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The 23rd member of the Denver Broncos' Ring of Fame is one of the most renowned hard workers in team history.

Rod Smith went from an undrafted free agent to a two-time Super Bowl winner and leader of the franchise in Denver. It's no surprise Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and the selection committee have given Smith the team’s greatest honor by inducting him into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame. He is the first person to be inducted in three years.

Smith’s induction ceremony will be Sept. 23 at halftime of the Broncos’ home game against the Houston Texans. It’s probably not a coincidence Smith will be inducted against the Texans. Houston coach Gary Kubiak was Smith’s longtime offensive coordinator in Denver.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection set franchise records in receptions (849), receiving yards (11,389) and receiving touchdowns (68). He also owns the club’s career postseason receiving marks with 49 receptions for 860 yards and six touchdowns in 13 playoff games (12 starts), including the Broncos' back-to-back Super Bowl championships following the 1997 and ’98 seasons.

The Division II Missouri Southern University product spent his rookie season on the practice squad in 1995. He impressed then-Broncos coach Mike Shanahan in 1995 and Smith quickly became a major part of the offense. He remained a critical part of the team until he retired in 2008.

I covered Smith for a few years and I’ll always remember him for being a team player and being completely committed to his team. He was all business. Being a Bronco meant the world to him. He was a favorite of team employees on the football and non-football sides alike.

Smith’s first NFL quarterback, John Elway, had this to say about Smith’s election to the Ring of Fame:

“You couldn’t ask for a better teammate than Rod Smith. His work ethic, the way he competed and the positive influence he had on others were all qualities that made him one of the best. What a great Bronco who is so deserving of being honored as a member of the Ring of Fame.

“Although he had plenty of catches and touchdowns in his career, the only things that mattered to Rod were winning and competing for Super Bowls. That’s what was most important to him, and it showed in everything he did. Whether it was in the passing game or running game, you always knew Rod would give 100 percent on every play and do whatever it took to help his team win.

“Rod brought his lunch pail to work each day, took nothing for granted and made himself into an elite player. He’s a true pro. In addition to being one of the greatest undrafted players of all time, he’s one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play the position.

“I’m thrilled Rod has been elected to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, and I look forward to celebrating his induction this season.”

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Texans and why.

Matt Schaub's been Houston’s starting quarterback for five seasons, and he’s played all 16 games only twice. You can’t blame him for a bad luck injury like last year’s right foot Lisfranc issue that required serious surgery. Still, to be a big-time quarterback, you need to be on the field.

Schaub has yet to play in a postseason game. Although the Texans weren’t able to hold everything together off their first playoff team, they still have a strong roster. This should be a playoff team that can challenge for the AFC South crown in 2012. But it won’t get to the postseason or do well in it if Schaub doesn’t have a solid, consistent and healthy season.

His contract situation complicates things. This is the final year of his deal, so he has a lot at stake. I think they’ll look to keep Schaub in place no matter what happens. If he’s banged up and the Texans don’t impress with a deep playoff run, Schaub will get less of a jackpot than he would if they ran away with the division and went to the Super Bowl.

Schaub can be excellent running coach Gary Kubiak’s offense, and the quarterback and coach are probably married for the long term. Kubiak was last year’s pressure point and he performed. This year it’s on Schaub.

It amounted to fast-break basketball on grass: a summer tournament seven-on-seven football game.

Stratford High School coach Eliot Allen watched it unfold from his usual spot in the back of an end zone, not interacting with the kids representing his school against Dez Bryant and Lufkin High.

Over two 20-minute halves with a running clock, at a furious pace where he had to throw the ball within four seconds of the snap against coverages that had no concern for the run, Andrew Luck didn’t throw an incomplete pass.

“He’s accuracy was unbelievable,” Allen said. “That one game he didn’t have an incomplete pass, I’ve never see it before or since. He throws such a catchable ball.”

When the Indianapolis Colts make Luck the first pick in the draft on April 26, the Stanford quarterback will enter the league rated by many scouts and evaluators as the most pro-ready quarterback since John Elway.

While Luck’s refined his remarkable touch as the leader of the Cardinal, he honed it early on in Texas seven-on-seven summer ball. He participated even as a rising ninth-grader, and Allen says Luck easily played 75 such games before moving onto college, contests that were crucial to the early development of good habits and exquisite ball placement.

As coach of Cypress Falls High, David Raffield regularly saw Luck play during the summer, then coached against Stratford in regular season and playoff football during Luck’s junior and senior years.

“Watching Andrew grow and develop into a quarterback was nothing short of amazing,” said Raffield, who now coaches A&M Consolidated High School in College Station. “The seven-on-seven allowed him to really develop his game. When you are out there as a quarterback running the offense, it’s not plays being called by a coach. You’re the guy doing it. You’re becoming your own offensive coordinator …

“His junior and senior year he had an amazing ability to place the football. The accuracy was phenomenal. He understood pass coverages. It gave him such advantages. I didn’t know he’s wind up being an NFL first-round draft pick, but I knew he was special.”

The summer before Luck’s senior year in 2007, his team finished second in Texas and played in a national tournament in Los Angeles. There, football staffs of high schools from California and Florida coached their players, Allen recalled.

