The Texans really pushed the Cowboys around on Saturday Night.  Matt Schaub was efficient completing 18 of 29 passes for 183 yards with 1 TD pass.  Dan Orlovsky finished up the game by completing 3 of 4 passes for 25 yards.  Arian Foster had a outstanding game against the Cowboys with 110 yards rushing on 18 carries (6.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards (4.0 avg) in this game.  Jeremiah Johnson pitched in with 53 yards rushing on 9 carries (5.9 ypc) in this game.  WR Andre Johnson (7 rec, 79 yards) and Jacoby Jones (5 rec, 63 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Texans.  The Texans finished up with 173 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) and 208 yards passing in this game as they had possession of the ball for 35:27.

Safety Bernard Pollard (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Glover Quin (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit led the way for the Texans’ D in this game.  Rookie CB Kareem Jackson only had 1 tackle but he picked off a Tony Romo pass and returned it 64 yards for a TD.  LB Demeco Ryans pitched in with 1 tackle and 1 fumble recovery in this game.  The Cowboys finished up with only 13 yards rushing (1.1 ypc) and 216 yards passing in this game.  The Texans are now 1-2 on the pre-season.

The Texans used a sixth round pick last April on Trindon Holliday with the idea that he would replace Jacoby Jones on punt returns and Andre Davis on kickoff returns so that they could both concentrate on offense.  Well, even the best laid plans don’t come to fruition all of the time and this is one of those cases.  Holliday will undergo surgery today to repair ligament damage in his right thumb which will cause him to miss most if not all of his rookie season.  Holliday returned 3 punts for 1 yard (0.3 avg) and 5 kickoffs for 114 yards (22.8 avg) during the pre-season for the Texans.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Texans have placed Trindon Holliday on the Injured Reserve List ending his rookie season.

The Texans got totally destroyed Saturday Night in the Bayou by the Saints.  Matt Schaub completed 8 of 10 passes for 117 yards on Saturday Night.  Dan Orlovsky looked a lot better in this game as he completed 14 of 19 passes for 140 yards with 1 TD pass.  Arian Foster led the way on the ground for the Texans in this game with 28 yards rushing on six carries (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 15 yards.  Steve Slaton pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 5 carries (3.8 ypc) last Saturday Night.  WR David Anderson (3 rec, 61 yards) and TEs Joel Dreessen (3 rec, 55 yards) and rookie Garrett Graham (3 rec, 32 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Texans.  The Texans finished up with 48 yards rushing (3.4 ypc) and 243 yards passing despite only having possession of the football for 20:00 minutes in this game.

The Texans’ D got absolutely pushed around by the Saints in this game.  The Saints finished up with 198 yards rushing (4.3 ypc) and 211 passing yards in this game.  Safeties Eugene Wilson (11 tackles) and Bernard Pollard (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Texans’ D in this game.  CB Glover Quin (7 tackles) and linebackers Brian Cushing (7 tackles) & Kevin Bentley (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) also helped out on D. 

The Texans have placed defensive lineman Tim Bulman on the Injured Reserve List with a shoulder injury.  Bulman played in 15 games (1 start) for the Texans last season and he had 18 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 39 games (2 starts) in five years in the NFL and he has 45 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 passes defensed.  The Texans likely won’t miss Bulman too much as he was pretty far down the depth chart for 2010.

The Texans have lost rookie 2nd round pick Ben Tate for the season as he will undergo ankle surgery tomorrow.  Tate carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 5 yards in the Texans’ pre-season opener.  It’s back to the drawing board for the Texans as they will be leaning on Arian Foster and Steve Slaton in the running game once again in 2010.

