The Texans have dealt 27-year old LB Demeco Ryans and a 3rd round pick to the Eagles for a 3rd and 4th round pick.  Ryans played in 16 games for the Texans last year and he had 64 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 4 passes defensed.  He played in 86 games in his first six years in the NFL and he had 637 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 32 tackles for a loss, 6 forced fumbles, 8 fumble recoveries, 25 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The exchange of third round picks with the Eagles moves the Texans up 12 spots in the round.

The Texans have re-signed 30-year old center Chris Myers to a 4-year, $25 million dollar deal.  Myers played in 16 games (all starts) for the Texans last year.  He has now played in 64 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Texans.  Myers is the guy who makes the Texans’ zone blocking scheme work, so it was a great move to bring him back.

The Texans have released 28-year old fullback Lawrence Vickers.  Vickers played in 14 games for the Texans last year and he carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards.  He also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) and he had 2 tackles.  Vickers has played in 90 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 34 times for 87 yards (2.6 ypc).  He also has caught 45 passes for 300 yards (6.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he has 12 tackles.  Vickers should have no problem finding a new job as he is a good lead blocker and he can help out on special teams.

The Texans have released 28-year old QB Matt Leinart.  Leinart played in 2 games for the Texans last year and he completed 10 of 13 passes (76.9%) for 57 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (110.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard for the Texans.  Leinart has now played in 31 games (18 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 350 of 608 (57.6%) passes for 3,950 yards with 15 TD passes and 20 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  Leinart also carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his NFL career.  Leinart is 8-10 (44.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Leinart broke his collar bone last year and it essentially led to his release as T.J. Yates took his job as the Texans’ #2 QB.

The Texans have released 28-year old OT Eric Winston.  Winston played in 16 games (all starts) for the Texans last year.  He played in 92 games (87 starts) in his six years with the Texans.  The Texans are going to have to address the offensive line in free agency or the draft now with Winston hitting free agency.

24-year old punter Brett Hartmann has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.  Hartmann played in 12 games as a rookie for the Texans last year and he punted the ball 58 times for 2,573 yards (44.4 avg).  He also had 7 touchbacks (12.1%) and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 15 times (25.9%).  The Texans are going to have to sign a new punter in the off-season to start the 2012 season with Hartmann out the first four weeks.

The Houston Texans have re-signed 26-year old long snapper Jon Weeks.  Weeks played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Texans last year.  He has now played in 32 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Texans.  It was smart of the Texans to bring back Weeks for 2012 as long snappers can cost you a game if you have a bad one.  I very rarely hear Weeks’ name mentioned during Texans’ games and that is a good thing.

The Texans have re-signed 25-year old RB Arian Foster.  Foster played in 13 games for the Texans last year and he carried the ball 278 times for 1,224 yards (4.4 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 53 passes for 617 yards (11.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Foster has now played in 35 games in his first three years with the Texans and he has carried the ball 659 times for 3,097 yards (4.7 ypc) with 29 TD runs.  He has also caught 127 passes for 1,314 yards (10.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far in his time with the Texans.  This was a smart move for the Texans as Arian Foster and Ben Tate are going to continue to give them a dynamic running game.

The Texans pretty much gave the game away today due to shoddy passing offensively and poor special teams play. T.J. Yates had a game to forget as he completed 17 of 35 passes for 184 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs. Arian Foster had another outstanding game as he rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also caught 4 passes for 22 yards (5.5 avg) in this game. Andre Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Texans with 8 grabs for 111 yards (13.9 avg) today. The Texans finished up with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 35 passes (48.6%) for 184 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:40.

The defense was simply awesome for the Texans in this game. They sacked Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco five times in this game. DE J.J. Watt (12 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits) and LB Brian Cushing (11 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Texans in this game. Safety Danieal Manning also had a great game with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 4 kickoff returns for 133 yards (33.3 avg)). Rookie OLB Brooks Reed was living in the Ravens’ backfield as he had 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits. The Ravens finished up with 87 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 27 passes (51.9%) for 140 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:20.

Jacoby Jones really hurt the Texans bad in this game as he returned 6 punts for 4 yards (0.7 avg). He also fumbled twice, losing one of them that eventually resulted in the Ravens’ first TD of the game.

The Texans played hard on defense in this game and Arian Foster was incredible, but it just wasn’t enough to extend their season. That being said, it was still the best year in the history of the Houston Texans.

The Texans got an impressive win over the Bengals last weekend in Houston. Playing the Ravens in Baltimore tomorrow is a whole different animal. The Texans lost against the Ravens 29-14 in week #6 against the Ravens in Baltimore. The Ravens and Texans mirror each other in style as they both like to run the ball offensively and play solid D. This is going to be a slobberknocker in Baltimore tomorrow afternoon. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball: The Texans are in for battle in this game. They are going to want to run the ball a lot in this game, but, Arian Foster and Ben Tate are going to have to fight for every yard they get against a very stout front seven of the Ravens. One way to loosen up the front seven of the Ravens a little bit is to take some shots down the field and make them pay for overplaying the run. In worked in their first playoff game, as Andre Johnson caught a 40-yard TD pass against the Bengals. The key to having time to throw the ball for the Texans will be keeping OLB Terrell Suggs out of their backfield. Yates will also throw some shorter passes to Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels in this game. I have a feeling that the Texans are going to run the ball a lot better than they did in the first meeting between these two teams.

When the Ravens have the ball: The key to beating the Ravens is to stop RB Ray Rice and force Joe Flacco to beat you with his right arm. This is easier said than done as Rice had 161 total yards against the Texans the first time around. The Texans have an outstanding pass rush and secondary, so they are more than capable of making Joe Flacco screw up. He has definitely not been at his best in big games, so the Texans are going to be coming after him all day long. That being said, Flacco has a nice set of targets in the passing game in WR Torrey Smith, WR Anquan Boldin, TE Dennis Pitta and TE Ed Dickson.

PREDICTION: RAVENS 20, TEXANS 16