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Early thoughts on the Texans scheduled to become unrestricted free agents come March 13, with thanks to Mac’s Football Blog, where you can find complete team-by-team lists that include exclusive rights and restricted free agents.

Running back Derrick Ward -- A third-stringer who has good experience and could be important if Arian Foster is lured away with an offer sheet as a restricted free agent.

Tight end Joel Dreessen -- Though largely underrated from the outside, he’s been a nice contributor and certainly has value for the Texans.

OG Mike Brisiel -- A solid starter they’d surely like to keep in order for their very good offensive line to remain intact.

C Chris Myers -- A very valuable cog in the machine and a great system fit, he may have been the best center in the NFL in 2011.

Wide receiver Bryant Johnson -- He was a non-factor as the team’s fourth receiver and they need to upgrade the spot.

Linebacker Tim Dobbins -- Played well when he got on the field, but may find better opportunity elsewhere.

Outside linebacker/defensive end Mario Williams -- If the Texans can’t lock him up before March 13, he will become the biggest prize of the free-agent class. It would be a huge accomplishment to find a way to re-sign him.

Cornerback Jason Allen -- He’s been a virtual “co-starter” with Kareem Jackson and has typically outplayed him. But based on this list, he’s not close to a priority.

Kicker Neil Rackers -- Rackers has been a steady guy for the Texans, who surely would like to keep him rather than shopping for a replacement.

Also UFAs:

• QB Jake Delhomme
• QB Jeff Garcia
• OG Kasey Studdard
• DT Tim Bulman
• S Dominique Barber
• P Matt Turk

Thursday’s AFC South chat may have been the fastest hour in the history of the blog.

We zipped all around. If you missed it, you missed discussions of:

• Jake Delhomme vs. T.J. Yates.
• The silly idea of getting Tim Tebow to go with Blaine Gabbert.
• My resemblance to a bald Bert from Sesame Street and a consideration of the patron saints of bald men.
• The Titans’ offseason already being discombobulated.
• The ability of Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck to coexist.
• A new allowance for backyard chickens where I live.
• Whether a coach or general manager should dictate schemes.
• The Texans' weird platooning of Kareem Jackson.

Check it all out here. Then make plans to be free for our get togethers in the future.

HOUSTON -- The Texans sought to restore order and momentum in their season finale, while avoiding any more of the injury misfortune that’s beset them all season long.

Despite suffering a 23-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium, the team seemed to achieve those goals and is now ready to turn to its first postseason. As the No. 3 seed, the Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Nobody’s disappointed,” said receiver Andre Johnson, who estimated he played 15 snaps as he worked back from a hamstring injury. “Of course we wanted to win the game. We didn’t come out on top, but there is next week. Some teams don’t have next week. We have next week.”

“Those first couple drives, we kind of had that swagger back a little bit,” said quarterback T.J. Yates, who left the game with a bruise of his non-throwing shoulder in the first quarter. “Everybody was aggressive, flying around, very talkative on the sideline. It felt like we were back to normal out there.”

A postseason appearance is definitely not normal for the Texans. Houston has an NFL playoff game for the first time since 1993.

Here are some things we learned along the way on Week 17’s game between the division’s two best teams:

Texans fullback James Casey remains a weapon: He’s not your standard fullback. The converted tight end started the Texans' first five games, then missed a couple with a chest injury and never got back ahead of the more traditional Lawrence Vickers.

But Casey’s really more of a pass-catcher than a blocker by nature, and the Titans did poorly in figuring out how to stop him from getting free for seven receptions on seven targets for a team-high 91 yards.

Casey helped get the Texans in range for one of Neil Rackers’ field goals with a brilliant catch, keeping the ball in the air with a left-handed tip before diving to collect it.

“We were lining up in different formations with different personnel, and as a defense it’s kind of hard to understand exactly what we’re going to do,” Casey said. “Because we’re not just doing base things. We’re motioning all over the place. They don’t know if I’m fullback or tight end. It’s tough sometimes for them to set their blitzes or their coverage. Hopefully you can get guys out of spots, out of gaps in the run game and out of their zones in the pass game and try to take advantage of that.”

