Mario, I was wrong, the Texan's made the right choice

Oh My God!!!! VY will lead the Titans to the Super Bowl in 3 years!!!

 

Cat, exactly where did I mention Young, Cutler or Leinart in my post? Please go back and show me. And while you are at it, please also explain how you can conclude that based on what's happening right now, why you feel that Schaub is any better than those guys. To be fair, Schaub started out this season OK but he was fading fast when he went down. The jury is also out on Schaub as a legitimate franchise QB as well so I fail to see why you feel I'm being pessimistic. I'm merely articulating my reservation about his durability (you will note that I said IF he turns out to be fragile and not that he IS fragile). But I see Sage out there and he's doing just as good a job as Schaub. Which leads me to believe that he could have also done the same last year had they drafted a young QB and let him sit and learn.

 

No I cannot. I looked at his being drafted for 2006 and what he was supposed to be and do in 2006 and not at what he was supposed to be and do at the end of the 2007 season. I'm pleased that he started producing this year and all but that doesn't erase the fact that last year he was the first pick in the draft, did precious little to justify his being taken that high and was outplayed by a guy on his team who was drafted in the 2nd round.

Naw, I'll stick with my position that he was a legit 1st round pick because that's what he was. I fail to see how that is not accurate. The fact that he's finally peforming on the field one season later does not alter that for me because I am looking at the circumstances surrounding his being picked at that time. Although, I am somewhat skeptical about the Saints picking him no. 2 - I'd have had to see that happen before I would have believed it.

 

He wasn't drafted for only the 2006 season. He was drafted to give a team with an anemic pash rush, someone who could pressure the quarterback. He has accomplished that. How many great players lit the world on fire their first year? Sometimes the 1st round pick is a total bust and never even works out. You act like the 1st round pick should play like a solid lock Hall of Famer their first year or it was mistake. Things in the NFL rarely work out like that.

Almost every mock draft had him going number 2. Every draft report I read had him going in the top 5 at least.

 

If that's how you really look at it, there's really no reason for anyone to debate you on this.

 

Hillboy, you seem like an intelligent enough guy. Your takes are always well-reasoned and thoughtful (even if I don't agree with them).

But this one is really bizarre, man. I honestly have no idea where you're coming from on this one. Are you saying that the most important year in a football players career is his rookie year? So if a player has an average rookie year, but goes on to have a Pro Bowl worthy year every year after that, it doesn't matter??

Not trying to be a smart ass, but man -- that's really out there.

 

wow. so why should anyone even bother playing after their rookie year?

can you tell us again who you think was worthy of taking at number 1 in 2006?

 

No, you misunderstood the gist of my point. I looked at the 2006 draft in the context of the time in which it occurred which is why I felt that they should have addressed the QB issue with the top pick rather than take a defensive player who'd need time to develop. It's that very need to develop that makes me say that while he was a definite first round pick, I cannot say that he was the best player they could have taken at that time with the top pick. No matter how you look at it, the Mario you are seeing now certainly wasn't the Mario you saw in 2006. That version of Mario did not improve the team's anemic pash rush or was someone who could pressure the quarterback. Given time, yes, the possibilty was good that he would be able to do those things which is what we are seeing happen now as he learns how to play his position. But at that time, he didn't do enough in my mind to justify his being the top player in the 2006 draft. Given the disarray that was the Texans prior to 2006, I felt then and I still feel now that they needed to get a franchise offensive player with that pick and I leaned toward that player being a QB. Again, that's merely what my feelings were at the time and should not be construed as a dislike of Mario.

Yeah, I know but it's really a moot point now. Lucky for the Texans, Mario appears to be turning out for the better.

 

I just love how in this thread certain posters are all of sudden mario fans and now want to ridicule people who root for who they once rooted for.

just sayin

 

But I'm not looking for any debate because I'm all I'm doing is talking about what I believed they should have done in 2006 given what I saw from them in 2005. Let me ask you this: After watching them crash and burn to a 2-14 record, did you believe that what they really needed to get with the top pick in the draft was a DE who would need one or more years to develop?

 

I thought they needed help everywhere. They took who they thought was the best available player. Turned out being right.

 

I don't understand why you'd say that because that's not what I'm saying here at all. As for who I thought they should have taken, I am on record with saying it should have been one of the QBs. I personally liked Leinart because I felt he was the most pro ready and I liked his combination of skills, physical qualities and experience. I really liked Cutler as well. VY was a big question mark to me because he played in that offense at UT and had that strange throwing motion.

 

Dude, what the hell? In one breath, you say we should draft a QB in 2006 and SIT HIM so he can learn, and in another breath, you say the #1 pick should be selected to perform right away in 2006. If you think the Texans can afford to draft a QB and sit him down for a year, why can't we wait a year for production at another position, like, oh say, DE?

 

Ah, but DID they really? That's the real unanswered question because I happen to feel that they took Mario more for non-football reasons - because they felt that RB would give them a big contract hassle - than because they actually and sincerely believed that he was the best player in that draft. That's why they have been defensive about this pick from the start.

 

If that was directed at me, I defended the pick on draft day, and I don't believe I have ever ridiculed anyone for rooting for Vince Young.

 

I think there were many positions that they needed help at and DE was a main one. You can make an argument for RB, QB, OL, DB as well. I don't think anyone realistically thought that who they took with the first pick in the 2006 draft would lead them to the playoffs during the 2006 season. When you have the first pick in the draft based on having the worst record in the league, you're drafting for a few years down the road (which you seem to be OK with if it's a QB they were drafting), not the very next season.

We would have been just as bad last year with Young, Cutler, Leinart, Hawk, Ferguson, Bush, so on and so forth. Turns out, at the end of the second season, Mario is proving the Texans' brass correct. He's second in the freaking league in sacks for Chrissakes.

 

I'm not even sure what you're arguing anymore.

Two years later, the choice was an excellent one. We drafted a guy who will most likely end up being in the top two in sacks in the entire league, yet you question the pick because of the team's motivation?

Of course you take signability issues into question when you're making that kind of pick, especially when you have equal needs all across the board. Looking at how Bush as performed in his two seasons makes the pick look even better, no matter why they made that pick. The island you're on is becoming pretty deserted as most everyone agrees that Mario was the better pick over Bush.

Hillboy, please go on record and let us all know what will finally convince you that the Mario pick was a good one. Methinks you don't have an answer for that.

 

So what? All that matters now is that Mario is turning out to be very much worthy of where he was picked. Who cares why they did it? They were right in the end.

 

it wasn't

 

He'd rather have had the Texans draft the most inferior of the top picks, as long as they didn't take signability into question. That's some good management right there!