QUARTERBACKS
Matt Schaub – Your Pro Bowl MVP silenced the critics that said he was brittle and injury-prone. He’s a top-ten NFL QB.
Dan Orlovsky – The acquisition of Orlovsky was met with a great deal of skepticism, and he only served to justify that skepticism when he was handily beat out for the #2 job last year by Rex Grossman. Dan-O needs to show some serious improvement in the preseason if he’s even going to begin to justify the fat checks the Texans are cutting him.
John David Booty – Signed a reserve/future contract with the team in January. Sadly, he could actually compete with, and win, the backup QB job in camp if Orlovsky stinks it up again.
*Tyler Sheehan – Strictly a developmental pick. It will be a HUGE longshot for him to even make the practice squad.
What I expect
Orlovsky doesn’t improve much in the preseason, but it’s enough to keep Booty off the final 53-man.
RUNNING BACKS
Steve Slaton – We are all hoping against hope for a big bounceback year for Stevie Wonder. I don’t think Steve is done, but I do think the maximum we can expect at this point is for him to be a dangerous 3rd down weapon and change-of-pace guy. I am of the opinion that his neck injury is a bigger deal than it was made to be. He will have a lot of ground to make up.
Arian Foster – Showed a lot of promise as a rookie, but I’m not getting caught up in all of that. He may continue to build on what he accomplished last year, or he might be Chris Taylor 2.0 in the way that he had a very short burst showing of potential, but never worked out. Gary Kubiak hinted around that Foster had some work habit issues last year. Hopefully now that he’s no longer a rookie, those issues will disappear.
Ben Tate – Who’s NOT excited about Tate? This guy is a tough, physical runner – a quality the Texans have coveted in a running back for going on a year now. Hopefully he will be able to step right into the role as a rookie. From all accounts he has the ability to be an every-down back in this league, and that’s what I hope the Texans have in mind for him, less a handful of well-placed carries for Slaton.
Ryan Moats – Signed his RFA tender, and many think he will have a hard time making the roster, but if Slaton can’t be depended on, you might need Moats to fill that void since he’s the same type of back as Slaton. The RBs are a VERY young group, and I think there’s value in having a veteran presence out there. Problem with Moats is that I’m sure his stock dropped with the coaches once he started having fumbling issues of his own. Before, he was the less exciting but still speedy RB who had dependable hands. Now, he’s just a fast veteran who could put it on the ground at any time.
Chris Henry – I had been saying for a year that if the Titans cut him loose, we should take a flyer on Henry. Of course, he’s a workout warrior/combine success story who doesn’t translate to a good football player. I’d like to see him get a shot, but he’s much more likely headed for a new city or at best the practice squad.
Jeremiah Johnson – Johnson is the wild card in the Texans’ backfield. He’s the guy I keep forgetting about… we didn’t get a chance to see what he could do last year because of a shoulder injury that ended up making him an IR stash. Johnson’s style is similar to Slaton’s, and he could very easily be poised to take Moats’s roster spot as a second smallish/quick back behind Slaton.
What I expect
I hope it’s Slate & Tate all day but I do think the Texans want a workhorse back there. It might end up being more like Tate & Slate, which is not a bad thing. I think Slaton will improve, but he won’t get the carries to equal what he did in his rookie year. For weeks when the running game is actually working, I like Tate to get around 20 carries per game and Slaton to pull in 5-7, plus he will be the ever-present danger in the receiving game. I honestly think Slaton can be a game-changer in a limited role. He just needs to hold on to the ball. Johnson is the guy I will have my eye on who might surprise. Foster seems like the most obvious and likely candidate to be the 3rd RB.
*Denotes a reported Undrafted Free Agent signing. These players are only reported to have signed with the Texans but as of this entry none of the signings have been confirmed by the team.
Apr 29, 2010 at 11:33:00
Don’t writeoff Sheehan just yet.
