I would look for a low risk high reward free agent like Anthony Gonzales. Let other teams sign the big name/money receivers, then pounce in the draft. I think if the Texans stay patient they can get a Kendall Wright or Nick Toon , shoot maybe both and upgrade the wide outs and return game at the same time. Whatever they do with Mario, stay or go, a lot of the free agent money they have will go to Myers and Foster.
McClain said we dont have cap room to sign a top WR in free agency even with letting Mario go... really thats sucks.
Mario's hit on the cap should go down a few million if he signs a long term deal. Cut jacoby and Leinart to free up about six million to resign Foster and Myers. Maybe restructure some deals to get a FA WR.
I don't know how he blocks, but I think Robert Meachem would be a great fit here. The Saints will be much more interested in locking up Colston, and might have to let Meachem walk. He and Foster were teammates at Tennessee for 3 years, maybe work that angle?
We wont use money on a top tier FA WR. Our first round pick will go towards a receiver. We may sign a 3rd/4th string WR, but it wont cost us much money. Our CB2 is a huge weakness...once that gets shored up, our defense will be a nightmare to face, more so than it is right now. As much as I like Mario, its time to use up that money on a very solid CB. Brooks Reed is too good to bench.
Agreed. Signing Mario does not mean benching Reed or Barwin. It means that the Texans have 3 player rotation for their OLBs
That means that on any given play, one of them would be on the bench. That wouldnt be an efficient way of spending money, imo. Id rather have Reed and Barwin, who were a great tandem, along with a solid CB...than Reed, Barwin, Mario, and Kareem at CB.
Brent Grimes is the best of the bunch, he had a very solid year with the Falcons. Brandon Carr is solid for a CB2...Carlos Rogers is extremely underrated. I think either one of these 3 would completely solidify our secondary. I cant include Finnegan in this list.
That's the last person you want to listen to on this subject. Having said that, I think resigning our own guys is going to be a tall enough order. The cap won't jump very much this season (it balloons in 2013). I'm not confident Mario will take much of a discount to stay - he may strongly prefer a return to a 4-3 defense, and his agent won't turn a deaf ear to $15+M whispers. The Chargers are said to have an eye on him, and the Bucs could fill a crater with their cap space. One thing to watch....the Steelers are supposedly in for a very difficult offseason (projected $20M over the cap in commitments). I've zero sense that Kubiak is as determined to replace Kareem as we are. He is too attached to his guys, always has been.
Mario Roundup: Conner Barwin thinks Mario will stay http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/16911166 Chargers may chase Mario http://www.nctimes.com/sports/footb...cle_17b155b8-5af3-5f90-a5a6-50206d4318d8.html Bears may chase Mario http://www.chicagonow.com/bearssth/2012/01/bears-2012-free-agency-watch-list-defensive-ends/
Damn. Talk about eating QB's. As far as CB2: Finnegan* Rogers (has bricks for hands) *all I want is wins. Wr2: Bowe Wayne Meacham/Washington (cut Walters and Jones) AJ/Meacham/Washington + TEs = points in the red zone 2012 Defense + Finnegan/Rogers = more coverage sacks
Receiver. I like Mario but I would rather have 2 elite level receivers in case one goes down. With a healthy Matt next year we could really make a run.
If we want to resign Mario and Foster we would probably not be able to re-sign Myers. Then we would probably have to cut D. Ryans, along with other dead weight Leinart and Jacoby.
I believe Pancakes said the Texans didn't have enough money to sign any big name offseason free agents and we landed Joseph and Manning.
I'm no expert, but there's something to be said for an overwhelming pass rush. It's the great equalizer against some of the elite QBs in the league. Look at what the Giants are doing now. Rather than trying to be above average at every single position on defense, I would rather have a pass rush that other teams can't match up against. There's something to be said for overkill. We're not going to out offense the elite teams. Let's magnify what we do well. Exploit our competitive advantage. Watt/Williams/Barwin/Reed/Cushing/Smith/Ryans/Joseph/Manning oh my
Do anything and everything to keep Mario, cutting Jacoby Jones being priority #1 in that effort. I understand the logic, move a position of strength to shore up a weakness but as others have said, draft another WR but Mario was looking like an All Pro before the injury and was making Ninja look like one as well.
