The Texans actually made a game of it against high-powered Peyton Manning and the Colts, but Manning methodically picked away at the Texans defense for six 4th quarter points to salt this one away for the Colts. The Texans closed to within 17-14 with about six minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but the Texans could not mount any meaningful offense against an average Colts defense for the rest of the game (only two first downs and 35 yards in the 4th quarter). No team is going to beat this Colts team scoring 14 points.
Texans’ QB David Carr continues to be unimpressive in his development, which is best reflected by the Texans’ sputtering offense the past two weeks under his control. Although the mainstream media continues to fawn over Carr, he simply is not performing at the level that a top draft choice should be in his third season in the NFL.
Carr’s recognition skills continue to be mediocre, and his unorthodox throwing motion makes it difficult for him to take full advantage of the passing lanes. Moreover, Carr’statistical performance has been mediocre. Carr was 16-21 for 167 yards and an interception against the Colts, which means that his yards-per-pass — the key statistic for evaluating an NFL QB’s performance — was a pathetic 5.5 yards today. For the season, his yards-per-pass is about 6.3 yards, and he has thrown for only 13 TD’s against 12 interceptions.
By way of comparison, check out the statistics of Drew Brees, a QB with comparable experience to Carr who plays for a team that was about equal in stature to the Texans coming into this season. Brees has thrown for 23 TD’s against only 6 interceptions, and his yards-per-pass is over a half yard per pass better than Carr’s. As a result, Brees’ QB rating is over 103, while Carr’s rating is less than 85. More importantly, the Chargers are 10-3 and the Texans are 5-8.
Inasmuch as the rest of the Texans’ team played well enough to win for the second week in a row, the Texans’ management has a huge problem developing with Carr. The Texans have a ton of money invested in him, but it’s becoming clearer with each game that Carr is nothing more than an average NFL QB, at best. With games at Chicago and Jacksonville the next two Sundays before closing at home on January 2nd against the Browns, the Texans’ management must begin addressing whether they have a bust on their hands with Carr. Inasmuch as the Texans’ offensive line still has not completely recovered from the failed Tony Boselli transaction, the Texans can ill-afford to have their overall offensive development stunted by a QB that is not developing at the same rate as the rest of the unit. And at this point, Carr certainly is not.
The Cowboys are the only organization in the NFL that begins printing playoff tickets with a 5-7 record. However, after the woeful Saints humiliated the Pokes at home on Sunday, the 5-8 Cowboys will now simply be playing out the string in their last three games against the Eagles, Redskins and Giants. The Cowboys have more personnel problems overall than the Texans, so this is a franchise that is clearly in a serious rebuilding mode.
It’s going to take at least two seasons for the Cowboys to have a realistic chance for the playoffs, and that assumes that they acquire a top flight QB as soon as possible. If they draft a QB, then this team is a good three seasons away from being a playoff team. It will be interesting to see if the Big Tuna has the stomach to stick around during a long rebuilding phase. My bet is that he does not.