It doesn’t work that way in Texas, where a state organization runs the leagues and tournaments. A high school’s coaches might help arrange leagues, tournaments and officials, but players work under the watch of others. Stratford uses former players from their team as summer ball coaches.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak was a St. Pius X High School (Houston) and Texas A&M quarterback well before seven-on-seven summers started. He joked if he had a chance to play that much, people would have discovered he wasn’t any good.

Klein Kubiak, a Strake Jesuit High School receiver who graduated in 2009 and now plays at Rice, played in the same district and overlapped with Luck. So as Gary Kubiak followed his son, he saw Luck play in tournaments. He’s also seen just how much the competition and setting have done for Texas signal-callers.

“He was very impressive,” Gary Kubiak said. “I think there is a lot of growth going on in those leagues right now. On a Saturday afternoon, those kids might play six of those games.

“I just think you can’t get enough of those repetitions. It’s almost like having two spring balls. It’s almost gotten a little bit year round, kind of like baseball.”

Such summer-league play takes place in a lot of states now. But Texas was a pioneer.

So it’s no coincidence that the three top quarterbacks in this draft -- Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill -- are all from Texas.

“Think about these names,” said Tennessee Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains, who started at quarterback for Cooper High School in Abilene in 1997 and 1998 in both summer seven-on-seven and regular fall football. “Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Christian Ponder, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Robert Griffin, Case Keenum.

“I mean it’s huge. That’s why all these Texas high school quarterbacks are coming out and doing really well. They are so much further along than the rest of the states, plus they get 15 dates for spring practice just like a college. They are getting so many more reps than the rest of the country.”

Other states may be taking note and trying to copy, Loggains said. But it’ll be tough for many to match or top Texas because of the facilities and money high school football has in the Lone Star State.

Added ESPN analyst Jon Gruden when asked about Texas’ production of quarterbacks: “Obviously if you go to Texas, you can probably find passing tournaments going on right now, and if they're not going on right now, they'll be going on later this afternoon and for sure tomorrow and the next day. They throw the ball and have organized passing camps more than any place I've ever been.”

Allen said seven-on-seven forces quarterbacks to figure out ways to beat man-to-man coverage with two-deep safeties and that doing so at an early stage of their football careers is invaluable. Against such a look from the secondary in an actual high school game, a quarterback would hand off most of the time.

“You don’t win those games playing defense,” Allen said. “It reveals a quarterback’s accuracy and I don’t think you can simulate stiff coverage in a better way. Andrew was very good at it. He can throw the deep ball. A lot of people give him a hard time about not being able to throw the deep ball. He was great at it. But his deal is, he just wants to get first downs.”

As a high-schooler, Loggains said he thought the summer opportunity was “awesome.”

And it made it a heck of a lot easier to get time and work with receivers, who might not show up for an informal session on a Tuesday night, but wouldn’t miss a chance to play in a game with a score and a title on the line.

The proliferation of seven-on-seven play actually influenced the game at all levels.

Coaches found they had quarterbacks equipped to run spread offenses in high school, and moved away from traditional run-heavy, defense-centric schemes. They then fed those quarterbacks to colleges, where the spread continued to spread.

And when those quarterbacks landed in the NFL, teams had no choice but to employ some spread concepts, willingly or unwillingly, to try to take advantage of their quarterbacks’ strengths.

“When we had Vince Young, we had to mix in a lot of that with [offensive coordinators] Norm Chow and Mike Heimerdinger,” Loggains said.

Rather than an NFL idea trickling down, a byproduct of a high school idea trickled up.

And one scout I spoke with said he sees no end to it.

“That’s the new craze, the seven-on-seven stuff,” he said. “Texas has been doing it longer and it’s the most organized state. How many good quarterbacks have come out of Texas the last 10 years? A ton. The more reps you get at anything, the better you’ll be at it.

“It’s why I stink so bad at golf.”

Gary Kubiak has backed up and coached John Elway. He has been a long-time competitor of Peyton Manning.

Kubiak is worried about Elway and Manning combining forces in Denver, where the veteran quarterback signed last week. Here is what Kubiak, head coach of the Houston Texans, thinks of the pairing:

"That's a hell of a combination there,” Kubiak said the NFL owners meetings. “That's powerful. It's great for their organization. It's a big move by John and the organization on this guy, probably the greatest quarterback ever to play the game. He seems healthy, ready to go, so it's a big move by them. They've got a good football team already. They're sitting in the playoffs last year. Their defense played well over the course of the season.

“I think everybody had better worry about it. It's a very powerful combination."

Other AFC West news:

ESPN’s John Clayton reports that the Chargers are continuing to talk to their free-agent defensive tackle Antonio Garay.

Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel told the Kansas City Star that his team has no glaring holes and will wait until after the draft to see where it stands at nose tackle.

San Diego coach Norv Turner likes being under the radar in the AFC West chase.

Unless there is a dramatic change, it appears Cincinnati defensive end/linebacker Manny Lawson will not be signing with the Raiders. Oakland is looking for a starting strongside linebacker, and may wait for the draft to get one. Another player in whom Oakland has reportedly shown interest, Giants defensive end Dave Tollefson, reportedly will visit the Packers.

