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Projected starting lineups Offense No. Player Pos. No. Player Pos. 80 Andre Johnson WR 84 Eric Moulds WR 87 Mark Bruener TE 78 Seth Wand LT 69 Chester Pitts LG 58 Mike Flanagan C 76 Steve McKinney RG 72 Zach Wiegert RT 8 David Carr QB 37 Domanick Davis RB 43 Jameel Cook FB 3 Kris Brown K Defense No. Player Pos. No. Player Pos. 92 Anthony Weaver DE 99 Robaire Smith DT 91 Seth Payne DT 90 Mario Williams DE 53 Shantee Orr OLB 57 Sam Cowart MLB 56 Morlon Greenwood OLB 23 Dunta Robinson CB 38 Demarcus Faggins CB 24 C.C. Brown FS 26 Glen Earl SS 7 Chad Stanley P 2006 Draft No. Player Pos. School 1 Mario Williams DE NC State 2 DeMeco Ryans OLB Alabama 3 Charles Spencer T Pittsburgh 3 Eric Winston T Miami 4 Owen Daniels TE Wisconsin 6 Wali Lundy RB Virginia 7 David Anderson WR Colorado State Outside the Huddle Texas two-step For only the second time in franchise history the Texans will play against the Dallas Cowboys during the regular season. Their first meeting is still the most memorable in the Texans’ four-year history. The Texans won the franchise’s first game 19–10 against the Cowboys in Houston. Running away Texans QB David Carr isn’t widely recognized for his mobility, but Carr led all AFC signal-callers in rushing with 308 yards on 56 carries last season. He finished second in the NFL only to Atlanta’s Michael Vick in rushing yards by a quarterback. Last man standing Offensive lineman Chester Pitts stands alone as having played every offensive snap in the team’s four-year history — a total of 3,798 career plays. He is one of seven players in the league to take every snap on the offensive line since 2002. Battered Houston featured an NFL-high 10 different lineup changes on the offensive line in ’05. Injuries forced a league-high five linemen to play multiple positions during the season. Seven times is a charm Six running backs were selected in the 2003 draft before the Texans took Domanick Davis with the 101st pick. After three years in the league, Davis leads his draft counterparts in yards.

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When coach Gary Kubiak arrived in Houston, he joked that he should simply change the cover of the Denver Broncos' playbook to a darker shade of blue. The Texans hardly care about the color. They simply hope that playbook brings them the same success it has the Broncos in past seasons.

Kubiak has his work cut out for him as he takes over a 2-14 team in dire need of help on both sides of the ball. It is Kubiak's first head coaching job, but he enters with a great track record. After 11 years as the offensive coordinator for the Broncos, Kubiak arrives in Houston ready to ignite an offense that has been anemic for most of the franchise's four-year history.

Throughout the offseason, Kubiak didn't ignore the defense, which is being transformed from a 3-4 to a 4-3. He lobbied for and eventually landed defensive end Mario Williams as the team's No. 1 overall pick in the draft. It wasn't a popular selection as far as the fans were concerned, but it did fill a major hole in a defense that ranked 31st overall last year.

Kubiak takes over a roster that returns 19 starters from 2005, but not all of them will win back their old jobs. Kubiak's biggest chore is bringing an aura of winning into a locker room that has experienced very little success.

Quarterbacks

After three steady years of progression, David Carr and the Texans' offense took a step backwards in 2005. Within the organization, few are concerned about it happening again. Carr now has a great quarterbacks coach - Kubiak - constantly in his ear. He also has more weapons offensively and better protection schemes being implemented on the offensive line.

Carr still posted impressive statistics last year, despite his struggles. And if he can simply regain his confidence and not be gun-shy on the field, Kubiak will help him make tremendous strides.

He will run as much as or more than any other quarterback in the league. And he will be given more freedom to make decisions in the pocket. Last year, the coaches wanted him to only run as a last resort. This year, Kubiak wants Carr to make a play - regardless of whether it's in the air or on the ground.

Sage Rosenfels enters the picture as Carr's backup this season. Rosenfels spent the past few seasons in Miami where he found success in limited playing situations. If Carr is able to remain as durable as he has been in the past, Rosenfels will not see many snaps.

