The Texans have signed 30-year old outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.  Colvin played in 11 games last season for the Patriots and he finished up with 27 tackles, he defensed 2 passes, had 4 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and intercepted 1 pass.  Colvin will likely play on all pass rushing downs for the Texans next season and he will likely add some thump to the defense.  Colvin has now played in 117 games in his NFL career and he has made 365 tackles, has defensed 28 passes, has 52.5 sacks, forced 17 fumbles and he has intercepted 3 passes.  This was a good move for the Texans.

The Texans appear to have a lot of depth at running back but they don’t appear to have a running back that can handle a full workload in 2008.  It would appear that Ahman Green would get the first chance to start for the Texans in 2008 but he didn’t appear to have much left in the tank last season before he was injured.  Green played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 70 times for 260 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 14 passes for 123 yards (8.8 avg) last year.  Green might not have much tread left on his tires but he has had a very productive career.  Green has now played in 132 games (96 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,941 times for 8,751 yards (4.5 ypc) with 56 TD runs.  He has also caught 364 passes for 2,833 yards (7.8 avg) with 14 TD grabs.

Chris Brown was signed in the off season as a free agent to compete with Green for the starting job at RB.  He also has huge issues with durability as he likes to run upright leaving himself open to the big hit.  That’s not to say that he’s not a talented back because he is, I just doubt he can play a whole 16 game schedule without going down to injury at some point.  Brown played in 12 games (1 start) last season for the Titans and he carried the ball 102 times for 462 yards (4.5 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 19 passes for 128 yards (6.7 avg).  Look for Brown to post solid season totals in 2008 as long as he can stay in one piece.  Brown has now played in 54 games (29 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 643 times for 2,757 yards (4.3 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  He has also caught 74 passes for 667 yards (9.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Darius Walker was a undrafted rookie last season who was a pleasant surprise late in the season for the Texans.  His style appears to fit the offense well and he should push Green and Brown for playing time.  Walker played in 4 games (2 starts) for the Texans last season as a rookie and he carried the ball 58 times for 264 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 13 passes for 81 yards (6.2 avg).  Look for Walker to improve on those numbers in 2008 with Green and Brown so prone to injury ahead of him on the depth chart.

Chris Taylor did not play last season due to injury but he has flashed potential in limited playing time in the past for the Texans.  He has played in 4 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has 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).  He has the potential to possibly play a bigger role than anyone expects this season for the Texans as long as he can stay healthy.

Rookie Steve Slaton might be on the small side but that didn’t stop him at West Virginia.  The rookie averaged 1,347.3 yards rushing and 16.7 rushing TDs in his 3 years at West Virginia.  He also averaged 21.7 receptions, 268.3 receiving yards and 1.7 TDs receiving per season.  Slaton is a tough guy and if he can take the pounding he could be a nice surprise for the Texans’ offense in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D+

The Texans have waived QB Quinn Gray after he showed up out of shape to Training Camp and he had trouble picking up the Texans’ playbook.  With him being cut this early he probably will have a good chance to hook on with another team as he did play pretty well for the Jaguars last season.  Rookie Alex Brink will probably be the #3 QB for the Texans this season.

The Houston Texans go three deep in quality QBs and that should serve them well this season.  Matt Schaub is the starting QB and he played pretty well in his first season as an NFL starter.  He played in 11 games (all starts) for the Texans last season and he completed 192 of 289 passes (66.4%) for 2,241 yards with 9 TD passes and 9 interceptions (87.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 52 yards (3.1 ypc).  Schaub has everything you need to be successful in the NFL as his arm in strong enough to make every throw and he’s just mobile enough to buy time in the pocket.  But, the Texans need to keep Schaub upright and that was a problem last season as he missed 5 games due to injury.  Schaub has now played in 49 games (13 start) in his NFL career and he has completed 276 of 450 passes (61.3%) for 3,274 yards with 15 TD passes and 15 interceptions (80.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 41 times for 175 yards (4.3 ypc).

