The Texans are on the rise and about to become an elite offense in 08’.  Head coach Gary Kubiak, and newly acquired assistant coach Alex Gibbs are two of the most successful offensive minds in the game and the key pieces to the offense are ready to blow up.  First, Lets look at what Kubiak has done since he got in Houston.

In two short years Kubiak has made an impact to the tune of over a 30% increase in yards per game and this past year has moved the Texans into the top half of the league in offense.  The fact that Houston was able to hulk up last year with extensive injuries to their three most talented players (Schaub, A. Johnson, Green) is impressive to say the least.  Let’s not forget the fact that Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for Denver when they dominated the league in rushing from the T.D. era all the way to 05’.  It’s a joke how many running backs have gone Bruce Banner while Kubiak was there.  Anyone, and I mean anyone, could have at ran for a thousand yards in that scheme.

This year the Texans have added Alex Gibbs as assistant coach; offensive line coach of the Broncos during the time Kubiak was OC.  He also was offensive line coach with the Falcons for three years.  They led the league in rushing all three seasons.  This year the Texans  also promoted Kyle Shanahan, Mike’s son, as offensive coordinator after Mike Sherman left. 

Adam Schefter of the NFL Network covered the Broncos for years for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.  He predicted on a Houston radio station that the Texans would rank in the top five in rushing just because of Gibbs.  That is quite a prediction but extremely encouraging none the less.

The Texans added some nice offensive pieces in the draft too.  Many experts and fans felt like they overreached on LT Duane Brown in the first round.  There were linemen ranked higher according by most standards, but they weren’t Kubiak, Gibbs, and Kyle Shanahan standards.  Brown was the fastest player at his position.  He is the type tackle that fits perfectly in Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme.  According to Texans beat writer John McClain, “Kubiak was so nervous waiting on Duane Brown that he was pacing back and forth and had to leave the room.”  The best part about Brown’s development will be that he goes against DE Mario Williams in practice.  Going up against one of the best everyday will speed his growth. 

The Texans also drafted Steve Slaton.  He is a hole-slasher, and if he bulks up and gets his legs stronger this preseason, I believe he could make an impact similar to what Dominick Davis (err Williams) did in his rookie campaign.  Ahman Green and Chris Brown can hardly be relied on to stay healthy for more than a handful of games (Fack them).

Fantasy Conclusions

Andre Johnson: If you look at the Broncos offense while Kubiak was the OC, there was another constant other than the running game, Rod Smith.  The #1 WR in Kubiak’s offense has always been a consistent fantasy producer.  The best part is, Andre is a superhuman, alienated version of Rod Smith.  Johnson is going to get balls his way, Johnson is going to produce and he made it happen with Sage and Schaub last year.  The days of drafting him and worrying about him actually performing up to expectations are over!  He missed a lot of games last year and had he knee scoped back in May so there is risk to selecting him, but the reward outweighs that risk, trust me.

Matt Schaub: He has an assortment of weapons to work with and although Kubiak loves to run the ball, this is the year the Texans will be a more pass-oriented team because of the broken identity in the run game.  In the first half of the season I expect Schaub to be top 5 in passing yards if he is healthy.  He was extremely efficient in September last year with over a 70% completion percentage.  In the second half of this coming season a probable forecast is that they will find the right recipe running the ball, allocating the play calling more to the run.  At the end of the season I would not be shocked to see Schaub approaching 4,000 yards and reaching 25 TDs if healthy.

Owen Daniels: This is a hard-working TE that knows how to get open.  He converted to TE from QB so you know he is an extremely smart player.  His catches have gone up every year and you should expect them to climb higher from the 63 he posted last year.  I believe that his TD forecast is conservative at 5.  The Texans should be in the red zone more this year and there is enough focus on Johnson and Walter to spring him open often in the end zone.  Don’t underestimate this former QB’s knowledge of passing lanes and ability to break off routes right where Schaub needs him to be.  

Kevin Walter: He is a WR very similar to Ed McCaffrey and after seeing what he’s done in preseason, I believe that he is very capable of McCaffrey-like numbers.  A conservative stat forecast for Walter is: 60/900/6, but watch out for a season similar to McCaffrey’s first true breakout season in 98’: 64/1053/10.  

Steve Slaton/ Chris Taylor/ Ahman Green/ Chris Brown: If you ask me there are only 2 names to worry about out of these 4, Slaton and Taylor.  Slaton is a huge late round sleeper pick.  Trusted football guru Mike Lombardi has been hyping him for a while now and he has delivered in preseason.  I have to say I am intrigued by his situation and infatuated with the fact his abilities have transferred to the NFL level.  Chris Taylor is a guy to look at because he could be the team’s TD vulture.

There are opportunities at all levels of your draft(s) to swipe at least one of these guys and it would be in your best interest to do so.  And always remember, “Fantasy is an art, not a science.”