HOUSTON — Andre Johnson is more serious than ever about helping the Houston Texans reach the postseason for the first time in their eight NFL seasons.

He just doesn’t want to talk about it.
“You can’t get there by talking,” he said. “We’re going to have to go out and win games.”
An 8-8 record in 2007 had the Texans thinking last year would be their breakthrough season. Those hopes evaporated quickly when Houston started 0-4 — playing three of the first four games on the road after Hurricane Ike rearranged the schedule.
They rebounded to finish 8-8 again, but it wasn’t enough to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive AFC South.
This year they’ll play three of their first four games at home, beginning with Sunday’s opener against the New York Jets. The key will be taking advantage of the favorable early-season schedule.
“I think that’s real big,” Johnson said. “We can’t start the season like we started last year. We have to start off on a good pace.”
Johnson is looking to build on what he did last year, when he led the NFL with 115 receptions for 1,575 yards. Perhaps most important in that goal will be the health of quarterback Matt Schaub.
Schaub missed five games in each of his first two seasons with the team. He is recovering from a sprained ankle, but is expected to start against the Jets.
“When everyone’s healthy and going, the sky is the limit for this offense,” Schaub said. “As long as we play consistently good football, play smart and take care of the football, we can do a lot of good things.”
Coach Gary Kubiak wasn’t impressed with Houston’s running game in the preseason, when Steve Slaton and Chris Brown each averaged a paltry 2.9 yards a carry.
“That’s the cornerstone of our offense,” Kubiak said. “When we run the ball well, our play-actions are good, our boots are good, all those things.”
Slaton exceeded expectations last season when he went from a projected third-down back to leading all rookies and setting a franchise record with 1,282 yards rushing. He’ll have to be better in pass protection and in the red zone this season to help the offense improve.
Houston also is planning to use Brown, who missed last season with a back injury, as a complement to Slaton in short-yardage situations.
While Houston’s offense is largely unchanged from a year ago, the defense is looking to establish a new identity in the first year under coordinator Frank Bush. The unit ranked 22nd and allowed more than 336 yards a game last season.
The Texans added defensive end Antonio Smith to play opposite Mario Williams, giving the team a legitimate pass rusher on the left side for the first time since Williams was taken with the top overall pick in 2006.
Williams improved in each of his first three seasons and is looking to take another big step this year.
“I think regardless of what happens you’ve always got pressure on yourself,” he said. “We take it with open arms and that’s all we want to do is just go ahead and play and try to perform.”
Another new face is rookie first-round pick Brian Cushing. The former Southern California standout is expected to start at strong side linebacker despite missing all four preseason games with a knee injury.
“It’s unusual, but I think that this situation called for us doing it a certain way,” Kubiak said. “We just needed to make sure we got him to game week, and we’ve kind of put him through his preseason on the practice field in our own kind of way ... he’s played in a lot of big football games, so I don’t think it’ll be to be too big for him.”
Cushing should be helped by the presence of middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who is known to teammates as a coach on the field.
Another player who will likely start Sunday after missing the entire preseason is cornerback Dunta Robinson. A contract dispute kept him away from the team until signing his franchise tender on Sunday.
Robinson’s return is a boost to a secondary that is missing cornerback Jacques Reeves, who broke his leg early in training camp. It keeps the Texans from relying on sixth-round pick Brice McCain to start on opening day.
The defense will benefit from the experience of Robinson, who is entering his sixth season, but it’s unclear how he’ll fare after working with the team for just a week before the season begins.
While most of Houston’s players have adopted a “playoffs or bust” attitude, owner Bob McNair is more tempered in his expectations for the season.
“I don’t feel that it’s ’playoffs or bust,”’ he said. “I think it’s time for the playoffs (but) it’s not going to be the end of the world. We’re not going to go away and disband if we don’t make it. We’re going to keep working harder every day and try and get better and I know we are a better team.”
“I think we are a playoff team and hopefully that is where we’ll wind up,” he continued. “But, of course, you never know.”