Apr 29, 2010 at 11:45:27
The Texans have coveted that type of runner for over a year now. They just really F’ed up by thinking that Ahman Green was that guy.
Apr 29, 2010 at 15:34:58
Matt Shaub
He was awesome last year. He has definitely proven that he is a top 10 Qb. If he wants to get in the top 5 he has to work out winning against the better teams and have more game winning drives. A running game will help him drastically.
Dan Orlovsky
I hated this signing last year and it is well documented. Why we gave 3 yrs 9 million for this guy is beyond me. You know it is bad when you get beaten by Rex Grossman who had one good half in the Tampa Bay preseason game. Can we please sign Bulger.
John David Booty
The only way he makes the roster is if Dan O stinks it up again. I do not expect him to make up. We will sign a more battle tested veteran.
Tyler Sheehan
I could see him making the practice squad. Kubiak for the most part is could with Qb’s and he can turn an undrafted free agent into a draft pick for us.
Apr 29, 2010 at 15:59:21
Steve Slaton
I am very worried about his neck injury and I agree with you that this is probably bigger than it is being made out to be. I am not a doctor and I do not play one, but when your dealing with fusion of vertebrae you are entering a slippery slope.
Arian Foster
I am glad that the texans drafted a running back. We have been burnt by running backs like Chris taylor and darius walker. I believe Foster’s production was more a product of the competition and our team actually blocking. Our oline gets better as the season progresses. Every beginning of the season there is about a 4-5 game period where our oline opens up no holes. For foster they were opening up holes for foster and I could have run through those holes.
Ben Tate
It is important to note that I was not in the mathews band camp and I was in the hardesty and Tate band camp. Although we did not get the corner I wanted, I had a feeling we would do corner in the first and running back in the 2nd. I liked hardesty and tate because they had mathews speed with an edge that mathews did not have. Tate will be Marion Barber version 2 and I think we will need that. I do not feel like he is afraid of contact. Now it is important to note that running back will be a position we draft in the near future because tate’s shelf life is shorter but I think we needed a physical runner and we are getting that in Tate.
Moats/ Jeremiah Johnson
I fully expect one of these guys to make it. I do not think slaton can be depended as I mentioned before. They can send johnson on the practice squad another season and keep moats. They could also cut moats due to the fumbling and try Johnson. Moats is a good special teams player so that might play into the decision also.
Chris Henry is a goner.
I was hoping that we would draft Anthony Dixon in the 5th or sign Laggaroute blount. I am a big proponent of if you have a problem(getting short yardage especially in the red zone) the best remedy is to throw numbers at the position. Now i do not think we should pull a texans with respect to tight ends, but short yardage 230+ running back would have made me feel better.
Apr 29, 2010 at 19:58:08
I am more of a cup is half full guy when it comes to slaton. My theory is he will get back to the real back he was in the first year and all these fumble issues where a direct result of the magnitude of the injury (hello if you had a bad nerve shooting up your neck you would fumble when hit too) and that this surgery completely fixed it and he will be the tuff in between runner / weapon out of the backfield catching it. He said he felt a huge difference when he first woke up from the knife……so cross your fingers cause if both backs turn out this off will be very special.
Apr 30, 2010 at 20:14:06
Tate’s thighs look too skinny to be an every-down RB in the NFL. Not saying he won’t be a productive back, and I hope he is, but his legs don’t look like RB legs.
…call me crazy
Apr 30, 2010 at 20:20:57
@Carson
Kerns will find you.
May 1, 2010 at 00:10:52
Agree with you and truth on Dan Orlovsky. I think unless he gets injured badly he’s on the roster. I don’t think Kubiak is ready to admit he was wrong about another QB. He was wrong about Carr and that cost us one season. He and Smith badly overpaid for Dan O, and to cut him after one year would leave a lot of egg on their faces. Would not be shocked to see Dan O QB3 when the season starts.