Sage Rosenfels has bounced around the league for a while now but he played just as well as Schaub did last season when he replaced him due to injury.  Rosenfels can make all of the throws needed to start in the NFL but he has problems with trying to fit the ball in tight spaces resulting in frequent interceptions.  Rosenfels played in 9 games (5 starts) for the Texans last season and he completed 154 of 240 passes (64.2%) for 1,684 yards with 15 TD passes and 12 interceptions (84.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 21 times for 51 yards (2.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Texans feel confident that they would just keep rolling along if Rosenfels in forced into duty this season.  Rosenfels has now played in 26 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 235 of 388 passes (60.6%) for 2,725 yards with 24 TD passes and 19 interceptions (82.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 34 times for 61 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.

The Texans couldn’t believe that #3 man Quinn Gray was willing to sign with them for less than $700,000 bucks, so the Texans jumped at the chance to steal him from the rival Jaguars.  Gray is a hot and cold passer as sometimes he can’t miss while other times he couldn’t throw the football in the ocean from the beach.  But his arm is strong enough to get the job done and he’s mobile often buying himself time in the pocket.  Gray played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he completed 80 of 144 passes (55.6%) for 986 yards with 10 TD passes and 5 interceptions (85.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 19 times for 57 yards (3.0 ypc).  Last season was the first year that Gray got into the game when it wasn’t mop up time so he proved he can handle the NFL as a starter.  Gray has now played in 11 games (4 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 101 of 180 passes (56.1%) for 1,252 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 interceptions.  He has also carried the ball 24 times for 84 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

The Texans picked Alex Brink of Washington State in the 7th round of this year’s NFL Draft and he looks ticketed for the practice squad unless one of the QBs ahead of him gets injured.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Alex Brink is a smart QB and that is his biggest asset as his arm and mobility are average at best.  Brink is 6’3″, 215 pounds but he is slow (5.3 40).  Brink is the all-time leader in passing yards at Washington State with 10,913 yards with 76 TD passes and that’s saying something because that’s where Drew Bledsoe went to school.  Brink will likely land on the practice squad unless the Texans’ have injuries to their QBs as Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels and Quinn Gray will all be ahead of Brink on the depth chart.

Dominique Barber is a big safety at 6’0″, 211 pounds and he brings muscle against the running game, but, he’s not the fastest safety around (4.6 40) and his hands aren’t very dependable.  Barber projects as a strong safety in the pros.  He played in 46 games (25 starts) at Minnesota and he made 191 tackles, broke up 17 passes, had 4 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles.  Barber will be a backup and special teams player for the Texans.

The Texans were happy to see DT Frank Okam available to them in the 5th round.  He is a big guy at 6’4″, 319 pounds but he often takes plays off looking like he’s content to dance with offensive linemen.  But, if the Texans get motivate him he could really make an impact inside as he often played to the level of the team he was playing against.  Okam played in 50 games (39 starts) at Texas and he finished with 160 tackles, had 28 tackles for a loss, had 10 sacks, batted down 12 passes, forced a fumble and recovered 5 fumbles.  This was a nice pick for the Texans.

Xavier Adibi is 6’1″, 220 pounds so he has some trouble against power running teams but he’s very fast running a 4.63 40.  He can cover RBs and TEs effectively in the passing game but he’s not much of a blitzer.  Adibi played in 47 games (40 starts) at Virginia Tech and he made 291 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, had 11 sacks, broke up 18 passes and had 8 interceptions.  Getting Adibi in the 4th round was a steal for the Texans as he was projected to go as high as the 2nd round.  He will give the rebuilding Texans’ defense another very solid athlete and he will likely be starting soon.

Steve Slaton is just a little guy at 5’10″, 185 pounds but he’s lightning fast running a 4.45 40.  Some question his toughness between the tackles but he is a runner that can score a TD on any play.  Slaton played in 36 games (33 starts) at West Virginia and he carried the ball 664 times for 4,042 yards (6.1 ypc) with 50 TD runs.  He also has caught 65 passes for 805 yards (12.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Look for Slaton to initially be the third down back for the Texans but he could be much more in the future as he is an incredible athlete.