Like many of you, I’ve read as much as I can take about Texans’ mini-camp, which concluded Sunday. You really can’t take anything that comes out of it as positive or negative, but still there are some items worth commenting on… and by that I mean, there are still many months until the regular season, please give me a break as I have to write about something.

Duane Brown being installed as the starter over veteran Ephraim Salaam was the big story of the weekend, which I’ve already hit on (scroll down). I still think this is the right call. He was too high of a draft pick (and too lauded by the brain trust) to not get a shot at starting right away. I’ve read some rumblings that this smacks of “handing the position on a silver platter to the new rookie who gets everything he wants.” I don’t think that’s the case at all. First of all, you can’t say on one hand that you love this kid and think he’s the sure-fire LT of the future - and on the other hand say he’s not good enough to play in front of Salaam, who was never meant to be a starter. I think this demotion is being taken too literally. Brown isn’t the starter as much as they want him to learn fast. If he’s not up to snuff, he won’t start. I don’t think it’s disrespectful to Salaam - if anyone knows this is a business, it’s Ephraim… and what better way to prepare Brown for the rigors of being a left tackle in the AFC South than to have him practice against Mario Williams every day?

Speaking of Mario Williams, there was plenty of talk about how he seemed even more physical and aggressive than last year. As it should be, he repeatedly tore the rookie Brown up, and is giving him some hard lessons on what is sure to be a long but hopefully productive year for the new LT.

New Texan Steve Slaton had his ups and downs, fumbling on two occasions, but also eluding defenders and blazing up the field for a couple of long gains. He did have problems holding on to the ball in his final season at West Virginia, but hey - if he hadn’t had those issues, he may not have been on the board when the Texans took him in the third round. One thing I love about Slaton’s attitude is that in early interviews, he’s not at all happy to accept his role as a third down weapon. He’s there to win the starting job, and as unrealistic as that is, it’s the kind of fire that will ensure that all the running backs will be killing themselves to get on the field. What a battle it’s going to be, especially if everyone stays healthy.

Ex-Longhorn Frank Okam got a ton of reps at defensive tackle because of the absence of Travis Johnson, who we all know by now spent the weekend getting married. Okam drew some praise from Mario Williams, and the coaches appear to be impressed as well. If he has his mind focused on football - and let’s be honest, for a guy as smart as he is, it won’t be easy for him - he will end up being a steal, and an instant upgrade for our run defense.

I haven’t seen a lot written about second-year man Amobi Okoye, but I’d sure like to know if he’s on his way to a year two breakout like we saw with Mario. On his 1560AM radio show, Lance Zierlein said that defensive line coach Jethro Franklin was really screaming Amobi down, but of course Franklin would scream his own mother down on Mother’s Day. If you missed it, here’s a Houston Chronicle article on Franklin.

Lastly, let’s spread some Texans blogger love. We’ve all been salivating for something REAL to talk about since the draft, and as expected everyone’s hitting the mini-camp with enthusiasm. Check out DGDB&D, Battle Red Blog, and Stephanie Stradley regularly (as if you already didn’t already) for more analysis. OTA’s begin May 19th, so we all have that to look forward to as well. Now, let’s all go outside and do something that doesn’t involve thinking about the Texans. There’s a whole other world out there, I promise.

UPDATE: During his afternoon show on 610AM today, Matt Jackson said that Charles Spencer was still “running with a noticeable limp” today. I’ll say it again, there’s no way he’s going to be ready to go on opening day. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s been almost two years, and he’s still limping.

Elsewhere…

HoustonTexans.com has reported that first-round draft pick Duane Brown has been named the starting left tackle by Gary Kubiak. While some from Texans Nation and the media are calling this big, unexpected news - I personally think it’s a non-story. After Kubiak and Rick Smith gushed over Brown on draft day and claimed he was the guy they loved all along, what else were they going to do? Say that their shiny new pick wasn’t good enough to start ahead of Ephraim Salaam?

In a nutshell - Kubiak wants to throw Brown in the fire early to see if he really is going to be able to start from the jump, and really - that was the only thing to do. If things don’t go as expected, you’ll hear something like: “he’s a rookie and he’s not quite ready yet, so we’re gonna go with Ephraim for a while longer.” No harm in that, just like there’s no harm in setting some hefty expectations on the new top pick… same as was done with every other first round pick the team has ever had.

Salaam has done a much better job than anyone could have expected as the starting LT, considering he was never brought in to be a starter. He’s a good guy, very media friendly, and would be a very solid backup. Salaam in a lot of ways is kind of the public face of the franchise right now with his Super Bowl commercials, appearances on TV talk shows, and his regular radio appearances during the season. Nobody thinks he’s a pro-bowl starting LT, but he has great value to this team as experienced depth.

At last month’s NFL Draft, the Texans picked up two shiny new weapons for what was already a vastly-improved offense. Duane Brown and Steve Slaton have already generated excitement and controversy amongst the fan-base, but regardless of how you feel about either player - the days and weeks leading up to September are falling off the calendar ever-so-slowly.

