HOUSTON (AP) -The Houston Texans are in much better shape through four games this season than they were last year. That doesn't mean things are good.
New coach Gary Kubiak is the first to acknowledge that. So while his players take a five-day vacation during their bye week, he's hard at work, trying to figure out what has gone wrong and how it can be fixed.
``We're going to go back and take our four games and evaluate what we're doing and how we're doing it and who is doing it, just what direction we think we need to head as a football team throughout those next 12 weeks,'' Kubiak said. ``Just really do a self-evaluation of ourselves as a football team.''
Houston had three ugly losses before ending the first quarter of the season on a positive note by getting its first win, a 17-15 victory over Miami. The win allowed the Texans to enter their bye week ahead of winless Tennessee in the AFC South.
But their problems are far from over.
Their revamped defense is giving up an NFL-worst 435 yards a game and the running game is sputtering along at a snail's pace, averaging just 76 yards a game.
Top pick Mario Williams finally made an impact against Miami with 1 1/2 sacks and tipped a 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game. But for Houston's defense to improve it will need more consistent play from the 21-year-old defensive end.
``He's a rookie and we are asking him to do a lot,'' Kubiak said. ``The quicker we get any consistency out of a rookie then they are no longer rookies, and that's what we are after right now.''
While Williams has struggled with the transition, fellow rookie DeMeco Ryans has stepped in as a leader on Houston's young defense. The linebacker, a second-round pick out of Alabama, leads the Texans with 38 tackles.
The young secondary has been picked apart by Donovan McNabb, Peyton Manning and Mark Brunell. Houston's pass defense is allowing 295 yards a game, also a league worst. Kubiak has lamented that the Texans' failure to effectively pressure the quarterback has made things tougher for the secondary.
It's not all gloom and doom for the Texans, though. David Carr continues to improve under Kubiak's tutelage and his 108.9 passer rating leads the NFL. He is completing 73 percent of his passes and has thrown seven touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Key to that improvement is the play of Andre Johnson, who is on pace for his best season. He is third in the NFL in yards receiving with 410 and his 30 receptions are tied for most in the league.
But Johnson said he won't be able to enjoy his work if it doesn't translate into more wins.
``All of that is great, but it really doesn't matter if you don't win games,'' he said. ``We haven't been very fortunate to win very many games, and that's my main focal point, just trying to do everything I can to help win games.''
Kubiak said the Texans have been forced to move Johnson all over the field to get him the ball and that he's handled it well.
``I think he has a chance to be as good as there is in football,'' Kubiak said. ``He is big. He's very fast. He's dynamic with the ball once it gets in his hands. He's very strong and has a chance to go the distance. I think he has a tremendous opportunity.''
Carr's progress has also been helped by improved protection. He's still been taken down 15 times, but for the first time in recent history, the Texans don't lead the league in sacks allowed. And unlike in years past, he's shown poise and made plays under heavy pressure.
Kubiak said Carr, a former No. 1 pick in his fifth season, is finally beginning to ``show some signs of really growing up as a player.''
``He's made a lot of progress, and I'm on him to continue to make progress,'' Kubiak said. ``I don't want him to think, `OK I'm fine now, or I'm playing better now, or my rating's better now.' It can't be that. It has to be a sense of urgency every day as a player for him to get this football team and him going for a long time to come, and I don't want him to ever lose sight of that.''
The Texans are already looking forward to their Oct. 15 in-state matchup at Dallas. It's the first regular-season meeting between the teams since Houston pulled off an upset over the Cowboys in the first game in franchise history in 2002.
It begins a stretch of four of five games on the road, including three straight from Oct. 29-Nov. 12. By then, Kubiak hopes his hard work during the bye will have paid off in more wins.
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