In his second year as head coach, Gary Kubiak almost guided the Texans to a place they have never been -- the playoffs. Houston fans have some reason for excitement heading into the 2008 season, but the team has a difficult road to travel through a tough, rugged AFC South division. NFL Betting odds at Bodoglife.com do not like the Texans chances as the team is listed at 12/1 odds to win their division.

The acquisition of Matt Schaub proved to be a mild success for the Texans last year. The former Falcon quarterback produced an 87.2 passer rating in 11 games for Houston. Unfortunately, Schaub was somewhat injury prone and failed to give the franchise a full season to assess his abilities. This season, while possibly feeling some heat from back-up Sage Rosenfels, the Virginia product will look to lead the team to its first winning season.

Aiding Schaub will be receivers Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter. The passing game produced 234.4 yards per game last year and helped the team to a 23.7 point per game average. 

The Texans also have some proven names in their backfield in Ahman Green and new addition Chris Brown. However, Green saw little action last season due to injury and the offensive line failed to create any sizable running lanes for any of the Houston backs. Kubiak added zone-blocking wizard Alex Gibbs to his staff and drafted Virginia Tech tackle Duane Brown to improve what was a pedestrian line in 2007.

The Texans weakest unit last year was their defense. The team allowed 24 points per game as well as 230.1 yards passing per game. The team added four defensive free agents in the off season, including former Dallas corner Jacques Reeves in hopes to shore up the struggling unit.

The secondary must improve for the defense to really step it up in 2008, but this should be helped by some healthy competition. Houston currently has 16 defensive backs on their roster and it is safe to assume they will not break camp with that number.

The defensive front produced 31 sacks last season which placed them toward the middle of the pack. While defensive end Mario Williams looks to be the real deal after a 14 sack season, defensive tackle Amobi Okoye has some things to prove following a sub-par rookie campaign. If Okoye can fulfill his potential, the defensive line could take a lot of pressure of the team's weaker secondary.

NFL Betting odds at BodogLife.com list Houston at 60/1 odds to win the Super Bowl and 30/1 odds to win the AFC Championship. The team's win total is set at 7.5 with the over a -150.

Make sure you checkout our live NFL Betting Odds feed which provides the real time point spreads from the top internet sports books in the world, all in one easy to use location. Get line moves in real time and find out which NFL team has the best betting odds. 

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