Houston Texans by Da Proff

LITTLE BLINN COLLEGE OF BRENHAM TX NATIONAL CHAMPS

2006-12-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Top ranked Ntln Jr. CC Blinn Bucs beat 2nd ranked Pearl River (Miss.) CC 19-6 last night to claim the national championship, the 3rd time they've done so in the last 11 years, & the first for coach Brad Franchione, son of Texas A&M head coach Dennis. Led by the nations top ranked defense & All American cornerback Ryan Mouton, they limited the opponents to 53 yds rushing on 31 attempts. The offense, led by another All American, tailback Bernard Scott, who came into the game leading the nation w/ 1892 yds, controlled the clock w/ 194 yds rushing, 193 & 1 TD by Scott. We got some boys in Texas who can play the game.

DeMECO RYANS AFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

2006-12-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Go back to one of my very first blogs posted in late Aug during the beginning of presea & you'll find my early prediction that this kid would be our defensive player of the year AND by years end would be in the top 3 def rookies of the year. Well, I didn't give the dude enough credit apparently. If theres another rook in the NFL having a better year on D, I sure am not aware of him. Sunday vs Raiders he became the first player in the entire NFL this season to record double digit tackles (15), a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovered (different plays), & along with it had 3 passes defended/broken up. On top of that, the rookie has called all the plays on D since the first game of the season. In his college days at Bama his teammates called him "the little general." He may have solidified his place in the pro bowl w/ Sundays performance - a feat almost unheard of in the NFL for a rook playing on a losing team. The man is a STUD, & you heard it first from Da PROFF.

DaPROFF'S PICK OF THE WEEK - AFTER FALLIN TO 8-2, DOES ANYONE REALLY CARE?!

2006-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

I refuse to go on an unbelieveable 2 game losing streak & so does P. Manning. He won't let his team lose 2 in a row all year, thats un-Manning(esque). The Jags are up & down of late & their UP week was last week in a win at Miami. Colts have to have home field in the playoffs to have a chance of beating the Chargers who have 3 of their last 4 games at home. I'm taking the Colts to win in a high scoring game. The Jags have averaged 24+ points in last 3 games against the Dolphins, Bills & Giants, so they should put up those kind of numbers against the Colts D. If I WERE to place a second bet this week, it would be to take the over on the 44. ( But I'm not ).

I said last week AFTER my loss of taking the under on the Texans game w/ Buffalo that Petey Faggins wouldn't let me down, & he still did, well kinda. His 1st qtr fumble return for a TD again sealed my fate. Isn't it ironic that both of my losses came on taking the under on the Texans who are ranked 15th in scoring in the AFC? I've learned something new this year, I WILL NOT, ever take the under on the Texans again as I found myself yelling to Petey to fall down during his scamper to the end zone. I gladly accepted the loss for the Texans sake, & hey, on the bright side, I still have a shot at the O/U of 5 1/2 wins on the season for a big $20, & I'm still up $300. on the year. But who cares anyway?

STROS TRADING WILLIE T ???? YOUR KIDDING ME !!!

2006-12-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

Talking about knocking me over with a feather. I know ya gotta give up something to get pitching, but damn, this kid along w/ Berkman & Oswalt are our future!! As far as potential growth, I believe this young man has more than anyone else on our club. He's a .300 hitter w/ 40+ steals a year in the making - matter of fact, mark it down for THIS coming year. When he first came up, he was driving the ball into the ground & still had more infield hits than anyone is MLB. Now, he's smoothed his swing & is just becoming a good line drive hitter & will get stronger this off season raising his doubles/triples. His knock is BB's vs strikeouts which is very common for a new player, especially for those jumping from AA to the biggies. My gripe w/ Garner last year was not leaving him in the leadoff spot consistatly & not letting him steal more often. Ya gotta give a rook time in one slot, the same I said about Kubes moving Mario around from DE to tackle in the first 3 games, it's just too much for the young guys to adjust to. Garner refused to let him go w/ 1 out & Berkman hitting except in hit & run situations. Bad move. I'd posted earlier that they need an old timer like Lou Brock to come in & coach this kid on leading off first base/reading pitchers. Every single attempt I saw last year where he was thrown out was just by a whisker - another half-step lead & he was safe. He's has the ability to be the consumate leadoff man, & he has already .made himself into the consumate center fielder

TONY ROMO THE BEST UNDRAFTED PLAYER IN THE NFL ?

2006-12-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

I realize this might be a bit premature, but yes, so far I think so. Have you ever seen a pro QB who grins/laughs so much while on the field? I haven't, the kid enjoys the game. Consider that since taking over the starting QB job, he ranks #1 in the entire NFL in - 1). QB rating 110.8 { 2nd place Manning 100.2} 2). Avg gain per pass 9.20 { 2nd place D. Brees 8.38 w/ Manning @ 7.82 } 3). TD passes per att. 7.2% { 2nd Manning 5.5, while Brees ranks #7 }

Now consider he gets sacked once every 22.5 pass attempts - Manning 31.6 - Brees 41.0......

And, oh, for you D. Carr detractors, he's getting sacked once every 11.7 passes, the least ratio in his 4 previous seasons - by a long shot!!! So get off D. Carrs ass.........

SAINTS THE MOST OVER RATED TEAM IN THE NFC?

2006-12-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

I think so. Tied w/ Dallas & Seattle for the 2nd best record in the NFC at 7 wins w/ 4 losses, they have scored only 35 points more than their D has given up in 11 games for a per game avg of 3.2 points. In addition they give up 140 avg yds rushing per game ranking next to last among the 16 teams. Now consider that their offense is ranked #1 overall in the NFC w/ 402 T. yds gained per game meaning their offense is on the field sustaining drives while the D rests. Look for the 49's/ F. Gore to give them all they can handle today. The 7 point spread is about right, but I think the O/U of 45 is high.

