Aug. 22, 2008

Updated Sunday, Aug. 31, 7:20 p.m. ET

Although they have two of the league’s best young front-seven players in DE Mario Williams and MLB DeMeco Ryans, the Texans consistently have struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks. They finished 25th in the league in QB sack percentage last season, and things haven’t been much better this year, with just one sack through two exhibition contests. One of their plans to improve the pass rush was to convert free-agent acquisition Rosevelt Colvin from linebacker to defensive end, but that experiment didn't go well and the team cut Colvin on Aug. 30. We hear that Colvin, who missed five games in ’07 with a foot injury, didn't pick up his new position very quickly and didn't do anything to earn a roster spot, so the team bit the bullet and released him, having paid him a guaranteed $1 million for his few months with the team. Another one of Houston’s hopes is to get more pressure from second-year DT Amobi Okoye. Okoye had 5½ sacks last season as a rookie before hitting a wall down the stretch. Of course, they’ll need Williams to keep up his dominant play from last season, when he recorded 14 sacks, to stand any chance of improving in this facet of the game.