well said. Texans have played this as well as they could at this point. No sense in rushing and panicking when the safety market is seemingly in favor of the teams and not the players/agents.
SO what your saying is there is a replacement for Walter and Barwin correct? Walter wasn't worth what he was being paid but who takes his place? What about Barwin? Mercilus takes his place but now we are out depth. There are holes everywhere. It will become an issue. My point is If this regime had a better record drafting prospects I wouldn't have a problem with gambling.
In this day and age of over reactions and instant gratitude people need to chill out with the "OMG he hasn't signed we will never sign anyone!!!!" stuff. It's the NFL there are plenty of solid free agents available at all times. If they don't fill all their holes now there's still the draft/June 1st cuts/53 man roster cuts with plenty of players to fill in holes left by the players the Texans let go. Breathe a little guys this organization knows what it's doing.
given what Walter did last year, I think just about anyone they spend a little on in FA (or even a Martin or Jean given more PT if they believe they've progress/are healthy) can produce at Walter's level. I hope they improve from there. But I think they'll at least get Walter's production regardless of how the slot is filled. And yes, they can still draft a 5th WR to make up that promotional depth Barwin, even moreso. Had a horrendous year. Mercilus is a huge improvement. And a 2nd or 3rd rnd LB (again or vet FA) can replace Mercilus's few reps as a backup, especially if Mercilus outproduces Barwin. In short, yes, I believe regardless of record in drafting guys, they can easily replace those 2 because of their terrible production last year. So I think they're a safety (and some negligible/will-happen replacements) from last year's team
You think this regime hasn't drafted sufficiently? Have you seen the 2009 draft? And you do realize they drafted the best defensive player in football, don't you? KJ is making the 2010 draft class look much better as well. The draft is one of the few things I am not worried about. This team, which we have watched enjoy the most success in franchise history for the past 2 seasons, was built primarily through the draft.
Might I ask if you think Last year's team was a Championship caliber team? After losing o-line contributors and seeing the obvious drop in our bread and butter do you honestly think they will be better?
Maybe they were with Cushing. We'll never know. The O line will be better and Barwin was whack as hell last season. We'll be fine if and when we sign Reed and draft a WR early in the draft.
would you agree that If they don't get to the AFC championship game or God forbid they don't make the playoffs this regime needs to go?
no--o line needs improvement. Gotta work within the cap though, and I'm being cognizant of that Regardless, your statement was that this team would have to "hit snake eyes" -- just to have a shot at the playoffs! So you weren't talking championship, just playoffs. And you were saying that because of the losses, they are basically f'ed in every way.
Fire Kubiak. Not Smith. We could have easily been the #1 seed the past 2 seasons. I don't think it's time to panic yet...yet.
I meant that the Texans have to nail at least 3 draft picks. contributing rookies to fill those holes. A lot of sports writers agree with this. This draft is critical because of the cap situation.
I agree, although I do think there are some quality players available that would not cost much and would help the Texans a great deal. It would require restructuring Smith's and Shaub's deals but players such as Lloyd, Vollmer, Dumervil, Rhodes and Pouha. Obviously they cannot get a majority of these players, but the Texans are in a win now situation and 2 or more of these players can make a huge difference.
I know knee-jerk hyperbole drives sports talk these days - but, seriously - you need to relax. These posts are just silly. As long they stay healthy, they'll make the playoffs, regardless of the draft. They lost three nice players - but the core wasn't touched. And they'll be "adding" Cushing to the mix. As for their prospect record... you do recognize that you're hand-wringing over losing.... yep, prospects this regime drafted. They have a very good track record of drafting prospects. They've shown some specific weaknesses (WR comes immediately to mind) - but, by and large, they've done very well.
That's true regardless of what happens though. Not signing Reed doesn't mean we could have grabbed Eric Winston and traded for Harvin/signed him or something. There's still no space. Reed or Quin are pieces. A safety is important. So are other positions. The draft matters regardless of which positions are filled by FAs. If you say save $$ and sign FAs at the minimum $$...I'd argue we'd do just as well drafting guys as signing 4 guys at the vet minimum rather than a Reed and 1 other guy at a higher value
Aaron Wilson @RavensInsider I'm told by a source it's quiet on Ed Reed front for now, but that can always change.
Agreed with you til this part.. heard Kubiak quoted on 790 saying we don't need any more offensive weapons because we have enough
Vomit. Reeko -- Your post about having little faith in this regime's drafting ability holds no merit. Quin is a fourth rounder who panned out and got paid. Casey is fifth rounder.. Barwin was a second rounder who just got 40. These are obviously just recent examples.
The Texans’ offensive ranks, 2009-2012: Overall/Scoring: ’12 – 7th/8th ’11 – 13th/10th (six games without Matt Schaub) ’10 – 3rd/9th ’09 – 4th/10th And you think the architect of that offense doesn’t know what he’s talking about?
We looked mediocre down the stretch and in the playoffs. Good defenses have done a great job in containing our offense. You said it yourself when you cited teams that were putting up tons of points in the playoffs. This offense needs more weapons.
