Premium Gera Vodka and the NFL TEXANS Tailgate 9-11-2011

"GERA VODKA  LAST PLAY OF THE GAME TEXANS" CBS HIGHLIGHTS!

           

• Schaub threw for 220 yards on 17-of-24 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 78.5 for the day. 
• DE Antonio Smith notched his first sack of the season and forced a fumble. The forced fumble was the seventh of his career and his first since 10/3/10 at Oakland. 
• RB Ben Tate’s 116 yards were the most by a Texans running back in his debut for the team. Stacey Mack rushed for 89 yards in the season opener at Miami on 9/7/03. 
• Tate made his NFL debut after missing his rookie season due to injury and gained four yards on his first career carry. 
• Tate scored his first career touchdown on a 2-yard run in the first quarter. 
• RB Derrick Ward made his first start as a Texan and his first since 9/27/09 vs. the New York Giants when he played for Tampa Bay. 
• Ward scored the Texans’ first touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. It was the 11th of his career. Ward has scored in consecutive games dating back to the 2010 season finale vs. Jacksonville (1/2/11). 
• Ward surpassed 2,500 career rushing yards on his 1-yard touchdown run, his sixth carry of the game. He entered the season with 2,476 career yards. 
• DE J.J. Watt recovered a fumble in his NFL debut, falling on a fumbled snap in the first quarter. Watt finished the game with five solo tackles and one quarterback hit. 
• OLB Mario Williams picked up the 50th sack of his career when he dropped Collins for a nine-yard loss in the fourth quarter. He entered the game with 48.0 career sacks. 
• Williams picked up his first sack of the season on Indianapolis’ first drive, dropping Colts QB Kerry Collins for a nine-yard loss. 
• Williams’ two sacks were the sixth and seventh of his career on opening day. He had 1.0 last season vs. Indianapolis, 2.0 in 2008 at Pittsburgh and 2.0 in 2007 vs. Kansas City. Although he officially had one sack in last season’s opener, he actually registered a pair of half-sacks, giving him four multi-sack efforts in six season openers. 
• Williams registered his 12th career multi-sack game and his third on opening day. He also had 2.0 sacks in 2007 vs. Kansas City and in 2008 at Pittsburgh. 
• Williams forced a fumble on his second sack of the day. It was his 11th career forced fumble. 
• The team voted on season-long captains Friday. The offense elected WR Andre Johnson and QB Matt Schaub, while the defense elected ILB DeMeco Ryans and DE Antonio Smith. K Neil Rackers is the special teams captain. 

DID YOU KNOW?

NFL players from the Longhorns: Texas Leads The Way With 40 Players

Name	Team	Position
Lyle Sendlein	Arizona Cardinals	Center
Justin Blalock	Atlanta Falcons	Guard
Cory Redding	Baltimore Ravens	Defensive Tackle
Sergio Kindle	Baltimore Ravens	Linebacker
Henry Melton	Chicago Bears	Defensive End
Richmond McGee	Chicago Bears	Punter
Cedric Benson	Cincinnati Bengals	Running Back
Jordan Shipley	Cincinnati Bengals	Wide Receiver
Quan Cosby	Cincinnati Bengals	Wide Receiver
Roddrick Muckelroy	Cincinnati Bengals	Linebacker
Colt McCoy	Cleveland Browns	Quarterback
Phil Dawson	Cleveland Browns	Place kicker
Shaun Rogers	Cleveland Browns	Defensive Tackle
Leonard Davis	Dallas Cowboys	Guard
Roy E. Williams	Dallas Cowboys	Wide Receiver
Jermichael Finley	Green Bay Packers	Tight End
Frank Okam	Houston Texans	Defensive Tackle
Kasey Studdard	Houston Texans	Guard
Derek Lokey	Kansas City Chiefs	Defensive Tackle
Derrick Johnson	Kansas City Chiefs	Linebacker
Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	Running Back
Ricky Williams	Miami Dolphins	Running Back
Brian Robison	Minnesota Vikings	Defensive End
Cedric Griffin	Minnesota Vikings	Cornerback
Cullen Loeffler	Minnesota Vikings	Long Snapper
David Thomas	New Orleans Saints	Tight End
Aaron Ross	New York Giants	Cornerback
Charlie Tanner	New York Jets	Guard
Rodrique Wright	New York Jets	Defensive End
Lamarr Houston	Oakland Raiders	Defensive End
Michael Huff	Oakland Raiders	Safety
Casey Hampton	Pittsburgh Steelers	Defensive Tackle
Jonathan Scott	Pittsburgh Steelers	Offensive Tackle
Limas Sweed	Pittsburgh Steelers	Wide Receiver
Tony Hills	Pittsburgh Steelers	Offensive Tackle
Nathan Vasher	San Diego Chargers	Cornerback
Quentin Jammer	San Diego Chargers	Cornerback
Tarell Brown	San Francisco 49ers	Cornerback
Earl Thomas	Seattle Seahawks	Safety
Chris Ogbonnaya	St. Louis Rams	Running Back
Hunter Lawrence	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Place kicker
Roy Miller	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Defensive Tackle
Tim Crowder	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Defensive End
Ahmard Hall	Tennessee Titans	Fullback
Bo Scaife	Tennessee Titans	Tight End
Chris Simms	Tennessee Titans	Quarterback
Michael Griffin	Tennessee Titans	Safety
Vince Young	Tennessee Titans	Quarterback
Brian Orakpo	Washington Redskins	Linebacker
Derrick Dockery	Washington Redskins	Guard

Are you ready For Some Football? Gera Vodka Tailgating Texans Opener!

