Subject: Steve Slaton

• The College Football Preview, Week Nine: What Do Pushing Daisies, The Office and Chuck Have to Do with Football? Good Question.

  October 26, 2007

• Texans-Cowboys: Yeah, It’s Only Preseason

  August 25, 2008

• Texans-Steelers: At Least Mario Williams Looked Good

  September 8, 2008

• NFL Review, Week One: Ahman Green, Cedric Benson, Tom Brady and Rosario Dawson

  September 9, 2008

• Texans-Titans: Houston Looking a Little Better, But Not Good Enough

  September 21, 2008

• Texans-Jaguars: The Moral of the Tale

  September 29, 2008

• Texans-Colts: Houston Needs to Go to Finishing School

  October 5, 2008

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Mike Singletary Gives the Weekend's Best Performance

  October 28, 2008

• Texans Better Watch Out for Purple Jesus

  October 31, 2008

• Who Knew Jacques Reeves Was So Awesome? A Jaguars-Texans Pregame Report

  I've got to apologize to everyone. I didn't know that I was an idiot. I honestly thought that I actually knew something about football. But thanks to the Chron's John McClain, I now know that what I thought I knew I didn't know. Seriously. You see, I thought that Jacques Reeves, the defensive back for the Houston Texans, was a lousy football player. After all, the Dallas Cowboys didn't want him anymore, and their defensive backfield was full of holes. And with my eyes I've seen him get

  December 1, 2008

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Were You Ready for Some Boring Football?

  I can't believe I wasted over three hours of my life watching the Houston Texans last night. Sure, they won the game 30-17, but damn, that was an awful game to watch. I found the document review I was working on to be more interesting than most of that game - and you attorneys out there know that watching grass grow is often more interesting than most document reviews. But there was one amazing thing I saw last night. For the first time in his years as Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak actually

  December 2, 2008

• Texans-Packers: Run, Slaton, Run

  If you're like me, you're sick of hearing "frozen tundra" every time there is a game played in Green Bay. But with the temps for Green Bay this weekend set to be below freezing, you just know someone's going to let loose with the term, probably multiple times - hell, John McClain has already written one ode to the greatness of all things Green Bay. But here's the thing. The Packers are going to lose this weekend. That's right. I said it. I'm picking the Texans to win the game this weekend

  December 5, 2008

• Texans-Titans: Paging Sage Rosenfels

  Hey, the Texans have won three straight games. And they even had to go out in miserable weather and defeat the Packers to win last week -- you know, it's kind of shame that it snowed on Wednesday night and couldn't wait until Sunday so that Texans fans, who have been known to whine when the roof is open and the temp is hot, couldn't have experienced some real football weather. But can the Texans make it four straight? Well, if you believe some of the writers over at the Chron, the answer i

  December 12, 2008

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Jeff Fisher Outcoached by Gary Kubiak?

  I'm a big guy - no literally, I'm 6'4", so I'm a big guy - so I can admit when I'm wrong. And I was wrong about Sunday's Texans/Titans game. And I was wrong big time. Andre Johnson had a day for the ages with 207 receiving yards and a TD. Steve Slaton rushed for over a hundred yards. The Texans defense held the vaunted Titans running game to just 100 yards. Very impressive all around. Of course, the Texans only won 13-12. The winning margin should have been much larger, and the Texans v

  December 16, 2008

• Texans-Raiders: Don't Bet on Black

  Lots of you don't like what I write about the Texans. You think I'm too negative. That I don't give the team proper credit. Hell, some of you have actually written that you want me to die. To which I respond, if you want homers who are always positive, go over to the Chron. I try to take a more objective view here. And in my objective view, the Texans just haven't shown me much this season. I would think more of the win over the Titans if various Titans weren't talking about how they took

  December 19, 2008

• Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

  10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros and Texans, they did win a world championship within the past decade. 9. The Houston Astros were one of the worst teams in professional baseball for most of the first half of the season. But they

  December 20, 2008

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Texans Settle Into Mediocrity

  Okay, so the Texans beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday to finish their second straight season at 8-8. That's two seasons in a row of mediocrity. Can I have a YAY TEAM! Over at the Chron, Richard Justice thinks the team is heading in the right direction and has turned the corner. He likes how Gary Kubiak gets the team mentally into the next game. Just like he got the team mentally into those games with Pittsburgh, Oakland, Baltimore, and Minnesota. (Never mind what Justice wrote earlier

  December 30, 2008

• Some Praise For the Houston Texans (No, Really!)

  Photo by William Holtkamp Many of you out there probably think that I hate the Texans. But I don't. I just hold them to a high standard. A standard that I think everybody should apply to them. That said, I'm not here to criticize the Houston Texans today. No, I'm actually about to say some nice things. The Texans made three moves this past week that pleasantly surprised me, and they're on the verge of making what I think is another good move. Now will these moves make the team a playoff t

  March 3, 2009

• Some Praise For the Houston Texans (No, Really!)

