There was a lot more to it than that, but yes, Fitz and Keenum were better than Schaub. The point is that win loss record can fluctuate greatly from one year to the next....and we all know the difference between a first place schedule and a last place schedule.
Joseph is getting old, expensive, and he's often injured. LZ made a good point on 790 this AM about moving Kareem to the safety position. I think that would be a good look. Demps is an aging stop-gap and I'd bet that Kareem would have a nice Glover Quinn-esque transition to safety. With two converted CBs at safety, Jackson and Hal, I think we would finally get to see some hawking and more plays on the ball. Additionally, Jackson is a physical player and can thump for his size.
Okay, Dak gets little-to-no credit in your eyes. As a rookie, he out-performed both Hoyer and Ryan in all their 15+ seasons. That's just a coincidence. I'm not getting into a long convo propping DAL
Name those 100 QBs. Obviously does not include Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel, all those guys failed playing with the same o-line and same receivers last year.
Apparently Kareem himself is not really interested in this. A reporter asked him this and he apparently didn't react positively. If he is willing though I'd be all for it. He'd make a much better safety.
This isn't really a response to you in particular, nor do I necessarily disagree with you but it got me curious enough to review. I think it's fair to note when Smith's reign of terror begins too...and that by cherry picking QBs you would've given up someone else. BUT this is the list of what I considered notable QBs that could've been had.....there were certainly a few names ahead of any pick they had but the list of guys who could've been selected at some point in the draft is interesting to look at. and let's introduce some subjectivity into the word notable, i'm just saying they at least played a few games for their club. 2002 joey harrington david garrard 2003 byron leftwich rex grossman 2004 ben roethlisberger (champion) matt schaub 2005 aaron rodgers (champion) jason campbell kyle orton dan orlovsky derek anderson matt cassell ryan fitzpatrick 2008 joe flacco (champion) 2011 andy dalton colin kaepernick ryan mallett tyrod taylor 2012 brock osweiler (champion oddly enough) russell wilson (champion) nick foles kirk cousins 2014 blake bortles teddy bridgewater derek carr jimmy garaoppolo 2015 trevor siemian lulz 2016 paxton lynch christian hackenburg jacoby brissett connor cook dak prescott
I've told you this before, but you never seem to learn. They didn't have the run game last year, it wasn't the same team. Having a stellar O line is VERY important, but if you can't run the ball it doesn't matter. If you look at 2014 and this season you'll see that they rushed for nearly 2400 yards in both of those seasons and less than 1900 in 2015. That's a pretty big difference. Hell look at what the loss of the run game has done to Seattle.
Joseph is a classic cap casualty. He's 32, set to make 7 million next season and can be cut outright for no dead cap money according to sportrac. Kareem is 28, set to make 6 mil but to cut him would be over 7 mil dead cap....not just that though, Joseph's play is regressing and just stays nicked up. Kareem, while solid has never been great and whether he likes it or not would pretty well solidify the secondary by moving to safety. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/johnathan-joseph-1357/ http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/kareem-jackson-6529/ Cushing also has several years left on his deal. 5.5 next year before it starts to go way up and 5.5 dead cap to cut him now. I honestly didn't realize his situation but i'd give it a >5% chance he gets cut knowing that. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/brian-cushing-5685/
Different schedule. Different running back. Defense not as opportunistic last year. Had some rough overtime losses and close losses at the end of games early in the year then they mailed it in.
I hope Joseph and Cushing can restructure. I know they are getting old but they both stepped up and were key starters on the "numbe one defense". As well as Bouye played, the coaches still trusted Joseph as their #1 corner for most of the season. He is not the quickest but he is rarely out of position and doesn't commit a whole lot of penalties. He may not be starting next year but I would love him in that locker room. My thoughts on Cushing are the same as last year. Who do you replace him with? Akeem Dent? Down the stretch, he was outplaying McKinney. On the #1 defense. The coaches call him the leader on that side of the ball. That counts for a lot. He might not be playing 3 downs, but still an asset on the field.
Joseph is a classic restructure/extend guy. He is always dinged up true, but he is just better than Kareem still. Give him a 2 year deal to give him some guaranteed money still. The problem with Cushing for me is that he's just not good enough to be the linebacker opposite McKinney. We need a coverage guy. I wanted Freeman last year, but alas...
Not sure this has been asked but how much cap space could we potentially have after potential cuts restructures? And what effect would cutting Brock have on it? Need all the numbers guys to help me out?
[Premium Post] Want to move forward? Just trade the unathletic, over-rated loser JJ Fatt or better yet cut him Texans with JJ Fatt - 2-14 and No playoffs or 30-0 humiliations at HOME Texans without JJ Fatt - Playoffs
Don't be mad because he was 100 regarding Brock. He also agrees with your "baby hands" reference regarding Fuller.
I think cutting him costs us an extra 5 million in cap space, I believe. Could be totally off base. Essentially, it's hard to cut him this year. Next year, I'm pretty sure we can and will cut him and not have any cap issues from it.