Houston Texans: Full First Quarter Report Card

Every August, whispers of the Houston Texans breaking out travel around the nation.

Responses to those whispers include, "this is their year," or "no way, they're still the same old Texans."

The naysayers proved to be correct year after year as the Texans failed to get over the hump.

The 2010 campaign is different though.  This year, the Texans are fulfilling those preseason "bold" predictions.

After four games, the Texans are 3-1, boast arguably the league's best offense, and are all alone on top of the AFC South.

Passing Game

Yards Per Game: 243.5 (8th)

A quarterback's most important statistic is the win, and Matt Schaub has led the Texans to three in four games, the best start in franchise history.

Speaking of statistics, Schaub is top 10 in the league in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and quarterback rating.  The one major department he is staying out of the top ten in is interceptions.

Houston as a team may be on a whole other level than past Texan squads, but the offensive line still continues to struggle in pass protection.  Schaub has been sacked 11 times this season which is tied for second most in the league.

Andre Johnson, though slowed by a high ankle sprain, still has managed to lead the team in receiving yards with 255.

With Johnson playing less, Kevin Walter has stepped up, catching 20 balls for 242 yards, and a team-high three receiving touchdowns.

Jacoby Jones is having the best season of his career, recording 14 catches for 145 yards and a score.

Coming off ACL surgery, Owen Daniels understandably is off to a slow start with only seven grabs.

Grade: A-

You can't complain with what the Texans have done through the air, but with names like Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, and Owen Daniels, this group has a high ceiling on what it can achieve.

Running Game

Yards Per Game: 172.0 (1st)

Any Texans fan who was worried about the running game after Ben Tate went down in the preseason has forgotten his or her grief.

Arian Foster leads the league in rushing by 126 yards.

With 537 yards in the first four games, Foster is on pace to rush for 2,148 which would break the NFL record.

Foster knows how to find the end zone as well, as he is tied for the league lead in touchdown runs with four.

The offensive line deserves a ton of credit for the league's No. 1 rushing attack because Foster isn't the only Texans back putting up a large yard per carry average.

Steve Slaton is averaging 5.5 yards a carry, and Derrick Ward is averaging six a pop.

Grade: A+

The NFL's best team on the ground deserves nothing less than a perfect grade.

Running Defense

Yards Per Game: 70.2 (2nd)

The Texans' front seven is only allowing a solid 3.6 yards a carry in 2010.  For a team that supposedly has a strong need for a defensive tackle upgrade, that number is encouraging.

Credit has been given to the front seven, but strong safety Bernard Pollard can't be forgotten as he has 41 tackles which is fourth in the NFL.

Linebackers Zac Diles and DeMeco Ryans also are near the top in the league in tackles.  Diles has 37 tackles, which is 10th in the league, while Ryans is tied for 11th in the league with 36.

Grade: A-

It's hard to give the run defense all the credit for those impressive numbers because with the secondary being so horrible and the offense doing so well, its statistics receive a boost. 

Passing Defense

Yards Per Game: 337.8 (32nd)

If it wasn't for a joke of a secondary, the Texans would most likely be the team to beat in the entire league.

They are 26th in the league in interceptions with only two.  They are also in the bottom half of the league in passes defended.

Quarterbacks playing the Texans have averaged a magical 107.9 quarterback rating.

The pass rush has actually been decent as Houston has forced nine sacks which are good for ninth in the league.  Mario Williams has five of those sacks and is third in the league in quarterback takedowns.

Grade: F

The pass defense is so bad, despite surrendering the second-least amount of yards per game on the ground, Houston still has the worst defense in terms of yards per game in the league.

Special Teams

Kicker Neil Rackers hasn't missed a kick from inside the 40-yard line all year, and is kicking at 80 percent overall.

Punter Matt Turk is near the bottom of the league in net punt average, but it's not like the Texans have to punt too often with their outstanding offense.

Steve Slaton has been sub-par on kickoff return duties, only recording an average of 20.3 yards a return.

Their punt returner on the other hand, Jacoby Jones, has a very solid return average of 10.8 yards.

The kickoff team has not given up a touchdown this year, and they are one-for-one on onside kick recoveries.

Grade: C+

There is nothing to brag about, but at the same time, there isn't too much to complain about either.

Conclusion

The Texans have had flashes of brilliance in the past, but more times than not, they have failed to come up big in crunch time.

This season though, they know how to and are finishing games.

An offense already dominant will soon have a 100 percent healthy Andre Johnson at its disposal.

A struggling defense will receive some relief with the return of Defensive Rookie of the Year Brian Cushing.

Watch out, this finally is the Texans' year.

Overall grade: A-