HOUSTON -- In his NFL career, Houston coach Bill OBrien has rarely seen a rookie receiver get significant playing time.This season, the Texans have two first-year receivers filling key roles and a rookie tight end playing a part in the offense, too.There have been plenty of ups and downs for the trio through the first eight games. But OBrien is looking for the group to be more consistent to help take pressure off top receiver DeAndre Hopkins and improve a lackluster passing game led by quarterback Brock Osweiler as Houston begins the second half at Jacksonville on Sunday .First-round pick Will Fuller has had an immediate impact this season, finishing with 100 yards receiving in each of his first two starts. Hes failed to replicate that success since as he has struggled with drops and injuries.Houstons other rookie receiver is Braxton Miller, the former star Ohio State quarterback, who the Texans added in the third round of this years draft. Miller has also dealt with injuries, but has appeared in six games and has eight receptions for 52 yards.Stephen Anderson is Houstons rookie tight end who has seven catches for 57 yards in five games. He was signed as an undrafted free agent after a three-year career at California, where he had 1,260 yards receiving with seven touchdowns.Its not easy and I think that youll see improvement as we go along here, OBrien said. I think theyre getting better and better ... but its definitely a challenge for rookie receivers to play.Receivers coach Sean Ryan has found himself doing more teaching this season than he has in the past because of the youth of his group. But he doesnt mind it.Thats what they pay me for, he said. I kind of enjoy it. ... There are some bumps on the road, but you just try to keep progressing with them and keep teaching them. Thats the challenge of it and thats the fun of it. If I didnt appreciate that, I think Id be doing the wrong deal.The Texans will need their rookies to play an even bigger role in the upcoming weeks with second-year receiver Jaelen Strong expected to miss several weeks with an ankle injury he suffered in Houstons game against the Lions before the bye. Strong has played in each game for Houston with two starts and has 14 catches for 131 yards.Ryan finds himself teaching Miller a bit more than the others since he spent just one season at receiver at Ohio State following a shoulder injury that ended his career at quarterback after he earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors twice at the position.We need him to play fast, Ryan said. Even if youre not sure, cut it loose, lets go, thats what we saw on tape from him. Hes an athletic guy. Hes got great change of direction and all those skills. So we just need to see it. We need him to process things a little bit quicker, which is coming with experience and practice and all that.Miller believes the transition from college to the NFL would be difficult regardless of how long hed played receiver and hopes things will be easier now that hes played a few games.Just coming in as a rookie, learning all the positions, it gets tough at times but Im striving to be the best that I can be, he said.Fuller had 2,512 yards receiving with 30 touchdowns in a three-year career at Notre Dame and wowed at the combine with a 4.32 40-yard dash. But critics worried about his propensity for dropping passes in college and the problem has continued at this level.Though hes third among NFL rookies with 372 yards receiving, the Texans are working to address the drops issue so hell be more productive in the second half of the season.I dont think you can just say: `Hey, catch the ball, Ryan said. Theres more to it than that. Its either about your eyes, your eye focus or its hand placement and where you catch the ball. Its stuff you learn early on Day 1 as a receiver. But it needs to be addressed and talked about all the time. And it needs to be practiced. Thats how you try to address the situation.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLBrett Brackett . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Cheap NFL Jerseys China For Sale . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/chris-peace-jersey-for-sale/ . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Rip King . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Jason Buck .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Andy Murrays rise to the top of the rankings this fall has been a surprising tale containing numerous improbable elements. So its hardly shocking to discover that in his own eyes, not playing has had as much to do with Murrays spectacular results as his exploits on the court.Ive managed my rest and recovery periods much better, Murray told ESPNs Darren Cahill on Friday, following Murrays tidy, 6-4, 6-2 win against Stan Wawrinka in the final round of round-robin play in the ATP World Tour Finals. In the past, after a tournament or a loss, I would get right back out there on the court to play, or to practice.Its different now. After Murray won the Paris Masters 1000, he explained he resisted the impulse to pick up a racket for four days during the week before the World Tour Finals. He also laid aside his sticks for a week after he won the Shanghai Masters. It could not have been an easy decision for Murray to take, because he owes a great deal of his success to his work ethic.Murray has a well-earned reputation as a workaholic. If youve known anyone like that, you know how much comfort they take in the sheer act of working. How secure it makes them feel. But what if the work isnt paying off, or its become just a hedge against feeling inadequate?Changing his work habits could not have been an easy decision for Murray to make. But he took the plunge. The successful result is further proof of Murrays reputation as a man who has left no stone unturned in his quest for greatness. In having the confidence and poise to try that somewhat counter-intuitive change, the 29-year-old Scot set himself up to equal the best winning streak of his career (22 matches) with this win over Wawrinka. More importantly, Murray positioned himself for a showdown with Novak Djokovic this weekend for the year-end No. 1 ranking.I feel good, Murray said, despite a season workload that has produced a 76-9 singles record and eight titles. Obviously, Ive played a lot, but my body is just conditioned to matches.Murrays mind is similarly steeled to the task at hand. It can be dispiriting to be frowned upon by the gods of the draw while a rival seems to get a path to a semi or final as slick as a luge run. This week, the seemingly smooth ride was offered to Djokoviic, whose cumulative record against the three other men in his round-robin portion was a perfect 23-0.ddddddddddddThat might have been especially discouraging for Murray, because of his already mediocre record at the O2 Arena coming in. Despite having nine previous chances to crack the World Tour Finals code, he was just 11-11 -- and never a finalist. His own draw this year was brutal: Murray was 27-12 against Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Wawrinka.But Murray did more than survive; he flourished. He made a powerful statement in locking down the three Ws in round-robin play this year, because hes also been forced to march in lockstep with Djokovic all the way. Whoever does better in this tournament will take that grand prize, the top ranking.Murrays win against Wawrinka was deft, swift and critical. He accomplished it in 1 hour, 25 minutes, avoiding the kind of knockdown, drag-out battle he survived with Nishikori in the second round. It means Murray, who unlike Djokovic will not get a day off before the semifinals, ought to recover more easily and have sufficient spring in his legs.Murray is entitled to feel like hes gotten over the hump, even though his job is far from finished. He seems to have come to grips with the pressure he faces from his fellow British countrymen annually at the O2 arena. He also has a right to feel hes got the upper hand on his three potential rivals, starting with Saturdays semifinal opponent, Milos Raonic.If Murrays success makes Djokovic slightly uneasy or makes him wish he were better prepared for the semifinals, its an earned bonus.Murray was a juggernaut entering this event, and he remains one just two matches from its conclusion. On Friday, Murray broke a string during the first point of the final game. He played on, hitting three slice backhands, a lob and a slice approach before Wawrinka ended the point with a passing-shot winner. Its almost unheard of for a player to construct such a point through so many shots with a racket thats essentially unraveling in his hand.But thats the kind of year Murray has had, and its difficult not to read the incident as an omen. ' ' '