Texans Continue To Impress In Preseason

Derek Lofland, NFL director at Fantasy Football Maniaxs

Houston and Detroit are probably the most impressive non-postseason team in this preseason.  Seeing that Matt Millen isn’t running the Texans they get the advantage. 

They played very well at the Super Dome on Saturday.  Matt Schaub went 14 for 16 for 187 yards and two touchdowns with no picks.  Rookie RB Steve Slaton played well with 13 carries for 57 yards and a rushing touchdown as the Texans won the game 31-27. 

Last week Houston beat Denver 19-16. In that game, Schaub was 4 for 5 for 29 yards.

The Texans had a good season last year. Despite losing Schaub for five starts, Andre Johnson for seven starts, and Ahman Green for 11 starts they managed to go 7-3 outside of the division and 8-8 overall, by winning three of their last four games. 

It was their 1-5 record in the division that killed them and that lone win came against a resting Jaguars team on the final day of the season.

This season, the Colts still should be strong and the Jaguars look to be improved from a year ago. The Titans are always going to play people tough.  I would pick the Texans to make the playoffs out of the AFC North, West, and possibly the East. 

The South is going to make for tough wins in the division again in 2008.  If the Texans are going to win, Schaub and Johnson must stay healthy, and if Green doesn’t stay healthy, Steve Slaton or Chris Brown must emerge.  

Green strained his groin on the first carry of the Bronco game and did not play against the Saints.  That is not a good sign for a guy that has missed 19 games since 2005.
This is a young team that needs to continue to improve and they look to be doing just that. 

While it will be tough to make the playoffs out of the stacked AFC South the Texans are a team that I believe has a chance to compete for a final wild card spot with Buffalo, Denver, NY Jets, if they stay healthy this year.  

So far they are doing the right things in preseason.