HOUSTON -- Not that I'm gonna garner much sympathy from you guys, but it's actually pretty cold here in Houston. No kidding.

Got here via Austin -- after seeing this yesterday afternoon and going here and here after that -- this morning, and it's remarkably quiet in and around this beautiful facility for a game day. The roof, because of that chilly weather, is closed.

Despite the silence around here (Probably because Texans aren't real keen on hanging out in the cold), there's buzz around this game in the city. To grab the first playoff in their franchise's eight-year history, the Texans need a win and two of the three teams (Jets, Baltimore, Denver) ahead of them to lose.

Tough to count on that, since the Ravens play the Raiders and Broncos play the Chiefs. No matter what happens, though, former Globe Patriots beat writer Jerome Solomon, now a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, says that coach Gary Kubiak's fate should be sealed.

One more thing, that may be only of interest to me ... On the right side of that picture up there is the Astrodome, which seems like one of those old World's Fair towers (read: outdated, dilapidated) in comparison to the new place. Hard to believe how ragged the Eighth Wonder of the World now looks.

By the way, according to Monique Walker's binoculars, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are warming up. Keep it here the rest of the afternoon, as this messed up playoff picture clears up.