It’s been pretty crazy and we have had a rough stretch recently. The games have been pretty close and that is one of the biggest disappointments. With a couple of different plays here or there we could have won those games and it would be a whole different story at this point.

But that’s how the game of football goes, one good play in a game at the right time or one mistake taken away can change the outcome of the game. Football is definitely a game of inches. An inch here or an inch there on either side of the ball and it can change the whole outcome of the game.

This week we play the Seattle Seahawks. They are a good team and they play hard and they fight for the whole game. It will be a battle, but it is at home so hopefully the home crowd will give us an advantage in this one. We need the crowd to show them we have the support of our fans and make it harder for them on the field. That twelfth man is a key in the NFL.

The season has just flown by; it seems like just yesterday that we were just breaking camp and starting the season. It is unbelievable how fast the season goes by. Even at 5-7, if we can play hard and get some help from some other teams we still have a shot at the playoffs. Winning out for the last four games is our main goal and we have to focus right now to try and find a way to hit it on all cylinders. If we can do that, there is no telling what can happen or how the season will turn out.

So basically right now it is down to a four game season and our schedule is 0-0. So we are going to go out and play hard on every play and try to end the season 4-0. Hopefully we can do that and have a shot at the playoffs.

I was real surprised this past week, I got up and walked out of the house and it had snowed. Everything was frozen and it definitely did not seem like Houston. But just as the weather is unpredictable, so is football and anything can happen in the last four games.

So we are going to hold our heads high, play as hard and determined as we can so that we can end the season on a high note with four straight wins and possibly have a shot to get into the postseason for the first time in team history.

Antonio Smith is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.antoniosmith94.com.

This past Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills was a well needed win. In the game, we faced a lot of situations that we needed to conquer as a team. We came out in the second half and as a team; we put it all on the line and showed what we needed to do to come together as a team.

I finally got my first sack with the Texans and it felt really good. It was getting frustrating for me because I did not have a sack yet this season, so to finally get one felt really good and fulfilling. I have come close a few times, but to actually get there, and get that first sack was a big thing for me personally. I got the sack in the second quarter, and it was second down so it was a big play because it was important to get them in a third and long situation.

We play the Colts in Indianapolis this week and this will be one of the biggest games of the season for us as a team. The Colts are undefeated and we would love to be the first team to beat them. It is a divisional game as well so it would be huge to beat them and gain some ground in the division. They are the team we have to come out with everything we have as a team, go into their house, and get a victory.

Payton Manning is a great quarterback, one of the best in the history of the game, and he really knows how to run his team. He makes a lot of checks and he read defenses really well so we will have to get after him on a consistent basis to try and disrupt him in the backfield. We will have to disguise a lot on the defense side of the ball and give it all we got. As a team we will have to put it all on the line on every single play.

This week is going to be a big week for the team, and the player. It will be a big test for our football team. The Colts have been to the places where we want to go as far as the playoffs and the Super Bowl. This week will determine whether or not we have what it takes and can make it to the big show. This game will determine whether we can measure up to one of the elite teams in the NFL.

We need to put it all together and come out with a win. If we can do that, it will be a a great springboard for us for the rest of the season.

Antonio Smith is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.antoniosmith94.com.

Well it was a tough loss for us against my old team the Cardinals this past week. I thought we had the game won.

The turning point of the game was in the second half. At halftime, we thought we could come back in the game and that we could stop them and put up enough points to win the game if we could just do our jobs.

I thought we had them, but the interception for 6 points really did us in. As a defense, we were playing well in the second half and I don’t think that they could have scored or come back on us.

This week we play the Bengals and they are playing really good football. They are 4-1 and they would be 5-0 if not for the fluke tip pass in the first game of the season.

It is going to be a tough battle but I think it will be just the type of game that we need to get back on track. It’s on the road so that will make it even tougher.

In order to win the game we are going to have to execute our defense in the best possible way that we can. If we can execute and play our style of defense, I think we can hold the Bengals offensive in check and win the game.

So far Houston is really growing on me and I am starting to feel more comfortable and being myself again both on and off the field. I am starting to feel more like I am at home now and not just a visitor.

Especially on the field, I am getting to know my teammates much better and we are starting to jell as a defense.

I haven’t been out to explore the city of Houston that much, but from what I have seen so far, I really am enjoying it. They have a lot of good restaurants with a lot of different variety in foods so you can eat something different every night. And I love steaks and you can’t get anything better then a good Texas steak.

In my off time, I’ll go out to eat with teammates and also spend time at my house with my family. The family really likes it here and it’s a great place for a family to live and grow.

Antonio Smith is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.antoniosmith94.com.

This past game against the Titans was a well needed win. It was the type of win that we really needed to happen for our confidence. A win like this one really helps so that in the future you never count yourself down and it gives you the confidence in knowing that you can come back and have a chance in any game.

It was a great win for the team and we fought our way through the whole game. It was a great team victory all the way around.

Everything is starting to come together. As with everything in life, there are the ups and the downs, rocky roads, but the plan is starting to work out. Just a little more time to travel down the right road and I think this team can be a great team.

We play the Jaguars at home this week, so I will be glad to have the fans behind us. In the first game we didn’t have the type of game that we wanted to have and the fans got taken out of the game early. I just hope that the fans are in this game for the whole time and that they make a lot of noise throughout the whole game.

This is very important regardless of if we are winning or losing the game. Having that 12th man really helps out a home team. When the fans are screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs it really helps us as a team. When we are winning it the noise helps keep our adrenalin flowing so we don’t get complacent and continue to play hard. When we are losing the noise gives us the nudge to fight hard and gives us that extra push and burst of energy that we need to come back and win the game.

