texans wrap up four-game home game information...

Game 7

vs.

(2-4) (0-7)

The Houston Texans complete their franchise-long four-game home stand as the Cincinnati Bengals visit Reliant Stadium for the first time since 2002 on Sunday, October 26 at 3:05 pm CT. Houston looks to extend its winning streak to three games, marking the longest in franchise history in one season.

The Texans and Bengals were originally scheduled to meet on November 9, but the game was rescheduled due to damage by Hurricane Ike at Reliant Stadium on September 13. Cincinnati comes to Houston winners of all three matchups between these teams. The Bengals won in their only trip to Houston 38-3 in 2002. This marks head coach Gary Kubiak’s first matchup against the Bengals.

The Texans offense has steadily improved as the season has progressed. Houston ranks second in the AFC and fifth in the NFL with 369.5 yards per game. Houston has gained over 400 yards of total offense in its last two games; marking the first time in team history the Texans have gained 400-plus yards of total offense more than once in the same season.

Houston WR Andre Johnson looks to continue the best month of his career. He has 30 receptions for 450 yards to lead the NFL in October. He ranks first in the AFC and second in the NFL with 629 receiving yards and second in the NFL and AFC with 45 catches midway through the season. TE Owen Daniels leads all AFC tight ends in receptions (29) and receiving yards (374).

TEXANS WRAP UP FOUR-GAME HOME STAND WITH VISIT FROM CINCINNATI

GAME INFORMATION

W L PCT. ST Tennessee 6 0 1.000 W 6 Indianapolis 3 3 .500 L 1 Jacksonville 3 3 .500 W 1 Houston 2 4 .333 W 2

AFC SOUTH STANDINGS

Date: Sunday, October 26, 2008 Site: Reliant Stadium Capacity: 71,054 Surface: Natural Grass Time: 3:05 pm CT Television: CBS Network (KHOU-Houston)

Gus Johnson (play-by-play) Steve Tasker (color)

Radio: KILT- 610AM and 100.3FM. Marc Vandermeer (play-by-play) Andre Ware (color) Rich Lord (sideline)

KLAT 1010 AM Rolando Becerra (play-by-play) Enrique Vasquez (color)

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For Immediate Release Monday, October 20, 2008

2008 NEWS RELEASE

LAST WEEK VS. DETROITHouston won its second consecutive game, 28-21, against Detroit. QB Matt Schaub finished the day with a career-high completion percentage of 83.9 percent and WR Andre Johnson led the way with 11 receptions for 141 yards. TE Owen Daniels tied a career high with two touchdown receptions. The game marked the return of CB Dunta Robinson for the first time in a year after suffering a knee injury in 2007.

HOUSTON TEXANS

3 HoustonTexans.com/media

Gary Kubiak returned to his hometown of Houston on January 26, 2006, becoming the second head coach in the history of the Houston Texans.

In just two seasons as a head coach, Kubiak has led the Texans to places the franchise had never been before. In his rookie season, he tripled the team’s win total of the previous year, guiding the club to a 6-10 record. The six victories included wins in three of the last five games of the season and the franchise’s first ever win over Indianapolis. Six wins were the second-most in franchise history. All six victories came versus AFC opponents, giving the Texans their most wins over conference foes in team annals. Year two for Kubiak saw the team achieve the best record in franchise history, finishing 8-8.

The Texans won three of their last four and five of their last seven to finish the season at .500. Closing the season strong has become a hallmark of Kubiak’s teams, which have combined for a 6-4 in the month of December. Another point of emphasis under Kubiak has been developing a true home field advantage. After going 4-4 at Reliant Stadium in 2006, which was the best home mark at the time, Kubiak’s troops posted a 6-2 mark at home last year.

Kubiak began his coaching career in 1992-93 as the running backs coach at his alma mater, Texas A&M. He started his NFL coaching career with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994 as the quarterbacks coach, guiding Hall of Famer Steve Young to the NFL MVP for the second time in his career. In 1995, Kubiak returned to the Broncos as offensive coordinator, helping to lead the team to seven postseason trips and two Super Bowl titles in 11 seasons.

Marvin Lewis was named Bengals head coach on Jan. 14, 2003, becoming at the time the eighth African-American to be named to an NFL head coaching position. He is in his sixth season as Bengals head coach. Lewis' record over his five previous campaigns is 42-38 in the regular season, 0-1 in postseason and 42-39 overall. He is 13 victories behind Paul Brown and 22 wins behind Sam Wyche for the team record in wins.

In 2002, the season before he joined the Bengals, Lewis led the Washington Redskins to a No. 5 NFL defensive ranking, serving as assistant head coach as well as defensive coordinator. He came to the Redskins after six seasons (1996-2001) as defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, a tenure that included a Super Bowl victory in the 2000 season. In the 2000 regular season, Lewis' Baltimore defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game campaign (165), clipping 22 points off the previous mark. The unit is a regular entry in discussions regarding the best NFL defenses of all time. Lewis began his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992.

HEAD COACH COMPARISON HOUSTON CINCINNATI Gary Kubiak Marvin Lewis 16-22 Regular Season Record 42-45 0-0 Playoff Record 0-1 3rd Years as NFL head coach 6th 3rd Years as team’s head coach 6th 0-0 Career Head-to-Head 0-0 0-0 Career vs. Team (Regular season) 2-0

Gary Kubiak

Houston Texans Head Coach

2006-08: Head Coach, Houston Texans 2003-05: Offensive Coordinator, Denver Broncos 1995-02: Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, Denver Broncos 1994: Quarterbacks, San Francisco 49ers 1992-93: Running Backs, Texas A&M

TEXANS HEAD COACH GARY KUBIAK BENGALS HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS

Marvin Lewis

Head Coach

2003-08: Cincinnati Bengals, Head Coach 2002: Washington Redskins, Defensive Coordinator 1996-01: Baltimore Ravens, Defensive Coordinator 1992-95: Pittsburgh Steelers, Assistant Coach 1990-91: University of Pittsburgh, Asst. Coach 1987-89: New Mexico, Assistant Coach 1985-86: Long Beach State, Assistant Coach 1981-84: Idaho State, Assistant Coach

HOUSTON TEXANS

HoustonTexans.com/media 4

Gary Kubiak Head Coach Alex Gibbs Asst. Head Coach/Offense Kyle Shanahan Offensive Coordinator Richard Smith Defensive Coordinator Joe Marciano Special Teams Coordinator Frank Bush Sr. Defensive Asst. John Benton Offensive Line Perry Carter Defensive Asst. Jethro Franklin Defensive Line Chick Harris Running Backs Richard Hightower Special Teams Asst. Jon Hoke Defensive Backs Johnny Holland Linebackers Larry Kirksey Wide Receivers Matt LaFleur Offensive Assistant Mike McDaniel Offensive Assistant Brian Pariani Tight Ends Frank Pollack Asst. Offensive Line Ray Rhodes Asst. Defensive Backs Dan Riley Strength and Conditioning Robert Saleh Defensive Assistant Ray Wright Asst. Strength & Conditioning

Veteran coaches hired this offseason Gary Kubiak has made a habit of surrounding himself with great coaches throughout his tenure in Houston. One of his first hires in 2006 was former Green Bay head coach Mike Sherman, who served as the assistant head coach/offense and then offensive coordinator in Kubiak’s first two seasons. This offseason, Kubiak bolstered his staff with two of the brightest minds in football, hiring venerable offensive line guru Alex Gibbs as the assistant head coach/offense and 1995 NFL Coach of the Year Ray Rhodes as the assistant defensive backs coach. Gibbs brings a wealth of coaching and administrative experience to the Texans. In his most recent coaching position, he served as the assistant head coach/offensive line, as well as consultant, with the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-06. In 2004 the Falcons led the NFL in rushing for the first time in team history, rushing for a team-record 2,672 yards. Gibbs worked with Kubiak, who served as the offensive coordinator in Denver, from 1995-03. During their time together, the Broncos led the NFL in rushing with 20,150 yards. Denver finished second in total offense with 54,167 yards during their nine seasons together. Rhodes was defensive coordinator for San Francisco’s 1994 World Championship team. He led the 49ers defense to an eighth place finish that season, as well as a victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. S Merton Hanks, S Tim McDonlad, CB Deion Sanders and DT Dana Stubblefield all earned Pro Bowl nominations following the 1994 season.

Rick Smith enters his third season as Texans general manger after being named to the post on June 5, 2006. Over the last two seasons, Smith has re-shaped the Texans roster that recorded a franchise-best eight wins in 2007. For his efforts in pulling the Texans closer to becoming a winner, Smith received the prestigious Tank Younger Award in 2008 presented annually by the Fritz Pollard Alliance for outstanding work in an NFL front office. He was named to the NFL’s new General Managers Advisory Committee to provide advice and other feedback to the NFL Football Operations department.

At 38 years old, Smith is the youngest general manager in the NFL. In his first two seasons at the helm, Smith has assembled a front office staff that has the Texans pointed towards sustained success in the NFL. Houston placed 17 players on injured reserve in 2007, including six starters from the first game of the season. Key starters also missed significant time last season, including Schaub (five games) and Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson (seven games). Despite the injuries over the past two seasons, the Texans need only five wins this season to eclipse their win total from 2002-05, prior to Smith’s arrival.

Smith significantly improved the Texans depth and play-making ability during this offseason. The Texans used their first-round pick to fill the void at left tackle that has plagued the Texans since their inception by selecting Virginia Tech’s Duane Brown. Smith engineered a trade to move back in the first round, from 18 to 26, drafting Brown and acquiring additional picks in the third and sixth rounds in the process.

TEXANS COACHING STAFF

Rick Smith

Houston Texans General Manager 2006-08: General Manager, Houston Texans 2006: Assistant General Manager, Denver Broncos 2000-05: Director of Pro Personnel, Denver Broncos 1996-99: Defensive Assistant, Denver Broncos

TEXANS GM RICK SMITH

HOUSTON TEXANS


The Cincinnati Bengals are the second consecutive opponent to visit the Texans seeking their first win of the season. The Bengals are 0-7 this season and have not scored more than 23 points in a game. Marvin Lewis is in his sixth season as the Bengals head coach and has a 42-45 regular season record with the team. Quarterback Carson Palmer has been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks the last few seasons, earning two Pro Bowl trips. Palmer is the fifth fastest passer in NFL history to reach 100 touchdowns. Palmer has been bothered by an injured elbow all season and a story on the Bengals website reports that Palmer probably will not play Sunday against Houston. Ryan Fitzpatrick has filled in for Palmer and has thrown for 472 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Bengals backfield features two former first-round draft picks with running backs Chris Perry and Cedric Benson. Perry, the starter, was a first-round pick by the Bengals in the 2004 NFL Draft and has run for 253 yards and two touchdowns this season. Benson was a recent free-agent signing and has seen action in three games, rushing for 88 yards on 28 carries. The Bengals wide receiving corps is loaded with talent. WR Chad Johnson is a five-time Pro Bowler and also the Bengals all-time leader in receptions (586) and receiving yards (8,633. Johnson has 27 receptions for 268 yards and two touchdowns this season. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh made the Pro Bowl in 2007 after tying for the NFL receptions lead with 112. Houshmandzadeh has 46 receptions for 458 yards and three touchdowns this season. TE Reggie Kelly has played in 141 NFL games and has 12 receptions for 73 yards this season.

On the defensive line, DT Domata Peko, a fourth-round pick in 2006, leads the line with 31 tackles on the year. Ten-year veteran John Thorton has started 83 of a possible 83 games for the Bengals since joining the team in 2003. He has recorded 15 tackles on the season. Next to Thorton is right end Antwan Odom, who has garnered 14 tackles on the season and is currently tied for the team lead with two sacks. Opposite Odom is left end Robert Geathers, who has 27 tackles and 0.5 sacks on the year. The Bengals have a strong linebacker corps. Middle linebacker Dhani Jones, voted as team captain, is off to a strong start in 2008. Jones leads the team in tackles with 63. Cincinnati’s 2008 first-round draft pick OLB Keith Rivers was hurt in last week’s game and is likely to be put on the injured reserve list. Brandon Johnson, a third-year pro, will fill in for the injured Rivers. Rashad Jeanty, a former CFL player for Ottawa, is playing in his third NFL season. He has 35 tackles on the season with one forced fumble.

Cincinnati’s secondary consists of players drafted from ’06 and on. In the 2006 and 2007 drafts, the Bengals choose two cornerbacks, Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall, in the first rounds, respectively. Joseph, who played with current Texans star corner Dunta Robinson at South Carolina, has 15 tackles and eight passes defensed for the season. Free safety Marvin White, a fourth round choice in ’07 and former TCU standout, has 37 tackles including 31 solo tackles and one interception. Strong safety Chinedum Ndukwe leads the secondary in tackles with 38. Ndukwe also has one interception and has returned a fumble back for a touchdown this season. Glenn Holt has returned 28 kickoffs for 744 yards in 2008, giving him a 26.6 yard average for the season. WR Antonio Chatman returns punts for the Bengals with a long of return of 34 yards this season. A Pro Bowl selection in 2005, kicker Shayne Graham has made nine out of 10 field goals this year and is perfect on extra point attempts. Punter Kyle Larson has a 41.9 yard punting average and has seven punts downed inside the 20.

The Texans and Bengals meet for the fourth time, with Cincinnati owning a 3-0 series lead. Houston welcomes the Bengals the Houston for the first time since 2002 when Cincinnati picked up one of their two wins on the season, 38-3. Bengals QB Jon Kitna completed 22-of-27 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns. The Texans scored on their first possession then watched Cincinnati score 38 unanswered points.

Houston traveled to Cincinnati in 2003 and 2005, falling 34-27 and 16-10. Bengals RB Rudi Johnson tied an NFL record by carrying the ball 43 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns in 2003. The Texans are looking for their first win over an AFC North opponent this season after falling 38-17 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.

Last Season Meeting: October 2, 2005

Current Streak: The Bengals have a three-game winning streak

Regular Season Series: (Bengals lead series 3-0) 2002 Bengals, 38-3 (HOU) 2003 Bengals, 34-27 (CIN) 2005 Bengals, 16-10 (CIN)

Last regular season game: CIN 16, HOU 10 (10/2/05)

Last preseason game: Never met

Texans largest winning margin: Never won

Bengals largest winning margin: CIN 38, HOU 3 (11/3/02)

Next Meeting: 2011 (Paul Brown Stadium)

CINCINNATI BENGALS GAME PREVIEW

TEXANS/BENGALS SERIES HISTORY

HOUSTON TEXANS


BENGALS 16, TEXANS 10 PAUL BROWN STADIUM, OCTOBER 2, 2005

ATTENDANCE: 65,714

1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final HOUSTON TEXANS 0 3 7 0 10 CINCINNATI BENGALS 3 7 0 6 16

BENGALS S. Graham 24 yd. Field Goal TEXANS K. Brown 28 yd. Field Goal BENGALS J. Johnson 1 yd. pass from C. Palmer TEXANS M. Norris 4 yd. pass from D. Carr BENGALS S. Graham 27 yd. Field Goal BENGALS S. Graham 46 yd. Field Goal TEXANS BENGALS First Downs............................18 22 Total Net Yards.................... 254 371 Net Yards Rushing..... ..........126 98 Net Yards Passing............................... 128 273 (Att/Comp/Int).............26-17-0 34-25-0 Punts-Average....................4-36.3 2-47.5 Fumbles-Lost....................... 1-1 1-0 Sacks-Yards.........................7-46 2-3 Penalties-Yards................... 9-90 14-117 Time of Possession............ 25:26 34:34 PASSING: TEXANS- Carr 17-26, 174 yards, 1 TD. BENGALS- Palmer 25-34, 276 yards, 1 TD. RECEIVING: TEXANS- Gaffney 6-88; Davis 4-31; A. Johnson 3-38; Wells 2-5; Bradford 1-8; Norris 1-4, 1 TD. BENGALS- Houshmandzadeh 8-105; C. Johnson 7-67; Perry 4-29; Henry 2-34; Kelly 2-20; Schobel 1-20; J. Johnson 1-1, 1 TD. RUSHING: TEXANS- Davis 19-81; Carr 3-35; Wells 1-10. BENGALS- R. Johnson 19-88; Perry 46; Houshmandzadeh 1-5; Palmer 1 for -1. Summary The Texans dropped to 0-3 for the first time in team history when they fell 16-10 to the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals (4-0) at Paul Brown Stadium. The Texans received the opening kickoff and drove 36 yards on their first three plays before punting three snaps later to the Bengals’ 10-yard line. Cincinnati responded by marching 79 yards on a game-high 15 plays. QB Carson Palmer found WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh on three passes for 36 yards. K Shayne Graham ended the drive with a 24-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 midway through the first quarter. The Texans responded by going 49 yards on a team-high 12 plays to set up K Kris Brown’s first field

goal of the season, which was good from 28 yards. LB Kailee Wong’s third-down sack helped force Cincinnati’s first punt of the game on the home team’s next possession. The Texans moved 37 yards to midfield before punting for the second time. The Bengals regained the lead on their following series when they went 65 yards on nine plays, punctuated by Palmer’s one-yard touchdown pass to FB Jeremi Johnson. Houston put together one final drive before halftime, but was forced to punt from its 16-yard line with 18 seconds remaining. After Cincinnati punted on the opening possession of the second half, QB David Carr evened the score when he led the Texans on a game-long 90-yard drive in 10 plays. RB Domanick Davis rushed for 27 yards, and Carr passed to FB Moran Norris on a four-yard play action touchdown pass. The Bengals engineered a team-long 89-yard drive on their ensuing series, but Graham missed a 42-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter to keep the score tied 10-10. After Chad Stanley’s fourth punt of the game, Cincinnati capitalized by going 81 yards on 13 plays to set up Graham’s 27-yarder. Houston turned the ball over on a controversial fumble six plays into the following drive on the Texans’ 38-yard line. Despite Dom Capers’ challenge, the play stood, leaving the Texans with no timeouts. Soon after the change of possession, Graham kicked a 46-yard field goal that made the score 16-10 with 1:15 left on the game clock. On the Texans’ 40-yard line, Carr was sacked for the seventh time of the game as the clock ran out.

Texans with ties to Ohio: Assistant head coach Alex Gibbs (Ohio State), defensive backs coach Jon Hoke (Kettering, Kent State, Bowling Green), wide receivers coach Larry Kirksey (Miami (OH)), WR Kevin Walter (Cincinnati Bengals), CB Antwaun Molden (Cleveland). Bengals with ties to Texas: Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski (San Angelo), RB Cedric Benson (University of Texas, Midland), OT Anthony Collins (Beaumont), CB Jamar Fletcher (Houston Texans), QB Jordan Palmer (Texas-El Paso), S Marvin White (Texas Christian), G Bobbie Williams (Jefferson). Previous college teammates: Texans LB DeMeco Ryans and Bengals DE Antwan Odom at Alabama, Texans RB Chris Taylor and Bengals S Herana-Daze Jones at Indiana, Texans DT Amobi Okoye and Bengals LB Brandon Johnson at Louisville, Texans T Eric Winston and T Rashad Butler and C Chris Myers and Bengals DT Orien Harris at Miami (FL), Texans DE Mario Williams and Bengals G Scott Kooistra

LAST MEETING VS. CINCINNATI

TEXANS-BENGALS CONNECTIONS

HOUSTON TEXANS


at N.C. State, Texans RB Darius Walker and Bengals LB Corey Mays and S Chinedum Ndukwe at Notre Dame, Texans CB Fred Bennett and CB Dunta Robinson and Bengals CB Jonathan Joseph at South Carolina, Texans DT Frank Okam and G Kasey Studdard and Bengals RB Cedric Benson at Texas, Texans WR André Davis and Bengals K Shayne Graham at Virginia Tech.

The Houston Texans officially played their first game in Reliant Stadium on September 8, 2002, against the Dallas Cowboys. The $425 million building is the first retractable roof stadium in the NFL and is also the new home of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Reliant Stadium was also host to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. The roof is composed of two panels - each 240 feet long and 385 feet wide - that meet at midfield. In addition to the roof, another unique feature to the stadium is the removable grass field. The field is composed of 8-foot by 8-foot square modules that are 8 inches deep and include a metal drainage base. There are approximately 1,250 modules in the field, with each one weighing about 3,500 pounds.

The Texans also added a few more seats to Reliant Stadium for Super Bowl XXXVIII, increasing the seating capacity to 71,054. The stadium entered the 2002 season with 69,500 seats. The two video boards located behind the north and south end zones measure 96 ½ feet by 26 ½ feet and are the largest in the NFL and can display one image or six different images simultaneously.

