Professor

http://blogs.chron.com/nfl/2008/03/i..._rbs_fi_1.html

With so many of you hoping the Texans select a running back in the first round, let me tell you three reasons I don't think they will: 1) As you know, they still have a desperate need for a young cornerback. 2) They want to draft a talented you left tackle for Ephraim Salaam to help groom. 3) Chris Taylor.

Chris Taylor?

Yes, that Chris Taylor.

Gary Kubiak and his assistants are high on Taylor. And I mean really high. They still want another veteran running back to go with Taylor, Ahman Green and Darius Walker. And I still expect them to draft a back in the later rounds.

But based on what I've been hearing lately, the coaches expect big things from Taylor in the system Alex Gibbs has installed - more Denver, less Green Bay.

The reason the Texans signed Taylor as an undrafted rookie out of Indiana was because Kubiak really wanted him, former general manager Charley Casserly said at the time. Kubiak thought Taylor just might be an ideal fit in the Denver running game they were going to use.

Kubiak looked smart in preseason because Taylor led the team in rushing. But as the Texans switched to using more of the Packers' running game because of Mike Sherman, Taylor struggled as a rookie and spent most of the season on the practice squad.

When they finally gave Taylor a chance late in the season, he whetted everyone's appetite in the last game against Cleveland. He responded with 20 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Going into last year's training camp, the coaches were excited about Taylor but not so excited the Texans didn't acquire Green. When Taylor blew out his knee early in camp and was done for the season, he almost became an afterthought while he rehabbed from his reconstructive surgery.

Are they counting on Taylor to give them the running game they've been missing since 2004? No. They can't. But the coaches have watched him work hard to return full speed from the surgery. They've seen him add muscle and get stronger. And with Gibbs in charge of the running game, Kubiak goes back to his original evaluation of Taylor - he might be ideal for this system.

Green is the starter, but they can't count on him, either. He suffered the knee injury in the first game and was never the same. They don't know if the first time he gets hit on the same knee if it'll be a situation similar to last season.

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