To say that the team experienced a quantam leap in the quality of offense from ‘06-’07 might actually be an understatement. Of course most will rightfully attribute that to the arrival of Matt Schaub, (or maybe more accurately - the departure of David Carr) but there were of course several factors. An improved offensive line, another year with the new coaching staff… the departure of David Carr… also, the departure of David Carr. Before we talk about what 2008 might have in store for Houston’s offense, let’s look at the improvement from 2006 to 2007:

Houston Texans Offense 2006-2007

But what of 2008? With Duane Brown now in the mix, and Charles Spencer recovering from injury, the Texans may find themselves in an unfamiliar position in the upcoming season - having talented depth on the offensive line. The addition of offensive line and Zone Blocking Scheme guru Alex Gibbs can never go unmentioned either, and you can carve it in stone that Houston’s running game will be significantly improved.

Schaub’s health is of course the biggest key to the offense. There are legitimate concerns that he can’t stay healthy over the course of the season, but this article is all about potential. Let’s say he holds up for all or most of the season behind a solid offensive line. What about the weapons around him?
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Well, they lasted a game longer than I thought they would, but in the end it’s another first-round exit for the Rockets. What an ugly performance. Tracy McGrady did everything he could to get the Rockets a W, but he got absolutely no help from the rest of the team.

The Utah Jazz just did everything better in this series. They played harder, they played tougher, and at the end of the day, they just had way more talent on the floor than the Rockets. Without Yao Ming (Houston’s #1 scorer), and Rafer Alston (Houston’s #3 scorer who only played in 3 full games in the series) the Rockets were severely over-matched. There’s just no other way to put it.

So what’s next for Houston? Well, as with every single season in the Yao/T-Mac era, the answer is - nobody knows. Every year it comes down to the same old broken record. If both the Rockets’ superstars are healthy, they’re serious NBA Title contenders. If one or both of them are hurt, they have no chance but to make barely a peep in the first round of the playoffs. Such is life as a fan of the Houston Rockets. This time next year, we might all be celebrating entry into the second round of the playoffs, or we might be wondering what might have been if Yao and or T-Mac hadn’t gotten injured again.
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Thanks to HDH reader Shawn who suggested that I update the free agent scorecard, as the Texans have now re-signed DT Anthony Maddox, WR David Anderson, and TE Joel Dreessen. Maddox apparently signed on April 2nd! Yet, it didn’t appear anywhere that I could find until today. Am I the last person in the world to find out about this? Just yesterday we were all talking about bringing Maddox back - and he’s been back for a month! The others signed right before the draft.

Yet, still no Earl Cochran. OR maybe he signed a new contract three months ago, and it simply hasn’t been made official.

So, thanks again for the heads-up, Shawn.

Houston Texans 2008 Free Agency Scorecard

Houston Texans 2008 UDFAs Signed

The Rockets absolutely blasted the hated Jazz out of the building Tuesday night, forcing a game 6 back in Salt Lake City.

The value of Rafer Alston to this years’ team can’t be understated. His skill at getting the Rockets into their offensive sets, and his penchant for timely offense is a far cry from where he was with this team last season. We were all ready to run him out of town, self included, for his on and off-court ineptitude.

My how things have changed. His three-point stroke has been lethal, and it’s no coincidence that the Rockets are 2-1 in the series since he returned from a hamstring injury. In my head, this season has been over (as far as chances of winning a Title) since Yao Ming went down. If Yao was in the picture right now, we’d be blowing right through this Jazz team.

Luis Scola reappeared as well. He was active on the boards, sneaking under defenders for lay-ups, and flopping all over the place as per usual. Is he auditioning for Jerry Sloan? I love the guy, but Luis - you’re a Houston Rocket. We don’t subscribe to the “pretend you’ve been shot in the chest with a cannon” style of defense. Just play defense like a man. We don’t need to stoop to their level. I hate the flopping. I don’t want to be the victim of it, but even more - I don’t want my team to be the beneficiary of it.

Weary had a horrible leg injury last season, but it looks as though he’s on track to be healthy for training camp. I’ve read that Weary’s not quite the type of offensive lineman that Alex Gibbs likes for his Zone Blocking System, but the truth is - he’s been solid lineman for a while now, and the Texans are clearly willing to bet he can adjust. A solid, if unremarkable signing.

OOOOHHH YEAH!!! Okay.

So the draft has come and gone, and I have to say that the further away from the Duane Brown pick we get, the better I am with it. For the haters, stay with me. Here’s how I see it…

The Texans had their hearts set on picking a Left Tackle with their first pick. They simply weren’t going to get out of the first round without their hopeful “LT of the Future”. The organization has been beaten up and down the block since its inception for not addressing the position properly in the draft, and for the whole Tony Boselli debacle.

This off-season, they lured offensive line/Zone Blocking System guru Alex Gibbs out of retirement in hopes of giving the Texans an elite rushing attack. I won’t bore you with endless statistics, but let’s just say that his experience is more than backed-up by his former teams’ rushing performances in Denver and Atlanta. We’re talking about a guy who consistently had his team in the top ten and top five of the NFL in rushing.
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Jesse Nading and Darnell Jenkins are now confirmed as Texans. In addition to the guys I listed last night, the Texans have since locked up Auburn TE Cole Bennett, and Utah DT Gabe Long. All three confirmed by the Houston Chronicle. Just scroll to the last paragraph.

I don’t have confirmation, but there are two more UDFAs out there attached to the Texans. They are Colorado State DE Jesse Nading, and Miami (FL) WR Darnell Jenkins.