• The roof weighs a total of 3,000 tons and is covered in translucent fabric. It can open in 7-10 minutes.

• Total size of the building – 1.9 million square feet.

The Texans have played to sellout crowds since entering the NFL. The Texans increased the Reliant Stadium capacity following the 2002 season to 71,054, incorporating more “Raving Fans.” Houston has sold out 65 consecutive games and looks to continue the trend in 2008. The Texans have sold 64,000-plus season tickets for the first time in team history. The Texans are looking to continue their streak of selling out every preseason and regular season game in team history. Sunday’s matchup against Cincinnati will extend the streak to 66.

The Texans will play with the roof at Reliant Stadium open for the remainder of the season. The stadium suffered damage to five roof panels during Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in Galveston and passed over Houston in the early morning hours of Saturday, September 13.

The Texans and Bengals are expected to play under clear skies and a high temperate of 74 degrees with 10% chance of rain.

PASSING Matt Schaub 119-183 for 1,343 yards, 7 TD Sage Rosenfels 21-33 for 246 yards, 1 TD

RUSHING Steve Slaton 89 carries for 423 yards, 4 TD Ahman Green 39 carries for 178 yards, 1 TD Matt Schaub 16 carries for 56 yards, 2 TD

RECEIVING Andre Johnson 45 catches for 629 yards, 2 TD Owen Daniels 29 catches for 374 yards, 2 TD Kevin Walter 24 catches for 293 yards, 3 TD Steve Slaton 20 catches for 112 yards, 1 TD

SCORING Kris Brown 44 points (10 FG- 14 PATs) Steve Slaton 30 points (5 TD) Kevin Walter 18 points (3 TD) Andre Johnson 12 points (2 TD) Matt Schaub 12 points (2 TD) Owen Daniels 12 points (2 TD)

TACKLES Zac Diles 45 DeMeco Ryans 44 Will Demps 30 Morlon Greenwood 26

SACKS Mario Williams 6.0 Chaun Thompson 1.0 Zac Diles 1.0

• Give the Texans their first three-game winning streak in team history in a single season.

• Give the Texans a 3-1 record at Reliant Stadium in 2008.

• Give the Texans a 3-1 record in the month of October, tying the 2004 Texans for the best record in the month of October.

• Give the Texans a 3-4 record in 2008. • Extend the Texans home winning streak against

AFC North opponents to three straight. • Give the Texans a 1-1 record against the AFC

North in 2008.

A TEXANS WIN WOULD…

2008 TEXANS SEASON LEADERSRELIANT STADIUM FACTS

SOLD OUT RELIANT STADIUM

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE ON SUNDAY

HOUSTON TEXANS


• Give the Texans a 1-3 record all-time against the Bengals.

• Give the Texans a 1-1 record against the Bengals at Reliant Stadium.

• Improve head coach Gary Kubiak’s career record to 17-22.

• Improve Kubiak’s home record to 13-7.

• The Texans selling out their 66th consecutive home game counting pre and regular season dating back to the team’s inception since 2002.

• The Texans scoring a touchdown in their 34th straight game dating back to the 2006 season. Under head coach Gary Kubiak the Texans have failed to score a touchdown in only one game, Dallas 2006.

• The Texans extending their home winning streak against teams not in the AFC South to eight games. Houston’s last loss against a team from outside of the AFC South was the Buffalo Bills on November 26, 2006.

• The Texans offense gaining 400-plus yards for the third game in a row for the first time in team history. This marks the first time in team history the Texans have gained over 400 yards twice in the same season.

• The Texans rushing for 100-plus yards for the fourth consecutive game, tying a team record set three previous times. Houston’s record for consecutive 100-yard rushing games is five in 2005.

• The Texans outrushing their opponent for the sixth consecutive game.

• The Texans extending their team record of winning the time of possession battle for the sixth consecutive game.

• The Texans scoring more than 27 points for a team record fifth consecutive game.

• The Texans continuing to lead the NFL with 16 penalties committed.

• K Kris Brown extending his personal best by scoring in his 75th consecutive game.

• Brown extending his team record for all-time scoring. He enters the game with 581 points scored as a Texan.

• Brown extending his streak of consecutive field goals made after entering this week with 10 consecutive made. He set his career record of 13 straight to start a season as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1999.

• TE Owen Daniels extending his career-long streak of consecutive games with a reception to 26.

• Daniels continuing to lead all AFC tight ends in receptions (29) and receiving yards (374).

• RB Ahman Green rushing for 9,000 yards in his career with 71.

• Green reaching 2,000 career carries with 20. • WR Andre Johnson extending his own team

record of catches in consecutive games at 41. He has caught a pass in 75 of his 76 career games.

• Johnson scoring seven points to own the Texans all-time record for points by a non-kicker in a career with 175.

• Johnson tying a team record for most touchdowns scored (28) in a Texans career with one.

• Johnson setting a team record with his fourth consecutive game with 100-yards receiving.

• Johnson needing 156 receiving yards to establish the most receiving yards in the month of October since 2000 with 606.

• G Chester Pitts continuing his streak as the only player to start every game as a Texan. He looks to start his 103rd consecutive game.

• Pitts and K Kris Brown playing in their 103rd consecutive game. These are the only two players to appear in every Texan game.

• CB Dunta Robinson tying the Texans team record with 12 career interceptions with one.

• QB Matt Schaub reaching 400 completions for his career with five.

• Schaub throwing for a team record 250-plus yards in four consecutive games he’s played in. Schaub (twice) along with David Carr are tied for the team record with three.

• RB Steve Slaton scoring three touchdowns to tie RB Domanick Williams for first in Texans history for touchdowns by a rookie with eight.

• WR Kevin Walter tying his single-season record of four receiving touchdowns with one.

• DE Mario Williams extending the Texans team sack record for career sacks which stands at 24.5.

TE Owen Daniels leads AFC TEs in Receptions (29) and receiving yards (374)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

HOUSTON TEXANS


RECORD Texans 2008 Record: (2-4) Bengals 2008 Record: (0-7)

Texans Offense vs.

Bengals Defense (NFL Rank)

TEAM TOTAL RUSHING PASSING Texans O 369.5 (6) 120.0 (12) 249.5 (6)

Bengals D 331.4 (19) 152.3 (28) 179.1 (6)

Texans Defense vs. Bengals Offense

(NFL Rank)

TEAM TOTAL RUSHING PASSING Texans D 338.8 (22) 122.0 (22) 216.8 (17)

Bengals O 225.6 (32) 73.9 (31) 151.7 (30)

Texans Special Teams vs. Bengals Special Teams

(NFL Rank)

TEAM Punt Ret.

Avg. Punt

coverage Kick Ret.

Avg. Kick

coverage

Texans 10.6 (12) 12.3 (28) 21.3 (23) 22.9 (16)

Bengals 8.4 (20) 10.1 (20) 25.7 (3) 24.1 (25)

Here is a look at where the Texans rank in the top ten of NFL statistics:

K Kris Brown • T-1st with a field goal percentage of 100%

WR Andre Johnson • 2nd with 629 receiving yards • T-2nd with 45 receptions

WR Jacoby Jones • 3rd with a long punt return of 70 yards

LB DeMeco Ryans • T-3rd with 2 defensive fumble recoveries

RB Steve Slaton • T-10th with a long run of 50 yards • T-10th with a 4.8 yards per carry average

DE Mario Williams • T-6th with 6.0 sacks • T-4th with two forced fumbles

Texans Offense • T-2nd with 22.7 first downs per game • 4th with 32:13 in time of possession • 5th with 369.5 in total offense • 6th with 249.5 in passing yards • T-6th with 36.0 pass attempts per game • T-7th with 7 rushing touchdowns • 8th with a 42.9 in 3rd down conversions • 9th with 5.6 yards per play • 9th with 64.9 in completion percentage • T-9th with 140 completions

Here is a look at the awards Texans players have garnered throughout the 2008 season. Jacoby Jones

• AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 6)

Steve Slaton • NFL Players Association’s Rookie of the Week

(Week 5)

The Texans hit the road for the first time in a month when they travel to Minnesota for the first time in team history. The Texans have faced the Vikings once in their team history in 2004 when Minnesota picked up a 34-28 win in overtime.

Houston is 1-0 this season against NFC North opponents in 2008 defeating Detroit 28-21 in Week 7. Texan head coach Gary Kubiak faces another member from the coaching class of 2006 in Vikings head man Brad Childress. Kubiak is 4-2 against coaches hired that season and 2-0 against NFC coaches Sean Peyton and Rod Marinelli.

• The Texans scored on their opening possession for the first time this season when QB Matt Schaub hooked up with TE Owen Daniels for a two-yard touchdown pass. The last time Houston scored on its opening possession was last season at Indianapolis (12/24/06) when QB Sage Rosenfels hit WR Kevin Walter for a 17-yard touchdown pass, the 200th in Texans history.

• Houston’s 14 first-quarter points tied the team record for the most points scored in the opening period. The last time the Texans put up 14 points in the first quarter was in 2006 vs.

2008 REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS

NEXT WEEK AT MINNESOTA

GAME NOTES VS. DETROIT

TEXANS IN THE TOP TEN

TEXANS HONORS

HOUSTON TEXANS


Indianapolis (12/24/06). Houston also scored 14 in the first quarter at Pittsburgh on 12/8/02.

• This was the first time this season that the Texans shut out their opponent in the first quarter.

• Houston scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions. It was the first time in franchise history that the Texans accomplished that feat. The last time Houston scored touchdowns on the first two possessions of a game was in 2006 vs. Indianapolis (12/24/06).

• Houston’s 21 points in the first half tied for the second-most scored by the Texans in the opening 30 minutes. The team record in the first half was 24 points, which has happened twice, the last coming vs. Arizona on 12/18/05.

• Houston gained 404 yards of total offense a week after gaining a team-record 485 yards. It marks the first time in franchise history that the Texans have gained more than 400 yards in back-to-back games.

• Houston’s 29 first downs were a team record for the most in a game. The previous high was 26, which happened twice, the last coming at Tennessee on 10/29/06.

• The Texans rushed for 150 yards on 34 carries, a 4.4-yard average. Houston has rushed for 100 or more yards in the last three games and has done so four times in six games this season.

• Houston outrushed Detroit, 150 to 77. The Texans have outrushed their opponents in each of the last five games.

• Houston held the ball for a franchise-record 40:04 in the game. The previous high was 38:58 at Jacksonville on 12/26/04.

• With QB Matt Schaub’s one-yard sneak on fourth-and-inches in the third quarter, the Texans improved to five-of-10 on fourth down this season.

• K Kris Brown extended his own team-record streak by scoring in his 74th consecutive game.

• Brown finished the game with four points on four extra points. He has now scored 581 points as a Texan.

• DE Tim Bulman recorded his first career sack when he dropped Detroit QB Dan Orlovsky for a seven-yard loss in the fourth quarter.

• TE Owen Daniels caught his first touchdown of the season with a two-yard scoring grab on the opening drive of the game.

• Daniels’ touchdown was the 200th touchdown in Texans history.

• Daniels caught a pass in his 25th consecutive game.

• Daniels tied a career high with his second touchdown catch of the day when he hauled in a one-yard score in the third quarter. Daniels also caught a pair of touchdowns at Tennessee on 10/29/06.

• The two touchdowns gave Daniels 10 for his career.

• FS Will Demps tied for the team lead with six tackles, all solos.

• LB Zac Diles sacked Detroit QB Dan Orlovsky for a nine-yard loss in the second quarter. It was Diles’ first career sack.

• Diles’ sack was just the second of the season by a Texans defender other than DE Mario Williams. LB Chaun Thompson recorded a sack at Jacksonville (9/28).

• Diles tied for the team lead with six total tackles, including five solos. Diles also had a sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed.

• RB Ahman Green scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and his first since last season at Oakland (11/4/07), a span of 12 games.

• WR Andre Johnson extended his own team record by catching a pass in his 40th consecutive game. Johnson has caught at least one pass in 75 of his 76 career games played.

• Johnson’s eight catches in the first half were the most in his career for the first half of a game. His 95 first-half receiving yards were the third-most in his career. His career first-half record is 98 yards vs. Indianapolis (10/5/08).

• Johnson recorded his 21st career 100-yard game and his fourth of the season. He topped the century mark with his first catch of the second half.

• Johnson has topped 100 yards in each of the last three games. It is the second time in his career that Johnson has had 100 or more yards in three consecutive games. Last season he opened the season with back-to-back 100-yard games vs. Kansas City (9/9/07) and at Carolina (9/16/07) and then had 120 yards vs. New Orleans (11/18/07) after a seven-week layoff.

• Johnson has topped 100 receiving yards in seven of his 11 career games played versus NFC opponents.

• In the last three games, Johnson has caught 30 passes for 450 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson’s career high in any single month is 432 yards in December, 2007, when he played five games.

• Johnson ranks second in total yards from scrimmage this month with 450. He trails only Washington RB Clinton Portis, who has 484

HOUSTON TEXANS


total yards (449 rushing, 35 receiving). Portis has had 81 touches compared to Johnson’s 30.

• CB Dunta Robinson made his 2008 season debut after spending the first six weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list. Robinson finished with two solo tackles.

• RB Steve Slaton ran in from one yard for his fifth touchdown of the year overall, tying him with TE Owen Daniels (2006) for the second-most touchdowns by a rookie in Texans history. RB Domanick Williams owns the team rookie record with eight scores in 2003.

• QB Matt Schaub has completed 20 or more passes in each of his last three starts. His longest career streak of games with 20 or more completions is four games (9/16-10/7/07). Three straight games also ties for the second-longest such streak in team history. David Carr had three straight games with 20+ completions from 10/31-11/14/04.

• Schaub finished the game 26-of-31, giving him a completion percentage of 84.0. That is the highest completion percentage of his career. His previous career high was 81.8 percent last season vs. Indianapolis (9/23) when he completed 27-of-33 attempts.

• Schaub finished the game with a passer rating of 124.1. It was the highest passer rating of his career, topping his previous high as a starter of 119.5 this season at Jacksonville (9/28).

• Schaub’s 124.1 passer rating was the second-highest in franchise history. The only better performance was by David Carr, who posted a 140.2 rating at Indianapolis on 9/17/06.

• P Matt Turk averaged 48.8 yards on four punts, none of which were returned. His 48.8-yard net punting average was tied for the fourth-highest of his career and was his best since 12/17/06 at Oakland, when he netted 48.8 yards while playing for the St. Louis Rams.

• Three of Turk’s four punts were downed inside the five-yard line.

Houston Opponents Total First Downs 136 108Rushing 45 43Passing 80 61Penalty 11 43rd Down: Made/Att 33/77 27/683rd Down Pct. 42.9% 39.7%4th Down: Made/Att 5/10 6/64th Down Pct. 50.0% 100.0%

Possession Avg. 32:13 27:47Total Net Yards 2217 2033Avg. Per Game 369.5 338.8Total Plays 394 334Avg. Per Play 5.6 6.1Net Yards Rushing 720 732Avg. Per Game 120.0 122.0Total Rushes 164 166Net Yards Passing 1497 1301Avg. Per Game 249.5 216.8Sacked/Yards Lost 14/92 9/53Gross Yards 1589 1354Attempts/Completions 216/140 159/105Completion Pct. 64.8% 66.0%Had Intercepted 8 3Punts/Average 19/44.8 25/46.4Net Punting Avg. 37.2 38.9Penalties/Yards 16/119 28/235Fumbles/Ball Lost 12/6 7/2Touchdowns 16 22Rushing 7 11Passing 8 9Returns 1 2

INTERVIEW REQUESTS

2008 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

HOUSTON TEXANS


TEXANS 2008 SEASON NOTES

One of the biggest moves the Texans made in the offseason was the hiring of Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach/offense. Gibbs has made a career out of improving the rushing attack of the teams for which he works. Gibbs has worked with seven teams prior to joining the Texans. In his first year with a new team, Gibbs’ squads have averaged over 1,900 rushing yards and nearly 14 rushing touchdowns per season. ALEX GIBBS IN YEAR ONE WITH NEW TEAMS

Rushes Yards YPC TD YPG AVERAGES 467.6 1,944.1 4.1 13.9 121.5 Following is a comparison of the year prior to Gibbs’ arrival at each team and his first year with the team. Year Team Rushes Yards YPC TD YPG 1983 Denver 471 1,784 3.8 15 111.5 1984 Denver 508 2,076 4.1 12 129.8 Difference +37 +292 +0.3 -3 +18.3 1987 LA Raiders 475 2,197 4.6 13 137.3 1988 LA Raiders 493 1,852 3.8 15 115.8 Difference +18 -345 -0.8 +2 -21.6 1989 San Diego 432 1,873 4.3 13 117.1 1990 San Diego 484 2,257 4.7 14 141.1 Difference +52 +384 +0.4 +1 +24.0 1991 Indianapolis 354 1,169 3.3 3 73.1 1992 Indianapolis 379 1,102 2.9 8 68.9 Difference +25 -67 -0.4 +5 -4.2 1992 Kansas City 446 1,532 3.4 14 95.8 1993 Kansas City 445 1,655 3.7 14 103.4 Difference -1 +123 +0.3 +0 +7.7 1994 Denver 431 1,470 3.4 19 91.9 1995 Denver 440 1,995 4.5 14 124.7 Difference +9 +525 +1.1 -5 +32.8 2003 Atlanta 385 1,520 3.9 7 95.0 2004 Atlanta 524 2,672 5.1 20 167.0 Difference +139 +1,152 +1.2 +13 +72.0 2007 HOUSTON* 158 490 3.1 3 81.7 2008 HOUSTON* 164 720 4.4 7 120.0 Difference +6 +230 +1.3 +4 +38.3 * Through first six games of the season.

Houston will conclude a stretch of four consecutive home games in the month of October when Cincinnati visits this Sunday. The Texans will be the first team to play four straight home games in October since the 1990 Houston Oilers, who played four straight from October 7 through October 28, 1990. The Oilers that year, like the Texans this year, found themselves in that situation due to an unexpected change in schedule. The Oilers game at Cincinnati on October 14 was rescheduled because the Cincinnati Reds were playing in the World Series. HOUSTON TEXANS SCHEDULE, OCTOBER 2008

Date Opponent Time/Result 10/5 Indianapolis Colts L, 31-27 10/12 Miami Dolphins W, 29-28 10/19 Detroit Lions W, 28-21 10/26 Cincinnati Bengals* 3:05 p.m. CT HOUSTON OILERS SCHEDULE, OCTOBER 1990

Date Opponent Result 10/7 San Francisco 49ers L, 24-21 10/14 Cincinnati Bengals* W, 48-17 10/21 New Orleans Saints W, 23-10 10/28 New York Jets L, 17-12 * Game rescheduled

The Texans have a 12-7 record at Reliant Stadium since head coach Gary Kubiak took over in 2006 and are just 4-15 on the road.

Houston is scoring 7.2 more points per game and surrendering 7.7 fewer points per game in home games compared to road games. That is a 14.9-point swing when the team comes home to Houston.

TEXANS OFFENSE, 2006-08 Total Rush Pass W-L YPG YPG YPG PPG HOME 12-7 322.3 110.2 212.1 24.3 AWAY 4-15 310.3 100.0 210.3 17.1 DIFFERENCE +12.0 +10.2 +1.8 +7.2

TEXANS DEFENSE, 2006-08 Total Rush Pass Point YPG YPG YPG PPG Diff. HOME 342.6 108.4 234.3 20.6 +3.5 AWAY 338.4 129.2 209.3 28.3 -11.2 DIFFERENCE +4.2 -20.8 +25.0 -7.7 +14.9

STEEL (& COLUMBIA) BLUE OCTOBER

TEXANS AT HOME UNDER KUBIAK

THE ALEX GIBBS EFFECT

HOUSTON TEXANS


The Texans have outgained their opponents on the ground in each of the last three games. Houston is 2-1 in those games. Houston has outrushed its opponent 16 times under head coach Gary Kubiak since 2006. The Texans hold a 12-4 record in those games. Houston is 1-1 under Kubiak when the rushing totals are equal and are 3-17 when losing the ground battle.

