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Notes from the Texans' practice and locker room on Friday at Reliant Stadium:

Vickers’ Status
Fullback Lawrence Vickers left the Tampa Bay win in fourth quarter with a hamstring, and had to sit out last week’s victory over Jacksonville. He practiced on a limited basis today, and head coach Gary Kubiak will decide before Sunday’s contest whether or not Vickers will suit up against Atlanta.

“Lawrence will be a game-time decision,” Kubiak said. “I did not practice him today because we don’t do much on Friday anyway. I will work him out before the game and we’ll see. He’s come a long way, but we’ll see.”

Defensive end Tim Bulman (calf) didn’t practice Friday and was ruled out for Sunday, while tight end Garrett Graham (hamstring) is questionable.

No play-count
Andre Johnson missed six week because of a hamstring injury before returning against Jacksonville in Week 12. The wide receiver’s time on the field was limited against the Jaguars, but that won’t be the case against the Falcons.

“Andre took everything in practice and you’re going to see Andre just get better,” Kubiak said. “Let’s remember he missed six, seven weeks of football. I don’t have a play count on him this week. I think he’ll be fine, but he should get better every time out.”

Johnson is ready to go, and explained his and the team’s mindset with T.J. Yates as the starter.

“You have to go out, play the game, throw the ball, catch it, run the ball, make tackles on defense,” Johnson said. “It’s still the same game. If we go out and play football the way we know how to play it, we’ll be fine.”

Delhomme impressions
With three days under his belt as a Houston Texan, backup quarterback Jake Delhomme continues to learn the offense and learn more about his teammates as well. Before he joined the team, though, Delhomme had a favorable impression of the squad.

 “I knew they were a talented football team, but just to watch the guys work, to me that’s the biggest thing, watching those guys work,” Delhomme said. “It’s very impressive to see the dedication from early in the morning to late in the evening. That’s something that’s real impressive to me.”

Delhomme has put in long hours, along with starter T.J. Yates and third quarterback Kellen Clemens to learn the playbook, and described his train of thought if he has to enter the ballgame should Yates go down.

“I think the biggest thing is don’t make it bigger than what it is,” Delhomme said. I remember going into my first playoff start, that was the thing that I think our team preached because we were a young team with not a lot of playoff experience whatsoever.”

Matt Schaub