"DeMeco Ryans: Skills of a 10 Year Veteran"

Lost in the fallout from the 2006 draft is the fact that second-round draft choice DeMeco Ryans had a remarkable season at middle linebacker, finishing with 125 tackles and 3½ sacks. At 23, he's already the unquestioned leader of this defense. The only problem is that the former Alabama star is so unassuming that coaches have asked him to become more of a vocal presence on the field.

"I've coached players like Gary Plummer and Ken Norton Jr.," Smith said, "and DeMeco already has the recognition skills those guys had in their 10th years. A lot of times rookies will come over to the sideline all wide-eyed when something goes wrong, but that never happened to him."

Ryans said he takes a lot of pride in the fact that the Texans have chosen to build around their defense. "We have to be the backbone of the team," he said. "If the offense can put a few points on the board, we think we can do the rest." READ MORE