HOUSTON TEXANS WHEN OUTRUSHING OPPONENTS, 2006-08

Game, Date Texans Opponent Diff. W/L DET, 10/19/08 150 77 +73 W MIA, 10/12/08 114 96 +18 W IND, 10/5/08 156 79 +77 L JAX, 12/30/07 170 96 +74 W DEN, 12/13/07 158 72 +86 W NO, 11/18/07 103 47 +56 W @ OAK, 11/4/07 178 153 +25 W @ SD, 10/28/07 115 109 +6 L @ CAR, 9/16/07 119 66 +53 W KC, 9/9/07 107 72 +37 W IND, 12/24/06 191 114 +77 W @ OAK, 12/3/06 129 113 +16 W BUF, 11/19/06 188 70 +118 L @ JAX, 11/12/06 148 118 +30 W TEN, 10/29/06 148 111 +37 L JAX, 10/22/06 131 102 +29 W

Houston is in the midst of its most productive offensive season in team history. Through six games, the Texans are averaging 369.5 yards per game, which is the best in franchise history.

HIGHEST TOTAL YARDS PER GAME, TEXANS HISTORY

Rush Rec Total Total Season G Yards Yards Yards YPG 2008 6 720 1,497 2,217 369.5 2007 16 1,586 3,751 5,337 333.6 2004 16 1,882 3,246 5,128 320.5 2006 16 1,687 2,778 4,465 279.1 2003 16 1,651 2,655 4,306 269.1 2005 16 1,816 2,237 4,053 253.3 2002 16 1,347 2,225 3,572 223.3 The Texans’ 369.5-yard average ranks fifth in the NFL. Prior to this season, the highest ranking that Houston has ever finished with was 14th in 2007.

HIGHEST TOTAL YARDS PER GAME, NFL 2008 Rush Rec Total Total Team G Yards Yards Yards YPG New Orleans 7 640 2,176 2,816 402.3 Denver 6 722 1,676 2,398 399.7 N.Y. Giants 6 1,018 1,352 2,370 395.0 Dallas 7 891 1,861 2.752 393.1 HOUSTON 6 720 1,497 2,217 369.5

Houston has won the time of possession in each of its last five games. The Texans rank fourth in the NFL in average time of possession, holding the ball for 32:13 per game.

The Texans dominated the clock in last Sunday’s 28-21 win over Detroit (10/19), holding the ball for a franchise-record 40:04. Houston has won the time of possession 20 times since 2006 under head coach Gary Kubiak and is 12-8 in those games.

NFL LEADERS, TIME OF POSSESSION Team Wins Losses Avg TOP Baltimore Ravens 3 3 33:12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 2 32:38 New York Giants 5 1 32:36 HOUSTON TEXANS 2 4 32:13 New England Patriots 3 2 32:03 Washington Redskins 5 2 32:03

Through six games, Houston has been penalized just 16 times. That averages out to 2.7 penalties per game and puts the Texans on pace for 43 penalties on the season.

Houston is on pace to be the least-penalized team since the NFL moved to a 16-game season in 1978. The 2007 Seattle Seahawks hold the record for the fewest penalties in a 16-game season with 59, an average of 3.7 per game.

FEWEST PENALTIES PER GAME, 16-GAME SEASON, 1978-2008

Team, Year G Penalties Yards Pen/Gm HOUSTON, 2008 6 16 119 2.7 Seattle, 2007 16 59 428 3.7 New Orleans, 1992 16 60 567 3.8 N.Y. Jets, 2001 16 62 507 3.9 Miami, 1991 16 62 516 3.9

TEXANS IN A RUSH TO WIN

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK

PLAYING PENALTY-FREEMOVING THE BALL

HOUSTON TEXANS


There are 12 coaches and players on the Houston Texans who are from Texas or played their college football in the Lone Star State, led by head coach Gary Kubiak, who grew up in Houston and played at Texas A&M. Linebackers coach Johnny Holland hails from Hempstead, in the Houston area, and starred at Texas A&M. Defensive assistant Richard Hightower grew up in Houston and played at the University of Texas. Six Texans hail from the Dallas-Forth Worth area. K Kris Brown is from Southlake; CB DeMarcus Faggins is from Irving; DT Frank Okam is from Dallas; CB Jacques Reeves is from Lancaster; and LB Chaun Thompson is from Mount Pleasant. T Eric Winston grew up in the West Texas city of Midland, while DE N.D. Kalu calls San Antonio home. Kalu also played collegiately at Rice.

Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and G Kasey Studdard both played their college ball at Texas after growing up in Colorado.

HOUSTON TEXANS WITH TEXAS TIES

There are just three remaining members of the original Houston Texans team from 2002—K Kris Brown, CB DeMarcus Faggins and G Chester Pitts. Brown is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 581 points. Pitts is the only player to start every game in Texans history, while Brown is the only other player to have appeared in all 102 games in Texans history.

Faggins has played in 72 games with 34 starts as a Texan and has five career interceptions. Brown was signed as a restricted free agent in 2002, while Faggins and Pitts were members of the Texans’ inaugural draft class.

THE LAST ORIGINAL TEXANS How Texans Pos. Player Acquired GP/GS K Kris Brown RFA-02 (PIT) 102/0 CB DeMarcus Faggins D6a-02 72/34 G Chester Pitts D2-02 102/102

G Chester Pitts is the only player to have started all 102 games

in Texans history.

THE ORIGINAL TEXANS I’M A TEXAN

HOUSTON TEXANS


OFFENSE

The Texans offense began the season looking to improve upon a record-setting season in 2007. Despite suffering a rash of injuries to key contributors, the offense last year produced a team-record 5,337 yards and 379 points. Leading the way in 2008 is QB Matt Schaub, who is in his second season at the helm of the Houston attack. Despite suffering a slew of injuries, Schaub led the team with 2,241 yards and set a team single-season record with an 87.2 passer efficiency rating.

QB Matt Schaub threw for a career-high 2,241 yards in his first year as

a Texan. Schaub’s favorite target once again is WR Andre Johnson who, like Schaub, hopes to remain in good health all year long. He has established himself as one of the most dangerous receiving threats in the NFL. Over the last two years, Johnson’s average of 98.7 yards per game is tops in the league. On the ground, Houston has looked for production from a number of running backs. The group is led by veteran Ahman Green and rookie Steve Slaton. Green is closing in on 9,000 career rushing yards, while Slaton is on pace to have the best rookie season in Texans history. In addition to Johnson, Schaub will again have a number of other weapons to throw to, led by WR Kevin Walter and TE Owen Daniels. Walter led the team last year with 65 receptions, while Daniels was a close second with 63 catches. The key to the offense’s success in 2008, however, will continue to be the offensive line. The Texans reduced their sack total from 2005 to 2006 by 25, giving up 43 on the season. In 2007, Houston cut that number nearly in half, surrendering just 22 sacks. 2008 first-round draft pick T Duane Brown earned the starting job

at left tackle and hopes to protect Schaub’s blind side for years to come.

Quarterbacks

The Texans enjoyed the most productive season in team history from the quarterback position in 2007, and the team enters training camp hoping to see continued growth in 2008. Fifth-year pro Matt Schaub threw for 2,241 yards and nine touchdowns with nine interceptions in his first year as a full-time starter, but started just 11 games due to injury. Schaub has completed 395-of-633 passes for 4,617 yards and 22 touchdowns in his career. Joining Schaub at quarterback once again is eighth-year pro Sage Rosenfels. In two-plus years with the Texans, Rosenfels has proven himself to be capable of leading a team when called upon. He saw the most extensive playing time of his career in 2007, playing in nine games with five starts, and he took full advantage of his opportunity. Rosenfels has led the Texans to a 4-2 record in six starts in the last two seasons.

Running Backs The Texans have adopted a “running back by committee” approach in 2008. Houston used one of its two third-round picks in April’s NFL Draft to select Steve Slaton out of West Virginia. Slaton possesses a gear that few backs have and has given the Texans a home run threat out of the backfield. Slaton has burst out of the gates this season, and his 423 rushing yards are the most by a Texans rookie through the first five games of his career. 11th-year pro Ahman Green, who ranks sixth among active running backs with 8,929 career rushing yards, lends a veteran presence to a young running back corps. He was limited to just 260 yards last season by a lingering knee injury, but has bounced back this season to play a vital role in the rushing attack. Darius Walker, who joined the team as an undrafted free agent and spent most of last season on the practice squad, finished the year as the team’s second-leading rusher with 264 yards and a touchdown after starting two of the last three games. Walker ranks fourth all-time at Notre Dame with career 3,249 rushing yards.

At fullback, Vonta Leach returns for his third season in Houston. Leach has developed into one of the best lead blockers in the league over the last two seasons. He also showed the ability to be a threat out of the backfield in 2007, catching 25 passes for 108 yards and two scores, all career highs.

Houston signed Cecil Sapp (9/30) to add depth at fullback and on special teams. Sapp spent the first five years of his career in Denver, making him familiar with Houston’s offensive philosophy. The Colorado State

OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW OFFENSE POSITION-BY-POSITION

HOUSTON TEXANS


alum has rushed for 223 yards and five touchdowns and caught 24 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Wide Receivers Coming into the 2007 season, no position appeared to have less experienced depth than wide receiver. A year later, the receiving corps has developed into a team strength. Two-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson, one of the best young receivers in the game, is the franchise’s career leader in receptions, with 416, and receiving yards, with 5,433; and his 27 career touchdown catches are the most in team history.

Sixth-year veteran Kevin Walter starts opposite Johnson for the second straight year. Walter has started 21 games in the last two years and has caught 89 passes for 1,093 yards and seven touchdowns. In his career, Walter has 136 catches for 1,549 yards and eight touchdowns. He had the best game of his career last season at Jacksonville (10/14/07) when he tied a franchise record with 12 catches for 160 yards, the third-most yards in team history.

WR Kevin Walter tied a team record with two touchdown

catches at Jacksonville (9/28).

The speedy André Davis re-established himself as one of the NFL’s premier deep threats in 2007, catching 32 passes for 563 yards and three touchdowns. His 17.7-yard average was the third-highest among NFL receivers. He also averaged 30.3 yards per kickoff return with an NFL-leading three returns for touchdowns. Davis has caught 144 passes for 2,321 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.

Jacoby Jones looks to build on a solid rookie season in which he flashed tremendous potential. Jones has caught 16 passes for 154 yards while also serving as the team’s primary punt returner.

Third-year wideout David Anderson saw action in seven games in 2007 after spending most of his rookie year on the practice squad. A shifty athlete who can also

return kicks and punts, Anderson has caught 15 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown in his career, with all but three of those catches coming last season.

Tight Ends

The tight ends will again be led by Owen Daniels, a 2006 fourth-round draft pick. Daniels was second on the team last year with 63 catches; and third in receiving yards, with 768, and touchdowns, with three. In three seasons, he has caught 126 passes for 1,494 yards and ten touchdowns.

Owen Daniels is the franchise’s all-time leading receiver among

tight ends. Veteran Mark Bruener is back for his fifth season in Houston and remains one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. Bruener was held without a catch in 2007, but served as a vital cog in the running game. He has also won the team’s Spirit of the Bull Award, voted on by the players for the player who most exemplifies character, leadership and sportsmanship, for the third consecutive season. Joel Dreessen emerged as a terrific compliment to Daniels as a receiver and provided valuable insurance on special teams as a reserve long snapper. Dreessen has caught 11 passes for 113 yards in his career and two touchdowns, both of which came last season.

HOUSTON TEXANS


Offensive Line The Texans offensive line had its best year as a unit in 2007, giving up a franchise-low 22 sacks on the season, down from 43 in 2006. This year, the line hopes to lower that number and to improve a running attack that averaged just 3.8 yards per carry in 2007 while breaking in two new starters. To help reach those goals, Houston hired renowned offensive line guru Alex Gibbs to assist with the unit. Making the calls at center is fourth-year veteran Chris Myers, who joined the team via trade in the offseason after spending his first three seasons in Denver. Myers brings a familiarity with the Texans offense, having run the same scheme as a Bronco. Backing up Myers is fourth-year pro Chris White, who is coming off of a season-ending knee injury. White has seen action in seven career games, with six of those coming last season. Chester Pitts has been with the team since its inception. Pitts, a second-round pick in 2002, is the only player to have started every game in team history. Pitts slid inside from LT to LG in 2006 and has started the last 38 games there.

G Chester Pitts and T Duane Brown give the Texans a physical and athletic combo on the left side of the line.

Mike Brisiel was signed off of the practice squad and immediately made his first start last year vs. Tampa Bay (12/9/07). He has gone on to start nine consecutive games at RG. Brisiel gained valuable experience last spring with the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europa. He joined the Texans in 2006 as an undrafted free agent and spent the season on the practice squad. Kasey Studdard, the team’s sixth-round pick in the 2006 draft, saw action in three games as a reserve. Studdard was a three-year starter at Texas, where he earned All-Big 12 honors three times. He started the final 38 games of his career in Austin and helped the Longhorns claim the national championship in 2005.

With the 26th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Texans selected Duane Brown in hopes of shoring up the left tackle position for the foreseeable future. Brown was a two-time All-ACC selection at Virginia Tech and was considered a perfect fit for the zone blocking scheme employed by the Texans. Brown has started every game this season at LT after he won the job during training camp. At RT, Eric Winston is working on a streak of 29 straight starts. Winston, a third-round pick in the 2006 draft, saw action in 12 games as a rookie and started the final seven games on the right side; and he has started every game over the last two seasons.

T Eric Winston was named to the USA TODAY All-Joe team for his

consistency and solid play in 2007.

11th-year veteran Ephraim Salaam is the primary backup option as the swing tackle. Salaam was thrust into the starting lineup in Week 3 of 2006 and fought through a variety of injuries to hold down the spot for the next 30 games. Third-year pro Rashad Butler has the ability to play either tackle position. Butler joined the Texans early in 2007 and saw action in eight games.

HOUSTON TEXANS


WR Andre Johnson leads the Texans with 45 receptions for 629 yards through six games. His 104.8 yards-per-game average this season leads all NFL receivers.

MOST RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME, 2007-08 Player G Rec Yds Avg YPG A. JOHNSON, HOU 6 45 629 14.0 104.8 B. Marshall, DEN* 5 43 521 12.1 104.2 G. Jennings, GB 7 37 685 18.5 97.9 R. White, ATL 6 35 566 16.2 94.3 L. Fitzgerald, ARI 6 36 546 15.2 91.0 * Denver plays on Monday, October 20. Johnson has caught 105 passes for 1,480 yards and nine touchdowns in his last 15 games played. Johnson’s 98.7 yards per game average is the best in the league over the last two seasons.

MOST RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME, 2007-08 Player G Rec Rec/G Yds Yds/G A. JOHNSON, HOU 15 105 7.0 1,480 98.7 L. Fitzgerald, ARI 20 131 6.6 1,876 93.8 R. Wayne, IND 21 131 6.2 1,884 89.7 R. Moss, NE* 20 115 5.8 1,767 88.4 B. Marshall, DEN* 20 136 6.8 1,748 87.4 * New England and Denver play on Monday, October 20. WR Andre Johnson will look to continue a trend of outstanding performances at Reliant Stadium on Sunday vs. Cincinnati. Johnson has played in 16 home games since head coach Gary Kubiak came to Houston in 2006, and he has averaged 7.3 receptions for 101.1 yards. Houston is 11-5 in its last 16 home games with Johnson on the field.

ANDRE JOHNSON AT HOME, 2006-08 AVERAGES PER GAME

Year Gms Rec Yds YPC TD 2006 8 6.6 83.0 12.5 0.25 2007 5 6.8 100.8 14.8 0.80 2008 3 10.0 150.0 15.0 0.67 Averages 16 7.3 101.1 13.8 0.50 Totals 11-5 117 1,618 13.8 8

WR Andre Johnson has been tremendous throughout the month of October this season. In three games, Johnson has caught 30 passes for 450 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson leads all NFL receivers this month and is over 100 yards ahead of the next closest player, Carolina’s Steve Smith.

MOST RECEIVING YARDS, OCTOBER 2008 Player, Tm G Rec Yds Avg TD A. JOHNSON, HOU 3 30 450 15.0 2 S. Smith, CAR 3 18 330 18.3 1 B. Berrian, MIN 3 17 322 18.9 3 C. Johnson, DET 3 8 255 31.9 2 D. Henderson, NO 3 9 252 28.0 1 Johnson is second in the league in total yards from scrimmage and trails only Washington RB Clinton Portis (484). However, Johnson has 30 total touches compared to Portis’ 81 touches.

MOST SCRIMMAGE YARDS, OCTOBER 2008 Rec Rush Tot Player, Tm G Touch Yds Yds Yds C. Portis, WAS 3 81 35 449 484 A. JOHNSON, HOU 3 30 450 0 450 M. Barber, DAL 3 72 149 229 378 S. Smith, CAR 3 18 330 0 330 B. Berrian, MIN 3 18 322 3 325 Johnson’s 450 yards are already the most in a calendar month in his career, topping his previous high of 432 yards in five games in December, 2007. Three of the five best months in his career have come in October.

ANDRE JOHNSON’S BEST MONTHS Month, Year G Rec Yds Avg TD OCTOBER, 2008 3 30 450 15.0 2 December, 2007 5 37 432 11.7 4 October, 2004 4 31 425 13.7 3 October, 2006 4 35 360 10.3 3 November, 2005 4 31 342 11.0 1

ANDRE JOHNSON NOTES

ANDRE AT HOME

ANDRE LEADING THE LEAGUE

MR. OCTOBER

HOUSTON TEXANS


100-Yard Games 20 18 2 Texans QB Matt Schaub has been stellar in the last two games at Reliant Stadium, throwing for 520 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Texans to back-to-back wins.

With those two wins, Schaub improved his record to 5-2 at home since joining the Texans. In seven starts at Reliant Stadium, Schaub has averaged 245.3 yards per game and posted a passer rating of 92.3.

MATT SCHAUB AT RELIANT STADIUM, 2007-08 GAME BY GAME

Opponent, Date Att Cmp Yds TD Int Rate Kansas City, 9/9/07 22 16 225 1 1 101.5 Indianapolis, 9/23/07 33 27 236 1 2 81.3 Miami, 10/7/07 34 20 294 0 1 74.9 Tennessee, 10/21/07 9 5 23 0 0 60.9 New Orleans, 11/18/07 33 21 293 2 0 112.3 Miami, 10/12/08 42 22 397 1 2 71.4 Detroit, 10/19/08 31 26 267 2 0 124.1 AVERAGES 29.1 19.6 245.3 1.0 0.9 92.3 QB Matt Schaub has been one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league since coming to Houston in 2007. Over the last two seasons, Schaub has completed 65.9 percent of his passes to rank sixth in the NFL. Schaub’s 7.59 average yards per pass attempt ranks fifth in the league since the start of the 2007 season.

HIGHEST COMPLETION PERCENTAGE,

2007-08 Player, Tm. Att Cmp Pct Yds YPA T. Brady, NE 589 405 68.8 4,882 8.29 C. Pennington, NYJ/MIA 432 297 68.8 3,161 7.32 D. Brees, NO 915 620 67.8 6,647 7.26 B. Favre, GB/NYJ 730 489 67.0 5,476 7.50 A. Rodgers, GB 249 165 66.3 1,886 7.57 M. SCHAUB, HOU 472 311 65.9 3,584 7.59 Schaub’s 7.59 average yards per pass attempt ranks fifth in the league since the start of the 2007 season.

HIGHEST YARDS PER PASS ATTEMPT, 2007-08

Player, Tm. Att Cmp Pct Yds YPA T. Brady, NE 589 405 68.8 4,882 8.29 T. Romo, DAL 720 463 64.3 5,900 8.19 B. Roethlisberger, PIT 556 360 64.7 4,317 7.76 K. Warner, ARI 664 430 64.8 5,125 7.72 M. SCHAUB, HOU 472 311 65.9 3,584 7.59 QB Matt Schaub’s game-winning drive in the last two minutes of Houston’s 29-28 win over Miami (10/12) was part of a larger trend for Schaub. He has been extremely efficient in the fourth quarter over the last two years, with a completion percentage of 64.6 and a fourth-quarter passer rating of 82.8. Over the last two seasons, Schaub has the seventh-highest fourth-quarter completion percentage in the NFL among full-time starters.

HIGHEST FOURTH-QUARTER COMPLETION

PERCENTAGE, 2007-08 (min. 100 att.) Player, Tm. Att Cmp Pct Yds YPA C. Pennington, NYJ/MIA 140 92 65.7 859 6.14 D. Brees, NO 232 152 65.5 1,643 7.08 K. Warner, ARI 159 104 65.4 1,341 8.43 B. Favre, GB/NYJ 181 118 65.2 1,335 7.38 T. Brady, NE 137 89 65.0 1,212 8.85 T. Romo, DAL 151 98 64.9 1,516 10.04 M. SCHAUB, HOU 130 84 64.6 918 7.06 Against Miami in Week 6 (10/12), QB Matt Schaub took the field with 1:45 remaining in the game and the Texans trailing the Dolphins 28-23. Schaub proceeded to drive his team 76 yards in 12 plays and ultimately running in from three yards out for the game-winning touchdown. It was Schaub’s second career game-winning drive. The first also came against the Dolphins when he led an eight-play, 59-yard drive in 1:32 to set up K Kris Brown’s game-winning 57-yard field goal.

