The Saints face off against the Houston Texans tonight in Houston at 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern for the second preseason game of the season. The Texans (1-0 in preseason) defeated the Chiefs in Kansas City 16-10 in their first game. The starters for both teams are expected to play the entire first half. Joey Harrington is expected to quarterback the second and third units in the 2nd half (Mark Brunell is not expected to play).Out for the Saints: Reggie Bush (calf), Jammal Brown (possible hernia), Chip Vaughn (knee), Zach Strief (knee)
About the Texans:
The Texans are coming off an 8-8 season, and they were very similar to the Saints last year as they struggled defensively and relied on the performance of their offense for wins. They showcase arguably the best receiver in pro football with Andre Johnson, budding NFL runningback Steve Slaton, and defensive stars DeMeco Ryans and Mario Williams. The Texans were the 3rd ranked offense last year and the 22nd ranked defense.
other notes:
-- With Jammal Brown and Zach Strief both banged up, Jermon Bushrod will get the start at left tackle. He'll have the tough task of going up against Mario Williams - let's hope he doesn't get Brees killed.
-- Rookie free agent center Brett Helms of the Texans played college ball at LSU.
-- Ryan Moats, the veteran backup runningback, went to Louisiana Tech.
-- Mario Williams was picked 1st overall, and one spot ahead of Reggie Bush in the 2006 NFL draft.
-- The Texans feature Matt Schaub at quarterback, who backed up Michael Vick in Atlanta for years, and his backup is well known ex Bear Rex Grossman.
NFL.com was used for research.
