FanHouse AlexGibbs

One of my favorite Texans events to attend is the Texans Team Luncheon that the team holds before the start of the season. Each table has a player assigned to it, and it gives fans an opportunity to see the players behind the mask. Coach Gary Kubiak gave a speech, and various players answered questions. (The transcript is here, though it doesn't contain the really funny stuff Kubiak said at the beginning about going on a date with his wife).

This year I sat next to Texans second year wide receiver-returner Jacoby Jones. Quite the fun table to be at. He is a quote machine and a very upbeat guy, and lunch was certainly entertaining, as evidenced by this video of Jacoby Jones discussing how ProBowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans looks like his bobblehead. I didn't think so, but I could sort of see it after Jones broke it down on tape:


Video Link.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: In Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels, the Texans have two quarterbacks who could start in this QB starved league. Schaub needs to show he can hold up over a full season, and have better decision making in the red zone. Even so, he could end up having a breakout season assuming he and his supporting cast stay relatively healthy. Heat Index: 7

Running Backs: The Texans have been busy fixing so many other parts of their team that they have had little interest in drafting running back with a high pick. The running back group consists of Ahman Green (old and oft injured), Chris Brown (oft injured), Chris Taylor (inexperienced and coming off of injury), Darius Walker (inexperienced), Steve Slaton (3rd round pick rookie and more of a third down back). Coach Gary Kubiak won't want to have to rely on a young player because of concerns about blitz pickup. The best hope for this group is if offensive line guru Alex Gibbs shows some magic in his run blocking teaching that makes this group look good. Heat Index: 4

Last year, Texans right tackle Eric Winston quietly had a solid season for a Texans team that allowed near the fewest sacks in the league. In a recent HoustonTexans.com video, Winston talks about last year and his expectations for this year (anything but playoffs would be a disappointment).

The playoff talk is what smart players are supposed to say, but the most interesting part of the video is Winston talking about how excited he is to work with offensive line guru Alex Gibbs. Some believe that Gibbs is the most important acquisition in the Texans short history in that he will improve technique and make this line tougher. Interestingly, what Winston talks about the most is how Gibbs works to improve the lines' understanding of the mental aspects of the game.

Last year, it was surprising to me how well the Texans could throw the ball without teams having to respect the running game much. Since Kubiak has been coach, the running back group has looked like inhabitants of the island of misfit toys. A group that no other team in the league would want.

Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson had his left knee scoped and cleaned up last Thursday, and the Texans say he should be back by the beginning of training camp. (great video above of AJ talking about his surgery and other topics, including coach Alex Gibbs). This news is a little unnerving to Texans fans (and should be something that fantasy players should watch) because:

1. When Andre Johnson was out last year, the offense still functioned, but not as efficiently, especially in the red zone.

2. The Texans have had a history of being overly optimistic in talking about players coming back from knee problems. Andre Johnson was initially described as week to week after suffering his knee injury in Week 2 last year, then it was said he would be out 3 to 5 weeks, and he didn't end up coming back until Week 11.

Running back Ahman Green was also described week to week with his knee bone bruise injury last year, until the Texans decided that he really needed to shut it down. In the 2006 training camp, Domanick Davis/Williams was described as the perfect zone blocking back until he ended up never playing a down that year and then later retiring due to a knee bone bruise.

I've been told by the Houston Texans that they will be increasing the amount of football-technical information on their team website. A recent example is this article describing zone blocking schemes, and the must-see video above with members of the Texans talking about the scheme and how helpful it is to have offensive line guru Alex Gibbs teaching it. If that's not enough ZBS info, well then, check out my previous entry on this subject called Zone Blocking Schemes: A YouTube Tutorial.

I think the trend of becoming more technical in football news coverage is a great thing, because I've always believed that the more you know about a team, the more interesting it is to watch what they are doing on the field. (Though I suspect some of you just visit the Texans site for the 360 degree view of cheerleaders. I'm not judging you, just making an observation. After internet voting, the Texans added Krista [pictures] to the squad, if you care to know such things).

