Texan Fans

Defensive coordinator Richard Smith together with two other defensive coaches were fired by the Texans after Houston evaluated one of the worst league’s defensive units.

Secondary coach Jon Hoke, defensive coach Jethro Franklin and smith were fired after Houston completed 8-8 for the second season and unfortunately continued to rank near the bottom of the league in defense.

Houston’s offense finished the year being ranked third in the NFL. The defense was 22nd in total. Five teams had more points per game than the Texans’ 24.6. Houston’s defense had however improved late in the season but did not live up to the expectations of the first 2006 top pick Mario Williams. The other first-rounder’s on their defense are Amobi Okoye and Travis Johnson.

Smith basically joined Houston in 2006 after working in Miami for one year as a defensive coordinator. He had earlier served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for Detroit for two years. Hoke on the other hand had had been the Texans secondary coach since 2002. Houston’s defense was ranked 17th and generated only 12 interceptions in 2008.

On the other hand Franklin completed his second season with Houston. Houston coach Gary Kubiak said that he was planning to meet with team owner Bob McNair and begin the process of evaluating coaches. He said that it was part of their job to do so. However he pointed out that there were tough decisions to make and ensure that he does what is best for their football team as they move forward. He stressed on great evaluations for the team.

In 2007 Houston’s defense was ranked 24th in total, but as by now it was down from 31 in 2007. Texans appeared 23rd after ranking 19th in the category last season. Kubiak said that he would look at the defense across the entire season not just during the last season.

The great decisions have regained new hope for Houston players as they look forward for great improvements in the next season. This has brought in many supports for the team as compared to the last season. They are now hoping for great results and great achievements.

However Houston Texans have named Frank Bush as the team’s defensive coordinator, two weeks after the dismissal of Richard Smith. Bush is entering his 23rd season in NFL as a player, coach and scout. He was very much excited for the post and promised to do great things for the team.

It has been the first stint for Bush who has been a coach who has almost coached every group on the defensive side during his career. Bush assured the fans that he was going to bring a new identity to the Texan’s defense which had not been doing well for the past years.

He finally urged the players to be aggressive, to play with a lot of passion and emotion; great attackers who fly around to the football. He says in that way, he will help their offense get ball back. This has brought a new beginning for Houston.

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Houston, Texas is big in every way; it is the biggest city in a state where people often refer to the slogan, “everything is bigger in Texas”. Sports are no exception with Houston having professional teams in every sport except the NHL and have hosted some of the world’s largest sporting events in the world right in this southern city according to a Houston 3PL warehouse company. Some of these huge events that have happened in Houston are Wrestle mania, MLB All Star game, US Men’s clay court championships, LPGA Championships and the Super bowl two times. The facilities here are amazing and are top of the line with Houston having the first domed stadium ever seen in the world that surpassed the Houston public warehouse for indoor events. Houston also has the NFL’s first retractable roof stadium called Reliant Stadium.

The major league baseball team in Houston is called the Houston Astros and they play at Minute maid Park that used to be known as Enron field. 2005 goes down as the Astros most successful season making it to the World Series against the Chicago White Sox. The team was originally known as the Colt.45’s but changed when they moved into the first domed stadium called the Astrodome. This name was the reference to the importance the space program had in the city of Houston. After that move into the Astrodome, they renamed the team to the Houston Astros.

Football is a favorite sport in Texas and the professional team in Houston is the Houston Texans. They are a new team having started in only 2002 after the longtime Houston Oilers were purchased and moved to Tennessee. The newly formed Texans get to play in Reliant Stadium which is a great stadium with a retractable roof. This can be closed for poor weather or extreme heat which is common in this city. Gary Kubiak is the current head coach of the Houston Texans and the owner of the football organization is Bob McNair.

The professional basketball team in this city is called the Houston Rockets and was started in 1967 in San Diego and then moved to Houston four years later. The name refers to the space and the rocket programs in Houston. Two of the best players for the Houston rockets were Moses Malone who played for them in the late 70’s and early 80’s and Hakeem Olajuwon who played in the 90’s both earning NBA MVP of the Year honors. Another notable player was the 7 foot 6 inch Chinese center, Yao Ming who became one of the most recognizable NBA players when he signed to be on the Houston Rockets in 2002.

The major league soccer team in Houston is called the Houston Dynamo and is the newest addition to the city’s professional sports teams starting in 2005. Famous professional boxer, Oscar De la Hoya has part ownership in the team that plays at Robertson stadium located on the University of Houston campus and is planning on building their own soccer stadium currently.

