To be honest I do not know.   Basically the only thing that is know about this years NFL Draft is that nobody really wants to be in the top 5.  Yes Miami did sign Jake Long to a contract, but all things considered, Long was the safest choice.  He has the three things that NFL offensive linemen need, 1) Experience, 2) Skill, 3) Work ethic.  If he can make the transition to the NFL he will be one of the top left tackles in the league for 10-15 years baring injuries.  After that the teams have more needs than they have draft picks, St. Louis, is rebuilding both lines, Atlanta needs help all over the place, with the possible exception of RB and LB.  The Raiders, well suffice it to say untill Al (the mad scientist) Davis exits the pictures they are a 100% crapshoot.  I could go on and on with each team, but I don't care, nor do I really have the time.  So on to the Texans, who after nearly three hours will hand a card up for the commissioner for their pick which will be the lowest they have ever drafted in the team's history. 

With that being said, it would not surprise me if the Texans, traded down a couple of times and picked up additional 3rd or 4th round picks.  Simply because, while this draft is lacking is superstar talent, it does have what I would call extraordinary depth especially at several positons, and the things that the Texans need are where the depth is.  As I sit and evaluate the roster as it is right now the things that stand out are:

• depth at LB
• depth at both S and CB
• youth on OL (LT to be specific)
• and a RB that fits the blocking scheme that Alex Gibbs is installing.

Now I am not sold on any of the RB's in draft that are listed as first round talent, as being good fits for the Gibbs zone blocking scheme.  You need a back that can read the line find the seam and make one cut and get positive yardage.  Backs like Mike Hart, Kevin Smith and Matt Forte come to mind.   That being said here is the way I see the Texans drafing  round, position only, simply because there are to many possible options.

• Round 1 - CB or LT
• Round 3 DB or RB
• Round 4 RB or DB (safety)
• Round 5 OL or LB
• Round 7 LB/RB/DB someone who has potential and will play special teams.

Again this is simply my guess, and since norcalfella's NFL mock draft looks like it is not going to get off the ground, it looks like my evaluation of draft talent will have to wait till after the event at which time I will also grade last years draft class.

Well I have held off writing on much of anything this football season simply because it has become obvious that the number of fools and uneducated sports fans in Houston far exceeds those that know what they are talking about.  Now I realize that true fans of a team tend to make statements that are empassioned or influenced by the moment, however the amount of crapola that has been flowing through the media about the Texans and Mario Williams since he was drafted ahead of those other two guys, has been insane.   But then the same people who have been saying that VY or Reggie would have been the savior of this franchise are the same ones who think that Steve Francis is still an All-Star and capable of scoring 30 points a night, but that is another article.

Here is what you have right now with the Houston Texans, starting at the top.

• An owner who wants to win and is willing to do/pay what ever it takes to get the right people in here to do the job
• A GM who is smart and has learned how to find players who have both talent and the desire to work hard to improve
• A Coach who has stayed on message and has found the right buttons to push to get players to want to perform and are willing to do what is needed to reach the next level
• A core group of players who have bought into both the system and the mindset necessary to become a winning franchise.  This includes the young leaders on this team Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, Owen Daniels, DaMeco Ryans, Dunta Robinson, and yes Mario Williams. 

All Mario has done since being drafted #1 is play his WHOLE rookie year with a foot injury that kept him from practice and required shots to allow him to play.  This year you can see the progression that he has made, both from being in the league a year and knowing what is needed to be a success, to the improvement on the field because he has been able to PRACTICE, yes PRACTICE makes all the difference in the world when it comes to any position on the football field.  The numbers speak for themselves.  For the season so far 13 sacks, 53 Tackles and 2 Forced Fumbles  and in the five games since the bye week he has been a monster, 9 Sacks 2 Forced Fumbles 30 Tackles.   Add to that the team is 3-2 and at .500 the latest in the season in franchise history.

Finally in closing there are going to be some people who say I am dreaming and am not in my right mind, however I said when Kubiak and Smith were brought in that they needed 3 years and they could have this team in the playoffs.  Well here we are at the end of year 2 and not only do the Texans still have a chance at the playoffs but they are doing it with 17 players including half their secondary and offensive line on IR. 

