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AFC South breakdown - Houston Texans
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AFC South – Houston Texans – 2007 Record 8-8: 4th place AFC South
There is a lot of optimism running through Texans training camp this year even though they play in the same division with Indy and Jacksonville. This team has shown improvement and 8-8 was somewhat of a moral victory in 2007. The big question is can they take that optimism and bring it to the field in the highly competitive AFC South. This team has still not had a winning year in the short history of the franchise.
There were no major upgrades to this team other than to add depth throughout the roster. The running game got a needed jolt with the addition of Chris Brown to go along with veteran Ahman Green. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has put an emphasis on the offensive line using their first round pick on left tackle Duane Brown. He will not start right away but should be good down the road. The running game has been awful the past two years which is why they traded for center Chris Myers and added Alex Gibbs to the coaching staff. Gibbs’ will improve the o-line and hopefully help out quarterback Matt Schaub to keep him upright and take some emphasis off the passing game. Schaub’s health is imperative and he missed five starts in 2007. The success of this unit will be based on the running game which is also the biggest question mark. Green was in and out of the lineup all season and is an injury concern. Brown has also dealt with injuries so this may be another weakness before the 2008 campaign is over. Steve Slaton out of West Virginia should help but he is unproven and is ideal as a third down back.
On Defense, coordinator Richard Smith is ecstatic with youngster Mario Williams who after all the Reggie Bush flack the Texans took, looks to be the better pick a couple of years later. Williams will team with DeMeco Ryans and Amobi Okoye to get after the quarterback and as we know, in this division that is imperative. The secondary took a blow with the injury to Dunta Robinson who is likely going to miss half the season. This could be the area that sinks this team. Obviously, if the front can provide a pass rush it will ease the burden on the secondary but that is still not a given.
Head coach Gary Kubiak has an excellent staff but to succeed they will need to win more than one game in the division as they did a year ago. Is this team ready to take the next step? Probably not but perhaps a winning season is on the menu in 2008.
Prediction: 4th AFC South
Playoffs: None.
