The regular football writing had to be put on hold but how can this happen without making mention of it. Andre Johnson, one of the nicest guys in the world, threw down yesterday. Cortland Finnegan deserves to get hit, on a regular basis. And even though Andre apologized he earned some respect out there. I hate the Titans and it’s been good, as a fan, to see some of the players really start to despise that team. Rivalries are awesome to watch and this is just another thing that’s going to keep the Texans/Titans games more interesting. Andre did everything right, he didn’t get pushed around, fought back, apologized without excuses and is willing to take his punishment like a man. Yeah he lost his cool but he’s got respect. Cortland Finnegan–one of the funniest names in football–is a chump.

Week One Notes: I went 10-6 for week one, 63%. Not bad. First off Arian Foster is my hero right now. That man went insane on the Colts. Although mad props to the Texans O-Line and the blocking beast that is Vonta Leach. If you go back and watch some of those runs look for Leach punishing people with awesome lead blocks. Not trying to take away from Foster but I could have averaged about three yards a carry with that blocking. Both of the times the Texans have beat the Colts, I picked the Colts to win…consipiracy?

The Cowboys looked terrible, which made me really happy until I realized I picked them to win.

I take the bad things I said about San Diego/Kansas City not being a good game. That game was good and it looks like KC might actually be a good sleeper this year. (Or at least like Denver last year.)

The Jets offense looked bad (just like I said it would). I think the Jets are good, just not as good as everyone is making them out to be. I’ve said that since the Jets became media darlings last season. Enough chit-chat let’s get to the picks.

Pittsburgh at Tennessee

The Titans were lucky enough to play the Raiders in week one but this game is going to test them for real. The Steelers look good, Dennis Dixon…not so much. I still think Dixon is a solid back-up but I obviously retract my “people will love Dennis Dixon” after his week one performance.  I feel a low scoring game here with a stout Steelers D and a most likely lack luster offense against the Titans. However I think it’ll be easier for Tennessee to get on the board.

Miami at Minnesota

Both of these teams had an unattractive week one. Minnesota got embarrassed on the season opener and Miami made me  wonder if the Bills were a good team. That does not bode well for Miami fans. The Dolphins are better than that but hey they still got the win. I’m going with Minnesota at home and with an angry Favre. P.S. How many more games does Favre have in him? A side bet to make with friends.

Arizona at Atlanta

Arizona barely got by the Rams and now have to travel to Atlanta. Atlanta’s offense looked pretty back but I think they’ll get back in the grove this game. And maybe the Atlanta defense can get some confidence against Arizona. Atlanta wins.

Baltimore at Cincinnati

The Bengals might be able to get some passing yards against the suspect secondary in Baltimore. Yeah right now Baltimore is 1st in passing yards allowed but that’s just because the played the Jets. And the Bengals ate up yards in the air last week. However I think the Ravens are better and will not lose this game. Another close game for Baltimore this week? The return of the Cardiac Cats? I think so.

Kansas City at Cleveland

I think this is an easy pick (depending on whether a not KC is a fluke). KC looked good in the late night MNF and last week Cleveland looked like…well Cleveland. And there are reports the Jake Delhomme is questionable and not practicing. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing for Cleveland. I still think KC can win this and show they’re a good team now.

Chicago at Dallas

This is a tough call because it’s really tough to peg these teams for me right now. I’m going with Chicago because Detroit is not as bad as they have been and Chicago put good D on them and had a decent offensive outing. And Dallas really likes beating themselves.

Philadelphia at Detroit

The battle of the backups. Michael Vick is starting his first game since 2006 which will be either very disappointing or very exciting. It’s like when Quentien Tarentino came out with the Grindhouse Double Feature. You knew it was going to be great or it was going to be a huge tease. On the other side there’s Shaun Hill, filling in for Matthew Stafford. Shaun Hill is actually 10-6 as a starter and is a decent QB. But he has as much appeal as that Legends of G’Hoole owl movie.  As much as I want the Lions to win this one I have to go with the Eagles.

Buffalo at Green Bay

No Ryan Grant for Green Bay but the good news is they have a week to figure out how to run the ball. Playing Buffalo is a free pass for Green Bay to find out what works for them without Grant. This would be a tough win for Buffalo on the road, I’m going with Green Bay.

Tampa Bay at Carolina

I smell a game with a lot of rushing yards here. It’ll be a close one with Carolina getting the edge.

Seattle at Denver

Seattle’s win over San Fran was not all that impressive on their part. I think Denver is the better team and will be ready to win this one. Maybe I just hate Pete Carroll.

St. Louis at Oakland

I don’t know where to begin with this one. I’m thinking Oakland but it’s almost too close to call. You really would like one of these teams to come out of the NFL cellar but last week did not look good for either team. The team that wins this could gain momentum to…almost hit 500 but the team who loses is verifying their spot in the cellar. I’m going with…sigh…Oakland.

