The draft and free agency have reached a conclusion, and I'm pretty excited over what our team is projected to look like as long as everyone is healthy. If we don't choke away some of the games to the likes of the Ravens and Rams last year, we're a 4-5 win team last year. I think we can easily improve on this by 2-3 wins. Without looking too much at the schedule, I see at best a 9-7 team. At worst, a 5-11 team. Here's what we look like (of course there are jobs to be won in camp)...I'm not really concentrating too much on what side of the field guys will be on either: DE: Mario Williams / ND Kalu / Jason Babin DE: Anthony Weaver / Antwan Peek DT: Robaire Smith / Jerry Deloache DT: Travis Johnson / Seth Payne OLB: Kailee Wong / Shantee Orr MLB: Sam Cowart / Morlon Greenwood OLB: Demarco Ryans / Deshawn Polk CB: Dunta Robinson / Lewis Sanders CB: Phillip Buchanon / Demarcus Faggins FS: CC Brown / Michael Stone SS: Glenn Earl / Ramon Walker QB: David Carr / Sage Rosenfels HB: Domanick Davis / Vernand Morency / Wali Lundy FB: Jameel Cook / Moran Norris WR: Andre Johnson WR: Eric Moulds / Derrick Armstrong WR: Jerome Mathis (slot only) TE: Jeb Putzier / Mark Bruener / Owen Daniels OT: Eric Winston / Seth Wand OG: Chester Pitts / Charles Spencer C: Mike Flanagan / Steve Mckinney / Todd Washington OG: Steve Mckinney / Fred Weary OT: Todd Wade / Zach Wiegert / Charles Spencer *Blue denotes definite starter That is a substantially better team on paper than what we were working with for much of last season. Again, obviously, there are a lot of jobs to be won, and we're not even close to being sure of what Kubiak is thinking. I didn't even bother with the backup WR's right now, and o-line is pretty much completely up for grabs. I do think we have pretty good depth on the o-line, but still worried about the tackles. All in all, a pretty successful offseason if you ask me. Ask me again in about October though.
If Babin and Peek are moving back to the D line, that really adds up to a lot of DE's. Before the Mario pick, Smith was supposed to move back to DE as well. I like Peek as a pass rushing LB on 3rd downs. I think he's too small to play on the D line. As far as Babin goes.....can you say "special teams?" I'm still a little concerned about DD's ability to stay healthy all year because there's really nothing behind him now that Wells is gone. I know Kubiak is good at plugging any RB into his offense, but I'm still concerned. I really think getting rid of Tony Hollings will haunt this team. Just kidding on that last part. I'd rather see Armstrong in the slot instead of Mathis. Mathis is a speedster but doesn't have good hands. Great kickoff returner. Armstrong seems to have very good hands and could develop into a great possession receiver. I've always liked him when he played. Not sure why he couldn't beat out Gaffney or Bradford. Maybe it was a money thing since both those guys made more than him and the coaches felt like they needed to be on the field. I can't wait to see how Eric Winston develops. I still have concerns about that RT position but (on paper) I'm pretty happy with the rest of the OL. At least for now.
I think the Texans are planning for Peek to move back to OLB, also I think you'll see Kalu backing up Weaver w/ Babin backing up Mario. DE: Weaver/Kalu DE: Mario/Babin Also, I don't think Wong will start ahead of Greenwood. Haven't heard anything, but Greenwood had a good season and Wong is coming off a serious injury. OLB: Greenwood/Wong MLB: Cowart/Polk OLB: Ryans/Peek Don't forget Kevin Walters at WR as well.
If Phillip Buchanon starts and CC Brown is the free safety subtract 3 wins. If Todd Wade is your starting right tackle- subtract 2 wins Wong is coming off a serious injury and Cowart is avg. at best. The roster is much better than last year's- Predict with good health- 5-11 to 7-9 8-8 will be a grand slam season!
I would like to add that at some point I read that Kubiak wants to have a regular 7 man rotation of defensive linemen. For that you need the seven guys plus probably two or three more who can fill in for injuries. It's fairly reasonable to assume that they will carry at least 9 defensive linemen. From the depth chart, you could end up with all of these guys getting regular minutes: Mario Williams ND Kalu Anthony Weaver Travis Johnson Seth Payne Robaire Smith Jerry Deloache I also have a feeling that one or two big name vets will get the boot in training camp depending on their contracts.
