The Houston Texans ran into a buzzsaw at the Georgia Dome earlier today.  Matt Schaub did his part as he completed 28 of 40 passes 317 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards (3.8 ypc).  Ron Dayne was the main man in the running game and he carried the ball 15 times for 62 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  Fullback Jameel Cook was also busy with 2 carries for 6 yards (3.0 ypc) and 6 receptions for 28 yards (4.7 avg).  WR Andre’ Davis had another outstanding game with 5 catches for 117 yards (23.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Kevin Walter (6 rec, 77 yards) and TE Owen Daniels (5 rec, 69 yards) also had good games on Sunday.  The Texans finished up with 87 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.0 ypc) and they completed 28 of 40 passes for 311 yards.

The Texans had big trouble trying to stop Joey Harrington and the Falcons’ passing attack.  The Falcons completed 23 of 29 passes for 214 yards against the Texans and they also rushed for 90 yards on 30 carries (3.0 ypc).  The Falcons had possession of the football for 34:12 of the football game and it’s hard to win when an opponent does that to you.

The Texans knew when they signed free agent running back Ahman Green that they were going to have to be careful not to work him too hard to keep him healthy.  That lasted a little more than two weeks as Green has been dinged up.  He’s still good when he plays though as he has carried the ball 35 times for 149 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD.  He also has caught 6 passes for 34 yards (5.7 avg).  Ron Dayne was sharing carries with Green but he was injured in week two.  He will likely be back this weekend and the Texans need him to pick up the pace.  He has carried the ball 31 times for 77 yards (2.5 ypc) so far this season.  Samkon Gado could be the wildcard as he’s the most athletically gifted of the running backs on the Texans roster.  He has only carried the ball 6 times for 12 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run, but look for him to be much more busy in the near future.

The Houston Texans look to get back on track against the Falcons.  The Texans are banged up though and the Falcons played their best game of the season last week against the Panthers, but they lost a close game.  Texans’ QB Matt Schaub probably has had this game circled on his calendar since the season started after his trade from the Falcons jst before the NFL Draft.  But, it’s very questionable as to whether he will be able to attack a Falcons’ secondary that is allowing opposing QBs a 102.1 QB Rating.  With Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones out for this game, look for the Texans to throw more short passes than usual.  TE Owen Daniels (13 rec, 128 yards) and Kevin Walter will likely be the short targets with Andre Davis the lone deep threat for the Texans against the Falcons.  Ahman Green is also hurting but the Texans hope to have Ron Dayne back as the Texans might be smart to attack the Falcons on the ground where they have had issues stopping the run.  The Falcons have allowed 142.3 yards rushing per game this season.

The Falcons will likely go with “Air Harrington” this week again as it worked well last week.  The Texans have issues on pass defense as they allow 234.7 yards passsing per game this season.  If the Falcons can keep DE Mario Williams and rookie DT Amobi O’Koye out of the backfield, Harrington should have success throwing the football.  Look for the Falcons to challenge the Texans deep with Roddy White (15, 237 yards), Michael Jenkins (9 rec, 104 yards) and Joe Horn (6 rec, 84 yards) and when the defense loosens up the coverage the Falcons will go short to TE Alge Crumpler (13 rec, 156 yards) and RBs Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood out of the backfield.  The Falcons will use the pass to open up the running game as the Falcons are only averaging 89.7 yards rushing per game.

PREDICTION:  The linemakers have this game about right as the Texans are a 3-point favorite.  That’s because this is a game that could go either way, but I’m picking the Falcons to win at home based on all of the injuries the Texans have on offense.

The Texans have lost starting center Seth McKinney for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.  The Texans are lucky to have Mike Flanagan as the backup center as he has a lot of starting experience.  He will start the rest of the season as long as he can stay healthy.  DT Cedric Killings had a vicious collision with WR Roy Hall of the Colts and he fractured the fourth cervical vertebra in his neck.  His season finishes with Killings only making 1 tackle.  It’s up in the air at this point as to whether or not that Killings will ever play football again.

Running back Ahman Green is “iffy” for this week’s game against the Falcons due to a knee injury.  Green has carried the ball 35 times for 149 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also has caught 6 passes for 34 yards (5.7 avg).  If Green can’t go Sunday the Texans will likely turn to Ron Dayne who sat out last week with a chest injury.  Dayne has carried the ball 31 times for 77 yards (2.5 ypc) and he also has caught 1 pass for 10 yards this season.  The Texans would be smart to give Green the week off as he’s had knee problems in the past.