white guilt? I keed, i keed. We know Bob to be loyal and likes to gives guys numerous opportunities before pulling the plug. Also, I think Smith is a good sales person and he has obviously been able to sell Mcnair that talent hasn't been the problem. With Kubes gone, i'm curious to see how much buffer he has. The 2013 draft class certainly has been a disaster so far...I don't think he can survive another one of those. At least, that's what you'd think.
If he doesn't go after this season, it'll be because O'Brien exceeded the below average expectations placed on this team. If we have a top 5 pick once again, HE'S OUT! Schaub signing, Cushing signing (both too early) and all the 3rd and 4th round busts should have already got this guy out the door. Discovering JJ Watt can only go so far for pretty Ricky.
Whoa bro, dont talk about my boy B. Cushing like that. Once his knee is better he will be dominant once again, and leads that defense in the lockerroom.. hes a bada$$
I think every GM should go through at least 2 coaches The first coach . . . .it might be the coach The second coach . . . then it might be the GM Esp considering he did not 'hire' the first coach but that coach seemed to 'hire' him I dunno know if all these picks were Ricks or Garys I dunno if these guys were coached badly or just sucked I dunno enough to say where the blame lay. I think the coaches had more say in the drafting than the GM in the past. . but i cannot confirm that . Rick is on the Clock though Rocket River
For all we know McNair asked Rick Smith to submit is own opinions and draft boards separate from the transactions he made with Kubiak's input. 2-3 years ago, the Texans had more former players scattered and starting around the league than all but 1 or 2 other teams. It was clear indicator that we were doing something right with our personnel. Rick Smith has made a lot of really good decisions IMO. And he's also struck out in the later rounds. But I'm not sure we know why yet. This year's draft looks great, I think we're all more excited about the late round picks in this one compared to years past. I also want to note that IMO, most NFL teams draft poorly in the later rounds in general. A select few do better, but it's not like teams are finding Colston's and Sherman's every draft. Rick Smith also believes in building through the draft, promoting from within... we get annoyed by it I know - by the lack of FA splashes. But Smith's philosophy has been validated by Seattle's and seems to be welcomed by BoB. Rick Smith was also shackled a bit. WR2 was never a priority so we often looked past it. Safety wasn't emphasized (with good reason). We only drafted certain types of offensive lineman. Devalued running backs (with good reason, Kubiak was ahead of the curve there). So far, from what I hear, I get the genuine impression that BoB likes working with Smith. I think they're excited about what they're doing. Don't get me wrong - BoB would have brought in his own guy 3 months ago if allowed, but right now, I think the two are a happy and optimistic couple. I genuinely think Rick Smith might have an eye for talent. The only thing I'm 100% certain he sucks at is managing the cap. We need a financial analyst and lawyer on the staff (which I'm sure we already have) to augment Smith. He's in over his head in that department. That's for certain. I'm fine with giving him a chance this year.
1) McNair still owes him a good chuck of change, he's signed through the 2016 season 2) McNair thinks he's done a good job (lol), here's an article from a few months ago I think #1 is the main reason. He doesn't want to send him packing, and basically pay 2 GM's for the next couple of years.
And that's why I try to be careful in judging Smith. Even now, we really don't know what the breakdown in power between Rick and the coaches were. The rumor after the season was that Kubes had too much say over the draft and personnel. Was that really the case or was that just an excuse? If it's true then how much blame does Rick truly deserve over the draft? Wade got most of the credit for the JJ pick. I remember Kubes talking about the pick of Keshawn Martin, saying he asked Joe Marciano to suggest some college WR's who could play special teams and Martin was at (or near) the top of the list. Made it sound like Kubes was in charge of the draft. If I had to guess, I'd think that there were some behind the scenes disagreements between Rick and Gary where Kubes got his way and the result was poor. For example, one rumor was that Rick wanted to go after Peyton Manning but it was Kubes' decision to stick with Schaub. If there are other notable instances like this, they could very well have given McNair good reason to want to see Smith operate with a different head coach and tweaks made to the division of power between the HC and GM.
