gr8-1, One thing to remember about the Texans decision to draft Carr was their high regard for his mental toughness and maturity. It's all speculation, but do you think, besides Leftwich, any of the QB's you mentioned has the maturity to become the leader for an expansion team? Or do they have the toughness to break the sack record, and still come back with as much gusto and resiliency? Carr took every single snap for us, not many veteran QB's do that/ Look at Harrington, I'm glad we didn't draft him. Drafting Carr was a great choice, and when he wins us our 1st Superbowl, we'll all agree.
coma, with all the **** Chris Simms has gone through, I would think he's kind of tough. He's resilient and loyal, I know that. And for the record, I like the Carr choice. Anyways, anyone like Redding from UT?
I agree. You should definitely take the best player available. Ive always been a strong advocate of that. However, oftentimes if you can make a trade that would garner you extra selections and allow you to pick the best player at that spot while filling a need, that is draft nirvana. I think the Dallas trade last year is a perfect example. They needed a saefty. Roy Williams, clearly the best available. No one picks a safety that high so they trade down 2 spots, grab the safety they want, don't have to reach, and get that extra 3rd rounder who's now a contributer. That is what Im hoping will happen for the Texans. The fact that the Texans does need so much help in different areas is why Im hoping they stockpile. Yes they have multiple 3rd rounders. However, if you can get an extra 2nd round selection, you might be able to nab a Clinton Portis or Greg Jones while still getting a player like Andre Johnson. Even if they got an extra 3rd round selection, having 4 3rd round selections would allow you to trade up and get a 1st round type player that slipped into the 2nd round. Just because you have multiple picks does not mean you have to use them. It gives you tremendous flexibility.
i'll admit, right up front, that i'm not the biggest roy williams fan; i think he's... well, slightly overrated. looks great on paper, but has not been a gamebreaker in college playing on what's supposed to be a great team. he's also been slowed by one too many nagging injuries for my tatse. so, having said that, i don't think williams is close to rogers. physically, he is, but look at what rogers has done the last two years -- just phenomenal numbers on an otherwise, well, last year, decent team, this year, awful team. he played half the year with a back-up QB, lost his coach, his grandfather died... and had a "down" year: 63 catches, 1,287 yards, 20.4 avg., 13 TDs. williams, like andre johnson, will be a solid, perhaps even great pro. but rogers is going to be randy moss, minus the baggage. you don't pass on that kind of talent. in today's NFL, nothing is plausible. they may pick as low as 4th this year, and were competitive in nearly every game. therefore, i don't think anything's a given, including houston owning a top 5 pick in 2004, which is why you never, ever, never draft with a care in the world for next year.
Ric, I've "heard" that Rodgers himself may not be a great character guy. Rodgers was the focal point for MSU, so, it could be like Abdur Rahim scoring 25 ppg for Vancouver last year. Williams plays in a pedestrian offense run by a incompetent fool. He also has to share the ball. I think most of UT's skill position guys will play in the nfl. Keep in mind, I attended UT, so I'm a bit biased.
a lot of people (early on, myself included) wanted houston to try this last year. with the power of hindsight... how would you feel if they had traded down (thereby, passing on carr) and taken... mckinnie and a gaffney-like second or third rounder? better off? they key is what you're giving up. if you're stuck at #3 in a draft with two legitimate franchise players... yeah, you think about trading down. if, however, you've got 4 or 5 franhcise players, and most of 'em are QBs... you're in the catbird seat, guaranteed to land an impact player. there's no way you're better off with a lesser first round player and extra picks, not at this stage. rogers and kennedy both make this a better team instantly. gr8-1, reding's a wonderful physical specimen who came on late... likely will go no later than round 2, but i don;t think, at this early stage, he's a top 16 player.
Roy Williams caught 60 passes for 1000 yards and11 TD's in 11 games (1 less than Rogers). I would say that this has been a down year for Roy as well given that he's played 1/2 the season with an aggravated hamstring. I do agree with his injuries. However, talentwise, Roy Williams is as talented as anyone in the country including Rogers. He is a gamebreaker. If you watched that OU game, he went streaking down the sideline past the OU secondary on 1 good leg. This is the most interesting aspect of picking a WR this early. How many WR's have been picked in the top 5 during the last 20 years that you would consider difference makers. Yes, Charlie Rogers may be different, but history does not support it.
