I mean, was anybody really ready to play last sunday? And as for Steve, I think splitting carries with Green early in the season has kept him just fresh enough to finish it. If we were somehow headed to the playoffs, then he’d be dead.

http://www.examiner.com/x-778-Houston-Texans-Examiner~y2008m12d20-Raiders-game-plan-for-Texans-includes-stopping-themselves

this article says that the raiders know just how to shut down zone blocking and cause trouble for linemen in that scheme, which sort of explains how they were able to hurt us so badly and how they beat the broncos earlier this season too. just food for thought, and evidence that slaton hasn’t hit the wall yet

My initial thought when I started to read your post was that the slighty subpar performance in Oakland was much more on th O line than Super Steve. Stats said he/we should have done better, but apparently all of the Oakland-Denver matchups over the years have given them enough looks at the ZBS to know how to defeat it (Props to cubic for the research). Tennessee presented a big challenge two weeks ago, even moreso after Steve surprised them earlier in the season, and the Titans vowed not to let it happen again. They did their part until the last minute of the game, when Steve ran for 48 of his 100 yards, 34 of which came on his singularly most spectacular play of the season. That play showed that rather than hitting a wall, he is running through walls. His constant leg churning, strength and balance all came into play in that spectacular play, IMO the play of the year for the Texans. It sealed the game in what is one of the biggest, and surely most satisfying wins in franchise history.

The Bears present a similar challenge. They have a tough run D, and everything at stake in the game. If the O line does not show up like they did vs GB & Tenn, then it will be a long day for Steve, but not because he has hit the wall. If he was not a rookie he would be going to Hawaii, rather than being an alternate. Same thing happened to DeMeco & Mario, but they proved that they are not flukes and have been rewarded with Pro Bowl jerseys. If he puts up the same numbers next year, he will have a beach party in Honolulu.

GO TEXANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finish the season with a statement game.

I say this because he faced 3 of the top run defenses with him and Green almost splitting the carries (Ravens, Steelers, first Titans). I also think that Slaton knows how to run at Relient. Looking at just the Raider game, there wasn’t enough of Slaton making mistakes to warrant me thinking that he can’t have a big game against the Bears. When the term “Rookie Wall” is used, I think of a player that has dropped out well before now. I don’t think Slaton has hit that proverbial stopping point in his season yet.

I think it’s worth mentioning because I’ve been worried about it ever since Slaton started playing so well. I’m not so worried about the Oakland game in particular because as it was stated above already, no one realy showed up to play that game. One thing that does have me worried, however, is protecting Slaton for the following seasons.

Everyone has seen thus far that we found a diamond in the third round. I just hope that we do the right thing and draft a bigger back in next year’s draft. I’m not coming close to saying that we need someone that can replace him, but as everyone mentioned, splitting carries with Green is probably what kept Slaton fresh for so long in the season. The only problem with that practice was that Green was an over-the-hill, injury prone back that couldn’t get it done. Just imagine though if that was a LeRon McLain or LenDale White. Niether of these backs are franchise RB’s that are talented enough tocarry the load by themselves, but paired with more talented RB’s they excell in short yardage situations. The beauty of this is that you can get a back like that easily in the fourth round of the draft.

I’m worried this won’t be received well because a lot of times people think that suggesting what I am suggesting is somehow slighting the player; I’m not. I think Slaton is an amazing talent that should be the focal point of our running attack. I think it’s no coincidence that all the best rushing attacks in the league feature two backs, and usually there’s on back that is significantly more talented than the other (see my above comment about LenDale White).

The first Texan that I felt really good about was Domanick Davis. There’s a reason why the first 1,000 yard rusher in our franchise history fell off the map; we broke him. I just want to make sure we don’t do the same thing to Stevie.