Premium Gera Vodka will be paying tribute to all the victims of 911. We would also ask everyone to remember the first responders. When debris rained from the sky in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, the first responders to the terrorist attack did not turn away. They rushed to the World Trade Center buildings while the world around them crumbled. CNN  Donate

Are you ready For Some Football? Gera Vodka Tailgating   

J.A.E. Wholesale Tailgating Season Opener! Texans and Colts. Be sure to stop by Blue parking and  celebrate with us. Then were headed over to The Davenport Lounge at The Davenport Lounge, 2117 Richmond Ave Houston, TX 77098 for the after game party and Free Gera Vodka Tasting! Map It

The Davenport is known diverse beverage selections. Psycho Sundays till-2am with live DJs Sunday read more

Pregame/Halftime Activities

NFL coverage on Fox  will begin Sunday at noon with a special commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. A two-minute intro for the pregame coverage was filmed by former president George W. Bush. 

• Pregame: TORO zip line entrance; Texans Cheerleaders performance; 9/11 10th Anniversary pregame ceremonies broadcast by NFL featuring "Taps" played from Shanksville, Pa.; moment of silence; field-sized American flag.

• “Texas, Our Texas”: Performed by the Bull Pen Pep Band

• Texas State Flag: Held by HPD and HFD

• Field-Sized American Flag: Held by HPD and HFD

• National Anthem: Clay Walker

• Color Guard: U.S. Forces Joint Color Guard

• Halftime: Texas A&M University Fighting Texas Aggie Band

• Homefield Advantage Captain: FDNY firefighters Joel Attis, Timothy Hinchey, Michael Kaeser and Brian Gibbons; NYPD officers Robert Bello, Joseph Sanfilippo, Thomas Bomeisl and Amin Kosseim

• Coin Toss Captain: U.S. Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis

The Houston Texans are looking to rebound from a 6-10 campaign last season and have reloaded with an eight player draft class, which includes defensive end J.J. Watt. Last year the Colts and Texans split the regular season series, with Houston claiming the season opener at Reliant Stadium.

 Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak's contract has been extended for another two years.  The Texans 2011 Super Bowl odds were set at +3300 or 33/1 at Sports Interaction.com.  With Matt Schaub looking more and more like a franchise quarterback, the real question mark for Houston was whether they would keep their head coach heading into the 2010 regular NFL season.  The team made it official on Wednesday despite earlier reports of a three year extension.

Kubiak has a 31-33 record in four seasons with the Texans. He led Houston to a 9-7 record in 2009, the eight-year-old franchise's first winning season

Premium Gera Vodka Proud Sponsor of The Texans Radio Network

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Intelligence Report

Five things you need to know about the Texans:

1. Revamped and coordinated: Wade Phillips' restructuring of the Texans into a 3-4 is not as radical as it's been painted to be. Most of the guys up front will have the same responsibilities they've had in the past, and offenses will have a much harder time predicting where the fourth pass-rusher and any extras are coming from. If Mario Williams is more comfortable as an outside linebacker by opening day against the Colts, things will really be on the upswing defensively. DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing stand to be tackling machines in the system, and along with Williams, Connor Barwin and rookie Brooks Reed stand to be impact rushers from the outside linebacker slots.

2. Run game sets the tone: The Texans ran all over the Colts in the opener last year and won, then forgot the formula for success in the rematch. Gary Kubiak is a passing-game guru, but fewer throws mean better things for Houston. Arian Foster, despite a nagging hamstring, can be magic behind the Texans' line, and the team will have a deep stable of changeups at running back as well. And the better they run it, the more effective Matt Schaub's play-action and bootleg passing game will be.

3. Secondary should be better: The 2010 Texans were simply overwhelmed in the secondary and gave up yards at an alarming rate. Pass targets simply ran with too much room and too easily gained separation. The plan that had so many kids playing together was a flawed one. Enter free-agent cornerback Johnathan Joseph and free-agent safety Danieal Manning. Each should be a major settling force. They will be resources for Glover Quin, the best corner last year who's shifting to safety and to Kareem Jackson, if the team stubbornly leaves him in the starting lineup rather than going with Jason Allen at the start. The unit has contested far more balls in practice and it should translate. Move from terrible to average and the big picture improves a great deal.

4. Targets are sufficient: Much is made of the steady but unspectacular Kevin Walter and the inconsistent Jacoby Jones as the team's receivers beyond Andre Johnson. But the fact of the matter is that tight end Owen Daniels is the second option in the passing game. The Texans can, and will, sometimes line up with Daniels, Joel Dreessen and tight end-turned-fullback James Casey on the field together with the ability to bunch things up or spread things out depending who's on the field defensively and what matchups are most favorable.

5. Killer instinct: It's a theme the Texans probably get sick of hearing about, but they can easily do away with it by showing a good deal more of it. This was a slow-starting offense a year ago, and in crunch time it was a team that too often failed to throw, or land, the needed knockout punch. Players know people are tired of hearing about Houston as a potential breakout team and a new playoff entry. That doubt can be a driving force. But if this team fails to quiet it, major change awaits.

-- Paul Kuharsky, ESPN.com