Light at end of tunnel
Last week, it was rookie Wali Lundy who made a statement. He was solid again Saturday, carrying seven times for 40 yards and catching two passes for 26 yards.
Once he departed, Morency took over the game. He followed the blocking, ran by the Rams a couple of times and looked like the guy the Texans hoped they were getting in 2005.
"You could see (Saturday night) why we've been so excited about him," Kubiak said.
Yes, it's only preseason, but a 2-0 start matters for a team that was 2-14 last season.
If you don't think it matters, you weren't there last year when Dunta Robinson seethed with anger and frustration after a loss in Baltimore. You weren't there when each Sunday brought another disappointment, when there never seemed there'd be a light at the end of the tunnel.
All of a sudden, there's a light. With Eric Moulds and Jeb Putzier, with David Carr settling down after a shaky start, the Texans look like a team on the verge of becoming more than decent on offense.
And there's Morency.
"I'm fighting every single day," he said. "A performance like this makes me want to go back and work even harder. We had some awesome blocking."
When the Texans began researching him before the '05 draft, they got an assessment from an Oklahoma coach.
"Best back in the Big 12," he said. "He was the toughest for us to defend."
That statement was surprising because Cedric Benson was considered the Big 12's best back. Morency had a tough rookie year, carrying just 46 times. If Davis had been able to practice this summer, he wouldn't be getting this much of an opportunity.
On the day last spring that Kubiak decided to pass on Reggie Bush and take Mario Williams, people in the draft room said he seemed confident he'd come up with enough of an offense to score points.
Hey, it's a start
Kubiak seems occasionally defensive about the conventional wisdom around the NFL that the Denver offense can turn any back into a 1,000-yard rusher.
He would like you to know how gifted late-round picks such as Terrell Davis are and how hard they worked to be great with the Broncos. He wants no one to think it's easy.
Yet because some late-round picks made it look easy in Denver, Kubiak might be more open to giving unheralded runners a chance. In these two preseason games, he has looked primarily at a third-round pick (Morency), a sixth-round rookie (Lundy) and a rookie free agent (Chris Taylor).
They've made plays and helped the Texans win two straight games for the first time in their history. No one will remember these two games once the regular season begins.
But for the players who lost so much last season, for young guys such as Morency and Lundy, it seems significant. It seems like something to build on.
DD has always put up good numbers.
No one knows for sure yet.My whole point is even if Davis only plays in half of the games this year, what good are Morency or Lundy? Neither is the clear cut #2, neither has proven they can perform week in and week out, and niether will start when Davis is healthy. The only RB in Houston I would use up a roster spot on right now is Davis.
