Jets will only be as good as Dirty Sanchez lets them, but that defense is freaking fearsome so they will be in it at least some of the time. As of right now, they really are the diet version of the 2004-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hmm, I have heard something different. McNair really didn't know how to go about picking a GM & Head Coach so he sort of went around the league asking for opinions. That's how he wound up with Casserly. Casserly spent 23 years with the Washington Redskins. During that time, they went to 4 Super Bowls winning 3. But he was an assistant to Bobby Bethard during 2 of those Super Bowl wins. He gets elevated to GM at Washington in 1989. He did have some good drafts but the biggest thing he did occurred in 1999. On draft day in 1999, Casserly acquired all of the New Orleans Saints 1999 selections, plus their first and third-round picks in 2000 by swapping the Redskins' fifth selection in the first round for the Saints' 12th choice. Unfortunately, Casserly also missed on a lot of picks the most notable being Heath Schuler in 1994 who ESPN listed as the 4th biggest bust in NFL history. Under Casserly, the Redskins peaked in 1991 going 14-2 and winning the Super Bowl under Joe Gibbs (who leaves after 1992). After that it's downhill all the way. From 1992 onward the Redskins post records of 9-7, 4-12, 3-13, 6-10, 9-7, 8-7-1, 6-10 & 10-6 in 1999 when he's dismissed by little Danny Snyder. The interesting thing to note here is that that 1991 SB team for the Redskins was primarily composed of players that Beathard had brought to the Redskins (note: NOT Casserly). Looking back, I think McNair placed too much value on Casserly's reputation particularly that 91 SB and did not place enough emphasis on his rather checkered record without Bobby Beathard. Nothing here suggested that he was the right man to put together an expansion team and we all know what happened next from 2002 on down during his tenure with the Texans. Capers' selection was more of a mystery to me. Under a different set of rules for expansion teams, he led the Panthers to a 7-9 record in 1995 followed by an NFC Championship Game in 1996 on a record of 12-4. The Panthers fell back to earth in 1997 with a 7-9 record. He takes over personnel and the Panthers crash to 4-12 in 1998. The 1996 record is probably why McNair & Casserly picked him although at the time, I believed that his subsequent failure at Carolina should have been a big red flag. In essence he was hired because of that one good season. His final record at Carolina was 30-34. Anyhow, the league changes the rules and the Texans started off in 2002 without the built-in advantages Carolina had enjoyed during its inception. The result? Capers and Casserly are exposed. The Texans post records of 4-12, 5-11, 7-9 & 2-14. His final record at Houston is 18-46. You will notice the trend here. But, as many have pointed out, it's only been 8 years. The Texans have a LONG way to go before they can match the futility of the Saints or Tampa Bay.
I wouldn't exactly call Jeff Fisher a great coach. Fisher has had 6 winning seasons in 16yrs. That doesn't speak greatness to me.
Could someone educate me about the changes in expansion team rules between the Panthers' inception and the Texans?
My apologies in advance for the lengthy response In 1995, the NFL instituted the first expansion draft. Carolina & Jacksonville - the new NFL franchises, were provided a stock of experienced NFL players from which to begin building their teams. Each existing NFL team were required to pick 6 players who are "unprotected". The expansion teams had to pick a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 42 players. Each time an expansion team selected a player from a team, that team then protected one of its remaining players on its expansion list. Each NFL team could therefore lose no more than 3 players. In the 1995 NFL draft, Carolina was awarded the 1st pick while Jacksonville got the 2nd pick. The net result was that both expansion teams were able to quickly stock their rosters with Carolina posting a 7-9 record in 1995 - the best ever for an expansion team. In 1999, the NFL changed the rules for the expansion Cleveland Browns as other teams were not pleased with the fast success of Jacksonville & Carolina. The 1999 expansion Cleveland Browns did not get near as a good a deal. The Brownies got the 1st pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. In the 1999 expansion draft, the Browns were allowed to select from a pool of 130 players left unprotected by existing NFL teams. Cleveland was allowed to select 30-42 players. Teams were allowed to expose 5 players with only one who was placed on injured reserve after the start of the 1998 season and only one who has 10 or more years of free agency experience. For every team that was taken by the Brownies, the former team could then protect one of the remaining four at their choosing. A team could not have more than 2 of their players taken by the Browns. The net result was that the Browns were forced to spend 38% of their 1999 salary cap on a group of guys named Herb whereas Carolina (and Jax) were able to find some really good players to jump start their operation with no salary cap restrictions. Which brings us to the Texans. In the 2002 draft, the NFL awarded the Texans the 1st pick in the draft (QB David Carr) and gave the Texans the opportunity to pick in the second expansion draft since the NFL instituted the salary cap. This was the biggest difference between the 1995 & 2002 expansion drafts. Each NFL team listed five players that the Texans could select and the Texans were required to claim either 30 players or $27.2 million in contracts (38% of the 2002 salary cap). After the Texans selected a player from an existing team, that team could remove a player from their remaining list. If a second player was taken, the existing team could then pull back its remaining two players. The Texans were prohibited from selecting a player from a team and trading the player back to that club. Existing teams were not allowed to put punters or kickers on the list nor any player from their 2001 roster who would have become an unrestricted free agent in 2002. They could not list players who went on injured reserve during the 2001 summer's training camp nor any player who would become a restricted free agent after the 2001 season. Their list could include only one player with more than 10 years' experience. It was the salary cap ramifications that hurt the Texans the most. Because the Texans were required to assume the contracts of the players they selected, including all future portions of their signing bonuses and any guarantees or other terms, teams placed many quality players on the list who had large contracts, as the Texans were required to assume the contracts of those players if selected. If the Texans cut a selection and he re-signed with his old team, the existing team re-assumed his signing bonus. Extra bonuses that did not count against the Texans' salary cap were given to veteran players who were selected. Those selected received $10,000 immediately, an additional $20,000 bonus for reporting to training camp, and another $30,000 for making the active roster during the regular season. The Texans drafted from a pool of 155 players, 25 of whom were Pro Bowlers and selected 19 players. The net result was that the Texans as had the Browns before them, did not enjoy the expansion benefits enjoyed by the Jaguars & Panthers. Here is a list of the Texans' 2002 Expansion Draft. You will notice a distinct lack of quality players: Pick Player Name Position 1 Tony Boselli Offensive Tackle 2 Ryan Young Offensive Tackle 3 Aaron Glenn Cornerback 4 Gary Walker Defensive Tackle 5 Jamie Sharper Linebacker 6 Jermaine Lewis Wide Receiver 7 Marcus Coleman Cornerback 8 Seth Payne Defensive Tackle 9 Matt Campbell Offensive Guard 10 Matt Stevens Safety 11 Jeremy McKinney Offensive Guard 12 Ryan Schau Offensive Tackle 13 Charlie Rogers Kick Returner 14 Sean McDermott Tight End 15 Jabari Issa Defensive End 16 Avion Black Wide Receiver 17 Danny Wuerffel Quarterback 18 Brian Allen Linebacker 19 Johnny Huggins Tight End