Adam Caplan reports that Cincinnati backup linebacker and special-teams player Dan Skuta visited the Chiefs. He is a restricted free agent, but Kansas City would not owe the Bengals any compensation if the Chiefs signed him to one because he was an undrafted free agent.

The Raiders will reportedly have a pre-draft visit with Alabama defensive tackle Josh Chapman, a good run-stuffer from a great defense. All teams typically conduct several pre-draft meetings, so a visit with a college player might not necessarily mean much.

Nickel defenses are played more than ever in the NFL.

But the AFC South may be moving the other direction in games against each other.

The Texans are comfortable lining up with three wide receivers or splitting tight end Owen Daniels out into spread formations. The Jaguars and Titans figured to remain running back-centric. If the Titans get a bounce-back from Chris Johnson, they will likely run more. Of course those two teams can spread things out with the intent to run, of course.

But two games when AFC South teams loaded up with nickel packages are likely to change.

The departure of Peyton Manning from the Colts means one team that dictated constant nickel defenses is being altered. New coach Chuck Pagano has talked about running and stopping the run and GM Ryan Grigson said Monday he expects the Colts to be a fullback team.

A linebacker is typically going to stay on the field against a two-back set. The lack of a precision passing offense and weapons like Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon will make it tougher for the Colts to dictate a team's defensive personnel, or to take advantage of it.

"The third linebacker or the nickel corner?” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said at the owners meetings, repeating a question about what’s more important. “You look at your schedule and say, 'OK, what are we going to play this year? Are we going to be in nickel all year, or are we going to be trying to stop the run?' I think that's what things will come down to.

“One year you might be out there in nickel defense 60 or 70 percent of the time. The next year it could be 50. It all starts with your division. When Peyton was at Indy, if we didn't have three good corners we were in trouble every time we played them. So I think you've kind of got to build your roster to compete in your division, No. 1, and make that decision."

This means the Jaguars will have two more games where they can play more with their great linebacking trio of Paul Posluszny, Daryl Smith and Clint Session on the field together.

This means the Titans' new nickelback -- whether he's an outsider or Ryan Mouton, Chris Hawkins or Tommie Campbell -- isn't going to be as important against Indy as recent ones have been.

This means DeMeco Ryans' replacement in the Texans base defense, Darryl Sharpton, will get additional snaps.

Is that better or worse? As good as Andrew Luck will be coming out of Stanford, defenses are going to want to play the rebuilding Colts in 2012.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Philadelphia Eagles needed help at linebacker -- needed a starter-quality, sure-tackling veteran to man the middle of their defense. No one who watched them last year could doubt that, and it was their top offseason position priority.

But DeMeco Ryans, for whom they traded a fourth-round pick to the Houston Texans last week, brings more than that. Ryans is a leader, on the field and in the locker room. Whether the Eagles admit it or not, that's something that was lacking in their locker room when times got tough. And whether they were part of the motivation for the deal or not, Ryans' intangibles will matter a great deal to the 2012 Eagles.

"In my six years in Houston, DeMeco's been undoubtedly the leader of our football team," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday morning at the NFL owners meetings. "He's been a fine player, a great person, a great kid in the community. He's the guy, off the field, that all our players really go to."

Kubiak talked of the regular Thursday night dinners Ryans would organize and host for his teammates, how he "raised" fellow Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, how he calmed everybody down on defense by reassuring them he knew what the play was, reminding them of their responsibilities.

"All you've got to do is turn the film on and watch him," Kubiak said. "He runs the show. I mean, everybody goes to him. They trust him so much and when he's doing. Whether it was on the field in a drill or whether it was off the field or working through tough times, DeMeco was always the guy that they went to."

The 2011 Eagles needed someone like this. When they were losing games early in the season, doubting each other, doubting the coaches, questioning their fits in the new schemes, there was very little glue to keep them together. So many players were new, so many coaches were new or in new spots. There had been very little time for trust to build up in the locker room, and there were few if any voices speaking up about the need for pride and trust and togetherness. Cullen Jenkins, one of the 2011 newcomers, would speak after games about the need for accountability. But he was a rare case. For most of the season, the Eagles were adrift, losing games without understanding why and with few if any on-field leaders to help them steady things before they tipped over.

Adding a player like that, and adding him at a position like middle linebacker, is a perfect salve for those problems. If Ryans really is the magnetic leader his Houston coaches and teammates say he was, he'll fill more than one of the Eagles' crying needs. He'll be a guy who can make sure the young linebacker or safety to his left or his right is in the right place, or who can reassure that young player that things are under control if he's feeling uncomfortable in a new spot.

"He's tough as nails," Kubiak said. "He's all man. He stands for all the right stuff."

The natural question, of course, is why then did the Texans trade him for a fourth-round pick. Kubiak's answer is the Texans' defense changed last year when they brought in coordinator Wade Phillips and switched to a 3-4. Ryan's natural position of 4-3 middle linebacker was eliminated, and Cushing was the only inside linebacker they kept on the field even when they switched to nickel and dime defenses.

"I think DeMeco can still be a three-down player," Kubiak said. "I told him that when he left. I think in the right scheme, he could still stay on the field for three downs. It's just that, when we went to nickel, Wade does things a little bit different with how he replaces the linebackers inside, and Brian was really the only guy that stayed on the field for us in nickel."

