Houston Texans Saturday Links: Thoughts on the RB situation
Nov 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans tight end Garrett Graham (88) makes a reception during the fourth quarter as Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Kevin Burnett (94) defends at Reliant Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Texans 28-23. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
As we look at the Texans on this Saturday, let’s start by looking at an article from ESPN’s Tania Ganguli about what went wrong with the tight ends for the Texans this past season.
The main reason she lists as to what went wrong was “injuries,” and I must agree 100-percent on this one.
"“Before (Owen) Daniels suffered a non-displaced fibula fracture in San Francisco, the Texans led the league in two-tight end sets. Makes sense given the quality of their personnel at the position. Daniels and (Garrett) Graham are both very strong starting caliber tight ends and both finished the season on injured reserve.”"
If those two can stay healthy (Daniels and Graham) the Texans have something at tight end that a lot of other teams would love to have. But when your two best TEs on the roster end up on the IR, that pretty much sums up the 2013 Texans … unlucky.
Here is an article from House of Houston about three free agents the Texans should target, including running back James Starks, of the Green Bay Packers.
The article says:
"“Starks is coming off a solid year in which he was a complimentary back to rookie Eddie Lacy. In thirteen appearances this year Starks totaled 493 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.”"
At CSN Houston, they are having a series on each position of the Texans. Here is their latest grades article on the running backs. The article states:
"“For the first time since 2009, the Texans didn’t have a 1,000-yard rusher in 2013.”"
I really hope the Texans take a good look at the running back spot this offseason.
The health of Arian Foster scares me, Ben Tate is all but gone to the highest contract offer (and I don’t blame him) and I don’t trust any of the other backs on the roster to step in and make that much of a difference if they are needed to carry the bulk of the carries.
Running back is on of my Top 5 concerns with this team during the offseason.