Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Lane Rizzardini
- Edited by Marc Caviglia

The AFC South has been rather easy to predict since its creation in 2002. The Indianapolis Colts have won the division seven out of nine years, with the Tennessee Titans winning it the other two times. The Titans are a bit off the radar now with a new head coach and no suitable quarterback to speak of. The other two members, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, have failed to get over the hump despite having promising pieces in place. The Texans are in a much better place than the Jaguars to make a run with an electric offense, but are held back by one of the worst defenses in the league. It is of course the Colts and Peyton Manning who seem to continue getting richer, especially if they can bring back all of their walking wounded. With Matt Schaub and the Texans the only team capable of contending with Indy in 2011, the AFC South shows how important the quarterback position is in the National Football League.

HOUSTON TEXANS

With all of the offensive weapons the Houston Texans had you would think they would have done much better than 6-10 this season. Alas, it was their play on the defensive side of the ball that sunk them is most of their games this season, finishing No. 30 in points allowed and dead last in passing yards allowed per game. It was truly horrific to watch at times and clearly the team was hurt by the departure of cornerback Dunta Robinson in the offseason. If they can make some moves this offseason to shore up that side of the ball they will surely be able to contend for the AFC South title or at least a Wild Card spot.

 
TEAM STRENGTHS

1. Andre Johnson — Arguably the NFL’s best receiver, Johnson fell short of his third consecutive 100 reception, 1,500 yard season due to an ankle injury that hampered him all season and even forced him out of three games. However, he averaged over 90 yards receiving for the fourth straight season and hasn’t shown signs of slowing down. Expect another stellar season from Johnson.

2. Arian Foster — The NFL’s breakout stud of the year, Foster ripped through opposing defenses for 18 total touchdowns and 1,616 yards on the ground. He also showed incredible pass catching skills and finished with 66 receptions for 604 receiving yards and two additional touchdowns. The undrafted back out of Tennessee is a perfect fit for the Texans system and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2011.

3. Matt Schaub — Schaub threw for 4,370 yards, which makes it two straight season with at least 4,000 yards and his touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best of his career. Schaub threw an interception every 47.8 passes in 2010, which was a major improvement over the 2009 season when he was picked off every 38.8 throws. It is this type of improvement that the Texans are going to need from their signal caller if they plan to compete with the Colts for the division title.

TEAM NEEDS

1. Better Passing Defense — Seriously, in just his second NFL start Tim Tebow lit the Texans secondary up for 300-plus yards; that is a point that cannot be emphasized enough. The 267.5 passing yards they gave up per game was the most since the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. They also tied the Dallas Cowboys for the most touchdowns allowed through the air with 33. A major overhaul needs to be made if the team wants any chance of making the playoffs in 2011. Look for Houston to start by targeting defensive backs in the NFL Draft and continue by adding depth during free agency.

2. Strengthen Their Linebackers — The linebacker position was far from a strong suit for the Houston Texans in 2010, but unlike the secondary the necessary pieces are already in place. Outside linebacker Brian Cushing missed the first four games due to a suspension, but the biggest loss was All-Pro linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who was placed on Injured Reserve with a torn Achilles tendon after Week 6. Now that new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be bringing his 3-4 scheme to Houston, however, they will likely have to find one more good backer if the defense is to run properly.

3. A Healthy Owen Daniels — Daniels suffered a devastating knee injury in 2009 which he never fully recovered from when the 2010 season started. He played the first seven games of the season, however was a non factor because you could tell his knee injury wasn’t healed. Then a hamstring injury forced him to miss five games in the middle of the season. It wasn’t until Week 14 that Daniels was finally healthy and hit his stride. He averaged nearly 68 yards per game and scored two touchdowns over the Texans’ final four games and showed just how good he can be. Expecting to be fully healed, Daniels should be another big weapon for this offense in 2011.

**Note: All Offseason Needs Articles Were Written Before the 2011 NFL Draft**

AFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  HOU  |  IND |  JAC |  TEN   (click to view)

AFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  BAL  |  CIN  |  CLE  |  PIT  (click to view)

AFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DEN  |  KC  |  OAK  |  SD  (click to view)

NFC EAST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DAL  |  NYG  |  PHI  |  WAS    (click to view)

NFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  ATL  |  CAR  |  NO  |  TB    (click to view)

NFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  CHI  |  DET  |  GB  |  MIN    (click to view)

NFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  ARI  |  STL  |  SF  |  SEA    (click to view)

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