The Houston Texans are dead last in total defense. It is no surprise given the big touchdown runs given up by the Texans defense to Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew. Fantasy football players have been feasting on the Texans defense for years, and certain offensive players in the AFC South probably should owe a part of their paychecks to them.
Explanations for the predictable struggles are easier to identify than the solutions:
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Houston has forgotten what it is like to root for its hometown NFL team in the playoffs. It's been since the 1993 season that a playoff berth has graced this football-obsessed region, and everyone wonders after two 8-8 Texans seasons whether the team finally has the pieces to make a legitimate playoff run. The Texans have replaced the Cardinals as the trendy dark horse pick that might break out in 2009. No really. Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin's comments are pretty representative of this sort of thinking.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and today we look at some burning questions in the AFC South and offer a ridiculously early prediction.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and today we look at the AFC South's looming position battles.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
Apparently, it has been a rough month for NFL agent Kirk Wood.
The Arizona Republic reported that Cardinal linebacker Karlos Dansby fired Wood last weekend. Dansby has been trying to get a long term deal for a while, but has been franchised two years in a row.
And then on Wednesday, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported in his blog that Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans has fired Wood too. Ryans and CB Dunta Robinson are sitting out voluntary workouts, hoping to get the Texans to negotiate again. Ryans is under contract but was hoping to renegotiate to receive a longer term deal with the team.
His basic point is that he and Robinson are key players for the Texans defense. Players that you want to lock into long-term deals. He believes that, before the Texans spend a ton on outside free agents, they should give first priority to them.
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.
In their first drive last week, the Vikings offense scored against the Texans defense in 4 plays. It was a typical start to a Texans game. They have by far worst red zone defense in the league, allowing touchdowns 17 of 25 times for a 81 percent red zone rate. The 213 points the Texans have allowed is 4th most in the AFC.
Football Outsiders currently has the Texans defense ranked 30th (compared to 12th for the offense and 4th for special teams). They ranked the Texans pass defense at 21 and the rush defense last in the league. I believe that most of the pass defense improvement in recent weeks is that teams know the Texans rush defense is garbage, and also they have faced a parade of horrible QBs (Orlowsky, Fitzpatrick, Frerotte).
Hey, but there has been some improvement right? Maybe this young defense is figuring it out? Perhaps if you live in blind optimism land, but this week, a thin defense limited in playmakers has become thinner.
The Bengals, Lions, Texans and Rams are the NFL's winless teams. They are a combined 0-17 and all seem to be staring down another bad season. One team has already lost its GM while another has fired its coach.
But what if we brought the four teams together and picked off the best guys to form a new team? Maybe they could win a game or two this season. So here we go.
QB-Carson Palmer (Cin), Marc Bulger (StL). RB-Steven Jackson (StL), Steve Slaton (Hou), Rudi Johnson (Det) FB-Vonta Leach (Hou) WR-Andre Johnson (Hou), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cin), Roy Williams (Det), Calvin Johnson (Det) TE-Owen Daniels (Hou), Randy McMichael (StL) OT-Orlando Pace (StL), Stacy Andrews (Cin), Alex Barron (StL), Eric Winston (Hou) OG-Bobbie Williams (Cin), Jacob Bell (StL), Chester Pitts (Hou) C-Dominic Raiola (Det), Chris Myers (Hou)
The Houston Texans are dead last in total defense. It is no surprise given the big touchdown runs given up by the Texans defense to Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew. Fantasy football players have been feasting on the Texans defense for years, and certain offensive players in the AFC South probably should owe a part of their paychecks to them.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Apparently, it has been a rough month for NFL agent Kirk Wood. 
Apparently, cornerback Dunta Robinson isn't the only Houston Texan displeased with his contract situation. 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
In their first drive last week, the Vikings offense scored against the Texans defense in 4 plays. It was a typical start to a Texans game. They have by far worst red zone defense in the league, allowing touchdowns 17 of 25 times for a 81 percent red zone rate. The 213 points the Texans have allowed is 4th most in the AFC.
The Bengals, Lions, Texans and Rams are the NFL's winless teams. They are a combined 0-17 and all seem to be staring down another bad season. One team has already lost its GM while another has fired its coach.