The Texans looked pretty decent last night as the Cardinals scored all 19 of their points in the 4th quarter when the scrubs were on the field.  Matt Schaub looked good last night as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 78 yards with 1 TD pass.  Dan Orlovsky also looked decent as he completed 12 of 21 passes for 129 yards.  John David Booty finished up the game at QB for the Texans last night by completing 8 of 12 passes for 59 yards.  Jeremiah Johnson led the way for the Texans last night with 33 yards rushing on 5 carries (6.6 ypc).  Arian Foster was also very solid with 4 carries for 31 yards (7.8 ypc) in this game.  Steve Slaton didn’t find much running room though as he finished up with 22 yards on 10 carries (2.2 ypc).  Andre Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Texans last night with 3 grabs for 59 yards (one of his catches went for a 44-yard TD).  WRs Jacoby Jones (5 rec, 39 yards) and rookie Dorin Dickerson (3 rec, 38 yards) also pitched for the Texans in the passing game.  The Texans finished up with 98 yards rushing (3.6 ypc) and 258 passing last night.

The D was outstanding for the first three quarters last night for the Texans.  LB Darryl Sharpton led the way for the Texans last night with 7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT.  DE Mario Williams also had a good game finishing with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  The Cardinals finished up with 68 yards rushing (3.2 ypc) and 204 passing yards last night.

31-year old Andre’ Davis would probably return kickoffs if the season started today but he’ll have to hold off Jacoby Jones and rookie Trindon Holliday to keep the job.  Davis played in 14 games for the Texans last season and he returned 33 kickoffs for 782 yards (23.7 avg).  He has now played in 104 games in his NFL career and he has returned 205 kickoffs for 4,821 yards (23.5 avg) with 4 TD returns.  Davis is fast and he gets up the field usually running north and south.

26-year old Jacoby Jones is super fast with a lot of moves in the open field.  He played in 14 games for the Texans last season and he returned 24 kickoffs for 638 yards (26.6 avg) with 1 TD return.  Jones has now played in 44 games in his NFL career and he has returned 41 kickoffs for 996 yards (24.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  The Texans though want to limit how much they use Jones on special teams this year because he’s going to be the #3 WR.

That could be where rookie 6th round pick Trindon Holliday comes in.  He has sprinters speed as he can go the distance on any return.  But he’s only 5’5″, 159 pounds so it’s up in the air as to whether he can handle the beating he will take in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TEXANS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  A

The Houston Texans really need this unit to improve it’s play in 2010.  It all starts at LT with Duane Brown who has yet to live up to his potential.  He is a good athlete but he’s not a good pass protector yet which gets Matt Schaub hit more than he should.  Brown needs to improve in that area of his game, pronto!  LG Kasey Studdard is a tad fiesty especially in the running game.  Chris Myers will start at center and he’s a good fit in the zone blocking scheme as he can hit moving targets.  Antoine Caldwell will likely beat out Matt Brisiel to start at RG in 2010.  Caldwell is a smart player who always seems to be in the right place at the right time.  LT Eric Winston is the best all around player on the Texans’ line as he is a good run and pass blocker.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TEXANS O-LINE in 2010:  C

48-year old head coach Gary Kubiak got his team really close to making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season.  The Texans finished up 9-7 (56.3%) in 2009.  In four years in charge of the Texans, Kubiak is 31-33 (48.4%) during the regular season.  The Texans will need the defense to step up in 2010 just like the offense did in 2009.  The AFC South is a very tough division but it would be upsetting if the Texans didn’t make the playoffs in 2010.

33-year old kickers Josh Brown and Neil Rackers are going to duke it out during training camp and the pre-season for the placekicker job in 2010.  Brown was awful last season for the Texans.  He played in all 16 games for the Texans last season connecting on only 21 of 33 field goals (65.6%).  He also made 43 of 44 extra points last season as he finished up with 106 points.  Brown has now played in 176 games in his NFL career and he has made 252 of 326 field goals (77.3%).  He has also made 347 of 354 extra points as he has scored 1,103 points in his NFL career.  Despite playing with the Texans for a while he does not appear to have an edge over Rackers heading into training camp.

Neil Rackers played in 14 games for the Cardinals last season and he was very accurate.  Rackers made 16 of 17 field goals (94.1%) and 37 of 38 extra points good for 85 points.  Rackers has now played in 148 games in his NFL career and he has made 205 of 262 field goals (78.2%).  He has also connected on 290 of 295 extra points so he has scored 905 points in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TEXANS KICKERS in 2010:  C+