The Texans are the only team in the NFL

In fact, the Texans jerseys are the only team in the NFL who has yet to fall to Miami.

What makes it particularly frustrating is how close the games have been. In chronological order, Houston's margins of victory have been 1, 2, 3, 1, and 7.

Beyond an intense desire to embarrass the Texans upon the very next meeting, I can't find a whole lot to dislike about the team.

Beginning on defense, you've got quite a few standouts.

In 2007 and 2008, Mario Williams was an absolute beast, and slightly less so, yet still impressive last year. For the sake of your playoff aspirations, I hope he can step it back up to those levels in 2010.

Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans are also very serious forces with which to be reckoned. In 2009 alone, the pair was responsible for nearly 180 solo tackles.

Houston's offense is no less formidable, led by (in my view) one of the top five quarterbacks playing football today, Matt Schaub.

Which brings me to my favorite part about your beloved Texans. One Mr. Andre Johnson.

Much like his quarterback, Johnson is one of the top five players currently playing his position. It is nearly impossible not to enjoy watching him play, and if the Texans are to break the curse this year, and make it to the playoffs, I believe that this is the man who will get them there.

So there it is, Texans, a die-hard fan of another team praising Houston's own. I hope you enjoyed it thoroughly, for it isn't likely to happen with great frequency.

Now this relatively young squad must face the question of whether those incidents are going to distract from everything it built in the final weeks of 2009.

"They are somewhat distractions, but they're also part of the business," Kubiak says. "A guy missing a few days of OTAs — that's some you have to deal with. A player missing a whole month? I think that was a big blow, a big shock to this football team. It's something we have to get over and move on."

Kubiak acknowledges the challenge of temporarily replacing Cushing. "We're facing adversity before we even get started," he says. "We're going to miss him for a month. He's as good a player as we got on this football team.

"I don't know who's going to be stepping in. Time will tell."

Schaub says they've discussed the Cushing situation as a team, and everyone is aware of what needs to be done. "We've dealt with it," he says. "He's such a great player, it would be tough for one person to step in and do what he did. But as a unit, the defense has to step in, fill that void."

Schaub is less concerned about the situation surrounding Johnson, the league leader in receiving yards each of the past two years.

"It just shows the business side of the game," Schaub says. "It's not a distraction because we know what type of guy Andre is and what type of player he is."