Rodgers was the focal point for MSU, so, it could be like Abdur Rahim scoring 25 ppg for Vancouver last year. Rodgers was the focal point, yes. EVERYONE in the stadium, and watching on TV knew he was getting the ball....so why couldn't double and triple teams stop him? I think that's just as great of an accomplishment as anything else.....
read this: http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol5no26rogers.html simply put, you can't compare basketball to football. one stresses and allows for individual effort, the other requires team play. and that rogers is the focal point, the only focal point, on a bad team, underscores how impressive he is. if teams wanna shut down williams, cedric benson and/or johnson/thomas become back-breaking alternatives. what's to stop teams from doubling rogers? name a game in which williams took it over and commanded attention. i don't watch them often, i'll admit, but i'm having a hard time remembering a game where i thought he was the reason texas was winning. sure, the coaching staff there sucks (is MSU's any better? williams was fired mid-season), and i'm not implying he's an afterthought; i think he'll be very good if he can stay healthy, but i don't think he'll be the dominate force rogers is gonna be.
If you watched that OU game, he went streaking down the sideline past the OU secondary on 1 good leg. Keep in mind this is the same OU secondary that got burned by Texas A&M all day. I'm not even mentioning OSU, cause Woods is unstoppable, doesn't matter who he's going up against.
I'd point to the NU game. He was unstoppable in that game. His numbers aren't as gaudy as Charles's, but I think talentwise, he'll prove to be the equal. I have no idea who the OC is at MSU, but their offense had to be more imaginative than Greg Davis's. I think alot of UT players will be better in the pros than when they were in Austin. That's quite sad, imo.
Just read the article. I like Chcuk's tone of face, if that means anything. He seems more serious than Roy Williams.
He was double teamed a lot last year. In the Holiday Bowl against Washington, he caught 11 passes for 134 yards. He took over the Nebraska game and was dominant in every game he was healthy which was about half the season. I suspect his injury is what prompted him to play another full season in college. He wants to silence the critics.
down? down?!?!? then what would you call 67 for 836 and 7 TDs and 40 for 809 and 8 TDs, his numbers in 2001 and 2000? this year was williams' best so far and you're calling it a down year? sorry, not buying it. was this the same vaunted secondary A&M torched? OSU torched? well, not exactly... williams beat it once; A&M and OSU beat it repeatedly. what do WRs of the past have to do with charles rogers? using this logic, the texans shouldn't have drafted carr. it's not a strong argument, primarily because it's meaningless. the NFL is filled with countless busts all throughout it's 60-something year drafting history. QBs, RBs, WRs, OL, et al, have all been huge top 5 busts. doesn't have an ounce of bearing on what happens in 2003. and if rogers does bust, it's a coincidence, not proof of some cosmic trend.
If that doesn't tell you how hamstrung (pun intended) Roy and company are by the coaches, what will. I'll readily admit that Woods is in Roy's class; but not that 5'9" midget Terrance Murphy. Come on. Compare the skill position players at UT to some pro teams. The talent is there. Here's a stat to show how inept the coaching staff can be: Kansas rushed for more yards against OU in 1 game then UT did in 3 games.
coaching's a problem... but, hate to say it, it ain't all coaching. simms, benson and williams are all, imo, overrated. not to say they're bad; they're still very good football players. but i think their bang-to-hype ratio is lacking. at some point, that collection of talent has to get it done on the field. they've yet to do so.
Don't buy into Roy Williams not coming out this year. Once he starts hearing how high he will go it will be too much for him to pass on. Roy Williams and Rogers are equals IMO with Williams being the more physical of the two. The only thing that will make Williams get drafted lower than Rodgers is the injuries. Williams will blow away all of the scouts at the combine and I see the Texans drafting him.
he never has. and that williams can't seem to stay healthy isn't a major problem. production in the nfl has never been based on what if's. not exactly. a&m found a crack in the secondary; namely, that the CBs were jumping on passes. so if you go back and watch, mcneal pumped faked ALL DAY, and OKL's CBs bit time after time, springing guys deep. regardless, if williams was so special, he wouldn't need gimmicks to get open downfield and it's certainly not simms' fault that he can't create space, which has long been the knock on roy williams. and in that time, ryan leaf, akili smith and cade mcnown all busted, joining a long, and distinguished list of first round QB busts in the 90's, a list that includes rick mirer, andre ware, david klinger, jeff george, heath shuler.... it was one of the central arguments against drafting david carr from a lot of fans, and like your WR analogy, it's baseless.
