It took a few years for the Houston Texans to build a playoff roster. But now that they’ve made that first appearance in the postseason, it looks like this is a team that could stay there for awhile.

This team has talent up and down the roster, enough so that team officials and observers are prepared to lose star defensive end Mario Williams with nary a blink of concern.

Williams, quarterback Matt Schaub, running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson are just a few of the stars who felt the injury bug throughout the 2011 season and Houston still advanced to the second round of the playoffs. With better luck on the injury front and a couple of complementary players at a couple positions in the offseason, the Texans will be a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl in 2012, according to Barrett Walton, managing editor of the Texans Bull Blog.

Zoneblitz: The Texans are coming off a franchise-best 2011. How well is this team set up to compete in 2012 and beyond?

Barrett Walton: The Texans sat home watching the AFC Championship game and all any of us could think was, Why aren’t we playing in this game? Even with a rookie 3rd string QB at the helm the week before, Houston looked like the better team. They lost to the Ravens because T.J. Yates was finally in over his head versus Ed Reed. But you could make the argument that had Jacoby Jones not muffed a punt early on, the Texans never would have fallen behind in that game.

What is scary to think about when it comes to Houston is just how well they are set up to compete in 2012 and beyond. Had Schaub been healthy, it’s logical to assume that Houston would have been the favorites to win the AFC come playoff time in 2011. You can expect that to be the case again this year.
Houston is loaded with talent at virtually every position. They possess the best running back tandem in the league with Arian Foster and Ben Tate and also have an offensive line that has played together for basically four straight years now.

Many regard Texans free agent center Chris Myers to be the best in the game while others think he’s at least the best at the zone scheme that Houston runs. Left tackle Duane Brown and right tackle Eric Winston excel at run blocking and the guards, Wade Smith and Mike Briesel also perform at a high level. According to the Texans staff, right guard Mike Briesel constantly grades out as the best lineman the team has.

At wide receiver, Andre Johnson is still in his prime and should he be able to stay healthy there is no reason to think of him as any less than the top two or three wide receiver in all of football. Johnson is on pace to break Jerry Rice’s yardage and reception record.

The tight ends are deep and consistent. Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen are the starters. Dreessen is currently a free agent and may be lost if he can’t be had cheap but there is plenty of depth behind him. James Casey is a tight end playing fullback and H-back and he could make the switch back to right end full-time if Dreessen is lost.

At quarterback, Matt Schaub is one of the highest rated QB’s in the league. His completion percentage and his turnover ratio’s are near the top 3 in the NFL. The question remains if he can stay healthy, but even if he struggles, the Texans have confidence that Yates can get it done now. Kubiak always says that players make their biggest leap from year one to year two and with playoff wins under his belt, expect Yates to make a big leap.

Defensively, Wade Phillips was the biggest offseason acquisition in the team’s history and clearly, it made a difference.

Houston’s defense is built upon a basic principal that helped them achieve not good, but great defense in 2011. The principle is simply to give all out effort. They drafted high-effort players like J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed and centered the entire defense around the ultimate high-effort player in Brian Cushing and things took off. All the talk about Mario Williams was moot in the Texans ranks because the defense actually improved after Mario got hurt. He is a physical specimen, but he lacks the intensity that this defense thrives on and we observed the defense really begin to gel after he came out of the lineup.
Free agents Danieal Manning and Johnathan Joseph were huge improvements in a previously troubled secondary.

To say that the sky is the limit for this team moving forward is not lip service. They are young, hungry and (mostly) under contract!

Zoneblitz: How is Matt Schaub’s injury progressing and how confident are you in T.J. Yates as a capable backup or starter going forward?

Walton: Schaub is said to be ahead of schedule. He’ll have the hardware removed from his Lisfranc injury a few weeks before OTA’s and they expect him to be full speed by camp. Now, full speed for Schaub isn’t saying much. This injury might be a concern to a mobile QB, but Schaub is basically standing still anyway. His awareness of Kubiak’s offense is second to none and as long as he’s healthy, the Texans are in great shape.

Kubiak has said that he expects Leinart and Yates to compete for the number two spot and I think that’s true, but you have to give the edge to Yates who showed incredible poise coming in to lead a very complicated offense right in the middle of a playoff run. The best thing about what happened is we saw that Kubiak has confidence in T.J. Rather than dumb down the offense, Kubiak went full-go and said ‘we win or lose with this kid’. Yates ran this scheme for four years at North Carolina and Houston wouldn’t have even drafted him but for the fact that he knew the system so well and they had him rated much higher on their board than where he was sitting in the fifth round.

Zoneblitz: Are the Texans going to lose Mario Williams and what would that mean for the defense and the team going forward?

