Head coach Gary Kubiak was on Sports Radio 610 in Houston this morning, talking about all the upcoming OTAs and what he needs/wants/expects from the team this season. Nothing overly surprising or ground-breaking in that interview, I suppose, but there were a couple of points that could at least be characterized as "interesting." For instance, Kubes basically called out Travis Johnson and Jerome Mathis by saying that both needed to become "full-time contributor[s]" to the team. Between this statement and Kubiak's simultaneous praise for Anthony Maddox and Manchild, I am guessing that Travis has probably been relegated to second-team for both interior defensive line spots.

Other highlights from the chit-chat:

• Ahman Green is in great shape and has been working incredibly hard this offseason, as if he still has something to prove to the Green Bay front office that so unceremoniously let him go. Batman relishes the opportunity to play for Mike Sherman again and he is clearly the starter barring something catastrophic. This is great news for a team that desperately needs opposing teams to respect the running game.
• TE Owen Daniels role is going to be greatly expanded in an effort to work the deep-middle and better utilize Daniels' abilities. (I am assuming it works like this: if Batman can indeed establish a ground game, Daniels should not be forced to block as much, which makes life easier for Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub.)
• Despite my hopes that JJ would win the battle for WR2, it looks like Kubiak is a big Walter fan. Walter "reminds [him] of Ed McCaffery." I have no idea what that means.
• Finally, based on Gary's comments, I look for veteran malcontent Andre Davis to have a big role, at least until he pisses someone off, in three WR sets. He showed some flashes of real talent in Cleveland, so maybe this will actually work.
  

Labels: Amobi Okoye is 19, Andre Johnson, Batman, Gary Kubiak, Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Super Mario, Teams that aren't the Texans, The Schaub Experiment, Training camp 2007, You remind me of ____

Posted by matt on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 11:23 AM | Permalink