And they were paying Ryans about $6 million a year, and that's a lot for a guy who only plays 58 percent of your defensive plays. So they bid him farewell, though it was difficult and they believe he'll play well for his new team. Since his new team is the Eagles, he should be able to do even more than that.

"As hard as it is, we feel like it's a great opportunity for him," Kubiak said. "And obviously we have to move on and have a tough job to replace him. The Eagles are getting a great kid. You're going to love this kid. He's really special."

INDIANAPOLIS -- Let's hop around to seven things I took away from the NFL scouting combine with an AFC South takeaway on each:

1. There are a lot of intriguing receivers, but some insiders don’t expect even Justin Blackmon to be a quick, high-impact guy like A.J. Green and Julio Jones were last year. It’s the beginning of hole-punching season and scouts and analysts will pick people apart. But while there are a lot of talented receivers coming out, if you are a team that needs immediate impact, one strong opinion says you’d be wise to shop in a pretty good free-agent market.

What it means to the division: The Jaguars have to land at least one big-time guy in free agency. I nominate Vincent Jackson. The Colts need to hold onto Reggie Wayne or Pierre Garcon.

2. The top guys seem like sure things: Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III and USC left tackle Matt Kalil could go 1-2-3 if someone trades into St. Louis’ No. 2 pick. I’ve not heard anyone raising any real issues with any of the three or with LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. The quarterbacks are expected to be franchise guys, the tackle can protect a franchise guy and the corner can take away the franchise guy’s top target.

What it means to the division: There is no suspense at all about what the Colts are going to do and Luck’s combine visit to Lucas Oil Stadium was the first of many. Claiborne could be irresistible if he is there at No. 7 for the Jags.

3. Position values can be overrated. Historically, guards and safeties are not regarded as early first-round values. But this draft may feature singular guys at each spot, and it makes little sense to pass on Stanford guard David DeCastro or Alabama safety Mark Barron if you have a hole at the position. They are both drawing raves.

What it means for the division: Both probably disappear after the Colts and Jaguars have picked first and seventh but before the Titans pick 20th.

4. Quinton Coples is going to be a scary pick. The North Carolina defensive end gets some people talking about Julius Peppers. But his effort in his final year with the Tar Heels was questionable at best. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said it looked like Coples “had a union deal” the way he went through the motions. The team that takes him won’t have a guarantee joining its roster, it'll have a guy a defensive line coach will need to figure out.

What it means for the division: The Jaguars could go into the draft still needing a rush end, but the knocks on Coples don’t make him seem like a match with GM Gene Smith at all.

5. There is a flurry of new information teams will be gathering for a couple more days. But when scouts and personnel executives get back to their offices Wednesday, the film will once again be the prevalent measure they put to work as they stack their boards. Forty times, bench press numbers, Wonderlic scores and interview notes will all factor into grades. But the most significant information gained in Indianapolis is typically the hands-on medical information training staffs gather. Details of issues there may also be the biggest secrets.

What it means for the division: Nothing different than for anyone else. We don’t know what we don’t know, and the intrigue is a big part of why this whole process is so insanely popular.

6. News nuggets from coaches and GMs are more and more difficult to pry loose at this stage of the year. We learned Jaguars defensive tackle Tyson Alualu had knee surgery, the Colts have made a contract offer to Pierre Garcon he didn’t accept, the Texans still see Matt Leinart and T.J. Yates competing for the No. 2 quarterback job and the Titans might overpay for a veteran edge rusher. Beyond that? Not much. A lot of generalities as secrecy ruled the day.

What it means for the division: Run through the AFC South coaches and GMs. Who’s the most dynamic, chatty guy of the bunch? I think it’ll be Colts coach Chuck Pagano in time. Five of the eight guys are in their first or second season in the job. Everyone is pretty reserved at this point, even the veterans of the group, Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak of the Texans.

7. We need to go find the specifics of a different rule every year. Colts general manager Ryan Grigson and Pagano both said they had not seen Peyton Manning throw. They didn’t say they aren’t allowed to see Manning throw. As it turns out, though, NFL rules don’t allow for executives beyond medical staff to watch even a rehabilitating player work at this point. While I don’t believe there is a decision still to be made, it’s interesting that the Colts' new duo at the top will only be able to hear reports from medical people and not see for themselves by the March 8th bonus deadline for Manning.

What it means for the division: Every team in the division will have a question at quarterback heading into camp: Is Matt Schaub’s foot healed? Can Matt Hasselbeck hold off Jake Locker? Does Blaine Gabbert get better? And how effective can Luck be from the start?

INDIANAPOLIS -- While still backing Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones, Texans coach Gary Kubiak conceded this week the Texans are looking for a wide receiver.

One draft prospect who looks like a nice fit to play with, and eventually succeed, Andre Johnson is LSU’s Rueben Randle.

At just under 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he’s a nice combination of size, strength and speed. He’s a willing blocker which also makes him a potential fit for Houston, which drafts 26th in the first round.

“I try to model myself after Calvin Johnson, he’s a big body receiver," Randle said. “He makes a lot of plays deep down the field and also yards after the catch. I try to model myself in that kind of way.”

Johnson’s also been on Randle’s radar.