DaPROFF'S SECOND PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-12-03T07:47:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know, totally out of character for me to bet twice in one week, but since I got lucky on thurs. game, I'm going for $100. or a break even week. My 1 loss for the year was taking the under on the Texans/Bengals when Petey Faggins got burned for 2 - 83 yd 1st qtr TD passes.
Petey won't let me down this week, so I'm taking the 36 1/2 under on the Texans again vs. the lowly but up & coming Raiders, because of the recent play of their D, which now ranks an unbelieveable 5th in the AFC despite still averaging giving up 133 yds rushing per game. Over the last 7 games, they have averaged giving up only 10 points per game while having played NFL power teams San Diego, KC, & the Broncos twice. Considering Carr has a grand total of 1 TD pass in the last 5 games, we're missing 3 origional starting O-linemen, & couldn't run the ball even when they were in the starting lineup, I don't see the Texans scoring more than 13 points, which means the Raider offense has to score 24 for me to lose. Look for Carr to go down at least 4 times today - D. Burgess 8 1/2 sacks, W. Sapp 6 will get more hits than P. Rose did in his entire career. Ok, maybe that's a mild stretch. I'll be keying on the O-line new starting rooks (C) D. Hodgon # 55 & (Rt. Tkle) Caveman Winston # 73.

YAO MING SELECTED AS WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE MONTH

2006-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

Back on Nov 6, I predicted that this would be the year that we would hear sports bigwigs announcing on TV that the RRockets are now Yaos' team, not McGradys'. And I took a little ribbing from a couple of blog readers around town - ok, fella beer swilling buddies at "the joint."
The very next day of my post, sports writer of the Houston Chronicle R. Justice write "This is Traceys' team & always will be." That very night before a Rockets game Charles Barkley & Kenny Smith announces the exact same words, as if they'd read the article as I'm sure they did, 'cause neither of them are intelligent enough to come up w/ such a unique/bold statement on their own. Ok, everybody has their opinion, & my opinion is that BOTH of them are BY FAR the absolute worst NBA commentators/analyist on TV today. Almost exactly 1 month to the day of my post, Yao is selected as player of the month for the Western Conference while averaging 25.7 points to McGradys" 18.7, an almost exact reversal from this time last year. Tracey is now RUNNING our team as he should be, averaging a career high of almost 8 assists per game, while saving his 10 year old NBA legs by passing to Yao vs continueous driving to the hoop. The Rockets are off to their best start of the season since 1995, which coincidentally was the last time a Rocket won the same dubious honor, my man "The Dream." Is it also coincidental that this was the same year they won their last NBA playoff game?

BENGALS 13 RAVENS 7 Da PROFF 8 & 1

2006-12-01T02:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm better at predicting football than I am cold fronts, which didn't hit till the 4th Qtr. Bengals D has been playing real good lately, w/ Ravens D, I thought this probably would be low scoring & I got lucky again. I'll take luck along w/ a little skill anyday - it's got me up $350. on the year.

If anyone else likes to plunk a little cash down on long shots like I do sometimes, check out the odds of Cowboys vs. Chargers meeting in the Super Bowl. Been meaning to do it myself, but just haven't so far. If your gonna do it, now is the time. Most analyst are picking Bears/Colts. I don't have much confidence in Grossman in that big of a game even w/ home field advantage. Cowboys have already proven their D can handle Manning on a giving Sunday, course this one will be at Indy instead of the "big D", but hey, if it was so easy to predict, you wouldn't get the good odds. If it's 8-1 or better, I'd place the bet. If someone has time to look it up, shoot me a line, I'm getting curious.

DaPROFF'S PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, boys & girls time to get back on another roll toward the season ending stretch run. Big storm approaching Cincy tonight, O/U is 43 1/2 take the under. Cincy is favored by 3 in this game & I wanted to take the Ravens to cover, but in these windy/snowy/slick conditions, I figure the under is a slightly better bet.

Da PROFF A MISERABLE 7 - 1 ON THE YEAR

2006-11-28T02:18:00.000-08:00

Opponents have taken note of my boy MLB'er D. Ryans & now doing everything they can to get an O-lineman/Back on him to chip & the Cat still came up w/ 13 tackles I think. Kubes didn't take my suggestion by throwing over the middle to TE O. Daniels in the crease. Probably didn't matter, you can't win in the NFL if ya can't run & we CAN'T run.

I took a week off after the loss - but same could be said for the Texans offense. Much ballyhooing going on in H-town about replacing Carr. I dunno guys, like I told a dude after the game, I watched him in 2 of his last games in college & recall thinking if we could put a good O-line in front of this kid, he'll be alright. He shredded the opposing teams D. If Kubes doesn't make the O-line a priorty in off season, I'm about to give up.

My prediction before the season that rook Rt. Tkle. "Caveman" Winston would replace Z. Weigert has proved true even though it was because of injury. Best thing that could happen to the O-line for next season. Now, C. M. Flanagan has bruised ribs & hopefully Kubes will use this excuse to play Rook D. Hodgon & give these kids the reps they need to finish the season. In my opinion, Weigert & Flanagan are decent bench/rotation players for next year. It's a cryin shame mamouth Rook Lt. tkle 352# C. Spenser went down w/ broken leg. Look for Texans to concentrate on both G positions during off season - big time vets w/ mass would help. To borrow a phrase from Crass - we need "earth movers."

