The Bullpen: Houston Texans Franchise (Madden 25)

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Texans fall to Saints

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Backup RB race nears finish line



Determining the third back behind Arian Foster and Ben Tate is a top priority heading into roster cuts this week. With the Texans final preseason game just days away, time is running out for the backups to secure a roster spot. Fourth-year veteran Deji Karim was first off the bench after Tate in Sunday’s 31-23 loss to the Saints.

“I would say Deji, we got a pretty good look at last night,” head coach Gary Kubiak said. “D.J. (RB Dennis Johnson) got a little bit. (RB) Cierre (Wood) did not get much at all. That’s something I really want to work through and try to sort out.”


The Texans passing game has eclipsed the run game so far this preseason. Through the first three preseason games, the Texans rushed for 386 yards for 2 touchdowns and passed for 1,001 yards and six scores. Not having success on the ground makes the backup running back situation murky.

“Yeah, I think they have not gotten the carries that you’d like them to get,” Kubiak said. “We’ve been trying to figure out our wide receiver situation.

Karim leads the team in preseason rushing with 21 carries for 112 yards. Undrafted free agents Cierre Wood and Dennis Johnson each have 16 carries. Wood has rushed for 84 yards while Johnson has averaged just 3.1 yards per carry with 50 yards.

According to Kubiak, the key will be who can contribute on special teams. Johnson has returned 7 punts, averaging 9.9 yards per return and 3 kickoffs for 75 yards. Karim, who is a regular on special teams returns in practice, has just one kickoff return for 27 yards this preseason.

“Now, watching it transfer from the practice field to the game, if we don’t get to see it like we’d like to in the preseason, we’ve got to sort through as coaches,” Kubiak said of the final roster decisions. “But it’s always going to go back to special teams. It always does.”

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Texans trim roster from 90 to 75



The Houston Texans have released the following players:

FB Zach Boren
ILB Elliot Coffey
G Bryan Collins
ILB Ja'Gared Davis
RB Ray Graham
CB Travis Howard
QB Stephen McGee
T Nick Mondek
DE Earl Okine
TE Adam Schiltz
P Andrew Shapiro

The Houston Texans have declared the following players Waived/Injured:

NT David Hunter
WR Mike Smith

The Houston Texans have placed the following player on the Reserve/Injured List:

WR Alec Lemon

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Here are five things to watch when the Texans play the Cowboys in the preseason finale on Thursday evening at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

1. A Case for Keenum- Second-year quarterback Case Keenum will start for the first time as a Texan, and for the first time since he led the University of Houston to a 30-14 triumph in Dallas' Ticket City Bowl on January 2 of 2012. Through the first three games of the preseason Keenum, like backup T.J. Yates, has been crsip and efficient in leading the offense.

He's completed 34-of-50 passes for 354 yards and a pair of touchdowns in August, and hasn't thrown an interception. He'll play the first half while Yates will handle the offense after the intermission. It'll be tough to unseat Yates as Matt Schaub's backup, because the third-year pro has gone 27-of-39 for 308 yards, three touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 118.3. Still, sometimes a sterling performance in the final preseason game can shuffle the proverbial deck, according to head coach Gary Kubiak.

"There’s usually eight-to-10 guys that make the football team on this game," Kubiak said on Tuesday. "It’s interesting because it’s very close. They go out there and they’re going to get to play a ton of snaps, and they’ll separate themselves. They’ll show you.”

Keenum grew up in Abilene, Texas, so Thursday's game has him excited in more ways than one.

“That’s the closest I’ll ever play to my hometown," Keenum said. "That’s a really good opportunity for me, to go prepare as a starter and start the game. I know it’s a short week, but we’ll cram it in and get it going. We’ll go out there and see what happens.”

2. Peek at Posey-Wide receiver DeVier Posey will see his first bit of game action since exiting the playoff loss at New England with an achilles injury. He returned to practice with his teammates last week, after spending all of training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

"It’ll probably be a brief appearance, but he needs to just get out there and get his feet wet so to speak," Kubiak said. “He’ll probably play about 12 plays. Get hit. Get tackled. All that confidence he’s been working on, just make sure he’s ready to go."

Seeing how Posey holds up, and how prosperous he can be in the limited action will give Kubiak and the Texans another gauge on how the receiving corps will look for 2013.

3. Outside crowd- The outside linebacker spot is crowded behind starters Brooks Reed and Whitney Mercilus. Because the latter had a hamstring injury and missed the first three preseason contests, and won't play against the Cowboys either, the club called upon the likes of undrafted rookies Justin Tuggle and Willie Jefferson to start. Rookie draft picks Sam Montgomery and Trevardo Williams also saw some action, in addition to third-year pro Bryan Braman.