“You’ve got no choice but to look at him," Randle said. “He makes plays each and every Sunday whether it’s two guys on him, three he just goes and makes plays on the ball and the quarterback trusts him. That’s the kind of thing I’m trying to build with the quarterbacks I play with.

“…That’d be great (to play with him). I’m pretty sure he’s going to get a lot of attention, that would free me up a little bit so it wouldn’t be much of a struggle for me. It’d be great to play with a great receiver like Andre Johnson, I’d just look forward to that.”

Said ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay: “Of the bigger guys, Randle can probably get down the field the best and is probably the most athletic.”

The downside?

McShay has trouble forgetting Randle’s performance in LSU’s national championship game loss to Alabama.

“He quit on them in the national championship game, which drive me nuts,” McShay said. “But you just have to live with it, he’s a receiver.”

Randle wasn’t asked about the championship game. Be he did rate Alabama’s DeQuan Menzie as the best defensive back he saw beyond LSU teammates.

INDIANAPOLIS -- T.J. Yates showed himself to be a capable NFL quarterback after both Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart went down for the Texans, winning the franchise’s first playoff game.

But Gary Kubiak just told the media at the NFL scouting combine that Yates won’t go into camp as the No. 2 if he has the same three quarterbacks on the roster now.

“If we lined up going into camp tomorrow and I’ve got all three of those guys back, I know who my one is,” Kubiak said. “I think what I would do is have T.J. and Matt [Leinart] go back and battle for the backup spot behind Schaubie.

“I think both of those guys did well with their opportunity. It’s hard to fault Leinart with what happened to him. He played a half of football and was playing very well (before getting hurt). They’re still both young players making their way to the top.”

But the Texans need to find cap savings, and Leinart is due a $3 million base salary in 2012. He could be at risk because of that.

Kubiak is confident that Schaub will be recovered from surgery to repair a Lisfranc foot injury in plenty of time for camp.

The coach said Schaub called him last week to invite him to play a round of golf.

“He’s doing great,” Kubiak said. “… He’s out of his boot, he’s walking, he’s doing everything he can do. He’s in every morning. I think our expectations are for him, once we get to [organized team activities], he will do everything, probably be excluded out of team work just to keep him out of harm’s way.

“But all indications are that he will be full speed sometime in May and will be ready to go in camp."

INDIANAPOLIS -- Greetings from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the scouting combine is kicking off.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect AFC South-wise:

• Titans general manager Ruston Webster and coach Mike Munchak will talk with the media this morning.
• Colts general manager Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano are slated to be at the interview podium this afternoon.
• Texans general manager Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak will talk Friday afternoon.
• Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey will also talk Friday afternoon, and I hope to catch up with general manager Gene Smith on my own.

Player-wise, quarterbacks are to visit with reporters on Friday, and Andrew Luck will obviously be the focus and our focus.

Thursday features offensive linemen, kickers, punters and long-snappers. Friday is running backs and receivers in addition to QBs. On Saturday, defensive linemen and linebackers get their turn. And we wrap Sunday with defensive backs.

Stay tuned for regular updates.

Following their breakthrough into the playoffs, the Houston Texans face some big questions.

Foremost among them are the contracts of outside linebacker Mario Williams and running back Arian Foster. Williams can become an unrestricted free agent and potentially command the richest contract for a defensive player in league history. Foster will be a restricted free agent who could be pursued by another club.

While general manager Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak worry about roster construction, and while many analysts like this one predict continued big things for the franchise, team president Jamey Rootes is looking at growing the team’s loyal following.

He’s already using a theme Kubiak is sure to hit with his players when they reassemble:

“You start back at zero. Nobody gives you anything. You’ve got to go out and earn it again.”

As with any team, a playoff breakthrough marked a significant increase in interest in the Texans.

But because theirs was the first time in the postseason, a lot of people were being exposed for the first time. Rootes wants to ensure the big moments of last season -- an AFC South clinching win in Cincinnati, a home playoff win against the Bengals, and a tough divisional-round loss in Baltimore -- are sticky.

“I thought it would be kind of a slow build, kind of a slow climb,” he said. “But from the time we got on the plane to go to Cincinnati to the time we came home as division champs, the world was completely different ...

“While we’ve had this great base of fans, that being recognized as a winner brought a whole new group of people into our family. Now it’s our job to hold them.”

Rootes cited three great indicators:

• TV ratings for the two playoff games in Houston shot up to a 36 from an average of 24. That’s an estimate of the percentage of the market watching. The playoff game in Baltimore had a 68 share in Houston, meaning 68 percent of the households with TVs on were watching at that given time.
• Texans gear was under Christmas trees all over Houston. The team sold more than $1 million worth of merchandise in just December, and Rootes said the Texans are up 200 percent, year over year.
• National attention was up, as Rootes noticed the Texans being featured in ESPN’s weekly “NFL Matchup” show.

Said defensive end Antonio Smith: “It’s way more intense. The fans have done, I don’t want to say a 180, but the city blew up. The difference is noticeable. I think it’s very important we hold onto those new people, that’s big for any organization, starting to secure a legacy…

“There are still people in their hearts who are Houston Oilers fans, they’re torn in between the Titans and us. We won a lot over. We have to continue to do so, and have the city 100 percent behind us.”

