Little-known names litter Houston’s offense

By Adam Markowitz  |   Tuesday, August 19, 2008  |  Comments( 5 )

Houston Texans
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Before selecting tackle Duane Brown with their first-round pick in April's NFL draft, the Houston Texans hadn’t used a first-rounder on the offensive side of the ball since taking wide receiver Andre Johnson in 2003. Their defense, of course, is led by former first-day picks Mario Williams, Amobi Okoye and DeMeco Ryans.

Where general manager Rick Smith and his predecessor, Charley Casserly, deserve all of their credit is how they have built Houston's offense around Johnson and a bunch of role players.

While Brown is expected to come in and anchor a left tackle position that has been a bugaboo to the Texans since their inception, the rest of the line has drastically improved around players you may not have heard of.

Eric Winston -- who entered his senior season at the University of Miami as a first-round prospect -- is probably the best-known name of the remaining O-linemen. After a subpar senior year, though, Winston dropped into the third round in 2006, where Casserly grabbed him and fellow tackle Charles Spencer with back-to-back selections.

Chester Pitts and Mike Brisiel will likely start the season at the two guard spots. Pitts was the third draft selection in Texans history, and finally showed signs of his potential last season. Brisiel went undrafted out of Colorado, but started four games last season.

In March, trying to employ Gary Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme, Smith traded for little-known center Chris Myers, who served as a backup in Denver before cracking the starting lineup last year.

Aside from the superb Johnson, Houston has always had a huge void at receiver. Though Kevin Walter and Andre' Davis aren't star-caliber players, the Texans' offense has grown with them in the fold.

Walter was a former seventh-round choice of the New York Giants, but he began his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. In his three seasons in Cincy, Walter only recorded 30 catches for 296 yards and one touchdown. Just last season, however, Walter tallied 65 catches for 800 yards and four scores, the best numbers a wideout not named Andre Johnson has ever had in Houston.

Davis, meanwhile, contributed to both the offense and special teams in 2007 after coming over from Buffalo. Davis had a successful first year in the NFL with the Browns back in 2002, accumulating 1,488 all-purpose yards and seven total touchdowns. In his next four seasons, he only amassed 1,630 all-purpose yards and six scores. In ’07, however, Davis burst back onto the scene, amassing career highs in receiving yards (583) and all-purpose yards (1,573). His 30.3 yards per kick return was the second-best mark in the NFL.

Then there’s 2006 fourth-rounder Owen Daniels, who put up the best numbers for a tight end in Houston’s brief history by compiling 63 receptions for 768 yards and three touchdowns last year.

Houston's no-name skill players aren’t just a current fad for the Texans, either. Their former starting running back, Domanick Williams, was a fourth-rounder out of LSU, and he holds all of the rushing records in franchise history. Perhaps third-round pick Steve Slaton -- an ex-West Virginia standout who leads the team in preseason ground yards -- could be the next pleasant surprise in the backfield for the Texans.

Even though QB Matt Schaub missed five games in 2007, the 23.7 points per contest Houston's offense averaged was the best the city has seen since the Oilers left town. Though one usually can’t put much stock into the preseason, the Texans have averaged 25.0 points per game in their two matchups, the third-best mark in the AFC.

The model of building big-name defenses and unheralded offenses in the NFL has proven effective in the past. Before Tom Brady began piling up huge numbers, the Patriots won multiple Super Bowls with an anonymous offense and star-studded defense. In 2000, the Ravens -- who employed the not-so-great Trent Dilfer under center -- erased years of dismay in Cleveland by rebuilding their franchise around defenders like Ray Lewis and Chris McAlister, among others, en route to a Super Bowl.

No, the 2008 Texans aren’t poised to win a championship, but the pieces to the puzzle are starting to fit together quite nicely. Smith has done a fantastic job finding diamonds in the rough to build his offense around, and though the unit isn’t revered as one of the best in the AFC, the next diamond Smith finds could make contenders out of the Texans.

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