A number of talking heads believe that the Texans picked Virginia Tech left tackle Duane Brown too early. They believe the Texans could have traded down again and still got their target. Those people would be wrong.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Chargers wanted Brown with the 27th pick:

"Funny that the Chargers finally got a tackle with their final pick. They had been stymied from starting off the draft with one when an unprecedented eight tackles were selected before they picked at No. 27.

'We came up one pick short,' said [Norv] Turner, who along with the rest of the Chargers brass watched Houston trade into the 26th spot and take tackle Duane Brown of Virginia Tech."

At the Texans draft party, someone told me shortly after the trade down from 18 that Brown was going to be the pick. I didn't believe it until I heard the pick later. If Brown was the target, then trying to trade down again was going to get too cute.

If the Texans only have offensive line guru Alex Gibbs for a short period of time, you should probably get him the tackle he wants pronto.

I'm not much fond of immediate draft grades. Assessments of players the day after the draft are often comical (and/or painful check out 5:10 and 8:55) in retrospect. The biggest problem is there is no one that can know more than just a brief snap shot of each player and how each player fits into 32 teams. And at the time they are doing their draft grades, they are probably a little tired and writing to deadline.

I'm not going to pretend I can grade out players before they take a snap in the NFL. But what I do know is that so many of the so called draft 'experts' are wildly off base in assessing the draft from what you know right now. So I am going to grade their Houston Texans draft grades, though I am sure you would find inaccuracies and superficiality in just about every team's grades:

The Draft Expert Losers:

Jason Cole, Yahoo Sports: "[Frank] Okam, a former defensive tackle, is likely to shift to guard, a clever move by teams that realize that non-athletic DTs can make for cheap, athletic G's."

Huh? Okam was drafted as a defensive tackle, to be a space eating guy next to Okoye that the Texans did not have. Nobody from the Texans is talking about him as a guard and are happy to get a DT who is large but can still move well.

I give Cole a grade of D. He is spared an F because he gave the same grade to the Texans that I did.

The Houston Texans have signed free agent running back Chris Brown to a two-year contract, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting.

Brown, who has played his entire five-year career with the Tennessee Titans, carried 102 times for 462 yards last season. Although the Bears were also interested in Brown's services, Houston seems like a good place for him. Texans coach Gary Kubiak described Brown as an ideal fit in the offensive system being installed by assistant head coach Alex Gibbs.

Brown may very well be the starter for the Texans, who are unlikely to bring back last year's leading rusher, Ron Dayne. Running backs Ahman Green and Darius Walker will also compete for carries, and the Texans are likely to draft a running back as well.

As for the Titans, they seem content to let LenDale White carry the load in 2008. Although you could make a pretty good case that Brown was better than White last season, the Titans' coaches clearly prefer White, and now he's the man in Tennessee.

Think you know about zone blocking schemes (ZBS)? This YouTube put together by Houston sports talk radio host / Houston Chronicle blogger Lance Zierlein and former Texans linebacker Kailee Wong is a great primer showing you what zone blocking is supposed to look like.

They also discuss some of the attributes you are looking for when acquiring the athletic players you need to run a ZBS. Though there are few teams in the NFL that still run primarily zone blocking, just about every team in the league runs some of it as a part of their offensive packages.

If you would like to learn more about ZBS as it relates the Houston Texans, check out more after the jump.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Texans are "close to hiring longtime NFL defensive specialist Ray Rhodes as an assistant coach." The report suggests that he will be hired to fill the position vacated by Martin Bayless whose contract as assistant defensive backs coach was not renewed.

When offensive line guru Alex Gibbs was hired as Texans assistant head coach, I thought that was a perfect fit for the team. But I wondered if they were going to give the inexperienced defensive staff some help. Well, it appears as though they are guruing the way on up the Texans defensive side of the ball, which has been a statistical albatross and often unpleasant to watch.