While we all hope that Steve can make a comeback, the fact that the Texans spent an unprecedented high pick on a RB tells how they feel. They are not counting on him being a significant contributor, and certainly not to the extent he played in ’08. That is a good thing, because if/when he makes a fullrecovery he willbest be utilized in a lesser role, i.e. 3rd down back.
I’m kinda curious about Jeremiah. Moats, as Chris said, is only around if Steve is not able to go at near 100%. Foster showed that he has a place, but I second your excitement about Ben Tate. He seems to be a very good fit for what the Texans do. Tate/Foster/Steve/Jeremiah (with Moats as insurance) loks like our best group of RB’s ever.
May 1, 2010 at 10:18:21
I was rooting for Ryan Fitzpatrick all the way over “Hate Me” Orlovsky. However, I expect improvement on his part. Regarding Schaub and Rosencopter, Kubiak has shown a decent track record of improving QBs.
As far as the RBs go, I think the potential wealth of RBs we have is going to make it hard for anyone, even Tate and Slate, to definitively stand out above the crowd. Personally, I disagree with the guy who said Tate could win Rookie of the Year. I would avoid the Texans backfield like the plague in fantasy land. First off, there is too much competition starting off. Second, when Kubiak ditched the run and let Schaub air it out, it worked. Don’t think he has forgotten that. He’s stubborn, but he’s not stupid.
May 1, 2010 at 11:53:37
@ Carson
You bring up a great point, the people who think Tate is this power back, i disagree. He is way closer to a complete back then he is to a power back. I am going back and watching some of his games (if you have a chance to watch the TENN. game him and berry have sevral battles) from last year and there are sevral things that stick out, like he has never been injured at auburn period, he has never had fumble problems not even slightly, he led the SEC in rushing last year (in the spread offense at that), to me he has rare blend of power and speed. Running back being one of the more easier transition positions, i think he could learn to catch, block and most important learn how to run the cut and go all by the end of training camp. Which would be major b/c besides spring training Indy will not have seen our improved running attack therefore possibly making the difference in the all important first game.
May 1, 2010 at 14:05:13
In regard to Ben Tate, and the kind of RB he can be, I’ll say this; he’s not a low-cut power runner, but more of a long-strider who needs to get into the secondary to maximize his speed. He won’t make a living in the NFL by dodging defenders, but that’s okay because in our scheme he just needs to take advantage of cutback lanes. And he will. When he finds a seam he’ll be able to break off long runs. I see his absolute upside as being in the mold of Marcus Allen. Same body type and running style. Now, nobody will ever confuse Tate with Allen, but if he’s half the back then the Texans will be thrilled.
As for the short-yardage situations? That remains to be seen. If he can hold on to the football we’ll already be ahead of the game over last season. Also, I still haven’t given up on Arian Foster as the ‘power’ back. He’s got about 10 lbs. on Tate.
I think it’s safe to say that the RB situation is improved from last year, even if Slaton never plays another down.
May 2, 2010 at 09:49:55
Ben Tate DOES have a fumble history. Allow me to quote cbs sports…
” Protects the ball with both hands in traffic, but has had some issues with fumbles over his career. ”
The problem is that he has small hands. Now, I’m not saying I expect him to have a legitimate problem, because it is promising that he has very good ball protection discipline. Besides, even with his fumbling problem, do you think the vikings want to get rid of Adrain Peterson?
As far as the short-yardage, I can agree with Carson that Foster has a shot, if for nothing else but the fresh legs he would have. Thanks to Vonta Leach’s superb blocking from the FB position, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tate on 1st and 2nd down, Slaton on “obvious passing downs” where he can run routes and be Schaub’s bail-out screen pass, and Foster on the third-and-1′s…where we call playaction and toss it to Jacoby who is already past the safeties by the time Schaub finishes his third step.
By the way, does anyone see any possibility of occasionally giving Trindon Holliday the ball? I mean, Darren Sproles doesn’t just return kickoffs, you know.
May 2, 2010 at 15:03:48
Trindon Holliday makes Darren Sproles look like Earl Campbell.