Post by rainman on May 20, 2009 6:58:18 GMT -5
Texans pushing for more from Steve Slaton
Associated Press
— Steve Slaton wasn’t expected to be much more than a third-down back for the Houston Texans.
A breakout rookie season changed all that for the former third-round draft pick, and cemented Slaton’s status as Houston’s starting running back. Now the Texans are waiting to see what he’ll do next — and are counting on him to be even better in 2009.
“I put some pressure on him,” coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday. “I think he’s got to be one of the most improved players ... if Steve goes and gets better our football team’s going to be better.”
Slaton was one of the keys in an offense that ranked third in total yardage last season. He was the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2004 and his 1,284 yards led a talented group of rookies.
The former West Virginia standout got his first start in Week 2 when Ahman Green was injured. He rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. When Green was healthy two weeks later, Kubiak decided to stay with Slaton, who finished with five 100-yard games, a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and nine touchdowns.
After a year of exceeding expectations, Slaton anticipates facing much higher standards this season. He said Kubiak’s support from the start helped increase his confidence and made starting last season less daunting.
He, too, is expecting more this season.
“The one thing is you just got to keep improving,” Slaton said. “There’s always something you can do. You can never reach a point where you can rest. You’ve got to always get better.”
After the second day of organized team practices on Tuesday, Slaton said it feels different to be back having shed his rookie tag.
“It’s just critiquing the little things that I didn’t know,” he said. “Having a year under your belt definitely helps out a whole lot because everything that we’re installing I know the base of it. So it’s just the little things I can work on and more things I can pay attention to.”
One of those little things the Texans hope Slaton can improve on this year is his pass protection. The 5-foot-9, 203-pound player wasn’t asked to do much of that in college and his smaller stature makes it his most difficult task.
“I feel like I can do better,” he said. “I feel like that’s always something I’m going to have to work on.”
The Texans lack depth at running back after failing to add one in either free agency or the draft. They released Green this offseason after he spent the majority of his two seasons with the team on injured reserve.
Kubiak said Tuesday that Ryan Moats and Chris Brown will compete to back up Slaton. Brown was expected to be Houston’s backup last season, but sustained a back injury and never appeared in a game.
He’s healthy now, but Kubiak is waiting to see how he holds up. At 6-3, Brown is much bigger than Houston’s other backs but Kubiak said size won’t be the determining factor in who will be the Texans’ second option at the position.
“It’s obviously something we’re looking for in our offense,” Kubiak said of Brown’s size. “But we’re going to play the best guys, I don’t care if they’re small, big or whatever, we’re going to play the best ones.”
Associated Press
— Steve Slaton wasn’t expected to be much more than a third-down back for the Houston Texans.
A breakout rookie season changed all that for the former third-round draft pick, and cemented Slaton’s status as Houston’s starting running back. Now the Texans are waiting to see what he’ll do next — and are counting on him to be even better in 2009.
“I put some pressure on him,” coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday. “I think he’s got to be one of the most improved players ... if Steve goes and gets better our football team’s going to be better.”
Slaton was one of the keys in an offense that ranked third in total yardage last season. He was the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2004 and his 1,284 yards led a talented group of rookies.
The former West Virginia standout got his first start in Week 2 when Ahman Green was injured. He rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. When Green was healthy two weeks later, Kubiak decided to stay with Slaton, who finished with five 100-yard games, a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and nine touchdowns.
After a year of exceeding expectations, Slaton anticipates facing much higher standards this season. He said Kubiak’s support from the start helped increase his confidence and made starting last season less daunting.
He, too, is expecting more this season.
“The one thing is you just got to keep improving,” Slaton said. “There’s always something you can do. You can never reach a point where you can rest. You’ve got to always get better.”
After the second day of organized team practices on Tuesday, Slaton said it feels different to be back having shed his rookie tag.
“It’s just critiquing the little things that I didn’t know,” he said. “Having a year under your belt definitely helps out a whole lot because everything that we’re installing I know the base of it. So it’s just the little things I can work on and more things I can pay attention to.”
One of those little things the Texans hope Slaton can improve on this year is his pass protection. The 5-foot-9, 203-pound player wasn’t asked to do much of that in college and his smaller stature makes it his most difficult task.
“I feel like I can do better,” he said. “I feel like that’s always something I’m going to have to work on.”
The Texans lack depth at running back after failing to add one in either free agency or the draft. They released Green this offseason after he spent the majority of his two seasons with the team on injured reserve.
Kubiak said Tuesday that Ryan Moats and Chris Brown will compete to back up Slaton. Brown was expected to be Houston’s backup last season, but sustained a back injury and never appeared in a game.
He’s healthy now, but Kubiak is waiting to see how he holds up. At 6-3, Brown is much bigger than Houston’s other backs but Kubiak said size won’t be the determining factor in who will be the Texans’ second option at the position.
“It’s obviously something we’re looking for in our offense,” Kubiak said of Brown’s size. “But we’re going to play the best guys, I don’t care if they’re small, big or whatever, we’re going to play the best ones.”
