The Hitchiker's Guide has a simple message.
Listen to Fred Faour on The Blitz every afternoon on ESPN 97.5 The Ticket. (975theticket.com)
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The Texans got thumped by the Saints on Saturday night in a preseason game.
Did we mention it was a preseason game?
The meltdown is already on. Brilliant people are calling Amobi Okoye a bust. The defense is terrible and will get shoved around. People are already revising their prognostications from 10 wins to 7 or 8.
It's times like these when the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comes in handy.
Written by the singularly brilliant Douglas Adams, the Guide is one of the funniest, most poignant pieces of work ever conceived.
Where it applies to the Texans, however, is a simple message that appears on the cover: Don't Panic.
The universe can be a tricky thing. The NFL, too.
But the preseason means absolutely nothing.
Yes, the Texans defense got pushed around on some plays. In a real game, they would make adjustments. Change gaps. change assignments. Try to find ways to make the interior of the line more effective.
Yes, the offensive line couldn't open holes against the run or protect the quarterbacks. Again, over the course of a real game, adjustments would be made.
Quite simply, the game means nothing. The preseason is not about winning games; it is about deciding on personnel. That's it. Overreactive analysis of preseason games is something everyone participates in. And it is utterly pointless.
Don't believe us? Do you care to guess what the Lions record in the preseason was last year?
Yep, 4-0. How did that regular season turn out?
Fans want to see the team win because they are paying regular season prices. But winning and losing means nothing.
The bottom line: The Texans were in the game when the starters were playing. The first-team offense looks solid. The first team defense looked shaky against the best offense in the NFL and had some breakdowns.
After that? Several players who are unlikely to make an impact made a lot of mistakes.
The talk-show meltdowns have been unbelievable. The bad thing? When the Texans come back and put a beatdown on the Vikings Monday night, everyone will reverse field.
That game won't mean anything, either.
The Texans as we know them will not show up on our TV screen until the real season opens against the Jets.
Until then, the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy the games. Relax. Save your angst for the regular season. Read a good book.
One that has "Don't Panic" on the cover would be a good start.
Comments
Thanks Fred for bringing rational thought to an irrational Houston sports base! I'm absolutely stunned at how people reacted to the Saints game. Really? Preseason? Come on people, get your heads screwed on straight!! Anyway, great article Fred!
It is what it is. Both sides of this Texans performance coin serve the same master. They fill up blogs, and editorial collumns, and drive interest in a sport that hasn't had one official play yet. Prognistications, and critical commentary fill the sports vacuum until those boys on Kirby can finally hit someone and have it count.
What else are we going to do? Sit and wonder why Oswalt and the rest of the brick red gang have gone into an official "Derrick Ward Operation shut-down"?
PS
I have sat beside you when you did live color commentary at Bobby Beach stadium. I grew up with your brother Pat, and partied with JP, and never before now did I reallize you were such a hippy. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe indeed. haha! :)
By the way, I meant Derrick Bell, not Ward.
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