Texans will rest Foster with more Ward

[J_R]

When the Texans signed Derrick Ward, they had lost Ben Tate and were banged up at running back. They were confident Arian Foster would be good, but they didn’t know he’d be the NFL’s leading rusher as they got to their bye after six weeks.

Ward played well when Foster was benched for most of the first half of the win at Oakland and Sunday in a win over the Chiefs he was a big contributor again with three carries for 58 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter that cut a two touchdown lead for the Chiefs in half.

“He’s telling us we need to get him on the field more,” coach Gary Kubiak told Houston reporters Tuesday. “Arian will be totally fresh if he’s playing, if not then Derrick will be out there. We were even talking about how good he looked just practicing today. Remember when he came in, we talked about him losing six or seven pounds? He’s down now and is really going to help us down the stretch.”

Ward said he’s excited about the possibility of getting to showcase what he can do.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/pos...with-more-ward

More from the Chron:

Ward up

He has a 1,000-yard season under his belt, in 2008 with the New York Giants, which is something no other Texans running back besides Steve Slaton can boast. And if not for Arian Foster, Derrick Ward looks good enough at the moment to do it again.

He feels good enough, too.

"I'm able to get out there and feel fresh when my number is called," said Ward, who has carried the ball 17 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns. "Hopefully, I'll be able to replicate what I did (with the Giants)."

Coach Gary Kubiak said Ward was about 6 or 7 pounds over his optimum playing weight when the Texans acquired him. Now that he's dropped that extra weight, he's been so impressive that Kubiak has no qualms whatsoever about using Ward to spell Foster.

"He's going to really help us down the stretch," Kubiak said.

Ward is just 30, but because Slaton and Foster are both 24, he's considered the old man of the group. When told Foster was mocking his age, Ward said to Foster, "You want to go to the YMCA?"

Without missing a beat, Foster replied, "Didn't you found that?"

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7254897.html

[scourge]

Originally Posted by HoustonSportsFan09

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/pos...with-more-ward

More from the Chron:


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7254897.html

Originally Posted by Jeffery Martin

He has a 1,000-yard season under his belt, in 2008 with the New York Giants, which is something no other Texans running back besides Steve Slaton can boast.

Wow. How insightful. That is pretty useless information given who we have, their time in the league, and chances to start.

[Goldensilence]

Gary,

Don't **** up the brightest spot in my RB rotation for fantasy football.

Signed,

Lots of people who play in pay leagues

[nero THE zero]

Ssshhhhh...

That sound you hear right now is the collective explosion of FF geeks' heads around the world.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

Ssshhhhh...

That sound you hear right now is the collective explosion of FF geeks' heads around the world.

Haha. I yell at the 9ers all the time cause Dixon gets goal line touches away from Frank Gore.

[Mr. White]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

Ssshhhhh...

That sound you hear right now is the collective explosion of FF geeks' heads around the world.

I missed on Foster and he's kicked my ass twice in 2 different leagues. I just picked up Ward in both of them.

[badboy]

I still do not see Kubiak using Slaton in the best role for him ala Reggie Bush or Chris Johnson. I see a Foster, Ward, Tate roster with Slaton possibly traded. I am hopeful Trindon Holiday will be our returner.

[HuttoKarl]

Originally Posted by Goldensilence

Gary,

Don't **** up the brightest spot in my RB rotation for fantasy football.

Signed,

Lots of people who play in pay leagues

Gary,

Please do what you gotta do and the week I play the Foster owner, it's probably a good idea to just give him about three or four carries and pass the rest of the time...preferrably TD's to Jacoby Jones.

Sincerely,
Guy who doesn't have Foster in his money league

[GuerillaBlack]

Maybe this also means more motivation for Foster?

[machineo]

Earth Wind and Fire v.2 when Tate comes back year!

[Mr teX]

That would be the writing on the wall you see mr. slaton.

[HOUFan]

During that Raider game I know a lot of F.F. Foster owners were ticked off at Kubiak for benching Foster for mostly the first half....but then bam comes out with fresh legs and gets a great TD run. Maybe this will keep Foster fresh and keep that chip on his shoulder that he needs to run great and make the best of each run.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by badboy

I still do not see Kubiak using Slaton in the best role for him ala Reggie Bush or Chris Johnson. I see a Foster, Ward, Tate roster with Slaton possibly traded. I am hopeful Trindon Holiday will be our returner.

I hope Holliday can take slot reps away from DA next year, or that they draft a dependable slot guy.

[TexanSam]

Originally Posted by machineo

Earth Wind and Fire v.2 when Tate comes back year!

Going to be interesting to see what happens when Tate returns....

[Wolf6151]

Originally Posted by TexanSam

Going to be interesting to see what happens when Tate returns....

When Tate returns we'll have both quality and depth that we've never had before and be in a really good situation. I hope that Slaton is smart enough to read the writing on the wall and realize that he might not be here much longer. Maybe we can showcase Slaton a little toward the end of the season and pump up his trade value.

[NitroGSXR]

Originally Posted by Wolf6151

When Tate returns we'll have both quality and depth that we've never had before and be in a really good situation. I hope that Slaton is smart enough to read the writing on the wall and realize that he might not be here much longer. Maybe we can showcase Slaton a little toward the end of the season and pump up his trade value.

I'm sure you meant showcase Slaton when we're resting our starters for the final two games right?

Showcasing Slaton down the stretch isn't a sound decision at this juncture in our attempt at improving the history of winning. He's about due for several fumbles.

[gary]

I think the runnings backs in 2011 will be Foster, Tate, and Ward if there is any football at all of course.

[Brisco_County]

Originally Posted by Mr. White

I missed on Foster and he's kicked my ass twice in 2 different leagues. I just picked up Ward in both of them.

I'm in the process of trading Arian Foster for Andre Johnson. I've been expecting Foster's fantasy production to decline for two reasons: 1) Teams will start figuring out how to block his cutback lanes like the Giants did, severely reducing his number of big plays. 2) Derrick Ward is really, really good, and he's about to take half the carries.

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by Brisco_County

I'm in the process of trading Arian Foster for Andre Johnson. I've been expecting Foster's fantasy production to decline for two reasons: 1) Teams will start figuring out how to block his cutback lanes like the Giants did, severely reducing his number of big plays. 2) Derrick Ward is really, really good, and he's about to take half the carries.

I wouldn't do it. Foster gives you more guaranteed points than Johnson would. I'm lucky enough to have both on my money league (along with Reggie Wayne, Rivers, Santana Moss, LeSean McCoy, Bironas, and Hines Ward). I really drafted well this year.

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by GuerillaBlack

I wouldn't do it. Foster gives you more guaranteed points than Johnson would. I'm lucky enough to have both on my money league (along with Reggie Wayne, Rivers, Santana Moss, LeSean McCoy, Bironas, and Hines Ward). I really drafted well this year.

I would keep Foster. He's never given me anything less than 10 points all season. Even last week when he only had 74 yards, he still had like another 30 something yards in receiving. He's also shown to give multiple TDs in one game.