Wasn't Antoine Caldwell an all-american center in college, is there a reason he cannot play it in this scheme?
Home Town Discount means . .. . . We long him until he whiffs on a tackle and we start calling for Reed to start Rocket River
Caldwell did not look good when subbing for injured Brisiel last season. Rick Smith et al got to be looking to draft a OG to replace Caldwell in the depth charts. I would not surprised if said drafted guard takes Caldwell's place on the roster this fall.
Remember those multiple years of thinking Myers was the worst center in the NFL? It took time for the guy to develop into the type of player that fans now want to keep over a guy like Mario. Any cheap replacement (rookie or other team's bench guy) will likely take time as well. Meanwhile teams are collapsing Schaub's pocket all season long and blowing up running lanes up the gut because whoever we got gets tossed around like a rag doll (remember Jenkins?). I know that's an exaggerated worst case scenario, but it is my fear with jacking with the continuity this team has enjoyed on the offensive line. No replacement we get is a lock to become even half as good as Myers is, and they could potentially introduce a huge weak point in our offense.
while all of this is true, if you trust your scouts and staff you should never be afraid of replacing talent with talent. that said, this FO and coaching staff has been hit or miss with finding talent.
I've definitely shifted to think that in the draft, O-Line is our most likely target. Konz in particular, Adams (swing tackle) if it's a pure depth pick, or maybe Zeitler or Sanders in a trade back scenario. I think you missed the point entirely. With the ZBS, even replacing Myers with a slightly better center (on paper), there will be an expected drop in performance. The zone scheme is not friendly towards a plug and play approach. Think of it like when Payton and Malone joined the Lakers and spent the entire year struggling in a major way to get a hang of the triangle. It will be easy to replace Myers from a financial point of view. It will be incredibly difficult to replace him in terms of a center that knows what to do in this system. O-Line continuity is always big. In this scheme, it's critical.
NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora predicted the #Falcons will make a "strong play" for free agent DE Mario Williams.
I say Mario Williams. Mario is A guy who puts More pressure to QB. I like Reed but You cant get any better Than Mario Williams. I cant see him putting on a jersey which isnt texans
Here's a question that's a little bit of a different take: If you're Rick Smith, who would you rather keep? Chris Myers is relatively small and weak for his position. He's quick and smart, which is more important for the ZBS, but there's a decent shot that he flat out sucks if he goes to a man-blocking team. (His hand skills are second-to-none, so he might not, either.) Mario Williams is an elite athlete that can play DE well in a 3-4 or a 4-3, and WOLB in a 3-4. He's going to look good wherever he goes. In my opinion, their value to the Texans is pretty similar, but letting Mario walk is more likely to make Rick Smith look bad than letting Chris Myers walk.
I'd would expect that if Chris Myers walks, Mike Brisiel is your starting center to begin the season, and Myers' long term replacement is playing RG.