Sunday's match-up with the Browns will feature a familiar sight for Texans fans; CB Dunta Robinson will slide back into the starting line-up.  Playing primarily nickel back since the Detroit Lions game, D-Rob will resume his duties at the right cornerback slot.

Robinson is ready to prove to everybody that he's ready to be the player that was he was before he suffered a near career ending knee injury. 

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With two of the NFL's most potent offenses squaring off, it was all but certain that last Sunday's game would have its share of fireworks.  With both teams dug in, the game a Lucas Oil Staduim was a steady shootout.  Each team fired on target, seemingly at will.   As time was running out, and the Colts dead in their sights, the Texans' last shot misfired - leaving them to be done in by the Colts' Bullitt.     

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Games that result in 41-13 blowouts usually have several reasons for the disparity in scoring.  Oftentimes, games that are that lopsided are a result of turnovers, and last Sunday wasn't any different.  With Sage throwing four interceptions (three in the second half), the Texans were unable to stay competitive. 

As detrimental as the turnovers were, there was another key component to the Texans demise: penalties.  Sunday, the Texans were flagged ten (10) times  for a total of 76 yards, by far the most this season.  Through the first eight contests, the Texans were averaging only 3.5 penalties a game, nearly a third less than their total last Sunday. 

Being that the Texans are one of the least penalized teams in the league, it became obvious that something else was at play.   If the Texans were playing away from home, in front of a hostile crowd, I could understand the sharp spike in called penalties, but seeing as how the game was at Reliant, there must have been something else at play.

So were the Texans' inflated penalty numbers a result of mental miscues or over officiating?  After scratching my head for a second, I went on a fact-finding mission.  And what I found all but confirmed my hunch.   

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Watching Sunday's game took me back to a time in my mind, back to 1995.  It was the Edinburg North High School campus sometime just after the day's final bell.  Teenagers were being teenagers, enjoying the end of another skull-numbing day.  I was walking and talking with a friend, heading out to my car when I saw something about to pop off.

This kid (who we'll call Red) was marching down the corridor with a group of his homeboys following close behind.  First thought - there's gonna be a gang fight - let's go check it out.  So I see this kid and his cadre of compadres set their sights on this guy sitting down at a table talking to his chick. We'll call that guy Blue.

So anyway Red demands that Blue gets up.  Blue tells him to fuck off.  Being goaded by his homeboys, Red pushes a still-seated Blue.  So Blue, alone in front of this ever growing crowd of bystanders, gets up.

Red again pushes a now-standing Blue.  And with amazing quickness, Blue unleashed a flurry of pounding punches, pummeling Red's nose, chin, neck, mouth, eye...  each shot echoed louder than the last.  I mean seriously, Red got the ever living crap out beat out of him.  It was so bad that even Red's friends started to slink away.   After a couple of minutes, security guards came in and rescued Red from the savage beating.

The story is hardly football related, but the Texans' performance on Sunday reminded me a lot of that one-sided fight I saw some thirteen years ago.  Like Red, the Texans made mistake after mistake and wound up getting embarrassed in front of their home crowd.

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Normally I outline, draft, and edit my front page posts...This is not one of those times.  I was busy at work, so I didn't hear about Schaub's injury until early this evening.  All I can say is 'what the fuck?!' Everything I'm about to write is coming through unfiltered.  Call it therapy, call it bitching.. call it whatever.  The following is my visceral reaction to news surrounding the extent of Matt Schaub's injury.

First and foremost - Jared Allen is a cheap shot artist who intentionally injured Matt Schaub.  Diving at a quarterback's knees is inexcusable, indefensible, and intolerable.  With that one play, Jared Allen killed any chance of  the Texans having a winning season.  Fuck you Jared.

So Sage jumps up the depth chart.

What is that?  Sage was 4-1 as the starter last year?  Okay, yes he was - unfortunately it was before he decided to go '93 Oilers on us.  He cost us the game against the Colts and threw a red zone pick on third and inches last Sunday that essentially ended the Texans' day. 

As much as I would love to see a healthy Schaub under center, the Texans have no choice but to go with Rosenfels.  Am I happy about that?  No, but here is the rub.  Even with all the faith I've lost in Sage this season, I still consider him a capable quarterback.   

If there is any room for optimism, it lies in this inevitability: Sage will get exclusive work with the first team.  The coaching staff knows what he does well and will look to coach him up the best they can. 

Sage is a prototypical game manager; unfortunately, the Texans offense is driven by the pass.  If Slaton is the only back available, the offense is going to struggle to get going.  I love me some Steve Slaton, but he doesn't have the size or the savvy in his rookie year to shoulder the entire offensive load, so Sage has to step up and play his way back into the hearts of Texans fans.  I just don't see it happening.

The season is on a runaway train and it's picking up steam...

Damn it.

Remember the "We want Sage" chants?  Well, there you go, fuckheads.

To say that Sunday was a good day would be a bit of an understatement.  Have I had better, sure - but last Sunday was the culmination of a week's worth of planning that came to fruition.  I caught a ride to the bar, met up with some buddies, and was able to watch the Texans dominate the Bengals for the better part of four quarters. Mix in a night of steady drinking, and you get another fuzzy rundown of another Texans win...

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