Keeping Andre Johnson healthy is the key to a happy ending

When the Texans report for training camp in late July, they will have three areas of concern, and none is a surprise.

We know the Texans lack experience at backup wide receiver. We know they have new starters on the right side of their offensive line. And we know they’ll have a new kicker, punter, kickoff returner and punt returner.

If you ask me, though, the most important thing they can accomplish in camp and preseason, as well as the regular season, will be keeping Andre Johnson healthy.

Collectively, the Texans have put on a happy face about Johnson, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and missed organized team activities and the minicamp. Everyone insisted Johnson will be 100 percent and raring to go when the Texans report for camp.

But the sight of Johnson watching practice with a towel over his head – a sight the Texans saw too much last season when he missed nine games – has to worry the coaches and players.

Johnson, who turns 31 in July, is vital to what the Texans hope will be their most successful season, a season that would lead to the Super Bowl.
Johnson suffered hamstring injuries in both legs and missed nine starts last season, when the Texans finished 10-6 and won the AFC South for the first time. He was limited to 33 catches for 492 yards.

But Johnson was healthy in the playoffs. He had 13 catches for 201 yards in the victory over Cincinnati and the loss at Baltimore. If he did that with rookie T.J. Yates at quarterback, imagine what he could have done if Matt Schaub had been healthy.

Since Gary Kubiak became the Texans’ coach in 2006, Johnson has started 16 games three times (2006, 2008, 2009). He had at least 101 catches in each of those seasons, amassing career highs of 115 receptions and 1,575 yards in 2008.

If his knee hadn’t forced him to miss the last three games of the 2010 season, Johnson was almost guaranteed of a third consecutive season with at least 100 catches and 1,500 yards. In 13 starts that season, he had 86 receptions for 1,216 yards.

The Texans are hoping last season was an aberration for Johnson and not a sign his career is starting to decline. In 2003, his rookie season, he was a hit from day one, so there’s a lot of wear and tear on his wheels.

This is a time for Johnson to make his run for Canton. For several years now, he’s been acknowledged as one of the two best receivers in the NFL with Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald. With the Texans playing five nationally televised games this season, including four in prime time, Johnson has an opportunity to regain his spot at the head of the receiver class.

If Johnson can stay healthy, the inexperience of Lestar Jean, DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin won’t be as troubling.

If Johnson stays healthy, new starters on the offensive line and the rebuilt special teams won’t be as worrisome.

If I’m Kubiak, I’m telling Johnson to work on his conditioning but to take off in the preseason. I wouldn’t let him go full speed in practice until two weeks before the regular- season opener vs. Miami.

But Kubiak won’t do it. And Johnson wouldn’t accept that strategy, anyway, because that’s not the kind of player he is. He’s a competitor, and he knows he’s better on Sunday when he practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Since they became teammates in 2007, Schaub and Johnson have been as productive as any twosome in the league. Their health is paramount for the Texans to be a genuine Super Bowl contender for the first time.


(chron.com)