"Although he didn't have one of the Texans' four sacks Saturday, outside linebacker Mario Williams looked more comfortable against the Saints than he did against the Jets in the first preseason game.

"He didn't have two or three sacks, so that makes it easy to say that he wasn't very good, but if you watch, he was very disruptive in the pocket," coach Gary Kubiak said. "They tried to keep a tight end on him a couple of times, and he did a good job of just throwing him back into (Drew) Brees' hip and pushing the pocket.

"He played better in space, and assignment-wise, he's doing better. (Linebackers coach) Reggie (Herring) and Wade (Phillips) are trying to get him settled down on everything he's doing.

"It was just a big step forward. I think he's really taking to what they're trying to teach him. It's something totally different, but you see him get better each day.""