A veteran defense will be expected to carry the load in what figures to be a long season

By Josh Elliott

Wong should turn heads as he moves back outside as a speed pass rusher. Bob Rosato Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Texans "They start out stronger than any other recent expansion team because so many quality players were left unprotected for the expansion draft strictly because of high cap numbers. But there are too many holes to expect them to be competitive.... They're smart to play David Carr . He'll get a yearlong honeymoon. Coming out, he reminds me a lot of Peyton Manning : polished, humble, with all the intangibles.... But that O-line is in shambles. If Tony Boselli and Ryan Young don't get back until midseason, Carr will be running for his life.... I really like Jabar Gaffney . He doesn't have any one outstanding quality, but of all the rookie receivers he could be the most productive this year. The complicated system he played in at Florida means he won't be overwhelmed in an NFL offense.... Corey Bradford never panned out in Green Bay, and if you're that fast and can't get it done with Brett Favre throwing to you, it doesn't bode well for doing anything in Houston.... Jonathan Wells was a steal in the fourth round. He could've gone mid-second round.... Their defense is way too thin, but with no injuries it'll be O.K. Gary Walker and Seth Payne are legit players, and their linebackers-- Kailee Wong , Keith Mitchell , and especially Jamie Sharper --will be good.... Aaron Glenn is a top five cornerback, but Marcus Coleman is too big and will be a liability in coverage.... They could win five games, but the toughest thing for this team will be learning to close out tight games." In the Year 2001 Inaugural Season New Twist One of the Texans' biggest free-agent signings was linebacker Kailee Wong, who spent his first four seasons with the Vikings. Wong played on the outside in Minnesota's 4-3 during his first three seasons, then switched to the middle in 2001. Now he's moving back outside as a pass-rushing linebacker in Houston's 3-4 scheme. Schedule Strength NFL Rank: 32 Opponents' 2001 winning percentage: .441 Games against playoff teams: 3

It's a homecoming for them both, though depending upon which one you listen to, the leaders of the expansion Texans see the home of the NFL's 32nd franchise as either a place of exile or a refuge. Defensive tackle Gary Walker and cornerback Aaron Glenn do agree on one thing, however: If the Texans are to finish closer to the 1995 Panthers (7-9) than the '76 Buccaneers (0-14) in the expansion-era pantheon, they and their defensive mates will have to generously exceed expectations. With question marks at every offensive skill position -- and Houston's best player, left tackle Tony Boselli, sidelined indefinitely by two off-season shoulder operations -- the Texans will win (on occasion) only if rookie quarterback and franchise cornerstone David Carr isn't expected to do everything.

"Bottom line: If our defense can't keep us within 10 points come the fourth quarter, it'll be a long year," says Texans coach Dom Capers, the resident expert on almost-winning expansion football. (Those '95 Panthers were his team.) "If we're not forcing turnovers and stopping big plays, we'll have to throw all the time, and our quarterback will be spending a lot of time on his back."

Given Carr's stake in the defense's performance, it's no wonder that one of his first stops in Houston was the hospital where Walker was recovering following late-May surgery on his right groin. While Walker was moved by his teammate's gesture, his homecoming (Walker played for the Oilers in 1995 and '96) is still a bittersweet one. Perceived as a problem in Jacksonville following a reported locker room brawl with teammates last season, Walker thought he'd be released by the Jaguars and thus able to test the free-agent waters. Instead they left him unprotected, and Houston used its fourth pick to select him in the expansion draft. "I was bitter when they didn't just let me go, but to end up here means everything worked out," he says. "I feel like I've always had something to prove, and this year's no different."

The success of Houston's 3-4 scheme will hinge on Walker's ability to take on multiple blockers, collapse the pocket and get to the quarterback, all of which he proved he could do in Jacksonville. He had 10 sacks in '99 and, following an injury-plagued 2000, had 7 1/2 sacks last season and made his first Pro Bowl.

"Gary's enthusiasm lifts everyone up," says outside linebacker Kailee Wong. "He reminds me of John Randle [the seven-time All-Pro tackle who played with Wong for three seasons in Minnesota] in that way. You always hear him, and no one outworks him. He's invaluable for us."

For Glenn, the former Texas A&M star who played eight years for the Jets, the return home is far sweeter; the Pro Bowl corner was elated when Houston took him, a pick ahead of Walker. "I liked New York, but Houston fits me better," he says. "My wife's from here, my family's here, so for me it's the best situation." Though Glenn is as soft-spoken as Walker is voluble, his leadership of an otherwise shaky secondary and his superior ball-hawking skills make him equally valuable (in a division with the Jaguars' Jimmy Smith and the Colts' Marvin Harrison).

The Texans are deepest at linebacker, where a trio of proven veterans -- Wong, outside rush specialist Keith Mitchell, formerly of the Saints, and inside linebacker Jamie Sharper, the potential breakout star of the bunch after toiling for five years with the Ravens in Ray Lewis's considerable shadow -- will keep things close, if only for a while.

The almost certain shortage of victories isn't likely to dampen many spirits in Houston, which gets its favorite sport back six years after Bud Adams moved the Oilers to Nashville. Fans will be watching the Texans in the NFL's new crown jewel of fields, Reliant Stadium -- a two-million-square-foot mammoth that dwarfs even its next-door neighbor, the Astrodome -- and the team that opens at home against the long-hated Cowboys will be nothing if not young (the Texans selected no players older than 30 in the expansion draft) and hungry. To Walker, that is all that should be expected. "We know we're here to build something for the future," he says. "We intend to come together for the folks here. We've got no other choice."

Issue date: September 2, 2002