And sometimes the problem is a combination of all 3: the GM for picking a guy that doesn't respond to the coaching, the coaches for not getting a player to respond, and the player for not responding to the coaching.
Is this unique to the Texans, though? I would think most GMs (not named Jerry Jones) wouldn't draft a player without the head coach being on the same page.
If they are not on the same page and there is friction between both, I can see that being the case. But it is rare, that is why the GM usually helps pick the head coach.
The bad drafting should solely land on the lap of the GM. While Rick defers to O'brien about roster moves and judgment, He's in charge of making sure they are scouting players correctly. While the regular season is in full swing the GM and scout department are all over the country preparing for the draft. Rick is given a philosophical height/weight/athleticism for each position and is suppose to find said players that fit Bill's image. The coaches may at the end of the year give some insight on what they see in possible draft targets, but in the end it comes down to your scounts' and GM's ability to see and find talent. The only pick I've ever trusted Rick making is our 1st round pick, other than that he's pretty atrocious. They need to completely overhaul the scout department. I was hoping with O'brien's hire they would seek out a better GM, I was hoping for Scot McCloughan. That guy scouts better than everyone in the leaue. Too bad he's working for a ****ty organization now.
Then so, too, should good drafting, and JJ Watt was selected by this GM. So was DeAndre Hopkins, Duane Brown, Brian Cushing... I would guess the coaches have certain types they're looking for (we got a taste of that when OB told EZ what kind of WR they want) - but I don't necessarily think they'd be prescriptive about measurables (other than maybe speed). My guess is that Smith and his staff whittle players down that fit OB's type and then they collectively make decisions. There's absolutely no way OB is passive when it comes to personnel. Nobody understands his system better than he does. I feel certain there's never been a player anywhere near the facilities that OB hadn't first signed off on.
Like I stated in my thread, I trust Rick in the 1st round. Each player you listed was selected in that round. It is much more difficult to screw a 1st round pick than people think. As far as measurables, there are a number of articles refering to what specifically OB is looking for in each player according to their position. There are minimum measurables they must have, and if they don't meet a requirement, is there something that they do that overides said requirement. The will take the guy with all the measurements more times than not over the smaller player. There are outliers of course, but you don't want a roster filled with outliers. He will only make a few exceptions. You can refer to his talk with Rick about whether they liked Rolle or Charles better, measurements ended up being the deciding factor in that decision. http://espn.go.com/blog/houston-texans/post/_/id/11538/how-the-texans-reshaped-their-roster-to-bill-obriens-specifications I never said he was passive. I said Rick and the scout department would find the players that meets OB's requirements, and then once the season is over the coaching staff would then have a say on what prospects they feel they like the most.
The impression I got from HK was that Rick Smith doesn't have a whole hell of a lot of input on players. He brokers deals, negotiates contracts, and probably handles some staffing. But players? That seems to be where he defers. Not saying its good or bad, FWIW.
As far as the roster makeup? Yeah, I would say he has almost no say. But he's in charge of the scouting department. He's seen throughout the country during the college season watching players and speaking to coaches. As far as who they draft on draft night, I'd say they have some sort of weighted measurement system to list who's on the top of their draft board. What they do after the first round seems to be lost on everyone however. The always draft for need, and always seem to reach on players. There is no telling on who's responsible for that. Probably FO and Coaches to blame on equal parts. They seem to have a lot of over grading on players, having them higher than other regarded college players that are clearly better. Whether it's a specific mold they want or not, talent shouldn't trump having the best "measured" player. The 2013 draft speaks volumes to every miscue they had. Swearinger in the 2nd Brennan Williams & Sam Montgomery in the 3rd Trevardo Williams in the 4th All extreme over reaches on guys that have little talent or their talent lending them to being a very specific type of player. Now the jury is still out on the 2014 as it should be, it's far too early to determine what any said player is. There is obviously one miss already in Nix, but I have a feeling as a whole the 2014 draft will yield positive results. Hell, The 2013 draft still doesn't come close to Rick Smith's worst draft. Players Rick hit on for each draft whether a starter or decent backup. 2006 Draft - (Helped by Charlie Casserly) Mario Williams - Pro Bowler Demeco Ryans - Pro Bowler Eric Winston - Solid OT Owen Daniels - Pro Bowler 2007 Draft - Jacoby Jones - Pro Bowl Returner Zac Diles - Couple of good years. 2008 Draft - Duane Brown - Pro Bowl Steve Slaton - Phenomenal Rookie Year, Fell off. 2009 Draft - Brian Cushing - Pro Bowler Connor Barwin - Pro Bowler Glover Quin - Pro Bowler James Casey - Decent Backup, Never used properly. 