FanHouse DavidAnderson

Andre Johnson isn't much of a talker by most accounts, though Cortland Finnegan got his attention last Sunday. During the Texans' 34-31 win over the Titans, Johnson and Finnegan were yapping at each other the entire day, which eventually turned into a brawl after Johnson threw Finnegan into the players on the Texans sideline.

The other sideline is a dangerous place for any player to be during a brawl, and, according to this report from Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle, one unnamed Texan took a chunk of Finnegan's red hair off the field as a souvenir of the fight. Titans defensive tackle Jason Jones was ejected from the game for throwing a punch and one of the smallest Texans, wide receiver David Anderson, was assessed an offsetting 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The FanHouse Podcast: Because bloggers are much sexier on the phone.

Houston Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub, who has teamed up with Gatorade to educate parents and youth coaches on heat-related illnesses, joins HausCast to talk about the obvious -- Andre Johnson's greatness and the team's expectations heading into the season. We also discuss the truly important stuff; namely, what's it's like to drill a spectator with an errant tee shot at a celebrity golf event.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Quiet Contenders. With an explosive offense -- last season's third most prolific to be precise -- Houston is a hot topic this season in fantasy terms. Last season, starter Matt Schaub and backup Sage Rosenfels combined for a franchise record in passing offense. Furthermore, rookie running back Steve Slaton proved to be the sleeper of the season.

This year, with an improved defense and a healthy Schaub, the Texans look like real deal contenders. The defense remains the big question mark, but the offense should keep them in contention, and more importantly continue to provide fantasy owners with big-time points.

---

David Anderson is a backup wide receiver for the Houston Texans who has scored exactly three touchdowns in his career. He's made the most of those touchdowns, as he got the attention of Conan O'Brien for doing a Conan string dance as a touchdown celebration. Above is a bravely funny instructional video Anderson recently did to teach others his sassy string dance moves.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

How many years were the Arizona Cardinals picked to finally have their breakout year? It seems like they were the dark horse pick to have a playoff run every offseason. But since they went to the Super Bowl last year, they can't be that sneaky hot team any more.

Maybe the Texans take over that spot. Their franchise has never had a winning season, and the last two 8-8 seasons have only resulted in higher expectations. Houston's offense ranks about the same as the Cardinal offense, their special teams is better and their defense worse. The Texans are trying to fix that bad defense by replacing a number of coaches on that side of the ball.

Video Link

Texans wide receiver, David Anderson scored a TD last week, and Conan O'Brian fans knew exactly what touchdown dance he was doing. O'Brian was happy at the homage until the announcers expressed their disapproval. In the video, O'Brian shows variations of the String Dance.

Anderson is getting more time at wide receiver due to an injury to Andre Davis' finger. He is a try hard guy who resided on and off the practice squad for a couple of years and made the 53 man roster this year. He is one of the illustrations on the Texans team that Gary Kubiak doesn't care where players were drafted or how they were acquired as long as they can play.

Oh, and he is running to be President of the Texans. You can vote here.

Hi. My name is Steph. I may be the only Houston Texan fan you know. Right now, I don't really want to write any sort of a recap of the Texans' heartbreaking and inexplicable loss to the Colts. This was the 100th game of the Texans' existence, and I believe it was the absolute worst loss, which is saying something given how many ways this team has lost over the years or even in the last month.

I was at the game, and well, I am experiencing significant post-traumatic stress. So instead of reliving it any more, I direct you to MDS's post on the subject and invite you to look at my pictorial summary of the game....

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

How many playmakers can one team lose and still win? This is the question that the Texans are facing at least over the next couple of weeks. The games against Atlanta on the road and Miami at home appeared to be the soft spot in the schedule, but with all the injuries to key Texans players, maybe not so much.

The Houston Chronicle article about the Texans injuries is here, and here's some additional thoughts about what this might mean for the team, including some information I haven't seen anywhere else.

Out For the Season:

Steve McKinney, Center: Torn ACL. Veteran Mike Flanagan will start in his place. Flanagan looked decent in his competition for the starting job in the preseason, but last year, McKinney looked better in run blocking. Flanagan got injured last season, and is on the oldish side, so there's concerns about depth. Chris White currently is the backup at center, and Kubiak liked his performance at camp.

Cedric Killings, Defensive Tackle: Fractured Vertebra. Cedric Killings was with the team in camp, was cut, but then was resigned when Travis Johnson was out with an injury. They kept him on the team after Johnson came back, but then Killings was injured during a special teams collision. With both McKinney and Killings on IR, the Texans chose to re-sign wide receiver David Anderson and tight end Joel Dressen, players who had been in camp with the team. Both are good special team players.