So to all those critics of the team, I say to you, it is time to shut up and start looking at this team for what it is, a young, hard working, and good team that is on the edge of being a playoff contender.  It is also time to stop calling for Vince and Reggie because it is becoming more obvious that despite their enormous talent they are not Superstars.

Today I come to you with two different stories, both of them are sad, however not for the same reasons. First I start with the announcement that Eddie Griffin, the former Seton Hall, and Houston Rockets player who was identified as the person who lost his life in the collision with a moving train last weekend. The second is Jason Jennings, Baylor Bear, and Houston Astro who's season came to a sudden end yesterday with the announcement that he was having elbow surgery for a torn flexor tendon.

You may be wondering how these two athletes can be brought together, let alone have anything in common, but they do. Both young men were blessed with god given talent to participate in professional sports, both came to Houston through trades that now look like huge mistakes. Griffin was the 7th pick in the NBA Draft and the Rockets gave up THREE first round picks, one of which turned out to be Richard Jefferson for him. He came here with a record of having problems, and those problems followed him throughout his entire career and the remainder of his life. I will not go into the details, suffice it to say that Eddie's personal demons were his eventual downfall, and may have possibly lead to his premature death at the age of 25.

Jennings came to Houston, was touted as the man who would step in behind Roy Oswalt as the #2 starter and be the foundation of the Rotation for the next 5 to 10 years. The team gave up our top starting pitching prospect and our starting center fielder, who was both a good hitter, and had speed that the team had not seen since the days of Jose Cruz, and Ceasar Cedeno. We now find out that Jennings was damaged goods, and that apparently the Rockies did not tell the Astros about his arm problem, nor did Jennings fess up about them himself. I blame the Astro's management for not doing more to find out about the physical health of the player they were trying to get, however once he got here and started to have problems, Jennings dropped the ball literally by not being honest with himself about his health. The fact that an Astro would hide his health status comes as no surprise, it has become part of the clubhouse environment, starting with Bagwell, and others including Morgan Ensberg, and Brad Lidge.

I realize that these guys are under enormous pressure to play everyday considering the amount of money they are getting paid, as well as the pressure to win that is heaped upon them, both by team ownership as well as the fans. However that is no reason to ignore, or try to play through an injury that could cost you your career.

 So there you have it two players who have Houston ties, and who for one reason or another, had battles with personal pressures and failed to rise above them. The only good news is that one of these two will live on to play again, while the other will slowly fade into oblivion.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/507
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/507
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Ok we have all been busy waiting for football season to start, however I realized that we have been neglecting to talk about the one team in Houston that actually could be the best of the bunch.Yes I am talking about the Houston Rockets and what with the current trades and other injuries that have occured in the past month, the Rockets are looking more like a contender than ever before. They have quality depth, and a good mix of youth and veterans to really succeed in the Western Conference. Why do I say that well let's look at the roster as it stands right now

Potential Starters

7 Mike James PG 6-2 195
1 Tracy McGrady GF 6-8 223
4 Luis Scola F 6-9 230
31 Shane Battier SF 6-8 220
11 Yao Ming C 7-6 310

 First 4 off Bench
44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 238
6 Bonzi Wells SG 6-5 210
3 Steve Francis PG 6-3 195
45 Jackie Butler FC 6-10 260

Final 3 active roster spots
0 Aaron Brooks G 6-0 160
13 Kirk Snyder SG 6-6 225
2 Luther Head G 6-3 185

3 potential for inactive list
20 Steve Novak F 6-10 220
9 Justin Reed SF 6-8 238
14 Carl Landry F 6-7 245

Trade Bait
15 John Lucas PG 5-11 165
12 Rafer Alston PG 6-2 175
3 Bob Sura G 6-5 200

D- League possible
21 Brad Newley G 6-7 201
29 Mike Harris F 6-6 240

Now the final 6 may change depending upon what sort of health issues occur but this team is sitting pretty right now what with plenty of depth at guard and maybe more depth if Mutombo comes back for one more year. Can they get anything for Sura, Alston, or Lucas, maybe you never know. But at least the season is starting with some optimism

It is time to take the next step in examining the 2007 Houston Texans.  This time around I will be looking at the defense, starting with the defensive line.  The roster currently shows the following players for the Texans at DL.

