2008 Houston Texans Prospects
Interested in that other Texas football team? Why not, especially if you live south of the DFW metro area and want to support someone closer to home? The Houston Texans are a member of the South Division of the American Football Conference and are a relatively new team, first launched in 2002. While the team’s win-loss record leaves a lot to be desired, Houston fans still hold his allegiance to the team, as the original Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee (and became the Tennessee Titans) while the original Dallas Texans became the Baltimore Colts and later the Indianapolis Colts. True Texans still love to show their support for a “true Texan” team, fighting alongside the Cowboys to represent the Lone Star State. In 2007, the Texans’ sixth season was disappointing, as the team settled for a final score of 8-8. However, it should be noted that this was the first year the team had gone a season without losing in the franchise’s short history.
What awaits Houston fans in the upcoming season? First consider changes in team management. The team continues to follow head coach Gary Kubiak, who is returning for a third year, and will add Alex Gibbs as an assistant head coach. He will replace Mike Sherman, who left to become a head coach at Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Kyle Shanahan will take over as offensive coordinator. Owner Bob McNair and general manager Rick Smith are betting the status quo will continue to improve, as the Texans are a relatively new team and on the rise in win totals.
The team had some notable additions in preparation for the upcoming season, including linebacker Kevin Bentley, running back Chris Brown, quarterback Quinn Gray, cornerback Jacques Reeves, linebacker Chaun Thompson, center Chris Myers and safety Nick Ferguson. . However, the team also lost some key talent like Charlie Anderson, Michael Boulware, Danny Clark, Von Hutchins, Jerome Mathis, Jeb Putzier, Mike Flanagan, Steve McKinney, and Shawn Barber.
What about the draft picks of the season? The Houston Texans had seven picks in the draft; they traded their second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for quarterback Matt Schaub (who later replaced David Carr), and then gave their sixth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for center Chris Myers. Other notable draft signings included offensive tackle Duane Brown from Virginia Tech, cornerback Antwaun Molden from Western Kentucky, running back Steve Slaton from West Virginia, linebacker Xavier Adibi from Virginia Tech, defensive tackle Frank Okam from Texas, safety Dominique Barber of Minnesota and quarterback Alex Borde of Washington state.
Fans remain excited about the Texans’ prospects for next season, particularly as they’ve tried to build important positions at cornerback, running back, offensive tackle and strong safety. The team’s first preseason game will be against the Denver Broncos, while the first regular season opponents will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. Say what you will about the Texans, they are a very tough team considering their challenging schedule and the fact that they keep improving their scores year after year.