This is the story of 85% of NFL teams... I think it has less to do with them settling for mediocrity then it does with the fact that its just hard to compete at a high level in the NFL. I dont know how it happened but alot of the fan base is spoiled, trust me it could be alot worse. We could be the Bengals! Now thats a franchise that is content with mediocrity.
Trent Brown played well at RT before he got traded to the Pats. He's only 25 and his best football should be ahead of him. I trust Mayock/Gruden and I'm looking forward to seeing how Brown does this yr. Of course any team that has a Carr at QB can make an OL look terrible as we Texans fans know all too well.
This is the same bullshit narrative that follows Luhnow around (HE'S AFRAID TO TRADE HIS BELOVED PROSPECTS!!). They're not afraid; they're practical. The market was out of control. Nsekhe? The guy who was literally playing for KISS' football team three years go? That's your solution?... Brown likely was a target; he likely makes the OL better (though, how much, I'm not sure). But he was grossly overpaid.
Brian Gaine SiriusXM NFL radio interview From last night… (Talk about the transition in your secondary?) As it relates to our secondary this year, obviously a key component because let’s face it the strength of our defense has been our front seven on defense. We were entering the off-season with some key free agents and some tough decisions to make, we certainly think the guys who departed from the Texans and moved on to other opportunities. We knew we had to upgrade some speed and some ability to play man-to-man coverage and a player like Bradley Roby fit that criteria for us. We did a one year deal, he offers some of the size/speed/dimensions that we talk about in terms of our prototypical standards for what we look at at that specific position, 5’11", 190 lbs, 4.3-4.4 [40 yd] coming out and can play man coverage. Someone we are familiar with as we played Denver the last two years, he has played in the Super Bowl, that was all advantageous in terms of how we looked at him. We did lose Tyrann Mathieu he was a great addition to the team last year unfortunately we couldn’t keep him. We did sign Tashaun Gipson, someone we are very familiar with to play the Safety position for us, offers the size dimensions we like at 5 foot 11, 210 pounds. Can play zone, can play man, we think he’s a two hole guy. He can play the run, he can play from depth, he can match up on tight ends and showed that on our film study, and we played him twice a year. We picked up Briean Boddy-Calhoun a player who we think can play the nickel position to add depth/competition to the secondary position. So it’s a little bit of a transition for us but one thing we are reminding ourselves of is we have three picks in the top two rounds of the upcoming draft, four picks in the top 86 so there’s more at bats coming. (On one year free agent deals) We will evaluate the market every year, and every day in free agency to see where there is some value in the market. In my own personal experience I’ve had some success doing [one year deals] with the Dallas Cowboys and with the Miami Dolphins, and then last year we did it with Tyrann Mathieu and some of those paid dividends for us. It’s a chance for the player to get to know us and a chance for us to get to know the player. They’re good football players and perhaps it gives us a prism into an opportunity that might prove a long-term marriage as it relates to our evaluation in the one-year window. (Where are you now with the offensive line with the draft coming up?) Last year we felt like we were able to address the interior line and right tackle, unfortunately we had the injury with Seantrel Henderson in the first game of the year. In free agency we added Zach Fulton at right guard, Senio Kelemete at left guard, and then Nick Martin was returning from injury. So we felt we had the lineup going into the season. Julien Davenport was in year two of his development, we drafted him in the fourth round out of Bucknell. We do believe that Julian is going to be even more improved this year with two years under his belt and having some starting experience. Seantrel is back for another year at right tackle. Now that the group has some cohesion and has played together, we think the group is going to be even better. Some of our issues with protection wasn’t always on the offensive line, there was some shared responsibilities there. It could have been the tackles, it could have been the guards, it could have been the backs, it could have been the tight ends, it could have been the quarterback. We’ll have a year together in terms of cohesion and building the group, and also the opportunity here in the draft will present some options for us if we feel like it’s going to give us a reward to take a player in the one of the top three rounds. (Where does Matt Kalil fit in?) We added Matt Khalil on a one year deal. We think he will compete to start at left tackle, right now that is the situation. He is coming off injury. This is an opportunity for him to prove he’s healthy and can still play at a high-level. We were willing to give him that opportunity and perhaps that leads to a long-term opportunity for the player if it proves well for him. (Will Fuller’s status and depth at the WR position?) We think Hopkins and Will Fuller‘s skill sets are great compliments to one another. Will’s return is on schedule and we think he’ll be ready to go when the season starts. He has a fully dimensional skill set there’s two areas where I think Will doesn’t get full credit for, that’s his route running and his improved hands. Everybody knows Will can run fast and is a deep threat. His skill set in terms of running vertical and getting deep matches up with our quarterback, as well. Our quarterback throws a great deep ball so having that dimension in our offense is a great advantage for us. The addition of Keke Coutee and getting him back healthy and returned to form. The two games he played for us I think he had over 20 catches for almost 200 yards, so he is an electric player and he gives us some balance in terms of the middle presence passing game and the perimeter element with Will Fuller and Hopkins. And with the two young tight ends as well that we drafted last year, we feel like now there is some horizontal balance in the offense. We can test the defense vertically ,we can test them underneath, we can test them intermediate, we can test them on the perimeter. So once we get everybody back and healthy, we’re excited about our passing game next year. (How good of a draft is it on the offensive line?) I think it’s a reasonably good draft on the offensive line. Is there a Jonathan Ogden in this draft, perhaps not. But I think there are some opportunities to get some solid starters in this draft as it relates to the edge players at tackle and I think there’s some opportunities on the interior offensive line to do that. I would say that history tells you that on the interior you have opportunities to get starters in the first, second, third, mid rounds and even later. On the offensive tackle position for the good ones perhaps you have to draft them high, but I think there will be some opportunities on day two and perhaps even in the middle rounds to land yourself a starter at the OT position. (What is different for you this year compared to last year?) The circumstance when I was hired in January was half of the scouting season had been already completed, so you arrive and you want to make some sudden changes but you also want to keep the train running based on everything that has been done. When we got to the post draft period, certainly we made some staff changes. And then we made some institutional changes in terms of how we scout, the methodology and terminology, the scouting systems that we use, marrying up our philosophy with our coaches, and with how our scouts will go out on the road and what types of players that they will look for. The emphasis on character, football character and personal character. The player’s ability to learn. And the integration of the medical and the psychological part. All of these are critical to how we scout to arrive at the best decisions. I think having 12 months in that scouting system and cycle allowed our scouts to scout better. It allowed our coaches and scouting staff to work congruently much, much better. And lastly, we didn’t have a first or second round draft pick last year. So having those tools in our toolbox along with an additional second round pick is going to be a great chance for the Texans to improve the team. (Upcoming business, Clowney/Watson contracts?) I have a great partner in Chris Olsen our vice president of football administration. We work on short term planning and long-term planning on a weekly basis. Certainly those are core players and key pieces to our team. My philosophy here as long as I’m with the Texans will be that we will draft, develop, and extend our own players to the best of our abilities. So I will always look for our internal solutions before looking for external solutions. Those are two players that you identified that we are going to work long and hard to make sure they are a part of our long term future. (As a former TE, assess Rob Gronkowski for us) Fully dimensional skill set, there was not a weakness in his game. He was a threat to beat man coverage, he was a threat to beat zone coverage, significant threat in the red zone, significant threat on third down. But also his presence in the running game, setting the edge. Big body, he had all the height/weight/speed that you want. The last thing I would say is just his football make up. He had an outstanding football make up, he played like he loved the game and you saw that every Sunday. From the physical skill set, to the football make up, to the football character you have the perfect combination of what I think you look for in a prototypical tight end.
