Taming AFC South Is a Texas-Sized Order

It is indeed a tall task playing in the AFC South.

Last year, two of football's best team stood in the way of the Houston Texans, an organization that believed from the beginning defense was where it would lay its hat.

But with two of the better offenses residing in the same division, the Texans have discovered it takes more than dynamite defense to unseat the Indianapolis Colts or Tennessee Titans as the AFC South's best. Or even the Jacksonville Jaguars, for that matter.

When the Texans made their Monday Night Football debut on the first day in December last season, defense paid dividends. Defensive end Mario Williams had three sacks in a dominating performance. Houston won that game, 30-17.

That victory was part of a four-game win streak that was highlighted in a 13-12 triumph over the Titans, who finished the regular season with the best record in the National Football League at 13-3.

That was a defining moment in the Texans' 8-8 season. It was a season that included two three-game win streaks. Will there be more of the same this year? That's the question Texans fans and an improving organization are begging for answers in one of football's more imposing divisions.

Following the 2008 season in which three Texans were named to the Pro Bowl, radio talk shows in Texas debated which team made a bigger impact in 2008: the Texans or Dallas Cowboys, a presumptive Super Bowl favorite that sputtered and didn't make the playoffs after finishing 9-7.

This year the race for the playoffs begins Sept. 13 when the Texans open the season at home against the New York Jets. In Weeks Two and Three, Houston will test the waters against division rivals, Tennessee and Jacksonville, respectively.

Houston plays Indianapolis twice in November. Of course, in the NFL, deciding a division champion isn't just about beating the other incumbents in the division. It's about beating everyone.

That means 16 weeks of game planning.

In a sport Seattle Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kearney last year called a "copy cat" league, dissecting your opponent is a big part of football. If the Texans identify the opposition effectively and take the next step, a run to the playoffs is not out of the question.

But if the Texans can't find a way to forge past the division front runners, this Texas-sized quarrel may not be up for debate again.