Kaspers Korner

Houston Texans cornerback Duanta Robinson is playing for the first time since November 4th, 2007, which in a game he tore his hamstring, and his knee.  The question now is can he return to his old form.

Tearing a ligament in a knee is much better than it was nearly 20 years ago.  Back then athletes that tore a ligament in their knee took anywhere from 12 to 18 months just to fully reconver, and get back on the feild.

Now, it is like routine as recovery time is down to six months.  Cinncinati Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a playoff game in the month of January.  Then by August he was fully recovered, and able to play by the start of training camp in August.

Robinson’s injury is unprecedented in the National Football, and may be even in the history of sports?  The question is how will his body recover from tearing both at the same time.

How he responds will be a question for the Texans down the road.  Right now they are just happy to have him back.

It is good to see good things happen to the Texans, and to the city of Houston, Texas.  After all they still have a long road ahead of them in fixing up the destruction of Hurricane Ike.

A little bit shorter than a week ago Hurricane Ike hit Houston, Texas leaving behind a trail of destruction.  After hearing an interview on the radio the Texans are far from being ready to play.

Houston Astros star pitcher Roy Oswalt was on the Jim Rome show today.   In the interview Oswalt went on to say that MLB did not give them enough time to settle things at home. 

Texans players have a lot of problems at home.  According to the Houston Chronicle, defensive end Mario Williams had a tree fall into his house.  Defensive tackle Travis Johnson had his home destroyed by the hurricane.

They all have problems at home that they are going to have to deal with for the rest of the season.   Also, getting ready for football games is going to be difficult for the rest of their season, because their stadium was heavily damaged.

The Texans were already in bad shape after getting blown out by the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one.  Now, with having to deal with the aftermath of the hurricane the Texans will be lucky to even win five games this season.

What you hope for is that the team can get Reliant Stadium fixed by October 5th, which is their home opener.  That way the city has something for a couple hours a week to take their minds off things.

The Houston Texans traded for Matt Schaub to be the franchise quarterback of the future.  The move looks to be paying off dividends already as Schaub had a monster day in the Texans second preseason game.

Schaub in a half of work completed 14 of 16 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.  He even would of had more if wide receiver Andre Davis did not drop a ball on a deep route through the middle of the field.

What makes things even more impressive is that it was against the opponent was the New Orleans Saints.  The Saints made big moves in the trading for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, and trading up in the draft to get defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

The Saints run defense did its job by allowing 30 yards on 12 carries by Texans running backs Chris Brown and Chris Taylor.  However, Schaub just picked them apart.

If Schaub plays like this the Texans could be the surprise story of the league.

It was only two years ago that the Houston Texans were the worst team in the league.  After two years under general manager Rick Simth, and head coach Gary Kubiak, things are changing.

Last year the Texans finished with an 8-8 record.  That is due in part to a phenomenal job by Smith and Kubiak.

They have all the key pieces in place to become a success.  They traded for a quality young quarterback in Matt Schaub.  They already have a stud wide receiver in Andre Johnson.  Then in this past draft the Texans addressed their offensive tackle position in drafting tackle Duane Brown, and running back Steve Slaton.

Brown will obviously become a starter right away being a first round draft choice, and a offensive lineman.  Slaton was drafted in the third round by the Texans, but he still has a shot at being a starter.  At the least he will be a major contributor off the bench. 

The reasons being for this is that running back is one of the easiest positions to transition to the National Football League.  Also, their starting running back is Ahman Green, who is getting old, and has been prone to injury.

The Texans also grabbed some nice players on the defensive side of the ball.  In the 2006 draft the Texans took Mario Williams with the first pick overall.  Then in he second round of that same draft they took Demarco Ryans.  Then in last years draft they grabbed defensive tackle Amobi Okeye.

They have all the pieces im place to be a good team.  However, they are in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Getting by them two is a daunting task that may take several years, but only time will tell.

The Houston Texans are coming off thier best season ever with an 8-8 record last year.  However, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak is not satisfied with it.

During the National Football League 2008 Draft someone on ESPN said that the Texans were celebrating their best season ever.  Well that did not go over very well with Kubiak as he brought it up several weks later.

“I promise you we’re not celebrating. Our players aren’t celebrating anything. They’ve been working their tails off, according to Kubiak.  “We’ll celebrate the day we become a playoff team,” he said. “And we’ve got a long way to go. We’re working in the right direction, but we’re not there yet.”

Many people in Houston are actually celebrating the Texans best season.  However, Kubiak is right they accomplished nothiing  The real time to celebrate is like he said when they are in the playoffs.

Audio version:

 http://boomp3.com/listen/d21kaxf/kk-texans-april-thirty

The Houston Texans stunned everyone when they took Mario Williams over Reggie Bush in 2005.  The reason being that there are major concerns that Reggie Bush could be a everydown back.

Kyle Shanahan, son of Denver head coach Mike Shananhan, took a shot at running back Reggie Bush, and at the same time giving insight into why they passed on him. “You look at guys around the league like Kevin Faulk, a guy like Reggie Bush; guys who come in and fill a specific role on third downs,” Shanahan said. ”When you look at a guy that people are projecting as a third down type guy or a change of pace guy I believe a lot of teams have more important needs that go early in the draft.  One exception is Reggie Bush; he is the highest guy that I’ve seen go that is a third-down type player.  The third round is when these guys start popping out.”