Next week, with Johnson playing full time and Owen Daniels and Arian Foster back in the lineup, odds are Casey qualifies as only the fourth- or fifth-best receiving option when he’s on the field.

“James has some crazy hands,” Johnson said. “He’s probably the guy I’ve seen make the most one-handed catches. His hands are very, very good, I think he has the best hands on this team. I don’t know who has the best in the league, but I think he’s right up there.”

The Texans are quite deep: Typically a team that scratches key starters like Foster, Daniels and cornerback Johnathan Joseph for a game that doesn’t have great meaning, is willing to yield some. Especially if it doesn’t jump out to a lead.

And the Texans have proven all season they have quality depth, as they’ve replaced defensive end Mario Williams, quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, punter Brett Hartmann and linebacker Daryl Sharpton, and played stretches without Johnson, safety Danieal Manning and guard Mike Brisiel.

Sunday as they rested some guys and pulled others early, they called on even more depth.

Beyond Casey, the Texans got solid contributions from a lot of role players like receiver Bryant Johnson, running back Derrick Ward and linebackers Tim Dobbins and Bryan Braman, along with quarterback Jake Delhomme.

“It says we have quality players all across this locker room,” Foster said. “We have guys that can play.”

Said Titans receiver Nate Washington: “This is a new Texans team that they take pride in. Even their backups come in there and they are playing hard. They’re going to make plays. We have to find a better way to close out those games.”

One piece of depth they were missing: a center behind Chris Myers who could make a quality shotgun snap in the clutch. The Texans could have won it with a 2-point conversion at the end, but guard Thomas Austin put the shotgun snap over Delhomme’s head at the end of the game. Kubiak said Austin had snapped enough that it shouldn’t have been an issue.

Kubiak understands a “meaningless” game: He’s never been a playoff head coach before, but he’s been part of a lot of good teams. That’s why he didn’t hesitate after Bryant Johnson’s 5-yard touchdown reception with 14 second left to keep his offense on the field for a 2-point try.

Even after Joel Dreessen’s false start, Kubiak stuck with it.

He wanted a win, sure, but he wanted overtime even less.

It was a smart call and the right call, even if Tennessee defensive end Derrick Morgan didn’t agree.

“I understand they want to get the game over with, but after they false started and they still went for 2, I was like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “That’s a slap in the face. But they botched the snap, so whatever.”

HOUSTON -- T.J. Yates and Gary Kubiak brought clarity to the quarterback’s health situation after the Titans’ 23-22 win over the Texans at Reliant Stadium Sunday.

Yates said he has no doubts he will be able to play next week in the franchise’s first playoff game and that he hoped to be a full-go from the start of the practice week.

“I feel good, I just dinged up the left shoulder a little bit, I fell on it on that first play,” said Yates, who’s right handed. “Everything was fine after that. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t do anything futher to it and we were just being safe.”

He said an X-ray showed everything was good.

The Texans made no official announcement on Yates during the game when it’s customary to share what body part is in question and the likelihood of a return. They did say he could have come back if he was needed. Yates said there was no plan prior to the game for him not to play all the way.

Jake Delhomme replaced him and finished the game, though if Delhomme had been knocked out Kubiak would have had to turn back to Yates. Third-string quarterback Jeff Garcia was a healthy inactive and the team’s emergency quarterback, tight end Owen Daniels, didn't dress either.

Starter Matt Schaub (Nov. 13) and Matt Leinart (Nov. 27) suffered season-ending injuries earlier this season.

In a halftime interview during the regular season finale, Kubiak said Yates was still being evaluated -- though Yates spent his time after returning from the locker room in a baseball cap, chatting with teammates and listening in to coaches. There was no continuing interaction with medical personnel.

I guess evaluation doesn’t have to be an active process.

“I have a hard time telling you exactly what happened,” Kubiak said. “He’s got a bruised shoulder at this moment. He’s being evaluated, will be evaluated this evening. We’ll get some pictures of it this evening and I’ll know more tomorrow. He could have gone back in the game. Obviously I didn’t want him to go back in the game. We’ll know better where we’re at tomorrow at this point.”

The Texans got an inaccurate read of Schaub’s injury at Tampa Bay on Nov. 13 and it’s apparently made them wary of assessing injuries to key people.

