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2008 Team Report: Houston Texans

Quarterbacks

Starter: Matt Schaub
Backup(s): Sage Rosenfels, Alex Brink [R], Shane Boyd

Starting QB: In Matt Schaub's first season as the Texans starting quarterback, he had some nice moments in helping the team achieve their first .500 season as an NFL franchise. However he missed a number of games throughout the season and has yet to prove he can stay healthy through an entire year. He completed 66.4 percent of his throws with a strong YPA of 7.8 on the season. The only real negative was the same number of interceptions as touchdown passes with nine. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Schaub is blessed with terrific size, and he should be able to improve on his durability issues from a season ago.

Backup QB: The good news in Houston is that Sage Rosenfels emerged in 2007 as not only a great backup but a player capable of leading a team to victory when called upon. He tossed 15 touchdowns in only 240 passing attempts and made plays happen to help his team win. The Texans are confident in Rosenfels if he is pressed into action once again this season. The battle for the final spot on the active roster will come down to Shane Boyd or rookie Alex Brink.

Running Backs

Starter: Ahman Green
Backup(s): Chris Brown, Steve Slaton [R], Darius Walker, Chris Taylor
Fullback(s): Vonta Leach, Jameel Cook

Starting RB: Ahman Green was brought in via free agency last season to help solidify the Texans rushing attack. However for the second time in three seasons, Green couldn't avoid the injury bug and finished with only 70 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Green is on the wrong side of 30 now and shouldn't be expected to hold up for 20 carries per game. He'll likely platoon this season with newly acquired veteran RB Chris Brown in order to keep Green fresh and healthy.

Backup RBs: Chris Brown is the newest addition to the Texans backfield and he'll split time with Ahman Green in 2008. Brown is still just 27 years of age and has had some nice moments in the NFL including a 1,067-yard campaign back in 2004 with the Titans. He has nice speed, quickness and some power but has had trouble staying healthy. His career-high for carries in a season is only 224. Behind the two veterans are a trio of young backs. The Texans grabbed Steve Slaton in the third round. He has excellent speed and is expected to push for playing time. Also available is second-year RB Darius Walker, who carried the ball 58 times for an impressive 264 yards over the final four games of last season. He could earn plenty of playing time with a strong showing at training camp.

Fullback: While they saw a decent number of targets out of the backfield last year (41 total), Vonta Leach and Jameel Cook are primarily blockers and have very little fantasy value.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter
Backups: Andre Davis, Jacoby Jones

Starting WRs: Andre Johnson is a stud. In only nine games a season ago, he caught 60 passes for 851 and a career-high of eight touchdowns. He has averaged 74 receptions in each of his first five professional seasons and is just entering his prime now. He is a big, agile receiver who is difficult to cover. He underwent arthroscopic surgery in May but is expected to be ready for training camp. Kevin Walter doesn't have the necessary skills to be a legitimate No. 1 receiver, but he slots in nicely as a WR2/WR3 for a team. He compliments Johnson nicely and gives the Texans a solid one-two punch. He finished with career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2007 (65 receptions, 800 yards and four touchdowns).

Backup WRs: Andre Davis enjoyed his finest season since 2003 with the Texans last season finishing with 583 yards and three touchdowns. Many of those opportunities came early in the season however and he faded down the stretch. Second-year receiver Jacoby Jones is a more interesting prospect due to his size and agility. He didn't do much as a receiver in 2007 instead helping the club with his kickoff and punt returns, but he has the potential to develop into a good WR2 for the club.

Tight Ends

Starters: Owen Daniels
Backups: Mark Bruener, Joel Dreessen

Owen Daniels had a fine rookie campaign in 2006 and followed it up with a strong sophomore effort in 2007. He has become a very dependable target in the Texans offense and the club does like to utilize the TE position, so expect more of the same in 2008. If anything were to happen to Daniels, it would probably be Joel Dreessen who would earn more looks in the passing attack.

Place Kicker

Kris Brown : Brown's 86.2% (26 of 29) on field goals last year matched his career best percentage from his rookie year in Pittsburgh. During his first five years in Houston he hit only 70.8%, 81.8%, 70.8%, 76.5%, and 76.0%. Brown has the range to hit longer field goals. He was perfect on all five of his attempts from 50+ yards last year, including a long of 57 yards. His kickoffs have steadily improved throughout his career. He had a 63.0 yard average and 11 touchbacks in 2006. Brown scored 115 points last year and the Texans ranked 14th in kicker scoring. For most teams that represents an average year. For the Texans it represents their best output since joining the NFL six years ago.

