Texans Down 'N Dirty: Week Two Edition

I'm back! *Tries to shake off the moans and groans* Chicago is over with, as is work for the time being. I should be back in the full swing of things from here on out. I owe Jake many thanks for handling the extra workload of DND every day. Luckily, as training camp progresses there are more and more stories being published everyday that are worth the read. Just one more month...

I'd like to again profess my love for Steve Slaton. Can the guy get any better and at the same time, stay so humble? One look at the Titans' website and I'm reminded of why I like this team. They're not a bunch of assholes. Oilers uniforms? Really? Back to Slaton for a second--once again the emphasis is on pass protection. The man understands his duties as a star running back include being smart against the blitz.

Jerome Solomon put up a pretty good recap of the first week of training camp action, but for the best analysis on that look no further than Gary Kubiak. A few quick thoughts gathered from Kubiak's words:

• The coaches love Arian Foster, when he's healthy. If not, they don't. They sound genuinely upset that Foster has missed the past few days due to an injury. It's obvious they expect significant contributions from him during the season and don't want him to miss a chance to better himself.
• Chris Brown is still alive. Is it really true? Apparently. The coaches are raving about him. Brown sounds fully committed, as much as some of the most competitive players on the team. He still has a long way to go to reach reliable status. To get there, he must stay fully healthy for an entire season. Can he? I'm skeptical.
• Andre Johnson is even better than last year. I'm not surprised and expect nothing less of him.

Fred Bennett's sophomore season continues to be a mystery. There were rumblings around BRB that the talented corner might have been a bit of a headcase with the coaching staff to be so low on the depth chart. It's safe to say that theory is no longer valid. He sounds in sync with the rest of the team; his only goal is to improve to playoff standards. I can't see Bennett as the one to complain. Obviously, it's not helping that Dunta is out for so long, but at least this gives Bennett more opportunities to line up against 'Dre. Sure, it might be a bit emberassing at times, but it's only going to make him better, just as battling Mario Williams has improved Duane Brown infinitely.

Vic Carucci believes the Texans are legitmate contenders for the AFC South title. According to Carucci, the defense really is constantly attacking and looking to force the offense to make a good play, rather than expect the defense to make a bad one. It seems obvious for a defense to do that, but when Richard Smith is your defensive coordinator, rationality tends to blur itself.

Lastly, David Anderson is picking on Matt Schaub. That is all. Here's to improved health and performance in week two of training camp!