The team’s stance that a larger degree of real-time injury analysis is not possible is, of course, nonsense. It happens all around the league every Sunday. To suggest it can’t happen in Houston is insulting to the medical staff, the trainers and team sponsor, The Methodist Hospital System.

The bigger issue, obviously: Texans fans should be relieved that Yates said he's is in line to be fine.

HOUSTON -- A couple halftime thoughts from Reliant Stadium, where the Titans lead the Texans 13-10.

• The Titans smartly came out with something different, using shotgun with an empty backfield. They had great success with it early, but seemed to sag when it didn’t lead to a touchdown drive right out of the gate. An injury to receiver Damian Williams that’s knocked him from the game may force them to use it less than they’d like the rest of the way.
• Houston’s front is great. The Texans swarmed against a good pass-protecting offensive line and produced two Antonio Smith sacks of Matt Hasselbeck. The linemen and linebackers just come from a different spot on every play. I think that pass rush is going to key them in the playoffs.
• Jake Delhomme got away with a very bad throw late in the second quarter. Cornerback Jason McCourty would have probably gone for a touchdown if he didn’t flub the pass like a man who had casts on two broken hands.
• Receiver Donnie Avery benefitted from Williams’ injury and caught the Titans' touchdown on a smartly designed play. Tennessee bunched three receivers right, then had Hasselbeck throw to Avery against Jason Allen on the left from the 1-yard line. It was Avery's first catch of the year.
• The Texans should pound it with running backs Ben Tate and Derrick Ward in the second half. I think they can break the Titans' defense that way, and that the Titans could be frustrated they aren’t having an easier time considering Houston didn’t dress Arian Foster, Johnathan Joseph or Owen Daniels.
• I thought rules dictated teams announce in-game injuries. But the Texans have not said what prompted T.J. Yates’ trip to the locker room and exit from the game. And the Titans took a long, long time before finally revealing at the half that Williams has a rib injury and his return is questionable.

HOUSTON -- Quarterback T.J. Yates is back on the Texans’ sideline, but he’s wearing a baseball cap and was chatting with Matt Leinart as Jake Delhomme took the field for a second series for the Texans.

The Texans have not said what the injury is that briefly sent Yates to the locker room.

Houston's third quarterback, Jeff Garcia, is inactive. The Texans' emergency quarterback, tight end Owen Daniels, is also inactive.

Meanwhile the Titans are thinning out at receiver. Damian Williams is out and has been taken to the locker room. We don't know what that injury is yet, either.

Texans quarterback T.J. Yates left Sunday's game against Tennessee, heading to the locker room midway through the first quarter.

Yates was sacked by a Titans defender and appeared to land on his shoulder.

Veteran journeyman Jake Delhomme took over on Houston's next offensive possession.

Reading the coverage …

Houston Texans

As he prepares to face his former team, Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky is proud of what the Texans have done, says Jeffrey Martin of the Houston Chronicle.

The Texans should lean heavily on the run to get on track in Indianapolis, says John McClain of the Chronicle.

Andre Johnson is out for Thursday night’s game in Indianapolis and Owen Daniels might be too, says McClain.

Shaun Cody put on an excellent production exploring the old age of Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme.

Indianapolis Colts

Bill Polian says Peyton Manning will fail his physical after the season and then be in line to continue his rehabilitation with the team, writes Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star.

Things are a lot different since the Colts played Houston on opening day, say Phil Richards and Chappell.

Football Outsiders says the Colts have an 89.8 percent chance of drafting first overall.

One-time Colts tight end Ben Utecht is experiencing memory loss, says Erik Brady of USA Today.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In his 12th season and at 34 years old, center Brad Meester wants to return and be part of a Jaguars turnaround, says Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

Gene Frenette of the T-U offers a review of Shahid Khan’s podcast with Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

The Jaguars put another defensive back on injured reserve, says Tania Ganguli of the T-U. Does safety Darcel McBath qualify as part of the injury trend when he didn't have a real role and just joined the team last week?

John Oehser of jaguars.com expects the Jaguars to become more of a passing team.

Tennessee Titans

This should have been the Titans' time, writes David Boclair of The City Paper. If Pacman Jones and Vince Young panned out and were in their prime, at worst Tennessee would be right there with Houston in the AFC South.