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Andre Davis; Jacoby Jones; Jameel Cook; Vonta Leach

When healthy, WR Jerome Mathis was one of the top kickoff returners in the league. Unfortunately he had trouble staying healthy, so the Texans let him go. His eventual successor did just as well, perhaps even a little better. WR Andre Davis averaged 30.3 yards on 32 returns and scored three TDs. Despite only taking over as the returner during the latter part of the season, he still ended up as the 9th ranked fantasy returner in the NFL WR/PR Jacoby Jones did very well on kickoff returns at Lane College, and served as a backup for the Texans last year (4 returns, 19.5 avg.). Other backups and upmen include FB Jameel Cook (2 returns, 16.5 avg.) and FB Vonta Leach (2 returns, 13.0 avg.).

Punt Returners: Jacoby Jones; Dunta Robinson; David Anderson

Jacoby Jones did extremely well during the preseason last year scoring twice, but injury may have slowed him somewhat during the regular season (30 returns, 9.5 avg.). CB Dunta Robinson hasn't returned punts since his senior year at South Carolina, but has practiced in that role periodically for the Texans. WR David Anderson serves as a backup. He had no gain on his lone return last year. The Texans have ranked in the bottom half of the league in fantasy punt returns the last five years, but still managed to finish 1st in overall fantasy returns in 2005 and 2nd last year on the strength of their kickoff returns.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT Duane Brown [R], LG Chester Pitts, C Chris Myers, RG Fred Weary, RT Eric Winston
Key Backups: Ephraim Salaam, Charles Spencer, Jordan Black, Kasey Studdard

Commentary coming soon.

Team Defense

Over their short history, the Texans have struggled to get anything going on defense. Last year was another paragraph in that same chapter. The good news is that while they didn't leap into the limelight, the '07 campaign did show some improvement in nearly every important category. Houston recorded three more sacks and three more takeaways, the run defense jumped several slots, the pass D was a little better and they moved up a few places on the fantasy rankings. However, if they are going to continue the trend of improvement, it will have to be done by becoming better within the scheme since there was little personnel attention given to the defense over the offseason. Their free agent additions include SS Nick Ferguson, OLB Chaun Thompson, OLB Kevin Bentley and CB Jacques Reeves. Only Ferguson was a starter for his previous team and he had been demoted by the Broncos late last year. The draft brought corner Antwaun Molden and OLB Xavier Adibi, both of whom were second day picks and are not a lock to even contribute this year. Their most obvious hole, a pass-rush contributor to play opposite Mario Williams, went unaddressed. They may take a few more baby steps in '08 but will likely end up outside the top 20 once again.

Defensive Line

Starters: DE Mario Williams, DE Anthony Weaver, DT Travis Johnson, DT Amobi Okoye DE
Backups: DE Earl Cochrane, DT Anthony Maddox, DE N.D. Kalu, DT Jeff Zgonina, DE Tim Bulman

Starting DL: The first overall pick in the draft two years ago, defensive end Mario Williams, made a huge jump in his sophomore campaign. Williams has freakish size and athleticism but did not make the immediate impact many had hoped for in his rookie year. His speed makes him a pass-rushing threat and his size and tackling ability make him solid against the run, but far too often in his rookie year Williams struggled against tight ends and offensive tackles in situations when he should have dominated. But last year he turned it all around. He ended the year with 14 sacks, a franchise record and tied for third best in the NFL. He also added 43-16 tackles and forced a pair of fumbles. Across from Williams is DE Anthony Weaver. Weaver has been moderately successful, but has only one sack in 30 games with the Texans. However, Weaver was hampered last year after missing all offseason team activities and most of training camp while going through a brutal eight-month recovery from surgery on his right rotator cuff and his right knee. Some believe a healthier offseason will lead to a better year for Weaver. The new kid on the block last year was rookie DT Amobi Okoye. Okoye set a team rookie record with 5.5 sacks. His first professional start made him the youngest player at 19 to appear in an NFL since 1967. He lost a bit of steam in the latter part of the season, but a year under his belt should help him adapt to playing 16 games. The other DT belongs to fourth year player Travis Johnson. Johnson's play improved immensely last year, especially against the run, and he has started to play like the first round pick he was.

