FanHouse Kyle Shanahan

On May 27, Texans offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan spoke as part of a coaching clinic held at the All-Access event the team holds for its fans. Shanahan spoke on a number of topics, including his belief that receiver Andre Johnson has room to improve his game over the next year. Given that Johnson led the league in receptions and yards, and was second in yards per game, that can't be good news to the rest of the league.

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.

It's not a big secret that the Texans were looking for a running back in the draft. They acquired West Virginia standout Steve Slaton in the third round as a change of pace back.

While discussing the NFL trend toward having at least one receiving-type playmaking RB, Texans offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan gave Reggie Bush a left handed compliment in the process (video above):

"I think Steve Slaton pretty much fits any offense to tell you the truth. The reason I think that is because he's a good runner, and a good enough runner can fit into any scheme. What we like most about Slaton, is I think he's got a chance to be a special-type player. You look at guys around the league like Kevin Faulk, a guy like Reggie Bush; guys who come in and fill a specific role on third downs.
...
I think when a guy is 197 pounds and if you look at the history throughout the NFL there are not too many guys that are first and second down player for long periods of time. When you look at a guy that people are projecting as a third down type guy or a change of pace guy I believe a lot of teams have more important needs that go early in the draft. One exception is Reggie Bush; he is the highest guy that I've seen go that is a third down type player. The third round is when these guys start popping out."

That's about as direct as the Texans have come to talking about why they didn't pick The! Best! Running Back! Evaaaar! that a lot of people thought was a no brainer pick in the 2006 draft.

One of the hottest trends in the NFL is the move toward younger and younger coaches. Be it Eric Mangini and Lane Kiffin running the entire show or Josh McDaniels calling the plays for the Patriots offense, the young coach with responsibility is the bleeding edge of NFL coaching. Mike Klis of the Denver Post isn't missing out on this trend.

High above the Black Hole in a cramped coaches box, a kid named Jeremy Bates, young enough to be Mike Shanahan's son, will call down the Broncos' first offensive play of the 2008 season.

Now Bates, 31, certainly fits the bill as a young gun. Klis, however, misses the mark. For one thing, Shanahan's son is younger than Bates. And, for another, much more crucial difference, Kyle Shanahan is actually an offensive coordinator. He'll run that unit for the Houston Texans this season.

Bates will indeed call the plays down to Mike Shanahan's headset but that may have more to do a lyrical tenor voice fit for La Scala than actually being the guy choosing them. Bates is actually the quarterbacks coach in Denver (and has been for more than a year, sssshhh). He will help create the Denver game plan, obviously, but Rick Dennison is actually the team's offensive coordinator. But, gosh, Bates sure is young!

Other than the central premise being wrong, it's a fine article about the young coach movement. Well, except for the way it ends.

Plus, in the ever-changing NFL world, a bridge between Bon Jovi and Bow Wow can't hurt.

If you say so, buddy.

Think you know about zone blocking schemes (ZBS)? This YouTube put together by Houston sports talk radio host / Houston Chronicle blogger Lance Zierlein and former Texans linebacker Kailee Wong is a great primer showing you what zone blocking is supposed to look like.

They also discuss some of the attributes you are looking for when acquiring the athletic players you need to run a ZBS. Though there are few teams in the NFL that still run primarily zone blocking, just about every team in the league runs some of it as a part of their offensive packages.

If you would like to learn more about ZBS as it relates the Houston Texans, check out more after the jump.

To get you ready for Week 15, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Denver Bronco/Houston Texans preview.

2007 Records

Denver 6-7 (2nd in the AFC West-Crushed KC Last Week 41-7)
Houston 6-7 (4th in the AFC South-Beat TB Last Week 28-14)

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.

For the last three weeks, coach Gary Kubiak said that the Texans were putting special emphasis in practice on their running game. And Ahman Green played last week. And the Texans still averaged 2.9 yards a carry for their running backs against the Jaguars.

Since Kubiak has been coaching the Texans, there has never been a game where the running game worked well at the same time that the passing game was working well. More often than not, the passing game has worked in spite of the running game.

This may be surprising to some. When Kubiak first came to the Texans, there were visions of Domanick Davis (Williams) putting up huge yards in the sort of Denver offense that gives backs big yardage totals and suited Davis' game. Davis never played for Kubiak due to a career ending knee injury, and the Texans offense never became a Insert Generic Running Back here, gain a ton of yards attack.

Update: Try this link if the YouTube is not working.

I've always had the point of view that an educated, knowledgeable sports fan is more likely to be a rabid fan. And that for those dedicated fans, no amount of information about their favorite team that is enough.

The NFL thinks differently. Though they have expanded media access to organized team activities in a way that is uncomfortable for some franchises, (Redskins, Patriots?), they have released new rules that significantly limit online video and audio for non-NFL websites. These rules limit all video footage to 45 seconds per day: for interviews, practice footage, everything. The videos can't be live , must be removed after 24 hours, and the online content must tell the viewer to go to NFL.com and the team website for more information, even if it is irrelevant to the story.

Check out this YouTube video from Houston Chronicle's John McClain NFL blog that illustrates the absurdity of this new rule. It is a series of semi-interviews with ND Kalu, Matt Schaub, QB coach Kyle Shanahan, GM Rick Smith and Texans owner Bob McNair. (Best actor award goes to Schaub.) McClain's responses in the comments section of the blog post show various ways the policy doesn't work, and possible solutions.