Houston Texans

Which Team Is the Next New Orleans?

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By Chris Burke 2/10/2010 9:00 AM ET

The Saints' Super Bowl win on Sunday ended a grueling 43-year title drought for the franchise -- since entering the league in 1967, New Orleans had never played in a championship game, let alone won the big one.

But in taking down the Colts, the Saints became the 18th NFL franchise to capture a Super Bowl crown. That leaves 14 desperate title-less teams, of which four (Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville and Houston) have never even made it to the NFL's grandest stage.

So with an eye toward next season and beyond, we take a look at who could be next to break through.

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By Stephanie Stradley 2/02/2010 1:00 PM ET

The Texans are currently negotiating with head coach Gary Kubiak to extend his contract at least through 2013.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the deal likely will be completed by the end of next week. McClain had previously hinted that this was in the works. (UPDATE: Kubiak has agreed to a new three year contract that runs through 2012 and is the same length as his assistant coaches' contracts).

Since Texans owner Bob McNair came into the league, he has expressed an appreciation of stable organizations like the Steelers. He can afford to be patient because every game at Reliant Stadium since the beginning of the franchise is sold out. He doesn't have to change coaches to jump start ticket sales. He very much likes and respects Kubiak, and even before last season, Kubiak appeared safe barring a total collapse of the team. McNair believes the team is going in the right direction, and that a contract extension for Kubiak helps future winning:

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By Chris Burke 1/31/2010 10:58 PM ET

Matt Schaub wasn't the AFC's No. 1 option at quarterback for the 2010 Pro Bowl. He wasn't second or third on the list, either. But Schaub took full advantage of falling into a starting spot, winning the game's MVP award.

Schaub was initially the AFC's first alternate at quarterback when the Pro Bowl rosters were released. He claimed a spot on the roster when Patriots QB Tom Brady pulled out of the game citing injury. San Diego's Philip Rivers then withdrew as well, and original starter Peyton Manning was unable to participate because of the Super Bowl.

So that left Schaub to start the game. And he came through with an impressive performance -- 13 of 17 for 189 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-34 AFC win.

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By Stephanie Stradley 1/25/2010 5:00 PM ET

For the second year in a row, the team with the worst running game in the league will be one of the Super Bowl participants. Last year it was the Cardinals, and this year it is the Colts.

Prior to the season, former NFL quarterback Trent Green predicted that 10 quarterbacks would surpass the 4,000-yard passing mark, and his prediction was spot on.* Matt Schaub, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Brett Favre and Eli Manning all topped the mark. Seven out of those 10 quarterbacks were participants in this year's playoffs. To get to 4,000 yards, a team needs a certain amount of quarterback health, and that's handy for a playoff run. Even so, this the largest number of 4,000-plus yard quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.

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By Stephanie Stradley 1/14/2010 2:00 PM ET

In expected news, the Houston Texans hired former Denver assistant Rick Dennison as offensive coordinator. He is replacing Kyle Shanahan who is joining his father with the Redskins. Surprising to some, Texans assistant head coach Alex Gibbs chose to take a position with new head coach Pete Carroll's Seahawks. Gibbs' contract with the Texans ended this year.

Dennison was Texan coach Gary Kubiak's first choice to be coordinator in 2006 but the Broncos would not give him permission to leave. Dennison and Kubiak are close friends and were hired by Mike Shanahan at the same time. After Kubiak left the Broncos, Dennison served as offensive coordinator until new Bronco coach, Josh McDaniels asked him to work solely with the offensive line. Dennison has a long and diverse NFL background, but over the last decade he has focused on the offensive side of the ball, and more specifically the offensive line.

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By Stephanie Stradley 1/05/2010 12:20 PM ET

In a non-surprise, Texans outside lineman Brian Cushing won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He received 39 out of 50 first place votes. Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd was second (6 votes), Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews was third (3 votes) and Washington linebacker/defensive end Brian Orakpo was fourth (2 votes).

Cushing made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and led the AFC with 134 tackles. He led all linebackers with 4 interceptions and had 5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss, 10 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and a safety. He was nominated for Pepsi Rookie of the Week 5 times this season but never won it. He's the second Houston linebacker in four years to win the award, with middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans winning it in 2006.

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By Stephanie Stradley 1/05/2010 11:15 AM ET

In a radio interview with WEEI in Boston, Patriots coach Bill Belichick blamed field conditions at Reliant Stadium for wide receiver Wes Welker's ACL/MCL knee injury. Belichick called the field conditions "terrible" and "inconsistent" claiming, "When I walked out before the game, I was surprised to see how bad it was."

Gee, if he thought the surface was bad, why did he play so many of his key starters for so long? Even after Welker got hurt in the game on a surface he felt was bad?

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By Stephanie Stradley 1/04/2010 12:35 PM ET

As reported by John McClain in the Houston Chronicle, Texans owner Bob McNair said that head coach Gary Kubiak definitely will return to coach in 2010 -- the final year on his current contract. McClain noted that Kubiak may end up getting an extension, and that decision will be made at the end of the month.

Though there was much speculation about Kubiak's job, those who follow the Texans closely knew that McNair would keep Kubiak unless there the team suffered a complete collapse this season. McNair likes and respect Kubiak -- Houston's owner has expressed on numerous occasions his deep appreciation for the way that the Steelers conduct their business, and in an effort to follow that model, doesn't want to be a meddling owner that changes coaches and philosophies every few years.

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By Matt Snyder 1/03/2010 4:21 PM ET

Every playoff scenario that would get the Houston Texans into the playoffs was nearly moot. Fred Taylor's second touchdown of the game put the New England Patriots up 27-13 with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter. It appeared the Texans were doomed to lose the game due to self-sabotage yet again (they had already missed two field goals and given up a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown).

Instead, the Texans -- on the shoulders of their stud quarterback -- showed the kind of fortitude worthy of a playoff team.

First, Matt Schaub led them on a 69-yard drive, capped by a touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones. The defense responded with a three-and-out (with Tom Brady still in the game). The game-tying touchdown drive took just two minutes and 47 seconds, as Arian Foster (pictured) punched it in from the one. Two plays later, Brady was intercepted. It took the Texans just four plays and less than two minutes before Foster was again marching into the end zone. The final tally? Houston 34, New England 27.

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By Josh Alper 12/30/2009 5:40 PM ET

LaMarr Woodley isn't of the opinion that the Steelers have themselves to blame if they fail to make the playoffs this season. He thinks it will be the fault of the cowardly Patriots and Bengals who are going to roll over and play dead so that they won't have to face the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs.

"All of them will lay down," said Woodley. "No one wants to see Pittsburgh in there. That's just how it is. Everybody knows we're a dangerous team once we get into the playoffs no matter how we played throughout the whole year."

Note to Woodley: Perhaps next year it would be better to not wait until the playoffs to be a dangerous team if you want to actually make the playoffs.

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