Legwold: Texans stall, but Carr in gear

Published October 13, 2006 at midnight

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Four games in and things probably aren't going exactly how Gary Kubiak hoped they would.

The Houston Texans, in Kubiak's first year of his first head coaching job, are sitting at 1-3 with the only thing keeping them off the bottom of the AFC South is the winless Tennessee Titans.

Kubiak's team is last in the league in defense and 28th in offense. But the Texans are a long-haul job at the moment with plenty of things still remaining on the things- to-do list.

Still, Kubiak already has manufactured one of the biggest surprises in this season's early going. His quarterback, David Carr, is the league's highest-rated passer at a stratospheric 108.9.

Carr has completed 73 percent of his passes to go with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. His career highs are an 83.5 passer rating, 3,531 yards and 16 touchdowns - all in 2004.

It was Carr's future that was a key component of Kubiak's interview with Texans owner Bob McNair in January at the Inverness Hotel. Kubiak, armed with plenty of video, went to great lengths to explain how he could turn the Texans' multimillion-dollar investment at quarterback into a far more productive player.

And despite the fact the Texans don't have much of a running game, Kubiak has done just that. He has Carr spending a little more time at the team's complex and spending less time with the ball in his hands in the pocket.

Carr has been far more decisive with the ball than in previous seasons and he has made the most of a quality group of receivers.

There is still a lot of road remaining between Carr and the league's top-shelf quarterbacks, but it is certainly something for the Texans to hold on to as they try to make their way toward respectability.

Some other items worth a look:

• In terms of quarterbacks who have pulled themselves together in the early going, Carr is not alone.

Second to Carr in passer rating in the NFL is Kansas City's Damon Huard. Huard, a 10th-year veteran, had six career starts before Trent Green suffered a severe concussion in the Chiefs opener.

Since then, he has completed 70.2 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

There is also the Bears' Rex Grossman, who listened to many say during the preseason Brian Griese should be the team's starter. But Grossman has the Bears scoring more than any team in the league, and has a 100.8 passer rating with 10 touchdowns.

• Thomas Jones has 388 rushing yards with two touchdowns for the Bears. Julius Jones has 388 rushing yards with two touchdowns for the Dallas Cowboys.

The two are brothers. And it was Thomas who helped Julius regain his draft status before Julius' final season at Notre Dame.

Julius left Notre Dame after the 2001 season because of academic troubles as well as a growing reputation for not having enough discipline on or off the field to meet his vast potential.

So, during the 2002 college season, Julius lived with Thomas in Arizona. Thomas was in his third year as a Cardinals running back at the time. Julius enrolled at Arizona State for a year, lived with Thomas and discovered his desire to regain what he let slip away.

Julius then returned to Notre Dame and rushed for 1,214 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003. The Cowboys made him a second-round pick the next April.

• Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns Sept. 17 against the Texans. Eli Manning threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns Sept. 17 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The two are brothers and those two performances are the highest yardage totals among the league's passers this year.

• And, lastly, is an important lesson for high-strung receivers looking for constant coddling: You need the quarterback a lot more than he needs you.

Look no further than Donovan McNabb. Without Terrell Owens in the offense since his release, the Eagles have had little consistency at wideout other than dealing with all their injuries.

However, that hasn't stopped McNabb from throwing for 1,602 yards in five games - on pace to throw for more than 5,000 yards this season - with 11 touchdowns and just one interception.

Sunday, the Eagles' McNabb passed for 354 yards against Owens' Cowboys, with three players having receptions of at least 40 yards.

Meanwhile, Owens already is bristling at his role in the Dallas offense and he has 17 catches and one touchdown.

And four Eagles receivers - Brian Westbrook, Reggie Brown, Greg Lewis and Donté Stallworth - each have at least two touchdown receptions already this season.

All in all, it puts McNabb in position for one large I-told-you-so and puts Owens in a position at the moment where he, once again, looks like the problem and not the solution.

Fling it

Teams throwing the ball down the field have a lot to show for their efforts in the standings.

