Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.
Meet The ... Team that needs to change divisions. How about going 8-8 and finishing last? The Texans are joined in the AFC South by three playoff teams, none of which is significantly worse entering the 2008 campaign. The problem for the Texans is that their offense didn't really improve itself and the rest of the divisional teams have stout defenses. Having Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub healthy for the entire season, though, is a start. Those two have a year under their belt working together and will be the key to this offense. You also know Gary Kubiak likes to run the ball, but it's tough to trust Ahman Green or Chris Brown.
The Breakout ZZZZZ ... sleeper time. Steve Slaton, the rookie RB from West Virginia was the Texans' third round pick. I just mentioned how Coach K (is that blasphemy to say when it's not "him," by the way?) enjoys running the football. Again, do you trust Ahman Green to stay healthy? Do you trust Chris Brown at all? If you shook your head at both of the above -- I know I did -- enter Slaton. The best part is that he'll be dirt-cheap on draft day. Last round flier time, baby!
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson had his left knee scoped and cleaned up last Thursday, and the Texans say he should be back by the beginning of training camp. (great video above of AJ talking about his surgery and other topics, including coach Alex Gibbs). This news is a little unnerving to Texans fans (and should be something that fantasy players should watch) because:
1. When Andre Johnson was out last year, the offense still functioned, but not as efficiently, especially in the red zone.
2. The Texans have had a history of being overly optimistic in talking about players coming back from knee problems. Andre Johnson was initially described as week to week after suffering his knee injury in Week 2 last year, then it was said he would be out 3 to 5 weeks, and he didn't end up coming back until Week 11.
Running back Ahman Green was also described week to week with his knee bone bruise injury last year, until the Texans decided that he really needed to shut it down. In the 2006 training camp, Domanick Davis/Williams was described as the perfect zone blocking back until he ended up never playing a down that year and then later retiring due to a knee bone bruise.
In an unsurprising move, Ahman Green was placed on IR today after it became apparent that the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 couldn't take game day activity. Undrafted Notre Dame running back, Darius Walker will be put on the active roster for the game against the Bucs this Sunday. Ron Dayne is expected to be the starter, though his time may be limited due to a minor ankle injury he suffered last week.
Green suffered what was called a "knee bone bruise" in the game against Kansas City. He tried to come back from that injury, but had to leave games due to swelling and pain. As I discussed last September, a diagnosis of a bruised knee bone gave Texans fans no comfort because the description of the injury sounded very similar to the same thing that ended Texans running back Domanick (Davis) Williams' career.
You hear fans talk about a bruised knee bone like it is no big deal, as if it is bumping it into a coffee table. However, as I understand it, the knee bone is a place with not a lot of blood flow, and can be hard to heal. If you have more of a medical interest in in knee bone bruises, check out this link. If you would like a first hand account of how knee bone bruises might slow down a sports blogfather, check out what Jamie Mottram has to say about it, including an x-ray of knee badness.
Domanick, Ahman, and Jamie: such promising sporting lives interrupted by what is a wussy sounding diagnosis, but actually is hard for doctors to treat, estimate healing time and determine its effect on future use.
This weekend against the Bucs, Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub isn't expected to play due to a dislocated non-throwing arm, and will be replaced by backup Sage Rosenfels. There's a good video of Rosenfels talking about the start here. His backup is Shane Boyd, a midseason pickup who has never played a game with the Texans.
Rosenfels is a smart quarterback his teammates like and trust, and can sling the ball. He also tends to throw interceptions at inopportune times. Some fantasy players might be tempted to pick him up for the end of the season because the Texans have been able to pass the ball with Rosenfels, but the Texans are facing some tough pass defenses in the weeks ahead.
Titans quarterback Vince Young is sick of talking about his quadriceps injury, but fantasy players, betting folk, and others interested in the Texans-Titans game want to know more about it. So here's my talking out of my rear semi-educated guess on the subject matter:
Vince Young and Houston. Though Young doesn't want to talk about the game against Houston as being special, you know he wants to stick it to the Texans every time he is in his hometown.
Factors For Him Sitting. Nature of His Injury. Often, you can't get straight information from teams about injuries, so you have to look em up for yourself. From the appearance and description of his injury, and in my role playing fake doctor, it sounds like he had a second degree quadriceps strain. From what I've read about these, Young will be able to do normal activities, but may exacerbate his problem if he runs in a full sprint.
As Mario Williams knows, it is hard to own a Lamborghini and not drive it fast. Similarly, it would be difficult to put Vince Young in a AFC South battle in his home town, and expect for him to play it like a pocket passer.
When Texans #1 receiver Andre Johnson strained his knee in Week 2 against the Panthers, estimates on his return were as long as five weeks. The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that it is likely that Johnson won't be back until the November 18th home game against New Orleans.