2010 Draft - Kareem Jackson - Solid Starting CB Ben Tate - Poor Attitude held him back, Could have been much better. Earl Mitchell - Behind Sean Cody, Flashed his one year as starter here and now is one of the anchors of the Dolphins D-line Garret Graham - Solid to Good TE when healthy 2011 Draft - JJ Watt - Pro Bowler/Future HOF Brooks Reed - Solid Starter Derek Newton - Turning into a top RT 2012 Draft - Whitney Mercilus - Becoming a solid starter Brandon Brooks - A top Guard in the league/Future Pro Bowler Ben Jones - Should Be solid starter at Center Jared Crick - Solid to Good DE, Still getting better. Randy Bullock - Good Kicker Keshawn Martin - Average Returner, Okay WR that never quite pulls through when you need him to. 2013 Draft - Deandre Hopkins - True #1 WR, Future Pro Bowler David Quessenberry - Was looking very good until his diagnoses. Should be a legit swing tackle backup. Was giving Netwon a run for his money for the RT spot. Ryan Griffin - Has flashed potential, Soft hands, good runner for his size. Could be solid TE depth. 2014/2015 Drafts are still undecided given their limited experience. My personal expectations of this and last years drafts would be; 2014 Draft - Jadeveon Clowney - If healthy an elite pass rusher, probably pro bowler. Xavier Sua`Filo - Solid to Good LG, Needs playing time to progress at pass pro. Cj Fiedorowicz - Solid In-line TE, Needs time to understand pro game. Alfred Blue - Solid Backup/Spot Starter, Not sure of his ceiling. Jay Prosch - Solid Lead Blocker, Looks to be working on the passing game as well. Andre Hal/Lonnie Ballentine - I think one of these guys will turn into a good safety. There is a lot of talent between the two of them. Tom Savage - Good Backup to Fringe Starter. Not sure if he can hit his ceiling. 2015 Draft - I oddly enough like this draft all the way down the line. Kevin Johnson - Looking like he'll develop into a starting CB, ceiling is very high. Benardrick McKinney - 2 Down Thumping LBer, Future Starter. Must put in work on coverage, Could turn himself into a 3 downer if he works hard. Jaelon Strong - In the mold of Hopkins, Legit #2 WR potential, Will probably take time to develop, but I have no doubt he'll become a solid starter. Keith Mumphery - I think he'll be a real good WR in the slot as well as returner. Ideal guy to have as your 3rd WR. Reshard Cliett - So long has his injury doesn't slow him down, he'll be a very good STer and could develop into a nice rotation pass rusher. Has elite athleticism. Would have made the team as the 4th OLBer if he were healthy. That much potential. Christian Covington - Already showing signs of his abilities, He'll be a strong rotational D-lineman, Possibly spot starting, I think he could turn into a starter on the dline. Kenny Hilliard - Thumping RB that fights for every yard. Flashed hands in the passing game, could develop until a real solid backup RB. It isn't that Rick is all that terrible, it's just that when he reaches with trading up or trying to draft a player in the later rounds to fill a void on the team it's usually catastrophic. I would say if they were to just stay in the allocated draft position, and go BPA he would have a slightly better track record. His real fault at being the GM is cap management. He is bar far one of the worst GMs in the league at it. The Texans have always been handcuffed when it came to either keeping their own FAs or trying to bring in FAs to fill holes. It's slowly working itself out right now, but man he's given out some bad contracts. I think his Watt contract though has probably given him a clean slate with ownership however. That deal was a ****in steal if I've ever seen one. Watt should have easily cleared $130 million plus with the level of dominance he's accomplishing. And now you're seeing guys that aren't even in Watt's galaxy getting better money than him. So we're probably stuck with the guy until they fire O'brien, unless they go the way of Belichick and let OB hire his own guy and basically run his own show.
I also think it's important to note that a guy like Crick is the same type of gamble as a guy like Nix was, it's just that Crick panned out for the most part. When you are in that range and a guy drops, often it's worth a flier. Sure we'd like for them to hit more often, but rarely do they make a pick that is completely out of left field.....and sometimes, like with Mumphrey, even when they do it works out.
Mumphery was rising, lots of teams were eyeing. He's a an opposite of a guy like Nix/Strong seemingly inexplicably falling.
I was pretty sure I heard stories about how the Texans were the only team that even contacted him or showed up to watch him at his pro day, is that not the case? I thought there was a lot of "WTF?" type reactions to that pick at the time.
This doesn't make sense. If I am a GM and I do my homework and get a book on a guy then give it to you, the coach. If you tell me that I should draft this guy, that he'll be perfect for the system; how can you say 100% that the problem is with the scouting and not the coach. That's like the cook at a restaurant blaming the guy who buys the ingredients for his food tasting bad even though the cook gave him the shopping list.
He was definitely a WTF pick for the mainstream media. I read somewhere before or during the draft that he was a riser and becoming a sleeper pick, but now I can't find the source. And he met with the Broncos and a few other teams. I guess it was just a meeting and no workout.
