GameDay Review | HoustonProFootball.com 
August 21, 2007
Holy Jacoby! Who’s That on the Line?
by Blake Gifford
HoustonProFootball.com
I’ll be honest. Going into the Texans second pre-season game on Saturday, I only had one thought on my mind: I really hope the QB and WR I drafted earlier in the day don’t experience season-ending injuries… never mind both of those players play for that woeful franchise in the desert. In my defense, we had just completed our annual fantasy football draft right as the game was kicking off and I took a couple fliers on Fitzgerald and Leinart. Luckily, they left the game as they entered it – healthy. And they left the stadium 33-20 losers.
I was hoping to see more than the dozen or so plays we saw last week from the first-team offense in the second game. While we’re all in agreement that having David Carr in Carolina rather than in a Texans uniform is better than the alternative, we still want to see what the guy we gave so much up for has. After pretty much five full seasons of futility at the QB position, I think we deserve that. Well, if Saturday’s victory over the Cardinals is any indication, we could be looking at the most fun season in the short history of this franchise.
It’s always a good sign when your punter only sees the field once during a game. I think we’ll take that pretty much any day of the week. Another decent omen is when you’re new starting QB didn’t have to pull himself up from the grass after a sack. You just read that right: Matt Schaub wasn’t sacked once. In fact, the offensive line gave up only one sack all game long. Even though it’s only preseason, that’s still a huge deal for the Texans.
The rushing game made a nice comeback after last week’s poor showing. The unit combined for 143 yards while Schaub, Rosenfels, and Zabransky threw for 248 yards. The offense was clicking in a way that we haven’t seen from the good guys in quite a long time. The special teams were a highlight for the second consecutive week. Jacoby Jones continues to make the front office look like geniuses for using a third-rounder on someone from some place named Lane. After last week’s exciting punt return, Jones decided he’d go ahead and finish the job this week by taking a 4th quarter punt 80 yards into the end zone. Kris Brown’s leg is about to fall off after kicking four more field goals, giving him a total of eight through two preseason games.
Of course, the bad news was with the defensive line. After spending the last three first round draft picks on the DL, they could only manage one sack Saturday. I’m probably the biggest defender of the Mario Williams pick you’ll find, but even I’m starting to become really concerned. If you didn’t watch the game, you wouldn’t have even known that he played since his name doesn’t even appear in the stat sheet. I keep telling myself it’s only preseason, but I don’t think that he can simply flip a switch when the games actually do count for something. He did do some nice things against the run and the Cardinals didn’t have too many obvious passing downs, but it just seems like he’s lacking fire out there. That’s totally subjective, though, and I don’t want to make it sound like I think he doesn’t care. Still, there’s obvious reason for concern.
Well, for most Texans fans, next week’s game is about as important as a preseason game can get with the Cowboys make their way down I-45. Here’s hoping Mario makes at least an assist.
Preseason Week 2 
Matt Schaub receives high 5’s from teammates after his TD scramble Saturday. Final Score Houston Texans 33 Arizona Cardinals 20 Lookin’ Good
In the Line of Praise
Many candidates but I’m going with the OL for keeping our new QB’s jersey clean.
Oh, my eyes!
Super Sorrio?
Super Mario, I guess, even if he wasn’t as bad as the stat sheet looked.
2007 Schedule Date Opponent Result 08.11 Chicago 19-20 08.18 at Arizona 33-20 08.25 Dallas 28-16 08.30 at Tampa Bay 24-31 Regular Season 09.09 Kansas City 20-3 09.16 at Carolina 34-21 09.23 Indianapolis 24-30 09.30 at Atlanta 16-26 10.07 Miami 22-19 10.14 at Jacksonville 17-37 10.21 Tennessee 36-38 10.28 at San Diego 11.04 at Oakland 11.11 BYE — 11.18 New Orleans 11.25 at Cleveland 12.02 at Tennessee 12.09 Tampa Bay 12.13 Denver 12.23 at Indianapolis 12.30 Jacksonville Overall Record 3-4 