Rootes will latch on to that, campaigning to win over anybody and everybody who’s hasn’t connected or committed to wearing Texans colors.

“Now these new people are exposed to us, which is good,” Rootes said. “We weren’t on their radar before. I think it comes back to the fundamentals. The people that loved us, we were on their radar, they saw what we do: ‘These guys are working hard, they trying to build a champion, they create memorable experiences for us every time I’m involved with them.’

“We talk about 'create raving fans,' that’s our goal. Do whatever it takes to delight people, and that’s how you conduct yourself, and how you serve people and the experiences you provide. Do great things for Houston.”

It’s marketing spin language, for sure. But it’s an important time for the franchise to make it work, no matter how it’s framed or executed.

While the football side plans how to field the best team possible for an encore performance, the administrative side needs to do the same. To grow the team’s footprint, to ensure deep roots take hold, Rootes and his staff need to seize on the good feelings that linger and make people feel invested.

The Texans didn’t play a prime-time game last season, so as good as they were they had no national game until Cincinnati visited for the playoff opener.

Houston is sure to be a regular presence in prime time in 2012, when an expanded Thursday night package will expand the opportunity. Rootes said he campaigns with the league and with network executives for the publicity, the best advertising he can get.

“There is such energy in the stadium that the world doesn’t know about, it’s like a local phenomenon,” he said. “We want to expose it to the world, and national television is the way to do that.”

I suspect the Texans will go from invisible on the national slate to regularly featured. The hope is they can play even better than they did while going 10-6 in 2011.

And that as they do, an additional layer of people in southeastern Texas and beyond will be invested in it all.

Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle recently wrote that if Peyton Manning is available, the Texans should be at the head of the line.

Sorry, Matt Schaub. Thanks for your service.

Schaub might be a solid quarterback, but a healthy Manning is more than solid. He is an all-time great.

No one knows if we are if we are talking about a healthy Manning, and he’d come with more risk of suffering another neck injury. Presuming he’s OK, in my view, you can look at all but six teams in the league and say the same thing Solomon is saying about the Texans. Simply insert the name of 25 other presumed starting quarterbacks in the Schaub slot in the above passage and it is intriguing.

Most teams aren’t big on scrapping long-range plans.

But most teams should be willing to change course given a chance at an all-time great quarterback in the rare instance when adding him is feasible and it would open a window during which they’d rank as a Super Bowl contender.

Much has been written about the teams most likely to court Manning the hardest: the Jets, Dolphins, Redskins and Cardinals top most lists.

Much has been said about an ideal fit: Add him to San Francisco, shore up the receivers and the Niners would be a Super Bowl favorite.

Let’s look at the scenario dreaming fans of the other three AFC South fans may be letting creep into their brains:

Houston

As Solomon writes, “Once Manning is let go he should be as interested in the Texans as they would be in him. There might not be a better fit for him in the NFL.”

The Texans could dominate a weak division. Gary Kubiak is a great offensive mind. Manning would be paired with an excellent run game and a fantastic receiver in Andre Johnson. The defense should continue to be quite good.

My feeling: It’s nice to imagine, but I just can’t picture the Texans going after him with the all-out sales pitch he’s likely to get from a lot of other places. They feel they now have good insurance for Schaub with T.J. Yates. But if you boil down the best option, it’s be Manning. Cap room would be an issue.

Jacksonville

New owner Shahid Khan has said he’s willing to spend and there is not a move that could make a bigger splash.

The Jaguars have excellent defensive personnel and if they add a rush end and re-stock at corner, they’ll be a top defense. They have the reigning rushing champ.

Their quarterback was horrible as a rookie. Put Blaine Gabbert behind Manning, acquire two or three receivers for him to throw to and the Jaguars would be instant contenders more than able to challenge the Texans.

My feeling: It makes sense and the Jaguars should take a swing even though it falls well outside their typical approach under general manager Gene Smith. I don’t imagine it’s the most attractive market for Manning, though he could really help put it, and Khan, on the map.

Tennessee

It won’t be long before those who still love Manning for what he did at the University of Tennessee clamor for him to finish his career with the Titans. It would mean the Titans part with Matt Hasselbeck and that Jake Locker would be planted on the bench longer than was the initial plan.

But put Manning on this team, with a great pass-protecting line, a healthy Kenny Britt, a stable of targets including Jared Cook, Nate Washington and Chris Johnson and the offense is instantly more dangerous.

My feeling: It’s too far outside the box for new general manager Ruston Webster to try it. But if owner Bud Adams fell in love with the idea and dictated that it happen, it would be a far better idea than the last time he forced a quarterback on his people.

When we sketched out the Texans’ season, predicting their best scenarios, we never subtracted stars.

The equation allowed for injuries of course, but no one forecasts a team losing its top defensive player and its starting quarterback.

With losses like that, with Mario Williams watching and Matt Schaub cheering, the Texans still won the wide-open AFC South. They still earned a home playoff game. They still beat Cincinnati to advance to Sunday’s divisional-round matchup in Baltimore.