Team Yards/catch W-L

1. Philadelphia 15.5 4-1

2. Dallas 13.4 2-2

3. Chicago 12.9 5-0

4. St. Louis 12.3 4-1

5. Cincinnati 12.2 3-1

TEAM-BY-TEAM CAPSULES

Week 6

AFC

BALTIMORE now has seen two teams — San Diego and Denver — have success running the ball straight into the middle of their defense. The Chargers pounded away for 150 yards and the Broncos went for 116. Some scouts say Baltimore is not nearly as explosive between the hash marks as they are on the perimeter.

BUFFALO is another team having trouble slowing opposing rushing attacks in the middle of the field. With Larry Tripplett and Kyle Williams, both at 295 pounds, on the inside at defensive tackle, most offensive coordinators think the pair is a little undersized. The Patriots went for 185 yards and the Bears had 155 this past Sunday.

CINCINNATI will have to adjust at wide receiver with Chris Henry’s suspension. Antonio Chatman and Kelley Washington would move up a notch in the rotation. Chatman has been slowed some by a groin injury earlier in the season, but the Bengals need somebody to be productive in their three-wide look.

CLEVELAND offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon appears to be taking the most heat for the team’s 1-4 start. And one of the plays that have released the hounds of criticism was Carthon asking former CU running back Lawrence Vickers to throw an option pass on third-and-inches this past weekend. He threw incomplete.

DENVER cornerback Darrent Williams, with three passes defensed to go with an interception against the Ravens, is giving opposing offensive coordinators some pause. Williams has shown he will battle in coverage, and quarterbacks really have no choice but to keep challenging him with Champ Bailey on the other side.

HOUSTON coach Gary Kubiak wants to find a way to get his running backs more involved in a struggling offense. Texans backs have just 94 carries this season. That’s ahead of only Detroit, Tampa Bay and Oakland. That’s all the more difficult to handle since opposing defenses have largely committed their safeties to the Texans wide receivers as well.

INDIANAPOLIS coach Tony Dungy took a chance this week, but without defensive tackle Corey Simon in the lineup, he probably had to. Dungy called his own run defense "a little bit soft" right now. This comes in the wake of the winless Titans piling up 214 yards against the Colts, plenty of that coming after first contact.

JACKSONVILLE will have a difficult time adjusting to the season-ending injury to linebacker Mike Peterson. Their choices on the roster included Tony Gilbert, largely a special teams player, or former CU linebacker Brian Iwuh. But coach Jack Del Rio is expected to put weak-side linebacker Daryl Smith in Peterson's spot.

KANSAS CITY quarterback Trent Green, who suffered a severe concussion against the Bengals in the season opener, has missed three games and will likely miss at least two more before he’s back in the lineup. Green may even be another week away from practicing on a limited basis.

MIAMI coach Nick Saban finally admitted this week what many people around the league said they knew before training camp opened — that quarterback Daunte Culpepper’s surgically repaired knee may need all of this season and another offseason before the quarterback is back to 100 percent. Saban will start Joey Harrington again this week.

NEW ENGLAND continues to search for rhythm in the passing game. Having traded for Doug Gabriel just weeks ago, the Patriots worked out almost every available receiver with some experience before signing Jabar Gaffney. It’s unclear what Gaffney will give New England since the receiver-poor (at the time) Eagles cut Gaffney loose in September after having signed him in March.

NEW YORK rookie Leon Washington continues to push for more playing time. Washington entered the 2005 college season as one of the most highly ranked seniors on the board but slipped as the season wore on. However, he has shown that explosiveness again, especially his quickness into the hole. He’ll get more carries the rest of the way.

OAKLAND’s offense isn’t giving him much help, but Andrew Walter continues to struggle to maintain some consistency in the pocket. After a quality first half against the 49ers on Sunday, the Grand Junction native struggled after halftime. Still, he has shown quality composure in unusual surroundings.

PITTSBURGH rookie wide receiver Santonio Holmes continues to progress toward more playing time. The Steelers are expected to alternate Holmes and Cedrick Wilson a little more in the lineup. Holmes, who was the only receiver selected in the first round of this past April’s draft, is already a regular in the return game as well.

SAN DIEGO keeps giving opposing defensive coordinators plenty to think about in their run defense with LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner in the same backfield. The dilemma is the Chargers can line up Tomlinson out wide and get the defense to commit a defender away from the middle of the field. That gives the powerful Turner a little more room to work inside.

