Texans WR Andre Johnson entering 10th season

Houston opens with Miami again on Sunday, this time at Reliant Stadium. The Texans are the heavy favorites now and harbor Super Bowl aspirations, like the Dolphins did that year. But Johnson has seen too many bad things happen to the franchise to take anything for granted.

"You just can't get caught up in what people say," Johnson said. "When I think about this game, I think about my rookie year, when we went down there and played them and everybody was saying they were going to win the Super Bowl. We didn't have a chance. One article said it was going to be like a scrimmage game. We went out and beat them."

"You can't overlook anybody in this league," he said. "I know that and we know that as a team. We're going to go out there and play the way we know how to play. That's basically it."

Johnson is entering his 10th NFL season since Houston drafted him with the third overall pick. He's the only player on the roster who was here when Gary Kubiak became the coach in 2006, so he's been around for just about all of the Texans' darkest days.

But Johnson never lost faith, signing a contract extension before the 2010 season that could keep him here through 2016. The five-time Pro Bowl selection has nothing more to accomplish individually, and the only goal left is playing long enough to see the franchise win a championship.

"The window is not as big as it used to be," he said. "As time goes on, you definitely feel a sense of urgency, but it's nothing you really can rush. You just have to take care of the task at hand. I would love to win a Super Bowl before I hang up my cleats, but you know, it's not going to just take me. It's going to take everybody in that locker room to get it done. We all have the same goal in mind and we're going to do our best to try and accomplish it."

Johnson topped 1,500 yards receiving to lead the league in 2008 and '09. He played most of the 2010 season with a badly sprained right ankle, then missed nine games last season with hamstring injuries. He underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery in the spring and turned 31 in the summer, but he long ago tuned out talk about his durability.