Texans appear to have dodged a bullet with Myers injury
Aug/09/09 11:37 AM Filed in:
Chris MyersExhale.
While there's still no definite timeline on how long Texans starting center Chris Myers will be on the sideline with a high ankle sprain, the news coming out of Texans camp today could have been much worse.
When asked during a post-practice Q&A (published on houstontexans.com) whether Myers' injury would require surgery, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said "no, all indications are to me that he's fine and that we'll rest it, rehab it and get him back out there."
But Kubiak was non-committal about Myers' return since high ankle sprains can be tricky from a rehab standpoint.
"Well those high ankles (sprains), I don't think you know," said Kubiak. "You'll see two weeks, you'll see four weeks. With Chris, I'd work more towards the short end, but that's just me knowing him. I know we can count on Chris, but I can't put at timetable on it."
The good news is that Myers suffered no broken bones or torn knee ligaments. After hearing reports of the injury yesterday, I was fearing the worst.
Myers took his fair share of grief from fans last season but the Texans are much better off with him than without him.
For what he may lack in raw power, Myers is an accomplished technician in the Alex Gibbs' blocking scheme. He makes the line calls and has put on some weight in anticipation of facing at least four opponents this season that run a 3-4, meaning he will be facing nose tackles like Kris Jenkins and Vince Wilfork who outweigh him by 30-40 lbs.
Last season was the first time in Alex Gibbs' career that he had all five lineman play all 16 games together and that consistency most certainly contributed to a few wins.
Rookie 3rd rounder Antoine Caldwell has been running second team center in practice and he and Chris White are sharing reps in Myers' absence. While the experience will help Caldwell - who will eventually emerge as a starter at center or guard - I would rather see him learn in an environment other than trial by fire like Duane Brown did last year.
(examiner.com)