Here's a good article about the team, where they're at, & some other players that they're looking at. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/fb/nfl/1299081 COMING INTO FOCUS Texans' puzzle takes shape as more pieces added By CARLTON THOMPSON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Dom Capers has it all mapped out. He can tell you how many meetings the Texans will have before they actually hit the field, the day and time they will hold their first workout, and what time the bus will depart for the airport for the Hall of Fame game against the New York Giants. What he can't tell you is what kind of team he has. At least not today. "What you have on paper and what you've seen on tape is one thing," Capers said. "But we won't really know what we have until we get on the field. That's the true evaluation. Once we install the offense, the defense and the kicking game and see how all the pieces fit together, then we'll have a better idea." Nevertheless, with 64 players already on the roster -- the Texans will take 90 players to training camp -- it becomes clearer each day how the Texans' roster will take shape. QUARTERBACK Mike Quinn and Ben Sankey are the only quarterbacks on the roster, and they will battle for the No. 3 job in training camp. The plan is to sign a veteran quarterback to play the position until likely top draft pick David Carr is ready to play. Rob Johnson was the Texans' top choice, but he took less money to sign with Tampa Bay. The quarterback market was thin to begin with, and it appears to be drying up quickly. Chris Chandler and Jeff Blake top the list of remaining free agents. More quarterbacks will be available after the June 1 cuts, but the reality might be that Carr plays sooner than originally anticipated. RUNNING BACK The Texans targeted James Allen as their starting running back long before free agency began, and they got him for the bargain-basement price of $800,000. Allen rushed for more than 1,100 yards with the Bears two years ago and will have every opportunity to flourish in a Texans offense that will feature the running game. "To score a lot of points in this league, you have to be able to make big plays, and you usually make big plays in the passing game," Capers said. "But to be able to win, you have to be able to run the ball." Allen also is a capable receiver out of the backfield. The Texans have six running backs on the roster, including NFL veteran Michael Basnight and Michael Jenkins, who starred in the Canadian Football League. RECEIVER The Texans don't have a proven No. 1 receiver, but they have plenty of speed with Corey Bradford and Jermaine Lewis among the eight receivers on the roster. Receiver is a deep position in the upcoming college draft, so the Texans should get some help there. Capers has a reputation for featuring a ball-control offense, but he insists the Texans will try to make big plays in the passing game. "The personnel will dictate the type of offense we run," he said. "We'd like to be able to stretch the field, but we'd also like to be able to run the ball. Ideally, you'd like to be able to run the ball well enough to force the defense to get into an eight-man front, and then your chances of throwing the ball are better. "It's like the Cowboys used to be. If you stacked the box to stop Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin would beat you and vice versa. We'll work toward that." OFFENSIVE LINE This is the area where the Texans have done their best work. It started with getting tackles Tony Boselli and Ryan Young in the expansion draft, and signing free-agent guard Steve McKinney, who will play center, was a solid move. Obviously, any success the Texans have on offense will begin with the line. "Of the 19 players we got out of the expansion draft, nine of them were either offensive or defensive linemen," Capers said. "That was crucial. Big guys are hard to come by, and we were able to pick up some good players. We feel good about the two tackles we got in the expansion draft, and Steve McKinney has been a consistent starter in this league, so that's a good start." DEFENSIVE LINE The Texans filled two of the three starting spots via the expansion draft with Gary Walker and Seth Payne. The plan is for Payne to play nose guard and Walker to line up on the right side. Expansion draftee Jabari Issa probably is the front-runner on the left side, but that's another position likely to be addressed in the college draft. Another possibility is free agent Brandon Mitchell, who was a key contributor for the New England Patriots last season and visited the Texans earlier this month. LINEBACKER Linebackers are the key to the 3-4 defense, and the Texans already have a solid foundation on the strong side. Jamie Sharper will play inside, and Kailee Wong will take an outside position. Greg Jones will have every opportunity to win the starting job opposite Wong, but there still is a hole at the left inside position, where the Texans are considering free agent Earl Holmes. Linebacker is one of the weakest positions in the draft, so the Texans are working hard to find a solution through free agency. Wong has the ability to be a star, but the jury is still out because he has been an inside linebacker throughout his career. The Texans invested heavily in him ($13.2 million for four years), so it's a gamble they can't afford to have backfire. "Kailee will have a little bit of a transition period, but we're confident he can do the things we'll be asking him to do," Capers said. "Jamie already has done the things we're going to be asking him to do, so I feel good about our situation at linebacker." SECONDARY Because so many teams are using multiple-receiver sets, finding quality players in the secondary has become more critical to success. The Texans got off to a good start by getting cornerbacks Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman in the expansion draft. They have experienced safeties in Matt Stevens, Kevin Williams and Leomont Harris, but the safety positions hardly can be described as a strength at this point. Finding quality depth in the secondary will have to be one of the goals over the remainder of the offseason. Free agency tends to work in positional cycles, and there is a run on nickel-package corners. The Texans are looking at Terry Cousins. SPECIAL TEAMS With Lewis and Charlie Rogers on the roster, the return game is in good hands. The Texans have signed restricted free-agent kicker Kris Brown to an offer sheet, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, his former team, will have seven days to match, beginning Monday. Getting Brown would be a coup because, last season notwithstanding, he has been a consistent performer who is solid on kickoffs. There are two punters on the roster -- Chad Stanley and Aron Langley -- but the Texans are looking around. Free agents Mitch Berger, Mark Royals and Hunter Smith are possibilities. "It's still early, but I like the way things are coming together," Capers said. "We've been able to acquire some proven players who will set a high standard for the younger guys to follow, and that's going to be important because we're going to be a young team. "We're going to have seven on-field workouts in April before the minicamps after the draft, and we will have been in 15 meetings and seven practices prior to the draft. Those are going to be important steps in the process, because the biggest difference between us and the rest of the teams in the league is that we don't know our team yet." But with each passing day, it gets a little more familiar.
