I’m kind of surprised that the city of Houston didn’t have a parade for the Texans’ based on the fact that they had the first non-losing season in team history in 2007.  Kubiak led the Texans to a 8-8 record last season as the Texans were the only team in the AFC South not to make the playoffs.  That’s the big problem for Kubiak this season as the Colts, Jaguars and Titans all appear strong again.  In any other division in the NFL the Texans might be a playoff team but this is a tough draw.  Still, if everyone stays healthy the Texans could take a step forward and surprise the NFL.  Kubiak is now 14-18 (43.8%) in his two years in Houston and if the team can improve just two games like they did last season then they will likely join the playoff party in 2008.

The Texans gave a good all around effort and it paid off in a win as Kris Brown nailed a 25-yard field goal as time expired.  Matt Schaub made a brief appearance in the game on Saturday as he completed 4 of 5 passes for 29 yards.  Sage Rosenfels was the most impressive QB on Saturday Night for the Texans as he completed 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards with a TD pass (16 yards to David Anderson).  Shane Boyd finished up for the Texans at QB completing 4 of 5 passes for 25 yards.  Steve Slaton led the Texans in rushing against the Broncos with 37 yards on 11 carries (3.4 ypc).  Darius Walker was also effective with 29 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.6 ypc).  Chris Taylor did not have a good game for the Texans carrying the football 10 times for 19 yards (1.9 ypc).  WR David Anderson had a solid game against the Broncos with 6 receptions for 67yards (11.2 avg) with a TD grab.  The Texans finished up with 140 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.9 ypc) against the Broncos.  They also completed 18 of 25 passes for 179 yards in this game. 

Linebacker Zac Diles led a good team effort on defense with 6 tackles.  CB Jamar Fletcher also had a solid game with 3 tackles and a interception.  The Broncos finished up with 123 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.7 ypc).  They also completed 18 of 28 passes for 153 yards.  The Texans were happy to win the first preseason game as they try to build momentum heading into September.

The Texans have lost LT Ephraim Salaam for the next 3-4 weeks due to arthroscopic surgery on his knee.  The 32-year old Salaam started all 16 games for the Texans’ last season but he has lost his starting gig to rookie Duane Brown.  It will be interesting to see how clean Texans’ QBs are with a rookie watching their backs.

The Houston Texans have placed cornerback Jimmy Williams on Injured Reserve ending his season due to a knee injury.  Williams also didn’t play last season because of his bum knee which could signal the end of his playing days soon.  The 29-year old Williams has played in 80 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 134 tackles, has 1 sack, has defensed 10 passes and intercepted 3.  The Texans have re-signed CB Dexter Wynn to replace Williams in the defensive backfield.  He played in 8 games for the Texans last season and he made 6 tackles and defended 4 passes.  Don’t expect Wynn to get much playing time unless some DBs in front of him go down to injury.  Wynn has now played in 45 games in his NFL career and he has made 51 tackles, has 1 sack and he has defensed 13 passes.

The Houston Texans have signed running back Mike Bell as the Denver pipeline to Houston continues.  Bell is 6′0″, 225 pounds and he was lining up at fullback for Denver which shows that he runs with power.  Bell played in only 5 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last season and he carried the ball 6 times for 3 yards (0.5 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards last season.  Look for Bell to get a real chance to not only win a job with the Texans but to earn a lot of carries.  Bell has now played in 20 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 163 times for 680 yards (4.2 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Bell has also caught 21 passes for 165 yards (7.9 avg) in his career.  This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Texans as Bell is a talented player.

UPDATE:  Wow, it didn’t take long for the Texans to get rid of Mike Bell as they have waived him.   He came to the Texans out of shape and that didn’t sit too well with head coach Mike Kubiak.