Andre knows of giant expectations in '08

The news hit Texans fans and Fantasy owners hard when in mid-May, Houston head coach Gary Kubiak announced that Andre Johnson's left knee needed arthroscopic surgery. The star wide receiver wasn't comfortable with how his knee was feeling during a minicamp session and the club opted to clean it out.

About two weeks later, Johnson stood up in front of fans during the team's All-Access event and proclaimed himself ready for 2008.
"If you are worried about my knee, my knee is doing fine," Johnson said. "But we are really excited about this season and hopefully we have a lot of great things to come."

Everyone from team doctors to coaches say that Johnson won't miss a single snap at training camp this summer, but the knee problem underscores what seems to be the only weakness in Johnson's game.

At 6-foot-3 and over 220 pounds, Johnson is the proverbial prototype NFL wide receiver. He's got incredible hands. He has great speed for a guy his size. He can jump with the best of them. He can play against press coverage just as well as zone schemes. And there isn't a down and distance that Johnson isn't qualified to be on the field for.

The only knock is that when he plays hurt, his stats disappear. Some players can play through significant injuries and not lose a beat. Johnson can't do it. In 2005, for example, Johnson was plagued by shoulder and calf injuries. Though he started 13 games, he posted his worst yards-per-catch average (10.9) with just two touchdowns and a career-low four grabs for 20 or more yards.

The Texans learned their lesson after that. When Johnson went down with the left knee injury (which is still lingering), he sat for seven consecutive games. Once he was deemed healthy, he was back on the field and his numbers were incredible.

In the nine games Johnson played in 2007, he scored in seven of them for eight total touchdowns. Of those nine games, he caught passes from QB Matt Schaub in four of them (Schaub was hurt in a fifth game). In those four games with Schaub, Johnson averaged 5.7 catches for 104.7 yards (three 120-yard games) with four total touchdowns. Though he continued to score with backup QB Sage Rosenfels under center, Johnson's yardage totals dipped (86.4 average in five games).

Like Johnson, Schaub also got nicked up in his first year as the Texans' starting quarterback. A concussion sidelined him for a short stint in the first half of the season and a left shoulder dislocation ended his '07 campaign four games early. And like Johnson, Schaub's numbers were off without him (236.6 yards per in games with 15-plus pass attempts, two touchdowns) than with him (250.3 yards per in four games, seven touchdowns).

Johnson told CBSSports.com in April that he's been working with Schaub to get his timing down with him and that he should be fine.

"He got banged up this past season," Johnson said of his QB. "I was too, but we're all just looking forward to this season and trying to be better than we were last year."

For the Texans to be better than they were in '07, two things need to happen: They need to stay healthy, and they need to make some noise in the ultra-competitive AFC South.

"We're in a tough division with some great teams, and it's going to be a big test for us," Johnson said. "But it was a big test just for us to get to .500. We took that step, and we're just going to try keep taking steps."

The good news for Johnson and the Texans is that none of their three AFC South rivals dramatically improved their secondaries. Drayton Florence signing with Jacksonville was the only significant signing -- none of them even drafted a defensive back high.

So with the division's defenses standing pat against the pass, Johnson knows what people -- fans and Fantasy owners alike -- will expect from him. Thinking he'll top 100 catches and 1,200 yards isn't crazy … so long as you also remember that Johnson could be absent for your lineup due to injuries.

"Expectations are always high. That's how you have to come into the season," Johnson said. "We're just going to do everything we can to achieve our goals."

(fantasynews.sportsline.com)