Swine Flu Hits The Houston Texans

NFL News - October 3rd, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

The first confirmed case of the swine flu has officially hit the NFL. The unlucky recipient, Houston Texans rookie TE Anthony Hill.

Hill, 24, is believed to be the only player from the Texans with the swine flu. Hill was hospitalized for 2 days earlier in the week, and has since been released.

"In the beginning, doctors thought it was pneumonia," Hill told KRIV-TV in Houston . "It wasn't. Then (Thursday) results for swine flu came back, and it was positive. I was already taking medicine for both."

The Texans believe they have the problem contained, although head coach Gary Kubiak stated a few players felt ill on Thursday, but returned on Friday and felt ok. All Texans players have already received shots for seasonal flu, but have not had H1N1 vaccinations. The swine flu vaccine will not be available until later this month, and then there will only be limited doses.

"There's no panic at all," Kubiak said in an interview with the Associated Press. "We handled it well as an organization Thursday evening and understood what was going on, got on top of anybody who wasn't feeling good Thursday evening and Friday we responded well. Everybody was fine."

The Texans are hosting the Oakland Raiders this Sunday and it is unknown whether Hill will play or not.

So far this year, the 4th round draft pick, out of NC State, has yet to see any playing time. Should the Texans be without Anthony Hill, it should not hamper their performance on Sunday.

The Texans are trying to rebound from a loss at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sitting at 1-2, the Houston Texans must beat the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, to get back to even.

The Texans are currently favored by 8 1/2 points against the Raiders, according to the odds listed at DSI Sportsbook. In addition, the over/under line for the game total is at 42 points with a -110 payout.

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