There was little good for Texans fans in the Steelers crushing of the Texans in their home opener. At least starting running back, Ahman Green, didn't fall over injured without being touched like he did in the first preseason game. Right?
Well, in yesterday's press conference, Gary Kubiak said that the Texans limited Green's time because he was injured during the game. They believe that Green has an ankle issue. Practice squader Darius Walker would be the first option to go if Green is not available. The Texans are working out various backs, none of them named Cedric Benson or Shaun Alexander.
Whether Ahman Green's injury makes him miss many games or none, I don't think it has much effect on what will happen on offense. I don't think anyone was truly counting on him this season.
For me, there are very few NFL decisions that are clearly right or Millen wrong decisions at the time you make them. You take risks, and some work out and some don't. However, there are contracts that you sign that you can tell are mistakes as you make them.
The Texans-Ahman Green contract is one of those mistakes. Former Packer contract negotiator, Andrew Brandt, discusses the problems with the Green contract from the perspective of someone who was there at the time it was negotiated. It's a must read for Packer and Texans fans, though for Texans fans you might feel like beating yourself in the head some after reading it.
There was little good for Texans fans in the Steelers crushing of the Texans in their home opener. At least starting running back, Ahman Green, didn't fall over injured without being touched like he did in the first preseason game. Right?
Well, in yesterday's press conference, Gary Kubiak said that the Texans limited Green's time because he was injured during the game. They believe that Green has an ankle issue. Practice squader Darius Walker would be the first option to go if Green is not available. The Texans are working out various backs, none of them named Cedric Benson or Shaun Alexander.
Whether Ahman Green's injury makes him miss many games or none, I don't think it has much effect on what will happen on offense. I don't think anyone was truly counting on him this season.
For me, there are very few NFL decisions that are clearly right or Millen wrong decisions at the time you make them. You take risks, and some work out and some don't. However, there are contracts that you sign that you can tell are mistakes as you make them.
The Texans-Ahman Green contract is one of those mistakes. Former Packer contract negotiator, Andrew Brandt, discusses the problems with the Green contract from the perspective of someone who was there at the time it was negotiated. It's a must read for Packer and Texans fans, though for Texans fans you might feel like beating yourself in the head some after reading it.
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
Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.
Over Gary Kubiak's last two seasons, the Texans have tried to piece together a running game using players that no other team really wanted. They haven't had much of a choice given all the needs of the team and limited salary cap money. Once again this year, the Texans have a group of running backs that few other teams would covet, but they are hoping to get away with it with offensive line guru Alex Gibbs joining the team.
I follow the Texans closer than what is probably mentally advisable, and I have little idea who is going to be the Texans leading rusher this upcoming year. Last year, it was Ron Dayne. Really. The ugliest looking 4.0 YPC average in the league. I know it won't be Ron Dayne this year, unless some how everybody gets hurt and Dayne gets re-signed. (apologies for any mental distress and/or gastrointestinal upset that this last paragraph might have caused).
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
First I want to say thank you to the Houston Texans website staff for being blog-friendly and fixing their embeds so they don't autoplay. The above HoustonTexans.com video is of Texans secondary coach, Jon Hoke talking about the secondary players in this year's draft, and what the Texans are looking for when scouting free agents and potential draft picks. If you just want to read the interview, check out this link.
When Gary Kubiak came to Houston from Denver, he said he was bringing his playbook with him. He ended up hiring all sorts of assistant coaches and players with connections to the Broncos, including Kyle Shanahan, the only son of Bronco head coach Mike Shanahan.
This led to jokes that the Texans should be referred to as Broncos South, or perhaps the Texacos. Similar to the Broncos, but like people from Texas, incapable of properly driving in the snow.
Yesterday, I was fortunate to sit behind the Texans bench, and I thought I might be able to give you a few game day observations and photos you won't find anywhere else (from mostly a Texans' perspective given my vantage point).
Quarterbacks
The game was a battle of the backup quarterbacks with Sage Rosenfels for the Texans and Luke McCown for the Bucs getting the starts due to injuries to the starters.
It is no surprise to Texans fans that Sage Rosenfels can move the ball, even against some good defenses. His aggressiveness sometimes gets him in trouble, but the Bucs weren't able to capitalize enough on the sacks and fumbles. This picture below shows the medical staff attending to Rosenfels chin after one of the sacks.
In an unsurprising move, Ahman Green was placed on IR today after it became apparent that the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 couldn't take game day activity. Undrafted Notre Dame running back, Darius Walker will be put on the active roster for the game against the Bucs this Sunday. Ron Dayne is expected to be the starter, though his time may be limited due to a minor ankle injury he suffered last week.
Green suffered what was called a "knee bone bruise" in the game against Kansas City. He tried to come back from that injury, but had to leave games due to swelling and pain. As I discussed last September, a diagnosis of a bruised knee bone gave Texans fans no comfort because the description of the injury sounded very similar to the same thing that ended Texans running back Domanick (Davis) Williams' career.
You hear fans talk about a bruised knee bone like it is no big deal, as if it is bumping it into a coffee table. However, as I understand it, the knee bone is a place with not a lot of blood flow, and can be hard to heal. If you have more of a medical interest in in knee bone bruises, check out this link. If you would like a first hand account of how knee bone bruises might slow down a sports blogfather, check out what Jamie Mottram has to say about it, including an x-ray of knee badness.
Domanick, Ahman, and Jamie: such promising sporting lives interrupted by what is a wussy sounding diagnosis, but actually is hard for doctors to treat, estimate healing time and determine its effect on future use.
The fourth preseason game is all about making roster cuts, making money for the owners, hoping nobody gets injured and then making more money for the owners. With three minutes left in the game, the Bucs beat the Texans 31-23 with a touchdown by their preseason leading receiver, Paris Warren. Unfortunately, after Warren was hit at the goal line, he momentarily lost consciousness and the TV coverage cut away from him because of how awful his leg looked. He regained consciousness, his leg was put in an aircast, and he was carted off the field to a standing ovation. After the game, John Gruden said that this injury was a "terrible dislocated ankle."
Here's a few observations I have about the game for Texan fans, especially for those who didn't watch it:
Result: Don't worry too much about the result of this game. Sage Rosenfels looked good in the limited time he was in, and then it was Jared Zabransky for most of the game. He looked like a rookie, with a few flashes, but it made it difficult to evaluate receivers and running backs.
Jacoby Jones: In limited minutes, he ended up catching three passes for 34 yards and scoring yet another touchdown with a leaping grab in the corner of the endzone. He did not score any touchdowns on punt returns because he didn't return punts during this game. After the draft, one of the Texans staff who is usually pretty critical of players told me that he thought that Jones could be a player, but I had no idea.
There was little good for Texans fans in the Steelers crushing of the Texans in their home opener. At least starting running back, Ahman Green, didn't fall over injured without being touched like he did in the first preseason game. Right?
There was little good for Texans fans in the Steelers crushing of the Texans in their home opener. At least starting running back, 
Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the 
A rumor recently surfaced on the 
To get you ready for Week 15, 
Here's the recap from the 
In an unsurprising move, 
The fourth preseason game is all about making roster cuts, making money for the owners, hoping nobody gets injured and then making more money for the owners. With three minutes left in the game, the Bucs beat the Texans 31-23 with a touchdown by their preseason leading receiver, Paris Warren. Unfortunately, after Warren was hit at the goal line, he momentarily lost consciousness and the TV coverage cut away from him because of how awful his leg looked. He regained consciousness, his leg was put in an aircast, and he was carted off the field to a standing ovation. After the game, 
