HOUSTON TEXANS
Franchise Change: Back in 2002, the Houston Texans selected David Carr with their 1st Draft choice in team history. Unfortunately for David, the Texans didn’t do much in terms of protecting their franchise player. David learned on the fly, starting early in his career and running for his life from the beginning. Since 2002, no one quarterback has been sacked more than Carr. Carr was released this season, as Matt Schaub was traded for, and is now the franchise quarterback. It will be interesting to see if this change can change the fortune of the young Texan franchise.
Over or Under: The Texans have tallied a 34-30 O/U record. 18 of those over games came at home, 16 on the road. In 2006 the Texans were 8-8 O/U, starting out as an under team and transforming into a solid over bet as they broke the over in 5 of their last 7 games. The same sort of thing happened in 2005 as the Texans fell beneath the total in each of their first 3 games before breaking the over in 9 of their last 13.
Against the Spread: In 2006 the Texans were 7-9 ATS which marked the 2nd time in a row they finished with that record. Over the last 4 seasons the Texans are 31-32-1 ATS. 16-15-1 at home and 15-17 on the road. In 2005, the Texans lost against the spread in 5 of their first 6 games, only to finish 6-4 ATS the rest of the way. 2006 showed much of the same as Houston was 2-5 ATS to start the year and 5-4 ATS down the stretch. Historically, against the spread, the Texans are definitely a second half team.
Straight Up: The Texans were 6-10 last season, matching their 2nd highest win total in team history. Their previous best mark was 7-9 in 2004. Remember, the Texans only began their expansion franchise in 2002. The Texans 6 win season in 2006 comes off a brutal 3 win effort in 2005 when they won the 1st pick in the NFL draft, only to pass on Reggie Bush. Each of their 6 wins in 2006 came on grass, as they finished 0-3 on turf. In fact, the Texans have 1 win and turf in 8 tries, and are 0-7 playing in a dome
Lowly Favorites: You would be hard-pressed to find a team with less games as a favorite than the Houston Texans. In their 5 season existence, the Texans have been a favorite 7 times. In those 7 games, the Texans have disappointed 5 times, straight up and against the spread. 2-5 in both categories. Their only wins as a favorite have come against the Cleveland Browns, home games in 2005 and 2006. They rarely find themselves as a favorite in the books, and their record is a good reason why.
