TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Houston Texans

HOUSTON — Hey, if politicians can change their image, why can’t the Houston Texans? After all, it’s no fun being the NFL equivalent of the Atlanta Hawks, or rivaling the Texas A&M Aggies as the butt of jokes in the region. Although granted a few mulligans due to their expansion status five years ago, the Texans have still underachieved, failing to reach .500 or coming close to giving their win-starved fans a whiff of a playoff chase. Not exactly what the locals bargained for when welcoming their new team in 2002. But with the failed Charlie Casserly era now behind them, are they going to get any closer to the promised land of the postseason this fall?

Here’s saying they just might. As long as we withhold judgement for passing on Vince Young and Reggie Bush in favor of DE Mario Williams in the 2006 draft, the organization has made few shaky moves since the original brain trust of Casserly and HC Dom Capers departed after the dismal 2-14 disaster of 2005. By comparison, GM Rick Smith and HC Gary Kubiak have been operating straight out of the Bill Belichick how-to manual since. Despite Williams’ somewhat disappointing debut, last year’s draft produced five starters, and some believe just as many could arrive from April’s recent haul at Radio City Music Hall. The team has also moved shrewdly in free agency, adding a starting QB (Matt Schaub, right, from Atlanta), a much-needed LT to protect Schaub (Jordan Black from Kansas City), a featured RB (Ahman Green from Green Bay), and perhaps a starting LB (Shawn Barber from Philly). Championship caliber? Not yet. Better than last year’s 6-10 mark? Probably so.

Indeed, after a rocky start for Houston last season when the “D” allowed nearly 500 ypg and the team wasn’t closer than 14 points in its first three games, things began to change. The stop unit began absorbing d.c. Rchard Smith’s schemes in the 4-3 alignment that had replaced Capers’ ineffective 3-4, and suddenly Houston wasn’t getting pushed around anymore, and winning some games to boot. Over the last 13 games of ‘06 (six of those being wins), the Texans only allowed 304 ypg. In Texans’ terms, that’s big progress. Expect the defense to continue its new-found nasty bent with 1st-round draft choice DT Amobi Okoye (Louisville) promising to further disrupt opposing offensive lineman and perhaps take a little pressure off of Williams, who had trouble shining with a sore foot and incessant double-teaming as a rookie LY while managing only 4½ sacks. Meanwhile, as Williams was getting panned by the national media in ‘06, few might have noticed that 2nd-round pick MLB DeMeco Ryans (left) ended up leading the league in solo tackles while winning the AP’s defensive rookie of the year award. It is also hoped that middle-round picks CB Fred Barnett (South Carolina) and S Brandon Harrison (Stanford) will contribute somewhere in a 2ndary that’s been a bit overlooked due to the recent emphasis on rebuilding the once-porous front 7. But improvement is needed after allowing 65% completions and recording just 11 picks in ‘06.

Mostly, however, the Texans are going to have a hard time escaping their brutal past until the offense (yet to score as many as 20 ppg in any of their first five seasons) begins to click. It hasn’t been hard to determine the main problem, as the offensive line has been a candidate for FEMA relief over most of the franchise’s brief existence, nearly getting former QB David Carr maimed in the process. After absorbing the sort of beatings that would make even George Chuvalo cringe, Carr was humanely released in the offseason, since finding safe haven in Carolina. In his place comes Schaub, untested as a starter after a recent stint as Michael Vick’s backup in Atlanta, but arriving with the sort of endorsements that make Kubiak (left) believe he can handle the transition. We’ll see what happens in the fall. The addition of LT Black from the Chiefs filled one of the most glaring holes on the OL and brings an important veteran presence to help protect Schaub’s backside. And with another year of emphasizing the zone-blocking techniques that Kubiak brought with him from Mike Shanahan’s staff in Denver, the days of sieve-like forward walls are hopefully history in Houston.

The other big news of the offseason was wooing RB Green (1059 YR with the Packers in ‘06) via free agency, giving the offense a long-awaited feature back. But there are still a few pieces that needed to be added to the puzzle on the attack end, especially at WR opposite the productive Andre Johnson, who caught a whopping 103 passes in ‘06. Ex-Bill Eric Moulds wasn’t the answer last fall and has been released, and 3rd-round pick Jacoby Jones from small Lane College is regarded as more of a kick return threat at this stage. Don’t be surprised if Smith and Kubiak continue to search for more viable WR targets in the second wave of free agency.

Bottom line...For the first time, there are some reasons for real encouragement in Houston. Definite signs of progress were made under Kubiak a year ago, and the late December win over the eventual champion Colts did wonders for the Texans’ morale. True, there are still some question marks, and Schaub is an unknown quantity as a starting QB. But with competent people now making decisions, better days should be coming soon.

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