man everyone on the jags hype train. saying they gonna win divison as if we suck or something. i cant wait to prove them wrong
9 most improved teams from the draft via NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000659392/article/2016-nfl-draft-jaguars-cowboys-among-most-improved-teams?campaign=fb-nf-sf25506197-sf25506197
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bill O'Brien on Brock Osweiler: A week after we signed him he got with the WR's to workout. To me that shows leadership. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a></p>— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL/status/727257483945844736">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">O'Brien on <a href="https://twitter.com/BraxtonMiller5">@BraxtonMiller5</a>: When felt getting him in the 3rd was great value. Just get the ball in his hands, he can make something happen.</p>— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL/status/727258561554866176">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bill O'Brien: This draft was about becoming more explosive on offense and getting <a href="https://twitter.com/Nukdabomb">@Nukdabomb</a> some help. <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans">@HoustonTexans</a></p>— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNFL/status/727259889874132992">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is key, doubt we see Brock do many if any option plays. Maybe Braxton on a few series or as wildcat.
I'm so excited about this. When OBrien was hired he talked a big game about offensive creativity, but we really haven't seen any of it (except in limited doses) largely because of personnel. He talked about having a NASCAR offense, but we've really been a slow, take no chances offense. When we drafted Ervin I was stoked. I love the kid as a player and what I think he can do in the NFL. I mentioned that there are better running backs on the board, but the more I hear about OBrien, the more excited I am that he seems to be ready to unleash his creativity. He has demonstrated out of the box thinking in limited doses, so I can't wait to see what he does with weapons like Ervin and Braxton Miller.
Definitely on the bolded part. Hopefully the days of ball carriers inexplicably stopping in the open field instead of taking it to the house are gone forever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pledagdqgQQ (embedding disabled) Sorry for going all Bobby on this particular video (I've posted it multiple times), but it sums up everything wrong with our offense in 1 single play.
I love the draft... But still worry about the o-line. I hope they feel really good about Duane Brown's recovery. They're a solid o-line away from being potentially amazing offensively.
I am too. I believe Miller has vastly more potential, which is why I made the thread in January saying we should take him in the first.
We have seen OBie take two/three guys off the street, start them as QB, and win games (Keenum, Brandon Weeden, TJ Yates). OBie can pull rabbits out of hats. But your overall point is taken, the OBie's Texans have not been confused as offensive juggernauts.
You know what? I was too, until we drafted Martin. I think he's going to be a fixture for us at C. We replaced Brooks with a solid, young guard, have depth with Bergstrom and a healthy Quessenberry. No question, the health of Duane Brown is HUGE. Can't be understated, really... but to be totally honest, D-Line depth now concerns me far more than O-Line depth. I'm hopeful that some legit candidates become cap casualties that we can scoop up.
Stradley: Five takeaways from the Texans' 2016 draft By Stephanie Stradley Published 8:00 am, Tuesday, May 3, 2016 Texans general manager Rick Smith (left) and coach Bill O'Brien clearly had an offensive upgrade in mind with this year's draft picks.Click through the gallery for scouting reports on this year's Texans draft picks. Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / © 2016 Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle IMAGE 2 OF 13Round 1: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame Height/weight: 6-0, 186 Strengths: Reaches his top speed quickly and excels at taking the defense vertically, using his multiple gears to gain separation from defenders. Shows a knack for timing his jump and rarely misjudges the trajectory of downfield passes. Aggressively works to get his body situated so that that defenders have to go through him at the catch point. Shows a strong plant-and-go quickness in his breaks. Weaknesses: Is a bit on the lean side for an NFL receiver and his functional strength is below average, making him easily knocked off routes and unlikely to pick up extra yards following the initial contact. Has smallish hands and is sometimes prone to relying on body catches. Drops more passes than you’d like to see for a player with his ability and can be unreliable on contested balls.IMAGE 1 OF 13 Texans general manager Rick Smith (left) and coach Bill O'Brien clearly had an offensive upgrade in mind with this year's draft picks. Click through the gallery for scouting reports on this year's Texans draft picks. With the 2016 draft over, everybody has an opinion and here is mine: 1. They have a plan. I have no idea how good these players will be. And I won't pretend that I do. People I know and respect and who have paid attention to college draftable players have varied opinions, mostly good ones. Given the knowledge I do have access to, at this time of year, I just want to see a direction they are going and a sensible plan to get there. Can I see a rationale for the collection of players that the Texans have brought together, including free agents? The answer this year is yes. It is as clear of a direction as the Texans took for the 2011 draft. That year, in response to a catastrophic 2010 defense, 6 out of the 8 choices were on defense. The 2016 urgency the Texans have shown in increasing the playmaking ability of the offense may be far overdue, but better late than never. 