Also letting Joe Marciano AKA worst specials team coach in the league stick around. He's irritatingly stubborn.
It's been discussed on this board many times in the past, Foster was being overworked, and now the Texans are paying the price.
It's going to be awesome if Foster has his best season yet, but for the first time I am now officially worried he might miss game one...
“He’s still not right, and it doesn’t sound like there’s an exact timetable on this,” CBSSports.com NFL insider Jason La Canfora said on The Morning Show. “They’ve done a pretty good job there of exuding a lot of caution and being very careful about what they do in these situations – particularly (for) a guy who plays the position he plays and plays it in the manner in which he plays. The good news is they have Ben Tate and they’ve held on to him and they have a lot of confidence in him – and I expect we see a lot of Ben Tate early in the season, if not longer.” Arguably the best backup in the league, Tate has 240 career carries for 1,221 yards – 5.1 yards per carry – and six touchdowns. Those are good numbers. Then again, Foster has scored 47 touchdowns (41 rushing, six receiving) in the last three years alone. La Canfora, however, wouldn’t write off the Texans if Foster misses some – or most – of the season. “It would be difficult (for them to contend for a Super Bowl), no doubt about it,” La Canfora said. “It would be difficult. But I would say never say never. I wouldn’t write it off because that offensive line is still pretty good. You just never know. Maybe this is a situation where Foster gets better down the stretch and (comes on strong).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Arian Foster hasn't practiced since May. <a href="https://twitter.com/mortreport">@MortReport</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NFLInsiders&src=hash">#NFLInsiders</a> says "To me, there's red flags there"</p>— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/statuses/369540254178369537">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>On NFL Insiders, Chris Mortensen on Arian Foster (back, calf): "To me, there's red flags there." Foster hasn't been healthy since May OTAs.</p>— Evan Silva (@evansilva) <a href="https://twitter.com/evansilva/statuses/369540289691521025">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kubiak thinks Arian Foster will be ready for regular season.</p>— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChronBrianSmith/statuses/369540600476864512">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But it's odd to see the injury creep up after rest, not work. It's an offseason injury. Has he really been overworked more than RBs who get drafted early and start right away? Especially, if he spent so much time diving for yards last season, rather than trying to run over guys for it?
Cumulative injuries, by nature, creep up on you. It's possible Arian just pushed through it last year. Now after an offseason of rest, once he started doing football activities again, he realized that the pain hadn't gone away, despite the downtime.
Gary Kubiak says he can still count on Arian Foster for the opener if he no longer has a sore back: "Yes I am because I watch him work...on his own with (trainer) Geoff (Kaplan). It's not like he's been standing around for the last 3 weeks. Obviously there's been a little setback as we try to get the soreness out of him."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>From Total Access: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash">#Texans</a> RB Arian Foster dealing with minor disc irritation in his back. Still hopeful to return by opening day.</p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/statuses/369603193870626816">August 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
^ I knew it was going to be a disc problem when they started talking about the pain running down his legs and disc problems rarely fix themselves in pro athletes.
That's hard to believe, I'm sure they would be happy to pay a half million for good production from the RB position. That sounds like a very good deal to me.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>RB Arian Foster is off PUP list, was back on the practice field today. <a href="http://t.co/szvCNX9Zrz" title="http://bit.ly/14jYrQO">bit.ly/14jYrQO</a> (via @<a href="https://twitter.com/DoughertyDrew">DoughertyDrew</a>)</p>— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/370281545635872770" data-datetime="2013-08-21T20:29:34+00:00">August 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Arian Foster said he'll be ready for the season opener. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TexansTalk&src=hash">#TexansTalk</a></p>— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/DZangaro/statuses/370318203550851072">August 21, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It cracks me up the media is all pissy about Foster being late for the press conference and giving short answers...
I still think this back thing is going to rear its head before the season is up...even if Arian is out there for game 1. But fortunately we have Tate as the backup (and hopefully he stays healthy) and he is in a contract year. I'm sure he is looking to get as many touches as possible to potentially get some notice from another team that wants to make him a starter (and pay him accordingly). Should be plenty of motivation.
