Texans Gab

The Texans official site reports that wide out Kevin Walter is working hard on trying to do more with the ball once he catches it, gaining more YAC - or yards after catch:

Wide receiver Kevin Walter put together a career season in 2008, finishing with 60 catches for 899 yards and eight touchdowns. He was a fantasy football goldmine. This season, he plans to boost those stats by increasing his yards after the catch. “Each year I have improved. Last year, I worked on my yards after the catch and I think I continue to do a better job with that. This year, I really want to work on my stiff arm and other moves that get you a few more yards after the catch. Once you get the ball in your hands, you have to do something special with it. Obviously, protecting the ball is the most important thing; turnovers can change the momentum of a game. But I do want to improve my yards after the catch.”

Pete Prisco of CBSSportsline.com has come out with his annual list of the Top 50 NFL players, and the Texans have three players on the list, including the number four overall - Andre Johnson. Here’s the Texans on the list:

4. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans: He’s big, strong and corners can’t handle him in single coverage. If Schaub stays healthy, his numbers should be huge.

19. Mario Williams, DE, Texans: The past two seasons have taught us that this is a premier pass rusher, even if his sack numbers went down last season. Still think he shouldn’t have been the top pick?

44. DeMeco Ryans, LB, Texans: He’s an every-down linebacker who keys the Houston defense. As the team gets more exposure, so will he.

Hello Texans fans! Welcome to my blog! I am very happy to be playing with the Texans this year. I wanted to start this blog so that I can keep all of you Texans fans up to date and informed on what is happening with the team and me as training camp and the season is just around the corner.

It will be here quickly before you know it, and I’m ready and eager to go. I’m looking very forward to a successful season with the Texans and I’m confident that this team will play very well and that the playoffs and beyond are a definite goal to strive for this season.

Click HERE to read the rest

From: Pro Football Weekly

The way we hear it, it is quite clear after the Texans’ offseason workouts that SLB Brian Cushing and DE Connor Barwin are expected to play important roles in their first season — and that both will need to consistently contribute for the defense to reach its potential. The 6-2, 243-pound Cushing will start from the outset, and he is aware of the expectations placed upon him. “I know my role,” Cushing said at the Texans’ mandatory minicamp. “They understand me; I understand they brought me to come in and play right away.” Barwin, who played only one season of defensive end at the University of Cincinnati but has very good athleticism for the position, flashed some ability at the mandatory minicamp, and the plan is for him to come off the bench as a pass rusher on the right side of the defensive line.

The Texans official site reports today that Chester Pitts could be back ready to go for the start of training camp:

Chester Pitts is the only Texan to start every game in team history. The guard, who was selected by Texans in the second round of their inaugural 2002 draft, has fought through sprains and strains to line up every Sunday for Houston. But this offseason, seven seasons of pounding caught up with Pitts and he had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair his elbows and get him ready for his 113th consecutive start next season.

“I basically had small pieces of the bone that broke off and would float around in the joint,” Pitts said. “They would get caught and jammed sometimes. So (head team physician) Dr. (Walt) Lowe went in and did a little scope, cleaned it out and made the surface smooth. Honestly, they are feeling good. I’m almost right up to my max strength where I have been and I will be ready for the season.”

One of the hottest topics this off-season is the possible implementation of a rookie wage scale. To be sure, there are many opinions on this matter, from firm supporters to firm opposition. A lot of people do not even have the complete facts on the issue, including a great amount of players.

A website I read religiously every day (2 or 3 checks daily is mandatory), ProFootballTalk.com (PFT), has devoted a great amount of time analyzing the issue from each angle. They have presented their own arguments and believe me, I consider PFT an authority on NFL matters.

They are always on top of every news item from legal issues to trades, signings, agent swaps and anything else you can think of that pertains to the NFL. They also have presented the opinions of agents that have come out against the wage scale and even a few (God knows why) that support it. The one thing they haven’t done is get a player’s perspective, or, for that matter, several players’ perspectives.

Click HERE to read the rest

PFT.com reports that 2nd-year running back Steve Slaton has switched agents. The site says that Slaton is now represented by Harold Lewis of National Sports Agency in St. Louis. Before the change, Slaton was represented by Ethan Lock and Eric Metz. Slaton is playing under a four-year, $2.37 million rookie contract that he signed in 2008, a deal that included a $664,500 signing bonus. Last season as a rookie he ran for 1,282 and 9 TD’s.

We’re done with OTAs and mini-camp. This week I’m going to work out with the team. It’s not mandatory but you know the coaches want you to be there. Then we’re off until training camp starts July 31.

Sunday I’m flying out to West Palm Beach, Florida for the NFL’s rookie symposium. They kind of show you the ins and outs, what to do, what not to do and how to stay out of trouble. Its stuff I pretty much know already but they want to make sure they really drill it into you.

Click HERE to read the rest

The pressure is on for coach Gary Kubiak and the Houston Texans, as entering 2009 this is a team that is expected to once again make a leap forward and become one of the better teams in the AFC. Last season started off like a disaster movie, as the team started 0-4 before they finally got things turned around to end the year 8-8.

Now there are no excuses, as Kubiak and the club have the talent to make a run in the AFC South. Kubiak said himself that this years Texans are the best group that he’s had as a unit. “The playoffs are why I came here,” Kubiak said. “It’s why I do what I do.

“We have high expectations. We’re a better team than any time since I’ve been here. We’re not going to be satisfied with another (8-8 record),” Kubiak said. “I want more, a lot more. The players do, too. I’m looking forward to the journey because I like the guys I’m taking it with. We have tremendous character on this team.”

The team has playmakers littered on offense - QB Matt Schaub, RB Steve Slaton and WR Andre Johnson are three players that can make for long days for defenses. As for the defense, that’s an area that the club is still working to improve on, and with former number one pick Mario Williams leading the way, the team is looking to take that next step.

It’s an area that Kubiak knows needs to get better. “The biggest progress we made last year was on offense (third in yards, 17th in scoring), but we still need to get better,” Kubiak said. “This season, we have to get our defense caught up with our offense.”

If they can do that, the Texans can indeed compete in the South, and could very well turn some eyes in the AFC in 2009.

The Houston Chronicle reports that RB Jeremiah Johnson is playing catchup with the team after missing sessions due to class:

After missing the organized team activities because his class at Oregon had not graduated, free-agent running back Jeremiah Johnson used the three-day minicamp as a learning experience. By the time Johnson arrived in Houston, he had fallen behind Arian Foster, the other undrafted rookie who’s trying to make the team. Johnson and Foster are competing with veterans Chris Brown and Ryan Moats for places on the team and playing time behind starter Steve Slaton.

“I’ve been trying to catch up,” Johnson said after the last day of minicamp Wednesday. “The first day I was out here, I was real far behind, but I gathered a lot of information. “I’m trying to learn everything I can. I’m trying to take everything they tell me and apply it on the field. I want to show them I can be a hard-nosed runner.”