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 The week started with Cowboys fans all around the Lone Star State polluting the air with talk of how the Texans were going to get dismantled at the hands of the mighty new look Cowboys. Even a few reminding me of how stupid the Texans organization was for not taking Bush or Vince and that it will take years if ever for the Texans to ever be a formidable foe for their beloved Boys. While I personally reminded many of them that this was a presseason game and that you can only look seriously at the results when the starters are in there, one rebuffed that it didn't matter if it were preseason or not, the "beat down will still look the same". Well, when this game was in the books it was the Cowboys fans using the "it was only preseason" card.
Sure, it's only preseason however in many people's minds the 3rd preseason game is the most important game of the preseason, many calling it the dress rehearsal of the real season. Generally the starters put in more time in the 3rd preseason game as was the case on Saturday night at Reliant and the coaches often use this game to gage where there team is really at.
Well this one started out perfectly. On the first drive of the game the Texans D forced a quick 3 and out of that "great" Cowboys offense resulting in a 91 yard punt return for a TD from new Texans rookie and star Jacoby Jones. This would be Jones' second punt return for a TD this preseason, actually making it 2 weeks in a row. Jones is starting to make many Texans fans forget about what would have been with Reggie Bush.
Matt Schaub continued to impress throughout this one continuing to look like a veteran QB with great pocket awareness and the real ability to read defenses. Schaub's most impressive drive came at the end of the half, with just over 2 minutes remaining as he drove the Texans down the field for 64 yards resulting in an impressive TD catch by the formentioned Jacoby Jones. On that play Schaub was forced out of the pocket, however instead of giving up on the play and running out of bounds (which would have happened last year) Schaub kept his eyes down field until a play developed. This play alone gives all Texans fans hope for this upcoming season.
Let us also not leave out the success of the running game. The Texans rushed for a total of 142 yards highlighted by an impressive 46 yard run by Ahman Green.
On the defensive side of the ball things looked a bit up also. The defensive line finally got the pass rush going. The Texans sacked Romo twice and hurried him several other times. "It looked like we did some better things," Kubiak said. "We were more disruptive making their quarterback move around a little bit." DeMeco Ryans led the Texans with eight tackles and Mario Williams, had four tackles, a sack, and pressured Romo a couple of times.
"It was good, but we didn't do as much as we wanted to," Williams said. "There were some times that we - that I - missed some opportunities. But we will get better at it and keep going." Williams said he did something different in this game, but wouldn't disclose what it was saying only it had to do with his approach. Whatever it was, he said it made him feel "a lot more comfortable."
With the Texans winning this preseason match 28-16 and looking impressively doing so, a Texans fan has to be a little (dare we say) optimistic about what is in store for us during the regular season. Even more impressively was the fact that the score was 21-13 when the starters started hitting the benches. Yes 21-13 is the only score I am interested in, since the starters are the true gage of the team. At this point since the offense and special teams are looking real good, one has to think that if the Texans defense can come together and play with some consistency, this team could be looking at it's first winning record of it's young existence.
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In one of the more shocking developments of this offseason1, Jerome Solomon took time off from 
