Month: January 2021

“With Watson at the helm, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that Houston could be right back in the playoff mix next season, especially if it hires the right head coach. Florio speculated that Watson floating the idea of a trade may have been his way of capturing the attention of the Texans front office and creating a situation in which he will be given input when it comes to choosing a new coach. While Watson is young and only has one playoff win to his credit, consulting him about the head coaching hire would make sense because of the fact that he’s the face of the franchise and will be around for years to come if he plays out his entire contract. Watson’s mere presence could make Houston the most attractive head coaching opening to some candidates, and a good relationship with the star quarterback would go a long way toward building a strong foundation for success. It is likely that most of the NFL’s teams will line up and offer a king’s ransom for Watson if they actually entertain trading him at some point, but it is difficult to envision that happening any time soon given how recently he signed a new deal.”

Make of it what you will.

Howdy Texans,

As a Lions fan, our team has sucked for our entire history. But we haven’t sucked as bad the last 10 years. The common denominator here is our franchise QB Stafford. Every once in a while when we envitably stink up the joint, the trade rumors start floating around of will we trade Stafford. “Send him to a contender!” Shout all the fans of teams with s**t QBs. But you know what? It never really happens. Franchise QBs rarely get traded, especially one as young as Watson.

So I just wanted to come here and say, even though our teams suck right now, your stud QB probably isn’t going anywhere, and you can laugh in solace watching these 49ers, Broncos and Colts fans thirst over your QB wishing they will get them, just to be let down when they have 40 year old Philip Rivers strolling out on Sundays.

In their short history, the Texans have been a successful franchise. They have successfully advanced in the playoffs and built great teams through the draft. As they now begin the post-Bill O’Brien era, there should be a sense of optimism for the future.

We are the professors and students of the Know Rivalry project. We want to know who you as fans perceive as rivals to the Texans and why. Please help us expand our 6 years of research by taking 9 minutes to complete our new survey:

https://umassamherst.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3FdJ8eN2EgFCfCB?grpID=1047&mbsrc=mb

You will find more information on the disclosure agreement that is required to start the survey. This academic research has been approved by two US universities’ Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and it poses no risks to respondents. We use Qualtrics survey software.

Our previous results have been highlighted in sports media outlets, as well as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. You can view these results, links to media coverage, and learn about us at our KnowRivalry.com website but we would prefer you didn’t until you completed the survey via the link above… we don’t want to influence your opinions provided in the survey.

Thank you for helping us to include the Houston Texans in our research!

Dr. David Tyler, University of Massachusetts—Amherst

Jonah, Student Researcher, Northern Kentucky University

Dr. Joe Cobbs, Northern Kentucky University