FanHouse BobMcnair

When thinking about the big cities in our great country, the easy names pop in your head. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix. All are pretty enormous and all have multiple sports teams occupying the land. What you may not know is San Antonio is the seventh most populated city in the United States and only hosts one professional sports team, the Spurs.

All that may change in the coming years as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell visited San Antonio yesterday and talked about the hope of bringing a football team to the Alamo.

"There's no question the growth is extraordinary here," Goodell said. "You see it as soon as you come into the city ... The vision the leaders have here to grow this community has been very positive. I think that will provide new opportunities.''

You've got questions. I've got answers. If not, I'll make them up. Each Thursday at 1 p.m. EST, I answer your queries on all things related to the NFL. If you have a question, send it over to NFLMailbag@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and location. Click here for the archives. Rock'n'roll.

How bad will the Colts beat the Texans on Sunday? Also, will the Texans win a game this year? Matt Schaub got in tune with the game for a while last week but he is so inconsistent. I think it's time for him to take a hike and take Gary Kubiak with him.
- Ward77029, Texas

Oh ye of little faith. The Texans won't continue to slide into the 2008 twilight. While the Dolphins and Rams last year offered legitimate hope for an 0-16 season, the Texans are simply too talented to continue losing, and I think it comes together this week in what most would consider a shocker. Schaub did begin to harmonize last week, and though the Colts defense is offering a remarkably stout pass defense, they're also now missing Bob Sanders, and if we've learned anything about the Colts it's that their defense relies quite heavily on that tiny young man. Add in a remarkable Texans front four that will be playing against a Colts line that will be missing Tony Ugoh and Ryan Lilja (though the line has done a good patchwork job of protecting Peyton Manning, they've been awful on the ground, and they haven't played a unit like this), and I like the increasingly-healthy Texans' chances of getting in the win column this week. Added motivation? I don't care what Bob McNair says, the Texans have a chip on their shoulder after Jerrah equated the fourth-largest city in America with Mayberry.

In a LA Times article discussing his new mega stadium, Jerry Jones manages to offend both Cowboy and Texan fans in three sentences:

The Cowboys have never been about checkered tablecloths and boots and hats. They've been about glitz and glitter. Leave the other stuff to the Houston Texans.

Jerrah. Let me splain something to you. I'm guessing that most Cowboy fans don't want to have their franchise described as "glitz and glitter." Perhaps it's less of a pejorative than "cocaine, mugshots and whores" so I suppose Dallas fans have that going for them.

Even so, you might as well have added "unicorns, rainbows and fairy dust" in your description. Even a fellow from Arkansas should figure out that most football-watching menfolk don't want their team described as glittery.

And well, it isn't terribly accurate. Check out the picture of Cowboy mascot Rowdy and his cheerleader friend. Looks like boots and hat to me. They'd probably also have a checkered tablecloth too if they were dining alfresco.

With Reliant Stadium losing five roof tiles in Hurricane Ike and the Texans not being completely sure when the roof will be ready for play, they've gotten an interesting offer for a temporary home - Minute Maid Park, crosstown home of the Astros. I don't know if there have been any serious discussions about this, but Astros' owner Drayton McLane told the Houston Chronicle today that he'd be willing to lend Minute Maid Park to the Texans until Reliant Stadium is ready to go.

This probably isn't going to be necessary since Texans owner Bob McNair sounds confident that Reliant will be ready by October 5th and is considering playing at Rice's stadium if it's not. There's also the issue of whether or not a football field, complete with sidelines, end zones, and goal posts could even fit into the unique dimensions of Minute Maid. I don't think fantasy owners would be happy to see Andre Johnson go down with a twisted ankle on that goofy hill they have in center field.

Of course, the damage to the stadiums and where the Texans play isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. As Stephanie Stradley has noted, many of the players saw damage to their houses during Ike and there are still a lot of people without power and water in and around Houston. It would be great for the Texans to play that October 5th game against the Colts at home, but it's understandable if fixing Reliant is low on the "things to do" list in Houston, especially with other viable nearby locations for the game.

Reliant Stadium is one of many buildings in the Houston-Galveston area that received damaged from Hurricane Ike. This HoustonTexans.com video above shows some of the damage and interviews with the players about going through the storm.

Eric Berger from the Houston Chronicle states that because of the odd configuration of Ike, forecasters believe Reliant received Category 4 strength winds because of the height of the roof. The higher the building, the more significant the winds.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Texans owner Bob McNair is optimistic that they will have the stadium ready for the Texans-Colts game on October 5. If not, they may end up using the nearby Rice University stadium as an alternative.

According to today's presser, Coach Gary Kubiak says that a number of players are living in hotels because of damage to their homes. DT Travis Johnson isn't sure his house is even salvageable because of damage to his roof. TE Owen Daniels has roof damage as well.

Last summer, I explained an NFL policy designed to limit the amount of video and audio content that traditional media could put on their online ventures. As a part of the credentialing process, the media had to agree not to use more than 45 seconds of interview content each day. The video could only be kept on the website for 24 hours, couldn't be archived, and the website had to have a link to the NFL website.

The Houston Chronicle demonstrated the absurdity of jamming multiple interviews into 45 seconds with the above video that includes Texans owner Bob McNair (!) in it (this video was captured before it was removed from their site).

This year, the NFL increased the time limit to 90 seconds (pdf link from Vikings credentials):

The 2008 NFL credentials impose a 90-second limit on the use of online and other new media non-game audio and video content obtained as a result of credentialed access. Such content may not be "archived" (i.e., made available for on-demand public access) for more than 24 hours on the Internet, may not incorporate integrated advertising, and must be accompanied by links back to NFL.com and to the team's web site.

