It would actually be easier to turn around the Texans IMO. Give them an additional pass rusher so they can get pressure rushing only 4, a legit fat man NT who won't get shoved around, Foster back healthy, and an upgrade at the RT spot and I think they are back in the playoffs. Add a QB who will take care of the ball and not turn it over or have O'Brien coach up Keenum to be that guy and they could be ready to make a decent playoff run. Of course all of that would be contingent on health, but it's not inconceivable that the Texans could win a playoff game next year.
You are forgetting that our LB corp outside of Cushing is gawd awful and our DB's are pretty damn bad as well. Manning will be cut, JJo has fallen way off, don't know if we can count on Swearanger yet and Kareem is actually decent. Does not sound like a team that can turn around easy.
No one on this board ever thought the Texans would be this pathetic in their own division regardless of their tough 2013 schedule. There was zero question that the stars were aging, but no one expected this drop off. NFL analysts expected the Texans to be in the playoffs and had zero indications that they couldnt. Infact what was shocking, was the teams we had trouble with where the teams, that Indy beat...Indy beat them...and we didnt. The Texans were in position to win games, but lack of in game adjustments, and injuries really did a number on this team. Think of all the games we were in it at halftime or ahead, only to get blown out in the 2nd half...I will never forget what Sherman said after the game in Seattle...we kinda practiced that if Schaub is pressured, we know where he will throw the ball...While he was one of the few to say it, every NFL opponent we had this season knew it...The team was predictable. Heck we knew when they would run it...we all called the playactions...and draw plays from 3rd and long....bc Konserviak was predictable. Heck even Antonio Smith suspected a team was cheating just to find an explanation for the pathetic play...And it wasnt just the offense...it was also the defense. No pressure aside from JJ; Linebackers were totally amiss; safeties couldnt tackle in open space, and Corners kept routinely burned...and a crap load of pathetic penalties...
Last season wasn't all bad though. Kareem Jackson improved, Andre showed no signs of dropping off, Cushing looked back to his old ways, and the rookie from South Carolina started to look like a really good football player. This team isn't as far away as some think.
I think Brooks Reed moves inside and Cushing will be back, that takes care of the 2 ILB's and between Travardo and Merc that should take care of whatever OLB spot isn't taken care of in the draft. You don't know who will be cut, and sure Manning could be cut, but I'd assume they'd be upgrading the position if they were to do so. As to JJo, when he's healthy, he's been legit, but he's been injured too much recently. I think he gets one more year to show he can stay healthy or he's done. Swearinger should be better heading into a sophomore year and I'm not worried about Kjax. Assuming they draft Clowney, they'd be able to get a pass rush without blitzing, something that would be HUGE for this secondary.
I mean, they certainly have holes, but they are in a weak division that's in a weak conference and they have a ton of talent. A turn around shouldn't be THAT difficult so long as O'Brien is as competent as some think he is.
I guess i'm thinking about Mcnair's comment after the season ended...he said something about expecting to be right back in contention next year. That it wasn't a rebuild. Do we think he's going to change that stance? I'm not sure he will. That's going to be a hell of a disappointment to the city. i don't think he wants to wait that long and would rather patch things up as well as possible.
A bunch of the fringe playoff teams have some pretty significant personal holes held together with chewing gum and bailing wire. The goal should be good quality depth at every position, but that isn't the threshold to be competitive.
Lets take a closer look at next season and our opponents. As a fan, this is a relatively easier schedule on paper....These are the list of QB's we face next season: Luck - twice Locker - twice Jags Rookie - twice Dalton Flacco Foles RG3 Manuel Wheeden or Rookie Big Ben Romo Manning Pryor/McGloin/or Rookie I have bolded everyone with some playoff experience. Out of all the QB's bolded(9), if we go 3-6; and from the rest of the field go 5-2 --> we get back to being a 8-8 football team. This can only be realistically achieved with a QB with NFL experience(whether it be Schaub, Free Agent, or even Keenum). This scenario shows that Drafting Clowney makes this expectation by McNair as a possibility. If the Texans go the QB route with the draft, the Texans are conceding that they will rebuild again(average time 3 years). And the Texans will be the unknown variable against most of the team. Realistically the best shot at winning would be games against other rookies(Browns, Oakland and Jags-twice) and even those are 50-50. Maybe we could expect a 3-5 win season...realistically. I do understand that we had a lot of injuries, etc; but people forget that we had Andre Johnson healthy for a majority of the season. Same with Watt...losing either player wouldve made the season much worse. We cant expect to always be healthy. This is the NFL, and players always get hurt(whether it be freak injuries or just unhealthy players). In order for this team to have a much more drastic turnaround(even 8-8 is optimistic), Clowney just makes more sense. We still have the entire draft to go thru, and perhaps we can get 2 impact players in the starting lineup this year. We shall see...