TENNESSEE has pushed former CU running back Chris Brown down the depth chart. Brown was a gameday inactive last week and will probably be one Sunday as well. Coach Jeff Fisher likes the power combination of Travis Henry and LenDale White, especially since the team is so young in the offensive line.

NFC

ARIZONA, with Larry Fitzgerald’s pulled right hamstring, is a little thin on the depth chart at wide receiver. They moved Carlyle Holiday up from the practice squad earlier this week, but that still leaves them with just four ready to go. They’re hoping a bye week in early November means Fitzgerald will miss only three games.

ATLANTA might be 3-1, but it is struggling to put the ball in the end zone despite leading the league in rushing yards per game by a significant margin. The Falcons have just three touchdowns in 17 trips inside their opponents’ 20-yard line. That’s the worst in the league because they’ve simply made too many mistakes and have been sloppy.

CAROLINA had hoped free-agent signee Justin Hartwig would bring some solid play into the center of their offensive line. But Hartwig, because of an injured groin, has been held out of the last three games.

CHICAGO has had the combination everyone is looking for in the league. They have scored 156 points, most in the NFL, yet have surrendered just more than seven points per game, the least in the NFL.

DALLAS’ defensive plan took a hit this past weekend when Eagles rookie Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis piled up more than 200 receiving yards against the Cowboys. That doesn’t bode well for a team that is hoping its defense can carry the load until the offense finds its footing.

DETROIT’s offensive line has had more impact in the training room. Guards Damien Woody and Ross Verba and tackle Rex Tucker are hurting, and the team’s run game has largely stalled because of it. Running back Kevin Jones also suffered a concussion last week.

GREEN BAY running back Ahman Green, having missed significant time last season with a torn thigh tendon and the last two games this season with a hamstring injury, has not shown the kind of explosiveness he had earlier in his career. Some in the league wonder if the wear and tear is catching up to him.

MINNESOTA first-year coach Brad Childress, having gotten the job in part because of off-the-field troubles the team had last season, took time in a team meeting this week to warn players to stay out of trouble during the bye week. Childress’ call for accountability will be tested during the time off.

NEW ORLEANS turned back the clock to replace Roman Harper in their defense. They signed veteran safety Jay Bellamy, who led the Saints in tackles in both 2003 and 2004, and had been released earlier this season. Bellamy has started 67 games for New Orleans in his career.

NEW YORK, to many personnel executives in the league, remains a riddle on defense. The team has just five sacks this season — three of those came this past Sunday in a win over Washington — but has potentially dominant players at defensive end. Those scouts say the Giants ends haven’t worked effectively enough to the inside so opposing tackles are waiting for the outside move.

PHILADELPHIA, with veteran defensive coordinator Jim Johnson forcing the issue, continues to chase down opposing quarterbacks despite Jevon Kearse being out of the lineup. After five games, the team already has 23 sacks — they lead the league — and the defensive linemen have 21 of those sacks.

ST. LOUIS rookie cornerback Tye Hill better adjust. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre wasted no time in going after Hill last week in Hill’s first start for the Rams. If Hill has to fill in for the injured Fakhir Brown this week against Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck will likely follow suit.

SAN FRANCISCO took a flyer on veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer, and it has paid dividends. Not on the field, but in the locker room where one of the most composed, balanced players in the league has become a sounding board for players all over the roster, not just on offense. Running back Frank Gore credited Dilfer for settling him down this past week.

SEATTLE’s run game has limped along since Shaun Alexander cracked a bone in his foot. So much so that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has the team’s longest run this season — 19 yards — and none of the primary runners is averaging 4 yards a carry. Fullback Mack Strong is averaging a little more than 6 yards a carry, but he doesn’t get the ball that often.

TAMPA BAY coach Jon Gruden, obviously willing to try anything to snap his team out of its 0-4 start, took the uncommon steps of actually naming the players he thought have underperformed this far. The defensive line took the brunt of the criticism, including defensive tackle Anthony McFarland and defensive end Simeon Rice.

WASHINGTON got involved in a three-way trade with Atlanta and Denver to get running back T.J. Duckett and then oddly enough hasn’t used him. Duckett has appeared in only one game this season and has just five carries. Duckett has yet to pass Ladell Betts on the team’s depth chart to be Clinton Portis’ backup.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

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