I will be looking at the Jaguars films tonight and tomorrow so that I can analyze their weaknesses. When  I look at film, I don’t want to try and think to much, because when you think too much on the field it prevents you from performing as well as you can when you just let your abilities go out there and just do it. I like to study the tendencies of the person that I will directly be going up against, how they block, little things that they do in certain situations and I just try to learn everything I can about the guy I am facing in the upcoming game. Any little thing that I can pick out from his blocking tendencies that might give me an advantage on the field against him during the game.

After the games on Monday, we go in and lift weights and then we go watch the game file from the game. The defense coaches do grading for each position and then go over the good things and the bad things individually with each player and we talk about what we can do to improve.

Tuesday is always our day off and I like to spend time with my family and get some of the things I need to get done that I can’t do during the rest of the week.

As far as the game this weekend, I’m looking forward to getting that bad taste out of out mouths at home from that first loss. We want to be a great home team and in order to create home field advantage with the 12th man we need to play well and win.

Antonio Smith is a defensive end for the Houston Texans. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.antoniosmith94.com.

We have two preseason games in the book and have had one good game and one very humbling game. We beat the Kansas City Chiefs 16-10 the first game and then this past weekend we lost to the Saints 38-14.

The game against the Saints was very disappointing because we had some excellent practices during the week and as a team, we all felt like we were ready to go. Even though it is the preseason and the games don’t officially count yet, the way the game turned out was totally unacceptable to me and my teammates.

As far as playing with the Texans this year, I’m getting used to everything and figuring out all of the ins and the outs, but it takes a while to grow into a new system. But I am working very hard on the process of learning the new system and becoming comfortable with it. With every passing day, I become more familiar with it and it becomes second nature, which is a good thing because I can just go out and play football instead of thinking about what I am supposed to do.

I’m enjoying myself and really like all of my new teammates. We are starting to bond both on and off the field.  

Even though we had a big fallout this last game, the preseason is all about learning each other and it is starting to come together. Each game teaches you a lesson and it all happens in order to make you a better player and a better team. The game humbled us in a way, but the positives are that it will improve our focus so that we can make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

We haven’t been doing any game planning like you do during the regular season, but to a point we do a little game planning. We look at film, check out some of their plays so that we can get an idea of what they do, but for the most part during the preseason, the main thing is to come together as a team and try to improve from week to week so that we are ready for the first game of the regular season.

This coming week we play the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. Right now all of the hoopla is on Brett Favre and I heard that he will be playing the whole first half of the game. It should be exciting and I am looking very forward to playing him again.

Man, in all of the games I have played against him, I have never been able to sack him. I would love to get my hands on him and sack him at least once before he finally decides to hang it up for good. With him though, you never know, I may officially retire before he does..LOL. 

I am going to really try my hardest during the game to get my hands on him and bring him to the ground and I know it will be a challenge because the Vikings have a really good offensive line. But I am focused right now and I am really looking forward to the opportunity to sack number 4. 

It’s a home game for us so the home crowd should really pump us up, help us get motivated, and energize us to make some big plays.

Man, I really want to make a big play and get Favre to the ground during this game, even if it is preseason, that would be a huge achievement for me.

We have one more day of training camp per say. After that, it is more like the regular season and instead of all of the drills and such we are working on our next opponent.

So Texans fans, y’all come out on Monday night and cheer as loud as you can, especially when Favre is under center. 

Right now, I am putting the finishing touches on getting in shape for training camp. Because camp starts this weekend, I am trying to spend as much time as I can with my family right now, because once training camp starts, I won’t get to see them much, if at all, for five weeks.

Training camp can get to be a pain after a while because it is so long. Banging heads with your teammates for five long weeks before the season starts without seeing your family on a regular basis can get to you after a while. Five weeks is a long time to be away from your family, but it is part of the business and I understand it has to be done in order to get the team ready for the season.

I do keep in shape during the offseason and I do the best that I can to be prepared for training camp. But once training camp actually starts, the vigorous workouts designed specifically for the game gets your body into true football shape pretty fast. Two-a-days in the heat along with multiple exercises will do that to you. Sometimes it just seems to get a bit unnecessary after a while. Two-a-days are not much fun either, but in the end, it is all worth it for the opportunity to play football on this level for a living.

The best part of training camp that I enjoy the most is creating new relationships with my teammates, making new friends, and bonding together as both a team and as people.

I look forward to learning a new defensive scheme with the Texans and everyone jelling together as a unit. I am looking very forward to the season, and I want to get in there with my boys and learn with them as well as them learning from me.

My favorite part of training camp is the hazing of the rookies, I really enjoy that. Nothing too severe or anything that would hurt anyone, just the basic stuff like making them get up on a table after dinner and sing a song. And I don’t mean singing their school fight song either. I like to make them sing a popular song of their choice.

I remember when I was a rookie, I had to sing a song, and I also had to carry four or five veteran’s pads back to the locker room after every practice. And trust me, I remember it, it is not as easy as you think after a day of practice to carry all of that stuff back to the locker room. I also got stuck with the bill a few times when a bunch of the veteran players and me were at a restaurant having dinner.   

You do all of that stuff as a rookie, and you look forward to doing it to new rookies every year at camp. No harm, just all in good fun.

Well, the time is almost here, I report to training camp this Friday and we will hit the field on Saturday. It should be fun…for a while anyway. I just want the season to start.