Bill O'Brien gave a great speech on team building that included an anecdote about players thinking they were above special teams play :https://www.hulkshare.com/tokeyoh/00120150327153714-billob Listen at 16:20. Found this clip via TexansTalk forums.
I fail to see a connection between what he (may have) told Johnson and their offseason pursuit of WRs. If the idea is to truly reduce WR2's throws/catches, that likely means he's developing a more balanced attack that will feature multiple options for his QB. Martin and Posey were not going to make this team which means, even if AJ had agreed to the reduced role, they likely were looking at a depth chart of 3 (AJ, Hopkins and DJ, who is going to have to impress to likely make the team, too). They likely still sign Shorts and draft an eventual AJ replacement. Washington is the one signing that maybe feels like a direct response to letting AJ go, although he doesn't strike me as a similiar WR and it's possible he could have been a target, anyway.
I'm flabbergasted people are somehow finding fault with the Texans here... are you people just having a Pavlovian response? Can you not stop yourselves from griping and complaining every time the Texans make a personnel move of any kind? I mean, what other evidence needs to be accumulated here for you to stop whining? They've been actively trying to trade him for at least a month and found no takers. They asked him to play special teams and he refused. He ranked among the worst safeties in football the past two years... I can't fathom the Texans somehow being the bad guys here.... what am I missing? And btw, if your response invokes the word, "swag" or "swagger" or "fire" or "attitude" - or any other useless nonsense about some phantom element DJ Swearinger - who was a terrible football player - added to this football team, save your time and move on. He was WORTHLESS. (BTW, don't sleep on this being a not-so-subtle power play from BOB to push Smith either further into the closet, or out altogether. That 2013 draft class has been exposed as a colossal waste of everyone's time, and it wouldn’t shock me if BOB is trying to send a very loud message to Bob.)
I see your post and I see Ziggy's post and I do see griping and complaining. I haven't seen anyone on this thread finding fault with the Texans or blaming the coach. I can say, it doesn't add up and I think it's a series of offenses not just one instance. The team isn't saving money or a roster spot by cutting him, they must have really thought it was bad to even keep him around. Or like your last paragraph says, it was a power play move. It could be to the GM or it could be to other players. It looked like Swearinger was given some freedom/leeway last year and was even telling other players where to be on the field. It seems like the coaches wanted him to be a leader on the field, perhaps that didn't work and back-fired.
Already described my thoughts on him earlier in the thread without dropping any of your beloved "battle fight'n" lingo. In a vacuum I don't care about the move but this isn't an isolated case at this point. I see a trend. I don't care about Swearinger here, I care about O'Brien taking the easy way out. You called it a power play. If true, to me, that's childish. Just coach the players until you prove something. That's what I'd prefer.
Heh, right? I mean, maybe you work with him if he's a better player, but Swearinger? Nah. It means that he was Swaggy Swag the Swagger master. I can't lie, he was one of my favorite players because he played like a mad man out there.....he did miss a ton of tackles though.
I don't know what that means... He's repeatedly demonstrated limited football skills (physically and mentally), has declared himself too good to play special teams, and was wanted by exactly zero teams when the Texans offered him in trade. Unless the release wakes him up and he accepts what he is (a scrub), I doubt he'll be on a 53-man roster in September. And his "identity," btw, has zero value on the field, and negative-infinity value in the locker room. I said it might be a power play to wrestle control from Smith (isn't that what everyone wants, btw?...). Just my opinion. In terms of some "man code" violation... I don't see it. And even if I did, I'm not sure two players makes it a trend; not when he resigned KJ, Newton, Mallett, signed Wilfork, Moore, Hoyer, etc. Guys seem to like playing for him. He was honest with AJ and gave him an opportunity to chart his own future - what is dick-ish about that? And I don't see how he took an easy out with Swearinger... or did anything wrong, frankly. Swerainger was already a terrible football player refusing to accept a reduced role on the team. BOB didn't draft him; his obligation to him is zero. You don't coach stupid. If a guy is willing to work and grow, sure - there is no outward indication Swearinger was one of those guys. Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we all dislike the long rope Kubiak gave his guys? Now we've got a cuthroat coach who doesn't suffer fools (or lack of talent)... and we're still upset? What, exactly, do you guys want?
I liked the prospect of Swagger becoming a pro bowl safety. But i like the Texans cutting their loses when they see them, even better. i was tired of them holding on to guys who had plateaud, but were high draft picks. Cutting your loses on a 2nd round pick is a tough pill of reality. Especially when undrafted free agents are clearly playing better than him. The potential angle should not be pushed for 5 years as the team has done in the past with others. Good teams dont sit around and wait for guys to mature. This is the NFL, where average guys are out of the league in 3 years. Nothing about Swearinger showed he was better than average. He could hit, but so can just about every other safety and linebacker. Being a high draft pick does not grant a get out of jail card. at least not in this case.
Three players. There was a lot of negative stuff coming out about Clowney (like he didn't want to practice) when he was seriously injured
Too many fans think swagger (even unearned empty swagger) somehow makes a team better. These fans also generally believe that a coach isn't successful unless he's yelling; that leadership wins games; and that a team of scrappy hustling hustlescrappers will always make teams better.
Who's your third? So BOB is now responsible for unsourced, unsubstantiated information that may not even be true? As I said, too many fans can't seem to demonstrate any patience or perspective. It's Texans = Bad 365/24/7, and it only serves to dilute what might, on occasion, be salient points. (PS This is not one of those occasions….)
