Week 1 Preview

 

Meet the Texans

The Houston Texans come off an embarrassing 2005 season in which they lost their first six games and finished 2-14. They were lucky to win any games at all, as their defense gave up a league-worst 26.9 points per game and David Carr was sacked 68 times, the third worst total in NFL history (Carr holds the record, 76 sacks in ’02, followed by our own Randall Cunningham’s 72 in ’86). The Texans’ lone bright spot was rookie kick returner Jerome Mathis, whose two touchdowns and 28.6 yard return average earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro honors. The season culminated with the most anticipated game in Texans history, the “Bush Bowl” against 3-12 San Francisco on New Year’s Day. By losing to the Niners, Houston secured the first overall pick in the draft and thus the right to draft Reggie Bush.

 

Though it may seem tough to match the embarrassment of a 2-14 season, the Texans truly outdid themselves this past offseason. The night before the draft, word got out that Houston was passing on Bush, arguably the most talented and marketable prospect in recent memory, to draft defensive end Mario Williams. The Texans’ best justification was that they wanted Williams to go after Peyton Manning, but America didn’t buy it. Mario has already drawn comparisons to Sam Bowie as one of the biggest draft day debacles in sports history. As a final slap in the fans’ faces (yes, the Texans have fans), Houston fired GM Charlie Casserly after he drafted Mario.

 

Even without Bush, the Texans should improve by at least two or three wins this year. Their biggest offseason addition was head coach and Houston native Gary Kubiak, who led the Denver Broncos’ offense from 1995-2005. During his tenure, the Broncos accumulated more touchdowns, rushing yards, and total yards than any other team. Kubiak brought in former Packer head coach Mike Sherman as his assistant, as well as his quarterbacks coach from Denver, Troy Calhoun, to be his offensive coordinator. One key holdover from the Dom Capers administration is special teams coordinator Joe Marciano, who has led a consistent, reliable unit since the team’s inception.

 

Houston added some depth to their receiving corps with veteran Eric Moulds, who should take some pressure off of Andre Johnson, as well as tight end Jeb Putzier, who was one of the NFL’s top ten receiving tight ends of the last two years under Kubiak’s watch. The much-beleaguered offensive line beefed up with the addition of one-time Pro Bowler Mike Flanagan at center and two new tackles, rookie Charles Spencer (3^rd-round pick from Pittsburgh) and another former Kubiak student, Ephraim Salaam.

 

All in all, the Texan offense looked to be in good shape until last week, when the team announced that star running back Domanick Davis would miss the entire season with a knee injury. That left them with two rookies and second-year Vernand Morency in contention for the job. On Sunday, they signed former Heisman winner (and Bronco) Ron Dayne to add some veteran presence as well as some size (5’10”, 245) to the backfield.

 

On the other side of the ball, the Texans strength lies in their defensive ends and linebackers. Everyone knows about Mario, but the Texans consider their biggest free agent signing to be left end Anthony Weaver. Formerly with the Ravens, Weaver is a young run-stopper who has been a durable part of the Baltimore defense and represents a big upgrade for the Texans. The linebackers feature returnee Shantee Orr, the only real defensive standout in 2005, at weakside linebacker and rookie DeMeco Ryans at middle linebacker, who led the team in tackles this preseason.

 

The Eagles and Texans have only met once. The Eagles won 35-17 at Veterans Stadium in 2002, the Texans’ expansion year.

 

What to watch for on Sunday

The Eagles begin a ridiculously easy stretch in which their first four non-division opponents had a combined record of 13-51 last year. This is a very winnable game as long as the Eagles do a few things right.

 

When the Eagles have the ball

Everyone who watches this game will be putting Mario Williams on trial, but the Eagles cannot ignore Weaver, who will also see time at tackle. It will be fun to watch the young Weaver (5^th year), who will try to put pressure on McNabb, to match up against the Eagles’ iron man Jon Runyan. Meanwhile, Mario will go against William “don’t call me Tra” Thomas.

 

Though Weaver may be a great run-stopper, the bigger question is how often the Eagles will run the ball. With Brian Westbrook seeing his first action in a few weeks, we should see plenty of a healthy Correll Buckhalter as well. The Eagles should not have a problem establishing their running game as long as they keep Shantee Orr (7 sacks last year) and the Texan linebackers in check. Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg have promised not to get carried away with the passing game as Reid did last year, but we should see how the recently acquired Donte Stallworth fits in to their game plan.

 

P.S. If you’re really eagle-eyed, you’ll notice number 94 on the Texans is none other than former Eagle defensive end N.D. Kalu.

 

When the Texans have the ball

The biggest matchup of the game comes here in the trenches, with two units that were questionable last year going head-to-head. The challenge for Eagles interior linemen Darwin Walker and Mike Patterson will be dealing with Texans newcomer Mike Flanagan. A lifelong Packer, Flanagan centered a Green Bay line that allowed just 27 sacks (5^th in NFL) and helped rookie Samkon Gado deliver three 100-yard performances, including one against the Eagles. On the ends, the Eagles’ fate is in their hands. New Eagle Darren Howard should have a decided advantage against rookie Charles Spencer, while Eagles fans hope Jevon Kearse can step up his game this year after putting up a respectable but disappointing 7.5 sacks in 2004 and 2005. This is the perfect place to start, as The Freak will be matched up against longtime Texan Zach Weigert, and in double tight end packages, Putzier.

 

Kubiak’s Bronco teams had a history of making average running backs look great, thanks in large part to a solid line. Rookie Wali Lundy (6^th round, Virginia) will get the start, but the Eagles should expect to see some of Morency and Dayne as well. The Eagles need to test these backs by getting to David Carr and taking away the passing game; otherwise, the Texans will be able to run circles around Philly.

 

Speaking of Carr, the Texans are one of several teams who have opted to keep only two quarterbacks on their active roster. If anything happens to David Carr, everything will fall on the shoulders of Sage Rosenfels, who backed up Eagles third-stringer A.J. Feeley in Miami the last two years. Rosenfels did lead two fourth-quarter comebacks last year, but was also shut out by Cleveland in his only start. Don’t expect much from him if Carr goes down.

 

Special Teams

The Eagles’ kicking game is in great shape. David Akers is back in top form after a perfect preseason, going 5/5 from beyond 40 yards and 2/2 past 50. Dirk Johnson gives the Eagles consistency at punter. As a bonus, the Eagles will not see star kick returner Jerome Mathis this week due to injury.

 

Reno Mahe enters his first full season as the Eagles’ punt returner. It will be interesting to see if he can become an elite return man after leading the league in punt return average last season with a minimal number of returns.

 

Prediction: Eagles 23, Texans 13

 

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