Them believing that he is a third down back does not bode well for the New Orleans Saint.  However, many can argue that it was his work ethic that hurt him.  In any case this is the year that makes or breaks Reggie Bush.

What the article also revealed is that the Texans are getting better at identifying players.  Under the previous regime the Texans took quarterback David Carr, and inserted him right away in the lineup.  Ultimately Carr would go on to be nothing more than a huge flop.

Now, the question is how long will it take for them to get to the playoffs.

For yeas everyone in the United States have stated that the Houston Texans biggest need is left tackle.  That could finally become a reality, since this upcoming draft is loaded with talent at the offensive tackle position.

Houston Chronicle’s John McClain said this of the Texan’s needs, “Everyone knows the Texans want a left tackle, cornerback and an end who can rush the passer. They also want a running back who fits the zone scheme they’re using.”

Left tackle has to be the pick there, especially since they are trying to changer their image.  However, they still could choose someone on defense.

“We don’t want to miss on this player.  We want to be right when we make this pick. We’ll be ready when the time comes to make the pick,” said Kubiak

In the end that is that exact thinking the Texans need if they are finally going to make it to the playoffs.

The Houston Texans have been a team that has been spinning its wheels, and going nowhere fast, since coming into the league.  With the signing of Chaun Thompson the Texans are determined to turn that around.

The developing trend is that the Texans are seemingly determined to turn around their defense, and are addressing it the same way the Patriots have with mid level economically friendly players.  The signing of Thompson is the third free agent, out of four singing, to be a defensive player.

Obviously, the defensive line is not a concern considering that they spent the first overall pick in the 2006 draft on defensive end Mario Williams, and then in last years draft spent the tenth overalll pick on defensive tackle Amobi Okoye.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle said this about the Texans entering into free agency, “Entering the offseason, Smith and Kubiak wanted to improve the speed and athleticism on defense, not to mention to shore up needs. Danny Clark and Charlie Anderson, who started outside last season, lacked the speed and athleticism the coaches want.”

It is a good sign for Texan fans.  The addressing of the linebacker position, and the addition of running back Chris Brown should mean that the Texans should be in line to address their needs at offensive line.

This has been probably the most baffling thing, since they have come into the league.  They have never really addressed their offensive line needs properly through the draft.

If you are going to be a winning team there are three things you need, a solid defensive line, a franchise quarterback, and a solid offensive line.

So, unless they address their offensive line in the draft they will not get over the hump, and finally into the playoffs.

The Houston Texans main target to sign was one of their own.  With keeping wide receiver Andre Davis the Texans also set a bad precedent for the rest of the league.

Andre Davis was not a starter, but he was a key receiver in their four wide receiver sets, and a star returner on special teams.  For his play he received a four year $16 million contract, with eight million guaranteed. 

So, what does that mean for the wide receiver market?  It means that the market just shot up 100 percent.  Which, also means that top wide receivers in the league are going to get a huge pay day as well.

However, the move was good for the Texans.  A player that is an asset at wide receiver, and special teams is someone that you have to keep.  Eventhough, you might have to pay more for him.

In the end this was their big splash as according to Megan Manfull of the Houston Chronicle, “The Texans have more cap space than it had a year ago, but isn’t going to risk getting themselves in future trouble by signing a big-name, risky player. The Texans are still trying to make up for all the money issues left to them by Charley Casserly.”

That would be the smart move in the end, becuase you want to clear dead money.  That is so that you can sign guys like Davis to long term deals, and other youngsters, so that eventually you will have a solid team that can make the playoffs.

Afterall they only have to deal with the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars in their division as well if they are going to make it into the post season.

The Houston Texans seemingly have started to build a legitament team.  With that there are still pressing needs on the defense.

With starting cornerback Dunta Robinson not likely to be ready for the start of the season, and the need for a free safety the Texans will be needing to desperately upgrade their defensive backs.

However, John McClain said this, ”

As McNair says in the video, they’re going to build through the draft and supplement the draft with free agents. They’re not going to guarantee a player like cornerback Asante Samuel more than $20 million.”

That means that they will not be a player in free agency, and who can blame them.  The asking price for corners is ridiculous.

However, the Texans cannot be just focuseed on corner at the 18th pick in the draft.  That usually leads to a bad pick.

The other needs are a left tackle, running back, and defensive end.  Further more, McClain adds the Texans could trade down, but everyone in the draft is looking for that.

Obviously defense wins championships so, in the end it would be wise for the Texans to concentrate on building the defense.

It looks like the Houston Texans are finally going in the right directing, after how they performed last year.  Now, with the addition of offensive line coach Alex Gibbs the Texans will be a force.

Gibbs is considered one of the best in the business, and now might be tops with Jim Mcnally retireing.  There is one thing that will be for sure, and that is the Texans in a few short years will have a ruunning game.

Good coaches with good talent produces results.  The best example of this is McNally who turned Jason Peters into a pro bowler, eventhough Peters was undrafted.

The Texans hired Gibbs at the right time. With Mcnally just retiring the Bills might have made a run at him, since the Bills run a lot of zone scheme like the Broncos.

The question now when will that happen.  Many fans do not have the paitents to wait around, and with Gibbs reputation there will be even more pressure.

 The Texans will not turn great over nite, but at least Texans fans can rest a little bit easier of that happening.