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The Houston Texans represent a virgin regarding the NFL Playoffs since their inception into the league in 2002. Head Coach Gary Kubiak and Texans fans have reason to believe that will change in 2008 and quite frankly I am on the bandwagon as well. The team has developing skill positions and a defense that has been built around DE Mario Williams (remember when everybody ridiculed the Texans for taking Williams over Reggie Bush?) and now features first round draft pick LB Brian Cushing out of USC. Basically, the Texans are trying to build a foundation whose main purpose is to stop Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts and I believe they are getting closer towards that objective. Furthermore, the Texans have multiple players who possess significant fantasy value including Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton, Kevin Walter, and Owen Daniels. Let’s analyze the fantasy prospects for the Texans heading into 2009.

I have never really been sold on Schaub since his departure from Atlanta but I am slowly moving closer in that direction. Schaub is still not in my top 10 QB prospects but depending your particular draft strategy may represent someone that you hone in on come draft day. Schaub obviously has some nice weapons to work with and that improves his draft stock significantly. Johnson, in my opinion is the 4th best receiver in the NFL behind Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson and always posts amazing reception numbers. Johnson clearly is Schaub’s go to guy and there is nothing to say anything will change this year. Schaub has a cannon arm, and is getting much more adept at reading defenses and adjusting accordingly.

Furthermore, teams must respect Slaton with more defenders in the box thus allowing for more open lanes for Schaub to look down field. In summary, Schaub can be a low end number 1 fantasy QB for owners who utilize the drafting strategy of stockpiling RB’s and WR’s in the early rounds while waiting to get a QB in the later rounds. I am not a proponent of this strategy and do not think it is conducive to winning but as I have mentioned in other articles there are still plenty of ignorant fantasy owners who refuse to try anything different on draft day. As they say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. All in all though if you miss on one of the elite options at QB then Schaub is more than serviceable.

Slaton was a nice surprise for owners in 2009 similarly to Matt Forte and Chris Johnson bursting onto the scene with 1282 yards and 9 TD’s and he also chipped in with 50 receptions for 377 yards and 1 TD. I had the latter 2 ball carriers and they assisted me to a championship and Slaton followed suit by also helping countless owners to their leagues title. Needless to say I don’t think that Slaton will be there in the 10th-14th rounds which are probably where he was drafted in 2008. Where should Slaton be drafted in 2009? I don’t know if I am completely sold on Slaton yet but that is not saying much because I am not really sold on any of the top tier RB’s with the exception of Adrian Peterson and MJD. Bottom line is that Slaton will be picked somewhere in the late 1st round/early 2nd round and that will be good value for him. Personally if I am picking in the 8-12 range where Slaton would be a viable option I will most likely end up taking Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson.

Regarding the Texans receiving corps the focus lies with Johnson, Walter, and Daniels all of whom are viable fantasy options heading into 2009. Johnson is without question one of the top 5 WR’s in the NFL today but he is towards the bottom of that list for me on account of a couple variables. I have had Johnson a couple times throughout the years and both instances he has let me down be getting hurt and missing a lot of time and as a result I have avoided Johnson recently on draft day. Furthermore, Johnson piles up massive amounts of catches and yardage but never seems to score that much as evidenced by his career high 8 TD’s in 2008. I like Johnson but not nearly as much as I like Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, and Calvin Johnson all of whom have proved to be TD machines during their careers. Obviously however, you can’t go wrong with A.

Johnson as a number one fantasy WR as long as he stays healthy. Walter represents a WR that everyone seems to be afraid of and yours truly was a prime example of this last year. I drafted Walter late in last years draft and I watched him score TD’s from my bench week after week while suffering through the inadequacies of Jericho Cotchery from the Jets. For some reason last year I just couldn’t pull the trigger playing Walter more often even though he far outshined Cotchery in terms of numbers. The few occasions I did play Walter last year he did nothing but whenever he was on my bench (which was often) he produced in a big way. Don’t kid yourself as Walter is entrenched as the number 2 WR on a potent offense with a good QB. Moreover, having Johnson on the other side helps Walter out immensely as he constantly faces single coverage. Consider Walter as and excellent number 3 WR or Flex option in drafts this summer and if you get him late he is an absolute steal. At this time no other Texans WR warrants a draft selection this August.

