There's a place in the NFL away from the gridiron that players rarely talk about in public and that fans hardly notice. It's a place without stats or the crushing sounds of the gridiron. No refs' whistles or cheering fans. Yet players find themselves in this kind of limbo. That's where I found former Texan defensive end Eric Powell. Because Eric was so open about his experience, we can get an inside look at the Texans as a team.

Who is Eric Powell? He was signed by the Texans to a reserve/future contract on January 2, 2008. He was released July 22, 2008. The Texans' coaching staff liked him because he was a big man who could move. Earl Cochran helped recruit him to the Texans.

 

He'd been training for months to compete for a spot on the Texans' active roster. During OTAs, he tore some connective tissue in his hip. This didn't outright end his season; rather, it thrust him into a strange limbo. From the moment he was released, numerous conflicting options blossomed. Several NFL teams and even Arena League teams called to inquire about his availability the day he was cut. He could go play for any of those teams, but he would have to sign an injury waiver so if he couldn't play because of pain or further aggravation of his injury, the team he signed with might not owe him any compensation. Because his injury occurred while he was under contract with the Texans, he could take an injury settlement and get paid for this season. He could also be moved to IR if the Texans decide that he is part of their plans for next year.

 

Despite these options, what Eric Powell wants most it to get back on the field. He's been in Houston since March training non-stop. When other players left on vacation, he stayed at the facility and trained and then trained some more. Football is a passion for Eric Powell.

 

Now that you know more about who he is, read after the jump to get a closer look at the Texans.

 

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Last Saturday, I was again fortunate enough to appear on another podcast to discuss your Houston Texans; this time, it was via the excellent fantasy football site Dynasty Rogues. If you're interested in hearing the latest edition of my audible idiocy (including my fantasy sleeper prediction), click here and take a gander about halfway down the page.

Tuesday wrapped up Day Five of Houston Texans training camp. Again, temperatures in Houston reached well into the mid 90s. Sweltering heat aside, the Texans continued to focus on improving individually as they work towards building the best team in franchise history.

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Now that his financial state has improved millions of times over, word is that Duane Brown had better improve his physical condition(ing): The Houston heat/humidity/sauna is notoriously tough on newcomers, so I'm not ringing the alarm bell yet. But it looks like Kubes has put D. Brown on notice, and it's not like the Texans are completely devoid of other options at LT. Let's hope Duane gets the message.

I hope with every fiber of my being that the title of this post works on countless levels, but Texans fans can rest assured that it works on at least one--our first-round pick won't miss a snap of training camp, thanks to signing a five (5) year deal worth $11,500,000.00 in the wee hours of the morning. No word yet on how much was guaranteed, which I imagine was the chief stumbling block to getting the deal done.

Hallelujah. Training camp is here, and all of the rookies have signed. Life is good.

[UPDATE]: Ben actually beat me to this by about two (2) hours via his FanPost. I'm a hack!

[UPDATE II]: McClain reports that Brown's deal includes $6,200,000.00 in guaranteed money. Oh, and that Chris Brown opted to attend a wedding instead of practice, which will likely result in a fine. Nice start to your time in Houston, Chris.

We're not out of the woods yet, but we're getting closer, as two (2) more rookies inked deals with your Houston Texans. Now that Antwaun Molden and Super Steve Slaton have joined Xavier Adibi, Alex Brink, and Dominique Barber in the fold, only Frank Okam and (cough...first round pick and alleged left tackle of the present and future...cough) Duane Brown remain unsigned.

C'mon, fellas. The only people even possibly happy about you being unsigned are Travis Johnson and Ephraim Salaam. Get it in gear! Training camp's a' comin'!

 

 

Athleticism.  It's hard to quantify, but when you see it you know it.  So I decided to experiment a little and put the Texans roster on the basketball court.  I wanted to see which 13 Texans players would make the best NBA team. 

 

Allow me to introduce your Houston Texans basketball team.

(special thanks to lp.imageg.net & i179.photobucket.com for images)

 

 

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Some interesting things are intersecting in the Texans blogosphere...Matt over at DGDB&D has an interesting piece. It's specifically about an argument he's engaged in, but more generally, it's about how the Texans are viewed nationally.

At the same time, Sportsgamer.com just came out with the Madden 09 ratings shown in their graphic to the right.  You can definitely get a sense how the guys at EA Sports feel about the Texans. I bring this up because the Texans are about to enter a watershed season.

Anyone that knows football knows the Texans took a giant leap forward last season. Lots of 2nd and 3rd string players, as well as new starters, established themselves. Guys like Kevin Walter and Fred Bennett put themselves on the map. All but the most hardened man-crushes have let go of the Mario-bashing and decided that Young and Bush are more hype than substance. So with all that, the Texans are poised to make their mark in the national spotlight.

If you read this blog, you're probably a Texans homer.  You know that Mike Brisiel is going to steamroll Albert Haynesworth this year, and that Zac Diles is going to put Goldberg's spear on Maurice Jones-Drew.  So obviously our view of Texans players is probably a little skewed.

That being said, it'll be up to you to set the world right and lead the Texans to conquer the national stage.  Check out the ratings below and see what I mean.

 

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First day of mini-camp is over, and Megan Manfull reports that it's not all sunshine and lollipops at Reliant Park. Seems master thespian and incumbent LT Ephraim Salaam was none too pleased to learn that some dude who's been a Texan for less than a month was getting all the reps with the first team:


On one hand, I think I'd be bent if I was Salaam too. Brown has done nothing to earn the job besides being drafted in the first round. You'd think that Brown would have to show he could beat Salaam out on the field before being handed a promotion. On the other hand, Salaam may be getting bent out of shape over nothing. It's the first mini-camp. Brown is raw, and he's going to get beat early and often. The coaching staff will see that, and the guy who's better situated to protect The Schaub come September 7, 2008 will be the guy who gets the starting nod, first-round draft pick or not. On yet another hand (yes, I realize that's three (3) hands; bear with me here), it makes all the sense in the world to get Brown as many reps with the first team as humanly possible. As Matt observed, the relative inexperience possessed by Brown, the relatively short-term presence of Alex Gibbs, and the indisputable fact that D. Brown was drafted to protect the QB's blind side for the next ten (10) years practically demands that Brown take his share of lumps as rapidly as is necessary to get him entrenched and comfortable on the OL.

Kubes' actions thus far aside, I do not think we can pencil D. Brown in to start come Week One just yet. He's going to have to convince the coaches that he's less likely to get The Schaub killed than Salaam is over the next three (3) months to earn the gig. The good news for Brown (and the bad news for Salaam) is that it looks like the coaches are going to give him every opportunity to do it.