Thanks to Arian Foster's tedious re-aggravated hamstring injury, Ben Tate's grip tightens on the Houston Texans' starting running back spot.
Last week, Foster sounded ready to roll. This week, his tone suggests further delay.
"I'll take it day by day, mainly keeping it more and more healthy until I feel it's 100 percent," Foster told the Houston Chronicle. "I'm a competitor, and I want to play. I want to help this team win ballgames. This is one of those injuries ... you can't push through it. The more you push, the worse it gets. It's just tough for a competitive person."
It was Foster who exploded last season after a host of injuries to the Texans' backfield thrust him into the starting job. Now he watches as Tate becomes just the 11th player in league history to rumble for 100-plus yards in his first two starts.
"It's going to get healed -- it's only Game 2," Foster said. "I want to be out there with my team, but this team is looking to advance further than we have before. I want to make sure I'm healthy for the right stretch."
With the apparent demise of the Colts, the Texans are thinking past Week 3. It's enough to send fantasy football owners who selected Foster into moments of deep despair, but that's of little consequence in the real world. It appears we'll have to wait to see Foster -- or, more likely, Tate and Foster -- rumble through defensive fronts this season.
