[Chron] Mario Williams making move to outside linebacker

we are...right? i mean, to the extent someone disagrees with me here, i think they're pretty much standing up to say so.

except that's not the stuff people are talking about. it's the whole turd polishing stuff that kick-started this conversation back up. it started with a post from someone suggesting the worst defense in the league was "stacked"...which i questioned...and then you responded by talking about how good/nice/whatever our core is.

I think that presumption is completely unwarranted at this point. We've presumed a lot for a long time...

I don't get to choose who gets a free agency period and who doesn't. I would have gone a completely different direction...my opinion hasn't changed. Ultimately, this is a board of opinions. That's all we're really doing here.

 

I have a Texans tattoo on my arm for bleep's sake so I LOVE the Texans and want to see them do well. I do try to rationalize some of their bonehead decision making, but even I have gotten to the Dubya Tea Eff threshold with them lately and sort of anticipate the worst.

If Ric wants to say he isn't a Texans apologist, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...but I wonder if he is willing to commit now to anything the Texans could potentially do next season that he won't defend. If they don't bring in ANY starter level talent for the secondary...should we say...maybe Wade and co can "coach em up".

Switching from Kubiak to Wade if the team goes 5-11 and the defense is awful for instance, would that be a bad idea....or would we have to keep an "open mind" about what Wade can do ....etc....etc

 

Stacked is likely pushing it, sure - likely a component of having your foot pressed too hard against the homer pedal – but, let me ask you this: Who among the core would you jettison? Okoye? Sure, OK. Jackson? OK. Ryans? Williams? Cushing? Are you ready to give up on Mitchell? Barwin? Did you not like Watt? Reed? Harris?

So maybe “stacked” was a poor choice of words – but they have some desirable pieces, no?

Nice.

I remain flummoxed that too many don’t even want to begrudgingly admit that it’s not a bad place to *start* - that’s the key word. Yeah, yeah – it’s not stacked. But they presumably have a foundation to build on. I think that’s pretty undeniable, assuming those guys aren’t all complete busts and have been vastly overrated.

I mean, would you rather they be the Astros, built on a foundation of…. nothing? They have some pieces, possibly more than we realized: I’m not suggesting we buy Super Bowl tickets, or even playoff tickets; But can we at least agree it’s not a *bad* thing at this point in time?

I don’t understand – would have gone a different direction with what? When?

If you mean defensively, I would bet Phillips agrees with you and has designs to change it… as soon as that oh-by-the-way lockout ends.

 

This thread is becoming tl;dr.

 

I'm done guessing as to what I think of draft picks...I THOUGHT we had a good pick in Kareem. Or maybe I just assumed the Texans knew what they were doing (though, I remember questioning the decision to let Dunta go without a real plan beyond throwing a rookie to the wolves). So I don't know about Watt...Reed...etc. I just don't know.

What I do know is that "core" amounted to the worst defense in the league last season...and the worst I've ever seen in my life. Those are the results beyond what I think of the names on paper.

What you just said is like Exhibit A for what frustrates the crap out of me. We're talking about more turd polishing by simply saying, "eh...it's not really good. but, hey...it's not bad!!"

Well it was bad last year. It was beyond bad. And if the best we can say about them RIGHT NOW is they're not bad, then count me among the unexcited and uninspired.

Again..."not bad" is hardly exciting to me. And how in the world can I agree with the notion that bringing back the same core as the worst defense I've ever seen and adding a couple of rookies to the mix is anything but bad before I see them play under a new system? All I have to go on right now is looking at these same jokers amount to being the worst defense I've ever seen.

with leadership at the top.

 

Oh, thank God.

Why am I on trial here? I’d rather the season play out – at least a few weeks - before making any definitive claims, good or bad. I mean, how can I commit to anything in the middle of a lockout? Seems silly to me.

 

just say, "nice."

 

Yeah, I'm gonna go with #2. #1 isn't an option and #3 just seems...well, frankly it just sounds way too boring for me as a fan.

