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Last Year:
Similar to Dr. Leo Marvin’s advice for Bob Wiley in the movie What About Bob, the Houston Texans have taken baby steps in their first three seasons in the NFL. Baby step to four wins, baby step to five wins and baby step to seven wins in 2004. One victory from .500 was impressive for the Texans, since they did encompass the league’s worst offensive and defensive lines. Franchise quarterback David Carr was surrounded with shoddy protection while opposing quarterbacks felt minimal duress. With a fortification in that area, the Texans might be ready for a bigger step.
What We Learned From Last Year:
For the first time in the Houston Texans’ existence, they didn’t finish last in the AFC South and there was no question that progress had been made in their third season.
The offensive leaders, wide receiver Andre Johnson and running back Domanick Davis continued their development while David Carr experienced his best season as a pro.
The problem was not with the talent on the exterior, the problem was with the talent – or lack thereof – on the interior.
The offensive line was abysmal, surrendering 49 quarterback sacks. This has been a recurring theme for the Texans, which they have consistently failed to address.
Carr has been dropped 140 times in his three seasons, which averages out to just over three sacks a game.
Most of the fault can be attributed to a permeable line but part of the blame can be directed to the lack of a reliable wide receiver outside of Johnson.
The mix of Jabar Gaffney and Corey Bradford has not been respected enough to distract attention away from Johnson and once Johnson gets double-teamed, Carr’s options become quite limited.
Since Gaffney was not much of a deep threat and the offensive line couldn’t sustain for prolonged periods of time, downfield plays often resulted in sacks. When you combine all of these factors together, you get a fairly compact offense.
The Texans offense nibbled their way up the field last season, completing very few long distance connections. Only six passing plays of 40+ yards were completed and the offense accomplished only seven runs of 20 yards or more.
Although the rush attack wasn’t exactly explosive, it was effective enough to provide balance.
Davis was a solid two-way threat supplying nearly 1200 yards on the ground and 588 receiving yards (2nd in NFL). His yards-per-carry dropped 0.4 yards in his second season but you can attest that to poor blocking upfront.
On the other side of the ball, the defense line was just as much an Achilles heel for the Texans as the offensive front was.
Dom Capers’ patented 3-4 scheme accumulated a league-low 24 sacks which constantly put the secondary in a position to fail.
Robaire Smith and Gary Walker were inconsistent on the ends while tackle Seth Payne was a good clog, but didn’t create much of a push.
The linebackers accounted for most of the sacks with Kailee Wong (5.5) and rookie Jason Babin (4) leading the way but without a steady rush, every opposing quarterback had too much time to throw. Opponents completed 64.9% of their passes (31st in NFL) and scored 32 touchdowns through the air against this defense (30th in NFL).
Playmakers were present in the secondary, particularly with seasoned veteran Aaron Glenn and rookie standout Dunta Robinson, but you can’t expect any secondary to hold up if a quarterback isn’t hurried. Robinson developed very quickly and by season’s end was one of the best cornerbacks in the league – not only amongst rookies.
Marcus Coleman had a facile transition from corner to free safety but once he suffered an injury, a shortage of team depth surfaced.
Depth was a concern at virtually every position on the team except running back.
All in all, seven wins in the AFC for a team who has two porous lines and isn’t exactly overpowering on either side of the ball is a good start but it is fairly clear that the Texans are still missing a few pieces of the puzzle.
This Year:
Look who’s creeping, look who’s crawling, look who’s all up in the mix. The Houston Texans may be inching their way up the ladder but they are still not the (self-proclaimed) boss of the South, like rap artist Slim Thug, quite yet.
With the Texans finally tippin’ around .500, the main goals in the offseason were to upgrade the lines and add some youth and athleticism.
The defense got a couple of boosts by way of defensive tackle Travis Johnson (draft) and cornerback Phillip Buchanon (trade). Buchanon will step into the void left by Aaron Glenn and will team with Dunta Robinson as the starting cornerbacks. This is a very talented tandem but both have played less than four seasons in the NFL and need to fully mature. Depth is still a big concern behind these two – DeMarcus Faggins and Lewis Sanders are not starting material.
With the exit of Marlon McCree, Glenn Earl will step into the strong safety position beside Marcus Coleman. You don’t want to meet Earl on a crossing route but he has a lot of work to do in coverage.
Johnson, the Texans first-round selection, has excellent pass-rushing skills but will likely backup nose tackle Seth Payne and come in on passing downs. Payne is only effective in the running game.
The Texans are hoping for some sort of outside speed threat to surface from the guys they have because they didn’t address this deficiency in the offseason. Hopes will lie with Gary Walker and Robaire Smith. Smith should have a better season in his second year as a 3-4 end.
Out goes Jamie Sharper and in comes Morlon Greenwood in the linebacking corps as the Texans undergo a minor makeover. Kailee Wong will move to one of the middle spots and Antwan Peek and Jason Babin will man the outside roles.
There is a strong emphasis on getting to the quarterback this year but with this front seven there are no guarantees. The Texans still lack a dominant pass-rusher and will hang their secondary out to dry – once again – if they don’t create pressure.
The offensive line isn’t exactly under construction since there is only one new face in the mix, free agent Victor Riley. He will battle it out with Seth Wand for the starting left tackle position.
Wand could have been arrested for aiding and abetting last season as defensive linemen killed Carr time and time again from his blindside.
Riley is an upgrade and should win that job. Getting a full season out of Todd Wade and Zach Weigert should fortify right side of the line.
It’s hard to imagine the defensive and offensive fronts being as bad as last season going forward but that is not accounting for injuries. If the USC Trojans are the epitome of depth, the Texans are the polar opposite.
There is still no clear-cut second option for Carr amongst the wide receivers so the Texans drafted a fleet-footed receiver in the fourth round. Jerome Mathis is one of the fastest players in the NFL but his route-running is too raw for a receiver at this point.
Gaffney might overtake Bradford for the second starting spot but neither will distract too much attention from Johnson. The Texans are trying to preserve the health of their franchise quarterback by inserting a number of short passing plays to the playbook in order to get the ball out of Carr’s hands quickly. That could put Gaffney in a much stronger position to emerge since his forte is short routes.
The Texans have some depth at tight-end with veterans Mark Bruener, Billy Miller and Marcellus Rivers. Miller is the best receiver but his production comes and goes and he is also a liability in pass protection.
As far as Carr, Davis, and Johnson go, they are a poor man’s version of the triplets. Johnson and Davis are primetime and Carr is getting there; he needs better protection.
While the Texans have a very similar team to last year’s version, one notable change will be on special teams. Buchanon and Mathis should put the ‘special’ in ‘special teams’ at least a few times, which should be a shot in the arm for a team who doesn’t often carry out big plays.
The Texans are well coached and are on the way up but making a playoff push in the AFC South is an arduous task. An even record would be a successful season for a team who is crossing its fingers on the defensive and offensive lines.
O/U 7.5:
Last year, the Texans defeated only one team with more than seven wins and they were trumped by all six playoffs teams that they faced. They have made it to the point where they can consistently handle the league’s hobos but now the next step is to find a way to beat the quality opponents. Unless they sustain no key injuries, they are still a year away. They face: @BUF, PIT, @CIN, @SEA, CLE, KC, STL, @BAL, ARZ and @SF.
Fantasy Sleeper:
If you are looking for a deep sleeper, the team’s second wide receiver, Jabar Gaffney, is worth a shot. He is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery but will be ready to go for the opening game. He will not face more than one cornerback at a time with Pro Bowler Andre Johnson starting on the other side and he is quick enough to beat single coverage.
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