Five for Friday: Jacoby, timeshares, Foster's jacket

1. Something that seems true (and totally is): The Texans and Jacoby Jones are better off without each other. The first time I ever spoke to Jones was back in July, during training camp. I was asking him if he felt any extra pressure to perform now that he'd gotten a new contract from the Texans. He dismissed that idea, and basically said he doesn't allow himself to feel pressure. "It's only pressure if you let it be pressure," he said. This seemed like a strange response, even at the time, because from the outside it appeared as though not feeling pressure was a big part of the reason Jones had been a disappointing player in Houston. Maybe a little pressure would do him some good, I thought. And then, in the playoffs, when the pressure was highest, he let it be pressure. I am sympathetic to Jones in some ways. He doesn't necessarily seem like a bad guy to me. He just seems like a not particularly good football player who is not particularly strong mentally. That, mixed with a costly playoff flub and a desperate city, is an awfully bitter cocktail. I wouldn't go so far as to predict Jones will find success with another NFL team, but I think he has a better chance somewhere else, where he won't have to deal with all this pent-up frustration and new-born hostility in Houston. As for the Texans, I am confident they can find a No. 2 receiver somewhere who can catch at least 31 passes in a season. 2. A thing that seems untrue (but totally isn't): Kyle Lowry belongs in the NBA All-Star game. That just doesn't sound right, does it? But check it: His scoring average (16.7) is 26th in the NBA; he's fifth in assists (8.6), averages better than six rebounds per game and ranks 11th in the conveniently encompassing "points-rebounds-assists" category. On that list, he ranks ahead of Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Steve Nash, to name a few. It seems clear he has played well enough to make the team. Whether he actually does is another matter, of course. Lowry remains relatively anonymous. He plays for a team that just last night cracked the .500 barrier. Anybody who has seen the Rockets play this year knows how valuable he is, but to the casual fan clicking buttons on the Internet machine, Lowry is still sort of just some guy. 3. Something that is neither true nor untrue (but is fun to talk about): The Texans will be blowing a huge opportunity if they don't re-sign Mario Williams. Look, I get it. Williams is expensive, and the Texans had plenty of pass rush and the second-best defense in the NFL without him. There is a reasonable argument to be made for letting Williams walk and using that money to grab a wide receiver (or two) or another cornerback or something. But that would be like striking oil in your backyard and selling the property to invest in some timeshares in Orlando. I don't mean to imply the Texans got lucky with Brooks Reed and Connor Barwin, I'm just saying they have come upon the amazing and unlikely good fortune of having three outstanding pass rushers on the same team at the same time. Most teams are trying to find one. It may appear problematic that all three are outside linebackers, given only two outside linebackers can play at the same time. That's not a problem, that's a solution. Reed or Barwin would be one of the best bench players in the NFL, and imagine sliding Williams down to defensive end on third-and-long. The Texans have a sure thing and a major strength with those three, and it would be a shame to see them risk it to chase gaps elsewhere on the roster. 4. Something that recently happened: Nick Saban dis-endeared himself to Bear Bryant awards. As I reported yesterday, the Bear Bryant people wanted to name Saban a finalist for their coach of the year award, which made sense, considering he won the national championship this year. But the Bear Bryant people like it when the winner shows up to accept his award, which was given in Houston Thursday, so they have a rule: If you don't agree to attend the award ceremony, you aren't eligible. And, well, Saban told them that was all fine, but he wouldn't be attending. It was the second time he has done this to the award named after an Alabama legend. I'd say it wasn't that big of a deal and that lots of coaches would have done the same thing, but when you're saying no to a public appearance even Bill Snyder is saying yes to, I have a hard time buying that. 5. Something that is about to happen: Arian Foster is about to become one of the NFL's biggest stars, and that will complicate his identity. A second season of massive statistical production has established Foster as one of the NFL's best running backs. A playoff berth got him extra exposure, and during the Texans' bye week he appeared on CBS as an analyst wearing a plaid sport coat and looking so cool you would have been afraid to touch him with bare hands. People know him, now. But here's the deal with Foster: He doesn't want to be thought of as just a football player. He goes out of his way to remind people football is not the well from which he harvests his identity. Just the other day, he suggested on Twitter that anybody following him because he was a football player should stop following him. Certainly almost all of the 145,000 people who follow Foster do so because he plays football. It might be taking it too far to say this bothers him, but it is compelling that his profile makes no reference to his football career. His goal was to make it as a football player, but his goal was not to be A Football Player. "I am an aspiring human being," he says. So far, that seems to be working out. But I wonder how he'll react to being a Football Superstar, a destiny he seems to be chasing, even while looking the other direction.