The Ravens haven’t been beaten at M&T Bank Stadium, and they spent the season working to ensure they’d play at least one postseason game there. John Harbaugh’s Ravens have been a constant playoff presence, with a 4-3 record in three seasons. But this will be their first home playoff game since Jan. 13, 2007, when they lost a 15-6 divisional playoff game to Indianapolis.

So it’s a huge opportunity for both teams, 60 minutes away from the AFC Championship Game.

But the expectations couldn’t be more different.

If the Texans win it, they are Cinderella, a team run by a third-string rookie quarterback making an improbable charge. Cue “Against All Odds” and ramp up the team-of-destiny talk.

If the Texans lose it, it’ll sting for sure, but the season assessment should be unanimous: It’s been a success and it laid groundwork the franchise should be able to build on for the next several years.

If the Ravens win it, well, they were supposed to. If they lose it, it’s a catastrophe.

Among all the clichéd sayings that fly around NFL locker rooms, I’ve always kind of liked “pressure bursts pipes.”

I don’t think the Ravens are heading into the game feeling worried. But if the Texans hang around or jump to a lead, the pressure at play could come to the surface and be a factor. The loose Texans aren’t thinking they’ve got nothing at stake, but on some level they know the tension level should be higher on the other sideline.

“We have nothing to lose, according to people,” receiver Kevin Walter said. “We’re going to go out there. We’re going to play sound football. We’re going to play good football and play with energy. That’s what we need to do.”

Over the past few years and heading into this season, I’ve been critical of Houston coach Gary Kubiak and his team for being too low key, too aw-shucks. I thought adding Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator would add another heavy dose of that.

They needed a jerk in the locker room to help give them a more diverse team personality, I wrote (and Andre Johnson kind of agreed).

But the team personality has hardly been an issue. It’s been a resilient bunch, able to rally in all sorts of different difficult circumstances.

And that low-key personality comes with a certain looseness, a looseness that can be both an enjoyable quality and a beneficial one.

“I’ve talked to several guys who have come from other organizations that say that Coach Kubiak is probably the coolest coach in the league,” safety Glover Quin said. “And they say, 'do whatever you have to do to stay here, whatever you got to do, take pay cuts, whatever, stay here.' He’s a good guy. Like I said, he’ll walk past you and speak. Some coaches probably don’t even walk past the guys and speak to them. Every time he sees you he’ll speak, and he’s always an even-keeled guy and he expects a lot out of us and the way he treats us we have to go out and play hard for him.”

If the Texans' season ends Sunday, it won’t be because they have too many mellow guys playing for a mellow coach. It will be because they’ve met their match.

And although T.J. Yates is a concern against a defense as good as Baltimore’s, it’s not as if Joe Flacco is a guaranteed good performer in a big setting.

In seven playoff games he’s hit on only 53.3 percent of his passes, he’s thrown four touchdowns and seven picks and he’s got a 61.6 passer rating.

The Texans used their formula to perfection in the wild-card round, and it can work in Baltimore. Play great defense with consistent pressure on the quarterback, prompting mistakes while running the ball effectively and minimizing how much falls on Yates.

“I love being the underdog,” Walter said. “That’s what it’s about. People aren’t going to give us a chance this week. People didn’t give us a chance last week. I’ve been an underdog my whole life, and people say I can’t do this, can’t do that. That just motivates me.

“I know it motivates those guys in that locker room, and we’re looking forward to going to Baltimore and playing well.”

If they don’t, it won’t be long before the end is brushed aside in favor of a broader look at a successful year. If they do and it gets them to a title game against New England or Denver, we’ll reassess expectations.

Reputations last, and I don’t think many people think of the defensive-minded Baltimore Ravens as a big-play offense.

The Texans did their part to change that in the regular-season loss in Baltimore on Oct. 16 — Joe Flacco threw a 51-yard pass to Torrey Smith and a 56-yard pass to Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice had a 27-yard run.

“You got to give them credit,” Gary Kubiak said. “Flacco put up a lot of deep balls that they went up and got and made the play that we did not make. They have been a big-play offense. They’re running the ball so well with Rice, and Vonta (Leach) is doing just a hell of a job, so it sets up for them to get the ball down the field when they do play action, those type of things. We got to stop the run first. You better stop the run against these guys first, or you’re not going to get on the field. Stopping the big play with their receivers was an issue for us the first time, and hopefully we can correct it this time.”

Have they really been a big-play offense? I thought it was Kubiak paying the typical over-the-top tribute to an opponent, but I asked Matthew Willis of ESPN Stats & Information for a run down.

The Ravens have had 13 20-yard rushes this season: Nine from Rice, three from Ricky Williams and one from Flacco. Here are the five longest.

Rice – 70, Week 17 at Bengals
Rice – 67, Week 13 at Browns
Rice – 59, Week 11 vs. Bengals
Rice – 53, Week 3 at Rams
Rice – 51, Week 17 at Bengals
Flacco’s longest was 31 yards, Williams’ was 28.

The Ravens had 17 30-yard completions, and 45 of 20-plus yards. Here are the five longest:

Flacco to Torrey Smith, 74, Week 3 at Rams
Flacco to Anquan Boldin, 56, Week 6 vs. Texans
Flacco to Ray Rice, 52, Week 4 vs. Jets
Flacco to Smith, 51, Week 6 vs. Texans
Flacco to Smith, 49, Week 11 vs. Bengals

Simple and obvious formula for the Texans: If they give up the sort of big plays that they put on that list, they can’t win Sunday. If they don’t, they’ll have at least a chance.