Walton: I kind of answered this one above. But for the record, yes, they will lose him. They are saying all the right things but Houston had no intent to re-sign Williams because they simply can’t afford him and as I stated earlier, the defense performed at a higher level without him. The best thing about losing Mario is the Texans will be able to pay all the other players that are hitting free agency over the next few years. Williams will probably make astronomical money on the open market and, luckily, Texans General Manager Rick Smith has the sense to keep the core team intact rather than break the bank on one player.

Zoneblitz: Given his injuries the last couple seasons, how much can the team count on Andre Johnson and what kind of weapons does the Texans’ passing game have beyond him?

Walton: I don’t think there is anything to worry about with Johnson. He’s always in perfect condition and his rehab should have him full speed next season. He clearly didn’t have the same wheels in the playoffs but we hold out hope that the offseason has him returning to form. As for what else the passing game has, the answer is not much.

After A.J., Arian Foster and the tight ends become your primary targets before you get to the number two receiver Kevin Walter. Walter and number three Jacoby Jones are both over paid for their value and some believe that both could be restructuring their contracts to free up money to pay guys like center, Chris Myers.

It is widely believed that Houston will look at wide receiver early in the draft and also in free agency if they can afford to. Texans Bull Blog believes that Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem would be the perfect fit for our system. He is a deep threat with great hands who is also a willing blocker. Mohamed Sanu, the wide receiver from Rutgers is our pick in the draft. Sanu is a big bodied receiver who doesn’t shy away from contact. In fact, he seeks it out.

Zoneblitz: Arian Foster reportedly wants to stay in Houston. The team also has Ben Tate. Does it make sense to keep both of them or would you consider moving one to meet other needs?

Walton: The re-signing of Arian Foster speaks volumes to where this franchise has ended up. Houston is widely regarded in league circles as one of the most well run organizations in the league. General Manager Rick Smith told Arian Foster two years ago, after leading the league in rushing, that if he could do it again, he would be rewarded.

Well, Arian upheld his end of the bargain and so did Smith. What it says about the management is that they can be trusted. Smith reportedly told Foster he wanted to pay him for the next five years, but also reward him for the last two playing at the league minimum. That rings loud and clear all across the league, I can assure you. Houston has become a destination for free agents, not for huge paydays, but for that Jerry McGuire type relationship that many players want.

Zoneblitz: The Texans’ offensive line was a strength in 2011. I’ve seen that some teams may express interest in center Chris Myers. How important is he to retain and how much of the team’s success was due to the line?

Walton: I have no doubt that he will be retained. They will get him at a modest deal too because the pitch for all these guys is team continuity. He’s the most critical player on the offensive line but I wouldn’t expect him to end up with top money simply because they will want to pay right guard Mike Briesel as well and left tackle Duane Brown next year.

You cannot stress enough how important the offensive line is in the zone scheme. Houston runs the zone better than anyone in the league and while Arian Foster is certainly a special player, this offensive line plays with such precision that it can be almost boring to watch. The Texans run the zone so that every play looks almost identical at the snap and even a half second or so into the play. That is the key to their success. All five guys are in perfect unison on almost every play.

If you ever want to teach anyone how to run a zone scheme, Houston’s tape is the best there is.

Zoneblitz: What is your assessment of the rest of the Texans’ free agency class heading into that portion of the offseason?

Walton: As I mentioned above, Joel Dreessen is the only player that I think the Texans might lose and it’s simply because there is solid depth behind him. Honestly, the camaraderie on this team is so disgustingly good, Dreessen may take whatever the Texans offer just to stay. He and Briesel share a similar demeanor. They are both kind of “awe shucks” guys and they may be more interested in staying in than making more money.

Guys that we do think will be allowed to move are defensive back Jason Allen and kicker Neil Rackers. Allen and Rackers both suffer from the inconsistency bug and I think that will get them both a ticket to ride.

Zoneblitz: What do the Texans have to do to take the next step and move deeper in the playoffs?

Walton: It’s a very simple one for this team. Stay healthy and it’s Super Bowl.

Zoneblitz: What would you like to see the Texans do in free agency and the draft?

Walton: Wide receiver is the main area of need and as we stated above, Robert Meachem and Mohamed Sanu of Rutgers are who we would like to see. They will also need to add outside linebacker depth behind Reed and Barwin, a new kicker and depth at defensive end.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Walton: It’s a great time to be a Houston Texans fan. A doormat of the league for a decade, now they are one of the elite teams in the NFL built to stay there for years to come. In the midst of all the drama with the Saints and bounties, it sure feels good to root for a team that has done it the right way, with honesty and integrity. Are Texans fans developing a reputation for being a bit smug? Yeah, and rightfully so.

Go Texans.

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