FanHouse Marcel Shipp

Lots of confusion out there on who is going to get the running back touches for the Texans. I think the confusion exists because I am not sure even the Texans coaches know what they are going to do.

Here's what we know as of today:

1. Green's Injury: Ahman Green was in and out of the lineup for most of last year, and then put on IR due to a bone bruise of his knee. He has recovered from that, but was the anti-weeble in the first preseason game, falling down on his first play without being touched due to a groin injury.

2. Green as Starter: Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that the coaches believe in that Ahman Green will be back for the beginning of the season. As Justice says in his blog comments:

I was told by both Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak that they think he'll be the starting running back in the regular-season opener. He's telling them he'll be ready, which is different than last season when he was never optimistic about coming back. But the biggest factor is that from a talent standpoint he's light years ahead of the other RBs except for possibly the rookie, and there's no way they're going to throw him out there against the 3-4 in the first game.

And he says more about Green in this other blog post.

3. Green Gone: Justice's colleague, John McClain speculates that if Green doesn't play in the preseason, he is going to get cut.

Lots of confusion out there on who is going to get the running back touches for the Texans. I think the confusion exists because I am not sure even the Texans coaches know what they are going to do.

Here's what we know as of today:

1. Green's Injury: Ahman Green was in and out of the lineup for most of last year, and then put on IR due to a bone bruise of his knee. He has recovered from that, but was the anti-weeble in the first preseason game, falling down on his first play without being touched due to a groin injury.

2. Green as Starter: Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that the coaches believe in that Ahman Green will be back for the beginning of the season. As Justice says in his blog comments:

I was told by both Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak that they think he'll be the starting running back in the regular-season opener. He's telling them he'll be ready, which is different than last season when he was never optimistic about coming back. But the biggest factor is that from a talent standpoint he's light years ahead of the other RBs except for possibly the rookie, and there's no way they're going to throw him out there against the 3-4 in the first game.

And he says more about Green in this other blog post.

3. Green Gone: Justice's colleague, John McClain speculates that if Green doesn't play in the preseason, he is going to get cut.

There is something eerily similar about the 2007 Arizona Cardinals; something we've all seen before. Unfortunately, it's not difficult to put a finger on -- it's something that stands out like a sore thumb. They're not particularly good on defense and they can't run the ball to save a life.

I can hear Dennis Green now: "I told you we had to pass it 90% of the time!"

Sure, the second and thirds teams came in and did a good job, but the starting offense failed to provide a significant rushing threat. When Edgerrin James got to the line, he seemed indecisive, didn't follow lead blockers and danced around entirely too much. By comparison, Marcel Shipp hit the line hard and fast. He knew where he was going and exploded -- J.J. Arrington had a similar approach.

But as bad as the rushing game looked, the passing game made up for it. As I expected, Matt Leinart began the day with a few short passes before finally opening it up a little bit. He ended the day seven of seven for 70 yards and a touchdown. One of those seven passes was a deep ball over the middle to Larry Fitzgerald for 41 yards.

Although the Arizona Cardinals were unable to walk away victorious, fans have to be happy with most of what they saw. The Cardinals played tough, gutsy football last night and the play calling was leaps and bounds better than last year. Unfortunately, they made some foolish penalties and played undisciplined football at times, which eventually cost them the game.

The offensive line did show some improvement over last year's squad, but not much. Obviously it's going to take them more than one preseason game to jell, so there is no reason to be concerned ... yet. On the plus side, Levi Brown made it clear that he will be worth all the money spent on him. Unfortunately for him, Oliver Ross played like an absolute stud out there and would be the clear starter if the regular season began today.

Another surprise was the play of running back Marcel Shipp (72 total yards). He really made a case for getting some additional carries this year by having an excellent night. Shipp was decisive and hit the holes hard. Although he didn't break off a run for more than eight yards, he was able to net five per carry for the game.