Andre Johnson made it clear: he's ready

Andre Johnson doesn't talk much on the field and he speaks quietly off it.

Often, the wide receiver lets his play speak for him, as was the case Sunday afternoon in the Houston Texans' third preseason game.

"You definitely try to send a message that you're ready to go," the receiver said. "I think by going out and showing guys that you're ready to go, that makes them step their game up. That's what I try to do. I'm not a big rah-rah guy. I just try to lead by example. When I'm out on the field, whether it's 10 plays or 70 plays I'm going to give everything I got. So that's what I did."

Things went about as well as they could have for Johnson in Sunday's preseason game against the New Orleans Saints. He was a beacon of consistency on an offense that stalled at times during the Texans' 31-23 loss. Johnson caught seven passes for 131 yards in one half of play.

Johnson sometimes offhandedly mentions that people thought he was washed up last season, a season in which he caught a career high 1,598 yards. He didn't after Sunday's game, but he brought it up last week when asked about outsiders' opinions about the Texans.

So was he trying to send message to his teammates or the rest of the league?

"It don't matter," Johnson said, smiling.

Message sent (to whomever).


(espn.com)