The Houston Texans have taken the leap from playoff hopeful to a team widely viewed as a heavyweight contender in the AFC.
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The Texans might be the conference's most balanced team, but Matt Schaub remains ignored in conversations about the NFL's top signal-callers. This has something to do with Schaub's spotty durability over the years, but Houston's ugly, decade-long playoff drought before last season wasn't helping.
Either way, Schaub -- finally healthy after last year's Lisfranc fracture -- sounds ready to roll.
"I'm very hungry," Schaub told the Houston Chronicle on Monday. "I've been chomping at the bit to get this season going since the spring. I'm so excited about what we bring to the table and what we're capable of doing. We understand the job we have to get done.
"Going into the season, I feel as good physically as I ever have. With the weapons we have -- the way the offense is moving and how good the defense is -- we're as good as we've been going into Week 1. I feel really confident about where we're headed."
People complained that last year's Texans required the disintegration of the Indianapolis Colts to finally win a division. Not this year; Houston has bloomed into an AFC power. Our only regret is that we can't see this Texans team confront those old Colts teams at their best.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
