Houston hoping trio can replace Davis

By Connor Byrne  |   Sunday, September 03, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Houston Texans
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On Saturday, the Houston Texans placed starting running back Domanick Davis on injured reserve, ending the ball carrier's 2006 season before it could even begin. The fourth-year man had been battling knee issues throughout the offseason, and his injury caused him to miss mini-camps, training camp and the entire preseason schedule.

In the season-long absence of Davis, the Texans are left with three players, the newly signed Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy and Vernand Morency, who must step up by committee in the backfield. Judging by the promise the young duo and Dayne have shown, it's not impossible that Houston will be able to scrape by at the RB position.

It is expected that Lundy, a sixth-round pick in this past April's draft, will start the Texans' opening-day matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Virginia Tech star impressed in his three preseason contests, rushing 26 times for an eye-opening 143 yards and a touchdown. If the 22-year-old continues that kind of play into the regular season, the Texans will have a pleasant surprise in the backfield.

If, however, Lundy is simply another exhibition performer and nothing more, Houston will next turn to Morency. As a rookie in 2005, the 5-foot-9, 212-pound Morency averaged four yards per carry in extremely limited action, taking just 46 handoffs.

Contrary to Lundy, the 26-year-old Morency was somewhat highly touted coming out of his college, Oklahoma State. Former Texans general manager Charley Casserly used a third-round pick in the '05 draft on the runner, so the organization clearly thought well of Morency back then.

Much like Lundy, Morency was a standout during the preseason. Though he only played in two of the Texans' exhibition showdowns, Morency impressed, gaining 131 ground yards and two touchdowns on 24 rushes, including an 11-carry, 95-yard effort against the St. Louis Rams. Importantly, as evidenced by his six receptions in the preseason, Morency adds a multi-dimensional style to Houston's offense.

As for Dayne, he came as a somewhat surprising cut of the Denver Broncos this past weekend. The former first-round pick and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner from Wisconsin has never lived up to his advanced billing, but the bruising 245-pounder did average 5.1 yards per carry in limited duty last season, a career best.

Although the Houston Texans' rushing attack probably won't be near the top of the league this year, their fans can take solace in the fact that the loss of Davis isn't as crippling as it seems. After all, he was little more than a 1,000-yard, mostly non-feared back anyway.

The trifecta of Lundy, Morency and Dayne has a chance to produce much more in the upcoming year than Davis ever could in a single season, which should be good enough for rookie head coach Gary Kubiak.

--Got feedback? Connor J. Byrne responds to readers' comments and questions on a daily basis: cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

Get more on the Houston Texans at RealFootball365.com.
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