The Texans are dealing with a rash of injuries heading into their home opener this Sunday against the Colts. On the bright side, running back Ahman Green should be rejoining the lineup.
Green's a go: After missing the last two games with an ankle injury, Pro Bowl running back Ahman Green should return to the lineup on Sunday when the Texans host the Colts in their home opener.
"He's fine," head coach Gary Kubiak said. "He should be ready to go, unless something happens between today and tomorrow. He should be ready to go and he'll back up Steve (Slaton) and hopefully get some effective carries for us."
Green had practiced with the scout team until this week when he entered the running back rotation. The 11th-year pro has been backing up rookie Steve Slaton, who earned a starting spot in Green's absence.
"20 (Slaton) is a hard guy to get off the field right now," Kubiak said. "We thought we were going to split time with him and Chris (Taylor), but he won't come off the field and that's a good thing. So he'll do whatever he feels like he can handle, 20, and then Ahman will take the rest of it."
{QUOTE}Green's return comes just as the Texans lose Taylor for the week. Taylor suffered a deep thigh bruise against the Jags and sat out from practice after having the bruise drained.
"As of today, it doesn't look good," Kubiak said. "He did not practice today either. He's got a serious thigh bruise that was drained and as of right now, it doesn't look very good."
Demps questionable, secondary shake up: Safety Will Demps was sidelined for the second straight practice with a hamstring injury and is questionable for Sunday's game.
"Will did not practice again today, so that's a set back," Kubiak said. "I said to you all yesterday that I didn't want to get ahead of myself. I thought he might be ready to play. It looks like I am a little ahead of myself at this point, but we'll see tomorrow. We'll keep our fingers crossed."
Demps' timing couldn't be worse. The Texans lost starting strong safety C.C. Brown to IR this week and will have to rely on a rotation of backups in the secondary.
Most likely, 10th-year pro Nick Ferguson will start at safety with Brandon Harrison and rookie Dominique Barber providing support. Eugene Wilson has played both safety and cornerback in the NFL and could be added to the mix.
Defense works with crowd noise: The Texans expect their fans to be loud when the Colts offense is on the field, making life difficult for quarterback Peyton Manning. That's why Kubiak had the unit practice with crowd noise.
"When you play on the road, offensively you're always going to deal with noise," Kubiak said. "At home, you're defense deals with noise because you're crowd is gunned up on third downs and those types of things. So we worked them all day today with the noise on in the nickel situation so they can communicate in the no huddle and be ready to make their calls."
This isn't anything new, just a drill Kubiak wanted to include to remind the defense of what it's like to play in a loud environment.
"We've done it in the past," Kubiak said. "You may not do it as much for other football teams, but because this one is on the line of scrimmage so much you're going to have to do it."
Injury notes: Linebacker DeMeco Ryans worked out in pads after missing a day of practice with an ankle injury. He is expected to play on Sunday.
For the official injury report, click **here**.
