Maturing talent jells for Texans

The Houston Texans have never had a winning season in their eight-year existence. But with the talent they are assembling, success may be close at hand. Teams that win consistently in the NFL have elite players. On offense, the Texans have a potential franchise quarterback in Matt Schaub, an All-Pro wide receiver in Andre Johnson, an explosive running back in Steve Slaton and a future Pro Bowl left tackle in Duane Brown. Their defense features Pro Bowlers in defensive end Mario Williams and middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans and a top-flight cornerback in Dunta Robinson. With major-league talent at all the key positions, the pieces are in place for the Texans to be competitive every Sunday. "We've got a good, solid core group of players both on offense and defense that are capable of really productive play, and I think we're seeing that," Texans General Manager Rick Smith said this week. "We're certainly not there yet by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like we've got the best team since we've been here." The Texans are coming off back-to-back 8-8 seasons, but a 5-1 finish in 2008 had a lot of pundits anointing them as the break-out team of 2009. The Texans bring a 4-3 record into Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills . But a victory would be the Texans' third in a row and mark their best start in franchise history. It also would establish them as a midseason contender for their first postseason appearance. "We've been a .500 team the last two years, and that was progress for this organization," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said this week during a conference call. "But it's the eighth year for this organization, and having not had a winning season and trying to become a playoff team, all those things are extremely difficult in this league. So it's about trying to learn how to take the next step, and there's a long, long way to go to get that done." The Texans are a team on the rise because of some outstanding drafts and shrewd free agent acquisitions. Six of their seven first-rounders are still with the team. They missed on quarterback David Carr, the No. 1 overall selection in 2002, but they hit home runs with Johnson (2003), Robinson (2004), Williams (2006), defensive tackle Amobi Okoye (2007), Brown (2008) and linebacker Brian Cushing (2009). Johnson in particular has achieved superstar status. A physical specimen with great size and speed, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder led the league in catches (115) and receiving yards (1,575) last season, and is first in yards (634 on 38 catches) this year. The only player to reach 500 career catches in fewer games than Johnson's 88 was Arizona's Anquan Boldin (80). Another high-profile pick was Williams, whose No. 1 overall selection in 2006 created controversy as Texans fans coveted University of Texas quarterback and Houston native Vince Young. But Williams silenced critics by becoming the dominant pass rusher the team envisioned he would be with 36.5 sacks in three-plus seasons. Robinson is the Texans' career leader with 13 interceptions. There have been signs of future stardom from Okoye, the youngest player drafted into the NFL at age 19, Brown and Cushing, who leads all rookies with a team-high 56 tackles. The Texans have connected on players after Round One as well. Ryans was a second-round steal. Slaton, starting right tackle Eric Winston and wide receiver-return ace Jacoby Jones were terrific third-round finds. Pro Bowl tight end Owen Daniels was a hidden gem in the fourth round. "The way you build in this league is through the draft," Kubiak said. "That's obviously the route that we decided to start taking four years ago. We put these guys to work right away. They were starting from Day One. "Obviously, if you miss on some of those draft choices that could set you back a long, long way. We've been very fortunate that these guys are doing their job and look like they have some bright futures." It also helps when free agent signings work out. The Texans' boldest move was their 2007 trade with Atlanta for Schaub, who spent three years backing up Michael Vick. In addition to swapping first-round draft picks, the Texans gave up second-round picks in 2007 and 2008. Then they signed Schaub to a six-year, $48 million contract. After two injury-plagued years, Schaub is having a huge '09 season, leading the NFL in passing yards (2,074) and touchdowns (16). "I feel that until you have a player at the quarterback position that you're comfortable with and you're confident that you can win with, you're in some respect spinning your wheels," said Smith, who brokered the Schaub trade in his first year as GM. "We were very diligent about looking at the available options. It was a gutsy trade at the time, but we were fortunate it worked out for us and Matt is playing at the level he is now." The Texans are one of three teams (with the Bills and Detroit Lions) that haven't been to the playoffs this decade. The Texans are only 8 years old, but they may be ready to come of age. "I think this is definitely our time," Schaub said. "We've added a lot to our team in the last few years, not to mention through the draft. A lot of those players that have been drafted high and are playing at a very high level are guys that have played for a few years, so they're mature and into what we're doing. They know the system and what it takes to be successful." e-mail: awilson@buffnews.com