NFL Picks and NFL Predictions: Could this be the Year of the Houston Texans?

by infomatique

Article by Jimmy Reilly

The Houston Texans play the role the NY Knicks assumed when Michael Jordan dominated the 90′s in the NBA as they will have to take a back seat to the Indianapolis Colts as long as Peyton Manning is in the AFC Conference the league.This team probably has the most talented superstars at key positions that no one knows about except for their opponents and NFL experts.

For starters, the Texans have arguably the most dominate receiver in the NFL in Andre Johnson. Johnson has been putting up big numbers every since he’s been in the NFL but due to the Texans lack of success, he hasn’t gotten the notoriety he deserves except from NFL Experts. Johnson led the NFL in receiving two years in a row with 115 catches for 1575 in 2008 and 101 catches for 1569 last year while becoming the only player in NFL history with at least 10 receptions in 7 games.

The Houston Texas quarterback Matt Shaub has also gone without notice taking a back seat to Peyton Manning as he only led the league in passing last year with a QB rating of 98.6 while passing for 4770 yards averaging 298.1 per game. Johnson and Shaub are the reason why the Texans had the league’s best passing offense and with the signing of their number #2 receiver Kevin Walter and a healthy tight end in Owen Daniels, the Texas should improve their offense even more this season.

The area that the Texans struggle is on the defensive side of the ball where they gave up an average of 342.9 yards a game while ranked 20th in the league on 3rd downs. This defense only produced 14 interceptions and 30 sacks last year but a healthy Mario Williams who suffered a shoulder injury last season should help them in that category. The Texas will also have to improve their running game that ranked 30th in the league last season but if Steve Slaton can stay healthy and Ben Tate who was drafted in the second round lives up to expectations, you can look for them to improve in that area as well.

This team has been on the cusp of the playoffs the last few years but lacked big plays on defense to get over the hump. If the Texans can improve in this area, they will be a dangerous team this year as they can score on anyone. The Texans are one of our Top NFL picks in the AFC South this year right behind the Indianapolis Colts and if they can get some breaks and stay healthy, this team has the talent to make a playoff run in the 2010-11 season.

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