Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE
@craigballard77
The Houston Texans season is over as they have been eliminated from the 2013 NFL Playoffs by the New England Patriots, and this article is a look at what is next for their franchise…
The Texans made the playoffs for the second straight season, and they were good enough to spend the majority of the season as the AFC’s top seed, but they still have maturing to do as an organization. In their final six games they went just 2-4 (including 1-1 in the playoffs) and their passing game disappeared. They are not really in danger of losing any key free-agents on offense, but they will likely be looking to improve on Matt Schaub, or at least further surround him and Andre Johnson with some talent to help out. Despite the passing game being ranked no.11 overall they still have very little talent after Johnson.
The running game is stacked in Houston, but fullback James Casey needs to be re-signed. Justin Forsett is also a free agent, but he is more of a depth guy who could be replaced (especially if Ben Tate can be more consistent with his health).
On defense, Connor Barwin and Glover Quin have been starters for a few years now, and both are free agents. I would imagine that the Texans would be interested in re-signing both players, but in particular I think Barwin will draw interest.
On special teams we see the Texans have decisions to make as their kicker (Shayne Graham) and their punter (Donnie Jones) are both free-agents.
The Texans struggle to pass the football, and they struggle vs the pass so I think their draft picks and free-agent dealings will address the passing game on offense and defense. Their rush offense and rush defense are both in excellent shape going forward. Head coach Gary Kubiak is under contract through 2014 and he brings consistency to the organization, but they do have some minor improvements that need to be made.
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