TEXANS GAMEDAY

2006-11-19T05:45:00.000-08:00

For the second week in a row the Texans face a critical "need to win game" to overcome the 5 1/2 O/U Vegas put on us before the season started. Four of our next 6 games are considered winnable - that's omitting New England & the Colts, but next weeks game at the Jets is going to be tough. I'm beginning to hear from more & more friends & sports announcers say that this team has turned the corner. Maybe, I'm not yet that convinced myself, but it sure is at long last, nice to start hearing for a change. If your into a hard hitting defensive type game, you need to tune into this one, you won't be dissapointed. WHAT!!?? The lowly Texans you say? Yeppers, we have some "hitters" on our D. Especially watch todays match up w/ the Bills RB #28 A. (the A Train) Thomas 225lbs colliding w/ our first team All Rookie D Team LB'er # 59 D. Ryans 235lbs. The Bills have outstanding speed on the outside of their D which will hurt our little dink & dunk o/s passes to Rb's. Instead look for Carr to throw over the middle more to another All Rookie, TE Owen Daniels. this should be a 3 point game either way, which means FG's will decide the thing, & I have no confidence in K. Brown. I said at the beginning of the season, that he'll cost us at least 1 game & he almost did it last week. I'd forgotten to add him into previos blog "what i don't like about the Texans". This could be the game/hope not. We'll see!

Da PROFF's PICK OF THE WEEK; Goin' for 8-0

2006-11-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

Some very good match ups this week. After all said & done though my top three choises I was considering turned out to be: 3). Chargers to cover the 2 1/2 at Denver..... P. Rivers & LT are the best QB/RB combo in the NFL (in my humble opinion). When the Chargers get a rested S. Merriman back for the stretch run, this team can beat anybody/anywhere/anytime. 2). Colts at Dallas even. P. Manning hasn't given me any reason to believe, at least not yet, that he will let his team lose. I'm going w/ Manning EVERYTIME on an even. 1). Bills at Texans - O/U 37. Take the under. This is going to be a hard hittin'/slobber knockin'/low scoring game. I don't see these teams putting up a 20-17 score. I'm thinkin more like 17-13 & the winner will probably be based on turnovers & penalties.

WHAT I "DON'T" LIKE ABOUT THE TEXANS

2006-11-13T02:33:00.000-08:00

1) Still playing home games w/ roof open - I know redundant. 2) Kubes starting C MikeFlanagan & Rt. Tkle. Zack Wigert instead of 2nd yr C Drew Hogdon & Rt Tkle. Caveman Eric Winston, both of whom I am convinced are better than the veterns & Winston has the potential to play anywhere on the line. 3) O-line in general, I'm still using first 3 picks of draft on O-line if we can't pick up free agent/trade, we'll start to dominate some games then when Lt. Tkle. Charles Spencer comes back next year. We took a HUGE hit when this kid went down w/ broken leg. We desperatly need to upgrade our depth. 4) Offensive play-calling at beginning of year. Kubes seemed determined to mimic broncos running game, but has finally relented & has Carr throwing more on 1st downs, but in my opinion, he should have relented earlier. 5) DT Travis Johnson last years 1st rounder at the 16th pick - hasn't shown me shit for a first rounder & the MAIN reason I'm using my 4th AND 5th picks on D-line in hoping one of them beats him out next year & gives us more quality depth. 6) Speed at O/S linbacker as stated before the ideal upgrade here in to get lucky & come up w/ a stud MLB & let D. Ryans move O/S to utilize his great speed/tenacity. Stay tuned for future post - " WHAT I DO LIKE ABOUT THE TEXANS"

DAY OF UPSETS

2006-11-13T02:13:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else notice that at halftime yesterday for the noon games, 9 of the 10 games had the underdog leading? WOW.... Only the Eagles were leading 17-3. Congrads to Los, don't give up on your Eagles just yet. If they can get their running game back consistatly - this will be a dangerous team down the stretch

Da PROFF 7 AND 0 FOR THE YEAR

2006-11-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

No further comments needed..........

TEXANS NEED THIS GAME OR I'M SHORT A $20..

2006-11-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

The o/u for the Texans at the start of the year was 5 1/2. I bet a co-worker $20. on the over, which I've lost for the last 3 years, I think. The Texans always play these guys tough, but Garrard scares the hell out of me, he's a huge upgrade over Leftwich. For us to win this game at Jax, we'll have to win the turnover battle, have less penalties than Jax, stop F. Taylor & their running game to some degree & get more sacks. Theres some things that I'm liking about our team. We seem at times to be on the verge of becoming a respectable team, but at other times look terrible.The main thing I don't like is that we can't run on first down, but Kubes seems to have finally figured this out & will continue to have Carr throwing for 5 & 6 yd gains, setting up a lot of 3rd & 1 yd to go. Look for Carr to run a little more in this game & keep an eye on D. Ryans at MLB.

PICK OF THE WEEK - CHARGERS OVER BENGALS

2006-11-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

I've been agonizing ALL week on this one. Really wanted to take the home team Texans to cover the 10 1/2 against the Jags, but in the end I believe the Chargers is the right pick. Even though the Texans always plays the Jags tight, Gerrard scares me. He's a huge upgrade from Leftwich & the Jags have to be steaming from the embarrasing loss to us earlier. The Chargers have to have this game to stay even w/ the Broncos who play the lowly Raiders. L.T. rushed for 172 yds last week for a 9.6 avg w/ 3 TD's, expect him to nearly duplicate, at least in total yardage. The Bengals will have to play mistake free in this game to win it, & there seems to be problems w/ receivers mentally right now. Look for the Bengals to keep it close thru the first half when their D will start to wear down chasing L. T.. The Chargers need to cut down on their penalties - 12 last week vs Browns for 113 yds but didn't allow a TD till the game was aready decided w/ a minute to go. Schottenheimer won't let it happen 2 weeks in a row & Chad Johnson will blow his top in this game - a la T.O..

