Kaspers Korner

The Houston Texans face the Buffalo Bills Sunday in a game that is big for both teams.

With the Texans strengths and weaknesses on offense Sunday’s game will not be a piece of cake.

The Texans strength on offense is their passing game as their weakness is the running game.

The Bills strength on defense is their pass dfense as it is one of the best in the league as it is ranked third.

Also, the wind can be a real problen at Ralph Wilson Stadium as it goes west to east as that is the way the wind blows normally.

In the end the only way the Texans win is they find their running game and the defense plays great.

Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels has been wanting a new contract since the the very beginning of last offseason.

With Daniels only being in his fourth season he is one of those players that are in a tough spot due to rule changes.

Daniels once again is performing as through five games he has caught 17 passes for 202 yards receiving with two touchdown.

Daniels’ rookie contract expired at the end of the 2008 season.

For some reason the Texans never extended him a long term contract, but did tender him to the highest restricted free agent tender.

In most years Daniels would be a ubrestricted free agent.

However, in 2010 things change as it is a uncapped year.

That means to become a unrestricted free agent a player needs to have played six seasons.

For Daniels that isn’t good as it means another year of restricted free agency, which means the same thing will happen again this offseason.

In the end if the Texans were smart they sign him to a long term deal today as with each passing day his price goes up.

The AFC South for the first time in many years looks to be wide open.

That means the Houston Texans have their best chance ever at winning the division.

The Texans offensively are one of the most dangerous teams to face with the talent they have on that side of the football.

The defense though is their problem as they from time to time give up the big play.

However, the offense is so good that they compensate for this by getting in shoot outs from time to time.

Their biggest problem is keeping quarterback Matt Schaub healthy as in his first two years he missed four games each year to knee sprain.

In the end if the Texans keep Schaub healthy they have.a great chance at.the post season.

The Houston Texans have a solid quarterback in Matt Schaub who already has a reputation of being injury prone.

Already being injured this season and the Tennessee Titans their opponent Sunday can Schaub hold up.

The Texans had a problem protecting Schaub as he was sacked twice.

The Titans do not need to blitz as much as their front four of defensive ends Jevon Kearson and Kyle Vanden Bosch with defensive tackles Tony Brown and Jason Jones.

In their regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers they combined for three sacks.

In the end if it will be a miracle of Schaub comes out untouched.

The Houston Texans used their Franchise Tag on cornerback Dunta Robinson earlier this year, which he is finally going to sign Sunday.

After the 2009 season the team will have a tough decision to make on Robinson as things will get ugly if the two cannot reach a deal.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Robinson and the team did not come to an agreement on the Texans not using the Franchise Tag next year.

That means if the Texans do not come close to his demands then Robinson will most likely hold out into the regular season.

If the Texans were smart they would have signed Robinson to a long term deal when they had the chance, because signing him to one after the 2009 season will be more costly.

Now, the Texans have to decide if signing him to a long term contract is worth it or not, because teams are only allowed to use the Franchise tag twice on one player.

That means if the Texans do not trade him before the 2010 season they will get nothing in return for him.

In the end if the Texans do not get Robinson locked up they will regret it with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts in their division.

The Houston Texans have finally built a winning team.  One of the big questions that remain is can quarterback Matt Schaub stay healthy?

Schaub in his first two years as a starting quarterback has only played 11 games in each season due to injuries.

Obviously, this is concerning as the quarterback is the main component of the offense, and without him they are not the same.

For evidence of this the Texans only won two of the five games that Schaub missed last year.

With Schaub the Texans would have only most likely lost one as the two of the three losses were by less than a touchdown.

The Texans are clearly a team on the rise as for the first time ever in Texans had back to back .500 seasons.

In the end if the Texans are going to make the playoffs the offensive line will have to do a better job of pass protecting that way Schaub will stay healthy.

Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels has proven to be a formidable weapon in the Texans offense.  With his rookie contract expiring and no new long term deal in place Daniels is in a tough spot.

Daniels wants a long term contract, but that has not happened yet and had to resort to signing his Restricted Free Agent tender of $2.792 million, which is measely.

Daniels in 2008 caught 70 passes for 862 yards with two touchdowns and in 2007 caught 63 passes for 768 passes with three touchdowns. 

Other tight ends that have those kinds of numbers make more than five million a season.  So, Daniels is making a little over half of what they make.

Currently, to become a free agent you need to have player four years in the National Football League.

With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement going into its last year in 2010 things are about to change and for players like Daniels it is not good.

In any normal year after the 2009 season Daniels would become a unrestricted free agent, but without a salary cap for the 2010 season players are going to have to played six years to become unrestricted free agents.

The only way that will change for 2010 is if NFL team owners and the NFLPA reaches a new CBA.

For Daniels that means he has only two choices after this year going into training camp them being hold out of training camp or demand to be traded.

The will be able to fine him for holding out of training camp this years as he signed his tender, but if he doesn’t sign it next year he will not have to report to minicamp and the team cannot fine him as he will not be under contract.

In the end if the Texans are smart then they will get something done soon.

The Houston Texans last year proved that they were a team on the rise.  In 2009 they could be the team that surprises the league, and makes the playoffs.

The Texans went 8-8 last year, which accomplished their first time in team history of back to back 8-8 seasons or better.

With that record the Texans will pick 15th overall in the first round.  Even at that slot they could still get a player that could step in right away, and contribute.

However, the most important factor to the Texans making the playoffs will be quarterback Matt Schaub.

Each of the last two seasons Schaub only played 11 games each year.  To his defense the time he missed this season was mainly due to a injury when Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen slammed into his knees.

On the defensive side of the ball the development of defensive end Mario Williams and defensive tackle Amobi Okeye will be the difference for the defense.

If they are able to stay healthy the Texans have just as good of shot at winning the division as anyone else in it.

David Anderson WR restricted signed with Broncos three years $4.5 million, Texans matched.
CC Brown S unrestricted signed with Giants one year
Mark Bruener TE unrestricted

Rashad Butler OT restricted

Earl Cochran DL restricted

Owen Daniels TE restricted

Joel Dreessen TE restricted resigned with team three years $3.6 million
DeMarcus Faggins CB unrestricted

Nick Ferguson S unrestricted resigned with team one year deal
Scott Jackson G unrestricted

ND Kalu DE unrestricted

Stanley McClover DE restricted resigned with team
Bryan Pittman C unrestricted

Dunta Robinson CB unrestricted franchised by team
Cecil Sapp FB unrestricted

Chris White C unrestricted resigned with team
Eugene Wilson DB unrestricted resigned with team three years $11.3 million
Jeff Zgonina DT unrestricted

The Houston Texans for their first time in team history had back to back .500 seasons.  Their philosophy entering free agency will be building through the draft.

The philosophy for the Texans is the right one as their record speaks for itself.  Building through the draft rather than free agency is always better.

The Texans may still spend money in free agency, but according to the Houston Chronicle they will be players that fit roles on the team, and will not have a role that will make or break them.  That is okay to do, because the expectations of them are not high, and the teams usually get their money’s worth out of them.

The key for the Texans will be building their defense, because the offense is set behind quarterback Matt Schaub.  As their glaring need is defensive line.

Outside of defensive end Mario Williams nobody else on the team recorded more than four sacks.  A team is not going to win many ball games if their players are not getting penetration on the defensive line.

If the Texans can get another stud on the defenisive line this draft, then they could start making a push for the playoffs.