Looking ahead past the bye week. Only six games left, Andre Johnson returning. I don't think it's out of the question for Houston to really make some noise down the stretch. Their only tough games remaining are against the Falcons in Houston and the Bengals on the road. Both are winnable games, in my opinion.

They'll likely blow out the Colts, Titans, Jaguars and Panthers in the other four games. I've got a lot of confidence in their great rushing attack, offensive line, and number one ranked defense in the NFL. Johnathan Joseph is turning out to be the best free agent signing of the off-season, unless you count Wade Phillips' hiring, and Brian Cushing should be in the mix for defensive player of the year.

Houston has a good chance to end up with a top two seed in the AFC. Right now they're 1st in the AFC at 7-3, Steelers are 2nd at 7-3 -- Texans got the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh. But there will also be three 6-3 teams after tonight as well - Ravens, Bengals and the Patriots-Jets winner. So everything is up for grabs but the Texans have a good shot going down the stretch due to their favorable schedule.

Can't wait for November 27 and the return of Andre Johnson!!! These final six games will be a lot fun for Houston.

CBS’ Shannon Sharpe says Texans are best team in AFC

http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2011/11/cbs-shannon-sharpe-says-texans-are-best-team-in-afc/


Shannon Sharpe is seeing what I'm seeing. Houston just needs to get it done. The problem now is waiting two weeks just to play again which Bill Cowher mentioned. When you're on a nice little roll and four-game winning streak you want to get back out there and play. Even with all the injuries, Houston hasn't made any excuses.

That would be sweet if the Texans end up with a first-round bye and home field advantage during their first time in the playoffs. I wish the season ended right now. A lot of things can happen in the final six games for Houston. It seems too good to be true. I'm just cautiously glancing at the news reports on Andre Johnson every single morning -- waiting for some type of setback in his hamstring recovery. But all indications is that he's almost 100 % and will play November 27.

Marv Albert. I was waiting for him to say, "YESSSS!!! He served up a facial..." LOL

if the niners can win w/ alex smith, we can win w/ leinart. especially w/ our shitty schedule.

i think we should get a qb in the first or second round next year. dont really want schaub for another 3+ years.

“Schaub is a great leader for this team,” Leinart said. “I told him, ‘We’re going to continue to win for him and keep this thing moving.’ ”

I can only imagine how good the Texans will be next year with everybody back healthy (Super Mario, in particular) plus another draft and FA class? Ever since 2006 the Texans have been drafting as well as any team in the league. It's been a great 5-year stretch for Houston, in terms of the overall talent they have compiled. They've already made so many big strides this year. The defense is ranked number one in the entire league. The rush offense is exceptional and the offensive line is probably the best in the league.

Texans may become a legitimate Super Bowl contender next year. This season, they've got to make the playoffs, win the AFC South. Get some experience in the big games throughout January. Even with Leinart at quarterback, I expect Andre Johnson to have his "Larry Fitzgerald moment" in the playoffs. That year Arizona made a surprising run to the Super Bowl.

Ironcally enough, it was Leinart who witnesed it first hand as the backup QB to Kurt Warner. I also like Houston's chances down the stretch, even to win a playoff game or two. They've got to keep fighting for home field and a top two seed in the AFC. That hasn't changed just because of another injury.

Schaub only threw 15 total passes against Tampa Bay but two of them were sensational Touchdown passes. I'm confident Matt Leinart can make the same play-action passes and boot legs -- similar to the Jacoby Jones Touchdown that I posted. The only difference will be he's left handed. He'll be relying more on Eric Winston at Right Tackle to protect his blind side instead of Duane Brown.

Houston can still win against any team. The formula to success never changed. Run the ball and play good defense. Beat teams with the play-action passes just to keep them off balanced. The Texans have too much talent on offense. Andre Johnson coming back is a huge lift to the entire team. They'll rally behind Matt Leinart and get the job done.

I'm not too worried only because this team has been down the same road numerous times all season long. There's always another guy stepping up.

someone posted on a different forum that schaub/foster/johnson has only been on the field for 1 quarter this year.

son of a bitch. rofl.

Matt Leinart flew back to Southern California last night. He's not even in Houston right now. I guess the two weeks to practice thing was kind of overblown? Gary Kubiak gave the team the entire week off. They don't return to practice until Monday. And then they'll get Thursday anf Friday off to spend Thanksgiving with their families next week.

So it's pretty much on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday's walk through (4 days) that they'll practice for the Jaguars game on November 27. LOL, Matty better be ready. Andre Johnson said he's feeling 100 % yesterday so that's the best news I've heard in a while.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Nov 16 2011 09:41am

I'll be watching the Falcons and Titans game tomorrow. 4:15 PM eastern on CBS. A Titans loss would put the Texans 2 games ahead with 6 games left. And really they'll be 3 games ahead if that happens because they own the tie-breaker with Tennessee. I'd feel a lot better once the Texans actually clinch the AFC South.

Matt Schaub hasn't made up his mind on having surgery yet. He was on the local sports-talk shows saying he's going to try to come back late in the season and be ready for the playoffs if Houston makes it. Everybody is just assuming he's out for the year, which he will be if he has surgery. He's still going to see another specialist and make the decision after Thanksgiving.

Matt Schaub was in good spirits, even laughed and said, "I was never that fast to begin with. I can play on one foot. I did unknowingly for half the game against Tampa Bay. It's not looking good right now but if I can avoid surgery that's what I'm after. I do want to come back this season if possible"

UPDATE - Friday, November 18: Gary Kubiak said on 610 in Houston that the team believes Schaub is not out for the season. Schaub is going to seek out more opinions on his foot and the final decision may not be made until after the Texans versus Jaguars game is played November 27.