Yeah. I think people are being overly critical on Kareem. Yes he wasn't good and he's an easy target, but to completely write him off is a bit extreme. CBs rarely do well in their first year. Add to that poor coaching and lack of any kind of veteran leadership in the secondary...peppered with an inability to get pressure on the CB and you have a recipe of disaster.
But it is a reality - see the Saints killing themselves to make Reggie Bush a star despite his being unable to handle being a starting RB. And we saw this before with McNair - all post-Capers HC interviewees were expected to tell him they could salvage the sinking Carr ship. With the way Wade talked so much about how he could fix secondary issues with coaching, I'm dead certain McNair wants to see if his first round contract obligation is redeemable. Right or wrong, there's pressure on Wade to make Jackson work as the #2 starter. Same as there is pressure on him to make Watt and Reed work out as starters. I'm pessimistic, his alarmingly nonexistant ability to close gaps had nothing to do with coaching. But......he did have everything lined up against him: A secondary coach that had no business being on NFL staff unless as secretary. A LB coach masquerading as a DC, disinclined to blitz and very inclined to leave KJ on an island in coverage despite plenty of proof that he couldn't stay with anyone. A defense decimated by injuries and unable to pressure the QB (until week 12 or so) A safety net consisting of an all-hit-no-cover SS and a senior home FS with the cover range of a nose guard. It's only fair to give him at least another chance, with real coaches overseeing things, with fair help around him. If he looks just as bad in a half-decent D as he did in last year's nightmare....than he's done just like Carr was after Kubiak's first season.
I always thought New Orleans handled/used Bush properly. Did he ever truly *start*, as in he was their only featured back? Seems they always had a bigger guy so Bush could be deployed in a variety of sets. Carr’s a different animal, though, for a lot of reasons. And I think people tend to forget that Kubiak jettisoned him after a single year (technically, it looked like the experiment ended during the actual season). Jackson isn’t near as high profile nor does he make the same money. In fact, if they’re really serious about Asomugha or even Joseph, Jackson’s (roughly) $3M/year deal is a drop in the bucket. If he doesn’t pan out, I don’t think they’ll bend over backwards to pretend he is working out. Too much on the line and he’s not Phillips’ guy; no way he wants to go down carrying someone else’s burden. HOUSTON! TEXANS! HOUSTON! TEXANS! Ok, so *you* remembered… I agree. There’s no reason to give up on a rookie who had quite a bit working against him last year. He deserves a chance to redeem himself.
As I saw it, they spent his first 2, maybe 3 years hellbent on turning him into the "(r)evolutionary Gale Sayers" marquee back the national media was convinced he should be. With Deuce there at first, he couldn't possibly be the single feature back, but they went to him as much as possible (and getting his Dance Dance Revolution 3 yard losses to show for it)....especially anytime they got near the end zone. They slowly figured out that he is what he is: a scatback that is best used as a dumpoff receiver. It wasn't until year 3 or 4 that they finally gave up trying to ask him to go between the tackles. Carries per game (Yards Per Carry): 2006 - 9.7 (3.6) 2007 - 13.0 (3.7) 2008 - 10.6 (3.8) 2009 - 5.0 (5.6) 2010 - 4.5 (4.2) Receptions per game (Yards per Catch): 2006 - 5.5 (8.4) 2007 - 6.1 (5.7) 2008 - 5.2 (8.5) 2009 - 3.4 (7.1) 2010 - 4.3 (6.1) Notice the sudden drop in usage. It was my perception that they gave up trying to force him in the system. He's very useful....but he's just not the megastar they thought he was going to be. Jackson's a different case, but teams do feel pressure to justify their first round picks - its a big flop if they aren't starting material. Look at Okoye keeping his job all these years despite dismal production on the line.
Saints, Texans scrap joint practices HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints will not hold three joint practices leading up to their Aug. 20 preseason games, while they await the end of the lockout. The teams have practiced together in the previous three training camps, leading up to their preseason game. It's become a popular event among fans in the cities, separated by only 350 miles. Last year, the teams practiced in New Orleans before playing at the Superdome. The lockout is into its fourth month. Negotiations between players and owners continued Wednesday in New York City. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6767486/new-orleans-saints-houston-texans-call-joint-practices
Foster on ESPN radio discussing the Texans, and the comments by that moron Harrison. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=6767299&autoplay=1&callsign=ESPNRADIO
Thanks for that article. Basically confirms what I suspected. The backup position should be an interesting fight. I didn't even realize Chris Ogbonnaya was on the practice squad last year. I had physical science with that dude my senior year of college.
It's pretty wild how fast the texans went to RB being very thin to very deep and talented. It's overlooked, but the Ward signing was a great one. Hopefully he continues where he left off from last year.
I would want Slaton traded for the sole purpose of never watching him return a kickoff. Those were brutal to watch...running a straight path into the opposing team.
Man Slaton was electric his rookie year, he was on track to be a perennial pro-bowler too. Did putting on weight ruin his career potential? Ruined his quickness.
He wasn't even in the endzone. He caught it at the 1 on the sideline. Instead of 1st and 10 at the 45 because of the penalty, they had it inside the 1.
Pretty sure it was the fumbling issue more than his weight gain, which was minimal. Slaton had a turnover problem in college, but largely had good fortune in his rookie season. Then he had a rash of fumbles early in 2009 (the Jets one at the end of that long screen pass particularly stands out), and the Texans benched him and basically had him re-learn how to carry the ball. Since then, you can see that he's thinking rather than hitting the hole with abandon like he did as a rookie. Once backs get to that point, it's hard for them to get out of that mindset. He needs a change of scenery to have any chance of climbing out of it, imo. I really think putting Slaton as a return man was one of Kubiak's worst ideas. I know Holliday was the guy they had penciled into that role and he got injured, but there are always street free agents you can find to be decent return men. Putting Slaton back there, given his mental issues and lack of any return experience, just screamed of forcing him out there for the sake of trying to let him do something. Fittingly, it backfired.
By the way, I haven't seen it mentioned in here yet, but the Texans moved up a spot to No. 9 in Forbes' annual listing of most valuable sports franchises. A little different than, say, Jacksonville and Detroit.