ROCKETS - YEAR OF THE YOA

2006-11-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

I get a kick out of making projections/predictions before someone else does. Not always right, but when they do turn out, I get the self-satisfaction of knowing I pulled it off. This is the year we locals are going to start hearing that this is Yoas team - not McGradys. When we got Yoa, all the talk was "too clumsy/not athletic/no D for 7'6"/NEVER be a good center,much less dominate, etc.." I was always like - "man, give this kid a chance to get caught up - he's going to become good in time." No one believed me I think. I well remember watching the game when he first pulled off Hakeems fake reverse spin-move with speed to finger roll the ball in the basket. I jumped up off my chair & yelled "thats it!!"I KNEW right then that he HAD it. He has since worked his way up to arguably be the most dominate center in the NBA - & I got news for you Cats, this guy hasn't hit his peak yet.

CHIEF 31 RAMS 17 DaPROFF 6-0 ON THE YR.

2006-11-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

It was just a feelin'. Someone told me after I posted the pick that KC was a terrible road team, can't score. Well they're too good to do it all year. ERRR, excuse me guys, phones ringing, caller ID says it's Vegas - wonder what they want, as I count my + $300.

TEXANS GIANTS

2006-11-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

I said if we covered the point spread it would be a victory for us & what a game it was, I'm actually happy. If not for the turnover w/ 5 minutes to go & we're driving in Giants territory, we might have actually pulled this one off on the road to snap our 11 game road losing streak. Carr played well - no big mistakes & protected the ball, but the O-line protected him w/ just 1 sack w/ that being when Carrs foot was stepped on by Flannigan causing him to trip. The game was almost even in stats - yards gained/time of poss./1st downs etc.. The Giants missed P. Burress & Strahan in the 2nd half. Our rooks are improving every game, Mario gets his first game of multiple sacks (2) for 4 1/2 on the tear & D. Ryans picks up another. D. Ryans also made a great hit on their huge RB & drove him backwards at the line of scrimmage. But the hit of the day was SS (my man) G. Earl on Shockey to save a TD, if you missed it, don't worry, it'll be on all highlights. I came up w/ 155 AP yards on T. Barber, am I GOOD or what predicting 150? On top of that KC didn't just cover the Rams they kicked the shit out of them making me 6-0 for the year. Oh yeah, thats ANOTHER BLOG, sorry!!!!!!!!!!

TEXANS AT GIANTS

2006-11-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

This one could get ugly by halftime - again. Giants one of hottest teams in NFL - 2nd in NFL in rushing, T. Barber will have a field day Sunday - 150 AP yds. P. Burress one of the best off-season acquistions to compliment their running game/Manning, combined w/ Shockey it'll be way too much for our young D to handle. Local sports bigwigs been praising our D & running game, but I'm not convinced. I'll be surprised if W. Lundy gets more than 75 yds. in this one & may not break 50 if we get behind early as I suspect. Carr is one bad half away from being benched for the 2nd game in a row, if Sage comes in & produces like he did last week, he'll be our new QB. Too much controversey. Strayhorn is tied w/ L. T. for franchises all-time sack leader & is licking his chops for Carr & our banged-up tackles. Z Weigert was dominated last week by the Titans DE V. Bosh (2 sacks - 2 forced fumbles), Lt. tkle. Salaam had 3 false starts. Watch # 73 Eric ( the caveman ) Winston swing tkle. to see how he does, he's the rookie I predicted to replace Weigert by the end of the season. To his defense though, he hasn't gotten nearly the reps I thought he should be getting to date. If we cover the 13 point spread, it'll be a victory for us. Too many question marks to predict the outcome of this one. One bright spot for us lately - new TE Owen Daniels is a stud.

PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-11-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

Take the Chiefs to cover the Rams cause the Rams can't cover L. Johnson AND Tony Gonzales. My second best pick I've been considering is the 48 o/u on Colts at Pats - if it's good weather, I'd take the over, should be in mid 50's at least.

TROUBLE W COMPUTER

2006-10-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't post my blogs - then all of a sudded they started popping up on main blog. Had Raiders on my mind instead of Vikings. We'll see if this one posts.

2006-10-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Just seeing if this goes thru

PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-10-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

Take the Pats over the Vikings on MNF.

WEEKLY PICK

2006-10-29T05:48:00.000-08:00

Take the Pats to kick the crap out of the Raiders Monday night.

PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-10-29T05:26:00.000-08:00

Take the Pats to kick the crap out of the woeful Raiders on MNF. Brady is 9-0 in domed stadiums in his career. Oaklands 4th ranking in total D is way overrated, L. Maroney will have his best rushing game of the season, Brady will throw at least 2 TD's. Raiders offense is woeful scoring just 72 points in 6 games w/ 22 of those coming last week against the Cardinals even more woeful defense. Pats will give up yards till you get close to the end zone, then they tighten up allowing only 80 points scored in 6 games, (13 avg) & have not allowed more than 17 in any game. 28-10 Book it Dano.......

COLT McCOY UPDATE

2006-10-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

The kid HAS it. See origional blog 10-8.... Rest my case.

