RE: Tight Ends BOB had Ian Thomas at the Senior Bowl, and personality-wise Ian Thomas sounds like the kind of guy that BOB would fall in love with if he's around. He played a bunch as a flanker and split out at Indiana so I'm not sure they'll be confident enough with the blocking, but I'm hopeful because he is big and strong and not afraid to put a helmet on a defender. He also has long, long arms and huge hands. I have a not entirely pleasant feeling that we are going to end up with Durham Smythe, who is the closest thing to Mark Bavaro in the draft. He was in the Senior Bowl, but playing for the north.
if they care so much about the blocking in TE, then sign Mercedes Lewis (Isnt he like a great Blocker)
yes i think there both excellent blockers (And actually better TE's then what we have.) I dont get the ignorance from the staff in this position) WHY dont they sign a veteran TE WHY? This will help Deshaun Watson alot ( also the TE;s you have are not good) Griffin will get hurt week 1 (they guy cant stay healthy and is not any good when he is) Ryan griffin (7 Games - 158 Yds - 1 TD) Anderson (15 Games - 342 Yds 1 TD) the below list is an upgrade to what we have Mercedes Lewis (16 Games 318 Yds but 5 TD's) Ben Watson (16 games - 522 Yds 4 TDs) at 37 years old antonio Gates (3 TD) at 38 Yds OLD Julius Thomas (3 Tds with 388 YDS ) only 30 Years Old
I know I may be in the minority here, and it's not like I don't appreciate having Watson on the roster, but sometimes I wonder if the Texans paid too hefty a price to fix their QB position. Winning in this league is all about accumulating talents, and the Texans have never really had a surplus of talents. The best way to accumulate talents is through the draft, since they are also cheap talents. Had the Texans had the foresight, they should probably just suck it up last year and ride with Os, tank if you well, so that it'll guarantee them high draft spots this year. That way, they will be able to use the 1st pick on one of Darnold/Rosen/Allen to be their franchise QB, and still maintain the rest of their picks plus last year's 1st. The front office already made a mistake in signing Os, and they compounded that mistake by trading him away along with a second, which is essentially the end of the 1st round given they'd probably go winless last year. This means we have essentially given up 3 high picks to get our franchise QB, whereas the Giants can select Manning's successor without giving up anything. If you look around the league, the teams on the rise are ones who have had beaucoup high picks over multiple years. The Rams, Titans, and Jaguars are all built through the draft, sometimes getting multiple high picks by trading down. Just look at the Colts this year, who are able to pick up 3 extra 2nd round picks by merely dropping 3 spots. The Texans never had that luxury, and thus a depleted roster. Watson alone won't make this team a contender, especially since some of our best players are aging or injury-prone right now. The years we had the No. 1 pick, there were no franchise QB to be had, and we did extremely poor in getting talents to the team anyway. In the years that we were winning, it wasn't necessarily because we were any good, but more due to how shitty the division we played in, with the likes of t***, Jags, and Clots. I think the long time mediocrity has sunk this team, because it prohibits us from obtaining elite talents. I wish the Texans had gone the way of the Astros, tank a few years, compile as much talent as possible, then enjoy a sustaining success.
Trading up to get Watson was a no-brainer. When you get a chance at a franchise QB you take it. Signing Oswipe was a mistake and giving up a second to trade him was a bigger mistake. Should have kept him as a backup, ate the salary cap for a year and then cut him. What was really comical was McNair acting like Rick was a genius for engineering the trade of Oswipe. What a sad joke of an owner we have.
Obviously in hindsight drafting Watson was a no-brainer, but at the time when Watson was picked, he wasn't exactly billed as a franchise QB. There were many questions about his arm strength, his interception rate, his understanding of the pro offense, etc. You can say that pro scouts and executives don't know what they are doing, but there is a reason why Watson wasn't even picked in the top 10. Many thought he was a Bridgewater clone, maybe slightly better, but no more, and look where TB is right now. Had Watson been considered a sure-fire franchise QB, then I doubt the Texans would be able to get him even by just giving up a future 1st. Let's be honest with ourselves, Watson's perceived value during the draft isn't nearly as high as the likes of Darnold/Rosen/Allen this year. In that respect, we were more lucky than right with the Watson pick because he turned out better than anyone had expected, including BOB.
That's true, but its also a guessing game that we would have gotten the first pick in the draft or that any of the QB's this year will be any good. I'm no NFL scout, but was a big proponent of doing everything we could to get Watson before the draft. I thought he was a once in a lifetime QB after watching him against Alabama. Who knows if he will pan out to be great or if injuries will derail him, but I still have absolutely no problem with what they gave up to get him. We have to suffer through this draft and then next year we are back on track with all our draft picks plus an extra 2nd. No way I pass on a QB like Watson to tank. The big mistake was giving up the second to Cleveland this year and not re-signing Bouye. Both were really stupid and that's not hindsight. Last year's draft actually turned out pretty well. Looks like in addition to Watson, we got a really good linebacker, a serviceable tackle, a potentially really good rb (if he can come back from injury), and a couple of other contributors. We also, at least temporarily, got rid of Rick Smith which gives me some level of hope for the future.
And you are right, we have a joke of an owner. Trading away a future 2nd just to get rid of Os was plain stupidity, especially since you have no back ups and weren't assured of signing Romo. This tells me the management lacks vision and has no long term plans. Decisions were made ad hoc, much like throwing darts blindfolded and hoping it hits bullseye. With the roster we had last year, we were almost certainly not going to be in contention for the playoffs, so why not tank for a year and await the best crop of QBs to come out in recent memory? The Texans fanbase is mostly calm at the moment because we now have Watson on the team, and he has shown what he's capable of doing. But imagine the frustration this fanbase would have had Watson been average and we are without our top two picks this year. Watson playing this well this early in his career is really an anomaly, not a norm. Remember both BOB and Hopkins were full of praises for Savage to lead this team. I really believe BOB would not return as Texans HC had Watson not played in those 6 or 7 games.
I wish I can share your optimism, but then when I see how many holes we have on this team, plus the competition we are now up against, I just feel the lack of overall talent will do us in. Everything is relevant. We were winning before because other teams in the division just plain sucked. But the Jags and Titans are now both stacked, and the Colts will get Luck back plus multiple high picks this year. The Colts will pick 5 times before we even get to our pick. Other than HB, we were rather meh on free agency. Again, this team lacks talent in several areas, is aging, has nearly no depth, and I just don't think the FO has done enough to fortify Watson to compete in the division.
Pessimistic? maybe, although I tend to think I'm being realistic. When two teams go at it on a battle field, the one with more talent has a higher chance to win out. I hate seeing our team gets outmuscled and outclassed by our competition. I hate seeing other teams accumulating talents while our team does just enough to get by. Right now our offense can simply be called the Watson and Hopkins show. We have a below average OL, below average run game, no TE, and average receiving corps. All the burden should not rest on Watson's shoulders alone is all I'm saying.