2. Better offense helps the defense and special teams. I don't care how good your defense is. If your offense is horrifically bad, no defense can hold up over the course of a season. They stay on the field too much. They get tired. Mentally, it is draining to know that the defense can play a near perfect game and it might not be enough. And it is so much easier for the defense when they are playing from a lead because it makes the opponent one dimensional. And also in the better late than never list, adding more speed/athletic players on the roster is an essential for improving their consistently terrible special teams. Too often, Texans special teams looked like the place they parked try-hard guys who were never good candidates to be positional starters in the NFL. If the bottom of your roster is too slow for quality special teams, you are in trouble because those guys might have to become starters. 3. Opening the playbook The Texans run what they call a "game plan offense." Which is that they look to their upcoming opponent, and try to figure out a game plan that exploits tendencies and mismatches. Every team does that to some degree, but their offense isn't like the teams who say "This is what we do, you know we do it, try to stop it." And I think the coaching staff was greatly limited in what they could do because a lot of their game plan offense was trying to mask their own physical limitations. Like I said prior to the draft: "Most of the Texans offensive roster for a long time has looked like a Food Network challenge from the show Chopped. "And the coaches open the basket......and make 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015." Sometimes it works but hard to be really good without some better ingredients." Ideally, getting more dynamic playmakers gives them more options they can cook up. To me, this was an eating-your-dessert-first kind of draft. Sometimes you have to do it, and Texans fans have gone without dessert too long. 4. Jackpot Hitting and the Joe Flacco plan The biggest challenge that the coaching staff is going to have in 2016 is dealing with a lot of change in offensive personnel. New quarterback. New center/guard. A bunch of rookies with potential but a lot of learning to do. Just a new quarterback alone can be a difficult transition for a football team. Teams that have a great offensive nucleus in place for years have an obvious advantage, particularly with increased CBA limits on offseason practices. But you have to start somewhere, and the Texans have hit the reset button by adding a free-agent quarterback with some potential, better dollar value choices at offensive line, and some additional playmaking options that can give opponents different personnel looks. One way to deal with such a transition is design an offense that both in the short and long run, has more potential for big chunk plays. A quarterback learning a system can have difficulty moving the chains in small chunks. Penalties, timing and mistakes can derail the offense. It can take some time for new players to a system to just play and not think so much. If you have more big-play options, each play can be like pulling the lever of a slot machine. For various years, Joe Flacco played a jackpot offense in Baltimore. Lots of run game that took pressure off, and then once in a while, jackpot TDs. Very little march-the-team-down-the-field offensive series. And if they had to punt, they had a good defense. Denver had a transitional offense last year, and managed to do a variation of this too. 5. Individuals matter In some previous years, I've had some trouble figuring out what the Texans' draft plan was. It seemed like they had too many drafted players who even if they maxed out their physical and mental gifts, would not project to be legitimate NFL starters. Could they start games? Yes, they could. Would you want them to start games? Oh, please, no. Ideally, drafted players in size and physical ability, should project to be NFL starters if they stay healthy and take to coaching. They should've demonstrated excellence in college ball. That even if they didn't start right away, they could be starters in waiting. The best years of the modern Steelers seemed to have rosters like that. There's a point of view from some that the draft should be mostly about value and acquiring more picks, with the idea that more picks equals a greater likelihood of hitting on someone good. Just math and injury reasons. Sometimes that works. Sometimes that ends up being just a bunch of dudes. And some positions are very individual-oriented. Yes, a coach wants to believe in his quarterback, but the center position is likely one of those where you want a specific guy. Some fans don't like trade-ups, because they like the percentages of more draft picks increasing the odds of some of them sticking with the team. Me personally, I prefer the team to assemble all the badasses whatever way they can do it. This isn't just a football thing, it is a life thing. Surround yourself with people who are really great at what they do, and put them in a position to do awesome things. And then win. What is your view of the draft? This is usually the time of year I hear from college fanbases bragging about their guy. Who is ready for the season to start?
Maybe some more quick-hitting plays can help with that. Some more slant routes and bubble-screens that can utilize the new-found speed at WR and RB while taking the steam out of opposing pass rushers and pressure off of our O-line?
Yeah a true version of it wouldn't work in the NFL at all but most teams that run it don't have good WR's and usually have a RB playing QB. With a real QB and some good receiving options, you can make a version that might work.
There's something beautiful about a long, in your face drive that eats up the clock. You need one of those every now and then.
