You're giving them an F for addressing their biggest needs?? Like you said, this was a historically bad defense, yet you're going to rail on them for actually going after defensive players? And how can you already assume we're not filling needs through free agency?? I can understand being skeptical of the team in general, or even questioning certain players like Watt, but you're not even going to give them a chance? It sounds like the only way you wouldn't have failed them is if they had 5 first round picks or something. I think it's a HUGE leap to say this defense should be "phenomenal" next year when they were pathetic last year, but even moving up into the top 20 would be a vast improvement for this bunch. And I'm still not understanding how Wade treated this like fantasy football?? We clearly need a rushing DE, a rushing LB, and help in the secondary, and Wade GOT all those things. What more can you ask for in a 7 round draft?
I'm going with a C+. The main reason is that we had a chance to get one of two potential franchise players......guys that teams are built around versus a guy that is best supporting actor material. I have no doubt that J.J. will play a significant role in the success of our defense for years to come, but can't reconcile the pick under the circumstances. If we move up for Peterson then we're getting that potential franchise player at a position of extreme need which also precludes spending ungodly money on NA. Bad football and business move by sitting still. And then we passed on Fairley ......A true monster..So he has a bit of an attitude..I think there are many that believe we need more guys with an edge to them....This is the NFL ..C'mon Bob! In short the combination of size, talent (top 3 - 4 material), and attitude were just what we need. Viewed from an across the board standpoint the talent level is quite good. And the move up into the second to nab Harris was nice.....Definitely worth at least a B + at first glance. But in the final analysis for me the Texans blew another opportunity...Grade C+
My point is they paid absolutely no attention to value. Instead of trying to find who was the best value in each round they just looked at their holes and robotically picked de, de, cb, cb, ss. People act like they were so clever, but they were just predictable. Wade is like a fantasy player who filled all his skill positions, so he takes a kicker even though there are plenty of valuable players left. Are you telling me that their when they picked, the best player available happened to be at the most needed positions? Yeah, I doubt it. I wonder if they even researched offensive players? What if a really good offensive player fell to them, what was the plan then? And now they have a glut at defensive line and secondary. What are they going to do with all these linemen and corners? Well, they are going to have to dump some of them and lose whatever value they had. Free agency? I'm not sure adding to the glut makes any sense. But my biggest concern is our secondary is going to be extremely young. Again. I believe we were all hoping for some proven veteran leadership, not some more guys who won't be good for a few years. We're also depending on improving our mediocre pass rush with some rooks. They should take a page out of Bill Belichick's book. His biggest need was arguably to improve the pass rush, but he didn't take a d-lineman until pick 159. Instead he picked who he thought was the best value and acquired more picks for 2012. Oh, and he drafted Ryan Mallet. Does he need a QB? Heck no, Mallet just provided great value at that spot. Heck, Wade could even learn from Morey. We need a center but drafted Patterson and stuck him in Rio Grande for a while. I think we all agree it still kinda worked out. After thinking about it more, I'm downgrading the Texan's draft grade to an F-.
passing on fairley for watt is just so damn typical of this team it's hard to get mad anymore... the texans will choose character over raw talent 10 times out of 10. and we know how well that strategy has worked for us.
I never said it would BE A phenomenal defense But considering that alot of the teams the Texans play next year will be starting rookies or second year QBs they will LOOK like a phenomenal defense I truly expect them to make the playoffs. .. . at which point they maybe completely undressed. Rocket River
Kubiak is like a poker player who is going all in on Q-10. He's sacrficing a the future with a "win now" mentality, even though this team is a few years away. It's not the best move for the franchise long- term by any means, but he knows he's down to his last chips, so he has no choice.
The Texans second round was the perfect example of balancing need with overall value. Everything was perfectly executed. Both the trade to get Harris and the decision to wait for Reed instead of trading up. There's literally nothing bad you can say about it and still make sense. Outside of that round, I agree with you on some points. There was much better talent available to us in round 1. I'm not on the Fairley bandwagon like most people here. I do think he will have some productive years, but I still think he is a headcase with terrible work ethic. Fairley aside, there were still better picks available. I'm definitely on the Quinn bandwagon, for example. Regardless, I do still think Watt brings enough to the table to make it an acceptable pick. His skillset will complement the pass rushing LB's that line up on the same side of the field as him. The second CB pick made no sense. One additional rookie CB is already pushing it imo. The last thing we needed was a 2nd. I still think the QB pick should have been a WR pick as well.