MATT SCHAUB’S GAME-WINNING DRIVES Game, Date Score Plays Yards Time Final MIA, 10/12/08 23-28 12 76 1:42 29-28 MIA, 10/7/07 19-19 8 59 1:32 22-19

MATT SCHAUB NOTES

MATT’S GAME-WINNING DRIVES

SCHAUB AT HOME

FANTASTIC IN THE FOURTH

MATT ON THE MARK

HOUSTON TEXANS


Rookie RB Steve Slaton ranks third among rookie running backs in combined rushing and receiving yards per game. He is averaging 89.2 total yards per game through his first five games of the season. ROOKIE LEADERS, TOTAL YARDS PER GAME,

2008 Rush Rec Tot Total Player, Tm Gms Yds Yds Yds YPG M. Forte, CHI 7 515 223 738 105.4 C. Johnson, TEN 6 549 73 622 103.7 S. SLATON, HOU 6 423 112 535 89.2 D. Jackson, PHI 6 50 433 483 80.5 D. McFadden, OAK 6 341 93 434 72.3 Slaton is tied for second among rookies in scoring. Slaton has scored five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) in his first six games to give him 30 points.

ROOKIE SCORING LEADERS, 2008 Player, Tm Run Rec Ret 2 Pt Pts M. Forte, CHI 4 2 0 0 36 S. SLATON, HOU 4 1 0 0 30 T. Hightower, ARI 5 0 0 0 30 J. Stewart, CAR 5 0 0 0 30 Slaton ranks third among rookie running backs in rushing yards per game through the first seven weeks of their respective careers.

ROOKIE RUSHING LEADERS, YPG, 2008

Player, Tm Gms Att Yds Avg YPG C. Johnson, TEN 6 103 549 5.3 91.5 M. Forte, CHI 7 147 515 3.5 73.6 S. SLATON, HOU 6 89 423 4.8 70.5 D. McFadden, OAK 6 67 341 5.1 56.8 J. Stewart, CAR 7 88 352 4.0 50.3 Slaton also ranks fourth among rookies in yards per carry. He is averaging 4.8 yards per attempt through the first six games of the season.

ROOKIE RUSHING LEADERS, YPC, 2008 Player, Tm Att Yds Avg Lg TD C. Johnson, TEN 103 549 5.3 66t 3 D. McFadden, OAK 67 341 5.1 50 1 K. Smith, DET 52 256 4.9 50 3 S. SLATON, HOU 89 423 4.8 50 4 J. Stewart, CAR 88 352 4.0 24 5

RB Steve Slaton is off to the fastest start by a rookie running back in Texans history. His 423 rushing yards in the first six games are the most by a Texans rookie back over the first six games of his career.

MOST RUSHING YARDS BY ROOKIE RB IN FIRST SIX GAMES, TEXANS HISTORY

Player Year Att Yds Avg TD STEVE SLATON 2008 89 423 4.8 4 Domanick Williams 2003 62 300 4.8 0 Jonathan Wells 2002 62 240 3.9 0 Wali Lundy 2006 19 150 7.9 1

Rookie RB Steve Slaton became just the second Texans rookie

to rush for more than 100 yards in his first start. Texans RB Ahman Green ranks seventh among active backs with 8,929 career rushing yards. Green needs just 71 rushing yards to reach 9,000 for his career. He stands to become the 27th player in NFL history to rush for at least 9,000 yards. Green is also just 20 carries shy of 2,000 for his career.

ACTIVE LEADERS, RUSHING YARDS Player Games Att Yds Avg TD Edgerrin James 134 2,950 11,970 4.1 80 LaDainian Tomlinson 118 2,488 11,096 4.5 119 Fred Taylor 133 2,357 10,957 4.6 61 Warrick Dunn 173 2,571 10,604 4.1 48 Jamal Lewis 112 2,229 9,437 4.3 56 Shaun Alexander 120 2,179 9,437 4.3 100 AHMAN GREEN 136 1,980 8,929 4.5 57

GREEN CLOSING IN ON 9,000

TEXANS RUNNING BACK NOTES

SLATON STARTING STRONG

SLATON LEADS TEXANS ROOKIES

HOUSTON TEXANS


Texans third-year TE Owen Daniels ranks first among AFC tight ends in receptions and receiving yards this season. Daniels has caught 29 passes for 374 yards this season. He is averaging 4.8 catches and 62.3 yards per game through Houston’s first six games of the year.

MOST RECEPTIONS BY AFC TIGHT ENDS Player, Tm. Gms Rec Rec/Gm Yds Avg. O. DANIELS, HOU 6 29 4.8 374 12.9 T. Gonzalez, KC 6 27 4.5 290 10.7 A. Gates, SD 7 24 3.4 307 12.8 B. Scaife, TEN 6 23 3.8 274 11.9 K. Winslow, CLE 5 21 4.2 187 8.9 Daniels’ yardage total is over 100 yards greater than his closest AFC competitor.

MOST RECEIVING YARDS BY AFC TIGHT ENDS Player, Tm. Gms Rec Yds Avg. YPG O. DANIELS, HOU 6 29 374 12.9 62.3 T. Scheffler, DEN* 5 16 259 16.2 51.8 T. Gonzalez, KC 6 27 290 10.7 48.3 D. Clark, IND 5 20 234 11.7 46.8 B. Scaife, TEN 6 23 274 11.9 45.7 * Denver plays on Monday, October 20. Daniels is third overall among NFL tight ends in both receptions and yards. He trails Dallas TE Jason Witten and Washington TE Chris Cooley in both categories.

MOST RECEPTIONS BY NFL TIGHT ENDS Player, Tm. Rec Yds Avg. Lg TD J. Witten, DAL 45 541 12.0 42 2 C. Cooley, WAS 34 377 11.1 28 1 O. DANIELS, HOU 29 374 12.9 34 2 Texans TE Owen Daniels found the end zone twice in last Sunday’s 28-21 win over Detroit (10/19). The scores were Daniels’ first two of the season. With two touchdowns, Daniels is tied for third among NFL tight ends this season.

MOST RECEPTIONS BY NFL TIGHT ENDS Player, Tm. Rec Yds Avg. Lg TD A. Gates, SD 24 307 12.8 25 4 V. Shiancoe, MIN 17 223 13.1 34t 3 O. DANIELS, HOU 29 374 12.9 34 2

No tight end in the AFC has been more vital to sustaining drives than Texans TE Owen Daniels this season. 21 of his 29 catches this year (72.4 percent) have gone for first downs.

MOST FIRST DOWNS BY TIGHT ENDS, 2008 Player, Tm. Rec Yds YPG 1st 1st Pct O. DANIELS, HOU 29 374 62.3 21 72.4 A. Gates, SD 24 307 43.9 18 75.0 T. Gonzalez, KC 27 290 48.3 16 59.3 B. Scaife, TEN 23 274 45.7 14 60.9 Two tight ends tied with 12 first downs apiece. Daniels is second in the NFL since 2006 in first down percentage, with 68.3 percent of his catches resulting in first downs. Only San Diego TE Antonio Gates has been more efficient than Daniels over the last three seasons.

MOST FIRST DOWNS PER RECEPTION, 2006-08

Player, Tm. Rec Yds 1st 1st Pct A. Gates, SD 170 2,215 121 71.2 O. DANIELS, HOU 126 1,494 86 68.3 D. Clark, CHI 106 1,376 71 67.0 T. Scheffler, DEN* 83 1,094 54 65.1 T. Gonzalez, KC 199 2,362 129 64.8 * Denver plays on Monday, October 20. WR Kevin Walter entered the 2007 season with 47 career receptions for 456 yards and a touchdown in 59 games. Over the last two seasons, he has become a vital part of the Texans aerial attack and is emerging as one of the most dependable receivers in the league. Walter has caught 89 of his 136 career receptions and has gained 1,093 of his 1,549 total yards in his last 21 games. Seven of his eight career touchdown catches have come in the last two seasons as well.

KEVIN WALTER CAREER COMPARISON Category Total 2007-08 Pct of Total Receptions 136 89 65.4% Receiving yards 1,549 1,093 70.6% Touchdowns 8 7 87.5%

WALTER BREAKING OUT

WIDE RECEIVER & TIGHT END NOTES

DANIELS TOPS AMONG TIGHT ENDS

FIRST DOWNS FOR DANIELS

TD’S FOR O.D.

HOUSTON TEXANS


DEFENSE

G Chester Pitts has been a model of consistency for the Texans. Pitts has started every game in his career, making him the only player to start each of the Texans’ 102 all-time games. In fact, Pitts has been on the field for all but seven offensive plays in team history. Pitts is one of just seven offensive linemen who have started every game from 2002 to the present. Pitts is tied for the longest streak of consecutive starts by an offensive guard. The Jets’ Alan Faneca has also started the last 102 straight games for his teams.

NFL OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

CONSECUTIVE STARTS, 2002-PRESENT Player, Team Pos GP GS CHESTER PITTS, HOUSTON G 102 102 Jeff Backus, Detroit T 103 103 Dominic Raiola, Detroit C 103 103 Todd McClure, Atlanta C 102 102 Jon Runyan, Philadelphia T 102 102 Casey Wiegmann, KC/Denver* C 102 102 Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh/NY Jets G 102 102 * Denver plays on Monday, October 20.

The Texans offensive line allowed 22 sacks on 551 pass plays, or 4.0 percent of the time, in 2007. That sack rate was tied for seventh-best in the NFL. This season, the Texans have allowed 14 sacks in 230 pass plays, or 6.1 percent of the time. In last Sunday’s 28-21 win over Detroit (10/19), Houston gave up three sacks in 34 pass plays.

HOUSTON TEXANS SACK TOTALS, 2006-08 Year Att Cmp Yds Sk Lost Sack % 2006 481 329 3,032 43 254 8.2 2007 529 346 3,925 22 174 4.0 2008 216 140 1,589 14 92 6.1

The Texans defense made an incredible turnaround during the course of the 2006 season and continued to build on that late-season success in 2007. The main areas of emphasis in 2008 are improving the pass rush and shoring up a secondary that was decimated by injuries a year ago. Thanks to a pair of solid drafts and shrewd free moves in free agency, Houston’s defense has become one of the youngest squads in the league. All 11 players listed as starters on the defensive depth chart are under 30 years of age. Three of the most integral players on the defense will also be three of the youngest. DE Mario Williams returns for his third season and is already being hailed as one of the best pass rushers in the league. Williams, 23, has recorded 18.0 sacks in his last 18 games and is the Texans all-time sack leader with 24.5 career sacks. With the 10th overall pick in 2007, the Texans selected DT Amobi Okoye out of Louisville. At just over 20 years old on kickoff weekend 2007, Okoye was the youngest player ever to play in an NFL game. He immediately made a big contribution, generating pressure up the middle and racking up a Texans rookie-record 5.5 sacks. The Texans are hoping for Okoye to make a similar second-year leap as Williams did last year, which would give Houston a formidable front line. The linebacker corps, and the entire defense, is led by third-year LB DeMeco Ryans in the middle. Ryans, 24, followed up a stellar rookie year with 127 tackles last season. Ryans earned a starting spot in the 2008 Pro Bowl for his play last season and was named to the Associated Press All-Pro second team. The secondary is led by seventh-year FS Will Demps. The defensive backs suffered through an injury-riddled season, with six secondary members ending the season on injured reserve, yet they persevered and helped propel the team to its best record in history.

Defensive Line The defensive line features a trio of first-round draft picks, including All-Pro DE Mario Williams. Williams shattered the team single-season sack mark with 14.0 this season, ranking third in the NFL. The third-year star earned NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year and second-team Associated Press All-Pro honors for his play last season.

DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW

DEFENSE POSITION-BY-POSITION

PROTECTING THE QUARTERBACK

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTES

PERFECT ATTENDANCE

HOUSTON TEXANS


DE Mario Williams set a Texans record with 14.0 sacks in 2007.

Opposite Williams is Anthony Weaver, who came into training camp fully healthy for the first time since 2006 after undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of last season. Weaver has excelled against the run in the last two years and is hoping that a slimmed-down physique will help him generate a quicker pass rush. He finished his second season as a Texan with 41 tackles, including 32 solo stops.

11th-year pro and Rice alumnus N.D. Kalu provides depth and veteran leadership at end. Kalu finished third on the team with 3.0 sacks last year, bringing his career total to 31.0.

Third-year pro Earl Cochran came on strong at the end of 2007 and finished with 25 tackles, 19 solos, and his first career sack. At 6-5 and 272 pounds, Cochran has the size and strength to hold up against the run while still maintaining the speed to rush the passer. Second-year pro Tim Bulman was signed to the active roster in December and saw action in the last two games of the season after spending most of the season on the practice squad. Bulman earned a spot on the 53-man roster for the first time this year and picked up his first career sack in Week 7 vs. Detroit (10/19).

At 19 years old, Amobi Okoye was the youngest first-round draft pick in NFL history, and at 20 years old, he was the youngest player in NFL history to appear in a game. Despite his youth, the precocious tackle quickly became a force with 5.5 sacks in his first campaign. Now in his second year, he is more ready to withstand the rigors of an NFL season and is looking to improve on his stellar rookie performance.

Okoye is joined by fellow first-round pick DT Travis Johnson. Houston’s 2005 first-round pick bounced back from a frustrating sophomore season that ended with him on injured reserve and posted 41 tackles, including 27 solo stops, in 2007. Johnson’s play in the middle is one of the most vital, though often unheralded, keys to the success of the defense. Joining the fray again this year is 16th-year pro Jeff Zgonina. Zgonina has played in 193 career games for eight teams in his career and has recorded 23.5 sacks,

three forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries in his career. DelJuan Robinson spent the bulk of last year on the practice squad. He was signed to the team’s active roster for the final game of the season. He made his NFL debut in the season opener at Pittsburgh (9/7) and got his first start in the home opener vs. Indianapolis (10/5). Houston picked up Frank Okam in the fifth round of the 2008 draft to bolster the interior of the line. Okam was a three-time All-Big 12 pick at Texas and helped lead the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship. As a senior, Okam was a key part of a Texas defense that finished sixth in the nation against the run.

Linebackers

The leader of the pack at linebacker is third-year pro DeMeco Ryans. The 2006 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year followed up his standout rookie season with a sophomore campaign that was every bit as good. Ryans led the team for the second consecutive season with 127 tackles, including 98 solos, to go with 2.0 sacks, an interception, three fumble recoveries and his first career touchdown vs. Tennessee (10/21/07). Ryans earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl and started at MLB for the AFC squad. He also earned second team Associated Press All-Pro honors.

LB DeMeco Ryans has recorded more tackles than anyone in the NFL

over the last three seasons.

At WLB, Morlon Greenwood was second on the team with 118 total tackles last season—his fourth straight 100-tackle season. Greenwood has thrived at his outside linebacker position over the last two seasons. He led the Texans in tackles six times last season. Zac Diles, the team’s seventh-round pick in 2007, earned the starting job at SLB in his second season. After notching five tackles as a rookie, Diles has led the team or tied for the team lead in tackles in four of the first six games of the season. Houston signed a pair of free agent linebackers to add speed and experience to the position. Kevin Bentley signed as a free agent from Seattle, where he was

HOUSTON TEXANS


a member of the Seahawks’ 2005 Super Bowl squad. Bentley has played in 91 games with 22 starts in his career. Chaun Thompson, a native Texan, comes to Houston after spending five years in Cleveland. Thompson has played in 85 games with 30 starts and has made 11.5 career sacks. Houston drafted a linebacker for the seventh straight year, picking Xavier Adibi in the fourth round. Adibi started 40 of 47 contests at Virginia Tech and recorded 291 career tackles with 11 sacks. He earned first-team All-America honors as a senior, registering 115 tackles, a forced fumble and two interceptions.

Cornerbacks

Fifth-year CB Dunta Robinson spent the first six games of the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list and made his return to the field in Week 7 vs. Detroit (10/19). Robinson, considered the heart and soul of the Texans defense, is tied for the franchise record with 11 career interceptions.

CB Dunta Robinson needs one interception to become the

Texans all-time leader. He currently has 11. The Texans looked to free agency to bolster the position, signing Jacques Reeves away from Dallas. Reeves has appeared in 65 career games with 19 starts in five seasons. He is coming off his best season when he started 13 games and registered a career-high 60 tackles, including 52 solo stops, his first career interception and a career-high 12 passes defensed. The most experienced member of the secondary is CB DeMarcus Faggins, one of three remaining original Texans. Through good fortune and good play, Faggins has earned a reputation as a playmaker, with five career interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. After being picked in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Fred Bennett heads into his sophomore campaign as the leader of a young Texans secondary. He recorded a team-high three interceptions in eight starts as

a rookie. Bennett also turned in 55 tackles, 49 of them solos.

With the first of two third-round picks in the draft, Houston picked Antwaun Molden out of Eastern Kentucky. Molden will be counted on to contribute early on in his rookie season and showed signs during offseason practices of being able to do just that. The Texans signed veteran corner Eugene Wilson in the week leading up to the season opener to add depth in the secondary. Wilson has played in 64 games with 56 starts in his first five years in the league and he won a pair of Super Bowl titles in New England. Wilson recorded his first interception as a Texan in a Week 6 win over Miami (10/12).

Safeties Seventh-year pro Will Demps has the ability to play either safety position. He joined the Texans shortly after the start of the 2007 season and quickly made a name for himself through his intelligent play. He registered 42 tackles, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Demps’ play earned him an alternate position on the AFC Pro Bowl squad.

FS Will Demps was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2007.

Second-year pro Brandon Harrison moved into the starting lineup at SS in Week 4 vs. Indianapolis (10/5) and has started the last three games there. After spending his rookie season on injured reserve, Harrison has recorded 18 tackles (13 solos) in five games this year.

Nick Ferguson moves into the starting lineup at free safety and brings experience in the defensive scheme run by Houston after spending the last five seasons in Denver. He was counted by Texans GM Rick Smith as the best signing Smith made during his tenure in Denver.

Sixth-round draft choice Dominique Barber is also in the mix for playing time at safety. Barber, the brother of Cowboys RB Marion Barber III, started 24 of 26 games and made 191 career tackles at Minnesota.

HOUSTON TEXANS


Texans DE Mario Williams has played as well as or better than any defensive end in the league over the last year. Williams is third in the NFL since October 1, 2007 with 18.0 sacks, including five multi-sack games.

MOST SACKS SINCE OCTOBER 1, 2007 Player, Team Games Sacks Sacks/Gm D. Ware, DAL 19 20.0 1.05 J. Allen, KC/MIN 19 18.5 0.97 M. WILLIAMS, HOU 18 18.0 1.00 P. Kerney, SEA 18 16.0 0.89 A. Kampman, GB 18 15.5 0.86 DE Mario Williams was selected first overall in the 2006 NFL Draft to provide the Texans with a dominant pass-rush threat, and he has done just over the last two years. Williams has 20.0 sacks since the start of the 2007 season, which is third-most in the NFL in that time span. Williams has accounted for 50 percent of the Texans sack total over the last two seasons. He is the only player in the NFL to account for half of his team’s sacks over the last two years.

PERCENT OF TEAM SACK TOTAL, 2007-08 Player, Team Sacks Team Sacks Pct of Total M. WILLIAMS, HOU 20.0 40 50.0 J. Abraham, ATL 17.0 35 48.6 J. Allen, KC/MIN 20.5 52 39.4 A. Kampman, GB 18.0 48 37.5 D. Ware, DAL 23.0 66 34.8 With 14.0 sacks last year, DE Mario Williams finished second in the AFC. Williams’ 14.0 sacks were second in the AFC last year, however Jared Allen’s (15.5 sacks in 2007) move from Kansas City to Minnesota in the offseason made Williams the top returning sack artist in the AFC heading into 2008. Williams’ 20.0 sacks over the last two years are the most by an AFC player. The next closest players has 17.0 sacks.

AFC SACK LEADERS, 2007-08 Player, Team 2007 2008 Total MARIO WILLIAMS, HOU 14.0 6.0 20.0 James Harrison, PIT 8.5 8.5 17.0 Kyle Vanden Bosch, TEN 12.0 3.0 15.0 Mike Vrabel, NE 12.5 2.0 14.5 Elvis Dumervil, DEN 12.5 1.0 13.5 DE Mario Williams owns every sack record for the Houston Texans. Williams set the single-season sack record in 2007 with 14.0 sacks. That total nearly doubled the previous team record of 8.0 by Jeff Posey in 2002.

