Evening Wrap-Up: 8/18, The Devil Went Down To...Metairie

- Ben Tate's injury was finally revealed: a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle. It's almost fortunate for the Texans that it happened now, because it won't threaten his training camp status for next year.

- Jerome Solomon pens an excellent piece on Steve Slaton's fumbleitis, with pertinent quotes from Texans management on how he runs higher when he's tired. I didn't think he looked all that bad in the Texans opening game in Arizona, at least considering how he came out of a lot of jumbo sets. But he still needs to improve his cutting to really be effective in the zone-blocking scheme.

- ESPN's AFC South Blogger Paul Kuharsky infiltrated the Texans-Saints scrimmages today, filing his own report on Slaton and also noting that the early practice was poorly attended, relatively short, and pretty uneventful. Sounds like every birthday I've had since I reached high school. On the flip side, WWTV's Bradley Handwerger kept very detailed tabs on the practices. I'm glad we've reached the point where it's appropriate to say "owned" in a headline. NOLA.com also had a pretty detailed recap.

- Owen Daniel's return is "on schedule". I really hope the Texans are able to get him into that last preseason game, because I'm pretty wary of throwing him out there in game action completely cold. Those of you who were around for last season may remember how poor Dunta Robinson looked after he took the same route in a little more haughty manner. 

- David Anderson's weekly Chronicle piece takes a look at his past; namely, the first times he stepped onto the field. He then mentions how Jacoby Jones' mom will be going ham in the kitchen for him.

- The person who benefits the most from Ben Tate's injury? Jeremiah Johnson. He knows a thing or two about getting hurt, and is focused on making the most of his opportunity, according to John Oehser of Fanhouse.

- Amobi Okoye and Darryl Sharpton have impressed Gary Kubiak, and Sharpton could very well play himself into the teams starting lineup on the weak side. That's probably the best case scenario for the Texans considering Xavier Adibi's fragility and Danny Clark's one dimensional game. Arian Foster also got plenty of kudos from Kubiak at today's practice. Other good quotes included Jacoby Jones on feeding "Schaubie" gumbo and how that will affect the number of balls thrown his way, Kareem Jackson on how Drew Brees keeps them off-balance with the snap count, and Trindon Holliday getting many questions about his size.

- Neil Rackers one-upped Kris Brown in practice, going 8-8 while Brown was 7-8. I sure wish I had the feeling that this mattered, but the deeper we get into training camp, the more it seems like Brown has always been "the guy" for the coaching staff.