This is going to be an awesome year for football in the great state of Texas! We have no shortage of amazing story lines as fall camps are on the verge, the NFL is already in business, actually. So here we go, let's lay it out and see what we've got!
The Dallas Cowboys! Oh, those Dallas Cowboys! Full of talent they are - with arguably the most talent in the NFC East. But the question always seems to be: What are they going to do with it? How good are they going to be? Will the season have meaningful games in December, or will Tony Romo be making headlines for announcing his plans to play a mini schedule on the Nationwide Tour next spring?
One thing is for sure: Drama exists around America's Team. It always does. From that soon-to-be soundbite from Rob Ryan that hasn't happened yet, to will Dez Bryant EVER grow up, this is gonna be fun!
And in case you haven't noticed - and you probably haven't because you are a big Dallas Cowboys fan - the Houston Texans are ready to make a run.
Besides being the overwhelming favorite to win the AFC South, the years of talk of "Is this the year the Texans put it all together" just might be happening.
Matt Schaub is healthy, Andre Johnson is trying to stay healthy, and Wade Phillips says the defense has ten of eleven starters back from the post season. Now, of course, you don't replace Mario Williams. What you do is draft and free agent to try and reach that plateau. Will it pay off? I don't know, we haven't played a game yet.
But I can tell you this much, the AFC South shouldn't really scare Houston. Jacksonville is Jacksonville, you know - the NCAA team of the NFL. Indianapolis is in a rebuilding stage with Andrew Luck and supporting cast. And Tennessee? Hmmm...I personally don't think they're ready to challenge for anything special at this point, but they would still be the only team that I think could stand in the Texans' way.
And in college ball, yup, some good stuff is on the way! And that means the University Of Texas Longhorns! So what happened? I'll tell you exactly what happened. Life happened.
There is no script for this stuff. Human beings are not robots, you know? It makes me shake my head every time some yahoo plays the suggestion that Mack Brown needs to go. I mean really? Really?
Texas won the national championship a handful of seasons ago, and played for another just a few years ago. And just because they've hit a stumbling block the last couple of years and haven't won at least eleven games, all of Austin is ready to jump ship?
Texas has nothing to worry about. Texas is Texas. They'll get their recruits. All is good. I mean sure, maybe the program got a little cocky and thought they were invincible, but they wouldn't be the first to think that. Everybody gets humbled once in a great while. And by the way, Texas can't possibly win eleven every year. Have you taken a gander at their schedule? They don't schedule the weak, they schedule the strong, and that is to be applauded!
And what is going happen to Texas A&M? Here's to hoping that Coach Sumlin has zero internal problems behind closed doors. Trust me, he'll have enough sleepless nights trying to figure how win in the SEC. And I love the hire by the way. Kevin Sumlin will be great for getting the twelfth man back to where they think they should be.
What's interesting is that Aggie Athletics has been fairly steady in everything except football. I still can't figure out how in the world they lost all those first-half leads in 2011? That was so bizarre, I'm only guessing that there is no way it can ever possibly happen again.
So it's time to see if Aggieland is ready for life in what everybody else will call hands down the best college football conference in America. They host Florida September 8, a week after opening at Louisiana Tech - never a push over in their own right. They also play at Auburn and at Alabama - and funny -they close their season at home with Missouri, a game that will seem familiar, and a game that might seem welcome if things don't go according to plan.
And pity the poor soul that has to replace Robert Griffin III. I'm kidding of course...but I'm really not.
First of all, whoever wins the job will have nothing on RG3. So maybe that means all the pressure is off. Maybe expectations are out the window simply because nobody in Waco, and its surrounding suburbs, will never do what RG3 did.
Now what Baylor has done is to get on the college football national map. Now they have expectations. Art Briles is a great recruiter. We've seen that and will continue to see that. The Bears defense can only get better, which it will under the direction of D-coordinator Phil Bennett.
I, for one, am happy for Baylor. They suffered many days with a horrible product on the field. It's only going to be good for college football if they can keep it up. And I hope they do!
