Will The Houston Texans Be The First Team To Finish 0-17?
The Houston Texans had one of the loudest offseasons in the NFL. The Deshaun Watson situation has become one of the more polarizing stories the league has ever seen, they hired a first-time head coach who is 65 years old and their roster is horrible. With the 2021 season being the longest to date with an additional 17th regular-season game, could the Houston Texans be the first team to go 0-17?
Quarterback Situation
What is going on with Deshaun Watson? Every day I hear more stories and reports that make me uneasy about this situation. Watson’s market has decreased dramatically as many teams have picked up their quarterback in the draft or free agency. Teams like Carolina traded for Sam Darnold, the 49ers drafted Trey Lance and Indianapolis made a deal for Carson Wentz. The Dolphins and Eagles were mentioned as teams still interested but how can you willingly trade for him when all these allegations are still out there. He also comes with a huge price tag, we are talking three first-round picks and two seconds at the minimum, until the situation gets handled Watson is not going anywhere.
If Watson is not traded and suits up for the Texans let’s not forget this team went 4-12 last year with Watson under center. In the rare case, he is traded or benched, the QB depth chart consists of Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills, yikes. Easily a bottom three QB room without Watson.
Head Coach
I’m sure David Culley is a nice guy but how does a lifelong coordinator get his first head coaching job at 65 years old. I am going to assume no high-level coach wanted the Houston job and they settled for Culley. I will not be surprised when he is fired after one year and honestly, it won’t be his fault he gets fired. I may have my gripes about Urban Meyer but Culley is easily the fourth-best coach in their division.
Bad Roster
Outside of Deshaun Watson who might not even play, does this team have any special talent on their roster? They got rid of DeAndre Hopkins two years ago and Jadeveon Clowney and JJ Watt signed deals with new teams. Mark Ingram and Brandin Cooks headline the Texans’ running back and receiving core. I would say that is a good situation if the year was 2016 but were are four months away from 2022. They have Laremy Tunsil but the rest of their offensive line are nobodies and that was evident last year when Watson was running for his life.
As for the defense, I like Zach Cunningham and Justin Reid but that is about it. Lovie Smith also enters his first year as the Texans’ DC which may bring some growing pains trying to get everyone on the same page.
Tough Schedule
The Texans’ schedule is brutal. They play the AFC East and NFC West, two of the top three divisions in football. The Bills just went to an AFC Championship, the Dolphins have an elite roster and the Patriots just retooled their entire team. I don’t even need to get into the NFC West which headlines some of the most elite quarterbacks and coaching in the NFL. Their out-of-division games are not a walk in the park as they play the Browns and the Chargers. I genuinely believe that the only winnable games for the Texans are the two division games they have against Jacksonville and their November matchup against the Jets.
I say they go 1-16 getting one victory against Jacksonville. The best-case scenario is that they win 3 games and even that may be too optimistic.
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