Kaz's Korner...Are 1-6 Houston Texans ready to trade J.J. Watt and rebuild?

Unlike the feeble Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Texans are pond-water weak without losing their franchise quarterback. They are horrible in both offense and defense and their 1-6 record so far in 2020 is proof positive.

Many National Football League teams who experience this same malady opt to dump many of their high-dollar stars and rebuild their future teams with draft choices.

However, several media outlets close to the Texans are speculating the team is seriously considering trading some of their stars IF they get justifiable compensation in the form of position players or draft choices or both.

“Inflated egos, overpaid role players and a paper-thin roster that is the exact opposite of smart, tough and dependable,” was an evaluation of this year’s team by Monday’s edition the Houston Chronicle.

“The Texans created this junk, talked it up and eagerly sold it. Now, they’re seemingly afraid to make the big, franchise-changing trades that 2021 requires,” the article added.

They haven’t been 1-6 since the 2005 season, during the early bad years, when no one expected anything.

It’s hard to blame interim head coach Romeo Crennel for this misfortune because he deserves better than that but he must use this upcoming bye week to figure out how to prevent another 2-14 or 4-12 campaign—which were the only things that forced real change during the previous decade.

The Texans’ most valuable commodity is defensive end J.J. Watt with other players mentioned linked to trade speculation include wide receivers Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills, running back Duke Johnson and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

These trade talks aren’t something that could happen in the next months or during the off-season--it’s something that should be done before the Nov. 3 trading deadline.

Trading Watt would really cause some repercussions both on the team and among the millions of Houston fans that think of him first whenever the Houston Texans’ name is mentioned.

Watt is a rock star among many residents of Houston and even Southeast Texas. Flood victims will never forget the millions of dollars he raised by himself for relief of these poor souls.

Football-wise Watt is looked at as a shoo-in for Pro Football’s Hall of Fame and on the first ballot. He will soon be 31 years old and in his 10th season with the Texans but is healthy and having an outstanding personal season.

During his career Watt has played in 117 games, has 99 sacks, 390 solo tackles with 163 for losses, 500 combined tackles and has 271 quarterback hits.

In Sunday’s 35-20 loss to the mighty Green Bay Packers, Watt had five tackles—two for losses—and with 163 career tackles for loss, he has the most in NFL history since it became an official statistic. He became the fifth player in franchise history with 500 total tackles.

When asked how he felt after the Green Bay game Sunday afternoon, all Watt could blurt out was “Frustrated. I’m angry, I mean, it sucks. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to feel. I mean, we’re 1-6—you are what your record says you are.

“My goal since I got here was to bring a championship to the city of Houston,” Watt confesses. “That remains my goal until the day I’m not a Houston Texan anymore. That will always be my goal. That’s what I’m working towards today and that’s what I’ll work towards tomorrow.”

There are several teams in contention for a trip to the Super Bowl that would kill to have J.J. Watt on their defensive line.

I watched the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks not register a single sack Sunday night at Arizona which had to be relevant in their 37-34 overtime loss to the Cardinals.

The NFL’s only undefeated team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, would love to have J.J. on their team, joining his other two brothers on their roster.

Sunday’s loss to Green Bay could very well be the final game J.J. Watt plays for Houston if the Texans take advantage of the Nov. 3 trade deadline.

KWICKIES…Last week’s heart-breaking 36-29 Houston Texans loss to Tennessee had some historical statistics for the Titans. It marked the first time in NFL history to have a quarterback (Ryan Tannehill) throw for 350-plus yards and a running back (Derrick Henry) rush for 200-plus yards in the same game.

Orange native Toby Foreman coached his undefeated Killeen Shoemaker (4-0) high school football team to another astounding victory, beating Killeen 45-24 last Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers became the only undefeated NFL team by edging past previously undefeated Tennessee Sunday 27-24. It marked the first time in franchise history for the Steelers to score 25 or more points in the first six games of the season.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees became the first NFL quarterback to surpass 7,000 pass completions.

Dallas Cowboys’ back-up quarterback Andy Dalton was hit helmet-to-helmet by Washington’s Joe Bostic as he was making a “give-up slide” with the football. Bostic has yet to be disciplined, but Dalton is out with a concussion. And speaking of the Cowboys, they have allowed the most points (243) in team history for seven games.

When the San Francisco 49ers blasted the New England Patriots 33-6 Sunday, it was the worst loss at home for Head Coach Bill Belichick and gave the Pats their first three-game losing streak since 2002.

The Arizona Cardinals knocked the Seattle Seahawks from the ranks of the undefeated Sunday night 37-34. Oddly, the Cards didn’t lead in the game until the 44-yard field goal by Joaquin Hernandez in overtime. It marked the first time in NFL history that both losing quarterback Russell Wilson and Arizona’s Kyler Murray each had 300-plus passing yards and 50-plus rushing yards in the same game.

JUST BETWEEN US…The 2020 World Series could already be over when this column hits the streets Wednesday. The Los Angeles Dodgers went into last night’s elimination Game 6 with a slender 3 games to 2 advantage after ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw got credit for the 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. Kershaw had six strikeouts to surpass Astros’ Justin Verlander’s 206 career playoff strikeouts by one. A Dodger win would end it, but if Tampa Bay came out on top, it would set up the rubber game of the World Series tonight.