What better way to get back in the swing of things than the football blogger go-to roster prediction? Of course, for me this will only be my second crack at it, FAR behind others who are on their 82nd.

Roster prediction blah blah roster prediction.

INITIATE TEXT-BASED SLIDE SHOW

QB (3)
Matt Schaub
TJ Yates
John Beck
Keenum would’ve had to set the world on fire to have any shot here. Beck is a vet and he was a lock for the #3 QB spot. Personally – *I* would keep two QBs.

RB (3)
Arian Foster
Ben Tate
Justin Forsett
I saw a lot of good from Jonathan Grimes, but not so much that I think he has to make this team. I think he left a lot of yards on the field against Minnesota, but obviously he can get better. I have no problem taking a chance trying to get him on the practice squad.

FB (2)
James Casey
Moran Norris
Norris has been a disappointment (not that we were expecting much). The Texans will be watching cuts closely for another candidate here, but don’t hold your breath. Norris had a horrible drop against the Vikings, but he’s not there to catch balls, so that had no effect. He hasn’t been very good, but can you find a guy to plug in, in his place who will be significantly better? Probably not.

WR (5)
Andre Johnson
Kevin Walter
Lestar Jean (He is no longer CampStar Jean, he’s the real deal)
Keyshawn Martin
DeVier Posey
Nice to see Posey have a pulse tonight. Keyshawn seems to have dropped off the last couple of weeks with two lost fumbles against the Saints and a bad, bad drop against the Vikings. If you’re wondering about Trindon Holliday, why not look at the defensive ends? He’s as much one of those as he is a wide receiver.

TE (2)
Owen Daniels
Garrett Graham
Obviously James Casey is going to be all over the place, so the team doesn’t truly have only two TEs in this scenario. Neither Daniels nor Graham are very good blockers. There’s still quite a void left by Dreessen, which will mean some scheming changes from the Texans. They just can’t count on any of their TEs as plus blockers.

OL (8)
Duane Brown
Wade Smith
Chris Myers
Antoine Caldwell
Derek Newton
Ben Jones
Brandon Brooks
Andrew Gardner – Changed to Gardner from “Free Agent” because I don’t think there’s going to be a swing tackle out candidate out there to replace Rashad Butler. Those don’t grow on trees. It’s a problem, y’all.

DE (4)
J.J. Watt
Antonio Smith
Tim Jamison
Jared Crick

DT (3)
Shaun Cody
Earl Mitchell
Loni Fangupo briefly, then replaced by a Free Agent not yet on the roster
Yeah, no Fangupo. Would’ve liked to have seen more from him. I think he’ll make the team but be the first one gone when the Texans scan the other cuts. With Shaun Cody having back issues, and Earl Mitchell having um… defensive tackle issues… the Texans need to be prepared.

OLB (5)
Connor Barwin
Brooks Reed
Whitney Mercilus
Bryan Braman
D.J. Bryant
I just cannot ignore what Bryant did during the preseason. No matter what point of the games he played in, he was getting pressure. I simply can’t get rid of a pass rusher. Yep, I’m a defense guy.

ILB (4)
Brian Cushing
Bradie James
Tim Dobbins
Free agent not on roster
This position is a mess. You’ve got Cushing, and a bunch of yikes. James has been disappointing, despite what the coaches are pumping. Dobbins is up and down, but right now appears to be by FAR the second best ILB on the squad. Mister Alexander – meh. The Texans are going to be all over the cuts tomorrow looking for an ILB. Maybe two. Depth is a PROBLEM here.

S (4)
Danieal Manning
Glover Quin
Quentin Demps
Troy Nolan
Nolan and Demps, Demps and Nolan. I guess they’re okay depth. I’d like to find a way to keep Eddie Pleasant around, but he’ll be fine to make it to the practice squad. If Shiloh Keo had any hope at all of making the team, it evaporated in front of him like so many free-running wide receivers.

CB (6)
Johnathan Joseph
Kareem Jackson
Brice McCain
Brandon Harris
Sherrick McManis
Roc Carmichael
I’m hoping the Texans go with ceiling over experience here. Alan Ball is a known commodity. Well, “commodity” is probably the wrong word… anyway, at least with Carmichael there the possibility that he can ascend beyond terrible, whereas Alan Ball is looking up at terrible. Probably an overstatement, but this is how I shake the blogger rust off.

Specialists (4)
Shayne Graham (please refer to him as “Ginger Foot”)
Donnie Jones
Jonathan Weeks
Trindon Holliday
Holliday forced Kubiak’s hand against the Vikings. It’s just a done deal. Sure I could argue the other way, but no matter how much of a waste it is to have FOUR specialists on a team, you can’t deny three return TDs in four games, plus a couple of long ones tossed in to boot.

So there’s your lazy entry. More after the actual cuts.

GINGER FOOT!