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Practice report: Johnson ruled out

By Nick Scurfield
September 19, 2008 Comments (0) | Avg. Rating
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The Texans held their final practice of the week on Friday in preparation for their Week 3 contest against the Tennessee Titans. The team will take off for Nashville on Saturday morning as they look to even their record at 1-1 against the 2-0 division-leading Titans.

Johnson out for Sunday: Defensive tackle Travis Johnson will miss Sunday's game against the Titans with a knee injury. Johnson, who started 13 games last season, sprained his left knee against Pittsburgh in the opener and was limited in practice this week.

Sixteenth-year veteran Jeff Zgonina will start in Johnson's place alongside Amobi Okoye. Zgonina played in all 16 games for the Texans last season, starting one. Behind Zgonina, rookie defensive tackle Frank Okam will see his first game action since being drafted in the fifth round from the University of Texas. He was inactive against the Steelers in Week 1.

"He's done a good job," Kubiak said of the 6-5, 342-pound Okam. "He's earned the right, really, to get on the field, the way he's been practicing."

Looking forward to Sunday: The Texans have had the difficult task of balancing the fallout from Hurricane Ike with preparations for their upcoming game. In addition to off-field destruction, Ike caused several changes to the Texans' normal routine this week.

"Nobody is going to feel sorry for themselves. We're going to just keep plugging and doing our job and hopefully we can put a smile on the faces of a lot of people in this city this weekend and go out and play well."

- Head coach Gary Kubiak
On Tuesday, typically the players' day off, the Texans held practice. Practice and meeting times were altered on the fly throughout the week as well, and the Texans were not able to conduct a walkthrough on the Reliant Stadium floor as usual because the stadium bowl remains closed for inspection and repairs.

The players haven't let the adjustments become a distraction.

"When they've been out here and in meetings with us and been out here on the field, I think it's been good," Kubiak said. "I think the tough thing for them is the minute practice is over there's a lot of questions about everything else that's going on and I'm sure the minute they get home there's a lot of questions and issues.

"But that's the hand we've been dealt, and nobody is going to feel sorry for themselves. We're going to just keep plugging and doing our job and hopefully we can put a smile on the faces of a lot of people in this city this weekend and go out and play well."

Lending a helping hand: Texans vice president of security Ryan Reichert distributed free Prashek's barbeque to Houston Police Department officers on Thursday evening at the HPD Association building near downtown. Reichert, who previously served with the HPD for 10 years, paid for the food out of his own pocket as a sign of gratitude for the officers' tireless work since Ike made landfall over the weekend.

"I kind of walked in their shoes, so I know what they're going through working these swing shifts and crazy hours," Reichert said. "With lack of city power and utilities and the curfew in effect, these guys can't get a good meal. They are a victim of this storm just like we are. They have property damage, power outages and concerns with their families.

"So, for just one meal at least, just for a moment in time, we could kind of take that burden off of them. It served as a good distraction from what they are going through."

Texans fullback Vonta Leach stopped by to greet the police officers as they ate. Reichert and other members of the Texans' staff distributed food and visited with the officers for approximately two hours.

"It was a good diversion from the situation at hand," Reichert said. "It was just a good time for us to get out there and for me, in turn, to give back to a department that gave me so much and let them know that we're thinking about them as a community. We're all in this together."

Injury report: Tight end Mark Bruener (hamstring) will not play on Sunday. Running back Ahman Green (foot) did not participate in practice. His status remains doubtful. Swing tackle Ephraim Salaam (knee) was limited in practice but is probable for Sunday.

For the official injury report, click here.

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