93 Jason Babin DE 27  6-2  259  4 Western Michigan
60 Earl Cochran DE 26  6-5  284  1 Alabama State 
94 N.D. Kalu DE 32  6-3  265  11 Rice 
97 Alfred Malone DE 25  6-5  308  3 Troy  
92 Anthony Weaver DE 27  6-3  280  6 Notre Dame 
90 Mario Williams DE 22  6-7  291  2 North Carolina State 
79 Tim Bulman DT 24  6-3  300  3 Boston College 
96 Thomas Johnson DT 26  6-2  298  3 Middle Tennessee State 
99 Travis Johnson DT 25  6-3  305  3 Florida State 
78 Cedric Killings DT 29  6-2  310  5 Carson-Newman 
95 Anthony Maddox DT 28  6-1  305  3 Delta State  
- Amobi Okoye DT 20  6-2  287  R Louisville 
- Thomas Smith DT 24  6-3  300  R Pittsburgh 
90 Jeff Zgonina DT 37  6-2  290  15 Purdue 

The team will rotate probably 6 or 8 players in the line over the course of any game.  Weaver, Williams, Okoye, Maddox look to be the starters with the Johnsons, Malone, Kalu as the next wave, and Babin and Zgonina as the final pair in the ten that may make this team.  This unit is under the microscope what with four first round picks and two that are top ten picks at that.  They need to be able to put pressure on the quarterback without any blitzing LB's or DB's and at the same time be able to keep the linebackers free and clear so that they can play the run better.

The linebackers this year look as solid and deep as they have since the first year that the team was in existance.

50 Charlie Anderson LB 25  6-4  243  4 Mississippi 
56 Shawn Barber LB 32  6-2  240  10 Richmond 
94 Marcus Bell LB 30  6-1  245  4 Arizona 
51 Trent Bray LB 24  6-1  237  1 Oregon State 
54 Danny Clark LB 30  6-2  245  8 Illinois 
- Zach Diles LB 22  6-0  240  R Kansas State 
56 Morlon Greenwood LB 29  6-0  238  7 Syracuse 
53 Shantee Orr LB 26  6-0  250  5 Michigan 
59 DeMeco Ryans LB 23  6-2  235  2 Alabama 
59 Zac Woodfin LB 24  6-1  235  1 UAB 

The starting trio of Anderson, Ryans and Greenwood, could be as good as most other LB lineups in the league, and I really think that after this season if they continue to produce as they are capable of doing you will be hearing them listed as one of the top five LB corps in the league.  Ryans is without a doubt the leader of this group and he leads by example both on and off the field.  He is one of the hardest workers and spends more time in the film room than most of the rest of the team.  The team will probably keep 4 or 5 more LB's some of which will be primarily for special teams, that being said the 5 I see as staying around are Orr, Clark, Barber, Bell, Diles, and maybe Woodfin, on the practice squad.

Defensive Back is where we could have some change when it comes to who is playing as well as who is on the team.

 22 Roc Alexander CB 25  5-10  190  4 Washington 
- Fred Bennett CB 23  6-1  199  R South Carolina 
38 DeMarcus ####gins CB 28  5-10  178  6 Kansas State 
21 Jamar Fletcher CB 27  5-10  186  7 Wisconsin 
26 Jason Horton CB 27  6-0  190  4 North Carolina A&T 
34 Von Hutchins CB 26  5-9  181  4 Mississippi 
20 Dexter McCleon CB 33  5-10  195  10 Clemson 
28 Chris McKenzie CB 25  5-8  182  2 Arizona State 
23 Dunta Robinson CB 25  5-10  174  4 South Carolina 
40 John Walker CB 24  6-1  200  1 USC 
25 Dexter Wynn CB 26  5-9  177  4 Colorado State 
24 C.C. Brown S 24  6-0  208  3 Louisiana-Lafayette 
26 Glenn Earl S 26  6-1  215  4 Notre Dame 
- Brandon Harrison S 22  6-2  210  R Stanford 
30 Jason Simmons S 31  5-9  199  10 Arizona State 

There is plenty of competition this year in the defensive backfield and the only position that is a lock is Dunta Robinson's.  There will be competion for all of the other 3 starting spots as well as for the backups, that and there will be a couple of spots for those playing special teams, including punt and kick returner.  Roc Alexander is out for the season so that will give someone else some more reps and the chance to make an impression.