Houston Texans

Owner: Bob McNair
Founded: 2002
Stadium: Reliant Stadium
2010 record: 6-10
Last playoff appearance: No playoff appearances
General Manager: Rick Smith (month after 2006 draft – current)
Head Coach: Gary Kubiak (2006 – current, 37 – 43 overall record as head coach)
Offensive Coordinator: Rick Dennison
Defensive Coordinator: Wade Phillips
Defensive Alignment: 3-4
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 24.4 PTS (9th)          386.6 YDS (3rd)                  259.0 PASS (4th)               127.6 RUSH (7th)
DEF: 26.7 PTS (29th)        376.9 YDS (30th)               267.5 PASS (32nd)            109.4 RUSH (13th)
Pro Bowlers: Arian Foster RB, Vonta Leach FB, Andre Johnson WR
2011 schedule:
  1 Sep 11 vs. Colts 1:00 PM Tickets
2 Sep 18 at Dolphins 4:15 PM Tickets
3 Sep 25 at Saints 1:00 PM Tickets
4 Oct 02 vs. Steelers 1:00 PM Tickets
5 Oct 09 vs. Raiders 1:00 PM Tickets
6 Oct 16 at Ravens 4:05 PM Tickets
7 Oct 23 at Titans 1:00 PM Tickets
8 Oct 30 vs. Jaguars 1:00 PM Tickets
9 Nov 06 vs. Browns 1:00 PM Tickets
10 Nov 13 at Buccaneers 1:00 PM Tickets
11 Bye
12 Nov 27 at Jaguars 1:00 PM Tickets
13 Dec 04 vs. Falcons 1:00 PM Tickets
14 Dec 11 at Bengals 1:00 PM Tickets
15 Dec 18 vs. Panthers 1:00 PM Tickets
16 Dec 22 at Colts 8:20 PM Tickets
17 Jan 01 vs. Titans 1:00 PM Tickets

TEAM NEEDS: OL, FS

Potential Free Agents:
Matt Leinart QB  - re-signed – 2 yrs, 5.5 million
Derrick Ward RB - re-signed – 1 yr
Jacoby Jones WR - re-signed – 3 yrs, 10.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed
Owen Daniels TE - re-signed – 5 yrs, $22 million
Rashad Butler OT – re-signed –
Kasey Studdard OG – re-signed –
Damione Lewis DE - re-signed – 1 yr
Mark Anderson DE/OLB
Tim Bulman DE
Jarvis Green DE
Shaun Cody DT – re-signed – 2 yrs
Kevin Bentley MLB
Karl Paymah CB
Bernard Pollard SS

Free agent acquisitions:
Lawrence Vickers FB (Browns) – 2 yrs, 3 million
Jonathan Joseph CB (Bengals) – 5 yrs
Daniel Manning S (Bears) –
Brad Maynard P – signed with Texans

Free agent losses:
Vonta Leach FB – Signed by Ravens
David Anderson WR – signed by Broncos
Zac Diles MLB - Signed by Rams
Amobi Okoye DT – signed by Bears
Eugene Wilson S
Matt Turk P – Signed by Jaguars

Picks in 2011 Draft: (overall draft grade: B+): I liked the Texans’ draft class overall, especially in the second and fourth rounds. They really took to improving their defense, which they needed to do anyways. They’re switching to the 3-4 defense and really needed to improve the secondary. Prior to the draft, I thought that Brooks Reed was getting too much love, but was going to be a good pick early in the second (which is where I had him rated on my Mock Draft Value Board). They also got good value from taking defensive backs Brandon Harris and Rashad Carmichael. Of course, the true value of the picks will have to wait until they get on the field, but Texans fans have to be excited about the new additions to the defense.

(! Indicates draft pick who was interviewed, had a private workout, etc. prior to the draft according to my compiled list):
Rd 1, Pick 11 (11) J.J.Watt DE, Wisconsin – I liked Cameron Jordan better, but Watt is still a great pick that was projected to go in the mid-first.
Grade: B              Rated: 14

Rd 2, Pick 10 (42) Brooks Reed OLB, Arizona – I preferred to hold off on ranking him as a first rounder on my value board, but put him to Green Bay in my final mock. Reed played end at Arizona, but showed the athleticism during workouts to be able to move to linebacker in a 3-4.
Grade: A              Rated: 38

Rd 2, Pick 28 (60) Brandon Harris CB, Miami (FL) – listed at 5-11 by The U, but at combine he measure in at 5-9. Those two inches dropped him from being a potential first rounder. Looks most like a good nickel back now. He had a subpar bowl game against Notre Dame, too. That’s why he dropped, but in my opinion, he played bigger. He was a projected first rounder for a reason during the regular season, wasn’t he?
Grade: A              Rated: 40

Rd 4, Pick 30 (127) Rashad Carmichael DB, Virginia Tech – Rashad Carmichael DB, Virginia Tech – Better in zone coverage. Has very good speed and awareness.
Grade: A              Rated: 139

Rd 5, Pick 13 (144) Shiloh Keo DB, Idaho – two-time team captain at Idaho. Tough player who will contribute on special teams, but will probably see action at safety for the weak Texans’ secondary.
Grade: C+            Rated: 210

Rd 5, Pick 21 (152) Taylor Yates QB, North Carolina – TJ Yates QB, North Carolina – Gary Kubiak said Yates reminded him of Matt Schaub. Yates moved himself to become a draftable player with a very good senior season.
Grade: C+            Rated: 226

