What I think they are thinking in the headquarters of the four AFC South teams late Monday afternoon …
Houston Texans
OK, we’re breathing over here. And it’s nice that we have two objectives Sunday layered on top of each other. A win over New England at Reliant Stadium gives us the first winning record in franchise history. And the things we need to fall into place around us to turn that into a playoff spot aren’t inconceivable -- two losses by the Jets (vs. Cincy), Ravens (at Oakland) or Broncos (vs. KC). Stranger things have happened. Let’s just please take care of our part and not suffer a letdown in a big game against a top team again.
Indianapolis Colts
Coach knows best. Coach knows best. Coach knows best. Jim Caldwell’s made all the right moves, and no matter how disappointed we were to see key starters pulled to the bench in the third quarter as we handed away a game to the Jets, we have to believe he has the greater good in mind no matter how counterintuitive it feels. Still, it smacks of he and Bill Polian over-thinking things and acting as if they are smarter than everybody who actually would have liked to have stayed in the game and/or seen us win. It’s unnatural to be this good and feel deflated. But it’s time to forget that game and start looking forward to watching Curtis Painter perform in Buffalo!
Jacksonville Jaguars
Our performance at New England was an honest measuring stick. We are still a long way off the level of the AFC’s best teams. But look, here’s a finale at Cleveland and the Browns aren’t one of the NFL’s best teams. We need to bottle up Joshua Cribbs with whatever means necessary and win this game. That would give us an 8-8 season, which is a fantastic year given where we’ve come from and the deficiencies we still have. And should our crazy playoff scenario also fall into place, with one of the five sets of four results we need panning out, we will assuredly show up for our first-round game.
Tennessee Titans
We righted our ship after 0-6, but the fact is the best two teams we faced since then handled us. Like the Colts, the Chargers were simply more talented. So we head West, where we don’t usually fare real well, to face another bad team, Seattle. Everyone on the roster wants just two things -- the win that gets us to 8-8 and yards for Chris Johnson, who’s in range of the all-time yards from scrimmage record and 2,000 rushing yard and, if we go crazy, Eric Dickerson’s single season record. It could be the last game in this uniform for several vets heading for free agency, and if it is, we’d like to give them a good send off.
Houston Texans
OK, we’re breathing over here. And it’s nice that we have two objectives Sunday layered on top of each other. A win over New England at Reliant Stadium gives us the first winning record in franchise history. And the things we need to fall into place around us to turn that into a playoff spot aren’t inconceivable -- two losses by the Jets (vs. Cincy), Ravens (at Oakland) or Broncos (vs. KC). Stranger things have happened. Let’s just please take care of our part and not suffer a letdown in a big game against a top team again.
Indianapolis Colts
Coach knows best. Coach knows best. Coach knows best. Jim Caldwell’s made all the right moves, and no matter how disappointed we were to see key starters pulled to the bench in the third quarter as we handed away a game to the Jets, we have to believe he has the greater good in mind no matter how counterintuitive it feels. Still, it smacks of he and Bill Polian over-thinking things and acting as if they are smarter than everybody who actually would have liked to have stayed in the game and/or seen us win. It’s unnatural to be this good and feel deflated. But it’s time to forget that game and start looking forward to watching Curtis Painter perform in Buffalo!
Jacksonville Jaguars
Our performance at New England was an honest measuring stick. We are still a long way off the level of the AFC’s best teams. But look, here’s a finale at Cleveland and the Browns aren’t one of the NFL’s best teams. We need to bottle up Joshua Cribbs with whatever means necessary and win this game. That would give us an 8-8 season, which is a fantastic year given where we’ve come from and the deficiencies we still have. And should our crazy playoff scenario also fall into place, with one of the five sets of four results we need panning out, we will assuredly show up for our first-round game.
Tennessee Titans
We righted our ship after 0-6, but the fact is the best two teams we faced since then handled us. Like the Colts, the Chargers were simply more talented. So we head West, where we don’t usually fare real well, to face another bad team, Seattle. Everyone on the roster wants just two things -- the win that gets us to 8-8 and yards for Chris Johnson, who’s in range of the all-time yards from scrimmage record and 2,000 rushing yard and, if we go crazy, Eric Dickerson’s single season record. It could be the last game in this uniform for several vets heading for free agency, and if it is, we’d like to give them a good send off.
Paul Kuharsky | email
NFL- ESPN AFC South Blogger
- Covered Oilers/Titans for The Tennessean
- A New Jersey native and Columbia graduate who lives in Nashville with his wife and son
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Paul Kuharsky
Kuharsky joined ESPN.com in 2008 after 12 years covering the Oilers/Titans and the NFL for The (Nashville) Tennessean. The New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife and son.
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