Sure if you're a die-hard Houston sports fan ..... you would love to see the Texans take it to the Cowboys ..... but a win over the Blue Star .... won't assure you a winning season. Just last year the Texans beat Jerry Jones' 'Boys .....but it was Dallas who had the fantastic regular season ...before being bumped out of the playoffs by the Super Bowl champs.

Once again ... I give the Texans a very good chance to win this. But also once again .. the Cowboys should have the better regular season. The fact is .... the Texans need to win pre-season games like this ....just to stir more inteterest in their fledgling team. It's only been around for 7 years .... and much of Texas is still "Cowboys Country."

From the Houston standpoint .... I expect to see Matt Schaub and the offensive unit to perform well again .....but this contest will provide more of a test in the pass protection department. The Cowboys love to get after the opposing quarterbacks ..... so this will be a good test for both Schaub and Sage Rosenfels .... but also for rookie left tackle Duane Brown. Browns task this season is to keep Texan quarterbacks upright ...and clean. If Schaub and Rosenfels have time ...they will pick a defense apart.

The Texans running game ...is a major concern of mine. Ahman Green is still out with his "ouchy" groin pull. Veteran Chris Brown ... and his upright running style .... is still listed as the starter ..... but rookie Steve Slaton served notice again last week in New Orleans that he deserves more playing time. Slaton will play with the first unit ... after Brown gets the start .... and Chris Taylor will get most of the other snaps. I will say this .....Marcel Shipp ...the veteran from Arizona has looked good running scout team stuff. I just don't know if he'll get enough game action to try and impress the coaching staff ....before the final roster cut is made.

The best news offensively .....former Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson looked great at practice this week ....and he should play Friday night. He says his ready .... and that's good enough for me. 2nd year wide receiver David Anderson has been impressive during the first two pre-season games. He and rookie 1st round pick Duane Brown have impressed me with the way they always play hard whether during a game or on the pratice field.

Defensively .... the pass rush has not been there .... but the NFL's 3rd rated sack man from last year ...Mario Williams .... says there's no reason to worry,"I've only been in the league 2 years ...and I haven't gotten a sack yet (in the pre-season) ..so I hope I don't get one this year ...ha ..ha." Mario had 14 last year ...and if the Texans can just find some help rushing the passer from the other side .... they'll be in good shape. But that continues to be a question mark. I think the linebacking corps is solid ..with Pro Bowler DeMeco Ryans anchoring the group ... the with Dunta Robinson still out due to his injury/surgery ... there are question marks in the secondary. Jacques Reeves .. the former Cowboy ... still hasn't proven he can cover effectively in the Texans press coverage attack. Fred Bennett is still maturing on the other side. The safety spot ....actually looks pretty solid now. C.C. Brown looked good overall in New Orleans at strong safety ...and although i wouldn't consider him a great cover man .... free safety Will Demps has strong leadership skills...and does a good job of getting his guys settled back there.

This Texans team is more athletic than the ones who have gone before ....and there will be some tough roster cuts in the days ahead. That's a bad thing if you're one of the guys that gets cut .....but it's a good thing if you're part of Texans management ....or a die-hard Texans fan. I can tell you right now ....this Texans team is better than the one that entered the regular season last year ..... but realistically .... that doesn't guarantee them anything in the super competitive NFL. The season should be the best yet for the Texans ...and the most fun season yet for their fans.