But that hasnt been the case during their recent slump.

HOUSTON -- New quarterback Brock Osweiler has undoubtedly upgraded the Houston Texans offense as they prepare for Sundays season opener against the Chicago Bears.The question for the Texans is whether star defensive end J.J. Watt will be slowed by back surgery that kept him out all of training camp and from each of Houstons preseason games. Watt returned to practice this week after recovering from the procedure to repair a herniated disk, and insists hes feeling great and is ready to go . He expects the coaching staff to try to limit his snaps on Sunday, but vowed to fight against such a plan.I am going to try and play every single play, he said. I am going to play as hard as I possibly can ... obviously I have fresh legs right now. Im going to carry this through the season.Watt was voted the NFLs Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season after leading the league with 17 1/2 sacks in 2015. His performance helped Houston reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012, but a 30-0 loss to Kansas City in the wild-card round made it clear that the Texans needed an upgrade at quarterback.They believe they found that in Osweiler, who started seven games for Denver last season before being benched for the playoffs in favor of Peyton Manning. Osweiler is comfortable in Houston and believes his preparation will keep any jitters at bay in his debut for the Texans.Theres no nerves, he said. I believe if you prepare the correct way, what do you have to be nervous about? Youve already played the game all week long. Now you just need to go connect the dots on Sunday.Chicago coach John Fox is very familiar with Osweiler after coaching him in Denver in the quarterbacks first three pro seasons. He knows Osweiler benefited from his time learning from Manning.He understands at a high level how to prepare ... Brocks a very good athlete and has a good head on his shoulders, Fox said. It doesnt surprise me that Houston invested in him and that hes done a very, very fine job from what Ive seen on tape.Some things to know about the first game between Chicago and Houston since 2012.WHITES DEBUT: Finally, the Bears get to see how dynamic a receiver Kevin White will be.The No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft, he missed his rookie season because of a stress fracture in his left shin. Chicago is counting on big things from White, with his size and physical skills.If he delivers, the Bears could have a dynamic tandem with Alshon Jeffery. Thats also assuming Jeffery stays healthy after calf, hamstring, groin and shoulder problems limited the former Pro Bowl receiver to nine games last season.HELPING HOPKINS: Rookie receivers Will Fuller and Braxton Miller will make their debuts. The Texans drafted both players this year to take some pressure off DeAndre Hopkins, who was third in the NFL with a career-high 1,521 yards receiving last year despite dealing with near-constant double teams. Coach Bill OBrien has been impressed with their progress and believes theyre ready to contribute.LINING UP: The Bears will have some extra ammunition to combat Watt. They signed three-time Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton on Sunday after he was a surprise cut by Green Bay, giving their offensive line a big boost.With three-time Pro Bowl lineman Kyle Long on the right side, Chicago now has two elite guards protecting quarterback Jay Cutler and opening holes for the running backs. One thing the Bears will need to find is chemistry. They go into their second straight opener shuffling their line; r Long was a late switch to right tackle a year ago after Jordan Mills got cut.Long returned to practice Monday after being sidelined since the second preseason game by a shoulder injury. He also signed a four-year contract extension through the 2021 season on Wednesday.BROWN REMAINS OUT: Houston veteran left tackle Duane Brown returned to practice this week but wont play Sunday as he continues to recover from quadriceps surgery in January. Hell be replaced by Chris Clark, in his second year with the Texans and who started 14 games for the Broncos in 2013. While Brown remains out, the Texans will get a boost with the return of right tackle Derek Newton, who had been out since injuring his hamstring on the first day of training camp.---AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cole Irvin Jersey . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Elmer Flick Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/1297n-ryne-sandberg-jersey-phillies.html .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. JD Hammer Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Bucky Walters Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Vancouver Canucks had a rough start to the season. After winning their first four games, they lost nine straight and were shut out four times in the process.But as the Canucks prepare to take on the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, theres much more hope than there was a month ago.The Canucks are 7-4-1 in their past 12 games as the embark on a five-game trip that could push them closer to a playoff spot in the West. They are four points out of a wild-card spot, partly because of the weakened conference, but that doesnt matter to the players, who are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.Were getting wins every once in a while, Canucks center Bo Horvat said. We need to put a string together. To lose a lot of games in a row and just win here and there is not good enough. We have to start winning more hockey games.Anybody can do it in this league, Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller said. There are a lot of points out there to be had. Weve got under 60 games, I guess. Its a lot of hockey. Its a lot of room to improve for us.While the Canucks (11-12-2) have the benefit of playing in the NHLs worst division, the Devils (11-7-6) have fallen behind the pack thanks to some recent struggles.The Devils rallied for a 5-4 win in Nashville on Saturday to snap a four-game slide, but they are a mere 2-4-3 in their past nine games. When the Devils cant find wins, usually its because the offense cant find goals. But that hasnt been the case during their recent slump.Corry Schneider, arguably the best goaltender in the league over the last few years, has allowed at least three goals in his past six starts.dddddddddddd Through 18 games, Schneider has a .912 save percentage, which is 12 points below his career average.I think Cory Schneiders game, theres nothing to worry about here, Devils coach John Hynes told NJ.com. Do we think he can play better? For sure. But we think that of a lot of our players. Cory Schneider has given us a chance to win games.Schneider has a chance to right himself against his former team, who traded him to the Devils during the NHL draft in 2013.There are not many guys left who I played with; even the coaching staff is totally different, Schneider told NorthJersey.com. But the staff there, the trainers and medical is still there, so its good to see them. There are very few familiar faces. But theres still a lot of fond memories from there, so its always a fun game to play.Schneider has said he wants to be a goal better going forward. If he can start allowing two instead of three, the Devils can get back on sound footing.I think thats why hes so good because, overall as a goaltender, hes highly talented, Hynes told NorthJersey.com. But hes got good self-awareness skills. Hes always trying to improve; he wants to be better. He wants to win these games, for sure, as we all do. ' ' '