Texans Finish Preseason With Loss, Finalize Rosters

Thursday night saw the Texans fall in their final preseason warm up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-24. The defense was harried, but the much-maligned Mario Williams turned in a good performance, with 3 unassisted tackles and a sack. (Which, for you stat-heads, was one more sack than either Vince Young or Reggie Bush recorded last week. So there.) The first-string only saw limited playing time as head coach Gary Kubiak made evaluations leading up to the deadline for setting the regular season rosters.

Projected practice squad QB Jared Zabransky, hero of last year's Boise State Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma, was up and down as he captained the offense for the final three quarters. Matt Schaub did not play, but was seen outside Raymond James Stadium turning water into wine.

After the game and throughout the weekend, the Texans firmed up their roster by cutting 22 players, and shored up the injury-depleted secondary by trading defensive end Jason Babin to Seattle for safety Michael Boulware. Boulware brings depth and experience to a safety corps devastated by loss of starter Glenn Earl during training camp.

This Texans team is riding a wave of optimism heading into its regular season debut against the Chiefs next weekend. Some are predicting playoffs; we'd be happy with six wins and an eighteen month moratorium on Texans jokes. Stay tuned to Houstonist during the season for continuing coverage.

---
Photo: flickr user mrp1001.