10-23-2014, 03:55 PM
TinStar Wrote:the best record the Raiders could have would have been 8-8 wheras the Texans win all of their single possession games and the Texans are 11-5.
Or you were two possessions away from 0-16.
TinStar Wrote:So yeah, obviously the Texans had a worse record, but what team would you have higher expectations for in the future?
I would have higher expectations for the Texans but not for any of the reasons you list above.
1. This isn't the NFL of the 60's and 70's, every year teams turn over 1/3 or more of their roster so nothing that happened the year before can really be measured with a large enough sample size to judge how teams will play themselves out year to year.
2. Injuries end up making you turn over the roster even further during the season which changes how much a team is relevant to themselves in the past (see the 2014 49ers)
3. Close games or any observation from previous seasons make no statement about the current season because of number 1 (see above) You can only say with any kind of assurance that the 2013 Texans showed consistant lack of ability to close games out. That has nothing to do with the 2014 squad.
4. The Raiders have the worst record over a 12 year period than any team in NFL history. Basically they have been historically bad. That alone should mean you would have higher expectations in any team other than the Raiders.