Texans: Five Players Who Have To Perform in 2009
Written by davemundy, Sunday August 02 2009
The performance of five key players will in large part determine whether or not the Houston Texans will havethe consistency they need to reach the playoffs in 2009.
For the Texans to make the playoffs this season, a lot of things have to come together and click.
The Texans had a disastrous 0-4 start to the 2008 season, then had another three-game skid to open November before winning five of their last six to finish 8-8. Among those losses were several games the team should have won handily, and among the wins were some the Texans probably shouldn’t have won.
The difference was turnovers: when
While every position will play an important role, the contributions of five players will make or break things for the Texans in 2009:
Matt Schaub, Quarterback. Consistency at the quarterback position is the key to winning in the NFL, and with Schaub, the key to consistency will be staying healthy. He’s missed big hunks of the last two seasons—a total of 10 games--because of injury and although Sage Rosenfels stepped in and played heroically the last two years, Rosenfels didn’t have Schaub’s on-field presence.
While Rex Grossman and Dan Orlovsky are battling for the backup spot, Schaub has a clear signal from head coach Gary Kubiak that it’s all on his shoulders. Schaub passed for 3,043 yards, 15 TDs and a 92.7 passer efficiency rating last season, and his 276 yards a game was fourth-best in the league. Few teams moved the ball as well as the Texans, but turnovers in key situations proved to be devastating.
Kubiak told the team’s official website that Schaub has the makings of a Pro Bowler.
”His numbers, had he played the whole season, I think he would have been right in the mix of being a Pro Bowl player,” Kubiak said. “I think that’s what he’s capable of. But for him to take that next step and for our team to take that next step, that turnover margin at that position for this team has got to go down.”
Nick
“As far as calendar-wise, I’m up in age, but as far as body-wise and how I feel, I mean, I don’t feel a day over 25,”
He said new DB coach David Gibbs, combined with new defensive coordinator Frank Bush and improvements in the line and at linebacker will make it easier for the secondary to step up and make the big plays they need to make.
“Hopefully, the quarterbacks throw some balls off the wrong foot and people and give us an opportunity to get interceptions,” he said. “Possibly, I mean, I don’t know if we’re going to do this, but this personnel allows you to do 4-3 or 3-4 types and really keep the offense guessing. It’d be great for the defensive backfield.”
Steve Slaton, Running Back. The 5-9, 210-pounder out of West Virginia, a third-round pick last season, made things happen in 2008—a team-record 1,282 rushing yards and nine TDs as well as 50 receptions out of the backfield for 377 yards and another TD. He was a nominee for Rookie of the Year and arguably, had he played on a playoff team he might have won the honor.
If Slaton can continue to give the Texans the running game they’ve so desperately needed, as well as the receiving threat out of the backfield, everything else falls into place offensively.
Slaton’s biggest challenge entering the 2009 season will be avoiding the sophomore jinx. He doesn’t have to put up the same kind of numbers as he did a year ago--but he has to remain a threat to do that. And for that to happen, the team has to develop someone who can give Slaton the rest he needs. Ryan Moats and Chris Brown each looked good in spots last year, and the team acquired rookie free agents Jeremiah Johnson and Arian Foster in the off-season.
Armed with a season of experience, Slaton told the team’s Brooke Bentley he wants to correct the mistakes he made as a rookie.
“I know more of what the coaches want and what the coaches need and what I need to do to get the yards that I left on the field last year and get them back,” Slaton said.
“The first year is the biggest learning year you are going to have. I think I learned a lot from the veterans being on me and the coaches being on me. (Now), I can step my game up more.”
Amobi Okoye, Defensive Tackle. The No.1 pick for the Texans in 2007 hasn’t looked bad his first two seasons—but it also hasn’t been what he’d hoped to bring to the field.
Okoye set the team rookie record with five and a half sacks in 2007, but found himself confounded at times by blocking schemes as opposing teams were able to establish control on the ground in several contests during the 2008 campaign. The Texans ranked 23rd in the league against the run.
“He’s had his flashes as a player,” Kubiak said of Okoye. “We’re looking for a consistency in the long haul.
“I’ve got a lot of expectations for myself this year,” Okoye said. “Being the kind of guy I am, the kind of season I had last year—it’s not what I wanted, definitely not what I expected. But all I can do is work, do my best and work. I leave the rest up to God and my coaches and whatever other factors.”
Okoye said the new, more aggressive defense being preached by Bush plays to his strengths as a pass rusher, and he welcomes that.
“(Rushing the passer) is what got me here,” he said. “My hope is that this is exactly what my game needs.”
Fred Bennett, Cornerback. Thrust into a starting role in only his second season when his mentor and good friend Dunta Robinson went down with an injury, Bennett had his ups and downs in 2008. And with Robinson likely to be a holdout for an extended time, Bennett will be the man on the hot seat.
Bennett had three interceptions as a rookie but his statistical performance slid in almost every category in 2008. He told the Texans’ Bentley he has something to prove this season.
“Most definitely, I have a lot to prove,” he said. “But it’s not a thing that I’m focused on right now. In the back of my mind, I know that I have something to prove, but it’s not a big issue to me. I know I can get it done, and I know I will.”
Gibbs admits Bennett suffered from inconsistency a year ago, but said he marvels at the tools the third-year man brings to the field.
“He’s a long-legged guy and he’s got really long arms, so he might not be the quickest-twitch guy that plays the corner position, but he can take advantage of his length by getting his hands on receivers,” Gibbs said. “That’s something I think he’s figuring out the older he gets and the more he develops.”
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Let's just say as long as PP isn't sharing with CBSSports.com, I can do this all day every day.
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Dave, yes, they are indeed big pieces to a winning puzzle this year. Thanks for adding to the Texans' content on the site. At your current prolific rate, you will have the Texans at the top in # of posts real soon. Keep it up.