11.10.2009

Larry Johnson to the Texans: A Possibility

7 year veteran running back Larry Johnson has been released by the Kansas City Chiefs and is now on waivers. It just so happens that the Houston Texans are in need of a solid, smash mouth goal-line back like Johnson. Having talent like that as an option for the backfield would be a definite plus for the Texans on-the-field.

The only problem is that Johnson's off-the-field problems may not out weigh what he can do for you on-the-field. His troubles are definitely extensive ranging from separate assault charges for spitting on, pouring a drink on and pushing women to his more recent use of Twitter to spit out his "opinions" through offensive slurs and the bashing of the talents of his Head Coach.

Texans Owner Bob McNair has a history of avoiding players with troubled pasts, so why would this situation be any different?

For starters, this may be the first time one of these troubled players fit a needed position where they could easily come in and make an impact. His addition WOULD help the team make a push for the play-offs. No more Moats, Slaton or Brown goal-line stuffs or fumbles. Larry Johnson will pound his way to pay dirt as he has proven many times in the past; all the while holding on to the football.

Worst case scenario is that the Texans bring him in and release Brown. If he messes up off the field or doesn't help much on the field, it's very easy to cut our losses with a guy like this at the end of the season. No long contract or anything - send the guy packing.

Best case scenerio is that he comes in and scores 6-8 touchdowns for the Texans over the next 7 games and then 2 in the play offs. It really may be the push these guys need. Indirectly bringing a strong ball handler like Johnson in may help Steve Slaton overcome his fumble issues as well.

My thought is that picking up Johnson would be a good thing.

Having him on a team with higher moral standards like the Texans might be a good thing for all parties involved. If he needs a little maturing, coming to this team may do it for him. It seems to be working for Jacoby Jones. You could place Johnson at a locker near Demeco Ryans and Dunta Robinson to help him quickly become party of the team as those leaders would most likely take him under their wing and keep him in-line.

And I have a feeling that Kubiak and the Houston fans would have zero-tolerence for him acting like a jack-ass, so we wouldn't have to worry much.

All name-calling aside let's face it, there is always a possibility that some athletes get falsely accused and sometimes falsely convicted of crimes for someone elses gain. A lot of these guys have a track record for a reason (Pac-Man Jones for example), but at times these high-profile athletes can become targets (Duke Lacrosse team).

That being said, Larry Johnson's ridiculousness on Twitter is nothing but his own stupidity. However there is always the possibility that the assault charges could be moments where he was targeted for extortion by the crazy women that he chose to surround himself with. Some of the women that athletes choose to spend time with are ones who many times have questionable intentions. What's to say Johnson wasn't an easy target that surround himself with money-hungry tramps who have nothing better to do than make up stories that slander him for their gain? This idea may not be practical or even accurate, but it's still a possibility. Hey, it happened to Shawn Merriman.

I say give the man a chance. For the Texans benefit it certainly wouldn't hurt to have the ability to give a guy the ball on goal-line situations and feel the reassurance of someone being able to pound the ball in instead of putting it on the turf...regardless of who he may or may not be assualting off the field.

11.04.2009

Matt Schaub the Heart Surgeon

Several sources report that as the team had their day off on Tuesday, Texans quarterback Matt Schaub and the voice of the Houston Texans, Marc Vandermeer, attended an "open house" at Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center. The two along with their guests (Schaub's wife and SportsRadio610's Matt Jackson) took a tour of the facilities and were fortunate enough to witness an open heart surgery first hand as somewhat of Doctor's for a Day.

With a box of Junior Mints in hand, Schaub and Vandermeer discussed the in's and out's of the procedure with the staff. In a podcast on HoustonTexans.com, Schaub stated that the most amazing thing he experienced during his tour of the Center was witnessing the procedures and seeing how meticulous the physicians have to "dot their I's and cross their T's."

Photos and a special video of the event are slated to be posted soon to both http://www.HoustonTexans.com and http://www.SportsRadio610.com, so be on the lookout.

All in all, maybe Matt Schaub isn't really a heart surgeon, but he has become very adept at keeping the Texans heart-beat strong while slicing and dicing opposing defenses. While true heart surgeons and other physicians are able to give patients the true gift of life through their work, Schaub is able to give this franchise some life.

If only he could he could magically heal Owen Daniels' Torn ACL...

None the less, looking on to the match-up against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend, the Texans are 9 point underdogs. I have a feeling Schaub and company will make it more of a game despite the loss of Daniels. Schaub should be able to hit close to another 300 yard game while the defense has been playing light's out and should be able to hold off Payton Manning enough to give the offense a chance.

Kubiak is planning on using Steve Slaton, Ryan Moats and Chris Brown as a "three headed monster" running game and I have no doubt that they will light it up. Moats should be able to ride some of the momentum from last week's monster game into this week and Brown should do a little of the ground work. Let's just hope that Slaton goes this week without putting the ball on the ground.

Regardless of the outcome, this should be a very exciting, high-scoring game. Look for the Houston Texans to surprise some people this weekend and make this quite the game.

CODE BLUE DOCTOR SCHAUB, CODE BLUE!

11.03.2009

The 2009 Rockets May Not Be As Bad As I Thought

I won't stray away from Texans talk very much during the Fall and winter, but I have to take a few minutes to admit that I may have been wrong in my assumption that the Houston Rockets would be terrible this season. It's very early in the season, but after winning three games in a row and with last nights impressive win over the Utah Jazz, this Rockets team may actually turn out to be pretty strong.

Aaron Brooks is playing extremely well and the team seems to really be clicking despite the fact that they are missing Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. And perhaps Trevor Ariza may be worth all the hoopla after all.

We shall see over the course of the next few weeks if they can continue the streak...