The reason for this rule? According to the NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello, they want to protect the NFL's own Pravda coverage internet operations:

A rumor recently surfaced on the TexansTalk message board that former Bears running back Cedric Benson was in the Houston area and that he was telling people that he was closest in his talks with the Texans. I've heard similar gossip from other places, and as fans are interested in this, I think it is worth discussing.

(UPDATE: Adam Schefter from NFL Network is reporting that the Texans have no interest in Cedric Benson. No surprise given their emphasis on acquiring high character players, see below).

Clearly the Texans situation would be appealing to Benson. He would be close to home and playing in front of a crowd that includes Longhorn fans who may be inclined to give him another chance. Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator for the Texans played (!) on the same University of Texas team as Benson.

And most importantly, the Texans have a need for better running back play. Their group of backs is still not where you want it to be for a team that aspires to dominate in the running game. Here's their current lineup:

Ahman Green - Oldish and oft injured
Chris Brown - Oft injured
Steve Slaton - Inexperienced smallish rookie
Chris Taylor - Undrafted inexperienced RB coming off of injury
Darius Walker - Undrafted inexperienced RB

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence. The best analysis of the Texans running back situation as it relates to Benson is from Keith Weiland of InTheBullseye.com (formerly of now-shuttered HoustonProFootball.com):

Mike Sherman left his position as Assistant Head Coach-Offense at the end of last year to take over the head coaching position with Texas A&M. Even though he left, he has very positive things to say about the Texans that sound beyond just leaving a few nice exit interview words.

In this brief video interview with Anna-Megan Raley of Chron.com, Sherman talks about how impressed he is with the owner, GM and coaches, and the way the leadership and decision making is done with the Texans. He is confident in Gary Kubiak and believes this management group will go to a Super Bowl (but maybe not next year).

Sherman reduces expectations some by pointing out that the 2008 Texans schedule is a brutality, that they play in a tough division, and that their record may not reflect their progress. He pretty much sums up the team's situation well.

We continue the report with page four of your FanHouse Media Guide.

• Tim Clark -- t-3 -- Mr. Oh-So-Close, Clark is a guy you would think has won on the PGA Tour and you would be wrong. In his four U.S. Open appearances Clark has been in the top-20 in three, missing the cut in the other. Add him to the list of people that will struggle with the length of Torrey Pines.

• Bobby Collins -- DNP -- The 35-year-old golf pro out of Florida owes his chance of playing in his first U.S. Open to, of all people, Houston Texans' owner Bob McNair, who played in a pro-am with Collins. Bobby presented the idea of sponsoring a golfer and McNair bit, allowing him a chance to continue his pursuit of a life on the professional golf circuit.

• Jordan Cox (a) -- DNP -- Cox, a sophomore at Stanford, will be making his PGA Tour debut this week at the U.S. Open. He can already count it as a successful week as he was seen early Monday morning playing a practice round with idol Tiger Woods, another Stanford golfer.

• Ben Crane -- 62 -- Playing on a medical exemption this year, Crane has been cruising all season, notching three top-10s and is in perfect position to retain his card for next season. Also, plays so slow he makes Sergio Garcia's waggle escapade look like Deion Sanders running the 40-yard dash.

• Ben Curtis -- 30 -- He won the British Open once. He also went to Kent State. These facts are about as exciting as Curtis.

• Chris Devlin -- DNP -- As the 33-year-old Irishman is getting set to play in his first U.S. Open, his parents are trying desperately to find their way to San Diego. "Chris rang us at two in the morning to tell us the good news and we are all really excited," his father John said. Devlin is currently playing the Hooters Tour, where he is 47th on the money list.

• Robert Dinwiddie -- DNP -- Dinwiddie, surprisingly, is from England and is having a productive year on the European Tour, currently 78th on the Order of Merit.

• Luke Donald (above, right) -- t-12 -- For a guy talked about as much as Donald, he's never played well in either of the Open championships. In case he ever has a falling out with golf, he can fall back on an illustrious painting career.

• Nick Dougherty (above, left) -- t-7 -- He's in the field because of his top-10 last year, where he was actually leading after the first round. Another of the young Englishmen expected to do serious things in the golf world.

• Andrew Dresser -- DNP -- Well, what are the chances, a guy I've actually played with in a tournament! Dresser played at Texas Tech and kicked my tail in a Byron Nelson qualifier a couple of years back. He isn't a long hitter but has a pretty flawless short game that will see itself on the PGA Tour in the near future.

I can't speak for Redskins fans but as a Texans fan, I find it very difficult to listen to former Houston GM Charley Casserly act as a draft analyst. It strikes me a bit like getting parenting lessons from Britney Spears.

His latest gig is being a professor at George Mason University, teaching students on how to get a job and keep it. The advice is pretty sound--finding a job, paying your dues, impressing bosses, finding mentors, volunteering to do harder jobs. Of course, he missed one of his steps that the Houston media would probably point out right away--put blame on other people in case things don't work out.

For young job seekers, I would suggest it is also important to look older and more responsible than you are when you are looking for your first job. And just looking at Casserly, never ever get gray in your helmet hair as you get older and make sure Wikipedia doesn't know your age. Having non-stop BS skills is a plus, and always sound confident in what you are saying, even when you don't know what the hades you are talking about. "See, that's the way we do it in the NFL see....."

All GM's make mistakes on players. But you would hope that those GM's would learn from some of those mistakes. One of the biggest problems I had about Casserly is that he completely discounted the value of middle round picks in building a team in the modern salary cap era. The Texans are still paying for that mistake in the lack of depth on their team.