Seriously, I don't think Ric is nearly as much of a "GO TEXANS, we're on the right track" kind of guy as people here seem to think he is. I think he's just trying to provide a counterpoint to (what he perceives as) the inordinate amount of anti-Texan hyperbole that goes on in this forum.

As for me personally, I freely admit that I kind of get off to b****ing about the Texans. It's fun! I used to do the same thing with the Oilers. Maybe it's that whole lovable loser syndrome. But I don't think that's how Ric rolls (get it?) and I'm fine with that. I don't really understand the animosity towards him. This is all supposed to be fun, right?

 

“Not bad” isn’t designed to generate excitement; I’m not a member of the Texans’ PR department. It’s meant to be a starting point for moving forward, a block amongst many in a foundation that is currently being built – well, actually, it’s not being built right now but through no fault of the coaches or front office.

But you have no problem assuming it’s bad even though you haven’t seen them play under a new system? Or go through free agency? Or OTAs? Or training camp?

And, for what feels like the 7 gallonth time – Oh by the way: They fired Frank Bush and hired Wade Phillips. So when you say all they’ve done is add a couple of rookies to the mix, you’re being incredibly disingenuous. Wade Phillips *drastically* changes things defensively. On the field. In the draft room. During free agency.

It’s. Not. The. Same. Jokers. Wade Phillips wasn’t here last year. Neither were JJ Watt, Brooks Reed or Brandon Harris. And they haven’t had free agency yet to make even more additions. Everyone keeps acting like it’s mid-September.

 

I think we're all just sick of this regime and see way past the short-term fixes and spin that is put on everything with this team. I was an avid defender of the team and their moves going into last year, but times have changed. Ric isn't a "rah rah Go Texans" fan, but he is looking at everything from a micro view and seeing the small improvements, but ignoring the fact that every year something new pops up that ends up being our crux.

Can't score in the redzone ... can't run the ball ... can't stop the run ... can't stop the pass ... kicker chokes all the time ... all of these things have been isolated problems at one time or another that has held us back. We can't ever put it all together, despite going into every year on paper looking like we should be a playoff team and being fully capable of doing so. Sure, on paper this year we look like we have erased our weakness. Phillips *should* get this defense playing closer to average and hey, if we would have had an average defense last year we would've won ten games. But this is ignoring the trend that happens every year with Kubiak's Texans -- something new will go wrong and hold us back, and at some point the coaches have to be held responsible.

 

I didn't say it was on you to create excitement. Again, this is a messageboard where people share opinions...that's mine. I'm not excited about coming to some "agreement" with you that we'll call them "not bad."

Ric, I'm commenting on what I see right now. If they sign Jesus to play corner, I reserve the right to change my opinion. Color me a skeptic of the Texans doing something noteworthy in free agency, though. They have a history.

It. Is. The. Same. Jokers. On. The. Field. Aside. From. Three. Rookies. Who. May. Or. May. Not. Start.

Until further notice, this is what we're looking at on the field..and given their history, I'm skeptical that they'll go out and make noise in free agency. I'd LOVE to be wrong about that.

You think hiring Wade Phillips is a drastic change. I see moving to the 3-4 as a drastic change that may or may not work given the personnel that was allegedly acquired for use in a 4-3. But changing coordinators, alone, does not excite me. I'm sorry. I wish it did.

 

If my conversation with Ric is perceived as animosity, I'm sorry. I certainly don't intend for it to be mean-spirited at all.

 

To me what happened to Wade here is most definitely NOT an aberration but merely a continuation of a pattern that surrounds Wade. But the Cowboys implosion in 2010 was not some mere fluke of nature. Sure, losing Romo to injury was bad but the offense under Garrett managed to play well enough to win despite that. It was the defense under Wade that fell apart - a veteran defense with superior players (compared to those with the Texans). And oh yeah, make no mistake about it: Wade's defense was exposed (saw interview after interview from opposing teams saying so) and once the players saw that no answers coming from Wade, they lost confidence in him and his schemes and that's when the implosion happened. That is what concerns me the most about Wade. It was observed that the longer Wade is around, things manage to get worse.

