Notes from the Texans' practice and locker room on Friday at Reliant Stadium:
Procedure finishedUnlike the previous two days of practice, injured outside linebacker Mario Williams was not on the sidelines watching his teammates on Friday. Instead, Williams underwent surgery on his injured pectoral muscle.
"Mario's surgery went well," defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "We talked to the doctor, he had it today and they said everything went well and he's in good spirits. That's good news for him for the long term."
Schaub for Sunday
Injury-wise, wide receiver Andre Johnson (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game, and fullback James Casey (pectoral muscle) is listed as doubtful. All other Texans, including quarterback Matt Schaub (shoulder) are listed as probable.
"Matt practiced today and took the full practice again today, so it looks good for him," Phillips said.
Hall of Famers on the docketPhillips is also extremely impressed with the Ravens defense, and pointed out that a pair of players in safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis will likely be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when their playing days are over.
"Ed Reed's spectacular," Phillips said. " There's not many Hall of Fame players playing right now and he's one of them. He can be in the deep middle and intercept a play in the curl and then run it all the way back for a touchdown. You got to be very aware of where he is."
Free safety Danieal Manning has the utmost respect for the way his counterpart in Baltimore is able to consistently come up with takeaways for the Ravens.
"Since he came into the League, the guy's always been making plays," Manning said. "He's just got a knack for the ball, and he also comes across as one of those guys that want to always make plays."
Manning said Reed is capable of such heroics largely because of his preparation.
"He's definitely a great teacher of the game and a great student of the game," Manning said. "You can tell the way he watches film, certain defenses he's lined up in that you know he's supposed to play a certain responsibility and he goes and makes a play somewhere else, that's just being a great player."
Phillips wasn't stingy in his praise of Lewis either.
"Ray Lewis is the same way," Phillips said. "The guy's been playing for a long, long time, but he's been playing a tremendously high level for a long time, which is really hard to do. He continues to play that well and he's certainly a leader of the time."
Quotable"It's like a UFC fight or a boxing match, 12 rounds, you've got to continue to take those licks and you put those licks on them." – FS Danieal Manning on how to be more physical than the Ravens.
"I got a call from (New York Jets Head Coach) Rex (Ryan) and he told me what was going on and I said 'Hey, I'm good with it. I can pick up the pieces and roll with anything.'" – WR Derrick Mason on how he found he was traded to the Texans.
