Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky
The Houston Texans definitely still have roster work to do to fill in around their stars.
But there is no lack of evidence about the impact their two biggest stars -- receiver Andre Johnson and defensive end Mario Williams -- have been having.
Johnson has the most productive per-game receiving yardage average since the start of the 2007 season. This season, he is third in the league in receiving yards per game at 97.6 yards per game, behind Greg Jennings and Brandon Marshall.
| Most receiving yards per game, 2007-2008 | | Player | Games | Receptions | Receptions/game | Yards | Yards/game | | Andre Johnson, HOU | 14 | 94 | 6.7 | 1,339 | 95.6 | | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | 20 | 131 | 6.6 | 1,876 | 93.8 | | Reggie Wayne, IND | 20 | 129 | 6.5 | 1,860 | 93.0 | | Randy Moss, NE | 20 | 115 | 5.8 | 1,767 | 88.4 | | Brandon Marshall, DEN | 20 | 136 | 6.8 | 1,748 | 87.4 |
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On the other side of the ball, Williams leads the NFL since Oct. 1, 2007 with 18.0 sacks, including five multisack games. It's hard to argue anymore with the Texans use of the top pick in the 2006 draft.
Williams has accounted for 52.6 percent of the Texans sack total over the last two seasons. He is the only player in the NFL to account for more than half of his team's sacks over the last two years.
The Texans are touting that number and it does show what an impact player he is. But I think that illustrates the team is too reliant on him and he hasn't gotten enough help. John Abraham seems to be in a similar situation in Atlanta. Aaron Kampman, Jared Allen and Demarcus Ware, meanwhile, have been part of defenses that have produced more sacks, and that shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing. They have big sack numbers that aren't any less valuable just because they account for less of their team's totals.
| Percent of team sack total, 2007-2008 | | Player | Sacks | Team sacks | Pct. of sack total | | Mario Williams, HOU | 20.0 | 38 | 52.6 | | John Abraham, ATL | 17.0 | 35 | 48.6 | | Aaron Kampman, GB | 18.0 | 48 | 37.5 | | Jared Allen, KC/MIN | 18.5 | 50 | 37.0 | | Demarcus Ware, DAL | 20.0 | 61 | 32.8 |
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Kuharsky joined ESPN.com in 2008 after 12 years covering the Oilers/Titans and the NFL for The (Nashville) Tennessean. The New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife.
