The Houston Texans liked their depth at running back but they didn’t really have a main man to carry the load and that was the reason that they signed Ahman Green.  Green is a good runner and receiver so he will help the Texans offense a lot this season and because of the depth at running back they will try not to overwork him and keep him healthy.  Green played in 14 games (all starts) last season for the Packers and he carried the ball 266 times for 1,059 yards (4.0 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 46 passes for 373 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Green has quietly put together a great career in the NFL.  He has played in 126 games (91 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,871 times for 8.491 yards (4.5 ypc) with 54 TD runs.  He also has caught 350 passes for 2,710 yards (7.7 avg) with 14 TD catches.

Ron Dayne was the Texans leading rusher last season but that’s not saying much.  He played in 11 games (6 starts) and he carried the ball 151 times for 612 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 14 passes for 77 yards (5.5 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Dayne is a power back but he never has had the success in the Pros that he had in Wisconsin where he was one of the most feared running backs in the country.  He has played in 83 games (20 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 789 times for 2,949 yards (3.7 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He also has caught 40 passes for 228 yards (5.7 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Look for Dayne to do a lot of the heavy lifting in short yardage situations this season.

Wali Lundy was a rookie last season and he was a pleasant surprise.  He played in 14 games (8 starts) and he carried the ball 124 times for 476 yards (3.8 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 33 passes for 204 yards (6.2 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Lundy will battle Samkon Gado for the #3 running back job on the Texans.

Samkon Gado is a pure power running back that’s a little rough around the edges yet as a football player.  He played in 9 games last season (1 start) and he carried the ball 56 times for 210 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 17 passes for 85 yards (5.0 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  Gado has played two seasons in the NFL covering 17 games (6 starts) and he has carried the ball 199 times for 792 yards (4.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also has caught 27 passes for 162 yards (6.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Gado to push for more carries this season.

The Texans have placed reserve cornerback Roc Alexander on the Injured Reserve list thus ending his season as he has been slow to recover from a torn ACL.  He only played in 1 game last season for the Texans and he only made 1 tackle and returned 1 kickoff for 18 yards.  Alexander has played three seasons in his NFL career covering 27 games and he has made 25 tackles and has 2 fumble recoveries.  He has also returned 32 kickoffs for 665 yards (20.8 avg).  This isn’t much of a loss for the Texans.

The Texans have decided to give Darius Walker a second chance after losing Chris Taylor for the season.  But he will have to compete with Patrick Pass to get the job.  Pass played in 3 games last season for the Patriots and he carried the ball 6 times for 21 yards (3.5 ypc) and he caught 2 passes for 24 yards (12.0 avg).  Pass has been more of a fullback than a halfback but he also returns kicks which could give him an advantage on Walker.  He has played 7 seasons in the NFL covering 78 games.  In those games, Pass has carried the ball 128 times for 526 yards (4.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has caught 66 passes for 570 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also has returned 36 kickoffs for 745 yards (20.7 avg).

Chris Taylor has been placed on Injured Reserve thus ending his season because of recent knee surgery.  This doesn’t hurt the Texans as much as it hurts Taylor because they have a lot of depth at running back.  Still, Taylor was starting to emerge last season at the end of the year.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) and he carried the ball 28 times for 123 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg).  Hopefully Taylor can have a complete recovery and return to continue his NFL career in 2008.

I just checked out NBC’s SNF site, www.sundaynightisfootballnight.com, and they have a ton of cool stuff. Wallpaper, widgets, multimedia. You can look at Houston food, and facts about the team. They also have Madden, Michaels and Collinsworth talking about the Texan’s match ups. You should go see it, because the site is great!