2014 in the Eyes of Houston

Last season was a headline year for the Texans (and not for a good reason), but then the Texans record (2-14) doesn't exactly tell the whole story. They started the season 2-0, they lost their head coach for several weeks after a minor stroke, their entire backfield was injured at some point of the season, and that's just the beginning...

2013 Recap:

It's been a difficult season at the Reliant.

The defining characteristic of their season has been an inability to close out games. Taking the Texans half-time score lines, their record improves to 6-10. If you then accept that during the first two games they didn't have problems with closing games (beating their opponents in the second half and winning the games), and made those wins stand their record becomes 8-8. Further to that, if they hadn't given up later in the year and had instead contested games to improve their winning record they would have been a play off team. The first thing to acknowledge is that there isn't much that needs to change in Houston's personnel, they're a team with great talent that has played well through most of the season. The game planning was consistently poor, and that ensured that the team suffered when they shouldn't have necessarily had many problems.

I didn't mention JJ Watt, but we all know what he can do.

Key Players:

• DeAndre Hopkins (WR) - Coming off an impressive rookie season, DeAndre Hopkins has already made his position as No.2 reciever secure. 2014 is the season for him to break out and prove he can run with the all stars.
• Arian Foster (RB) - He may have been injured for most of this past season, but that doesn't mean he'll be any less valuable when he returns. He's still an all pro running back, and he's not worn out yet. I'm in favour of the Texans releasing Ben Tate if they want to keep just one of the two.
• DJ Swearinger (Safety) - Excellent rookie talent. Really looking forward to seeing him improve further through 2014, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him going All-Pro within the next two seasons.
• Brian Cushing (LB) - Provided he recovers from his injury to full strength, there's no reason that the Texans can't shut down the run with him backing up an already dominant D-Line.

Missing Pieces:

• Quarterback: This one is up in the air in my view. Both Keenum and Schaub suffered from the game calling that they were given. Keenum is still young, and he's looking to continue improving over the next two seasons. Unfortunately the NFL doesn't give a QB that long...
• Offensive Line: This isn't a solution that can easily be resolved, but there was no cohesion within the line, making the job that bit more difficult for both Keenum and Schaub, where it really need not have been. I'm not an expert with respect to O-Line strategy, but it's evident that changes need to be made.

How They Improve:

Quarterback:

The Texans are in need of security at this position, and more they're in need of certainty. Schaub and Keenum traded time throughout the season, and Keenum then got injured leaving Schaub to fend for himself. As good as he has been, he's not a quarterback to see you into the future. The most likely solution is to pick up the top prospect in this years draft. Murmours out of Houston suggest either Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles are the underclassmen of choice.

Gameplan:
The Texans were in contention in most of their games. They were winning a number of them at half time. They were kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns (see Week Six vs The Rams). They were putting up yards, especially when Arian Foster was healthy. The only thing they couldn't do was close out. This meant red zone offense, 4th quarter success and even OT. They quite simply didn't complete what they started. Hopefully the changing of the coaching staff with amend this, as the team is still stacked with talent.

Prediction:

The Texans have to improve, there's not much of an option. They won't get straight back to the top, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them challenging for a playoff spot if Bill O'Brian can put together some more effective game plans.

I'm going to say this could mean they fall between 6-10 & 8-8. Moving back towards where they're expected to be, and that could mean the post season being within touching distance provided they do not suffer the injury plague that hit the team in 2013.

There are still too many questions to be answered in Houston, and it mostly rests on how well Bill O'Brian settles in, and how the players respond to his leadership.