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Photo: AP Image 1 of / 65 Caption Close Image 2 of 65 The ranking is not only about who’s best, but who’s the most valuable, including the importance of his position within the team’s offensive and defensive schemes. For instance, if the defense still played a 4-3, DeMeco Ryans would play middle linebacker and rank in the top 10. But they play a 3-4, and his position doesn’t spend much time on the field because he’s usually replaced on passing downs by a cornerback. less The ranking is not only about who’s best, but who’s the most valuable, including the importance of his position within the team’s offensive and defensive schemes. For instance, if the defense still ... more Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 3 of 65 50. Brett Hartmann, punter 50. Brett Hartmann, punter Photo: Brant Ward / The Chronicle Image 4 of 65 49. Derek Newton, offensive tackle 49. Derek Newton, offensive tackle Photo: Paul Ladd / Houston Texans Image 5 of 65 Image 6 of 65 48. Brandon Harris, cornerback 48. Brandon Harris, cornerback Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 7 of 65 47. Matt Leinart, quarterback 47. Matt Leinart, quarterback Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 8 of 65 46. Shiloh Keo, strong safety 46. Shiloh Keo, strong safety Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 9 of 65 45. Tim Dobbins, inside linebacker 45. Tim Dobbins, inside linebacker Photo: Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle Image 10 of 65 Image 11 of 65 44. Bryan Braman, outside linebacker 44. Bryan Braman, outside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 12 of 65 43. Garrett Graham, tight end 43. Garrett Graham, tight end Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 13 of 65 42. Jesse Nading, outside linebacker 42. Jesse Nading, outside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 14 of 65 41. Sherrick McManis, cornerback 41. Sherrick McManis, cornerback Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle Image 15 of 65 Image 16 of 65 40. Tim Bulman, defensive end 40. Tim Bulman, defensive end Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 17 of 65 39. Tim Jamison, defensive tackle 39. Tim Jamison, defensive tackle Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 18 of 65 38. Derrick Ward, running back 38. Derrick Ward, running back Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 19 of 65 37. T.J. Yates, quarterback 37. T.J. Yates, quarterback Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 20 of 65 Image 21 of 65 36. Neil Rackers, kicker 36. Neil Rackers, kicker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 22 of 65 35. Quintin Demps, safety 35. Quintin Demps, safety Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 23 of 65 34. Antoine Caldwell, guard 34. Antoine Caldwell, guard Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 24 of 65 33. Rashad Butler, offensive tackle 33. Rashad Butler, offensive tackle Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 25 of 65 Image 26 of 65 32. Troy Nolan, free safety 32. Troy Nolan, free safety Photo: Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle Image 27 of 65 31. Darryl Sharpton, inside linebacker 31. Darryl Sharpton, inside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 28 of 65 30. Earl Mitchell, nose tackle 30. Earl Mitchell, nose tackle Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 29 of 65 29. James Casey, fullback/tight end 29. James Casey, fullback/tight end Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 30 of 65 Image 31 of 65 28. Jacoby Jones, receiver/punt returner 28. Jacoby Jones, receiver/punt returner Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 32 of 65 27. Lawrence Vickers, fullback 27. Lawrence Vickers, fullback Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 33 of 65 26. Brice McCain, cornerback 26. Brice McCain, cornerback Photo: Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle Image 34 of 65 25. Joel Dreessen, tight end 25. Joel Dreessen, tight end Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 35 of 65 Image 36 of 65 24. Shaun Cody, nose tackle 24. Shaun Cody, nose tackle Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 37 of 65 23. Jason Allen, cornerback 23. Jason Allen, cornerback Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle Image 38 of 65 22. Kareem Jackson, cornerback 22. Kareem Jackson, cornerback Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 39 of 65 21. Mike Brisiel, guard 21. Mike Brisiel, guard Photo: Karen Warren / Chronicle Image 40 of 65 Image 41 of 65 20. DeMeco Ryans, inside linebacker 20. DeMeco Ryans, inside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 42 of 65 19. Kevin Walter, receiver 19. Kevin Walter, receiver Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 43 of 65 18. Wade Smith, guard 18. Wade Smith, guard Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle Image 44 of 65 17. Glover Quin, strong safety 17. Glover Quin, strong safety Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle Image 45 of 65 Image 46 of 65 16. Ben Tate, running back 16. Ben Tate, running back Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 47 of 65 15. Danieal Manning, free safety 15. Danieal Manning, free safety Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 48 of 65 14. Eric Winston, offensive tackle 14. Eric Winston, offensive tackle Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle Image 49 of 65 13. Owen Daniels, tight end 13. Owen Daniels, tight end Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 50 of 65 Image 51 of 65 12. Antonio Smith, defensive end 12. Antonio Smith, defensive end Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 52 of 65 11. Brooks Reed, outside linebacker 11. Brooks Reed, outside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 53 of 65 10. Chris Myers, center 10. Chris Myers, center Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle Image 54 of 65 9. Mario Williams, outside linebacker 9. Mario Williams, outside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 55 of 65 Image 56 of 65 8. Connor Barwin, outside linebacker 8. Connor Barwin, outside linebacker Photo: Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle Image 57 of 65 7. J.J. Watt, defensive tackle 7. J.J. Watt, defensive tackle Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle Image 58 of 65 6. Duane Brown, offensive tackle 6. Duane Brown, offensive tackle Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 59 of 65 5. Johnathan Joseph, cornerback 5. Johnathan Joseph, cornerback Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle Image 60 of 65 Image 61 of 65 4. Andre Johnson, receiver 4. Andre Johnson, receiver Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 62 of 65 3. Brian Cushing, inside linebacker 3. Brian Cushing, inside linebacker Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 63 of 65 2. Arian Foster, running back 2. Arian Foster, running back Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 64 of 65 1. Matt Schaub, quarterback 1. Matt Schaub, quarterback Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle Image 65 of 65 When Peyton Manning is single the Texans should try to mingle 1 / 65 Back to Gallery

