After the worst Christmas Gift EVER finished playing out last Wednesday, the “same old Texans” feeling started to creep back in. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team on the other side. For 22 years now the Houston Texans have found ways to choke out on National TV again and again. And, quite frankly, it gets old. Really old.

Not to mention the NFL’s constant cash grabs shouldn’t include Christmas Day games. Think of all the players, coaches, team personnel, stadium employees, TV network staffs, etc. who missed Christmas with their families so the NFL could get richer than they already are…

Not to mention forcing teams to play too many games in too small of a window. Which leads to heightened injury chances, among other things.

Houston Texans Injuries and more

All that aside, let’s talk about realistic expectations as Texans fans.

Less than 2 years ago, we were watching Love Smith mop up the mess David Culley couldn’t wipe away that they both inherited from Bill O’Brien and Jack “Grima Wormtongue” Easterby.

The fact Demeco Ryans came in and righted that ship fast enough to secure 2-straight AFC South Division Championships in that time speaks volumes.

Do we all want to see a Super Bowl parade in H-Town? Of course. Are many of us a bit unrealistic in how fast we believe a team should go from “Grima went on the rug again” to “World Champions”? Of course.

And, quite frankly, if it wasn’t for the seemingly unending parade of injuries, Ryans and Caserio very well could have made a Super Bowl run this year.

What would this team look like right now if Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell, Jalen Pitre, Jimmie Ward, Juice Scruggs, Shaq Mason and Christian Harris were healthy for 17 games? Not to mention the suspension of Azeez Al-Shaair.

Should Caserio and Ryans consider a change with some of the coaches on the offensive side of the ball? Probably.

Is it time to throw the baby out with the bathwater? No way.

This is the 2nd season for Ryans and C.J. Stroud. Insert: Rome wasn’t built in a day yada yada…

NFL Fans

The day they handed out patience I left because it was taking too long.

Let’s all take a deep breath, reset our expectations and take heart in the fact this team IS headed in the right direction. Maybe not as fast as Will Fuller could run the 40, but progress is progressing.

In the meantime, let’s microwave that popcorn and watch the Texans get some redemption against the Tennessee Titans this weekend.