Backup DL: DE N.D. Kalu will proved to be a capable supporting player providing consistent pass rush and was third on the team in sacks. He played mostly on passing downs only. He has retained much of his quickness and is a positive influence in the locker room and a mentor for the younger linemen such as Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye. DT Anthony Maddox has played reasonably well and has proved to be a solid contributor, specifically against the run, in his first two years as a Texan. He's quick off the ball but he is best served in a supporting role stepping in from time to time as needed. DT Jeff Zgonina is 38 years old and is playing for his seventh different team, but brings obvious much needed experience to the unit.

Linebackers

Starters: MLB DeMeco Ryans, WLB Morlon Greenwood, SLB Kevin Bentley,
Backups: WLB Chaun Thompson, LB Xavier Adibi, LB Zac Diles

Starting LBs: While his overall production decreased slightly from his sensational rookie season, MLB DeMeco Ryans remains at the top of the line when reviewing the game's best at that position. He is clear and away the leader of the defensive unit and makes tackles all over the field. He does everything well and makes quick and intelligent decisions. Houston signed Kevin Bentley as a free agent and he is the early favorite to start at strongside linebacker. He'll be entering his seventh year as a pro, coming over from Seattle. He didn't play much in Seattle, but he's a versatile player and has good speed. Morlon Greenwood is a solid, albeit unspectacular, LB. Greenwood has four consecutive seasons with 100+ tackles, three with Houston, and he has the speed and quickness to cover sideline to sideline. The move back to a 4-3 defense was a natural fit for Greenwood. He's a student of the game and works hard to stay on top.

Backup LBs: Chaun Thompson was another free agent acquisition and will compete with Kevin Bentley for the strongside job. Thompson came over from Cleveland where he had provided some solid production just a few years ago. Thompson combines an excellent combination of size, speed and strength. The Texans hope that Zac Diles, who backed up DeMeco Ryans in the middle as a rookie last year, can develop enough to push for a starting job on the outside. He's a little undersized but is a good tackler and should be able to improve upon his rookie year. He's also not a liability in coverage. Xavier Adibi is a rookie out of Virginia Tech who is fast and athletic but is not very big. He'll likely compete at the strong side although he seems more natural on the weakside.

Defensive Backs

Starters: SS C.C. Brown, FS Will Demps, CB Dunta Robinson, CB Fred Bennett
Backups: SS Nick Ferguson, SS Glenn Earl, FS Dominique Barber, CB Jacques Reeves, CB DeMarcus Faggins

Starting DBs: Starting safety Will Demps enters his second season for Houston and while his numbers last year paled in comparison to the previous year for the Giants, Demps remains a valuable asset and a physical presence to the thin DB ranks at Houston. He joined the team after one game in 2007 and played like the athletic veteran the team expected. He was re-signed in the offseason, showing at least some faith by the Texans in Demps. Across from Demps is three year veteran (all with Houston) C.C. Brown. Brown has proven to be a consistent player for the Texans and can play both safety positions. He was the only Houston DB to start 16 games last year and finished fourth on the team in tackles. Brown is a hard hitter who excels against the run. He has a strong work ethic but his coverage skills need a bit more seasoning. At one corner spot is second year player Fred Bennett. Bennett mentored under Dunta Robinson at South Carolina. The Texans signed CB Jacques Reeves to a $20 million dollar deal and plan on having him compete for the starting job opposite Fred Bennett. He needs to become more consistent, but Reeves has good speed and excels in coverage.

Backup DBs: The Texans will lose Dunta Robinson for at least half of next season due to injuries to his knee and hamstring. The loss hits the Texans hard, as Robinson has proven to be one of the game's better corners and matches up against opposing number one receivers. He's had 80+ tackles in each of his three seasons and attacks the run with gusto. His rehab seems on track but regardless the loss badly hurts a secondary that Robinson led. Glenn Earl has been a starter since his rookie year, now starting at strong safety, his natural position. Good health in 2006 finally allowed Earl to play in more than 12 games. He is most effective against the run but he has shown some glimpses of improving in coverage too. CB Demarcus Faggins will have to work hard to retain a job with the team. He has proven he can step in and start when necessary and even make some plays, but he does not have the talent to be an effective full-time starter. CB Jamar Fletcher plays as the nickelback and is a well-traveled veteran. The team drafted CB Fred Bennett in the fourth round and he'll compete for the nickel job. He's got tremendous speed but needs to improve against the run.

Last modified: 2008-06-12 09:58:18