Matt Hasselbeck practiced and Chris Johnson rested on Tuesday, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

Pressuring Blaine Gabbert is one of the keys for the Titans on Saturday, says John Glennon of The Tennessean.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Greetings from LP Field, where the Titans will try to slow the Saints today minus starting cornerback Jason McCourty.

McCourty’s recovering from a concussion suffered last week in the win over Buffalo.

Alterraun Verner has been part of the nickel package and will start. That’s not a huge drop off. But now undrafted rookie Chris Hawkins from LSU will come in as an outside corner in nickel.

If I’m the Saints I look to test Hawkins early and often.

New Orleans is without defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. Tim Johnson will start in his place.

A note from the three other teams of the AFC South:

• Rookie Chris Prosinski is starting in place of Dwight Lowery at safety, with Lowery out.
• Chris Rucker and Jacob Lacey are the starting corners for the Colts, with Mike Pollak starting at left guard for the inured Joe Reitz.
• Jake Delhomme is active as the Texans backup quarterback behind T.J. Yates. Jeff Garcia is inactive.

The full list from Saints-Titans.

Titans:

• QB Rusty Smith
• CB Jason McCourty
• LB Barrett Ruud
• LB Patrick Bailey
• C Kevin Matthews
• T Byron Stingily
• DT Zach Clayton

Saints:

• CB Leigh Torrence
• RB Mark Ingram
• LB Jonathan Casillas
• T William Robinson
• WR Adrian Arrington
• DE Turk McBride
• DT Sedrick Ellis

Reading the coverage …

Houston Texans

Jeff Garcia said he hadn’t totally checked out, but he wasn’t throwing every other day either when the Texans called, writes Jeffrey Martin of the Houston Chronicle. I have no idea what he has left. But if something happens to T.J. Yates and the Texans have to play a fourth quarterback, he or Jake Delhomme is probably as good an alternative as can be found.

Indianapolis Colts

Baltimore’s old guard will never forget the way the Colts sneaked out of town, and certainly is enjoying Indianapolis’ struggle this season, says Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. I can understand why that scar is still there for people who were dedicated to a team that bolted.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Philip Rivers was too comfortable in the pocket in San Diego’s win over the Jaguars Monday night, writes Vito Stellino of the Times-Union. To give their inexperienced cornerbacks a chance, the Jaguars simply have to find a way to pressure the quarterback better.

Tennessee Titans

Quarterbacks Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are all in position to threaten Dan Marino’s record for single-season passing yards, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. As the Titans prepare for Brees and the Saints, Wyatt looks at what’s created so many passing yards.

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans


T.J. Yates and Jake Delhomme were in high demand on the Texans’ first day of preparation for the Falcons, says John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

Andre Johnson is ready for a matchup with old friend Dunta Robinson, says McClain.

Indianapolis Colts


Dan Orlovsky wants to avoid 0-16 again, says Phil Richards.

Players were surprised Larry Coyer was fired, but they know jobs are on the line, says Phillip. B. Wilson.

Peyton Manning will have news this week, our Chris Mortensen says.

Jacksonville Jaguars


Mel Tucker shook up the receivers in his first major moves as head coach, says Tania Ganguli.

Fred Taylor does not have a high opinion of Jack Del Rio, writes Eric Adelson of The Post Game.

The Jaguars are making a ticket push for Monday night with the new owner ready to make his first appearance at EverBank Field, says Vito Stellino.

Tennessee Titans


Derrick Morgan has had more injuries than sacks in his career so far, says John Glennon of The Tennessean.

Chris Johnson says the focus isn’t yards, it’s the playoffs, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. Also in this notebook, former punter Craig Hentrich is suing the Titans over benefits under worker’s compensation.

Missed this earlier in the week: Mike Munchak’s daring calls on fourth down has paid off, says David Boclair of the Nashville City Paper.

Reading the coverage ...

Houston Texans

Gary Kubiak was impressed with Jake Delhomme in a tryout, and he’s now a Texans quarterback, says John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

Glover Quin’s move to safety has been a smooth one, says Jeffrey Martin of the Chronicle. He doesn’t have an interception, but rates his play as pretty good so far.

