Houston Texans' Biggest Concerns Heading into the Regular Season - Bleacher Report

By far the biggest concern of the Texans heading into the regular season, the right side of the offensive line should be the greatest worry of every last Texans' fan.

The Texans tied with the Denver Broncos for the league lead in rushing attempts with 546 of them, showing that the offense is incredibly dependent on its rushing attack.

Everything for the Texans offense stems from the ground game. Matt Schaub would not be able to have the kind of success he's had for the Texans when healthy over the previous seasons if it had not been for Gary Kubiak's effective zone-blocking running scheme. 

When a team can successfully ram the ball down an opponent's throat at any point throughout the game, the main concern of that defense would clearly be to stop the run. Therefore, it is almost a guarantee that defenses will bite on the play-action fake, allowing Schaub enough time to make his high-low read and make a play for the offense.

The running game is greatly important to the Texans offense, and that is why it is such a concern that 40 percent of the offensive line will be represented by new starters.

Already in the preseason, the right side of the line has given Texans' fans a reason to worry. Despite displaying excellent pass protection, it is clear that Arian Foster and Ben Tate find it easier to consistently garner yardage while running to the left side of the line.

While the right side of the line has allowed the Texans' stable of backs to break off some big runs, that fact is counterbalanced by the fact that the concerning right side has also halted several rushing attempts.

While the right side of the line certainly has not been awful, from my observations, their inconsistent play has allowed defensive penetration in the backfield on a much more consistent basis than one would hope to see. The right side has also completely missed their assignments on several occasions, and it is imperative that those mistakes do not happen regularly once the games start to count.

Derek Newton and Antoine Caldwell, the two starters on the side of the line that makes me nervous, will improve as they garner more experience. 

The question is, though, will they be able to allow for the Texans' rushing attack to continue its dominance?

Only time will tell.