I meant to say... Even with all the negatives of the draft, I don't see how you could honestly say it was an F. There were more than a handful of teams picks that make Houstons draft look brilliant.
I think Kubiak is desperate and in "win now" mode. We now have too many defensive players and will have to dump some. It also doesn't leave us any room to pick up veteran defensive leadership in free agency. We will be heavily dependent on rookies to help our defense once again. I don't see that as a recipe for success. But you make good points about Harris and the trade up. That was a good move. But I think they were lucky Reed fell to them. They were actually trying to trade up for Reed, and thankfully the price was too high.
I think an F is a little harsh. I do think the guys drafted appear to fit the system the Texans are going to use. It would be nice if the Texans had a team that they could just pick BPA.
I think the fact that we are not a good team means the case for drafting BPA is even stronger. If we were just a couple guys away from contending, then yes we can afford to sacrifice the future for need. But we are not there yet. Did Morey not say something like this? I know not everyone likes Morey, but the logic makes sense. The only reason we are not taking BPA is because Kubiak is desperate.
Obviously it's too early to know for sure, but to be honest, I give it an A. At first I didn't like passing up on Prince for JJ, but once we ended up getting Harris and Carmichael to go along with Watt and Reed, I was pumped. I'm looking forward to seeing these four guys play this year, along with seeing how well TJ Yates develops. At the end of the day, I'm happy.
really liked the first two rounds. They should be able to contribute right away. But the only way to evaluate if you hit or miss on these picks is in about three years time. Here's to hoping we can get a retrospective A+
I really like what Wade did- he picked well, took real smart & tough, hi IQ football players with high motors! I'm glad they didn't let Smithiaks touch the draft until the 5th rd!:grin: I finally felt good about this draft, like the 2006 Draft!
I understand you guys' objection to drafting Yates in the 5th and instead of going with Watts selecting Fairley. But did anyone by chance think once that these guys have more than likely watched every inch of film possible on all players even considered in the first round? I mean what if they narrowed down that only a few guys were targets and fit the system Phillips was bringing and they possibly preferred relying on Brian Cushing over Clay Matthews types or in this case Watt over Fairley types? I understand that everyone says we need a WR oh so badly but do you guys realize how many we already have on the roster? AJ, Walters, Anderson, Jones, and even Dickerson plus we can actually go after undrafted players once the league goes back in business, like a DeAndre Brown and such. I honestly feel like they'll go after a big time guy like Nhamdi to compete for a title BUT if so player chooses another team we are still gonna call Bob a cheapskate for not throwing him a bus full of hookers and a billion dollars. We really have to be patient tho I do understand the gripes of those such as Mr. Clutch. I feel your pain bro, I think we all do.
What? In a string of, frankly, silly comments (an F?!), this may be the silliest. *Too many* defensive players? It takes more than 11 guys to run a defense. They still need at least two starting defensive backs (plus additional depth), depth at LB (where they have only a rookie, a young guy coming off injury learning a new position, a veteran coming off injury learning a new defense and another youngster learning a new position), and likely a presence inside to compete with Mitchell/Cody not to mention depth behind Williams/Smith/Watt. That's 6-7 players, including at least two starters (assuming good health). And when did competition become a bad thing, anyway? Having to cut good players (assuming you're not making a mistake by keeping the inferior ones) is a *good* thing. I despise this kind of thinking - it permeates too much of the Drayton McClane discussions, too (they were "lucky" Pettitte gave them a hometown discount, etc.). First of all: Luck is very much a necessary component of success. Rarely do teams succeed in absence of it. But more to the point - why are we dismissing luck as a detriment? They obviously wanted the guy; it's not like they were set to take a guy with a 5th round grade and were saved from themselves when Reed *luckily* fell into their laps. It's just a silly notion to me. On paper, I love this draft for several reasons: identity, flexibility, potential (obviously). With no free agency (which, you realize, hasn't started yet, right?), this was a very nice start to the offseason.
Come on, FLASH21 - these guys watched YouTube videos, man. For, like, a whole hour. They know who's good and, as an added bonus, know Phillips' system better than he does. I know the draft generates a ton of interest, and I would agree with anyone that thinks this regime has had some holes in its drafting. But like spring training, shouldn't the draft be the one time of the year we give in to hope and optimism and potential and all that sunshiney rainbow crap? Maybe they blew every single pick - we'll know in the fall. But right now, they haven't blown a thing as far as I know.