Just because they won 11 games feeding off the weak doesn't mean they was going to win 11 games the next year. Especially when Schaub proved to everyone his arm was dead when Casey got behind the defense and he under threw him and ended the last 3 games of the season (including playoffs) with at least one interception a game. Plus I saw how Green Bay and New England beat us like we stole something in 3 games. And I didn't like any of the draft picks in last year's draft. Just my prediction. Lucky guess. But I never dreamed they would lose 14 freaking games though.
If he fell to the 2nd, I wouldn't be totally against it. I feel like you said that as a joke, but the kid has a serious arm and he's one of the more mobile QB's in this class. If O'Brien is half the QB whisperer he's touted as, he should be able to make something out of that.
Hopefully whoever we pick won't come out in two years saying that they want to be an owner one day.....Seattle needs to start looking for a new QB right away because they'll NEVER give him that kind of money to be a game manager for them.
Trading down makes more sense to me. And if Atlanta wants Clowney and he wants them... The Texans should trade with them and get what they can get. Maybe their 2nd round and 3rd or 4th round picks.
That and their first round next year. Otherwise, I'd be underwhelmed. It's almost an ideal situation, though. Theoretically, if we fall in love with Teddy, there'd be a chance we could grab him at six, while picking up some extra picks for depth. At the very least, there's a really good chance you get one of either Teddy or Bortles at 6.
Houston gets no value in that trade... Switching from 1 to 6 is extremely risky considering their players might be off the board when they wanna pick...And Atlanta's 2nd round pick isnt as valuable. Really Houston has lack of suitors for the #1 pick, but St. Louis can have a lot of attention. It really all depends on how Houston decides to go with the #1. If they go with Bridgwater....The Browns may trade up just to get their QB fearing the Jags; the Jags will most likely go QB with the 3rd pick, and St. Louis will still get their guy.... In almost every scenario, STL is gonna get out like gangbusters...
I'm with this. The #2 pick is usually much more likely to earn the deal than #1. If the Texans don't take Clowney, STL will get another ridiculous offer.
Spoiler eddy Bridgewater did not impress during the interview portion of the NFL Combine, which is perhaps one of the most surprising rumors people are hearing around the NFL, given his reputation for extremely smart play and experience in a “pro-style” offense. Comparisons are floating around to Geno Smith (who also struggled in the interviews), which makes sense because a number of insiders are blaming Bridgewater’s agent for poor preparation. Bridgewater chose the highest bidder when it came to his agent, and that happened to be Smith’s agency before the draft: Roc Nation, famously associated with Jay-Z (who is technically not an agent, but is the face of the company). The Jacksonville Jaguars were enamored with Bridgewater before the Combine and it figures they still are. If he’s there at #3, they’ll take him. If he’s not there, then they’ll take Khalil Mack or Jadeveon Clowney. Interestingly, the Jaguars have been one of the most open teams about the entire process. The Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders are good fits for Teddy. Speaking of Clowney, it looks like the Jaguars won’t even get a chance to draft him. The Houston Texans are reportedly deciding between Clowney, Bridgewater and Central Florida prospect Blake Bortles. Right now, the Texans are leaning towards Clowney. Blake Bortles impressed a number of teams at the Combine during the interview portion. If the Texans don’t pick him, then there’s a deal in place with the Atlanta Falcons to trade up to the St. Louis Rams‘ pick and select Clowney. If Clowney isn’t there, the Falcons might have to consider a way to entice the Jaguars away from selecting Mack, as Khalil Mack is one of their top-rated players, and above Anthony Barr. Clowney reportedly impressed a great many number of teams in his interviews, even teams that weren’t considering drafting him. The degree to which he nailed the interview portion of the Combine with all the teams surprised a lot of personnel people. Derek Carr is the subject of much speculation. It turns out that the Fresno State alum is being considered by the Cleveland Browns (largely with the 26th pick, although Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network thinks it will be with their second-rounder), the Oakland Raiders (who don’t want him at #5, but would rather trade back) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Trading down may be a mistake, as at least two teams entered the Combine thinking he should be a top ten pick. In particular, Derek Carr’s close work with current Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford has made Tampa Bay high on him. Tedford is close to the Carr family, and it sounds like the new regime is not necessarily sold on their current quarterback Mike Glennon. Tedford is well-known for producing quarterbacks, and was David Carr’s offensive coordinator at Fresno State for a short period of time. It sounds like the Raiders aren’t interested in Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles, and if forced to stay put may consider Auburn OT Greg Robinson or Clemson WR Sammy Watkins. In fact, Johnny Manziel seems to be as divisive among teams as he is among NFL fans. The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders want no part in him. The Cleveland Browns, initially rumored to be big fans under the Mike Lombardi regime are no longer on board with Johnny Football with the new general manager, Ray Farmer, in charge. It’s rumored that the Houston Texans are not on board the Manziel train, either. Johnny may be on the draft boards of the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys, too. Quarterbacks with high upside are of particular interest to the Minnesota Vikings, even if they are somewhat raw now. This means that Logan Thomas is a possibility if they don’t select in the first, as are Stephen Morris, Connor Shaw and Tom Savage. Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner have a few years of leeway, so grabbing a developmental project is easier for them than for others. Zach Mettenberger is off their board, because of off-field issues that exceed the public problems he had at Georgia and continued with his time at Louisiana State. Mentioned earlier, but it looks like some NFL teams have the top four quarterbacks ranked 1) Blake Bortles, 2) Teddy Bridgewater, 3) Derek Carr, 4) Johnny Manziel. The New York Giants are purportedly very interested in Mike Evans, wide receiver for Texas A&M. The Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks are big fans of Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who won several awards as the best defensive player in the NCAA last year. The Chicago Bears, under general manager Phil Emery, reportedly do not think safeties are worth a high pick. The Cowboys will be prioritizing their defensive line, just like the Bears. The Seahawks, evidently, cannot contain their excitement about Donald. In addition to Aaron Donald, the Seattle Seahawks are very intrigued by Louisiana State wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. He most likely will be there at the bottom of the first round. If they don’t get him, expect the Seahawks to move strongly towards drafting offensive linemen. The Detroit Lions are expected to selected a defensive back, though a receiver is not out of the question. The Green Bay Packers want to draft a quarterback this year, though no necessarily very high. They seem very interested in Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton, too. The San Diego Chargers will focus on the defensive line early in the draft, unless one of their top-rated defensive backs falls. The Carolina Panthers will evidently target Brandon Thomas, offensive tackle from Clemson in day two of the draft. Keith McGill of Utah and Phillip Gaines of Rice had phenomenal combine workouts, but they probably didn’t rise up the boards too much, and despite being listed as cornerbacks may be drafted as safeties. Cameron Fleming, on the other hand, is rising further up boards than people would have thought given his inconsistent play as an offensive tackle for the Stanford Cardinal. He may go in the top 50. Jason Verrett, a cornerback many consider to be one of the top CBs in the country from Texas Christian, evidently played his excellent season with a torn shoulder labrum. Jimmie Ward, safety from Northern Illinois, was expected to boost his stock at the Combine, but injury kept him from performing. His Pro Day will be significant. The same thing happened to the tight end from Washington, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who unexpectedly had a foot fracture revealed to him during the medical portion of the combine, despite not feeling pain. It is expected that inside linebacker C.J. Mosely be selected in the top fifteen. Troy Niklas made gains at the Combine and is considered to be one of the draft’s only complete tight ends. Jerrick McKinnon may have had the best Combine workout out of any player at the draft, yet went virtually unnoticed by the media. He had the best weight/speed combination at 209 pounds, with a 4.41 40-yard dash, with a mind-boggling ten-yard split of 1.46 seconds, which is one of the fastest recorded at the Combine in years (interestingly, Dri Archer’s near-record run had an identical ten-yard split). McKinnon also benched more reps than any other running back with an astounding 32 bench reps and jumped higher than almost everyone at the Combine with a leap of 40.5″. His 11’0″ broad jump was also elite among peers and he had blazing 3-cone and short shuttle times of 6.83 and 4.12 seconds, respectively. It is rare for a player to top the strength, agility and speed drills, but McKinnon did it and raised his stock from a priority undrafted free agent to a potential day two pick, with some teams making him the fifth running back on their board. Some NFL scouts think that Caraun Reid, nose tackle from Princeton could end up a bigger hit than projected first-round pick nose tackle Louis Nix if he’s “tough enough.” Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio failed the physical for a number of NFL teams. His knees were “ugly.” Kouandjio can say “goodbye to round one” according to a number of scouts, and was considered to be sluggish and totally unprepared for the combine. In an atmosphere of rehearsed responses and practiced speeches, Cody Latimer and Zach Mettenberger refused to follow a script or practice for their pressers or interviews. They were forceful, charismatic and a refreshing change of pace. In all likelihood, it helped more than hurt them. http://vikingsterritory.com/2014/fr...ree-agency-bridgewater-interview-carr-clowney
Drafting Clowney with the #1 overall pick is just as risky... Can't always expect a rookie DE who played practically his entire defensive career with his hand in the dirt and expect him to turn into a productive LB over night. Merciless and Reed still aren't good at it. Atlanta's 2nd round pick could bring more value by drafting a guy like Trent Murphy with it than drafting Clowney because that guy has the "mental make up" to be a more productive three down LB in Romeo's system and Clowney looks to be more of a pass rush situational player. San Francisco could afford to do that with Aldon Smith because their defense was already set and when Smith was not playing this past year _ there wasn't a major drop off if any with their defense. It seems to be more value in the 2nd through 4th round of this draft for defensive players than in the 1st round.