MARIO WILLIAMS VS VINCE YOUNG

2006-10-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

This game coming up Sunday will garner a big TV rating considering the small markets & both teams bordering on being terrible. Both players will be super-hyped for this one.

DAVID CARR ; ALL-PRO QUALITY ?

2006-10-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Don't bet against it. I'd love to see what this guy would do behind a really GOOD O-line. Consider some facts: For almost 4 1/2 yrs. he's played with the worst, or very close to the worst O-line in the NFL. He's been sacked AND knocked down more than any other QB, & this year we have a TERRIBLE running game to boot. For the most part, he's been limited his whole career to a passing game that is woefully predictable & a management who hasn't taken full advantage of his skills, much less made good personnel decisions on BOTH sides of the game. His best skill is his football smarts. They need to turn him loose a la Peyton - I'm telling ya he can do it, he has ALL the tools. Never mind the O-line, consider his defense also sucks which limits his opportunities to produce & forces him to play catch-up too often. Not counting yesterdays game, he was in the lead or at the worse the top 5 in - TD's/compl. %/avg gain per attempt/TD % per pass & QB rating. This week, he'll be close to the top 3 in all catagories. Amazing..........

GIANTS VS. BOYS

2006-10-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Didn't get computer fixed in time to make a pick yesterday. Take the Giants to cover the 3 ( probably win ), & if your a multi - bettor, I'd take the under on 45. This is going to be a physical game. Bledsoe is going to go down more times than a good looking blonde whore in Harlem.

COMPUTER WAS DOWN - DA PROFF IS BACK

2006-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ravens at Broncos

2006-10-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

20 minutes till K/O, rainy/cold/bad footing, 2 good run defenses. O/U 33 1/2, take the under.

T.O. STILL A CANCER

2006-10-09T05:29:00.000-07:00

Parcells should have sent this guy to the locker room yesterday WHILE the game was going on. He deserved the humiliation of having to do THE WALK in front of the Eagles fans. The guy, ( I started to say man ) embarrassed the Cowboy organization & his teammates. Good for you Jerry Jones, you get what you deserve.

COLT McCOY THE REAL DEAL

2006-10-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I came away from the Tx/OU game extremely impressed w/ this fresman QB. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy, just good solid fundamental/make no mistakes football. This young man seems to have it all - smarts, toughness, skills & leadership. Mack Browns recruiting suceess for the next 3 years took a big jump yesterday.

MONEY PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-10-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

Miami at New England; The line is Pats by 10, thats not points guys, thats the O/U for sacks on Culpepper. Take the Pats in a blowout & whistle to the bank.

JOHN J. "BUCK" O'NEIL - DEAD AT 94

2006-10-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

A superstar of the old Negro League of professional baseball, I vivdly recall his speech last year in honoring the induction of some of his fellow players into baseballs one-time induction into the Hall Of Fame. Though missing the honor himself by just one vote, he struck me with his youthfulness, vibrancy, charisma & charm. I recall thinking that this man is not only a credit to his race, but to all of mankind. I would have loved to have shaken your hand Mr. Buck. RIP my friend.

WHY DID ASTROS MISS PLAYOFFS?

2006-10-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

How about 4 of our starting position players (all in the infield) hit a combined avg. in the .230's. Think that might do it? In a nutshell - lack of run production. Clemens had 5 losses, in those 5, the offense scored a total of 6 runs. When given ANY kind of lead while he's in the game, his combined record since joining the stros is an astounding 38-3. We finished the season 2nd in the NL in ERA w/ our pitching. Biggest dissapointments this year - 1). Morgan Ensberg 2). Jason Lane who I falsely predicted would have his break-out year. Biggio is staying, forget him & live w/ it. Uncle Drayton wants the 3000 hits & Hall Of Fame member. That leaves Ensberg, A. Everitt, B. Ausmus on the infield, w/ a possible upgrade for right. Ensberg has the most potential of the 3. What happened to this cat? Two years ago he was 4th in voting for NL MVP. Everitt has the glove at short, at one point late in the season he had 47 games w/o an errror & I didn't see him make one since, but haven't seen EVERY game. The Cardinals won w/ Ozzie ( the wizard) at short w/ similar offensive numbers. Ausmus might be the most likely candidate of the 3, .235 hitter, below avg. power for catcher, threw out a measly 14% of attempted steals. I dunno, does anyone?

SACKS !!

2006-10-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Might be an NFL record set w/ Texans & Dolphins.

ROCKETS ARE 18-1 TO WIN ; BET IT..........

2006-09-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Break into your little piggy banks boys & girls, daproff is makin the bet - $450 return on a measly $25. Vegas doesn't know it yet, but the Rockets have a secret weapon this year - his name is Vasilis Spanoulis. HE IS A BOB SURA CLONE. His nickname is "Kill Bill" in Athens, Greece to his fans. He's a basketball friggin MANIAC people, your not going to believe the treat your in for this year, or the return on your little investment. I watched him lead his Greece team with 22 points over the US & all I could think about was how much he reminded me of Bob Sura. The Rockets collapse began when Sura went down, not McGrady as most people think. Well, "HE'S BAACCKK!!" He has better/stronger/quicker drives to the basket, whips passes that remind an ol foggey such as myself of Bob Pettite, hits the clutch 3 pointers/free throws ( buried 6 straight at the end of the game). Description words on him are - fire hydrant/diver/wild/fullback/clutch/pinball/passion/dedicated/no stress/defensive dynamo. Your gonna love 'em!! And the 18-1 will drop to around 10 to 12-1 by midseason. (minus by 5% for dainfo)........... or, a cold beer...........

