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Another cheers to offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. You've read everything on the former Texans head coach and what he's been up to lately, so I won't dive too deep into the West Coast scheme he's installing or what he's bringing to the potluck this fall.
In May, I stated that the Ravens would roost atop the AFC North. If they play their cards right, and the Kubiak who ruled the AFC South since 2006 shows up to work, this ought to be an easy call. No more Texas Hold'em references.
In seven seasons, Kubiak's Texans fell short of .500 three times.
| 2006 | 45 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4 | 7 | 3 | |||||
| 2007 | 46 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4 | 9 | 1 | |||||
| 2008 | 47 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 2009 | 48 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2 | 6 | 3 | |||||
| 2010 | 49 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |||||
| 2011 | 50 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 51 | Houston Texans | NFL | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 52 | Houston Texans | NFL | 13 | 2 | 11 | 0 | .154 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Under Coach K., the team reached the Divisional Round of the postseason twice and lost both times, one to the vicious Baltimore Ravens in 2011.
The Ravens are in for a flavorful treat in 2014. Besides the urgency to win their division games (against Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati), the purple-and-black has a shot to sweep the dusty AFC South with the same broom that Coach K., used to almost go 6-0 in 2012. Obviously (easily) you could refute the argument — say that teams have improved and coaching staffs are much more different than they were two seasons ago, but we're not going that road. If you disagree, that's fine.
The Ravens' toughest matchup against the AFC South will come against Andrew Luck and the Colts on October 5. That's at Lucas Oil Stadium, so if you're planning on going, be ready to lose your voice.