Alfred Blue-Led Backfield Proves Texans Can Survive Without Arian Foster

The good news is the Houston Texans know as well as anybody that you don't need a highly-touted running back to have a good one.

Arian Foster went undrafted in 2009, but has been to four Pro Bowls in six seasons and has rushed for more yards over the last five years than every other back in football except LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch. 

But Foster underwent groin surgery earlier this month and could be out half of the year, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

So it works out that as the Texans look for a temporary replacement for Foster, they're left with four backs who either weren't drafted or were selected beyond the fifth round. 

In their preseason victory over the San Francisco 49ers Saturday night, three of those backs rushed for 127 total yards on 32 attempts, carrying the Houston offense in the team's first rehearsal for the 2015 season. 

The leader of that pack was Alfred Blue, a second-year LSU product who ran for 59 yards, 32 of which came on a one-cut first-quarter gallop against San Francisco's first-team defense. 

Blue looked smooth, even on his less-than-stellar runs, but wound up with three runs of eight yards or more. That's a good sign considering he averaged only 3.1 yards per carry last season, which ranked dead last in the NFL among backs with at least 100 carries. Only five of his 169 attempts went for 12 or more yards, and he was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage on 24 percent of his rushes. 

A sixth-round pick in 2014, Blue ran for 528 yards as a rookie, starting three games in place of Foster. It remains concerning that he wasn't a lead back in college either, but he did average a very impressive 6.0 yards per carry in four years with the Tigers. 

Now, after averaging 6.6 yards per carry Saturday, you have to give the guy a decent shot at successfully replacing an injured superstar. 

“I would say I felt a difference,” said Blue after the game, per the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson. “I had the patience and let the blocks develop. You let it come and don’t be too fast out there when you see the first thing and you think that’s the hole. We call it ‘false daylight’ in the backfield, so you’ve just got to let the play develop and be patient."

And he'll likely have help from Kenny Hilliard and Chris Polk, who combined for 68 yards on 23 carries. 

Hilliard, a rookie seventh-round pick, picked up a nice 12-yard gain in the fourth quarter of his first preseason game.

He averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season while working behind Leonard Fournette at LSU, and he finished his four-year SEC career with a 5.2 yard-per-carry average. But he's never been a No. 1 guy. At 6'0", 226 pounds, he's a bruiser who is only suited for a short-yardage role. 

Polk struggled a tad Saturday night and didn't get a lot of help from his blockers, but he might actually have a stronger skill set than Blue. He's not a sprinter, but he has a bruising running style and is explosive between the tackles. He's tough to take down, which was obvious when he ran for nine or more yards on four of only 11 carries with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. 

The 2012 undrafted free agent hasn't carried a full load as a pro, but he had over 200 carries and 1,100 yards during each of his last three seasons at Washington, averaging a stellar 5.1 yards per carry during his time with the Huskies. 

Last week, head coach Bill O'Brien called him "a good three-down back," per Deepi Sidhu of Texans Radio, which bodes well for his chances. 

The Texans also have Jonathan Grimes, who picked up only four yards on five carries Saturday. Undrafted in 2012, Grimes has bounced around from Houston to the Jets, back to Houston to the Jaguars and then again to Houston. The Texans gave him his first chance, though, and he was on their roster when he scored a touchdown in his first preseason game in '12.

He toiled in New York, Jacksonville and during his first two stints in Houston but finally earned some relatively steady work with the Texans last season. His 3.9 average on 39 carries wasn't special, but it beat the heck out of Blue's 3.1 mark.

And he's been a lead dog. At William & Mary he had 200-plus carries in three consecutive seasons, rushing for 1,431 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards per attempt as a senior in 2011. 

It's only one preseason game and the Houston backs will need more support while Foster is out. But with Blue looking improved and leading the way and an underrated supporting cast in place, there might be hope for this running game. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.