TEXANS SINGLE-SEASON SACK LEADERS Player Sacks Year MARIO WILLIAMS 14.0 2007 Jeff Posey 8.0 2002 Shantee Orr 7.0 2005 Williams has 24.5 sacks for his career, making him the Texans all-time sack leader in just over two seasons. HOUSTON TEXANS ALL-TIME SACK LEADERS

Player Sacks Years MARIO WILLIAMS 24.5 2006-08 Kailee Wong 15.0 2002-06 Jason Babin 13.0 2004-06

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT MARIO WILLIAMS

“The thing about talented people like him is that they can beat you in so many ways. I’ve gone back and forth all week on trying to decide if he is an athletic guy who happens to be powerful or if he is a power player that happens to be athletic. The reality of it is that he’s both. That’s what makes him so dangerous. That’s what makes him the quality player that he is.” – Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin “He’s a guy that you have to be careful with when you just single block him one-on-one in the passing game. He’s doing well. Especially with those defensive ends, we tend to get too hung up on statistics, ‘if you don’t have a sack, then it’s not a good day.’ A lot of times, you can dictate the type of protection you’re getting, you can force quarterbacks to throw balls away, and things like that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but I think he’s playing very well. I thought he had a Pro Bowl type year last year.” – Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK

MARIO WILLIAMS NOTES

FOLLOW THE (SACK) LEADER

SUPER MARIO

LEADING THE WAY

HOUSTON TEXANS


LB DeMeco Ryans led the team with 127 tackles last season, including 98 solo stops. Ryans has led the team in tackles 20 times in 38 career games (52.6 percent). Ryans has averaged an NFL-best 8.6 tackles per game and 6.8 solo tackles per game since 2006. Ryans leads all NFL defenders over the last three seasons with 260 solo tackles.

NFL LEADERS, TACKLES PER GAME, 2006-08 Player, Tm. G Tot Solo Asst Tkl/Gm D. RYANS, HOU. 38 327 260 67 8.6 L. Fletcher, BUF-WAS 39 335 241 94 8.6 E. Sims, DET 38 309 211 98 8.1 B. Urlacher, CHI 39 306 223 83 7.8 K. Brooking, ATL 38 284 206 78 7.5 The primary job of all defensive players is to get the ball carrier to the ground, and no one has been better than Texans LB DeMeco Ryans since the start of the 2006 season. Ryans has had 10 or more tackles in 16 of his 38 career games (42.1 percent). He leads the NFL in 10-tackle games over the last three seasons.

MOST 10+ TACKLE GAMES, 2006-2008 Total 10+ tackle Player, Tm. Games Games Pct. D. RYANS, HOU. 38 16 43.2% L. Fletcher, WAS 39 15 38.5% Z. Thomas, MIA/DAL 28 12 42.9% B. Urlacher, CHI 39 11 28.2% LB DeMeco Ryans is not only the most productive linebacker in the NFL when it comes to making tackles; he is also the best in the league at scooping up loose balls. Ryans leads all NFL linebackers with six fumble recoveries since 2006.

MOST FUMBLE RECOVERIES BY LB, 2006-08

Player, Tm. Pos G FR Yds TD D. RYANS, HOU LB 38 6 73 1 E. Henderson, MIN LB 36 5 18 0 B. James, DAL LB 39 5 1 0 B. Leber, MIN LB 38 5 20 1

Second-year LB Zac Diles won a starting job at SLB during the offseason, and through six games he has shown why the coaches put their faith in him. Diles leads the team with 45 tackles, including 35 solo stops. After registering five tackles as a rookie, Diles has led the team or tied for the team lead in tackles in four of the first six games this year. Diles is averaging 7.5 tackles per game this season.

For good measure, Diles also added his first career interception in Week 4 vs. Indianapolis (10/5) and his first career sack in Week 7 vs. Detroit (10/19).

2008 TEXANS DEFENSIVE LEADERS Player Solo Ast Total Tkl/Gm Z. DILES 35 10 45 7.5 D. Ryans 36 8 44 7.3 W. Demps 20 10 30 5.0 M. Greenwood 19 7 26 4.3 M. Williams 16 6 22 3.7

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT DeMECO RYANS

“He is just getting better you know. He is just so much more confident in our defense. He is at a point now where he is in the coach’s dome – that is how smart he is. We are very confident in his leadership in this football team.” – Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak “(T)he plays I have seen and the things I have seen, I just like the way he hustles to the ball. He really is a young guy who understands football. And then the brief time I spent with him at the Pro Bowl, you know, he’s a humble guy. He really loves to play the game and he understands the game. When you come into the league that young and understand the game like that, I think you have a head start. I think he has a great, great, bright future in front of him.” – Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis

DEMECO LEADS THE WAY

DEMECO THE BALLHAWK

THE TEXAN TACKLING MACHINE

DEMECO RYANS NOTES

DEFENSIVE PLAYER NOTES

DILES PLUGGING HOLES

HOUSTON TEXANS


Houston’s defense is one of the youngest in the league. The projected defensive starting lineup averages 4.1 years of experience and just 24.9 years old. Led by 2006 No. 1 overall selection DE Mario Williams and 2006 second-round pick LB DeMeco Ryans, the Texans defense features a starting lineup in which no player is older than 28 years old.

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS STARTING DEFENSE Pos. Player Exp. Age RDE Mario Williams 3 23 DT Amobi Okoye 2 21 NT Travis Johnson 4 26 LDE Anthony Weaver 7 28 WLB Morlon Greenwood 8 28 MLB DeMeco Ryans 3 24 SLB Zac Diles 2 23 RCB Jacques Reeves 5 25 FS Will Demps 7 28 SS Brandon Harrison 2 24 LCB DeMarcus Faggins 7 29 AVERAGES 4.5 25.4

The tandem of DE Mario Williams and DT Amobi Okoye quickly developed into one of the top inside-outside sack tandems in the NFL in 2007. Williams had 14.0 sacks and Okoye had 5.5.

Their 19.5 combined sacks were the most by a DT/DE combo in the NFL last year. With three combined years of experience, they were by far the youngest duo in the league.

NFL TOP DE/DT SACK TANDEMS, 2007

Tm. DE Sacks DT Sacks Total HOU. M. WILLIAMS 14.0 A. OKOYE 5.5 19.5 G.B. A. Kampman 12.0 C. Williams 7.0 19.0 K.C. J. Allen 15.5 R. Edwards 3.0 18.5 Ten. K. Vanden Bosch 12.0 A. Haynesworth 6.0 18.0 Sea. P. Kerney 14.5 R. Bernard 3.5 18.0 NYG O. Umenyiora 13.0 F. Robbins 5.5 18.5

Even as he enters his second NFL season, DT Amobi Okoye remains the fourth-youngest player in the NFL. The only players younger than him all left college after three seasons. Okoye was the youngest first-round draft pick in NFL history when the Texans took him 10th overall at just 19 years, 322 days old. He was the youngest to play in an NFL game when he debuted at 20 years, 91 days old vs. Kansas City on 9/9/07.

YOUNGEST NFL PLAYERS IN 2008 (Age as of Kickoff Weekend)

Age NFL Player, Tm. Pos. Years Days Exp. Darren McFadden, Oak. RB 21 8 R Geno Hayes, TB LB 21 25 R Letroy Guion, Minn. DT 21 75 R AMOBI OKOYE, HOU. DT 21 86 2 Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. RB 21 95 R While his teammate on the defensive line is among the youngest in the NFL, DT Jeff Zgonina counts himself among the ‘most veteran’ players in the league. Zgonina is the oldest defensive player in the NFL and is the sixth-oldest overall. His Texans teammate P Matt Turk is the second-oldest player in the league at just over 40 years old.

OLDEST NFL PLAYERS IN 2008 (Age as of Kickoff Weekend)

Age NFL Player, Tm. Pos. Years Days Exp. Jeff Feagles, NYG P 42 181 21 MATT TURK, HOU P 40 80 13 Brett Favre, NYJ QB 38 330 18 Jeff Garcia, TB QB 38 188 10 Jason Elam, ATL K 38 180 16 JEFF ZGONINA, HOU DT 38 103 16

AMOBI AHEAD OF HIS CLASS

ZGONINA ZTICKING AROUND

TOP SACK TANDEM IN 2007

YOUNG GUNS ON DEFENSE

HOUSTON TEXANS


SPECIAL TEAMS K Kris Brown has led the team in scoring every year of the franchise’s existence and is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 581. Brown’s 115 points last season were the most in Texans history and his .862 field goal percentage tied the highest of his career, matching his rookie season in 1999 as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

P Matt Turk has averaged 42.5 yards per punt in his career and has averaged better than 41 yards per attempt in all but one season. Turk’s 41.7-yard average in 2007 set a Texans record, as did his 37.9-yard net punting average. Only 360 of Turk’s 929 career punts (38.8 percent) have been returned. The return units were among the most explosive in the league last year. WR Jacoby Jones has averaged 9.4 yards per punt return over the last two seasons and is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. WR André Davis was second in the NFL in 2007, averaging 30.3 yards per kickoff return, and he tied for the NFL lead with three kickoffs returned for touchdowns.

Kicker Kris Brown remains the only kicker the Texans have ever known. He topped 800 career points in the team’s win over Miami, a game in which he became the only player in NFL history to make three field goals of 54 yards or longer in one game and drilled a career-long 57-yarder with one second left to win the game. It was Brown’s ninth career game-winning field goal and sixth as a Texan. Brown’s 115 points in 2007 were a Texans record and the second-highest total of his career.

Punter

13th-year pro Matt Turk averaged a team-record 41.7 yards per punt last season. Turk also set a team record with a 37.9-yard net punting average, and his 55 punts were the fewest in team history.

Punt Returner

WR Jacoby Jones was the breakout star of the preseason for the Texans last year. The rookie from Division II Lane College averaged 9.5 yards per return last year, including a 74-yard return vs. Indianapolis (9/23/07). Only Miami WR Ted Ginn had a higher punt return average among rookies, averaging 9.6 yards per return.

Kickoff Returner WR André Davis averaged a team-record 30.3 yards per return last season, including a team-record and league-leading three returns for touchdowns. Davis tied an NFL record in the season finale vs. Jacksonville (12/30/07) when he took two kicks back for touchdowns in the same game. His 104-yard return in the third quarter was the longest in team history.

P Matt Turk did a tremendous job vs. Detroit (10/19) of pinning the Lions deep inside their own territory. Turk had three punts downed inside the Detroit five-yard line, all in the fourth quarter as the Texans were trying to close out the game. Turk’s 48.8-yard net punting average in the game was the highest in Texans history and was tied for the fifth-best net average in his career. The previous Texans record was 44.5 yards by Turk last season at Indianapolis (12/23). His career best was 53.3 net yards per punt at Cincinnati on 10/1/2000 as a Miami Dolphin.

HIGHEST NET PUNTING AVERAGE, GAME, TEXANS HISTORY

Player Game, Date Punts Avg Net M. TURK DET, 10/19/08 4 48.8 48.8 M. Turk @ IND, 12/23/07 4 44.5 44.5 C. Stanley TEN, 10/9/05 5 45.4 43.8 C. Stanley @ Den, 11/7/04 6 46.7 43.7 * Stanley had four games with a 43.0-yard net average.

K Kris Brown was outstanding in 2007 and has continued his stellar play into 2008. Brown has connected on all 10 of his field goal attempts this season.

He is off to the best start to a season since his rookie year in 1999. That year, he connected on his first 13 field goal attempts that season. His personal record is 15 consecutive made field goals, which he has done twice.

KRIS BROWN GAME BY GAME, 2008 Game, Date PAT FG Pct Long Pts DET, 10/19 4/4 0/0 1.000 -- 4 MIA, 10/12 2/2 3/3 1.000 42 11 IND, 10/5 3/3 2/2 1.000 43 9 @ JAX, 9/28 3/3 2/2 1.000 47 9 @ TEN, 9/21 0/0 2/2 1.000 44 6 @ PIT, 9/7 2/2 1/1 1.000 34 5 TOTALS 14/14 10/10 1.000 53 44

SPECIAL TEAMS BY POSITION

SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW

BROWN’S TERRIFIC START

TURK PINNING THEM DEEP

HOUSTON TEXANS


KRIS BROWN’S LONGEST MADE FG STREAKS Number Start End 15 12/3/06 @ Oakland 9/30/07 @ Atlanta 15 10/1/00@ Jacksonville 11/19/00 vs. Jacksonville 13 9/12/99 @ Cleveland 11/7/99 @ San Francisco 10 9/7/08 @ Pittsburgh Ongoing 10 12/14/03 @ Tampa Bay 10/3/04 vs. Oakland

K Kris Brown is off to the best start to a season since his rookie

year in 1999.

K Kris Brown has kicked 10 game-winning field goals in his career, including seven as a Texan. Six broke tie ballgames, Two came on the final play of the game and one was in overtime. KRIS BROWN’S GAME-WINNING FIELD GOALS Game, Date Yds Time Score Final MIA, 10/7/07* 57 0:01 19-19 22-19 IND, 12/24/06* 48 0:00 24-24 27-24 CLE, 10/30/05* 40 2:21 16-16 19-16 @ KC, 9/26/04* 49 0:02 21-21 24-21 @ MIA, 9/7/03* 35 0:25 18-20 21-20 NYG, 11/24/02* 50 6:57 13-14 16-14 @ JAX, 10/27/02* 45 2:11 18-19 21-19 @ CLE, 11/11/01 32 OT 12-12 15-12 BAL, 10/29/00 24 5:53 6-6 9-6 @ BAL, 9/19/99 36 0:00 20-20 23-20 * While a member of the Houston Texans. Brown has also kicked two game-tying field goals to send a game into overtime. KRIS BROWN’S GAME-TYING FIELD GOALS TO

FORCE OVERTIME Game, Date Yds Time Score Final TEN, 12/10/06* 46 1:44 17-20 20-26 @ CLE, 11/11/01 37 3:17 9-12 15-12 * While a member of the Houston Texans.

K Kris Brown is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 577 points. Brown joins G Chester Pitts as the only two players to have played in all 100 games in Texans history.

LEADING SCORERS, TEXANS HISTORY Player PAT FG TD 2PT Sfty Pts K. Brown 185/186 132/168 0 0 0 581 D. Williams 0/0 0/0 28 0 0 168 A. Johnson 0/0 0/0 27 0 0 162 C. Bradford 0/0 0/0 18 1 0 110 J. Wells 0/0 0/0 12 1 0 74 Bold indicates still with Texans WR/PR Jacoby Jones scored his first touchdown in the NFL in Houston’s 29-28 win over Miami (10/12) when he fielded a punt and returned it 70 yards for a score. To make his moment all the more memorable, Jones followed up the return by leaping into the arms of his mother, Emily, who has front-row seats in the north end zone at Reliant Stadium.

Jones’ punt return was the first by the Texans since the franchise’s inaugural season in 2002 when Avion Black took one back against Baltimore on 12/15/02. That broke a span of 86 games without a punt returned for touchdown.

LONGEST PUNT RETURNS, TEXANS HISTORY Player Opponent, Date Yards A. Black vs. Baltimore, 12/15/02 76t J. Jones vs. Indianapolis, 9/23/07 74 J. JONES vs. MIAMI, 10/12/08 70t

KICKING WITH KRIS

BROWN’S GAME-WINNERS

JACOBY’S HAPPY RETURN

HOUSTON TEXANS


The Texans 2008 draft class (L-R): CB Antwaun Molden, S Dominique Barber, RB Steve Slaton, QB

Alex Brink, LB Xavier Adibi, T Duane Brown and DT Frank Okam.

Houston entered the 2008 NFL Draft with the 18th overall pick in the first round, the Texans’ lowest pick in team history. On draft day, general manager Rick Smith traded that pick to Baltimore in exchange for the 26th overall pick and third- and sixth-round picks. At 26, the Texans addressed a need on the offensive line by picking T Duane Brown from Virginia Tech. Brown became the first offensive lineman drafted by the Texans in the first round. The selection was also a continuation of the team’s ongoing effort to build along the line of scrimmage through the draft. Houston has used five consecutive first-round picks on linemen, focusing on the defensive side until this year. For the second consecutive year, Houston did not have a second-round pick, but the Texans made up for it with a pair of third-rounders. With the 79th overall pick, Houston selected CB Antwaun Molden out of Eastern Kentucky. Molden was the first defensive player drafted by the team in the third round since 2003, when the Texans drafted LB Antwan Peek with the 67th overall pick. It was also the second consecutive year that the Texans used a third-round pick on a player from a small school. Eastern Kentucky competes in Division 1-AA, and Lane College, which produced WR Jacoby Jones, is a Division II institution. With the 89th overall pick, Houston returned to the offensive side of the ball, taking West Virginia RB Steve Slaton. Slaton was a three-time All-Big East selection at West Virginia and earned first-team All-American honors as a sophomore in 2006. By taking him in the third round, it was the second-highest pick that the Texans have used on a running back. Only Vernand Morency in the second round in 2005 went earlier.

Houston returned to Virginia Tech in the fourth round, selecting LB Xavier Adibi. Adibi was a first-team All-American in 2007 and a two-time All-ACC pick for the Hokies. By selecting Adibi, the Texans also kept their streak of taking a linebacker in every draft alive. Adibi started 40 of 47 contests at Virginia Tech and recorded 291 tackles (133 solos) with 11 sacks for minus-34 yards. The Texans picked up a native Texan in the fifth round by drafting DT Frank Okam out of Texas. Okam, a native of Dallas, was a three-time All-Big 12 choice as a Longhorn and earned first-team honors as a senior in 2006. Okam was the third Texas player drafted by the Texans, giving the Horns the edge among in-state schools. He joins current Texans G Kasey Studdard, a seventh-round pick (183rd overall) in the 2007 draft. In the sixth round, Houston opted for a player with an unquestionable NFL pedigree with S Dominique Barber out of Minnesota. Barber is the son of former New York Jets RB Marion Barber, Jr., and the brother of Dallas Cowboys RB Marion Barber III. Dominique played in 26 games as a Golden Gopher with 24 starts and totaled 191 tackles, including 130 solo stops during his career. The two-time All-Big Ten safety finished with four career interceptions and 13 pass break-ups to go along with four fumble recoveries. Adibi, Xavier: Led Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va. to back-to-back Group AAA championships and was part of a defense that allowed less than five points per game. Anderson, David: Won the league MVP and the team MVP two times at Thousand Oaks High School (Calif.)...holds all major receiving records at Thousand Oaks…earned school and conference academic honors with a 3.8 grade point average. Barber, Dominique: Father, Marion Jr., played RB for the New York Jets and brother, Marion III, plays RB for the Dallas Cowboys. Bennett, Fred: Was mentored by Texans CB Dunta Robinson at South Carolina, where he was a freshman and Robinson was a senior. Bentley, Kevin: Was a Las Angeles Times All-Valley player in high school…combined for 220 tackles as a junior and senior…lettered in both football and basketball. Brisiel, Mike: As a senior was selected to the all-state team, the all-time team, the all-area team, the all-Arkansas team and was named to the AP super prep team...also the recipient of the all-region lineman award...member of the National Honor Society. Brown, Duane: Was originally recruited to Virginia Tech as a tight end…also lettered in basketball and finished

2008 TEXANS DRAFT RECAP

PLAYER BY PLAYER INFO

HOUSTON TEXANS


fourth in the state in the shot put at Hermitage High in Richmond, Va. Brown, Kris: Serves on the board of directors for the Lymphoma Leukemia Society…also very active in the Pittsburgh community during his three seasons there…assisted The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Junior Achievement’s “Kickin’ for Kids” program. Bruener, Mark: Earned his degree in economics in May after 12 years in the NFL…board member of the Western PA Caring Foundation for Children…conducted motivational speeches for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Highmark and served as spokesman for Multiple Sclerosis. Bulman, Tim: Brother, Andrew, was a defensive tackle at Kansas State (2003-05). Butler, Rashad: Enjoys listening to R&B music in his free time…owns a degree in sociology from Miami…was a college teammate of Texans T Eric Winston. Cochran, Earl: Volunteered at the VA Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, while in high school…four-year letterman in both football and baseball at Jess Lanier High in his hometown of Bessemer, Alabama, playing defensive end and tight end…played with current teammate DeMeco Ryans at Lanier. Daniels, Owen: Would like to pursue a career in weather forecasting after football…made appearances on local news stations doing weather while at Wisconsin. Davis, André: Won the NCAA’s “Today’s Top VIII” award, given to eight outstanding senior student-athletes of the preceding calendar year, in 2002. Demps, Will: Is a professional model and has been featured in Vibe magazine…was featured on MTV’s Cribs and in music videos. Diles, Zac: Finished his Kansas State career by playing in the inaugural Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium…native Texan, born in Abilene. Dreessen, Joel: Two-time all-state pick at TE in high school and also ran the 110-meter hurdles…delivered bags of ice as a summer job in high school. Faggins, DeMarcus: Participated in Texans Blood Drive…took part in Take a Texan to School Day at Carver High School in Houston. Ferguson, Nick: Served as a coaching intern for NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals in their 2003 training camp in Tampa, Fla…grew up as the third of 11 children. Green, Ahman: Teamed with S Jason Simmons to donate a down payment on a home for a single-parent family in exchange for Simmons’ No. 30…nickname is Batman because of his infatuation with the cartoon. Greenwood, Morlon: Didn’t play football until his junior year after the assistant wrestling coach convinced him to try out…state wrestling champion as a senior in the 215-pound class. Harrison, Brandon: National Merit Finalist and National Achievement Finalist at Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic H.S.

