Who to watch for in Texans preseason

By Connor Byrne  |   Wednesday, August 09, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Houston Texans
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With the Houston Texans set to kick off their preseason on Saturday, it's a good time to take a look at some things to watch for in the team's four-game exhibition schedule.

The No. 1 overall pick, Mario Williams.

Rather than select acclaimed running back Reggie Bush with the draft's top pick back in April, the Texans took an unexpected path and drafted Williams, formerly college football's supreme defensive end. The 6-foot-7, 295-pounder has the size and speed to become a dominant entity at the pro level.

To kick off his career, the $54 million man will see some time against the Kansas City Chiefs' starting right tackle, Kevin Sampson, who has played in just 10 career games. He takes over for the retired John Welbourn. That's unfortunate for Houston, since Welbourn would have been an outstanding test for Williams.

Other than Sampson, the rookie from North Carolina State will face No. 1 right tackles Alex Barron, George Foster and Kenyatta Walker. Of that group, the Denver Broncos' Foster is the best. Barron of the Rams and Walker of the Buccaneers, two former first-rounders, haven't lived up to the hype.

Frankly, Williams could dominate right away. The four starting tackles he's scheduled to battle are not exactly big-time players, save for Foster, perhaps.

It should be interesting to see what Williams does against an above-average tackle (Foster), a bust (Walker), and two relatively unproven commodities (Sampson and Barron).

The running backs.

Thanks to knee problems, starting back Domanick Davis has been sitting out training camp. His injury has left Antowain Smith, Vernand Morency and Wali Lundy competing for the carries.

At 34 years old, Smith is wearing down and hasn't been much more than serviceable in his nine-year career. Morency, a second-year man, has shown plenty of promise, but he has just 46 career rushes. Lundy, meanwhile, is an unheralded sixth-round rookie.

If none of these backs prove to be starter-worthy, the Texans could be in major trouble. It doesn't appear Davis will be ready in the near future, so at least one of the above runners must emerge as a legitimate threat in the exhibition schedule.

Chemistry between David Carr and Eric Moulds.

Houston traded for Moulds in the offseason so it could line up a proven receiver next to young star Andre Johnson. In nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Moulds was a true playmaker, catching 675 passes. However, Moulds had extreme difficulty last season getting along with the Bills' young quarterback, J.P. Losman.

Since he's now a fifth-year quarterback, it's time for Carr to finally become a worthwhile starter under center. Should he struggle, though, the 33-year-old Moulds could be all over him. Preseason will be the place for these two to develop a friendly, comfortable rapport.

When watching the Houston Texans in the preseason, keep an eye on all of these various elements of the team. They each carry high importance to rookie head coach Gary Kubiak, who will be learning on the job.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

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