Daniels is another overlooked option for most fantasy owners despite putting up good stats year after year and despite making his first Pro Bowl in 2008. Daniels caught 70 balls for 862 yards but only had 2 TD’s to show for all of his production. There lies owners concern with Daniels. He just doesn’t score that much so a lot of his catches and yardage totals go for naught. However, Daniels remains one of Schaub’s main targets and you have to think that the TD’s will increase and if they do Daniels will be a fantasy stud. In the very least Daniels is a very nice fantasy option if you miss on one of the elite TE’s such as Dallas Clark, Jason Witten, or Antonio Gates so keep him in mind on draft day.

Remember when everyone was ridiculing the Texans for taking Williams over Bush? Well, who is laughing now? I believe that would be Charlie Casserly and his former team the Texans because Williams is a Pro Bowler and Bush is rapidly approaching the term bust. The Texans have been improving their defense year after year in an effort to stop Manning and the Colts and I believe that they are getting closer. They continued that trend this year by drafting USC LB Brian Cushing with their number 1 selection in this year’s draft. Cushing and Williams along with DeMeco Ryans fortify a defense that is quickly becoming a unit to monitor especially if you are combing the waiver wire looking for a stop gap DST solution.

In summary, the Texans are a rapidly improving team on both sides of the ball and have no shortage of players who could greatly assist your fantasy team in some capacity come this fall. Next up: The Tennessee Titans.

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The Houston Texans history is limited considering they were established as an expansion team in 2002. The Texans were created after the original Houston Oilers were moved to Tennessee and became the Tennessee Titans. The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee courtesy of owner Bud Adams, which cost him millions of dollars in lawsuits. This move prompted a dry spell for Houston without a professional football team, considering the NFL was not adding teams at that time. Bob McNair, who had been working to bring the NHL to the city, instead founded Houston NFL Holdings, which was headed by Steve Patterson, an associate of McNair.

In 1997, a report was issued stating the attractiveness of Houston, Los Angeles, and Cleveland for expansion teams to come. The Browns’ move to Baltimore had Cleveland as a promised destination for the next expansion team. This would bring the total to 31 NFL teams in the league. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue praised the efforts of McNair and Patterson, including their decision to build a domed stadium to entice the NFL to return a team to Houston. Within the next three years, the Cleveland Browns were given a new team, and the NFL determined that they would add an additional team, either in L.A., Toronto, or Houston. This worried many of the football fans in Houston, television and advertising revenue is a big part of football now. They were almost certain that the NFL wouldn’t turn down the chance to have a team in Los Angeles, which is the second-largest TV market in the country.

In 1999, it was decided that L.A. would get the expansion franchise, but only if they could have an ownership team and stadium deal in place by September 15th of that year. The two groups in L.A. were facing a standoff, and tax dollars were not allowed to be used for the new stadium, putting the progress at a standstill. It was at this point that they realized that L.A. was not nearly as prepared to host an NFL franchise as Houston, who already had plans for a state-of-the-art stadium and the proper people in place for team ownership and building the franchise. The Houston officials were told to attend a meeting in Atlanta with the NFL owners, at which point the L.A. group put in a bid of $540 million for the new franchise. However, McNair had better financial resources and wisdom, bidding $700 million for the franchise, this gave them the rights to the franchise, as well as the 2004 Super Bowl game.

Reliant Stadium broke ground in 2000, and the officials worked quickly to establish a team name, logo, and uniforms so that they could begin play as soon as the stadium was completed. In the later part of the year, the Houston Texans were christened during a downtown celebration, where the new team logo was unveiled. Dom Capers was hired in 2001 as the head coach of the team, and by 2002 the Houston Texans team was ready for action. Their first game came in September against the Cowboys, which they rightfully won. This made them only the second expansion team in NFL history to win their first game of the regular season, although they subsequently lost the next five games.

The successes have progressing slowly for the Houston Texans, fans rallied to show their support for having the NFL back in Houston. There were plenty of Houston Texans team apparel and Houston Texans memorabilia sold at games and in stores outside of the games, because fans were so excited about their new team. They have been steadily improving over the past years, but still have yet to make it to a championship or Super Bowl game. In 2005, Dom Capers was fired along with the majority of his coaching staff. Gary Kubiak was hired to replace Capers, and led the team into a very controversial off season. They were assumed to draft Reggie Bush or Vince Young, but when it was all said and done, they shocked everyone by acquiring Mario Williams instead of either of the first two picks. 2006, 2007 and 2008 were mediocre seasons for the Houston Texans, although fan support has gained momentum and so has the success of the team considering their talent and a first time playoff appearance.

Copyright (c) 2010 Matthew Love

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