FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Houston Texans - Too Bad They Are in the AFC South

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: In Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels, the Texans have two quarterbacks who could start in this QB starved league. Schaub needs to show he can hold up over a full season, and have better decision making in the red zone. Even so, he could end up having a breakout season assuming he and his supporting cast stay relatively healthy. Heat Index: 7

Running Backs: The Texans have been busy fixing so many other parts of their team that they have had little interest in drafting running back with a high pick. The running back group consists of Ahman Green (old and oft injured), Chris Brown (oft injured), Chris Taylor (inexperienced and coming off of injury), Darius Walker (inexperienced), Steve Slaton (3rd round pick rookie and more of a third down back). Coach Gary Kubiak won't want to have to rely on a young player because of concerns about blitz pickup. The best hope for this group is if offensive line guru Alex Gibbs shows some magic in his run blocking teaching that makes this group look good. Heat Index: 4

Receivers: Andre Johnson is one of the most gifted receivers in the league. He tweaked his groin in camp but has been practicing again, and the Texans say they are not concerned with the injury. Though the passing game wasn't nearly as effective when Johnson was out with a knee injury last season, the rest of the receivers were able to move the ball. The group of Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, Jacoby Jones and David Anderson individually are not likely to cause envy in too many other teams, but in the Houston offense, they are very effective in their roles. Tight end Owen Daniels is a reliable pass catcher. Heat Index: 8

Offensive Line: The best addition to the Texans offensive line last year was getting rid of quarterback David Carr. From 2006 to 2007, the sack totals went from 43 to 22. According to the Pro Football Prospectus, the Texans reduced their use of max protect by half once Carr was no longer the quarterback. The Texans are looking to get more reliable run blocking to complement their pass blocking hence the addition of Alex Gibbs in the offseason. The Texans are still learning this scheme, but it is hard to dispute the results that Gibbs has received in the past. Rookie first round pick Duane Brown seeks to be the Texans answer at left tackle, a position that has been a jinx for the team since the signing of Tony Boselli. Heat Index: 6.

Defensive Line: Arguably, if you were putting together a team from scratch in 2008, you would choose Mario Williams as your first defensive end. Unfortunately for the Texans, the rest of the line hasn't provided him with much help nor has the secondary, and the overall sack totals for the Texans were ranked in the bottom third of the NFL. Williams accounted for 45.2% of the Texans sacks, the highest percentage by any player in the league. The Texans have a number of young promising players on the line, and have acquired Rosevelt Colvin as a pass rushing option on the other side of Williams, but this is the year the line needs to show something as a group. Heat Index: 6

Linebacker: Like with the defensive line, the linebacker group consists of one great player, middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, and then a bunch of other guys. The Texans have looked to improve speed at the linebacker position through the draft and acquiring reasonably priced free agents, but there's little reason to believe that this is going to be a substantially improved group over last year. Second year player Zac Diles played well in his first preseason game, so maybe he will surprise. Kubiak says he wishes he would have played Diles more last year. That's the same thing he said about Kevin Walter after the 2006 season, and Walter ended up having a very productive season last year. Heat Index: 6

Secondary: In the short history of the Texans, this will be the least experienced group of cornerbacks that the Texans have ever put on the field. It's going to be difficult for them to get calls their way. With the injury to Dunta Robinson last year, rookie Fred Bennett had an breakout season and was statistically ranked the #1 CB in the league (Disgruntled Eagles CB Lito Sheppard is not a fan of the YPA analysis). With the date of Robinson's return doubtful, the Texans acquired the Cowboy's burnt toast, Jacques Reeves as a free agent. They believe he will be better in man schemes versus the zones that the Cowboys run. Safety is still the perennial weakness for the team. Overall, the secondary has been a problem on this team since Aaron Glenn got old and left, and there is little reason to see much more hope for this very young group this year. They do have the most experienced assistant secondary coach in the league in Ray Rhodes so maybe he has some magic dust to sprinkle on a secondary that was tied for the worst in the league in grabbing interceptions. Heat Index: 3

Special Teams: Under special teams coach Joe Marciano, the Texans special teams have usually been a strength of the team. Last year, receiver Andre Davis was second in the league in kickoff return yardage at 30.3, and tied for the lead league in kickoff returns for a touchdown at 3. Heat Index: 9

Coaching: The Texans certainly have a large quantity of coaches, and since Kubiak has taken over, the team has shown substantial improvement each year and has played hard for the coaching staff. Unproven defensive coordinator, Richard Smith may be on the hot seat if his young defense doesn't improve in year 3 of switching to the 4-3 -- Football Outsiders ranked the Texans defense as 31st in 2006, and 30th in 2007. Some of the defensive calls have been inexplicable, and it is not a good sign when opponents label the Texans defense "vanilla" even before playing them. Heat Index: 7

Intangibles: GM Rick Smith has put together a group of team-first players who have had great attendance in offseason program and have bought into the hard working ethic that Kubiak has been selling. The team plays hard for the coaching staff, and eventually you would think that this would pay off. They are still working on getting that confidence of expecting to win. This might be harder to gain with a tough early season schedule--they are one of only two teams in the league with three of four on the road in September. Even so, this is a team that plays better than its assemblage of parts (or "Heat Indexes" for that matter). Heat Index: 7

Total Heat Index: 63
Every single Texans preview says that the Texans are a promising team with a lot of young talent, but too bad they play in the difficult AFC South. If they can survive the early season schedule with their confidence and health intact, they could make a serious push for a playoff spot. They went 8-8 last year even with significant time missed by their top quarterback, wide receiver, running back, center and defensive back. With another year in Kubiak's system, and maybe some luck with their health, this could end up being their year to climb out of the AFC South's basement and give Houston its first taste of playoff football since 1993.