  Photo by William Holtkamp Many of you out there probably think that I hate the Texans. But I don't. I just hold them to a high standard. A standard that I think everybody should apply to them. That said, I'm not here to criticize the Houston Texans today. No, I'm actually about to say some nice things. The Texans made three moves this past week that pleasantly surprised me, and they're on the verge of making what I think is another good move. Now will these moves make the team a playoff t

  March 3, 2009

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Texans Settle Into Mediocrity

  Okay, so the Texans beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday to finish their second straight season at 8-8. That's two seasons in a row of mediocrity. Can I have a YAY TEAM! Over at the Chron, Richard Justice thinks the team is heading in the right direction and has turned the corner. He likes how Gary Kubiak gets the team mentally into the next game. Just like he got the team mentally into those games with Pittsburgh, Oakland, Baltimore, and Minnesota. (Never mind what Justice wrote earlier

  December 30, 2008

• Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

  10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros and Texans, they did win a world championship within the past decade. 9. The Houston Astros were one of the worst teams in professional baseball for most of the first half of the season. But they

  December 20, 2008

• Texans-Raiders: Don't Bet on Black

  Lots of you don't like what I write about the Texans. You think I'm too negative. That I don't give the team proper credit. Hell, some of you have actually written that you want me to die. To which I respond, if you want homers who are always positive, go over to the Chron. I try to take a more objective view here. And in my objective view, the Texans just haven't shown me much this season. I would think more of the win over the Titans if various Titans weren't talking about how they took

  December 19, 2008

• Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Jeff Fisher Outcoached by Gary Kubiak?

  I'm a big guy - no literally, I'm 6'4", so I'm a big guy - so I can admit when I'm wrong. And I was wrong about Sunday's Texans/Titans game. And I was wrong big time. Andre Johnson had a day for the ages with 207 receiving yards and a TD. Steve Slaton rushed for over a hundred yards. The Texans defense held the vaunted Titans running game to just 100 yards. Very impressive all around. Of course, the Texans only won 13-12. The winning margin should have been much larger, and the Texans v

  December 16, 2008

• Texans-Titans: Paging Sage Rosenfels

  Hey, the Texans have won three straight games. And they even had to go out in miserable weather and defeat the Packers to win last week -- you know, it's kind of shame that it snowed on Wednesday night and couldn't wait until Sunday so that Texans fans, who have been known to whine when the roof is open and the temp is hot, couldn't have experienced some real football weather. But can the Texans make it four straight? Well, if you believe some of the writers over at the Chron, the answer i

  December 12, 2008

• Houston Texans Pancakes & Pigskins Rookie Breakfast

  Football fans enjoy a little elbow-rubbing with the team’s newest players

  September 4, 2008

• Never Depend On A QB Named "The Sex Cannon"

  I stumbled over to the Texans website the other day, and after looking through things for a bit, I guess that I should buy my Super Bowl tickets because, if you listen to Texans employee Marc Vandermeer, this is an outstanding team at every position on the field. I especially like how he calls the signing of Rex "The Sex Cannon" Grossman an outstanding addition to the team.But as a friend of mine who is big into fantasy football told me, the mere thought of Grossman taking a single snap as the T

  July 2, 2009

• Remembering Steve McNair, Once An Oiler

  Steve McNair was going to be the next savior of the Houston Oilers. Bud Adams decided he didn't want to stick around in Houston, however, and McNair ended up becoming the first savior of the Tennessee Titans. Nicknamed "Air Mcnair," he was the Oilers' number-one pick in the 1995 draft who came from an obscure college who some thought couldn't quarterback a legitimate NFL offense.  McNair ended up lasting 13 seasons in the NFL, leading the Titans to the Super Bowl in January of 2000, and

  July 6, 2009

• 25 Key Things To Watch For In The Texans' Pre-Season Opener

  ​With the Houston Texans kicking off pre-season play tomorrow night, I thought I would throw out a list of 25 things to watch or listen for during the game.1. Does Matt Schaub make it through two series of plays without any type of injury?2. What kind of stupid catchphrase is radio voice Marc Vandermeer going to trot out this season?3. Spencer Tillman will find some way to refer to some fourth-stringer who will be among the first to be cut after the game as "great."4. Given enough time during

  August 14, 2009

• Texans-Saints: New, "Improved " D Falls Flat In First Home Test

  ​Run the ball, and stop the run.It's one of the oldest clichés on what determines NFL success. But if there's much truth to it, the Texans' potential breakthrough season might already be in some trouble.With Reggie Bush out with a calf injury, the Saints (2-0) gashed the Texans (1-1) on Saturday night at Reliant Stadium for 173 rushing yards on a whopping 6.4 yards per carry, dominating Houston in every phase in a 38-14 preseason victory.Making matters more embarrassing, the Saints rushed

