Thoughts Going Into The First Mini-Camp Of 2008

The local fishwrap had a short article in today's edition to account for your Houston Texans teeing off the first mini-camp of the offseason today. A few nuggets to chew upon:

-I had no idea that Alex Gibbs contacted Kubes about un-retiring; I was always under the impression that Kubes lured Gibbs out of retirement. The fact that Gibbs, widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) offensive line coaches in the history of the NFL, chose to reach out to Kubes instead of anyone else speaks volumes. You'd have to think that every head coach in the league would be dying to bring him aboard.

-Very interested to see what the reports on The Schaub are come Monday. We know he's not expected to be 100% until training camp kicks off in July, so how he looks now could be a bit misleading. Unless he looks like a rock star, in which case it's merely an omen of the Lombardi Trophy to come in 2008.

-I refuse to get my hopes up about Charles Spencer. It seems like there are still far too many hurdles to clear to reasonably expect him to contribute in 2008...if ever.

-Other players specifically mentioned by Kubes as meriting scrutiny this weekend: Jacques Reeves, Chris Taylor, Amobi Okoye, and Frank Okam. The Reeves signing is growing on me like some sort of fungus, primarily because the Texans desperately need him to step into one of the starting CB spots. If he can't hold down a starting CB gig, the secondary will be in big trouble. With the arrival of one Super Steve Slaton, I think Taylor's best and only chance to make this squad is going to be as a FB/Special Teams Wizard; in other words, he needs to unseat Jameel Cook, which should be entirely doable. And while I think it's unreasonable to expect Okoye to make the gigantic leap The Biggest Bust in the History of Sport did in his second year (because what Super Mario did was freaking historic), the thought of pairing him with Okam makes me giggle and should make opposing QBs weep.

-Finally, and not included in the Chronicle's article, here's a good read by SI.com's Ross Tucker on his experiences as a rookie in his first mini-camp. Needless to say, I'm excited to hear how the newest Texans handle their first real exposure to the NFL.