Recent posts here, here and here have noted the lack of research and insight in recent articles by Chronicle NFL beat writer John McClain and columnist Richard Justice on the subject of the woeful Houston Texans. Into that vacuum of analysis, Chronicle sportswriter John Lopez stepped up with this excellent column on the questionable personnel moves of Texans’ General Manager Charlie Casserly, and he follows up on that effort with this interesting column today in which he questions Texans head coach Dom Capers’ management of the team’s coaching staff.
Regardless of whether you agree with Lopez’s views, his last two columns on the Texans contain the type of research and analysis that provides the reader with a grounded position to think about in evaluating the Texans’ surprising downturn this season. That’s far more satisfying than off-the-cuff observations that have little or no factual basis and sound more like water cooler banter than the insightful analysis that readers really want with regard to the Texans’ baffling situation that few people predicted (Clear Thinkers reader Don Mynack excepted) before the season.
Houston's Clear Thinkers
Longtime Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall's observations on developments in law, business, medicine, culture, sports, and other matters of general interest to the Houston business, professional, and academic communities.
Tom,
Thanks for the shout out. I was really hoping I was wrong!
Are the Texansí misfortunes really so surprising? It seems to me that, historically, new franchises in any sport tend to fair very poorly. The competing demands of creating a financial base, which involves developing a devoted fan-following, while also worrying about winning, which involves developing a fan-following in slightly different ways, can be very tricky to balance. Those teams who have managed it quickly have typically invested an enormous amount of money only to dismantle what they built shortly after their success because they have essentially bankrupted the team in pursuit of quick success (see the Florida Marlins). Interestingly, those NFL teams that have found relatively quick success are in smaller markets, where the NFL wasnít sure they would succeed ñ Carolina, Jacksonville, Tennessee. Is there something about small communities rallying around something when its finally offered?