Smith played DE last year, but was moving back to his more natural 4-3 DT even before the Mario pick. The coaching staff has also said that both Babin and Peak will be playing DE, not LB this season.
Shante Orr is the one player to me that is underrated. Nobody is even talking about him right now and he probably had the best season of our linemen last year. I would think he is going to play some sort of role on this team.
from the chronicle Code: PROJECTED TEXANS DEPTH CHART Offense WR Andre Johnson Jerome Mathis [COLOR=Red]David Anderson[/COLOR] LT Seth Wand [COLOR=Red]Charles Spencer[/COLOR] LG Chester Pitts Fred Weary C [COLOR=Blue]Mike Flanagan[/COLOR] Drew Hodgdon RG Steve McKinney Todd Washington RT Zach Wiegert Todd Wade [COLOR=Red]Eric Winston[/COLOR] TE Mark Bruener [COLOR=Blue]Jeb Putzier[/COLOR] Bennie Joppru WR [COLOR=Blue]Eric Moulds[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]Kevin Walter[/COLOR] Derrick Armstrong QB David Carr [COLOR=Blue]Sage Rosenfels[/COLOR] Dave Ragone RB Domanick Davis Vernand Morency [COLOR=Red]Wali Lundy[/COLOR] FB Jameel Cook Moran Norris Defense LDE [COLOR=Blue]Anthony Weaver[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]N.D. Kalu[/COLOR] T Seth Payne Travis Johnson T Robaire Smith Jerry Deloach RDE [COLOR=Red]Mario Williams[/COLOR] Antwan Peek/Jason Babin OLB Morlon Greenwood [COLOR=Red]DeMeco Ryans[/COLOR] MLB [COLOR=Blue]Sam Cowart[/COLOR] DaShon Polk Kailee Wong (inj.) OLB Shantee Orr Charlie Anderson LCB Dunta Robinson Chris McKenzie RCB Demarcus Faggins Phillip Buchanon FS C.C. Brown Jason Simmons SS Glenn Earl Ramon Walker Michael Stone Free Agent/Trade (MIA: LB Wali Rainer, WR Jake Schifino, G David Loverne, LB Zeke Moreno) Draft (MIA: TE Owen Daniels)
As I've said numerous times, I'm pretty lukewarm on the Texans, so I won't dredge that up. But in fairness, this DL DE: Mario Williams / ND Kalu / Jason Babin DE: Anthony Weaver / Antwan Peek DT: Robaire Smith / Jerry Deloache DT: Travis Johnson / Seth Payne Looks like the beginnings of something potentially badass. Now the OL is still sh-t, but...wait till next next year!
I agree, he should get some good playing time. Led the team in sacks and really picked it up at the end of the year. I dont see him in any of yalls depth charts. Where is he?
Depth is the key word. Something this team has NEVER had before. A big reason why we always lose games in the 4th quarter IMO. It's kind of nice to have too many players at some positions for a change instead of the other way around. All this stuff will be worked out in training camp, especially since a new staff (with no preconceived notions) is coming in. It will be natural selection. The cream will rise to the top, as Kenny 'The Jet' Smith used to say. When do rookies report? Bring it!
Couldn't agree more. One of the few bright spots on offense last year was when they would throw Armstrong in for ONE PLAY (that's the way it seemed at least), he would make a great catch, get us a first down, and jump up -- way pumped up, like he just won the lottery. And then you wouldn't see him again. Meanwhile, all game long, Bradford's dropping passes all over the field. I'm as glad he's gone as I was when we got rid of Marlon McCree. Like you said in a later post, hopefully the new coaching staff will come in and find a way to get players like that on the field more often.
Here is your 7 man rotation. LE - Mario/Weaver/Babin LT - Weaver/Smith/Mario RT - Payne/TJ/Mario RE - Peek/Babin/Mario When they move Mario inside it will be: LE - Weaver LT - Mario RT - TJ RE - Peek Is that enough pass rush for ya?
Keep in mind that many veterans have yet to be released (throughout the NFL). So, when all is said and done, that lineup may end up looking a little better or worse depending on what the Texans do in the next few months. Normally, because of the "youth movement" that Casserole & Capers advocated, we didn't sign players cut by other teams (who usually turned out to be older, expensive players). Perhaps Kubiak will buck that trend. Who knows.