Johnson, Andre: Participated in Texans Blood Drive…took children from Stovall Academy and a Houston-area women’s shelter to Lunch with the Texans at Outback Steakhouse…held his second-annual Andre Johnson Celebrity Weekend. Johnson, Travis: Played forward on the basketball team and participated in track and field, throwing the shot put and running the 100-meter dash at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Jones, Jacoby: Entered college at 5’7”, 165 pounds and grew five inches and 50 pounds…second player in Lane College history to be drafted, after DT Ernest Bonwell, an 11th-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1971. Kalu, N.D.: Nigeria is the home to Jonah Ndukwe Kalu, N.D.’s grandfather, a legend in the town of Abiriba…he was a renowned and respected businessman…took a two-and-a-half week trip to Nigeria in 2003 and visited again in 2004 and 2005. Leach, Vonta: Held the inaugural Vonta Leach Football Camp this past summer in his hometown of Rowland, North Carolina…mentors children during the offseason at a Rowland youth center. Molden, Antwaun: Was part of three track relay teams that set three national records during his senior year in high school. Myers, Chris: Grandfather was a long time NFL referee. Okam, Frank: Graduated from the University of Texas in three and a half years and was first-team Academic All-Big 12 in 2007…speaks French. Okoye, Amobi: Born in Nigeria and immigrated to U.S. at 12 years of age…was accepted into Harvard at age 15 but turned it down to play football at Louisville. Pittman, Bryan: Speaker at Junior Player Development youth football camp at Delmar Stadium in Houston…took children from a Houston-area women’s center shelter on a holiday shopping spree for Palais Royal Shop with a Texan…coaches kids in the annual Kicking Camp…involved in special events with the children in Hockley, Texas. Pitts, Chester: Part of Take a Texan to School week at St. Cecilia School…participant in Junior Player Development Program…spent the morning as a teacher at Sherman Elementary as part of “Teach For America.” Reeves, Jacques: Standout track athlete at Purdue, finishing second in the 200 meters at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in 2003. Robinson, Deljuan: Lists bowling as his favorite hobby outside of football. Robinson, Dunta: Texans first pick in 2004 draft...voted the Pro Football Weekly Defensive Rookie of the Year…three-year starter at defensive back, running back and wide receiver at Clarke Central High School in Athens, GA….also lettered in basketball and track. Rosenfels, Sage: Grew up on an 11-acre property in Maquoketa, a town with a population of almost 6,500 near the Iowa/Illinois border…attended Maquoketa

HOUSTON TEXANS


(Iowa) High School, where he was an all-state selection in baseball, basketball, and football. Ryans, DeMeco: Named to The Tuscaloosa News Sweet Sixteen and The Birmingham Post-Herald Super Senior teams…2005 First-Team All-America (AP, Walter Camp, FWAA, AFCA, SI.com). Salaam, Ephraim: He and his mother, Dr. Malikah Salaam, head up the EMS Foundation, which helps underprivileged children further their education…brother played on the defensive line for legendary coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling and his father was a basketball player at South Carolina. Sapp, Cecil: Is one of four Colorado State alumni on the Texans roster, which ties CSU with Miami (Fla.) for the most on the team. Schaub, Matt: Won the John Acree Memorial Trophy, given to the football player with the highest qualities of leadership and unselfish service at the University of Virginia…three-year letterman in basketball and baseball in high school in addition to football. Slaton, Steve: Was a two-time all-state selection at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Levittown, Pa….also excelled on the school’s track team. Studdard, Kasey: Father, Dave, played for the Denver Broncos from 1979-88 and uncle, Les, played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1982. Thompson, Chaun: Wife, Faith, was a standout basketball player at West Texas A&M. Turk, Matt: Youngest of six children, all boys…brother, Dan, who passed away during 2000 football season, was long-snapper in NFL from 1985-99 and Matt’s teammate with Redskins from 1997-99. Walker, Darius: Scored 46 touchdowns as a senior at Buford (Ga.) H.S., breaking Herschel Walker’s state record of 42…helped lead Buford to a 58-2 record and four straight state title appearances. Walter, Kevin: Attended Libertyville (Ill.) High School, where he lettered three times in football and was named first-team all-state as a senior. Weaver, Anthony: Has played guitar (both acoustic and electric) for 13 years, and has four guitars in his collection. White, Chris: Nicknamed “Catfish” by his teammates…earned 10 letters as a three-sport athlete at Winona (Miss.) H.S. Williams, Mario: Second Texans player selected number one overall in an NFL Draft (David Carr, 2002)… enjoys playing with remote-control cars. Wilson, Eugene: Four-year varsity starter in basketball, twice earning All-Conference honors…led the team in scoring and assists as a senior. Winston, Eric: Team won three Texas Class 5A titles in four seasons at Midland Lee (Tex.) High School...played tight end and defensive end. Zgonina, Jeff: Was a college teammate of Texans GM Rick Smith at Purdue.

The “Texans Helping Texans” campaign started by the Houston Texans to aid people victimized by Hurricane Ike has raised over $2.45 million through major contributions from individuals and Houston-area businesses.

The campaign was announced prior to the Texans’ game at Tennessee on Sunday, September 21 with a stated goal of raising $2 million. Texans owner Bob McNair donated $500,000 to kick off the campaign. McNair’s donation was matched by the National Football League and the NFL Players Association, which contributed $500,000 through the league’s disaster relief fund. Chevron Corporation contributed $250,000 to give the campaign an initial $1.25 million.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ $150,000 contribution last week pushed the campaign over its $2 million goal. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay also donated $50,000 to the campaign. Irsay’s Colts team faced the Texans in Houston’s home opener on Sunday, October 5. The final donation was presented by McNair and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell prior to kickoff of the game.

In all, 14 companies based in or with ties to Houston contributed to the “Texans Helping Texans” campaign, and along with Irsay, Houston Texans vice chairmen Philip Burguiéres and Cal McNair, combined to give $1.95 million to aid the victims of the storm. The funds will be divided among two relief funds: the Houston Ike Relief Fund, which was established by Houston Mayor Bill White for short term relief such as food, water and medicine for victims, and the United Way for long term goals.

Hurricane Ike, which made landfall Saturday, September 13 in Galveston as a severe Category 2 storm, caused extensive damage throughout the nation’s fourth-largest city, including damage to the retractable roof at Reliant Stadium.

The Texans also established an online donation platform on the team’s official website, www.HoustonTexans.com, through which Texans fans could contribute to the campaign.

TEXANS IN THE COMMUNITY

TEXANS HELPING TEXANS

HOUSTON TEXANS


MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO “TEXANS HELPING TEXANS” CAMPAIGN

Company/Individual Gift Houston Texans/Bob McNair $500,000 National Football League/NFLPA $500,000 Chevron Corporation $250,000 PricewaterhouseCoopers $150,000 Amegy Bank $100,000 H-E-B $100,000 Hines $100,000 Williams $100,000 Kroger $100,000 Hilcorp $100,000 Comcast $100,000 Philip Burguiéres $100,000 Indianapolis Colts/Jim Irsay $50,000 Cal McNair $50,000 David Weekley Homes $50,000 Asia Chemical $25,000 SCI $25,000 UPS $25,000 Academy Sports + Outdoors $25,000 TOTAL $2,450,000

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Houston Texans owner Bob McNair present a check for $2.4 million on behalf of the Texans Helping Texans campaign prior to the Texans home

opener vs. Indianapolis (10/5). PRESEASON GAMES Saturday, August 9 – Texans vs. Broncos – Spirit of Service The Texans saluted Houston-area fire fighters, police officers, teachers and other individuals who serve the community. A member of the Houston Police Department sang the national anthem prior to kickoff, and the team honored service personnel in a halftime ceremony.

Saturday, August 28 – Texans vs. Buccaneers – State of Football Football is king in Texas, and the Texans kick off the season by honoring everything that makes Texas football great. The Texans will celebrate youth football by recognizing youth programs, players and coaches throughout the game. REGULAR SEASON GAMES Sunday, October 5 – Texans vs. Colts – Spirit of Texans The Texans will celebrate the pride, courage, strength, tradition and independence of the people of the great state of Texas. The team will also honor the men and women who helped with the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Sunday, October 12 – Texans vs. Dolphins – Hispanic Heritage Day The Texans will celebrate Houston’s Hispanic heritage during the game by honoring and recognizing the heritage of Houston’s Hispanic community. Hispanic traditions and customs will also be incorporated throughout the game. Sunday, November 18 – Texans vs. Lions –Homecoming The team and the fans will celebrate everything great about what it means to be a Texan. Dozens of Houston football legends will be honored during the game as well. Sunday, October 26 – Texans vs. Bengals – Texans Oktoberfest The rescheduled Cincinnati game will cap off a month that the Texans are celebrating as Oktoberfest. In addition to a record four straight home games, the month will feature the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Dream Job, the Bulls & Birdies Golf Tournament, the Houston Texans Cheerleaders Halloween Bash presented by Miller Lite and the launch of the 2008 Houston Texans Cheerleaders Swimsuit Calendar. Sunday, November 9 – Texans vs. Ravens – Salute to the Military The Texans will recognize the great men and women who serve our country in the US armed forces. Included in this salute will be a special pregame ceremony and a halftime presentation by the US Army Band.

TEXANS THEMED GAMEDAYS

HOUSTON TEXANS


Monday, December 1 – Texans vs. Jaguars – Battle Red Day The Texans will celebrate their first appearance on Monday Night Football by once again turning Reliant Stadium RED during Battle Red Day with the players, Cheerleaders, TORO and Bull Pen Pep Band all dressed in red. Wear your red jerseys and Texans gear and cheer on the Texans. Sunday, December 14 – Texans vs. Titans – T-N-T Rivalry The Texans-N-Titans Rivalry is here as we celebrate the match-up of our AFC rival. In addition, the Texans will honor a distinguished Texas Legend during the game. Past honorees include ZZ Top, Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan. Sunday, December 28 – Texans vs. Bears – Fan Appreciation Day To thank the fans of Houston, the Texans will provide special prize giveaways throughout the game. In addition, a special postgame party will be held in Budweiser Plaza and all children in attendance will have an opportunity to catch a touchdown pass on the field at Reliant Stadium. Sunday, October 26 San Diego vs. New Orleans (in London) Noon CBS Oakland at Baltimore Noon CBS Buffalo at Miami Noon CBS Kansas City at N.Y. Jets Noon CBS St. Louis at New England Noon FOX Arizona at Carolina Noon FOX Tampa Bay at Dallas Noon FOX Washington at Detroit Noon FOX Atlanta at Philadelphia Noon FOX CINCINNATI AT HOUSTON 3:05 pm CBS Cleveland at Jacksonville 3:05 pm CBS N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh 3:15 pm FOX Seattle at San Francisco 3:15 pm FOX Monday, October 27 Indianapolis at Tennessee 7:30 p.m. ESPN (All kickoff times listed are Central Time) Byes: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota.

2008 Sept. 4-8 Kickoff 2008 Weekend Oct. 13-15 NFL Fall Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida Oct. 14 Trading deadline Dec. 28 Regular season ends

2009 Jan. 3-4 Wild Card Playoffs Jan. 10-11 Divisional Playoffs Jan. 18 Conference Championships Feb. 1 Super Bowl XLIII, Tampa, Florida (NBC) Feb. 8 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, Honolulu, Hawaii

(NBC) Feb. 18-24 NFL Scouting Combine, Indianapolis,

Indiana Feb. 27 Free agency begins Mar. 22-25 NFL Annual Meeting, Dana Point,

California Apr. 25-26 NFL Draft, New York City May 18-20 NFL Spring Meeting, Fort Lauderdale,

Florida

CB Dunta Robinson made his season debut vs. Detroit (10/19) after spending the first six weeks on the Physically Unable to

Perform list.

IMPORTANT NFL DATES

THIS WEEK IN THE NFL – WEEK 8

HOUSTON TEXANS

1/2: Signed the following players to reserve/future contracts: RB Arliss Beach, LB Kevis Coley, C Greg Eslinger, CB Derrick Johnson, DE Eric Powell, CB Derrick Roberson,S Brandon Mitchell. 1/10: Signed WR LeRon McCoy to a

reserve/future contract. 1/11: Named Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach/offense and promoted Kyle Shanahan to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. 1/15: Signed C Chukky Okobi and G Dan

Stevenson to reserve/future contracts. 1/28: Hired Ray Rhodes as the assistant

defensive backs coach.

2/20: Released LB Shawn Barber, C Mike Flanagan and TE Jeb Putzier. Waived C Drew Hodgdon.

2/26: Re-signed WR Harry Williams. 2/27: Re-signed RB Chris Taylor. Waived FB

Jon Abbate. 2/28: Re-signed OL Scott Jackson. 2/29: Re-signed free agent WR André Davis.

Re-signed FB Jon Abbate.

3/1: Signed unrestricted free agent CB

Jacques Reeves. 3/3: Re-signed RB Darius Walker. Signed

free agent LB Kevin Bentley. 3/10: Re-signed free agent TE Mark Bruener

and SS Glenn Earl. 3/13: Signed free agent RB Chris Brown. 3/14: Signed free agent LB Chaun Thompson.

3/17: Traded a sixth-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft to the Denver Broncos in exchange for C Chris Myers.

3/24: Signed free agent QB Quinn Gray. 3/25: Re-signed P Matt Turk. Released C

Steve McKinney. 3/31: Re-signed S C.C. Brown and T Brandon

Frye. 4/2: Re-signed DT Anthony Maddox. 4/23: Re-signed WR David Anderson.

4/26: Traded the 18th pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens for a first-round pick (26th overall), a third- round pick (89th) and a sixth-round pick (173rd). Selected Virginia Tech T Duane Brown with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. 4/27: Selected Eastern Kentucky CB Antwaun Molden in the third round (79th overall). Selected West Virginia RB Steve Slaton in the third round (89th overall). Selected Virginia Tech LB Xavier Adibi in the

fourth round (118th overall). Selected Texas DT Frank Okam in the fifth round (151st overall). Selected Minnesota S Dominique Barber in the sixth round (173rd overall). Selected Washington St. QB Alex Brink in the seventh round (223rd overall).

5/8: Signed the following undrafted rookie free

agents: Auburn TE Cole Bennett, Hawaii WR Ryan Grice-Mullen, Miami (Fla.) WR Darnell Jenkins, Utah DT Gabe Long, South Florida LB Ben Moffitt, Colorado State DE Jesse Nading and Troy LB Marcus Richardson.

5/9: Re-signed G Fred Weary. 5/19: Signed free agents TE Ryan Krause and

CB Jimmy Williams. Released TE Cole Bennett.

5/22: Signed WR Tim Carter and WR Mark Simmons. Released RB Arliss Beach. Placed C Chukky Okobi on the reserve/injured list. 5/29: Waived CB Derrick Johnson. Signed C

Mark Fenton.

6/2: Reached an injury settlement with C Chukky Okobi.

6/3: Signed GM Rick Smith to a contract extension through the 2012 season.

6/9: Released QB Quinn Gray and T Jordan Black.

6/13: Released S Curome Cox and WR Ryan Grice-Mullen.

6/16: Signed LB Rosevelt Colvin. 6/19: Signed sixth-round draft pick S Dominique

Barber. 6/26: Signed seventh-round draft pick QB Alex

Brink.

JANUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY FEBRUARY

JUNE

HOUSTON TEXANS

7/16: Signed fourth-round draft pick LB Xavier Adibi.

7/22: Signed third-round draft picks CB Antwaun Molden and RB Steve Slaton and fifth-round draft pick DT Frank Okam. Released FB Jon Abbate, DT Eric Powell, G/T Charles Spencer and G Dan Stevenson. 7/25: Signed first-round draft pick LT Duane Brown. Placed CB Dunta Robinson on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list. 7/31: Signed RB Mike Bell. Released S

Brandon Mitchell.

8/4: Signed CB Dexter Wynn. Placed DB Jimmy Williams on the reserve/injured list. 8/8: Signed OT Torrin Tucker. Released RB Mike Bell. 8/11: Signed T Cliff Washburn. Waived LB

Marcus Richardson. 8/18: Signed RB Marcel Shipp. Placed G

Fred Weary on the reserve/injured list. 8/26: Released FB Jameel Cook and WR Tim

Carter. Waived G Mark Fenton. Placed WR Harry Williams and OL Scott Jackson on the reserve/injured list. Placed CB Dunta Robinson on the reserve/PUP list.

8/29: Released FB Jon Abbate, QB Shane Boyd, QB Alex Brink, DE Rosevelt Colvin, C Greg Eslinger, CB Jamar Fletcher, DT Gabe Long, DT Anthony Maddox, WR LeRon McCoy, RB Darius Walker, S Glenn Earl, CB Derrick Roberson, TE Ryan Krause, WR Darnell Jenkins, DE Jesse Nading, CB Dexter Wynn, T Torrin Tucker, LB Ben Moffitt, WR Mark Simmons, RB Marcel Shipp, LB Kevis Coley.

8/30: Placed RB Chris Brown on the reserve/injured list.

8/31: Signed LB Kevis Coley, WR Darnell Jenkins, DT Gabe Long, DE Jesse Nading, CB Derrick Roberson, WR Mark Simmons and RB Darius Walker to practice squad. Released OT Cliff Washburn. Signed DE Stanley McClover.

9/1: Signed T Adam Stenavich to practice

squad. 9/2: Waived T Brandon Frye. 9/3: Signed CB Eugene Wilson. 9/4: Signed T Brandon Frye to the practice

squad. Released DT Gabe Long from the practice squad.

9/6: Signed T Eric Winston to a contract extension.

9/11: Signed RB Darius Walker to the active roster. Signed RB Arliss Beach to the practice squad. Placed DE Stanley McClover on the reserve/injured list.

9/17: Signed TE Clark Harris to the practice squad. Released LB Kevis Coley from the practice squad.

9/24: Signed RB D.D. Terry to the practice squad. Released RB Arliss Beach from the practice squad. 9/30: Placed S C.C. Brown on the reserve/injured

list. Signed FB Cecil Sapp to the active roster. Released TE Clark Harris from the practice squad. Re-signed LB Kevis Coley to the practice squad.

10/7: Signed RB Ryan Moats to the practice squad. Released CB Derrick Roberson and

RB D.D. Terry from the practice squad. 10/8: Signed QB Alex Brink to the practice squad. 10/14: Released G Fred Weary from the

reserve/injured list. 10/17: Activated CB Dunta Robinson from the

Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. Placed RB Chris Taylor on injured reserve.