Rd 7, Pick 11 (214) Derek Newton OL, Arkansas State – has the long arms and agility to potentially become a left tackle, but has to improve his strength and technique quite a bit before that’s ready to happen. Excellent value here.
Grade: A              Rated: 177

Rd 7, Pick 51 (254) Cheta Ozougwu DL, Rice – Mr. Irrelevant is another player to help the Texans convert to the 3-4 defense.
Grade: B              Rated: NR

2010 Texans’ Draft review:
I went back and watched all of the draft press conferences from the Texans’ 2010 NFL Draft. Here are some interesting nuggets of information I saw: When GM Rick Smith was asked about drafting for need versus best available, he didn’t come out and give a straight answer, but he did say that you don’t reach to help the needs that your team has. You have to have a long term approach. That’s something that is probably in the handbook for NFL general managers entitled: “Generic Answers to the Media.” Smith also said you can’t solve your roster problems in one draft or offseason. Lots of fans don’t have the patience that’s required for building rosters. I can understand how they eventually become impatient with some GMs, though (not Smith). Smith was asked to summarize his day on the day of the draft: he starts in office, talking the phones, prep work, closing loose ends on guys or if there are any questions on guys, and then he goes to the meeting room (“The War Room”).

Frank Bush, Houston’s defensive coordinator answered questions from the media after the Texans selected Kareem Jackson in the first round. Public perception was that Rutgers’ Devin McCourty and Boise State’s Kyle Wilson were rated higher than Jackson. Bush was asked why Jackson was selected over the other two and he replied that they liked that he was on a national championship team, tough, aggressive, smart football player, underclassmen, and has lots of upside. He was someone they really wanted and was high on their board as far as defense was concerned. There weren’t a lot of holes in his game. The more they watched, more they liked him. Playing in SEC helped the evaluation a lot because they were able to see how he matched up with guys that were similar to the ones he’ll be playing in NFL. Even though Wilson and McCourty were available, they felt Jackson was the “most complete and game ready.” They thought the other two would need some time. Bush said the number one thing about Jackson was his toughness. TE Garrett Graham reminded the Texans of Owen Daniels (Daniels knew him and recommended him). I was surprised to hear that Smith wasn’t going to go out to sign players just to fill positions in undrafted free agency. Holy crap, what a draft room! Usually a draft room looks like the bunker from Hitler’s last days, but this place looked like a conference room the executives from Google would use. It looked like the Cowboys Stadium of NFL war rooms.

Rd 1, Pick 20 (20)              Kareem Jackson CB, Alabama – 16 starts, 71 TCK, 10 PD, 2 INT

Rd 2, Pick 26 (58)              Ben Tate RB, Auburn – no stats, IR

Rd 3, Pick 17 (81)              Earl Mitchell DT, Arizona – 15 games, 28 TCK, 1 SCK

Rd 4, Pick 4 (102)              Darryl Sharpton LB, Miami (FL) – 12 games, 6 starts, 34 TCK, 1 SCK, ended season on IR

Rd 4, Pick 20 (118)            Garrett Graham TE, Wisconsin – 6 games, no stats accumulated

Rd 5, Pick 13 (144)            Sherrick McManis CB, Northwestern – 14 games, 13 TCK, 1 PD, 1 INT

Rd 6, Pick 18 (187)            Shelley Smith OG, Colorado State – no games

Rd 6, Pick 28 (197)            Trindon Holliday WR/KR, LSU – no stats, IR

Rd 7, Pick 20 (227)            Dorin Dickerson WR, Pittsburgh – 7 games

Looking back at my grades for the Texans’ 2010 draft class: Overall, I didn’t like the Texans’ draft in 2010. First round pick (#20 overall) Kareem Jackson, CB from Alabama wasn’t the top corner on the board according to my board or most other’s on the outside either. After watching the draft press conferences of the Texans, I’ve formed the opinion that the reason they passed over Kyle Wilson and Devin McCourty was that they didn’t play in the SEC. Level of competition is a tricky thing and I think it’s overrated. It should be taken into consideration, but it shouldn’t be a deciding factor. I gave Jackson a B- and I think that was a fair grade. The other picks that I liked for the most part were Ben Tate at 58 (A), Garrett Graham at 118 (B), Trindon Holliday at 197 (B), and Dorin Dickerson at 227 (A+). Sherrick McManis (D) and Earl Mitchell (C) were reaches that just reeked of need drafting. With as much playing time as the rookies got, I’d improve the team grade to a C+, but too many players weren’t taken where they were valued.

First Round Picks From Last 5 Years: Kareem Jackson CB, Brian Cushing LB, Duane Brown OT, Amobi Okoye DT, Mario Williams DE

2010 Stat Leaders
Matt Schaub  365-574  63.6%  4370 YDS  7.6 YPA  24 TD  12 INT  92.0 RTG

Arian Foster  327 ATT  1616 YDS  4.9 AVG  16 TD

Andre Johnson  86 REC  1216 YDS  14.1 YPC  8 TD

Neil Rackers  27-30  90.0%  57 LNG

Bernard Pollard  111 TCK

Mario Williams 8.5 SCK

Troy Nolan, Glover Quin, Jason Allen 3 INT

Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)
Wade Phillips Added As Defensive Coordinator