Houston at Washington

Will Arian Foster have a repeat performance? No. Will Arian Foster have a good game? Yes. One thing about the Texans though is they have an incredible passing game that was not unleashed last week. I’m thinking the pass attack comes full force here. This should be a very pass happy (Kyle Shanahan) game but I’m going with Houston to win the shoot-out.

New England at NY Jets

This game should be fun. In one corner we have a team loved by the media who is showing it’s flaws and had a horrible week one. In the other a team that is not well like outside of it’s own fan base, has been written off this season, however had a great week one. The Pats look good and I don’t think the Jets have what it takes to stop them. Sub-plot of this game is whether or not Randy Moss gets stranded on Revis Island.

Jacksonville at San Diego

I don’t want to pick one here because I feel like I’ll be jinxing one of them. This is an important win for both of these teams in terms of momentum. I think the Chargers are a better team and they are playing at home. San Diego will win but the Jags might be able to prove that they’re to be taken seriously.

NY Giants at Indianapolis

The battle of the Manning’s. Here’s the way it works. Indy is a better team. Indy has now lost the Super Bowl and a game vs. the Texans they historically win. Indy is a football machine that wins games. Indy will beat the Giants.

New Orleans at San Francisco

The Saints are in back-to-back prime time games here. The Saints looked really good last Thursday and have had plenty of time off to rest and prepare. San Francisco on the other hand had horrible offensive woes last week and have a really tough opponent here. New Orleans should win this game hands down.

Earlier this afternoon some Texans fans were ecstatic with the possibility of a playoff run. However most knew the reality of the situation, the Texans needed two bad teams to win and the Bengals to play well in a meaningless game. After the Kansas City Chiefs won playoffs looked like they could be on the horizon. But as we all know by now the Jets beat the Bengals and got the much coveted second wild card berth. So let the blaming begin! The scapegoat of the bunch is Kris Brown, a veteran kicker who lost his confidence Brad Lidge style. While he didn’t do his job, Kubiak put him on the hot seat by not using his stellar offense to score touchdowns. Coach Kubiak opted to set up for field goals at the end of the game. (Someone should have told him he had a good offense.) Of course Kubiak is on the list as well. And maybe Steve Slaton losing the magic he had in the first season. (Which might be attributed to the loss of our two starting guards but that seems like a free pass.)

While we could sit here and play the blame game, which I’m sure myself and many other fans will do in the off season, I’d like to look at some positive.

First the defense.  After last seasons miserable excuse for a defense we made a new hire in DC, Mr. Frank Bush. Frank Bush’s defense had a rocky start, but as it started to gel with the hardcore tendencies of Brian Cushing and the acquisition of Bernard Pollard. The linebacking core was amazing and as the year went on the defense only got better.

Second, Matt Schaub started 16 games and silenced all doubters. With a little more leadership and charisma the guy should be a pro bowler next year.

Third Arian Foster. The main reason we even won the game against the Pats was the rushing effort on the new guy. He might not be the answer but he was a Godsend for the closing of our first winning record.

The season shouldn’t have ended like this yes. (Relying on other teams to win games instead of letting our record speak for itself.) We only have to look at the first game of the season and think that if we would have beat the lowly Jets we would be in the playoffs right now.

So week sixteen went well for me, my picks as well as my Texans. I went 12-4, which puts my season total to 151-87 (.634). Who would have thought the Texans would have had a second half breakdown and still manage to win a tough one on the road?

As for playoffs, we in Houston can but dream. But the AFC wildcard chase is more crowded than an elevator holding the Patriots offensive line. This might be the best last week of the season in a while. I can’t wait to watch some hardcore, heartfelt football on Sunday.

For those people hoping Belichick will play a soft game against the Texans on Sunday can keep dreaming. There’s no way Mean Ol’ Belichick is going to let another playoff contender just waltz their way to a win. Maybe he might rest the starters if they’re ahead but probably in the fourth quarter. People claim he did it in Miami a couple years back but Miami wasn’t going to the playoffs and Nick Saban is part of the Belichick mafia. Gary Kubiak won’t be so lucky. Kubiak is going to have to outwit the Pats. He’s going to have to play aggressive. He’s going to have to prove that he’s the coach that can lead this team into the playoffs. This is the defining moment of Kubiak’s coaching career in Houston. Houston fans will remember this game win or lose. If he losses, he might be back next season as head coach but no one will respect him and the whole season would be just waiting for him to mess up to kick him out of town. If he wins, he lives to see another day and he might be a hero if we sneak into that last wildcard spot.

Indy over Buffalo.

New Orleans over Carolina.

Cleveland over Jacksonville.

Houston over New England.

Minnesota over Giants.

San Fran over St. Louis.

Atlanta over Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh over Miami.

Chicago over Detroit.

Philly over Dallas.

Kansas City over Denver.

Baltimore over Oakland.

Tennessee over Seattle.

San Diego over Washington.

Green Bay over Arizona.

Cincinnati over Jets.