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS STATISTICS

WON 2, LOST 4 *-Indicates Sellout RUSHING No. Yds Avg Long TD 09/07 L 17-38 at Pittsburgh *64,001 Slaton 89 423 4.8 50 4 09/21 L 12-31 at Tennessee *69,143 Green 39 178 4.6 14 1 09/28 L 27-30 OT at Jacksonville *64,061 Schaub 16 56 3.5 10 2 10/05 L 27-31 Indianapolis *70,118 Taylor 14 37 2.6 17 0 10/12 W 29-28 Miami *70,023 Rosenfels 4 16 4.0 7 0 10/19 W 28-21 Detroit *70,081 Walter 2 10 5.0 7 0 10/26 Cincinnati TEXANS 164 720 4.4 50 7 11/02 at Minnesota OPPONENTS 166 732 4.4 41t 11 11/09 Baltimore RECEIVING No. Yds Avg Long TD 11/16 at Indianapolis A. Johnson 45 629 14.0 61 2 11/23 at Cleveland Daniels 29 374 12.9 34 2 12/01 Jacksonville Walter 24 293 12.2 30 3 12/07 at Green Bay Slaton 20 112 5.6 30t 1 12/14 Tennessee Davis 7 123 17.6 49 0 12/21 at Oakland Green 6 8 1.3 6 0 12/28 Chicago Leach 4 22 5.5 8 0 Hou. Opp. Dreessen 2 17 8.5 11 0 TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 136 108 Anderson 2 6 3.0 4 0 Rushing 45 43 Jones 1 5 5.0 5 0 Passing 80 61 TEXANS 140 1589 11.4 61 8 Penalty 11 4 OPPONENTS 105 1354 12.9 96t 9 3rd Down: Made/Att 33/77 27/68 INTERCEPTIONS No. Yds Avg Long TD 3rd Down Pct. 42.9 39.7 Reeves 1 33 33.0 33 0 4th Down: Made/Att 5/10 6/6 Wilson 1 19 19.0 19 0 4th Down Pct. 50.0 100.0 Diles 1 0 0.0 0 0 POSSESSION AVG. 32:13 27:47 TEXANS 3 52 17.3 33 0 TOTAL NET YARDS 2217 2033 OPPONENTS 8 120 15.0 99t 1 Avg. Per Game 369.5 338.8 PUNTING No. Yds Avg Net TB In Lg B Total Plays 394 334 Turk 19 852 44.8 37.2 3 7 59 0 Avg. Per Play 5.6 6.1 TEXANS 19 852 44.8 37.2 3 7 59 0 NET YARDS RUSHING 720 732 OPPONENTS 25 1161 46.4 38.9 2 7 57 0 Avg. Per Game 120.0 122.0 PUNT RETURNS Ret FC Yds Avg Long TD Total Rushes 164 166 Jones 14 5 148 10.6 70t 1 NET YARDS PASSING 1497 1301 TEXANS 14 5 148 10.6 70t 1 Avg. Per Game 249.5 216.8 OPPONENTS 7 4 86 12.3 28 0 Sacked/Yards Lost 14/92 9/53 KICKOFF RETURNS No. Yds Avg Long TD Gross Yards 1589 1354 Davis 26 576 22.2 50 0 Att./Completions 216/140 159/105 Leach 2 25 12.5 15 0 Completion Pct. 64.8 66.0 Taylor 1 17 17.0 17 0 Had Intercepted 8 3 TEXANS 29 618 21.3 50 0 PUNTS/AVERAGE 19/44.8 25/46.4 OPPONENTS 27 617 22.9 32 0 NET PUNTING AVG. 19/37.2 25/38.9 FIELD GOALS 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ PENALTIES/YARDS 16/119 28/235 K. Brown 0/ 0 3/ 3 3/ 3 4/ 4 0/0 FUMBLES/BALL LOST 12/6 7/2 TEXANS 0/ 0 3/ 3 3/ 3 4/ 4 0/0 TOUCHDOWNS 16 22 OPPONENTS 0/ 0 0/ 0 1/ 1 5/ 6 2/2 Rushing 7 11 K. Brown: (34G)(44G,24G)(27G,47G)(37G,43G) Passing 8 9 (27G,33G,42G)() Returns 1 2 OPPONENTS: (44G)(44G)(46G,40G,37G)(46G,49N)() SCORE BY PERIODS Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT PTS (54G,54G) TEXANS 26 50 24 40 0 140 OPPONENTS 38 41 38 59 3 179 SCORING TD-Ru-Pa-Rt K-PAT FG S PTS K. Brown 0 0 0 0 14/14 10/10 0 44 Slaton 5 4 1 0 0 30 Walter 3 0 3 0 0 18 Daniels 2 0 2 0 0 12 A. Johnson 2 0 2 0 0 12 Schaub 2 2 0 0 0 12 Green 1 1 0 0 0 6 Jones 1 0 0 1a 0 6 TEXANS 16 7 8 1 14/14 10/10 0 140 OPPONENTS 22 11 9 *2 21/21 8/ 9 0 179 2-Pt. Conversions: TEAM 0-2, OPPONENTS 1-1 A- J. Jones 70-yard punt return vs. MIA (10/12) *- C. Finnegan 99-yard INT return at TEN (9/21) G. Brackett 68-yard FUM return vs. IND (10/5) PASSING Att Cmp Yds Cmp% Yds/Att TD TD% Int Int% Long Sack/Lost Rating Schaub 183 119 1343 65.0 7.34 7 3.8 7 3.8 61 12/ 81 83.7 Rosenfels 33 21 246 63.6 7.45 1 3.0 1 3.0 39 2/ 11 83.6 TEXANS 216 140 1589 64.8 7.36 8 3.7 8 3.7 61 14/ 92 83.7 OPPONENTS 159 105 1354 66.0 8.52 9 5.7 3 1.9 96t 9/ 53 103.6

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS DEFENSIVE AND SPECIAL TEAMS STATISTICS

Sacks QB INT Pass Forced Fumble

TACKLES Solo Asst Total (Yards) Press (Yards) Defensed Fumble Recovery

Z. Diles 35 10 45 1 (9) 2 1 (0) 2 1 0D. Ryans 36 8 44 0 (0) 1 0 (0) 2 0 2W. Demps 20 10 30 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0M. Greenwood 19 7 26 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 1 0 0M. Williams 16 6 22 6 (37) 16 0 (0) 0 2 0B. Harrison 13 5 18 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0J. Reeves 14 2 16 0 (0) 0 1 (33) 8 0 0CC. Brown 12 3 15 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 1 0 0F. Bennett 11 4 15 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 2 1 0D. Faggins 11 3 14 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 2 0 0A. Weaver 8 6 14 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0J. Zgonina 6 3 9 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0A. Okoye 5 4 9 0 (0) 2 0 (0) 0 0 0De. Robinson 5 4 9 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0N. Ferguson 6 1 7 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0E. Cochran 4 3 7 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0T. Bulman 2 4 6 1 (7) 4 0 (0) 0 0 0T. Johnson 5 0 5 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0C. Thompson 4 1 5 1 (0) 3 0 (0) 1 0 0N. Kalu 2 2 4 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0E. Wilson 3 0 3 0 (0) 0 1 (19) 2 0 0K. Bentley 2 0 2 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0D. Robinson 2 0 2 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0F. Okam 1 0 1 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0D. Barber 1 0 1 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0A. Molden 1 0 1 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 0Total 244 86 330 9 (53) 26 3 (52) 21 4 2

Forced Fumble

SPECIAL TEAMS Solo Asst Total PAT Punt FG Fumble Recovery

K. Bentley 9 2 11 0 0 0 0 0A. Molden 6 2 8 0 0 0 0 0N. Ferguson 5 1 6 0 0 0 0 0D. Faggins 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0J. Dreesen 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0C. Thompson 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0V. Leach 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0C. Taylor 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0J. Reeves 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0F. Bennett 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0C. Sapp 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0A. Davis 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0D. Barber 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0Total 32 12 44 0 0 0 0 0

(Based on Game Summeries)

Blocks

2008 HOUSTON TEXANSHOW THEY WERE BUILT

Year College Draft (24) Trades (2) Free Agents (35)

2002 G/T Chester Pitts (2-b) PK Kris Brown (RFA-PIT)4-12 CB DeMarcus Faggins (6-a)4th, AFC South

2003 WR Andre Johnson (1) LS Bryan Pittman (FA)5-114th, AFC South

2004 CB Dunta Robinson (1-a) TE Mark Bruener (UFA-PIT)7-93rd, AFC South

2005 DT Travis Johnson (1) LB Morlon Greenwood (UFA-MIA)2-14 SS C.C. Brown (6) (IR)4th, AFC South

2006 DE Mario Williams (1) G Mike Brisiel (FA)6-10 LB DeMeco Ryans (2) DE Earl Cochran (FA)4th, AFC South T Eric Winston (3-b) T Scott Jackson (FA) (IR)

TE Owen Daniels (4) DE N.D. Kalu (UFA-PHI)WR David Anderson (7) FB Vonta Leach (FA)

QB Sage Rosenfels (UFA-MIA)T Ephraim Salaam (UFA-JAX)RB Chris Taylor (FA) (IR)WR Kevin Walter (RFA-CIN)DE Anthony Weaver (UFA-BAL)

2007 DT Amobi Okoye (1) QB Matt Schaub (ATL) DT Tim Bulman (FA)8-8 WR Jacoby Jones (3) T Rashad Butler (W-CAR)4th, AFC South CB Fred Bennett (4) WR André Davis (UFA-BUF)

S Brandon Harrison (5-a) FS Will Demps (FA)G Kasey Studdard (6) TE Joel Dreessen (FA)LB Zac Diles (7) RB Ahman Green (UFA-GB)

DT DelJuan Robinson (FA)G Dan Stevenson (FA) (IR)P Matt Turk (FA)RB Darius Walker (FA)C Chris White (FA)WR Harry Williams (FA) (IR)DT Jeff Zgonina (UFA-MIA)

2008 T Duane Brown (1) C Chris Myers (DEN) LB Kevin Bentley (UFA-SEA)CB Antwaun Molden (3a) RB Chris Brown (UFA-TEN) (IR)RB Steve Slaton (3b) SS Nick Ferguson (FA)LB Xavier Adibi (4) DE Stanley McClover (W-CAR) (IR)DT Frank Okam (5) CB Jacques Reeves (UFA-DAL)FS Dominique Barber (6) FB Cecil Sapp (FA)

LB Chaun Thompson (UFA-CLE)CB Jimmy Williams (FA) (IR)CB Eugene Wilson (FA)

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS ROSTER (BY POSITION)

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks (2) 8 Matt Schaub QB 6-5 231 5 Virginia18 Sage Rosenfels QB 6-2 222 8 Iowa State

Wide Receiver (6) 11 André Davis WR 6-1 194 7 Virginia Tech12 Jacoby Jones WR 6-2 207 2 Lane College80 Andre Johnson WR 6-3 223 6 Miami (Fla.)83 Kevin Walter WR 6-3 215 6 Eastern Michigan86 Harry Williams (IR) WR 6-2 196 2 Tuskegee89 David Anderson WR 5-9 197 3 Colorado State

Running Back (7) 20 Steve Slaton RB 5-9 197 R West Virginia22 Chris Brown (IR) RB 6-3 220 6 Colorado27 Chris Taylor (IR) RB 6-0 224 2 Indiana30 Ahman Green RB 6-0 220 11 Nebraska37 Darius Walker RB 5-11 212 2 Notre Dame

33 Cecil Sapp FB 5-11 229 6 Colorado State44 Vonta Leach FB 6-0 253 5 East Carolina

Tight End (3) 81 Owen Daniels TE 6-3 243 3 Wisconsin85 Joel Dreessen TE 6-4 260 3 Colorado State87 Mark Bruener TE 6-4 252 14 Washington

Offensive Line (12) 62 Scott Jackson (IR) T 6-4 302 4 Brigham Young73 Eric Winston T 6-5 310 3 Miami (Fla.)74 Ephraim Salaam T 6-7 298 11 San Diego State

76 Duane Brown T 6-4 315 R Virginia Tech78 Rashad Butler T 6-4 270 3 Miami (Fla.)

64 Kasey Studdard G 6-3 299 2 Texas65 Mike Brisiel G 6-5 296 1 Colorado State68 Dan Stevenson (IR) G 6-5 300 1 Notre Dame69 Chester Pitts G 6-4 318 7 San Diego State

55 Chris Myers C 6-4 300 4 Miami (Fla.)63 Chris White C 6-2 284 4 Southern Mississippi

DEFENSE

Defensive Line (11) 90 Mario Williams DE 6-6 286 3 North Carolina State94 N.D. Kalu DE 6-3 257 12 Rice95 Stanley McClover (IR) DE 6-2 263 3 Auburn96 Earl Cochran DE 6-5 281 3 Alabama State98 Anthony Weaver DE 6-3 276 7 Notre Dame

66 DelJuan Robinson DT 6-3 304 1 Mississippi State91 Amobi Okoye DT 6-2 302 2 Louisville92 Jeff Zgonina DT 6-2 276 16 Purdue93 Tim Bulman DT 6-4 279 2 Boston College97 Frank Okam DT 6-5 320 R Texas99 Travis Johnson DT 6-3 303 4 Florida State

Linebacker (6) 51 Chaun Thompson LB 6-2 255 6 West Texas A&M52 Xavier Adibi LB 6-2 220 R Virginia Tech54 Zac Diles LB 6-2 240 2 Kansas State56 Morlon Greenwood LB 6-0 241 8 Syracuse57 Kevin Bentley LB 6-0 238 7 Northwestern59 DeMeco Ryans LB 6-1 239 3 Alabama

Secondary (12) 23 Dunta Robinson CB 5-10 176 5 South Carolina26 Eugene Wilson CB 5-10 195 6 Illinois28 Antwaun Molden CB 6-1 198 R Eastern Kentucky32 Fred Bennett CB 6-1 194 2 South Carolina35 Jacques Reeves CB 5-11 192 5 Purdue38 DeMarcus Faggins CB 5-10 178 7 Kansas State41 Jimmy Williams (IR) CB 5-11 193 7 Vanderbilt

28 Nick Ferguson SS 5-11 201 9 Georgia Tech31 Brandon Harrison FS 6-2 227 2 Stanford

24 C.C. Brown (IR) SS 6-0 208 4 Louisiana-Lafayette34 Dominique Barber FS 6-0 210 R Minnesota47 Will Demps SS 6-0 208 7 San Diego State

SPECIAL TEAMS

Special Teams (3) 1 Matt Turk P 6-5 245 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater3 Kris Brown PK 5-11 209 10 Nebraska

48 Bryan Pittman LS 6-3 264 6 Washington

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART

WR 80 Andre Johnson 11 André Davis

LT 76 Duane Brown 74 Ephraim Salaam

LG 69 Chester Pitts 64 Kasey Studdard

C 55 Chris Myers 63 Chris White

RG 65 Mike Brisiel 63 Chris White

RT 73 Eric Winston 78 Rashad Butler

TE 81 Owen Daniels 85 Joel Dreessen 87 Mark Bruener

WR 83 Kevin Walter 89 David Anderson 12 Jacoby Jones

QB 8 Matt Schaub 18 Sage Rosenfels

FB 44 Vonta Leach 33 Cecil Sapp

RB 20 Steve Slaton 30 Ahman Green 37 Darius Walker

LDE 98 Anthony Weaver 94 N.D. Kalu

NT 99 Travis Johnson 92 Jeff Zgonina

DT 91 Amobi Okoye 66 DelJuan Robinson 97 Frank Okam

RDE 90 Mario Williams 96 Earl Cochran 93 Tim Bulman

SLB 54 Zac Diles 51 Chaun Thompson

MLB 59 DeMeco Ryans 57 Kevin Bentley

WLB 56 Morlon Greenwood 52 Xavier Adibi

LCB 38 DeMarcus Faggins 23 Dunta Robinson 28 Antwaun Molden

RCB 35 Jacques Reeves 32 Fred Bennett 26 Eugene Wilson

SS 31 Brandon Harrison 34 Dominique Barber

FS 47 Will Demps 25 Nick Ferguson

PK 3 Kris Brown

P 1 Matt Turk

LS 48 Bryan Pittman 92 Jeff Zgonina 85 Joel Dreessen

KR 11 André Davis 20 Steve Slaton

PR 12 Jacoby Jones 89 David Anderson 20 Steve Slaton 11 André Davis

H 1 Matt Turk

Bold denotes rookie and first year players

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

SPECIAL TEAMS

Depth chart as of 10/20/2008

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS GAME BY GAME PARTICIPATION

PLAYER @ PIT @ TEN @ JAX IND MIA DET CIN @ MIN BAL @ IND @ CLE JAX @ GB TEN @ OAK CHI GP-GS-DNP-INAAdibi, Xavier INA INA SUB INA INA INA 1-0-0-5Anderson, David SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Barber, Dominique INA SUB SUB SUB INA INA 3-0-0-3Bennett, Fred LCB LCB LCB SUB SUB SUB 6-3-0-0Bentley, Kevin SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Brisiel, Mike RG RG RG RG RG RG 6-6-0-0Brown, C.C. SS SS SS IR IR IR 3-3-0-0Brown, Chris IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Brown, Duane LT LT LT LT LT LT 6-6-0-0Brown, Kris SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Bruener, Mark SUB INA INA INA INA INA 1-0-0-5Bulman, Tim INA SUB INA SUB SUB SUB 4-0-0-2Butler, Rashad INA INA INA INA INA INA 0-0-0-6Cochran, Earl INA INA SUB SUB SUB SUB 4-0-0-2Daniels, Owen TE TE TE TE TE TE 6-6-0-0Davis, André SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Demps, Will FS FS FS INA FS FS 5-5-0-1Diles, Zac SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB SLB 6-6-0-0Dreessen, Joel SUB SUB TE SUB TE SUB 6-2-0-0Faggins, DeMarcus SUB SUB SUB LCB LCB LCB 6-3-0-0Ferguson, Nick SUB SUB SUB FS SUB SUB 6-1-0-0Green, Ahman RB INA INA SUB SUB SUB 4-1-0-2Greenwood, Morlon WLB WLB WLB SUB WLB WLB 6-5-0-0Harrison, Brandon SUB SUB INA SS SS SS 5-3-0-1Jackson, Scott IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Johnson, Andre WR WR WR WR WR WR 6-6-0-0Johnson, Travis NT INA SUB NT NT NT 6-5-0-0Jones, Jacoby SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Kalu, N.D. SUB SUB INA INA INA INA 2-0-0-4Leach, Vonta FB FB SUB FB SUB FB 6-4-0-0McClover, Stanley SUB IR IR IR IR IR 1-0-0-0Molden, Antwaun SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Myers, Chris C C C C C C 6-6-0-0Okam, Frank INA SUB SUB INA INA INA 2-0-0-4Okoye, Amobi DT DT DT SUB SUB DT 6-4-0-0Pittman, Bryan SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Pitts, Chester LG LG LG LG LG LG 6-6-0-0Reeves, Jacques RCB RCB RCB RCB RCB RCB 6-6-0-0Robinson, DelJuan SUB SUB SUB DT DT SUB 6-2-0-0Robinson, Dunta PUP PUP PUP PUP PUP SUB 1-0-0-0Rosenfels, Sage DNP DNP DNP QB DNP DNP 1-1-5-0Ryans, DeMeco MLB MLB MLB MLB MLB MLB 6-6-0-0Salaam, Ephraim SUB DNP DNP SUB DNP SUB 3-0-3-0Sapp, Cecil NWT NWT NWT SUB SUB SUB 3-0-0-0Schaub, Matt QB QB QB DNP QB QB 5-5-1-0Slaton, Steve SUB RB RB RB RB RB 6-5-0-0Stevenson, Dan IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Studdard, Kasey INA INA INA INA INA INA 0-0-0-6Taylor, Chris SUB SUB SUB INA INA IR 3-0-0-2Thompson, Chaun SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Turk, Matt SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB 6-0-0-0Walker, Darius PS DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 0-0-5-0Walter, Kevin WR WR WR WR WR WR 6-6-0-0Weary, Fred IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Weaver, Anthony LDE LDE LDE LDE LDE LDE 6-6-0-0White, Chris SUB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 1-0-5-0Williams, Harry IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Williams, Jimmy IR IR IR IR IR IR 0-0-0-0Williams, Mario RDE RDE RDE RDE RDE RDE 6-6-0-0Wilson, Eugene INA INA INA XDB SUB INA 2-1-0-4Winston, Eric RT RT RT RT RT RT 6-6-0-0Zgonina, Jeff SUB NT NT SUB SUB SUB 6-2-0-0Key: POS-starter; SUB-played; DNP- did not play; INA- inactive; IR - reserve/injured; PUP - reserve/ physically unable to perform; PS - practice squad; NWT - not with team.

