Again, tip to Kuharksy, close is close enough
John Fox just finished his fourth non-winning season in five years in Carolina, and was let go. But Kubiak and Del Rio? They’ll be back, despite not having the cachet of Bart Starr, or the pedigrees of McKay or Reeves, and despite the fact that they didn’t inherit the hopeless situations that Lewis and McKay did. What they have, instead, may be the most hopeless situation of all: competing against Peyton Manning.
Whether Weaver or Houston’s owner, Bob McNair, want to admit it, Manning and the Colts have changed expectations in the division. Indianapolis is the division’s overlord, having won the A.F.C. South in seven of the last eight seasons. The 2008 Titans had to post the league’s best record at 13-3 to edge out the 12-4 Colts for the division crown. In Houston and Jacksonville, merely competing with Indianapolis is a sign of progress. The Texans were 1-15 against the Colts entering this season, but played them even in 2010, splitting the season series. The Jaguars won a bunch of games in the fourth quarter this year, but no game inspired more confidence than when they dethroned the Colts in Week 4. Bringing back Del Rio and quarterback David Garrard for a fifth run seems absurd given their relative lack of success, but in Jacksonville, expectations are lowered. This year’s team entered the final week of the season with a chance to dethrone the Colts, a step forward by at least one measure.
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