Indianapolis Colts

Writes Phil Richards of The Indianapolis Star: “Bad football teams generate casualties, not victories, and the Indianapolis Colts produced a couple Tuesday.” Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer was fired and quarterback Curtis Painter has been benched in favor of Dan Orlovsky.

It’s change for change’s sake, and it’s about time, says Bob Kravitz of the Star.

Nate Dunlevy of 18to88.com is not convinced having both Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck on the roster would be a good thing.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Please see previous blog post.

Tennessee Titans

The Bills pick off a lot of passes and turn interceptions into points. It’s one of five things John Glennon of The Tennessean rates as a hot topic heading to Tennessee-Buffalo.

The Titans hope their relative stability compared to the rest of the division serves them well in their remaining games in the AFC South, says David Boclair of the Nashville City Paper.

Tim Hasselbeck and Raul Allegre discuss the Texans signing of Jack Delhomme.

Reading the coverage ...

Houston Texans

Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme are the primary candidates to be the quarterback the Texans add, writes John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. But the newcomer will compete to be the backup to T.J. Yates at the start.

Andre Johnson might not be as big a factor going forward as many of us think, says Lance Zierlein of the Chronicle’s blogs.

Indianapolis Colts

Will the Patriots' general dislike of the Colts prompt them to run up the score on Sunday if they have the chance? Mike Chappell examines the idea while discussing the opening 21-point spread.

Bill Polian disputed a report that Peyton Manning’s future is grim, says Phil Richards of the Star. Talking about Marvin Harrison Sunday, Manning indicated he’d have a checkup and an update this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Wayne Weaver showed how patient he can be again on Monday, when a coaching change some expected did not materialize, writes Vito Stellino of the Times-Union. “(Jack Del Rio) is the only coach in NFL history to fail to win a division title in his first nine seasons.”

The entire passing offense needs to be addressed; it’s not going to be solved by adding one receiver, says John Oehser of jaguars.com.

Tennessee Titans

Mike Munchak isn’t ready to declare the run game fixed, but he likes the direction it’s heading, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The Titans’ next three opponents don’t defend the run well.

The Titans have to worry about winning their games, not the Texans’ quarterback issues, Munchak said. Wyatt's story.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

I’ve talked to people who think David Garrard is the quarterback the Jaguars can build around and win with. I’ve talked to people who don’t believe he is.

Through the offseason and the preseason, I said I thought he deserved this year -- with upgraded protection and better weapons -- to show if he is or he isn’t.

At halfway in…

I still don’t know.

Stats don’t tell the whole story, but they are a fair means for comparison. With an 81.8 passer rating, he’s 22nd of 34 quarterbacks who’ve seen significant playing time.

And here are the guys he rates above: Shaun Hill, Chad Henne, Matt Cassel, Trent Edwards, Marc Bulger, Mark Sanchez, Kerry Collins, Jake Delhomme, Matthew Stafford, Josh Johnson, JaMarcus Russell and Derek Anderson.

A couple of those guys are on their way up (Henne, Sanchez, Stafford), a couple are on their way down (Bulger, Collins, Delhomme) and a couple are just plain bad (Russell, Anderson). But is there anyone on that list you’d want starting for your team right now if you had a broader choice?

Garrard ranks behind Jason Campbell, who’s largely regarded as having a horrible year. But Garrard’s also barely off the pace of Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler, two of the league’s well-regarded young quarterbacks.

He’s 30th in the fourth quarter (66.2 passer rating), 19th on third down (74.5), 14th in passes of 30+ yards (seven) and 12th in pass plays of 20+ yards (23).

That “upgraded” protection is on pace to give up 40 sacks after 42 last year. The upgraded weapons have last year’s 15th rated passing offense at 16th.

All very middling.

Like the Jaguars, I think Garrard’s been inconsistent. He’s on pace for fewer touchdowns than last year, but also fewer picks.

I think he’s led pretty well. I think he’s helped young receivers. I think he’s formed a great connection with Mike Sims-Walker. I think he’s running what’s still going to be a run-driven team. I think the effort is there.

And I think I’m going to need those remaining eight games to make the call as to whether I think he can be the Jaguars' answer going forward or if the next stage of retooling is going to need to include another quarterback.