put much stock in their last 3 losses when looking at this 1. The Car gm was a letdown spot & without A. Johnson, they just tried to win with the run gm & D as conservatively as possible & prob thought they could vs Car & the Colts. Newton had a great gm & then they outplayed the Colts before losing at the end. And the Titans gm was meaningless & huge for Tenny, yet they still almost won with alot of the starters resting. Yates had a series going 4-4 & AJ got in for awhile so he should be ready to go which makes a big difference as he'll draw alot of attention in addition to being 1 of the top 2 or 3 receivers in the league. He gives Yates that bit of extra confidence & a much needed downfield target for key throws. Like Hou by 3-7 & won't be surprised if they win by 10. At home with a better D, much better run game & Yates will do fine when he needs to vs a Bengals D which is solid, but doesn't get huge pressure with their pass rush & has no shutdown corners. Hou 23 Cincy 17  

One thing to remember, when Schaub went down, Leinart was next in line but with a short leash. Yates was very close to being the starter even with a healthy Leinart. He is technically the #3 but I would say tied for a #2 but with no NFL experience. Leinart gets the nod. I am from Houston but live in Wisco and everyone I know (in Houston) is excited for this game but yes, we know next year is the year. I am on the Texans big and I know they will tighten it up for this game. I have watched every game and the last three were BS games. I was not even that upset losing them. Preferred winning but I didn't throw shit around the room and have a shitty 2-3 days later. LOL. Def will be solid, AJ will draw A LOT of attention and Foster and Tate will run very well. I will easily give 3 in this game but worry about moving any further in the post season.

BOL

Mak - good to hear from a Hou fan on here. Am originally from Houston myself (but haven't lived in TX for a long time) & an old Oiler fan going back to the AFL days when they won they won 2 championships with Blanda as a kid. Took awhile to warm up to the Texans & really thought they had a good chance to make serious noise this yr before Schaub went down. Agree with you & think they come out & play a better game than they did in beating Atl & Cincy before the 3 losses. Like Yates alot as a 5th rd rook, but can only expect so much in the playoffs from any rookie.To even win the division & a gm in the playoffs with the injuries they've had to key guys all year would be a big accomplishment & I think that'll be the case. To beat Balty at their place is too much to ask, but even that 1 might be closer than alot of folks will think. A great D & ground game can go a long way sometimes if you can take care of the ball. We'll see - Go Texans! 

Quote Originally Posted by cashin:

Well, in a conservative & cautious type gm which it will be to a large degree, whose D would you rather have? Who would you rather have carryin the rock - Tate & Foster or an overrated C. Benson on the downside of his career? How much will homefield matter in a gm like that when it's basically the Texans SB? Don't get me wrong, no doubt Cincy could win but I see alot more factors pointing to Houston. Cincy has not beaten a winning tm all yr & Dalton has not played as well lately as he did earlier in the year. Tenny had the best record of any of the Bengals W's - the same team Hou almost beat yesterday resting most of their regulars in a meaningless gm for them but possibly huge for the Titans. Texans were written off by alot of folks after Schaub went down & then AJ got hurt again, but if Johnson's hammy is good enough for him to be 90% or so, Cincy looks like a loser to me. Just don't be surprised if Foster & Tate combine for about a buck & a half & "no happy feet" Yates throws for about 210 with a TD/no ints & the Texans head to Baltimore more comfortably than expected 

 well said, give me Hou in their FIRST home playoff game in franchise history with a bettter rb & D against a bungle team that went 0-7 vs playoff teams.. the bungles are and have been 1 of the worst coach franchises for years.. their best playmaker aj green isn't 100%, there is no reason that Foster/Tate won't run all over them just as Rice did last week and to the Hou "homer" claiming that the fans/players won't be pumped and excited for this I just got off the phone with Coach Ditka and he said  to tell you to STOP IT!!!!