ASTROS

2006-09-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ya get the feelin the baseball gods are smilin on the Stros? Cards fans must be pullin their hair out, they can't even win a coin flip. Clemens 2.35 vs J. Weaver 5.79 tonight. That $500. is already burnin a hole in my pocket. There'll be alot of TV's on tonight.

MONEY PICK OF THE WEEK

2006-09-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Take the Saints & 7 1/2

S. GADO UPDATE

2006-09-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Has 4.4 speed. I knew I remembered him out-running an OLB in that Detroit game, thats why I reported earlier - "power & speed." Don't know where that quote "lacks break-away" speed came from. Thats pretty good speed if ya ask me.

TEXANS UPDATE

2006-09-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, too pissed/confused to write about this team. Been trying to get my thoughts together on them. My opinion is as it has been for 4 + years (except in pre-sea this yr.) that Carr is still not the problem. O line is still the problem. Yeah, I know, no pass rush & I agree whole heartily no doubt. I'm going to step WAY out the ord. box of football logic here, but this is w/o a doubt what I would do during this next offseason/draft/FA's, etc...

First of all I'm going to be asking questions/checking right now as to the availalbility of at least one person who is considered top of the line in judging line talent at the college level especially. At the end of the yr., i want it in my mind IF we have any linemen on our team who really is above avg. at the very least. I'm spending probably the ENTIRE draft on linemen, figuring out of the top 6 picks I'm praying that I'm right on 4, maybe. On the O line I like lt. tkle. C. Spencer, lt. grd. C. Pitts, & Center D. Hodgdon. When Hodgdon played last yr. & moved S. McKinney to rt. grd., I definatly noticed an upgrade on O line play. As soon as he went down in his 3rd game, the O line went downhill again. But the good thing about this is, the left side, or Carrs blindside is probably our best side. Weigert might not be able to beat out E. Winston at rt. tkle next yr. My first 3 picks would be concentrated on the rt. side of the O line, the next 2 for the D line as needed. Assuming of course free agency doesn't come into play for either of the 2. As stated before, this game is won in the trenches. Lets FINALLY get it right!!!!!! Had we done this 3 years ago starting w/ the next pick after Andre Johnson, with 3 years experience under their belts, we'd have a dominate O line right now. We would be making teams outscore us this year, a la Indy 2-3 yrs. ago. Would someone pass this thru to Kubes?

GREATEST COMEBACK IN BASEBALL HISTORY ??!!

2006-09-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

With 12 games left in the season the Astros were 8.5 games behind the division leading Cardinals & now look at us. Is this our destiny? We even won the coin flip w/ the Cards for the home field advantage for a 1 game playoff should it be needed. I dunno, but I get the feeling now that Carpenter lost last night, that it just may come down to that. How climatic would that be?

" ROCKETMAN " VOLUNTEERS TO PITCH

2006-09-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Boys & girls ya might wanna tune into Astros game at 7 on ESPN, the Rocket has "volunteered" to pitch. This has all of the makings of a great-don't wanna miss pitching performance. This is the kind of game the Rocket pitches for; national audiance, w/ ESPN pushing, the game could be the most-watched regular NL game this year, make/break game for the division title, etc.. Never mind Rocket has a 4.74 ERA w/ just 3 days rest, this is NOT the average game. He has "voluteered" to pitch twice that I can remember since becoming an Astro; 1st just after his Mom passed away last year, & 2nd he "volunteered" to relieve during the marathon 18 inning game against the Cards in the playoffs last year, both I might add were outstanding performaces. ( I was there for the 18 inning game & was by far THE best game I've EVER seen in person.)
My first thought was - Garner won't let him go past 6 innings at the most. But this isn't going to be Garners call, this is The Rockets game, he'll tell Garner if & when he's had enough. If he keeps his pitch-count down & we're "in-the-game", he ain't comin out till his arm falls off, he'll go 9 if he can, trust me. I'll be at the game tonight & Luke Scott will hit his 2nd walkoff homer in as many days w/ Berkman at first. The "ROCKETMANS" legacy continues.

FOLLOW UP ON SCOTT

2006-09-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Damn, hadn't been done typing more than 15 sec's & the kid makes a great diving catch !! Rest my case...

LUKE SCOTT - ASTRO

2006-09-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm gonna go ahead & say it, I've finally seen enough. Been tellin sports buds this for at least a couple months, I'm officially dubbin LUKE SCOTT as "THE NATURAL." He's been doin it too long now, I'm convinced he's the real deal. Just watched him hit an upper deck homer. Not sure if I've ever seen a sweeter swing in my life, and plays left field just as smooth. Everything about this guy just looks SO NATURAL. Came up w/ Stros last year for pre-sea & tore the cover off the ball. Hit around .440 as I recall, then fell flat on his face from opening day. Recently I've heard local talk shows talk about how can we strengthen our corner outfields. You friggin DUMB ASSES the kid is hittin like .375 or so.. Check him out when ya can.. I just couldn't hold it back anymore... I said it first..

J. KEARSE EAGLES OUT FOR THE YEAR

2006-09-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Boy THIS had to hurt you Eagle fans. I thought they had a shot at the big dance again this year if they could've stayed healthy. Never heard why the Titans let him go, their D hasn't been worth a damn ever since. Can anyone say Bud Adams/money?

