MVN - Most Valuable Network

McClover signed, Washburn Released, and Faggins Remains. For now.

The Texans snagged defensive end Stanley McClovin–er–McClover off the waiver wire Sunday night in an effort to put together something resembling a pass rush before they take on the Steelers in next Sunday’s season opener. Offensive tackle Cliff Washburn got the late boot to make room.

The Texans also announced this season’s practice squad which fortunately included Darius Walker. He’s not the greatest running back in the world, but he’s a heck of a practice squad back. It’s comforting to know we’ve got a guy like that for a worst-case scenario. The seven other players signed to the squad are as follows:

Kevis Coley, LB

Darnell Jenkins, WR

Gabe Long, DT

Derrick Roberson, CB

Mark Simmons, WR

 Adam Stenavich, OT

The Dirt: Hopefully this McClover kid can bring in some pressure from the other side to help Mario out, come Sunday. He’s still young so maybe some new coaches can showing something he otherwise hasn’t seen. Hopefully that’s the case, otherwise Ben Roethlisberger–and every other quarterback the Texans face this season–will shred our secondary.

More later, but for now I’m out.

Texans Get the Jump Start on Roster Cuts

So here’s the list:

Jon Abbate, Fullback

Shane Boyd, Quarterback

Alex Brink, Quarterback

Kevis Coley, Linebacker

Roosevelt Colvin, Defensive End

Glenn Earl, Strong Safety

Greg Eslinger, Center

Jamar Fletcher, Cornerback

Darnell Jenkins, Wide Receiver

Ryan Krause, Tight End

Gabe Long, Defensive Tackle

Anthony Maddox, Defensive Tackle

Leron McCoy, Wide Receiver

Ben Moffit, Linebacker

Jesse Nading, Defensive End

Derrick Roberson, Cornerback

Marcell Shipp, Running Back

Mark Simmons, Wide Receiver

Torrin Tucker, Offensive Tackle

Darius Walker, Running Back

Dexter Wynn, Cornerback

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Kubiak stated that they’re assessing the situation with Chris Brown and that a determination will be made concerning his spot on the roster (or lack thereof) by tomorrow. He also explained that they will be taking a look at the waiver wire and could potentially (more than likely) make several last minute moves.

From the looks of things, I’m not very impressed with Rick Smith’s free agent signings this past offseason. None of them will be starting in any position, with the exception of Jacques Reeves–who’s only starting because of Dunta’s injury. As far as drafting goes, Smith is the man. But free agent talent scouting doesn’t seem to be his strong suit.

Roosevelt Colvin and Anthony Maddox both came as a surprise to me, personally. While neither of them were lights out this preseason I still assumed that they would at least give Colvin an opportunity in regular season to prove something. Maddox has always been a decent backup, but I agree with Kubiak philosophy of giving a tie breaker at a position to the youth. I wasn’t too suprised over Glenn Earl being cut, because we’ve seen what he brings to the table and it isn’t very much. Brandon Harrison and Dominique Barber at least have potential and can contribute on special teams a lot more than him as well.

Cut’s like these are why Kubiak is such a baller. These are the cuts that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you don’t perform, you wont have a job. A lot of the players cut did good things for the team last year, and I’m glad to see that previous accomplishments didn’t automatically warrant any player a reserved roster spot.

I’ll keep tabs on the Chris Brown situation. Hopefully they’ll be smart and cut the dude.

Watch athlete’s lives ruined LIVE!

That’s right, today at 3:30 pm CT Coach Kubiak and friends will hold a press conference to announce the names of the players they will be cutting in order to trim the roster down to the 53-man regular season limit–AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ALL!

They will be streaming the press conference live on Texans TV (a section of their website), so as of right now you’ve got about 30 minutes to guess who’s going to be ordering a moving van and who’s still got a locker spot. Here’s my list of ten Texans I think might be catching a boot out the door:

 1. Deljuan Robinson, Defensive Tackle

2. Gabe Long, Defensive Tackle

3. Derrick Roberson, Cornerback

4. Jesse Nading, Right Defensive End

5. Cliff Washburn, Left Tackle

6. Mark Simmons, Wide Reciever

7. Darnell Jenkins, Wide Receiver

8. Torrin Tucker, Left Tackle

9. Demarcus Faggins, Cornerback

10. Chris Brown, Running Back

These are a few of the name I expect to be called out today. I know Chris Brown being cut is a stretch but I can still hope.

For the Gamblers Among Us

I received an e-mail today from a guy at BodogLife.com with all of the Texans odds that have been determined for this season. Considering how much of an avid gambler I am I found no use for these; however, they do give you an idea of how other people are weighing in on the Texans upcoming season. Here’s some of the more notable stats:

Team Odds 

Texans’ chances of playing in February: 70/1 (owned)

Texans playing in the AFC Conference Chamionship: 35/1

Winning the division: 15/1

Making the playoffs: 10/1

Player Performances

Matt Schaub: pass yards - over/under 3300; pass TDs - over/under 19

Andre Johnson: rec yards - over/under 1280; rec TDs - over/under 9.5

Mario Williams: sacks - over/under 13

Amobi Okoye: sacks - over/under 4.5

 

So maybe we wont make the Super Bowl this year. But from the looks of things, people are starting to realize that the Texans aren’t really a pushover anymore. If the oddsmakers agree then you know there has to be some legitimacy to it.