Surely you are NOT comparing what happened with Capers here to what happened to Wade in 2010. For starters, he was directly responsible for the 2005 train wreck. His defensive roster here was dog meat compared to that of the Dolphins and later Green Bay. What Dom's experience does indicate is that you have to have the right players to execute your defense and he appears to have inherited the right players at those two stops. It's amazing how good Dom got once he was no longer picking players.

Again, that's somewhat of a red flag for me with Wade as he, like Dom, had the right players in place at Dallas but the results were totally different. Now, he is expected to resurrect the Texans' defense with a lesser cast of players. I am not sure if Wade has the right players here to successfully run his defense. Now, if Wade follows his previous pattern, he should be able to get them to at least the league average. Compared to last year that in and of itself should be a cause for rejoicing. Will it be good enough to make them a playoff team? Nobody knows. Personally, I have a sneaking suspicion that they will have more problems on the offense than folks are expecting and that may temper any progress or playoff asperations.

Aw, now you're just being nasty. Truth be told, I have heard the same thing said up here about folks in Houston. This Dallas vs. Houston things is always good for a chuckle. And Yes, his resume is quite impressive. Dom's was also when he came here and we all know how well that worked out. Sometimes, a resume does not tell the whole story. Nor can it be an accurate predictor of the future. But sometimes it's nice to hope I suppose.

Ah, the new Houston Texans Company Excuse er Line. I hear John McClain recite it on 610 all the time: the Texans' had the worst defensive coaches in the league who were so inept, they constantly put the poor Texans players in a position to "fail" (I'll bet Kareem Jackson will fall down if he reads this). Gotta love their ability to always manage to blow sunshine up everyone's behind. If this organization managed to put 1/10 of the effort they expend at making excuses and looking for scapegoats into actually getting a clue, they would have been a playoff team by now.

 

y'all need a timeout. MAdmax is just, well mad...fair enough, Ric is an eternal optimist, understandable...no one likes a debbie downer. And ima_drummer is trying to be the mediator...and i'm fairly sure he's been drinking.


Mad, let ric be optimistic without attacking him. You can't force you pessimism onto others.

Ric, let Mad vent his anger but dont fool yourself into thinking you can turn his frown upside down.


We don't know how the defense will be but i think we can all agree that 1) it most likely wont be worse than last years 2) They hired a well respected and accomplished defensive coordinator

Those 2 things right there have to offer some excitement.

When it comes to who will more to what position and how they will adapt...well those things are concerns but trying to speculate on how they will work out right now is pretty worthless as we dont know until they put their pads on.

 

This entire discussion was kicked off from the comment saying our defense (the worst one in the league last season) was "stacked." Ric didn't make that comment; but I certainly perceived he came in and supported it.

There's nothing personal here. i haven't been attacked and I don't believe I've attacked Ric, either. If I have, then I apologize to Ric right now. We're just having a discussion.

Yes, I'm overcome with excitement that we won't be worse than we were last year when we were the worst defense I've ever seen. I can't wait to buy my "Texans 2011: We Ain't as Bad as 2010" t-shirt. :grin:

 

I think what annoys me (I won't speak for others) about Ric is he has an uncontrollable need to justify, rationalize and/or defend the organization against the complaints leveled in this and other threads. I mean damn, considering the joke this franchise has been for a decade, I don't understand why ANYONE would feel so compelled that they can't just sit back and say "These guys haven't earned a defense."

 

did i say you had to be overcome with excitement?

i'm sorry i was trying to be rational with you. I'll suppose i will just have to treat you along the lines of reeko...which is just a person who dumps on anything and everything, regardless of whether it's a reasonable statement'

crap away my friend...crap away

 

over optimism can be annoying too. Someone in between he and Max is the proper mindset

 

Wouldn't you defend the company you work for?

 

LOL well, exactly.