Houston Texans Tickets Blog

It doesn’t look good for the Texans as they have only 2 wins in 6 games.

They never had a chance against the Steelers & Titans but they led the Jaguars 24-20 with only 7 minutes left of game time. With 2 minutes to play the Jaguars moved the ball down field for a touchdown. The Texans responded with a field goal to put the game in over time but that was the last they saw of the ball. That was a tough loss but the next week they again were ahead 20-10 against the Colts in the 4th quarter. Alas the Colts came back & the Texans lost by 4.

Do the Texans have the killer instinct to put away teams when they have the lead? Let’s hope they put teams away in the rest of the season.

Tags: sports, Texans

The 1st game didn’t look good. The Texans got clobbered on all counts including the scrore board.  The Pittsburgh Steelers just rolled over the Texans and even pulled their starters in the 4th quarter. Schaub was less than perfect throwing a couple of interceptions. Hopefully this is a wake up call for the Texans.

The coach is looking for improvement in the Houston Texans‘ ground game . Head coach Alex Gibbs will be providing the training for the blockers so watch for some real improvement in the offensive line. Gibbs is one of the best in the league. Chris Meyers at center along with Duane Brown at left tackle make the line quicker than last year. If Brown isn’t ready for the starting position Ephraim Salaam is standing by.

There are 5 backs competing for 4 positions Ahmad Green & Chris Brown are the front runners here. Staying healthy is the real key.

In the secondary Jacques Reeves & Antwaun Molden will fill in for Dunta Robinson who is injured.

Rosevelt Colvin is expected to step up the pass rushing game to take the double teams off Mario Williams.

Tags: Alex Gibbs, defense, Duane Brown, Ephraim Salaam, Mario Williams, pass rush, Rosevelt Colvin, running back, secondary

Injury Free in 2008… <insert fervent prayers here>

Nick Scurfield (texans.com) gave us some insight into the philosophy and the physical behind the Texans remaining fit as a team…

The Texans head toward the 2008 season with ambitions of making the playoffs for the first time ever. Head coach Gary Kubiak hopes that, for the first time since he’s joined the organization, his team can stay reasonably healthy for an entire season.

For a team looking to reduce its number of injuries, offseason workouts can be critical.

“Some injuries, you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time,” (Conditioning Coach Dan) Riley said. “You get a 300-pound man that runs into your knee, something’s going to give. There are some injuries I believe that can be prevented, and our (strength and conditioning) system is designed to do that.”

The Texans’ 10,000 square-foot weight room features seven machines designed specifically for neck exercises. During offseason workouts, Riley and his staff place a heavy emphasis on preventing neck burners and other injuries in one of the most high-risk areas of the body. He said he also constantly looks for new ways to tweak his program to protect other high-impact areas, such as the shoulders.

Offseason workouts also benefit players by providing a forum for constant interaction with teammates as they share laughs between sets in the weight room, sessions of HALO in the players’ lounge and bites of lunch in the team cafeteria.

“If you wait until September to build chemistry, it’s too late,” Riley said. “I call it ‘spontaneous interaction.’ There are players during the season that would be in their own position meetings – they break the meeting, they go to practice, they go back to the meeting, they go home – that have very little opportunities to talk with some players, (especially) the defensive players to talk to the offensive players.

“(The offseason) is a great time for that spontaneous interaction where they develop an understanding of who a guy is and learn more about his family. You may see a guy with his children that you normally wouldn’t.”

For the rest of this story click:  http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=4396

When you are a starter you get to hang out with the “Big Dogs”. Case in point, Eric Winston got to visit with the country elite in Chicago on June 19. He got to meet Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, and Leann Rhimes.  I guess that’s only fair since the “Poets & Pirates Tour” is making the rounds of the NFL stadiums. The tour hits Houston City on Aug 12.

This year the NFL has ok’d the use of a transmitter in the helmet of a defensive player on the field to receive the play calls from the defensive coaches during the game. The device is similar to the ones already in use by quarterbacks and the offensive coaches around the league. Till now coaches have had to rely on hand signals from the sideline to call plays and make changes to the set-up. Linebacker DeMeco Ryans wore the new helmet device in Wednesday’s practice sessions. “Now, they can’t steal your signals or try to pick up on certain blitz signals,” Ryans said. “They don’t know what we are putting in. They don’t know what coach is saying to me in the helmet.”

I guess Bill Belichick will have to hire a team of tel-com hackers to steal signals now.

GM Rick Smith just got his wish for a nice 4 year contract extension through the 2012 season.

Smith said in an interview posted on texans.com: “I’m appreciative for the opportunity that Bob and Janice McNair gave me, I’m especially grateful for the support that he and Cal continue to provide us in building our organization. I look forward to many years of working together and continued success.”

Bob McNair said in an official blurb, “Rick has done a fine job for us, I’m real pleased with what he has done and I’m happy with the direction that we are heading in.”

Sounds like one big happy family in the management camp. I for one think Smith deserves the extension. During his past two years the team has made a string of great player acquisitions (the impact of which is yet to be fully appreciated) and the team has steadily improving statistically and in the win loss column. Maintain current heading and stay the course. Playoffs here we come.

GO TEXANS!

Here’s a prediction:

In the month of October our Texans play three home games (Colts, Dolphins, Lions) followed by a bye week. I am making the call now… 3 wins in a row at home!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… It’s that time before football season starts and anything is possible. No matter what your team did the previous year, now the slate is clean and it’s Superbowl time baby!…  OK, for those of us who live in some semblance of reality, as Connor McCloud says “there can be only one”.  Odds are… well odds are 1 out of 32, right?  I have made worse bets… often. So hold on to your dreams, people. It’s all about potential, player talent and desire to win. It is clear that this year’s Texan team have those three things in abundance. Overall team conditioning and health is the wild card here. Call the exterminator now to spray heavily for the injury bug.

So here is my prediction for this year’s Texans team:  10 wins 6 losses with a (wild card) playoff spot.

GO TEXANS!

Houston Texans – A couple of draft picks may be filling some vital spots on the team. Duane Brown looks good at tackle and Steve Staton has a shot at RB.

Schaub needs to stay healthy to continue as the starter. Last season he missed 5 starts and didn’t finish a few others.

A healthy Ahman Green could generate some offense. Chris Taylor and Chris Brown both have had their share of injuries as well.

The Texans were their own biggest enemy last year coming up with the short end of the stick on turnovers. If they could get as many as they turnover it would make a big difference in the game.