Yahoo Sports: Texans tackle Wade adjusts to mild expectations

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-texans-wade&prov=ap&type=lgns

HOUSTON (AP) -- Todd Wade must have felt a little deja vu when he watched the premature World Series hype surrounding the Houston Astros this spring.

He experienced the same kind of preseason hype as a member of the 2003 Miami Dolphins, where a stout defense and an offense led by running back Ricky Williams were supposed to push the franchise back to prominence.

Instead, like this year's Astros after acquiring pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, the Dolphins failed to meet lofty expectations.

"It's a good thing for the city and everything to see a team picked, but for the most part the expectations and everything are not a good thing for the team,'' said Wade, who signed with Houston in the offseason. "You lose a couple of games and people are jumping up and down. That's what happened in Miami last year.''

Wade hasn't forgotten that it was the Texans who came into town and pulled off a 21-20 season-opening upset that brought Dolphins fans crashing back to earth.

Miami missed the playoffs by one game. If that happens with the third-year Texans this season, they'll be heroes.

"(Owner) Bob McNair came in, stressed to us, 'Stay humble and don't talk about it,''' Wade said, referring to goal-setting. "We'll start at the bottom this season and let actions speak.''

The 6-foot-8, 317-pound right tackle towers over his new teammates, even his fellow Goliaths on the offensive line.

It could be argued the size of his paycheck is commensurate. The Texans made sure they landed him in free agency with a six-year, $30 million contract that included a $10 million signing bonus.

"There's no substitute for experience in the offensive line,'' coach Dom Capers said. ``Very few rookies just jump in. We went through our share the first year, we were a lot more efficient last year and, hopefully, we'll be a lot more efficient this year.''

The Texans cut their sacks-allowed total from a whopping 76 in their expansion year to 36 last season.

Wade replaces Greg Randall, a one-season Band-Aid who is with the St. Louis Rams this summer. He joins returning starters Steve McKinney, Zach Wiegert and Chester Pitts, along with freshly promoted left tackle Seth Wand.

The moves allow Capers to stash veterans such as Marcus Spears, Fred Weary and Todd Washington on the bench.

"I like what I've seen with the offensive line,'' said Capers. "They're working hard and we should have more depth, and Todd's a big part of that.''

Like many young players, Wade admits he thought he'd be with the team that drafted him for his whole career. When Miami didn't offer anything close to the Texans package, though, he realized his fourth season with the Dolphins had been his last.

"I like everything that's going on here, the whole organization, the communication between staff and players, everything,'' said Wade, adding that his new home is just a 5 1/2 -hour drive from his hometown of Jackson, Miss. "You just couldn't draw it up any better.''