HOUSTON -- The stadium rocked. A struggling team rebounded. Another rematch was set in motion.

A tie to the old era of Houston’s NFL football beamed.

“It’s just a great feeling to know that Houston’s back,” proclaimed Bum Phillips, coach of the Luv Ya Blue Oilers and father of Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

The Texans' best players played best Saturday at Reliant Stadium in a 31-10 thrashing of the Bengals that propelled Houston forward in the NFL playoffs to a Jan. 15 game in Baltimore. Houston lost to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 16, 29-14.

After clinching the AFC South with a Dec. 11 victory at Cincinnati, the Texans sputtered, dropping their final three regular-season games, though the finale meant nothing to their playoff standing.

“We kind of got back to what we were doing during that seven-week stretch [Oct. 23 through Dec. 11, when we were 7-0],” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We played great defense, we found a way to run the ball, we never really hurt ourselves as a team. That was the key.”

The game had plenty of heroes, including efficient rookie quarterback T.J. Yates and cornerback Johnathan Joseph. Three of the team’s other top players, though, produced first-rate efforts worth a deeper look.

Running back Arian Foster: After Foster popped an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-7, he changed sports as he celebrated.

A Lakers fan who apologizes to Houstonians for his NBA affection, he was talking to fans via Twitter during a recent Lakers-Rockets game. If the Rockets won, he pledged he’d do a touchdown celebration paying homage to them.

The Lakers won and got him off the hook. But Foster decided to follow through with the idea anyway. He celebrated with Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake” -- a hard stop with a ball fake, followed by a reversal and fade-away jumper he tossed over the crossbar.

Foster finished with 24 carries for 153 yards and two scores. He was only the third undrafted running back in league history to eclipse 100 yards in his first playoff game, joining Ryan Grant (2007) and Paul Lowe (1960).

The Texans’ blocking was tremendous. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 102 of Foster’s rushing yards came prior to initial contact. That’s two-thirds of his total.

The second touchdown, a 42-yard ramble, was his most impressive run of the day. He got to the right sideline and looked to have no chance to stay in bounds. But he followed one good block and surprised strong safety Chris Crocker with his balance and ability to navigate the sideline as he slowed down, then hit the jets.

“I guess he thought I was going out of bounds,” Foster said.

Defensive end J.J. Watt: Shortly after Jake Delhomme signed with the Texans on Nov. 30, the veteran quarterback was running the offense at a walk-through. Watt batted down several of his passes at the slow-paced practice, and felt guilty for doing so.

“He was kind of mad at me,” Watt said. “And I was like, ‘That’s kind of what I do, that’s my thing.’”

He did his thing to Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton with 52 seconds left in the first half, but rather than knocking down the ball thrown from point-blank range, he caught it. And before many people on the field realized where it was, he was carrying it to a 29-yard touchdown that put Houston ahead 17-10.

Coaches and teammates said while reporters and fans don’t see it, Watt snares balls like that all the time at practice.

And while several pass-catchers wouldn’t go so far as to say they’d struggle to make the same play, the guy with the best hands on the team wasn’t too proud to say otherwise.

“It’s almost impossible,” fullback James Casey said. “You’re so close to the ball and obviously the guy is throwing it hard to have it on that trajectory. To be able to catch it like that is remarkable, that’s why you never see it happen.

“Guys bat balls down but they don’t actually catch it. I’d catch zero out of 10. Maybe out of 100 I’d catch one every now and then just getting lucky.”

Watt followed up that giant play by tracking Dalton as he fled the pocket and sacking him on the final play of the first half.

It was Watt’s first touchdown since high school. He didn’t score one as a tight end at Central Michigan or as a defensive end at Wisconsin.

Denver’s Von Miller or San Francisco’s Aldon Smith will win defensive rookie of the year, but Watt didn’t trail them by much in terms of overall initial impact. Miller will have a chance to match Watt’s postseason pace in a game Sunday.

Receiver Andre Johnson: He missed nine games this season with two different hamstring injuries. The Texans gave him a chance to knock some rust off last week. But he and Yates were out of sync for a good portion of this game.

The always-calm Johnson has been waiting for a playoff game since 2003, when he was the Texans' top pick in the franchise’s second season. He admitted to being antsy and overly anxious to make a play. After one failed pass attempt, he returned to the bench and slammed his helmet to the turf.

Late in the third quarter, though, he and Yates made a connection that sealed the game. Lined up on the left, Johnson put a double move on Adam Jones, who bit, slipped and moved laterally instead of back as he recovered.

Johnson was wide open and Yates delivered a ball that hit him in stride for a 40-yard touchdown that gave the Texans a 24-10 lead.

In the end zone, he stopped and looked to be enjoying a contemplative moment to take it all in and consider all that had come in his career before the big moment.

But that wasn’t it at all.

“I’ve jumped in the stands a few times here and I’ve been grabbed by the facemask and everything,” he said. “So I was kind of thinking about jumping, that’s what the pause was for.”

He jumped.

The play had about put Reliant Stadium into orbit, but Johnson made it safely back to Earth.