"Xavier Su’a-Filo is No. 77 of 78 qualifiers with a 33.8. It’s even worse at tackle, where Chris Clark and Breno Giacomino rank 75th and 79th out of 81."
Think how limiting that must be to have 3 starting OL who are virtually the worst in the NFL at their respective positions. IOW, no other teams have a trio of worse OTs/OG than the Texans. (If you believe in PFF.) How do you game plan around that?
The only thing that works is having a mobile QB or when they occasionally bring in a 6th lineman disguised as a tight end. O’Brien has tried to scheme around it, but the reality is that this organization has never valued the offensive line, and as a result anything he tries is basically only putting lipstick on a pig. It’s just a bad and poorly managed organization above the head coach level.
Well to be clear we did actually have the best OL in the league circa 2011. Years prior it was good not great and 2012 not as good but still not bad. But yeah 2011 it was legit. They also attempted to invest in the line during the expansion draft but to your point it has not always been that way
Um.....you do realize.....EVERY TEAM has holes because of the salary cap? Pats.....Secondary, HBs,WRs (Tom Brady covers for the offensive holes and makes them look better. Seattle - Oline, HBs. Titans - WRs, Secondary. It goes on and on. The Texans had to prioritize....without a QB. They chose Front 7 over secondary....which is fine if the Front 7 stays healthy....it hasn't. On offense, the Oline has had injury (Derek Newton), Free Agent bust, under performing draft pick (X), and traded LT. It happens. They couldn't pay Brooks and Ben Jones and keep other players on the defense. Sometimes u gamble and lose. They have money that will go toward the Oline and Secondary in the offseason. Texans will be fine.
Teams will definitely have holes if they make moves like signing Osweiler for $37 mil. If you watch how the rockets and Astros operate, they are much smarter managing assets.
You're comparing apples to bowling balls... The NFL's salary cap is the strictest of the three sports; it's unforgiving with minimal flexibility. That doesn't absolve the Texans; they've made some poor choices. But holding up two successful teams from other sports as the standard makes no sense.
Rick Smith does nothing but lose after the second round. Terrible free agent signings for the line, terrible draft choices overall outside of some first and second round home runs. Dude has got to go. DeShaun is gonna get murdered if we don't seriously upgrade our O-Line...and sadly that won't even happen until round 3 of the draft thanks in part to paying the price for the Brockening. He's not a good GM. Its time he gets canned.
Oh, I agree... but you were trying to denigrate Rick Smith making disingenuous comparisons to (conveniently successful) teams in other leagues. Yes, the cap forces NFL general managers to be better. It also drastically reduces the margin for error. I don't know if Dwight Howard or Carlos Gomez were as bad as Brock Osweiler... but I do know it was infinitely easier for Morey and Luhnow to move on from both bad acquisitions than it was Smith. And that's just considering cost ramifications. There are obviously vast differences in player allocation and resources between the three sports.
