FanHouse AnthonyWeaver

The Houston Texans shed two large salaries already, and today announced the release of defensive end Anthony Weaver, model safety Will Demps and left tackle Ephraim Salaam. In summary: Weaver's play in a 4-3 never came close to justified his salary, Demps lost his starting job last year, and Salaam wasn't happy splitting minutes with rookie Duane Brown.

In looking at the salary dump, Texans blogger/salary cap junkie deluxe, Keith Weiland of InTheBullseye.com weaves an interesting and actually semi-plausible scenario: That maybe the Texans are going after Julius Peppers.

Tonight, the Cowboys and Texans will battle for the all-mighty and magical Governor's Cup. It's the big silver trophy awarded to the Texas team that wins their yearly matchup. I'm pictured with it and a large gentlemen who works for the Texans.

Though tonight's game is just a preseason game, the third pretend game is one that knowledgeable fans watch closely because the starters are left in the game longer.

Three Things to Watch From the Cowboy Perspective: (From my semi-reasonable Cowboy fan friend, Michael Whitehead, founder of sofantasyfootball.com, a terrific site to find thoughtful fantasy football information).

1. The Secondary. The biggest problem Dallas has had in recent history is the secondary. What has looked like sure wins has turned into disappointing losses in the second half of too many games. Pay particularly close attention to Adam "Pacman" Jones, as he will get the start, and will have a true test against Andre Johnson. Rookie Mike Jenkins, who started the previous two games will be used in nickel situations, an area that Dallas has truly struggled in for the past two seasons.

It is coming up on year three of the Texans under coach Gary Kubiak. Even though they haven't completely implemented it, you can see they have a very specific philosophy on offense.

The defense, with the transition from the 3-4 to the 4-3 has been a bit more of a mystery. I have read every thing written about the Texans defense, and the best I can tell it is supposed to be an aggressive 4-3, which translates to telling you pretty much zero about it.

For example, you know what types of defensive players a lot of teams covet in the draft and free agency, but do you know much about what the Texans are looking for in a defensive player? What is the Texans defense supposed to look like other than bad?

Well, thanks to a recent interview (below) of Texans defensive line coach Jethro Franklin by John Granato and Lance Zierlein on 1560 the Game, you may get at least a few of your questions answered. I can't believe that some of this stuff are things that are public only for the first time. (Actually, I can believe it as it seemed last offseason most of the mainstream media Texans stories were fluffy, superficial pieces about the leadership ability of Matt Schaub).

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Here are some highlights from the Franklin interview (but it is worth a listen if you are able):

The Houston Texans have been pretty low key in free agency, mostly because they: 1. aren't one player away; 2. don't have a ton of money to spend; 3. usually make bad free agent acquisitions and trades (see e.g. Anthony Weaver, Ahman Green, Phillip Buchanon).

At SI.com, they are reporting unidentified "league source" suggesting that recently released Atlanta running back Warrick Dunn might be interested in the Cowboys, Texans or Broncos. The Texans are reportedly wanting him to have a visit, as they are not interested in re-signing running back Ron Dayne. I can't see Dunn as a Texan unless he really wants to be reunited with offensive line guru Alex Gibbs, and doesn't sign for much.

How many running backs can you sign with their best years behind them?

For the most part, the Texans have spent this free agency period shoring up weaknesses with not terribly splashy acquisitions: former Dallas CB Jacques Reeves, former Seattle linebacker Kevin Bentley (seen in above HT.com video or video transcript here), and re-signing Andre Davis.

I love NFL football, but I don't like figuring out salary cap stuff and its effect on contracts. So, as a service to both you and me, I've enlisted Keith Weiland of HoustonProFootball.com to explain most everything Texans salary cap.

The interview is even worth a read even if you are more interested in NFL salary cap issues in general and less about the Texans.

SS: What is the best information you have about the Texans salary cap situation?

KW: Unless you're someone who has direct access to league records, the best salary cap information available to anyone is quite often questionable. I have maintained a salary cap estimate for the Texans at HoustonProFootball.com for a few years and all I can guarantee anyone is that it's wrong somewhere on that page, and probably in more than one place.

Much of the data that doesn't come from the NFLPA comes from the media, and the data provided by the media is only as good as the data they've been given (and frankly, understand). The league and its teams are rather reluctant to release salary cap information, even to reputable media outlets, so often times the dollars reported come from the agents, and who can completely trust them, right?