Frustrating End for Texans, but Just Wait!!

Texans Join the Houston Sports “What If?” List

Losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and thus being ousted from the NFL playoffs is nothing for the Houston Texans to be ashamed. This edition of the Texans won a division title, got to the playoffs and won a playoff game for the first time. That is something to be proud.


Naturally, fans and pundits will look back at the game and point fingers at the inability of the offense to score more than three points after Daniell Manning’s kickoff return took the ball sixty yards to open the game. Fans will blame Jacoby Jones for his muffed punt return that put the Ravens in easy scoring range. Fans will blame T.J. Yates for his first interception inside Texan territory that led to another short Titan scoring drive. Fans and pundits will all be correct, of course. But that was not the whole story, either.


What if the offense had been better? What if Jones had not made his error? What if the Texans had not been forced to put the ball up in the air one pass too many in their final three possessions..all ending in interceptions?


Of course, people in Houston are experts at the “what if” game. It is not just in football either.


What if J.R. Richard had not suffered a stroke midway through the 1980 baseball season. The team won its first division title and took the Phillies to the wire in a very hotly contested post season. If the Astros had a healthy Richard might their have not been a World Series championship in Houston?


What if the 1986 Astros could have held on to game six in the playoff series against the Mets and been able to send Mike Scott out to pitch game seven? There could have been a World Series appearance for Houston that season.


What if Hakeem Olajuwon had seen where the desperation shot by North Carolina State was heading and he had blocked out? The game would have gone to overtime, but the Cougars might have won an NCAA championship.


What if Jeff Bagwell had not had nearly total shoulder deterioration in 2005 and would have still been able to play every game in that World Series?


As for the Texans, what if Matt Schaub had not been lost for the season? This is not to degrade the effort of T.J. Yates. He came out of nowhere and did a good rookie job. He did as well as could be expected and maybe more so for a fifth round draft pick forced to grow up instantly. But Texans fans have to wonder with the powerful defense put together by Wade Phillips combined with the outstanding balanced offense of head coach Gary Kubiak this is a season of celebration for what did occur, but also one of “What if.”


That is nothing new for Houston sports fans. With the solid club coming back next season, though, including a healthy Matt Schaub and T.J. Yates as a back up quarterback with pressure filled experience, “What if” should be replaced in Houston by the old Brooklyn Dodger slogan, “Wait till next year!” The 2013 season could be very special in Houston and not another “what if.”