Let's take a look at how the Texans compare to the rest of their division opponents in all facets of the game, with rankings in parentheses.
Peyton Manning is still the regular season gold standard in the NFL. Matt Schaub seems to be good enough to win. David Garrard is not flashy but has a playoff appearence and victory to his credit which puts him close to Matt Schaub than you might think. The Titans are going to be starting a scrub this year whether it's Kerry Collins or Jake Locker. They are a distant 4th in the QB discusstion.
Arian Foster had the best season of any RB in the league last season. Can he stay healthy once again? Chris Johnson just needs his OL to do a better job this season. He's still the best big play threat in the league. Maurice Jones Drew has had a fantastic career but injury concerns abound. Joseph Addai can't stay healthy and Donald Brown is not anything special for the Colts.
The Colts are deeper than the Texans at WR with Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon light years ahead of Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones. Owen Daniels and Dallas Clark is a push to me. Kenny Britt is uber talented for the Titans but an uber troublemaker too. Jacksonville's Mercedes Lewis has Pro Bowl Potential.
The Texans unit clearly did a better job than Tennessee last year, keeping Matt Schaub clean despite losing left tackle Duane Brown to a 4 game suspension. Indianapolis is old at key positions (center) and lacks strength in most others. I think the Titans could bounce back in this area in 2011 while the Jaguars young duo at tackle (Eugene Monroe, Eben Britton) are capable of dominating their opposition.
Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are still the gold standard. The Colts need to see some progress from last year's 1st round pick Jerry Hughes. Jason Babin is likely to leave the Titans via free agency, but this is still a strength of the team. Tyson Alualu had an outstanding rookie season for Jacksonville, but the team needs Aaron Kampmann to stay healthy. The Texans are counting on a rookie (JJ Watt) and underachiever (Amobi Okoye) to produce big time results.
This had better be the strength of the Texans defense with Mario Williams, a healthy Demeco Ryans, a healthy Connor Barwin, and 2nd round pick Brooks Reed ready to get after the QB. Brian Cushing remains a question mark to me. Gary Brackett of the Colts might be the best player at his position in this division. Kirk Morrison is still a force for J-Ville. The Titans crew is undistinguished.
The drop-off between the 1st two teams and the last two teams is pretty steep. Good luck finding a starting CB on the Texans roster. They are guessing as much as you are. The Titans have two solid cover guys in Cortland Finnegan and Alterraun Verner. The Jags need a bounceback season from Rashean Mathis who was getting picked on last year.
Special Teams (Indianapolis, Houston, Tennessee, Jacksonville)The kickers are close to a dead heat, but the Colts have a big edge in the punt game with Pat McAfee. The Texans must find an answet on Kickoff returns.
Head Coach (Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Houston)
Jim Caldwell wins this by default though I'm not sure he's done all that much with this team. Mike Munchak finishes 3rd before even having led a practice for Tennessee. That's how much I think of the job Gary Kubiak has done. Jack Delrio is probably also coaching for his job this season just like Kubiak.
Based on these comparisons, it really should not be a surprise that the Colts have dominated this division rather easily. The key to the Texans catching Indy is significant improvement by either the DL or DB's since the coach will remain the same.
Which position do you feel like has the best chance for major positive growth for Houston?
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