Opponent Preview: Houston Texans
When: Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Reliant Stadium, Houston
TV: WJZ-13
Radio: 98 Rock
ABOUT THE TEXANS (3-5)
The Texans currently ranked fourth in the league in total offense last year (16th rushing, fifth passing). Houston's 196 points through eight games are just three fewer than the AFC South Division-leading Tennessee Titans, even though the unbeaten Titans are five games ahead of the Texans.
Houston has been good inside the red zone, ranking ninth leaguewide by scoring touchdowns 58.1 percent of the time. The Texans have converted an NFL-best 48.1 percent of their third-down conversions.
Running back Ahman Green came over from Green Bay last year and missed 10 games with a knee problem. Despite a reputation as a fumbler, he authored six 1,000-yard seasons in seven years with the Packers. Speedy third-round draft pick Steve Slaton (West Virginia) has assumed the starting job and is leading the team with 538 yards rushing and five touchdowns. He is also fourth on the squad with 30 catches and one score.
Andre Johnson leads the NFL in receiving yards (834) and ranks second in the league with 60 catches. Johnson is on pace (120; 1,668) to surpass his own Texans record for receptions (103 in 2006) and receiving yards (1,147 in 2006). Last year, Johnson was actually third on the team in catches (60, 14.2 yards per catch, 8 touchdowns) behind wideout Kevin Walter (65, 12.3, 4) and tight end Owen Daniels (63, 12.2, 3), who are again having stellar seasons.
Quarterback Matt Schaub came to the Texans in a 2007 trade with the Atlanta Falcons and started all 11 games in which he appeared. This week, he and his sprained knee will give way to backup Sage Rosenfels, whose first NFL start was against the Ravens in the final game of the 2004 season while with the Miami Dolphins.
First-round draft pick Duane Brown (Virginia Tech) battled NFL journeyman Ephraim Salaam for the start at left tackle opposite newly-extended right tackle Eric Winston. Veteran Chester Pitts returns at left guard with Chris Myers at center and Mike Brisiel at right guard.
Houston currently fields the 17th-ranked defense in the NFL (23rd vs. rush, 14th vs. pass). The 213 points the Texans have allowed are the most in the AFC South and the fourth-most in the AFC. Inside their own 20-yard line, the Texans have allowed touchdowns 17 of 25 times for an 81 percent red-zone rate, by far the worst in the league.
After several years playing a 3-4 scheme under Dom Capers, the Texans now employ a 4-3 with former overall top pick Mario Williams (28 tackles, eight of the team's 14 sacks, 18 quarterback pressures) at one end and former Ravens second-round pick Anthony Weaver, the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner last year, at the other end. The defensive tackles are Travis Johnson and Amobi Okoye. A Louisville product, Okoye was the youngest first-round draft pick in NFL history at the age of 19.
The linebackers are paced by one of the most decorated young players in the league, third-year middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who was the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 and made the Pro Bowl last year after a season that saw him register 156 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, fumble recovery and seven pass breakups. He is flanked by Morlon Greenwood and Zac Diles.
The secondary has two standouts from former teams, cornerback Jacques Reeves (Dallas) and safety Will Demps (Baltimore). However, Demps was recently demoted in favor of Eugene Wilson. Reeves and Wilson each have two of the team's six interceptions. Starting cornerback Dunta Robinson battled knee and hamstring injuries and didn't return until mid-October.
Kicker Kris Brown is one of the original Texans, having come from Pittsburgh as a restricted free agent in time for the 2002 inaugural season. He has converted all ten of his field-goal tries this year, but has not attempted a kick over 47 yards. He has 10 career game-winners, six of them in a Houston uniform.
Matt Turk is one of the best directional punters in the league but is netting barely over 35 yards per punt this season. Young wideout Jacoby Jones runs back punts and already has two touchdowns this year, including a 73-yarder. On kick returns, the underrated Andre Davis scored three touchdowns last year and is averaging 22.2 yards per runback in 2008.
Penalties haven't been a problem for the Texans. They have committed just 28 accepted infractions, second-fewest in the NFL (New England, 24).
Sunday's game against the Ravens is being played at the team's battered Reliant Stadium home, which lost several roof panels during Hurricane Ike. Reliant is also the site of Super Bowl XXXVIII five seasons ago. That was the game that saw the New England Patriots outlast the Carolina Panthers and Janet Jackson give a now-infamous halftime performance.
Head coach Gary Kubiak (17-23, third season) is a Houston native who came home to coach the team in 2006. He developed a reputation as an offensive specialist during his years as a Denver Broncos assistant; the Texans have averaged 40 yards per game more under Kubiak than they did under Dom Capers.
In the Texans' sixth season of existence, they won three of their last four games and posted their best-ever record (8-8), winning six of their eight home games. But in the tough AFC South Division, that was only good for last place in the four-team division.
The Texans are 35-69 in six years, winning almost exactly one-third of their games.
PREDICTION
Like the Ravens, the Texans are playing well, but Schaub's absence could make the difference.
Ravens 26
Texans 13.
Posted November 6, 2008