SAMKON GADO UPDATE

2006-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Some research on new RB Samkon Gado: From Nigeria, started only 2 games w/ I-AA school as RB in college. Selected as NFL offensive rookie of the month last November after rushing for 171 yds. on 29 carries (5.9 avg) in a game against the Lions. Was called up from practice squad in the 6th game of the season by the Packers, after their first 4 RB's all went down w/ injuries, missed the last 2 games of the season due to knee injury that did not require surgery. Played in 6 games, starting 3, & passed 100 yds. rushing in all 3 games. Finished with an overall 4.1 avg. yd. per carry for the season. ReportI read on him is - " Powerful downhill runner, explosive at point of contact, but lacks great break-away speed. Extremely likeable person who got the Packers offense to rally behind him in his 3 starts."

I well remember watching that Lions game because of him, & I remember going "WOW", & watched the entire game. Their O-line was REALLY fired up. If he averaged 4.1 w/ THEIR O-line blocking for him, think what he might could avg. w/ a dominant line. Sure doesn't have much wear & tear on his body.

LETTER TO KUBIAK

2006-09-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah buddy, we know, you inherited this. But we have faith in you that you can get this turned around in 2 yrs.. The good news for you is it iS fixable. Wanna know what to do? Fix the friggin O line, thats what!!!! Carr has showed me enough now to know that he does have the potential to lead this team. The pevious regime gets Carr yr. 1, & A. Johnson yr., then gives them NO help to be productive. I don't care if our first 3 picks next year is on our O line, fix 1 side of the ball. A dominate O line will....
..Give our RB a better chance to suceed, you have to run the ball..
..Protects D. Carr from getting hurt, & allows him to throw the ball down the field, finally..
..Our passing offense won't be predictable w/ short passes as in the last 4 yrs...
..Better running game creates more successful play action passes..
..Successful long passes opens up the short passes..
..Takes advantage of our best receiver A. Johnson..
..Maintains control of the ball/clock & possibly the game..
..Mainained drives gives us more scoring opprtunities..
.. " " keeps our defense off the field so they'll be better rested in 4th Qtr...
.. " " " opposing offense off the field, creating less scoring opp..
.. " " " " defense on the field where they will be tired in 4th Qtr..
..Make the other teams offense outscore our offense..

..PS.. Play ALL home games w/ the roof closed. It'll be loud cause it'll be exciting!!!!!!!!
..PSS..Our O line should be banned from making TV commercials..

GAME OVER 8:43 LEFT FIRST QTR.

2006-09-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

My 13 points are covered . Even vetern Rt. tackle Wiegert is nowhere near a starter in this league, already allowed 2 turnovers. We gained 9 yds. on 2 poss.. Crowd noise already emphasized three times by announcers. This is a blowout in the making. Colts by 23.

Samkon Gado

2006-09-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

I happened to have flipped to Packers game last year just as Gado ripped off an impressive run & watched the entire game because of him. Can't remember the stats or even the opponent, but seems like he ran for around 150 yds. He was very impressive in that game, I recall "power w/ speed." Might just turn out to be our RB of the future if D. Davis is done.

TEXANS AT INDY; WILL THEY COVER THE POINTS?

2006-09-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

How in the world could anyone in their right mind bet on this one for the Texans to cover? I'm a little surprised it's stayed at 13 points! Peyton pretty much won the game against the Giants by himself throwing for 272 yds, 1 TD, but setting up Vinatieri for 4 FG's, while their running game generated a whopping 55 yds. Their defense allowed more yds., 433, than their offense generated, 327. FINAL ANAYLIS; Peyton is the QB, loud stadium @ Indy, our DB's are our weakest position, Indy will run the ball better against us, we haven't shown we can rush the QB, Indy has maybe the best 2 recievers in NFL in Wayne & Harrison, D. Freeney probably gets 3 sacks by himself. I'd have to take the Colts if someone forced me to bet on the spread. 33-17

ASTROS - STICK A FORK IN EM

2006-09-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm never much of one to give up on a team till the fat gal sings, but the game tonight pretty much tells me I can kiss my little $20 wager at 25 to 1 bye bye. The Cards are banged up sure - Mulder, Edmonds, Eckstein, but not as banged as Pujols just did to Lidge AGAIN. Backe is out, Clemens & Pettite is questioable, offense is not jellin' now that they need to be, etc. etc...

Whats an Astro fan to do? I need a COLD BEER!!!

Eagles 24 Texans 10 Game Summary

2006-09-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

See the last line of my initial blog dated 8-27; "He who dominates the line of scrimmage, wins the game." Are we really THIS bad? Or, is Philly that good? Combo of both in my opinion. Saw very little to feel good about. Our O-line was dominated allowing Carr to be sacked 4 times by mid 3rd quarter. Run blocking was horrible, Lundy had 21 yards on 9 carries at one point. Carr threw into coverage too much. Philly D dominated us after our initial drive. Carr played just good enough to keep him in the game & start next week. Boo birds came down on him in the 3rd qtr. Our D did a descent job of stopping their running game, but can't stop a screen pass. You got the feeling they could throw a 10 yd. screen anytime they wanted. With the roof closed , the crowd noise bothered Philly in first part of the game like I predicted, but didn't last long when game started getting out of reach. Congrats to los & rev, your team looks pretty darn good, OR our team looks pretty darn bad. Combo of both?! DISMAL

AS CONFUSED AS A NEWBORN IN A TITTIE JOINT

2006-09-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

Astros - 6pm; Nextel - 6:30; Longhorns - 7; Whats a feller to do?

ARE YA READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL ?

