FanHouse Fred Bennett

HOUSTON -- To say that the Texans defense of the last three years was vanilla is an insult to ice cream. Last year, a Football Outsiders game charter marked down "4" before just about every defensive snap, knowing it was very likely the Texans were only rushing four defensive linemen, and that he would have to erase only a couple of marks every quarter.

This year the theme of the defense is "aggressive." Texan fans have heard that before, but maybe this is the year it may actually happen. Watching in training camp, the line as a group looks to be penetrating upfield faster, and when they do blitz, the blitzes look less predictable. How games will be called remains to be seen, though first-time defensive coordinator Frank Bush said Tuesday that Gary Kubiak is going to give him a lot of freedom 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.

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.

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

With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.

The Texans have to like a draft that is particularly deep in cornerbacks, offensive linemen, and running backs, because 2008 may be a year where need perfectly fits best player available.

Do I really think that Leodis McKelvin will be available at #18? Probably not, but it is theoretically possible that a very good cornerback will be available at the 18th spot if the top offensive linemen are already taken off the board.

It has been painful in every way to watch the Texans secondary since 2004, and one of the few bright spots, Dunta Robinson went down with a hamstring/knee injury that was so awful that the television broadcasts refused to show the ugly replay. Robinson says he will be back faster than everyone expects (unfortunately for him, it is his contract year), but as I understand for his type of injuries the best prescription is hard work and an unhurried time.

To get you ready for week 11, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Houston Texans/New Orleans Saints preview.

2007 Records:
Houston Texans 4-5 (4th, AFC South)
New Orleans Saints 4-5 (T2,NFC South)

Last Game:
Texans Bye Week (Previously Texans 24, Raiders 17)
Rams 37, Saints 29

If you want to read or participate in some Reggie Bush-Mario Williams talk, check out this. Otherwise this is going to be a straight up preview of the game.

It's interesting that both of these teams have the same record, but that the Saints are only one game out of first place in the division and are very much talked about in the playoff hunt, but that the Texans are three games out and not much in the playoff discussion. Certainly both teams want to leave this game with a .500 record.

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.

The Star-Telegram has a nice article on Jones, saying that his best ever 40 time was 4.24 (he ran a 4.5 at the combine). They offer this amazing stat:

With the Texans training camp starting today, the HoustonTexans.com website has been doing a series of articles about various position battles: tight ends, running backs, receivers, defensive backs and linebackers so far. When an official website says statements like "the defensive backfield struggled at times last season," that is usually when your Extreme Understatement Alarm should go off. (The E.U.A. should not be confused with your BS Detector though they are related and located in the same region of your brain).

Basically, the Texans have stayed fairly pat with their defensive backs and safeties. They added fourth round draft pick Fred Bennett at corner and fifth round pick Brandon Harrison at safety. The Texans continue to employ Jon Hoke as the Defensive Backs Coach, one of the few coaches who has been with the franchise since its beginning.