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS GAME BY GAME STARTERS

GAME WR LT LG C RG RT TE WR QB RB FB9-7 @ Pittsburgh A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Schaub Green Leach9-21 @ Tennessee A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Schaub S. Slaton Leach9-28 @ Jacksonville A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Schaub S. Slaton Dreessen (TE)10-5 INDIANAPOLIS A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Rosenfels S. Slaton Leach10-12 MIAMI A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Schaub S. Slaton Dreessen (TE)10-19 DETROIT A. Johnson D. Brown Pitts Myers Brisiel Winston Daniels Walter Schaub S. Slaton Leach10-26 CINCINNATI11-2 @ Minnesota11-9 BALTIMORE11-16 @ Indianapolis11-23 @ Cleveland12-1 JACKSONVILLE12-7 @ Green Bay12-14 TENNESSEE12-21 @ Oakland12-28 CHICAGO

GAME LDE DT NT RDE WLB MLB SLB LCB SS FS RCB9-7 @ Pittsburgh Weaver Okoye T. Johnson Williams Greenwood Ryans Diles Bennett C.C. Brown Demps Reeves9-21 @ Tennessee Weaver Okoye Zgonina Williams Greenwood Ryans Diles Bennett C.C. Brown Demps Reeves9-28 @ Jacksonville Weaver Okoye Zgonina Williams Greenwood Ryans Diles Bennett C.C. Brown Demps Reeves10-5 INDIANAPOLIS Weaver Robinson T. Johnson Williams Wilson (DB) Ryans Diles Faggins Harrison Ferguson Reeves10-12 MIAMI Weaver Robinson T. Johnson Williams Greenwood Ryans Diles Faggins Harrison Demps Reeves10-19 DETROIT Weaver Okoye T. Johnson Williams Greenwood Ryans Diles Faggins Harrison Demps Reeves10-26 CINCINNATI11-2 @ Minnesota11-9 BALTIMORE11-16 @ Indianapolis11-23 @ Cleveland12-1 JACKSONVILLE12-7 @ Green Bay12-14 TENNESSEE12-21 @ Oakland12-28 CHICAGOBold denotes rookie

STARTERS - OFFENSE

STARTERS - DEFENSE

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS ROSTER (ALPHABETICAL)

NFL HIGH SCHOOL 2008NO. NAME POS HT WT AGE EXP COLLEGE HOMETOWN GP-GS-DNP-INA

52 Adibi, Xavier LB 6-2 232 24 R Virginia Tech Hampton, Va. 1-0-0-589 Anderson, David WR 5-10 196 25 3 Colorado State Thousand Oaks, Calif. 6-0-0-034 Barber, Dominique FS 6-0 212 22 R Minnesota Wayzata, Minn. 3-0-0-332 Bennett, Fred CB 6-1 201 24 2 South Carolina Manning, S.C. 6-3-0-057 Bentley, Kevin LB 6-0 240 28 7 Northwestern North Hills, Calif. 6-0-0-065 Brisiel, Mike G 6-5 295 25 1 Colorado State Fayetteville, Ark. 6-6-0-076 Brown, Duane T 6-4 329 23 R Virginia Tech Richmond, Va. 6-6-0-0

3 Brown, Kris PK 5-11 206 31 10 Nebraska Southlake, Texas 6-0-0-087 Bruener, Mark TE 6-4 253 36 14 Washington Olympia, Wash. 1-0-0-593 Bulman, Tim DT 6-4 275 25 2 Boston College Dorchester, Mass. 4-0-0-278 Butler, Rashad T 6-4 309 25 3 Miami (Fla.) West Palm Beach, Fla. 0-0-0-696 Cochran, Earl DE 6-5 282 27 3 Alabama State Bessemer, Ala. 4-0-0-281 Daniels, Owen TE 6-3 246 25 3 Wisconsin Naperville, Ill. 6-6-0-011 Davis, André WR 6-1 196 29 7 Virginia Tech Niskayuna, N.Y. 6-0-0-047 Demps, Will SS 6-0 214 28 7 San Diego State Charleston, S.C. 5-5-0-154 Diles, Zac LB 6-2 246 23 2 Kansas State Tulare, Calif. 6-6-0-085 Dreessen, Joel TE 6-4 244 26 3 Colorado State Ida Grove, Ia. 6-2-0-038 Faggins, DeMarcus CB 5-10 182 29 7 Kansas State Irving, Texas 6-3-0-025 Ferguson, Nick FS 5-11 201 33 9 Georgia Tech Miami, Fla. 6-1-0-030 Green, Ahman RB 6-0 218 31 11 Nebraska Omaha, Neb. 4-1-0-256 Greenwood, Morlon LB 6-0 241 28 8 Syracuse Freeport, N.Y. 6-5-0-031 Harrison, Brandon FS 6-2 227 24 2 Stanford Baton Rouge, La. 5-3-0-180 Johnson, Andre WR 6-3 223 27 6 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. 6-6-0-099 Johnson, Travis DT 6-3 311 26 4 Florida State Sherman Oaks, Calif. 6-5-0-012 Jones, Jacoby WR 6-2 200 24 2 Lane College New Orleans, La. 6-0-0-094 Kalu, N.D. DE 6-3 266 33 12 Rice San Antonio, Texas 2-0-0-444 Leach, Vonta FB 6-0 253 26 5 East Carolina Rowland, N.C. 6-4-0-028 Molden, Antwaun CB 6-1 196 23 R Eastern Kentucky Cleveland, Ohio 6-0-0-055 Myers, Chris C 6-4 287 27 4 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. 6-6-0-097 Okam, Frank DT 6-5 337 23 R Texas Dallas, Texas 2-0-0-491 Okoye, Amobi DT 6-2 306 21 2 Louisville Huntsville, Ala. 6-4-0-048 Pittman, Bryan LS 6-3 265 31 6 Washington Auburn, Wash. 6-0-0-069 Pitts, Chester G 6-4 308 29 7 San Diego State Inglewood, Calif. 6-6-0-035 Reeves, Jacques CB 5-11 194 26 5 Purdue Lancaster, Texas 6-6-0-066 Robinson, DelJuan DT 6-3 303 24 1 Mississippi State Hernando, Miss. 6-2-0-023 Robinson, Dunta CB 5-10 182 26 5 South Carolina Athens, Ga. 1-0-0-018 Rosenfels, Sage QB 6-4 224 30 8 Iowa State Maquoketa, Ia. 1-1-5-059 Ryans, DeMeco LB 6-1 245 24 3 Alabama Bessemer, Ala. 6-6-0-074 Salaam, Ephraim T 6-7 310 32 11 San Diego State Sacramento, Calif. 3-0-3-033 Sapp, Cecil FB 5-11 229 29 6 Colorado State Miami, Fla. 3-0-0-0

8 Schaub, Matt QB 6-5 234 27 5 Virginia West Chester, Pa. 5-5-1-020 Slaton, Steve RB 5-9 203 22 R West Virginia Levittown, Pa. 6-5-0-064 Studdard, Kasey G 6-3 299 24 2 Texas Lone Tree, Colo. 0-0-0-651 Thompson, Chaun LB 6-2 246 28 6 West Texas A&M Mount Pleasant, Texas 6-0-0-0

1 Turk, Matt P 6-5 245 40 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater Greenfield, Wisc. 6-0-0-037 Walker, Darius RB 5-11 212 22 2 Notre Dame Buford, Ga. 0-0-5-083 Walter, Kevin WR 6-3 215 27 6 Eastern Michigan Vernon Hills, Ill. 6-6-0-098 Weaver, Anthony DE 6-3 274 28 7 Notre Dame Saratoga, N.Y. 6-6-0-063 White, Chris C 6-2 292 25 4 Southern Mississippi Winona, Miss. 1-0-5-090 Williams, Mario DE 6-6 283 23 3 North Carolina State Richlands, N.C. 6-6-0-026 Wilson, Eugene CB 5-10 195 28 6 Illinois Merrillville, Ind. 2-1-0-473 Winston, Eric T 6-5 309 24 3 Miami (Fla.) Midland, Texas 6-6-0-092 Zgonina, Jeff DT 6-2 281 38 16 Purdue Chicago, Ill. 6-2-0-0

Practice Squad (8)10 Brink, Alex QB 6-2 212 23 R Washington State Eugene, Ore. D7-'0853 Coley, Kevis LB 6-1 241 26 1 Southern Mississippi Palatka, Fla. FA-'0775 Frye, Brandon T 6-4 298 25 2 Virginia Tech Myrtle Beach, S.C. D5b-'0784 Jenkins, Darnell WR 5-10 188 25 R Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. FA-'0821 Moats, Ryan RB 5-8 210 26 4 Louisiana Tech Dallas, Texas FA-'0872 Nading, Jesse DE 6-5 259 23 R Colorado State Highlands Ranch, Colo. FA-'0813 Simmons, Mark WR 5-10 187 24 1 Kansas DeSoto, Texas FA-'0879 Stenavich, Adam T 6-4 308 25 1 Michigan Marshfield, Wisc. FA-'08

Reserve/Injured (8)24 Brown, C.C. SS 6-0 208 25 4 Louisiana-Lafayette Greenwood, Miss. R Arm (9/30)22 Brown, Chris RB 6-3 235 27 6 Colorado Naperville, Ill. Back (8/30)62 Jackson, Scott T 6-4 294 29 4 Brigham Young Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. L Foot (8/26)95 McClover, Stanley DE 6-2 263 23 3 Auburn Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. R Knee (9/11)68 Stevenson, Dan G 6-5 300 26 1 Notre Dame Barrington, Ill. R Shoulder (7/24)27 Taylor, Chris RB 6-0 222 24 3 Indiana Memphis, Tenn. L Thigh (10/17)86 Williams, Harry WR 6-2 202 26 2 Tuskegee Birmingham, Ala. Neck (8/25)41 Williams, Jimmy CB 5-11 193 29 7 Vanderbilt Baton Rouge, La. R Knee (8/4)

Assistant Coaches: Kyle Shanahan (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks); Richard Smith (Defensive Coordinator); Joe Marciano (SpecialTeams Coordinator); Alex Gibbs (Assistant Head Coach/Offense); Frank Bush (Sr. Defensive Asst.); John Benton (Offensive Line); Perry Carter(Defensive Asst.); Jethro Franklin (Defensive Line); Chick Harris (Running Backs); Richard Hightower (Special Teams Assistant); Jon Hoke(Defensive Backs); Johnny Holland (Linebackers); Larry Kirksey (Wide Receivers); Matt LaFleur (Offensive Assistant) Mike McDaniel (OffensiveAssistant); Brian Pariani (Tight Ends); Frank Pollack (Asst. Offensive Line); Ray Rhodes (Asst. Defenisve Backs); Dan Riley (strength &conditioning); Robert Saleh (Defensive Assistant); Ray Wright (asst. strength & conditioning).

Head Coach: Gary Kubiak

Pronunciation Guide: Xavier Adibi - Ah-DEE-bee; Mike Brisiel - Bry-ZELL; Joel Dreessen - DREE-sen; DeMarcus Faggins- FAY-gins; Morlon Greenwood- MORE-lahn; N.D. Kalu - Kah-LOO; Vonta Leach - VON-tay; Stanley McClover - Mc-CLOE-ver; Frank Okam - OH-cam; Amobi Okoye - Ah-MOH-bee Oh-KOY-yay; Jacques Reeves - ZHOCK; DelJuan Robinson - DELL-wahn; Dunta Robinson- DON-tay; DeMeco Ryans - Deh-MEE-co; Ephraim Salaam - EEF-rahm Sah-LAHM; Matt Schaub - SHOBB; Chaun Thompson - SHAWN; Jeff Zgonina - Ska-NEE-nah

Roster Count: 53Roster as of 10/20/2008 Age as of 10/20/2008

2008 HOUSTON TEXANS ROSTER (NUMERICAL)

NFL HIGH SCHOOL HOW NO. NAME POS HT WT AGE EXP COLLEGE HOMETOWN ACQUIRED

1 Matt Turk P 6-5 245 40 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater Greenfield, Wisc. FA-'073 Kris Brown PK 5-11 206 31 10 Nebraska Southlake, Texas RFA-'02 (PIT)8 Matt Schaub QB 6-5 234 27 5 Virginia West Chester, Pa. T-'07 (ATL)

11 André Davis WR 6-1 196 29 7 Virginia Tech Niskayuna, N.Y. UFA-'07 (BUF)12 Jacoby Jones WR 6-2 200 24 2 Lane College New Orleans, La. D3-'0718 Sage Rosenfels QB 6-4 224 30 8 Iowa State Maquoketa, Ia. UFA-'06 (MIA)20 Steve Slaton RB 5-9 203 22 R West Virginia Levittown, Pa. D3b-'0823 Dunta Robinson CB 5-10 182 26 5 South Carolina Athens, Ga. D1a-'0425 Nick Ferguson FS 5-11 201 33 9 Georgia Tech Miami, Fla. UFA-'08 (DEN)26 Eugene Wilson CB 5-10 195 28 6 Illinois Merrillville, Ind. FA-'0828 Antwaun Molden CB 6-1 196 23 R Eastern Kentucky Cleveland, Ohio D3a-'0830 Ahman Green RB 6-0 218 31 11 Nebraska Omaha, Neb. UFA-'07 (GB)31 Brandon Harrison FS 6-2 227 24 2 Stanford Baton Rouge, La. D5a-'0732 Fred Bennett CB 6-1 201 24 2 South Carolina Manning, S.C. D4-'0733 Cecil Sapp FB 5-11 229 29 6 Colorado State Miami, Fla. FA-'0834 Dominique Barber FS 6-0 212 22 R Minnesota Wayzata, Minn. D6-'0835 Jacques Reeves CB 5-11 194 26 5 Purdue Lancaster, Texas UFA-'08 (DAL)37 Darius Walker RB 5-11 212 22 2 Notre Dame Buford, Ga. FA-'0738 DeMarcus Faggins CB 5-10 182 29 7 Kansas State Irving, Texas D6a-'0244 Vonta Leach FB 6-0 253 26 5 East Carolina Rowland, N.C. FA-'0647 Will Demps SS 6-0 214 28 7 San Diego State Charleston, S.C. FA-'0748 Bryan Pittman LS 6-3 265 31 6 Washington Auburn, Wash. FA-'0351 Chaun Thompson LB 6-2 246 28 6 West Texas A&M Mount Pleasant, Texas UFA-'08 (CLE)52 Xavier Adibi LB 6-2 232 24 R Virginia Tech Hampton, Va. D4-'0854 Zac Diles LB 6-2 246 23 2 Kansas State Tulare, Calif. D7-'0755 Chris Myers C 6-4 287 27 4 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. T-'08 (DEN)56 Morlon Greenwood LB 6-0 241 28 8 Syracuse Freeport, N.Y. UFA-'05 (MIA)57 Kevin Bentley LB 6-0 240 28 7 Northwestern North Hills, Calif. UFA-'08 (SEA)59 DeMeco Ryans LB 6-1 245 24 3 Alabama Bessemer, Ala. D2-'0663 Chris White C 6-2 292 25 4 Southern Mississippi Winona, Miss. FA-'0664 Kasey Studdard G 6-3 299 24 2 Texas Lone Tree, Colo. D6-'0765 Mike Brisiel G 6-5 295 25 1 Colorado State Fayetteville, Ark. FA-'0666 DelJuan Robinson DT 6-3 303 24 1 Mississippi State Hernando, Miss. FA-'0769 Chester Pitts G 6-4 308 29 7 San Diego State Inglewood, Calif. D2-'0273 Eric Winston T 6-5 309 24 3 Miami (Fla.) Midland, Texas D3b-'0674 Ephraim Salaam T 6-7 310 32 11 San Diego State Sacramento, Calif. UFA-'06 (JAX)76 Duane Brown T 6-4 329 23 R Virginia Tech Richmond, Va. D1-'0878 Rashad Butler T 6-4 309 25 3 Miami (Fla.) West Palm Beach, Fla. W-07 (CAR)80 Andre Johnson WR 6-3 223 27 6 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. D1-'0381 Owen Daniels TE 6-3 246 25 3 Wisconsin Naperville, Ill. D4-'0683 Kevin Walter WR 6-3 215 27 6 Eastern Michigan Vernon Hills, Ill. RFA-'06 (CIN)85 Joel Dreessen TE 6-4 244 26 3 Colorado State Ida Grove, Ia. FA-'0787 Mark Bruener TE 6-4 253 36 14 Washington Olympia, Wash. UFA-'04 (PIT)89 David Anderson WR 5-10 196 25 3 Colorado State Thousand Oaks, Calif. D7-'0690 Mario Williams DE 6-6 283 23 3 North Carolina State Richlands, N.C. D1-'0691 Amobi Okoye DT 6-2 306 21 2 Louisville Huntsville, Ala. D1-'0792 Jeff Zgonina DT 6-2 281 38 16 Purdue Chicago, Ill. UFA-'07 (MIA)93 Tim Bulman DT 6-4 275 25 2 Boston College Dorchester, Mass. FA-'0694 N.D. Kalu DE 6-3 266 33 12 Rice San Antonio, Texas UFA-'06 (PHI)96 Earl Cochran DE 6-5 282 27 3 Alabama State Bessemer, Ala. FA-'0697 Frank Okam DT 6-5 337 23 R Texas Dallas, Texas D5-'0898 Anthony Weaver DE 6-3 274 28 7 Notre Dame Saratoga, N.Y. UFA-'06 (BAL)99 Travis Johnson DT 6-3 311 26 4 Florida State Sherman Oaks, Calif. D1-'05

Practice Squad (8)10 Alex Brink QB 6-2 212 23 R Washington State Eugene, Ore. D7-'0813 Mark Simmons WR 5-10 187 24 1 Kansas DeSoto, Texas FA-'0821 Ryan Moats RB 5-8 210 26 4 Louisiana Tech Dallas, Texas FA-'0853 Kevis Coley LB 6-1 241 26 1 Southern Mississippi Palatka, Fla. FA-'0772 Jesse Nading DE 6-5 259 23 R Colorado State Highlands Ranch, Colo. FA-'0875 Brandon Frye T 6-4 298 25 2 Virginia Tech Myrtle Beach, S.C. D5b-'0779 Adam Stenavich T 6-4 308 25 1 Michigan Marshfield, Wisc. FA-'0884 Darnell Jenkins WR 5-10 188 25 R Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. FA-'08

Reserve/Injured (8)22 Chris Brown RB 6-3 235 27 6 Colorado Naperville, Ill. UFA-'08 (TEN)24 C.C. Brown SS 6-0 208 25 4 Louisiana-Lafayette Greenwood, Miss. D6-'0527 Chris Taylor RB 6-0 222 24 2 Indiana Memphis, Tenn. FA-'0641 Jimmy Williams DB 5-11 193 29 7 Vanderbilt Baton Rouge, La. FA-'0862 Scott Jackson T 6-4 294 29 4 Brigham Young Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. FA-'0668 Dan Stevenson G 6-5 300 26 1 Notre Dame Barrington, Ill. FA-'0786 Harry Williams WR 6-2 202 26 2 Tuskegee Birmingham, Ala. FA-'0695 Stanley McClover DE 6-2 263 23 3 Auburn Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. W-'08 (CAR)

Head Coach: Gary Kubiak Assistant Coaches: Kyle Shanahan (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks); Richard Smith (Defensive Coordinator); Joe Marciano (SpecialTeams Coordinator); Alex Gibbs (Assistant Head Coach/Offense); Frank Bush (Sr. Defensive Asst.); John Benton (Offensive Line); Perry Carter(Defensive Asst.); Jethro Franklin (Defensive Line); Chick Harris (Running Backs); Richard Hightower (Special Teams Assistant); Jon Hoke(Defensive Backs); Johnny Holland (Linebackers); Larry Kirksey (Wide Receivers); Matt LaFleur (Offensive Assistant) Mike McDaniel(Offensive Assistant); Brian Pariani (Tight Ends); Frank Pollack (Asst. Offensive Line); Ray Rhodes (Asst. Defenisve Backs); Dan Riley (strength & conditioning); Robert Saleh (Defensive Assistant); Ray Wright (asst. strength & conditioning).

Pronunciation Guide: Xavier Adibi - Ah-DEE-bee; Mike Brisiel - Bry-ZELL; Joel Dreessen - DREE-sen; DeMarcus Faggins- FAY-gins; Morlon Greenwood- MORE-lahn; N.D. Kalu - Kah-LOO; Vonta Leach - VON-tay; Stanley McClover - Mc-CLOE-ver; Frank Okam - OH-cam; Amobi Okoye - Ah-MOH-bee Oh-KOY-yay; Jacques Reeves - ZHOCK; DelJuan Robinson - DELL-wahn; Dunta Robinson- DON-tay; DeMeco Ryans - Deh-MEE-co; Ephraim Salaam - EEF-rahm Sah-LAHM; Matt Schaub - SHOBB; Chaun Thompson - SHAWN; Jeff Zgonina - Ska-NEE-nah

Roster Count: 53Roster as of 10/20/2008 Age as of 10/20/2008

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