[Trojan97]

Houston Texans:

Easily the best team on paper that they have ever assembled. For the first time in Texans history they actually have tough cuts to make in camp and competition is never a bad thing. Players have looked hungry for most of camp and the mood seems to have changed from "we'll see what happens" to "we expect to make the playoffs". David Carr being gone helps significantly as well. He's definitely got talent but the whole situation in Houston had gotten to a point where both side desperately needed a new beginning. With Matt Schaub the Texans get a smarter talent with alot of potential. He may not break out this year but I look for him to do big things in 08/09.

The WR's look decent provided Jacoby Jones can continue to build on his hot start. With Andre Johnson, Kevin Walters & Jacoby Jones in the fold they won't dominate anyone but they could be an efficient trio. Tight End Owen Daniels fits in here as well as he looks poised to step into the spotlight as an elite pass catching TE. With luck he could challenge the 10 TD mark.

The O-line is going to be weak. The one thing that gives me hope though is they seem to be further along in their zone blocking scheme then they were last season. The loss of Charles Spencer continues to hurt as he looked to be the LT they've been looking for since the Tony Boselli disaster. The only chance this group has of being passable is if they can stay healthy and continue to gain comfort with their blocking scheme. If they can do that, Ahman Green has the vision to find the holes and pick up enough yardage to slowly move the chains.

RBs. Ahman Green gives the Texans the best RB they've ever had. Despite getting older he is still a quality back and they will likely have Ron Dayne on short yardage (scary thought) so Green shouldn't take too bad of a pounding.

Defense:
DBs. Welcome to Dunta Robinson & Friends. Robinson is easily the leader of the secondary and that isn't saying alot because the rest are not great. They have a couple of decent young guys who should be players in a few years but for now they will be hard pressed to defend teams with any kind of depth at WR.

LBs. The strength of the defense. Led by DROY Demeco Ryans this is a group that was at times the only thing stopping Offenses from TDs every time they touched the ball. Ryans anchors the D inside while Morlon Greenwood & Charlie Anderson/Danny Clark roam the outside. Greenwood has been consistent and reliable since coming to Houston while Anderson has had a great camp and Clark looks like he badly wants to finally become a starter. Shantee Orr and Shawn Barber come off the bench.

DL. Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, Mario Williams, Amobi Akoye. Who are they? they are the Houston Texans first round draft picks from the past four years...and neither of them have yet to stand out in the NFL. Babin and Johnson have had good camps tho and Babin looks to be positioning himself in the starting lineup opposite Mario Williams with Anthony Weaver out with an injury. If Babin & Johnson can show flashes of why they were picked in the first round, Williams can stay healthy/motivated and continue to become a force at DE & Okoye can give them any kind of pass rush up middle they have a chance to become a very good defense. After all,they were a top 10 D in the second half of last season.

Prediction. The D hasn't lost anyone of note and has added some pieces in Okoye, Clark, Barber. The offense replaced Carr with Schaub, added Ahman Green, Jacoby Jones (could bust but so far,so good) and some veteran experience on the O-line. The attiude Gary Kubiak has brought to this team seems to be infectious and they finally seem to be tired of being doormats for the rest of the league. While there is definite lack of talent in a few different positions the Texans are a team on the rise and are now capable of going up against any franchise and stealing a W.

I think this team could quite possibly surprise and go 9-7 and be in the thick of things until the final week or so of the season. At worst, I think a 7-9 or 8-8 season would be an outstanding success and would continue the franchises upward trend.

***Forgive me for the length of the post but hey, preseason hope is often all a fan of the Texans has.