2006-09-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Seems likes years since the beginning of last season. The Texans & fans are approaching this season with hope. Hope that Carr emerges as an NFL quality QB, hope our D improves significantly from a dismal 05, hope for our OL, hope that K. Brown makes his FG attempts each time he steps on the field, & most importantly, hope that Kubes & staff are as good as projected. My prediction for this year is that we'll cover the 5 1/2 O/U in wins, but just barely. Having to play Indy & J'ville 2 times each, makes up 25% of our years schedule, couple that with being paired with playing the NFC East this year, who many think will ALL have a winning record, makes it extremely difficult to project any more than 6 wins. My HOPE is to see a competitive season from the players. I believe we now have a strong base to build on & Kubes will get the most of what he has to work with. My Super Bowl picks for this year - Dallas & Pittsburg, AND YOURS?

RAIN SUNDAY ROOF CLOSED?

2006-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

In a previous blog I ranted & raved about playing home games w/ the roof closed, so now we have rain coming Sunday it looks like. Being the first game of the season, the stadium will be packed & IF we can stay in the game scorewise, it's gonna be LOUD! Watch how many penalties the Eagles get attributed to the noise. Maybe Kubes will pick up on the advantage, no one else has. They've already announced that the roof will remain open if temps are between 50 & 80 & fair weather. Guess they're trying to be FAN FRIENDLY again this year!!??

WILL D. CARR PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME SUNDAY?

2006-09-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Absolutely everyone I talk to, & ALL of the analyst/ sports talk hosts etc. is saying Kubes wouldn't dare pulling him in this first game. I dunno, Kubes job is to do everthing in his power to win each game, including this one. I'm going out on a limb & predicting that; if Carr has a terrible first half, & the game is still close enough to win in the 2nd half, I just can't help but think that it then becomes the coaches responsibility to make the correct decision to win THIS game. I'm predicting he'll pull him & put Sage in to try to win the game. Maybe not, dunno, jus' a hunch. I've heard all kinds of stuff, like, might damage his confidence, etc.. Brother, I've got news for you, it's ALREADY damaged!! That's a given!! This is NO time to coddle a players confidence at the expense of the other players & everyone associated w/ the team, including the fans MOST of all. Personally, I'm goin' wid da kat dat can win us de game. We'll see.

Ryan Howard

2006-09-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

Props to your boy los, big Phillie 1st baseman 250 lb'er fastest ever to hit this many homers to start career, well ahead of Mark McGuire. Being a .300 hitter too, never know how good this young man can be. Your Eagles are now favored by 4 Sunday.

TEXANS SIGN RB DAYNE

2006-09-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ron Dayne, cut by the Broncos, signed a 1 yr. free agent contract w/ the Texans, reuniting him w/ his old off. coordinator Kubiak. A career 3.5 yd per carry bruising back, he averaged 5.1 yds last year in Kubes system in a limited role as a short yardage back. Not a bad average for a SHORT YDG. BACK. Remember, Lundy & Morency both avg'd 5.5 during pre-sea...

QUESTION FROM LECREAVY

2006-09-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

From boxing fan lecreavy; she agrees w/ DaStev-o 'bout Ali being greatest boxer ever, she asks, does anyone know WHY he took up boxing. I dunno!!

HERE'S A STAT FOR YOU !!!

2006-09-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

In 2005 the texans led the NFL in % of rushing plays of at least 4 yards (46.7%) . Bengals 2nd at 46.2%. Chiefs 3rd at 45.6%. Whoda thunk-it !!! Guess just goes to show how poor our passing & D was.

2006-08-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Da Proff on Da Texans

2006-08-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I, along w/ my buddy Da Stev-o from H-town, created this little site so you folks would have a place to discuss sports. I kinda fancy myself as a Texans fanatic. If I had replay/slow motion of games, I guess I'd be plum dangerous. From their very first game against Dallas, to one weekend in Dec. '04, I had absolutely every single play of the Texans written on legal pads. Each game took up 7 to 8 pages & consisted of offense, defense, which direction the play went, who to, results, penalties, rating players w/ smiley faces or frowns, side notes, etc., etc.. I've never seen a professional football team self-destruct the way the Texans did in such a short period of time. I saw it coming that weekend in '04 & threw the whole damn thing away. I've had a hard time watching the games ever since. But now, I'm JUICED !! I see a football team that is once again worth watching, is finally headed in the right direction. NO Texans fan was more pissed than I, when we didn't take Bush. My thinking was "Bush will not only help Carr, but also our offensive line, & recievers. How can they NOT draft ONE person who will help FOUR different positions?!!!!!" Then, we take another defensive player w/ our second pick?!!!
I'm thinking left tackle w/ this pick & right tackle w/ one of our 3rd rounders. Lets just fix ONE side of the ball this year, Carr doesn't have a chance . At least having a dominate offense who can stay on the field maintaining drives & eating up the clock, it will actually benefit our rested defense in the 4th quarter, where we get outscored miserably! (about 100 points last year).. But, I have to admit, that after they took Winston & Spencer w/ our 3rd round picks, & I had time to research these guys & DeMeco Ryans, & understood their thinking, I became more & more convinced that Kubes did the right thing. And make NO mistake, these ARE Kubes picks. Watch Ryans, this guy is going to be something else, as well as left tackle Spencer. I predicted to my football buds that both would start against the Eagles before the preseason started. Mario will be dominate by mid season & even better next year after he's faced different players/styles. All three will make rookie mistakes this year which might even be the difference between a win & a loss at some point in the season. Bottom line; if we progress as expected, we'll make the playoffs next year. I see a rotating/fresh, defensive line who I get the strong feeling so far, that just may be hard to run against by mid-season. And believe it or not, our offensive line just might be too. My philosophy in pro football is; "he who dominates the line of scrimmage, wins the game". Da Proff

Introduction by da Stevo in H-Town

2006-08-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Whassup?!?!....