What's your definition of Diva? The guy is frustrated and voicing out his opinions. Legit opinions in fact... *shrug. I feel bad for the guy with our current QB situation.
I love Andre, but I'm tired of the "Andre deserves" slogan that being passed around in this thread! He willingly signed a contract to be here, and he IS getting what he deserves, a hefty sum of money for being an elite WR! I know he's looking back at his career and saying "what if", but we ALL can look back and say "what if", the only difference is that he's a multimillionaire saying it! If we a can get something of significant value for him then I'm all for pulling the trigger on trading him, if not, he needs to put his big boy pants on and earn his paycheck! ....... ....... .......
This. Im sure Andre wasn't the only one on the team who would of rather taken the gamble on the QB. The players talk. If Andre feels like the team doesn't appreciate him or respect him that's going to get to players like JJ when his contract is up. JJ can get his $100 million anywhere. The Texans need to tread very carefully on this one. This could cause ramifications long term down the road. on a side note Im not sure if Andre has said he feels disrespected but that's how it sound like hearing him talk. This is why its always a bad idea to hire College coaches. I know he has pro experience but hes coming in from Penn State. Fact is most college head coaches dont make it. they try to hard to assert dominance and alienate the teams stars. Maybe it will be different here but my expectations for him are low.
Saying someone is a "diva" is similar to calling them a "prima donna" because they both refer to opera singers. Essentially it is someone who thinks that they are above others because of their "first woman" status. Andre Johnson is dangerously close to that territory.
He has plenty of leverage. First off, you don't want a malcontent. You can bench him, but you risk causing problems in your locker room and you're wasting cap space. Second, his cap number jumps next year, I believe, thanks to all the restructuring he's done. So an unhappy, high-cost WR is probably not at the top of Texans' list of things to keep. They may be better off cutting him. Keeping and benching him out of spite would be fairly silly and counterproductive.
JJ can't leave the Texans for 4 years.... You think he will take that risk & not sign a long term extension because of Andre's shenanigans? If anything this further cements the changing of the guard for the Texans. This is JJ Watt's team. No other way to put it.
What the hell has BOB done to earn any respect? He needs to do something before he can act all high and mighty. He got to coach tom brady. Before and after he was a mediocre coach. I wouldn't care if Andre just beat BOB down.
You can more than bench him, if he goes full blown TO on you, then you can make him stay at home. Also, if the Texans really are rebuilding, Andre has a LOT more to lose than the Texans do. In a perfect world, Andre stops acting like a petulant child and decides, if only out of rational self interest, to help the team become as good as they can be while he's under contract. When has acting like this ever worked out for a player?
Different coaches have different styles. McNair specifically states that he wanted his team to get tougher. That means no more "gee golly, ho-hum" head coaches. OBrien has a no nonsense approach. I personally love it. He needs to ruffle some feathers. This is a talented roster that has largely underachieved.
So you would rather let him sit home and collect a check than trade him and get a pick Can't make the team suffer just to try to punish a player. That's being one sided.
OK, so you make him stay home. Now you have $10MM in capspace being wasted for nothing, just out of spite. And he's still getting paid, so that's probably even better for him than having to show up and pout. How is that good for the Texans? Players who demand a trade or release get it all the time. Randy Moss comes to mind several times.
Absolutely. You won't get equal value for him in a trade and I don't see any reason to make another team better just because one player wants to throw a fit. The Texans have a long history of taking care of their players monetarily so I doubt Johnson will garner much sympathy, especially given that they ripped up a really awful contract he signed and made him the highest paid WR out of the kindness of their heart. I think whipping him into shape by threatening to force retirement on him is what is best for the team. You can't push a "team" message while allowing players to get away with being prima donnas, even if they are Andre Johnson. The Texans have always done right by Andre, and Andre needs to continue doing right by them.
Not "out of spite" you just don't bow to the whims of prima donnas. You should never send the message that the inmates run the asylum. The Texans have always treated their players fairly, this looks bad for Andre, not for the team. It takes a real scum bag to abandon a team because of one down year. Yeah, Randy Moss is just the kind of player you want to be....The Texans would be doing themselves a disservice if they rewarded that kind of BS.
That's not necessarily anything to brag about at this point. And do you think this team is better without Dre....??? It's not about who's team it is. And I think neither Dre nor J.J. concern themselves with "who's team this is." Those guys lead by example.
The Belichick move here would be to trade AJ to Cleveland for a conditional 4th/5th ish pick. If you can't have AJ, make sure nobody else can either (at least nobody that is at all relevant). You further punish AJ for putting you in a bad position by making him toil in 20 below zero bad weather, catching rib - exposing meaningless jump ball lobs 10 times a game from JFF, the entire time contemplating how circumstances in Houston suddenly seem a whole lot less bleak than they did when you were there, wanting to get out.
Fine, then you cut him next offseason before the jump. There's no benefit to trading/cutting him now other than maybe a 4th/5th round pick, which isn't nearly enough. I have a hard time seeing a guy like AJ that's been the model of professionalism for 10 years suddenly becoming so toxic that has mere presence on the roster is detrimental. My guess is if you stand up to him, he ultimately shows up to camp and quietly goes about his business. He obviously wasn't "happy" toward the end of last year, either (see Schaub/Raiders fiasco), but he's a professional. He gets it. Moreover, it's a fairly dangerous precedent to let a player out of a contract simply because they ask. If it's that easy, then what's the point of the contract? I like the approach New England took when Wilfork asked for his release a couple of months ago -- they basically rolled their eyes and went on about their business, and ultimately he came down on his contract demands. Andre's value as a player in 2014 far surpasses the 4th/5th round pick you'd probably get as compensation... and that's not even factoring in the dead money on the cap. There's just no real case to deal him, at this point.
If you have a better option for your team - cutting a player - but you hold on to him just so he doesn't get his way, then that's the definition of doing it out of spite. You're hurting yourself to punish a player. And yet, he was able to dictate where he played. You asked when it's worked out for players - there's your answer. It works out all the time for players that want out.
Oh absolutely - it doesn't sound like he's asked for a trade or release at this point, so I'm not sure what his endgame is or what he's thinking. This is only an issue if he does ask out and how far he's willing to go to get it. If he's willing to sit out or just mope around, then the Texans have a decision to make.
