Respect the Dilfer effect. (Going deep).(drafting of players by football team Houston Texans)(Brief Article)

Charley Casserly and Chris Palmer were in Oregon last week, doing what every competent G.M. and offensive coordinator of an expansion team should do in preparation for their club's first draft. These two Houston Texans were scouting quarterbacks--among other positions--with particular interest in Oregon's Joey Harrington.

The quarterback draft class of 2002 looks dismal, just the opposite of the situation in 1999, when Palmer, then the coach of the expansion Browns, had to sift through five potential No. 1 choices. He finally settled on Tim Couch, who this season is demonstrating why he warranted such a rating. Unfortunately for Houston, Harrington is no Couch.

Yet that realization isn't as disheartening for the Texans as it once could have been. Remember the Dilfer Effect of last season, when the Ravens proved a team could win a Super Bowl without a wow-guy at quarterback? We considered that a fluke. Not anymore. Take a look at the 26 quarterbacks who started the sixth week of this season. Only seven were drafted in the first round. Of the 12 teams ...