Peyton Manning hasn’t yet come home smelling like cheap perfume, with lipstick on his collar and a $2,000 tab from a strip joint clothing-optional establishment, but the Manning-Indianapolis Colts marriage is moving closer and closer to divorce.

Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay are sniping at each other in such a way that it is obvious the two have grown apart and the differences are irreconcilable.

As B.B. King says it, the thrill is gone.

Thus potential suitors from coast-to-coast, from Miami to San Francisco should be making plans for when Manning hits the open market in March.

Should the Texans?

Duh. If he is healthy, you darn tootin’ they should make a run at him. That’s a significant if, but otherwise there is not much to even discuss.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped brain-damaged local radio scrubs from poisoning the airways with their illogical reasoning.

One chunky guy – OK, he is less chunky than he used to be according to the ads he reads on-air every 10 minutes – is going with the thought that the Texans offense is built around Arian Foster, so why would they want Peyton Manning? I know, silly isn’t it?

My guess is just as my better half would rework her game plan if Idris Elba showed up one day, the Texans’ offense can be tweaked to accommodate Manning.

You know I am a charter member of the Matt Schaub Fan Club. Check the record; I was the first media member in this city to even mention him as a replacement for David Carr. You’re welcome.

But Schaub vs. Manning is no contest. And there is no guarantee that Schaub will be healthy next year either, as he is coming off a major Lisfranc injury. Some athletes never return to their prior form after having surgery on that joint.

As for the Texans’ offense, Schaub wasn’t exactly the best on the move as is, so how will he do on the move on a foot that has been surgically repaired? He says he will be fine, but that’s what all athletes say.

So, yeah, when the divorce agreement is final, the Texans have to kick Manning’ tires (or neck, as it were, as he has had a couple of surgeries on it).

The window of opportunity for championships in the NFL is a small one, and you must try to improve wherever you can to get there. The Texans would be doing their fans a disservice if they didn’t look into whether Manning was interested in playing here. And they ought to ask him to bring Reggie Wayne with him.

Oh, but wait, I’ll take “Silly Things Said on the Radio” for $1,000, Alex.

Some little kid on another station went on a mini-rant about why the Texans shouldn’t be interested in Manning. His claim was that it would be like renting a championship should Manning come in and lead the Texans to a Super Bowl.

The Texans would have title, the child said, but it wouldn’t feel right. All you would have is a championship ring he said. No, he really did.

I won’t even comment on his statement, because I’m familiar with I Corinthians 13:11. (Granted even as a child I never said anything that ridiculous.)