Uh-oh.
The Texans have a history of providing overly positive assessments to fans of when players will come back. See e.g. Tony Boselli, Domanick Davis/Williams, Charles Spencer. Hopefully, Johnson's situation is not in that league of unhappy results. For an additional information about Johnson's injury, please check out my September discussion.
The Texans have been able to throw the ball in Johnson's absence even without a functioning running game, but his presence is particularly missed in the red zone. If they can't figure out how to improve red zone scoring in Johnson's absence, field goal kicker Kris Brown is going to have a lot more opportunities like he did against the Dolphins.
You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson's knee is the focus of today's PFT gossip, as he reports that the "current scuttlebutt is he'll miss five weeks." He acknowledges that this gossip could be dog turd, but that's just what the gossip is. I appreciating knowing that.
"Well, I haven't talked to him personally, but from what I gather, it shouldn't be a lengthy injury. Three weeks at the most, I think. But you never know. Everyone reacts differently when it comes to healing time."
(His interview is a good read for Texan fans, unless they are also Cowboy fans as he is not terribly impressed with the 2007 Cowboys team. He's a straightfoward talker, and you find the archives of the Pittman interviews here.)
Texans receiver Andre Johnson left the Carolina game in the 4th quarter after a big hit, and limped to the sidelines. The initial diagnosis was that he had a posterior cruciate ligament strain, and today after his MRI, it was announced that he is doubtful to play this weekend's game against the Colts. According to Gary Kubiak in today's press conference:
I would say that Andre's doubtful for that football game. But I think we're going to know more here in a couple days. There was no swelling, that's the good thing. But there is definitely a (knee) sprain there. And you know, we'll see, but we're concerned with Andre right now, and we can't answer all the questions right now to be honest with you.
He says that the knee sprain is both the good and the bad news:
We feel very fortunate, Andre's going to be fine. Is he going to be fine in a week, or is he going to be fine in four weeks? We're still in an evaluation process right now. But he's definitely got a sprain and we'll know more here in a couple days... But we expect him back, no doubt, and just hopefully sooner than later.
Given that Johnson is one of the league leading receivers and all the rest of the Texans receivers are young and/or unproven, everyone is interested in how the Texans to deal with this other than saying "oh @#$%." (feel free to insert favorite profanity for nonsense symbols). Kubiak's response:
One of the reasons why I started blogging about the Texans was that it was difficult to find information about the team, so I figured as long as I was looking for it, I'd share. What is some information that the average NFL fan might not know about the Texans?
Keith from HoustonProFootball: The Texans are so under the radar to the average fan (and even many of the ardent ones), that there is probably quite a bit they don't know since Houston is rarely selected for a national broadcast, even on Sunday afternoons. The average fan still thinks of this as the expansion team or even the 2-win team from 2005, but the reality in the NFL is that even the bad teams can turn around pretty quickly if they have the right mix of coaching and talent.
I think the Bengals are an okay example of that, where they endured much suckitude for a lengthy period of time, but even the Bengals, with the right coach and a new group of players, showed improvement rather quickly. Fans shouldn't let the Texans sneak up on them if they think this team is a lock for another top-10 draft pick
AJ from HoustonTexans.com: This preseason, the Texans were #1 in the NFL in scoring (26.0 ppg) and #11 in rushing (121.2 ypg).
The Texans are 6-4 all time against Jacksonville, and 2-0 all time against the Dolphins and Raiders.
When I am scanning the internets to find you the latest on Texans stuff, I got to say that there is a lot of misinformation out there. It makes me wonder about the quality of information out there on all teams, if I see so much wrong info about a team that I follow closely.
So, I've assembled a 2007 Texans True/False test to help out. It's just a 50/50 proposition, so it can't be too hard. Let's begin:
1. The Texans are running an offense that is basically cribbed from the Bronco playbook. T or F?
2. The Texans run a zone blocking scheme. T or F?
3. Steve McKinney looked like the best center on the team last year, so he is considered the front runner for the center position this year. T or F?
4. The Texans will be playing three first round draft picks in their starting defensive line. T or F?
5. The Texans have never really had an effective #2 receiver. T or F?
Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.
In an unsurprising move, 
The Texans lead the league with players on IR with 16
Titans quarterback 
When Texans #1 receiver 
You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson's knee is the focus of today's PFT gossip, as he reports that the "
Texans receiver Andre Johnson left the Carolina game in the 4th quarter after a big hit, and limped to the sidelines. The initial diagnosis was that he had a 
Status Check
When I am scanning the internets to find you the latest on Texans stuff, I got to say that there is a lot of misinformation out there. It makes me wonder about the quality of information out there on all teams, if I see so much wrong info about a team that I follow closely.