  August 24, 2009

• Some (Few) Good Things Emerge From Texans' Monday-Night Loss

  ​It's never truly Texans season until there's the first Matt Schaub injury scare. This year, it came before the season even started -- when the Texans' QB ran out of bounds and turned his left ankle in Monday night's 17-10 preseason loss to the Vikings.But Schaub recovered, and so did the Texans, who despite a disastrous start finally showed a few glimpses -- emphasis on "few" -- of the winning team so many expected them to be in 2009.Adrian Peterson's 75-yard romp through the Texans defense o

  September 1, 2009

• Playoffs? Playoffs? We Just Hope The Texans Can Win A Game

  ​In all of three hours, the hot topic of the 2009 Texans season might have transitioned from whether they can make the playoffs to whether they can lure Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan or Jon Gruden as head coach come January.Remember the Texans' dynamic offense? The league's third-best unit a year ago couldn't score a single point against a New York defense that ranked 16th in the league in 2008.Remember the Texans' "new and improved" defense -- the one that added first- and second-round draft pic

  September 14, 2009

• The Gary Kubiak Experiment Should Be About Over, Shouldn't It?

  Photo by William Holtkamp​Stop me if you've heard this one before."We obviously weren't ready to play and that starts with me," Gary Kubiak said Sunday. "You play that poorly, that starts with the coach. I didn't have them ready to go."Yeah, that sounds pretty damn familiar to me. Take any Houston Texans loss since Gary Kubiak has been coach, especially a loss where the team looked bad -- particularly Pittsburgh and Oakland last season -- and you'll see where Gary Kubiak has made much the same

  September 15, 2009

• At Long Last, Texans Play According to Plan

  ​For a franchise that has spent its entire existence searching for signs of turning a corner, the Texans on Sunday showed as many as they ever have. On the field, the Texans did what they never seem to do - win big in a game they're supposed to, routing the hapless Raiders 29-6 at Reliant Stadium. It was in stark contrast to their performance late last season against this same team, when they came out flat in Oakland and choked away a chance at the club's first winning season. But perh

  October 5, 2009

• The Texans: Mission Not Quite Accomplished

  ​Perhaps it was appropriate that the former president Bushes were in attendance for yesterday's Houston Texans game. Especially Bush the Younger. Because just as the Younger stood on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" banner displayed proudly behind him long before the mission was actually accomplished, so to did the Texans strut off of the field after the first half with a 21-0 lead on the visiting San Francisco 49ers.But there was just one problem. Nobody bothered to inform

  October 26, 2009

• Game Time: Inside The Mind Of The Houston Texans Fan

  ​Pretty much every social instinct I employ comes from George Costanza of Seinfeld fame.  (... and yes, the fact that it's been 11-plus years since the Seinfeld finale means I officially have to remind people who George Costanza was.)*"Whatever your instincts tell you to do, do the opposite.""It's not a lie, if you believe it."But my favorite Costanza-ism of all time is George's parting shot in any relationship on which he has soured ... "It's not you, it's me." You see, despite the fact

  October 26, 2009

• Why The Texans Losing Owen Daniels Isn't As Bad As You Think

  Photo courtesy of Brit_2​For most teams, a season-ending injury to arguably the NFL's best receiving tight end would be considered a devastating loss. But to the Texans, the absence of Owen Daniels may not be all that significant. Sure, Sunday's come-from-behind, 31-10 romp over Buffalo was tempered with news of Daniels' apparent torn ACL. Yet, at the same time, it's hard to overlook how the Texans (5-3) still managed to post a 21-point road victory - all without Daniels and after handin

  November 2, 2009

• Game Time: Weekend Review

  ​I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you were all able to enjoy the nice weather by moving your television and recliner into your driveway to watch football on TV.  I'd like to start off by welcoming the Texans to this new thing for them called "November".  Boys, I know in the past this has typically been the month where you start making hotel reservations for your first post season golf trip (or if you're a wide receiver, this is the month you hope and pray that Andre

  November 2, 2009

• Texans Find Yet Another Way To Turn Breakthrough Into Heartbreak

  ​Before 2004, I remember laughing at Red Sox fans and the Curse of the Bambino. I rolled my eyes while Cubs fans whined about a goat. I remember being baffled that grown men and women could seriously believe or discuss outside forces having an impact on what occurs in the field of play.Then I met the Houston Texans.It's not that there's a logical case to believe the Texans (5-4) are cursed. As always, it's random luck that simply finds its way to go against them, as it did in Sunday's heartbre

  November 9, 2009

• 25 Things About The Texans-Titans Monday Night Match-Up

  ​For the second week in a row, it's homecoming week on Monday Night Football. This past Monday, it was the Baltimore Ravens returning to the place from which they came, Cleveland, to play the Browns. This coming Monday, the Tennessee Titans are returning to Houston to take on the Texans.With that said, here are a few things to watch for in the time leading up to, and including the game.1. Did you see that Bud Adams got fined $250,000 for flipping the bird at some fans from Buffalo? Can som

  November 19, 2009