Jets-Texans Preview

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• Countdown Daily Recap: Jets-Texans

SCOUTING REPORT

Jets-Texans: 10 observations After breaking down film of both teams, Scouts Inc. offers 10 things to watch in this week's Jets-Texans matchup. 1. New York will try to establish the run: Playing on the road in their season opener, the Jets likely will lean on their running game. Talented Jets ball carrier Thomas Jones led the AFC in rushing and is a key to their offensive success. Houston has a talented defensive front, but New York matches up well in the trenches and will stay with a hard-nosed ground attack to control the game's tempo.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYJ	4-6	213	189	2-3	2-3	1-4	4-5
HOU	5-4	215	188	2-2	3-2	1-2	4-3
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

NY Jets Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Sanche... 52.1 1791 10 16

Houston Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Schaub 67.5 2653 17 9

NY Jets Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jones 191 884 4.6 8 Washin... 72 331 4.6 0

Houston Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Slaton 116 359 3.1 3 Moats 54 220 4.1 3

NY Jets Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Cotche... 36 582 16.2 3 Keller 32 385 12.0 2

Houston Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Johnso... 54 800 14.8 4 Daniel... 40 519 13.0 5

Full Player Stats: NY Jets | Houston

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	NYJ	332.0
	HOU	382.0
Yards Passing	NYJ	206.4
	HOU	266.7
Yards Rushing	NYJ	125.3
	HOU	115.4
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	NYJ	329.4
	HOU	336.6
Pass Yds Allowed	NYJ	234.5
	HOU	213.9
Rush Yds Allowed	NYJ	94.9
	HOU	122.6

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
NY Jets leads 4-0
Nov 26, 2006	NYJ 26, @HOU 11
Dec 5, 2004	NYJ 29, @HOU 7
Oct 19, 2003	NYJ 19, HOU 14

Last season, Brett Favre briefly helped the New York Jets emerge as a contender in the AFC. That changed quickly, and much has since changed for the Jets.

Rebuilt around highly touted rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, New York looks to get off to a strong start when it visits the Houston Texans on Sunday.

The Jets acquired Favre from Green Bay prior to the start of last season, and the move appeared to be paying off. They were 8-3 and atop the AFC East after dealing Tennessee its first loss of the season, 34-13 on Nov. 23 -- with Favre going 25 of 32 for 224 yards and two touchdowns in the road game.

It didn't last, as New York lost four of its last five and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season and third time in four, costing coach Eric Mangini his job.

Much of the blame fell on Favre, who threw for 1,011 yards with two TDs and nine interceptions over the last five games after passing for 2,461 yards with 20 scores and 13 picks in the first 11.

The future Hall of Famer opted to retire for a second consecutive season before changing his mind yet again and signing a two-year deal with Minnesota last month.

New York replaced Mangini with Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, and the club traded up in the April draft to select Sanchez, a star at Southern California, fifth overall.

Named the No. 1 quarterback by Ryan last month, Sanchez will be the first Jets rookie to start a game since Matt Robinson in 1977.

"It's clear that Mark can definitely play at this level," Ryan said. "We're going to find out. That's the beauty of it. Starting here in a few days, we're going to be kicking off this thing for real. I'm excited about it. I'm excited about Mark's ability to help lead this football team."

Sanchez will lead an offense that features running backs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington along with wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery.

Jones ran for a team-high 1,312 yards and 13 TDs last year, while Washington rolled up 803 yards rushing and receiving with nine total scores. Washington is also a threat on special teams, averaging 25.8 yards on kickoff returns with four touchdowns in his first three years.

Cotchery led the Jets with 71 catches and 858 yards while scoring five TDs.

Ryan also retooled the defense, installing his 3-4 scheme, and the team signed free-agent linebacker Bart Scott from the Ravens for $48 million over six years.

The Jets will be without linebacker Calvin Pace and defensive end Shaun Ellis in the opener.

Pace, with a career-high seven sacks in his first season with the Jets, was suspended four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. Ellis was suspended one game and fined $100,000 by the league for a marijuana-related arrest in November.

"It's kind of tough because they're obviously two of our best players," said linebacker Vernon Gholston, the sixth overall pick in 2008 who will be looking to bounce back from a rough first season. "But it's something we've been preparing for a little bit."

New York has won all three meetings with the Texans. The teams haven't met at Reliant Stadium since Oct. 19, 2003.

Houston is looking to get off to a better start after opening 0-4 last season. The Texans went on to win eight of 12 and finish at .500 for the second consecutive year.

Avoiding another slow start, however, may hinge on Matt Schaub's health. The quarterback is nursing a sprained ankle, although he has looked better since getting hurt in a preseason game Aug. 31.

"He took a big step forward (Tuesday)," coach Gary Kubiak said. "He's progressing toward getting ready to go, so it's a positive move forward for him."

Schaub missed five games in each of the last two seasons. Despite being hampered by a left knee injury last year, he posted career bests with 3,043 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. He also matched a career high with 10 interceptions.

The Texans traded backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels to the Vikings in the offseason, so they added depth by signing Dan Orlovsky from Detroit and Rex Grossman from Chicago.

Grossman is expected to start if Schaub can't.

"Matt is hobbled, so they've got to be ready to go," Kubiak said. "But as I told Dan and Rex, I'm leaning toward Rex's experience and the way he handled himself, handled the team (last Friday against Tampa Bay). I'm kind of drawing from what I've seen him do in the past and (am) just very comfortable with him right now."

The Texans are also unsure if wide receiver Kevin Walter and safety Eugene Wilson will play.

Walter, second on the team with 899 yards receiving and eight TDs last season, has a hamstring injury, while Wilson was hurt on an illegal crackback block delivered by Favre for which the quarterback was fined $10,000.

Twitter account of Jets' Clowney gets hacked

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Jets' Ryan vows to be more involved on offense

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Source: 49ers drop tampering charges vs. Jets

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Jets' Ryan 'disrespected' by Pats' late pass play

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Leon Washington ends boycott, shows up for practice

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It's not going to matter if Eric Mangini goes 11-5 with the Browns and Rex Ryan goes 5-11 with the Jets, but .. In a comparison of the two in the off-season, Ryan seems to be winning, 62-0. Most of it is Mangini's own doing.

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Sporting huge forearms and looking ripped, Thomas Jones was back on the field for a second straight day Thursday during the Jets' next-to-last week of offseason training activities.

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June brings Texans leadership, big-game experience

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Solomon: Robinson has strange number, inspiring rise

Even after we saw him make plays, impact plays even, last season, something about DelJuan Robinson just doesn't look right on the Texans' defensive line.

Best wide receiver on planet, Andre Johnson, expected to get better

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Texans' Smith looks to bring rush opposite Williams

Mario Williams has become a ferocious pass rusher in his three NFL seasons. Too bad the Texans haven't had any pressure coming from the opposite end since he was drafted.

Texans hoping Smith supports Williams

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