Rockets Roster setting up nicely for season

Ok we have all been busy waiting for football season to start, however I realized that we have been neglecting to talk about the one team in Houston that actually could be the best of the bunch.Yes I am talking about the Houston Rockets and what with the current trades and other injuries that have occured in the past month, the Rockets are looking more like a contender than ever before. They have quality depth, and a good mix of youth and veterans to really succeed in the Western Conference. Why do I say that well let's look at the roster as it stands right now

Potential Starters
7 Mike James PG 6-2 195
1 Tracy McGrady GF 6-8 223
4 Luis Scola F 6-9 230
31 Shane Battier SF 6-8 220
11 Yao Ming C 7-6 310

First 4 off Bench
44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 238
6 Bonzi Wells SG 6-5 210
3 Steve Francis PG 6-3 195
45 Jackie Butler FC 6-10 260

Final 3 active roster spots
0 Aaron Brooks G 6-0 160
13 Kirk Snyder SG 6-6 225
2 Luther Head G 6-3 185


3 potential for inactive list
20 Steve Novak F 6-10 220
9 Justin Reed SF 6-8 238
14 Carl Landry F 6-7 245

Trade Bait
15 John Lucas PG 5-11 165
12 Rafer Alston PG 6-2 175
3 Bob Sura G 6-5 200

D- League possible
21 Brad Newley G 6-7 201
29 Mike Harris F 6-6 240

Now the final 6 may change depending upon what sort of health issues occur but this team is sitting pretty right now what with plenty of depth at guard and maybe more depth if Mutombo comes back for one more year.

Can they get anything for Sura, Alston, or Lucas, maybe you never know. But at least the season is starting with some optimism

Houston Texans Preview - Part 2 Defense

It is time to take the next step in examining the 2007 Houston Texans. This time around I will be looking at the defense, starting with the defensive line. The roster currently shows the following players for the Texans at DL.

93 Jason Babin DE 27 6-2 259 4 Western Michigan
60 Earl Cochran DE 26 6-5 284 1 Alabama State
94 N.D. Kalu DE 32 6-3 265 11 Rice
97 Alfred Malone DE 25 6-5 308 3 Troy
92 Anthony Weaver DE 27 6-3 280 6 Notre Dame
90 Mario Williams DE 22 6-7 291 2 North Carolina State
79 Tim Bulman DT 24 6-3 300 3 Boston College
96 Thomas Johnson DT 26 6-2 298 3 Middle Tennessee State
99 Travis Johnson DT 25 6-3 305 3 Florida State
78 Cedric Killings DT 29 6-2 310 5 Carson-Newman
95 Anthony Maddox DT 28 6-1 305 3 Delta State
- Amobi Okoye DT 20 6-2 287 R Louisville
- Thomas Smith DT 24 6-3 300 R Pittsburgh
90 Jeff Zgonina DT 37 6-2 290 15 Purdue

The team will rotate probably 6 or 8 players in the line over the course of any game. Weaver, Williams, Okoye, Maddox look to be the starters with the Johnsons, Malone, Kalu as the next wave, and Babin and Zgonina as the final pair in the ten that may make this team. This unit is under the microscope what with four first round picks and two that are top ten picks at that. They need to be able to put pressure on the quarterback without any blitzing LB's or DB's and at the same time be able to keep the linebackers free and clear so that they can play the run better.

The linebackers this year look as solid and deep as they have since the first year that the team was in existance.

50 Charlie Anderson LB 25 6-4 243 4 Mississippi
56 Shawn Barber LB 32 6-2 240 10 Richmond
94 Marcus Bell LB 30 6-1 245 4 Arizona
51 Trent Bray LB 24 6-1 237 1 Oregon State
54 Danny Clark LB 30 6-2 245 8 Illinois
- Zach Diles LB 22 6-0 240 R Kansas State
56 Morlon Greenwood LB 29 6-0 238 7 Syracuse
53 Shantee Orr LB 26 6-0 250 5 Michigan
59 DeMeco Ryans LB 23 6-2 235 2 Alabama
59 Zac Woodfin LB 24 6-1 235 1 UAB

The starting trio of Anderson, Ryans and Greenwood, could be as good as most other LB lineups in the league, and I really think that after this season if they continue to produce as they are capable of doing you will be hearing them listed as one of the top five LB corps in the league. Ryans is without a doubt the leader of this group and he leads by example both on and off the field. He is one of the hardest workers and spends more time in the film room than most of the rest of the team. The team will probably keep 4 or 5 more LB's some of which will be primarily for special teams, that being said the 5 I see as staying around are Orr, Clark, Barber, Bell, Diles, and maybe Woodfin, on the practice squad.

Defensive Back is where we could have some change when it comes to who is playing as well as who is on the team.

22 Roc Alexander CB 25 5-10 190 4 Washington
- Fred Bennett CB 23 6-1 199 R South Carolina
38 DeMarcus Faggins CB 28 5-10 178 6 Kansas State
21 Jamar Fletcher CB 27 5-10 186 7 Wisconsin
26 Jason Horton CB 27 6-0 190 4 North Carolina A&T
34 Von Hutchins CB 26 5-9 181 4 Mississippi
20 Dexter McCleon CB 33 5-10 195 10 Clemson
28 Chris McKenzie CB 25 5-8 182 2 Arizona State
23 Dunta Robinson CB 25 5-10 174 4 South Carolina
40 John Walker CB 24 6-1 200 1 USC
25 Dexter Wynn CB 26 5-9 177 4 Colorado State
24 C.C. Brown S 24 6-0 208 3 Louisiana-Lafayette
26 Glenn Earl S 26 6-1 215 4 Notre Dame
- Brandon Harrison S 22 6-2 210 R Stanford
30 Jason Simmons S 31 5-9 199 10 Arizona State

There is plenty of competition this year in the defensive backfield and the only position that is a lock is Dunta Robinson's. There will be competion for all of the other 3 starting spots as well as for the backups, that and there will be a couple of spots for those playing special teams, including punt and kick returner. Roc Alexander is out for the season so that will give someone else some more reps and the chance to make an impression.