With the 53-man roster cut looming on Saturday, the foursome of Montgomery, Williams, Tuggle and Jefferson might be playing for their respective jobs against Dallas. In all, that quartet has a combined three sacks.

4. Running back backups- After Arian Foster and Ben Tate, it's looked like fourth-year vet Deji Karimlocked up the third spot. Undrafted rookie Ray Graham was cut on Tuesday, which means fellow undrafted rookies Cierre Wood and Dennis Johnson might suit up for the final time as Texans.

Wood was a bright spot in the first preseason game at Minnesota, and has gone for 5.3 yards a pop on 16 carries. Johnson, meanwhile, has rushed 16 times for 50 yards, but has seen a lot of action as a punt and kickoff returner. Both are likely longshots to make the roster, but depending on how they play against the Cowboys, they might earn a spot on the practice squad.


5. Look at Lechler- In Tuesday's roster trimdown from 90 to 75 players, the Texans discarded backup punter Andrew Shapiro. The undrafted rookie punted 11 times for a respectable 42.6 yard average. But All-Pro Shane Lechler blasted a pair of punts Sunday against the Saints.

Unless the Texans' offense goes for it, or Kubiak decides to attempt field goals, Lechler will get some more work on 4th down against Dallas.

His two punts versus New Orleans were masterful. The first pinned the Saints at their own 2-yard line, and the second was a 60-yarder that flipped field position for the Texans.

After the thrid preseason game, Lechler said he felt ready, but wouldn't mind punting again on Thursday.

"You can’t emulate the same things in the practice field as you can on game day," Lechler said. "So it felt good, but one or two more probably wouldn’t hurt me.”

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Matchup Preview | August 29, 2013
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Houston Texans (2-1)		Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
Game Notes The Houston Texans take on the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason finale.

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Starters sitting vs. Cowboys



The Texans are resting their starters for Thursday night's preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.

On offense, the following will start for Houston:

WR Keshawn Martin
LT Ryan Harris
LG David Quessenberry
C Alex Kupper
RG Cody White
RT Andrew Gardner
TE Ryan Griffin
WR Lestar Jean
QB Case Keenum
FB Tyler Clutts
RB Dennis Johnson

On defense, the following will start:

DE Daniel Muir
NT Terrell McClain
DE Tim Jamison
OLB Justin Tuggle
ILB Tim Dobbins
ILB Mike Mohamed
OLB Willie Jefferson
CB Brandon Harris
CB A.J. Bouye
S Ohrian Johnson
S D.J. Swearinger

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Texans defeat Cowboys 24-6

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Houston Texans Preseason Review



To state the obvious, wins and losses do not matter in the preseason.

In past seasons, teams that have gone winless in the meaningless contests have seen success in the regular season. And the same has proven true inversely, as undefeated teams in preseason play have struggled when the games really count and have missed the posteason.

Having said that, it's safe to say that the Houston Texans are pleased with their 3-1 preseason campaign and it's also safe to say that they would be less pleased with, say, a 1-3 record.

The Texans capped off exhibition play with a win over the Dallas Cowboys, last Thursday night--seven days prior to the kickoff of the 2013-2014 NFL season.

Most of the regular starters watched from the sidelines, while quarterbacks Case Keenum and TJ Yates led the offense in the 24-6 victory.

Similar to the three previous games, head coach Gary Kubiak played his veterans- including Matt Schaub and Arian Foster- limited minutes, and allowed for the younger, inexperienced players to get some reps in and make a case for themselves as the rosters decrease to 53 players.

Some notable players did just that, and should be confident in their fates. Lestar Jean's three touchdown receptions and 177 total yards will surely solidify a spot in Houston's unproven passing game after Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. Garrett Graham's 12 receptions and Ryan Griffin's team-high 14 receptions were also highlights of the explosive Texans offense.

Cierre Wood, Dennis Johnson and Deji Karim each carried the ball more than 20 times and will battle for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart behind Ben Tate and Foster, who didn't play in the preseason but will suit up for the season opener against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium.

On defense, Mike Mohamed led the team with 14 tackles. Trevardo Williams paced the team in sacks with 3.5.

The defense overall stepped up against the Cowboys, giving up a preseason-low six points after allowing 20.3 points through the first three games to the Vikings, Dolphins and Saints, who put up 31 against the Texans defense in their only loss.

Coach Kubiak can only hope that all the work in the offseason will translate into good play on the field and result in wins for a team with high expectations.