Running Backs

When the Texans decided to pass up Reggie Bush in the draft, they made it clear they have confidence in Domanick Davis. He will fit nicely into the new offensive system, which is focused on the running game and regularly produces 1,000-yard rushers. Davis rushed for 1,000 yards in his first two years but fell 24 yards shy last year when he missed five games with injuries.

The Texans' biggest concern with Davis is his durability. He has missed games each season with injuries. Currently they have only Vernand Morency, a second-year back, rookie Wali Lundy and veteran free agent and Houston native Antowain Smith behind Davis.

Receivers

The Texans' biggest offseason acquisition on offense landed them a three-time Pro Bowler in Eric Moulds. For the first time since the Texans drafted Andre Johnson, they now have a legitimate No. 2 receiver to help deflect attention away from Johnson. Carr will have two top targets, and a slew of young receivers like Kevin Walter competing for time behind them.

Moulds will be 33 years old when the season starts, but he still has plenty of good football left and will be a huge asset to this offense.

The Texans will use their tight end more in passing situations. They will still utilize Mark Bruener, a blocking tight end, but they will then have a mix of receiving tight ends fighting for time, including Jeb Putzier, Bennie Joppru and Ben Steele.

Offensive Linemen

The Texans are overhauling this position, shuffling players around and implementing a scheme that should bring results. Carr has never had the protection most quarterbacks thrive behind in the NFL, but that will slowly start to change this year. There will be a lot of competition in camp, but the early starters are slated to be Seth Wand at left tackle, Chester Pitts at left guard, Mike Flanagan at center, Steve McKinney at right guard and Zach Wiegert at right tackle.

Third-round draft picks Charles Spencer and Eric Winston will compete for time at tackle.

Defensive Linemen

With the addition of Williams and free agent Anthony Weaver, the Texans have a formidable pair of pass-rushing ends. Their philosophy is to get to the quarterback, and they sought quality talent for that in the offseason. Outside linebackers Antwan Peek and Jason Babin are good pass-rushers, who will move to end and compete for time as backups.

In the middle, veterans Seth Payne and Robaire Smith will plug the holes at tackle. Travis Johnson, the team's 2005 first-round pick, will be the top backup.

Linebackers

The linebackers will be quick and aggressive in the new system, with Shantee Orr - the team's sack leader from a year ago - starting on the strong side and Morlon Greenwood entering as the weak-side linebacker. Rookie DeMeco Ryans, a second-round pick, will challenge the veterans for their jobs early in training camp and play a significant role throughout the year.

Newcomer Sam Cowart will man the job at middle linebacker at least until Kailee Wong returns from major knee surgery that should sideline him for the first five to eight weeks of the season. DaShon Polk provides quality depth behind Cowart.

Defensive Backs

The defensive backs will be looking to make the plays that eluded them last year. With only seven interceptions, the Texans ranked second to last in the NFL. But since the defense will be focused on harassing the quarterback more this season, big plays should be widely available to the young defensive backs.

C.C. Brown returns at free safety after starting 13 games as a rookie. Glenn Earl will return at strong safety.

Dunta Robinson will anchor the unit as a starting cornerback. He is a player who has the potential to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber corner. Demarcus Faggins is the veteran with five years experience but has only spent one year as a starter. The third corner will be Phillip Buchanon, who will be trying to rebound from a poor season in '05 in which he was benched and then suffered a season-ending injury.

Specialists

The Texans return Pro Bowl returner Jerome Mathis, who missed four games as a rookie with hamstring injuries but made the most of his time when he was on the field. He was the only player to return two kickoffs for a touchdown last season, and he averaged 28.6 yards per kickoff return.

The Texans also return kicker Kris Brown, who struggled last season, missing eight field goals - five of them under 40 yards. There's little concern there, though. Brown has shown the ability to rebound from poor games and poor seasons in the past. Punter Chad Stanley will also return. He has played well during his entire tenure with the Texans.

Coaching Staff

When Kubiak put together his first staff, his patience paid off. With nearly everyone already in place - including offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun and defensive coordinator Richard Smith - Kubiak held out hope that former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman would agree to join the ranks. Sherman eventually signed on as the team's assistant head coach/offense, providing great credibility to the young staff. He is also proving to be a great advisor to Kubiak.