This could be interesting. I really like Pete Carmichael who has been with the saints since 2006. Has been the OC since 2009 for the saints and I really don’t know why his name is really never mentioned for HC jobs.
Yup, the whole, "it's a 5 year turnaround" crew doing their media best to spread doomsday scenarios. No, it's an immediate turnaround if you do it right. Deshaun Watson is already here.
So in one offseason, where the team is against the cap, they’re going to be able to: Restock receivers Interior offensive line Secondary Pass rush at both levels I hope you’re right, I just don’t see it. Even with Watson ballin and a better system, the talent is lacking.
Riddick: These are tremendous opportunities to talk to these football teams about where they’re at in their program, where I’m at as far as how I feel about the opportunity to talk to them about these things. I have the greatest job in the world. I’m on the most iconic brand in all of broadcasting. Everyone knows these are opportunities I’ve always been open to listening to, provided it’s something that fits with what I see as an ideal fit in terms of being GM. I’m taken aback, honored & humbled to talk to some of these franchises. The conversation was great last night and we’ll just see what happens moving forward.
This is a lazy ass take. You belong on sports radio. First of all I'll start with this. Teams that suck right now and own their first round pick usually have QB as their biggest need. So let's consider Deshaun Watson with a new coach and scheme essentially the first round pick. You take one of the O'Brien STD players and cut them - designate them for a June cap casualty (cuts the cap hit in half). I would lean towards Merciless, but others are in consideration as well. You bring back Fuller (franchise tag if necessary). That salary won't kill you for one season. You fire Mike Devlin and bring in a bag of potato chips, and the offensive line gets better by default. They aren't good on the interior, but coaching has been the biggest issue imo. Plenty of teams have trash bag lineman and still get something out of them. You don't need 5 all pro lineman to be effective. Play calling helps tremendously with that. I'm not sure what all the right decisions are in fixing the defense, but actually PLAYING some of the younger players couldn't hurt. If they suck, it's not like you are putting Deshaun at risk. Blacklock and Greenard should be getting the majority of the snaps, period. Trading JJ could be a way to get 17.5 million back in cap. Cooks could be cut for another 12 million with non-guaranteed. You'd save even more if you designate Merciless. Now you're looking at about 40 million in added cap space. Yeah, you have to draft well and get the right coach. Yeah, that isn't easy. Nobody is saying it is. I'm saying lazily assuming we are half a decade away from contention is ridiculous. You sound like O'Brien "rookies don't know anything", "he's doing okay for a rookie" with those kind of putrid expectations. Robert Saleh is leading a top 10 defense that is absolutely ravaged of talent right now because of injuries. Don't sit here and tell me it can't be done. With the right offensive coordinator or head coach that offense can absolutely be top 5, top 10, period. I am not saying all these things will happen, but I am hoping this is the course. When you have a QB like Deshaun Watson, you never settle for mediocrity. Don't let any of the talking heads or your misguided intuition tell you differently.
Lol ok, armchair GM You are saying a lot of things that can’t actually happen, so who has the lazy take. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/cap/2021/ I didn’t say it couldn’t happen, I said it’s not likely. We can make a tip jar bet that there won’t be 40 mil in cap. I get being hopeful, that’s the fan in all of us. Using the packers as a blueprint is not comparing apples to apples, they had a lot more talent built in.
"After a thorough evaluation, we found that the best candidate for the job was right here in-house. It is my honor to introduce your next general manager of the Houston Texans...Jack Easterby." - Cal McNair
I'm not going to make a bet that is dependent on them making specific moves. I just laid out an albeit rough example of some things that could help with the cap. The exact dollar amount doesn't necessarily matter all that much. The point is there are things they can do to improve the cap situation - including restructuring contracts - which I didn't mention in the previous post. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that every single thing can be fixed overnight, but the things that can't be fixed quickly via the front office will then fall on coaching. Can you get more out of the interior o-line, can you revive Merciless if you keep him? Can you make Randall Cobb not look one of the worst contracts in the league? Etc. A good GM can figure out how to fix the holes in the roster and control the cap situation. A great coach (and staff) can implement schemes to get the most of what is already here (or who we need to hang on to while we wait for their contracts to expire). You know, a start, and a good one, will be having someone that doesn't get murdered every single time they make a trade - paying above market to acquire and selling way, way below market to get rid of guys that aren't STD. Getting rid of Easterby is also an absolute must. He is a cancer. He is a real, serious, obnoxious problem to have. This is something I am the most skeptical about Cal actually pulling the trigger on. I don't think I even mentioned the Packers, but that isn't a bad example. I agree it isn't perfect. The Rams are another - their cap situation was (is?) horrific, worse than the Texans last offseason. They even had to pay half of Cooks' salary to get rid of them. Yes they have incredible talent, but coaching has helped tremendously too. They have an undrafted player starting at corner who is playing terrific. Whereas their defense is the hallmark of their team right now I see no reason why a good coach couldn't make the Texans offense its' staple. I simply hate, hate, HATE the mindset: "Well OB screwed us. We have no talent. No picks. No cap. No hope. We're gonna suck for the next 3-4-5 years no matter what." If that happens, they are doing it horribly and irrevocably wrong.
Yeah man I get it. I went from probably an overly optimistic fan that lived and died on every team in the city to a scorned, bitter and cynical fan. Hate O’Brien for that. I really hope it’s sooner rather than later, and it absolutely starts with the right GM and Coach hire. I hope for the city, I hope for the team and specially hope for Watson that they get it right.
It's one of those things where I hear radio guys make every single thing sound like it's unfixable. The reality is that even very good teams have many holes, some glaring. When it's going bad, it's very easy to sit back and say "IT'S THE WORST SITUATION IN THE LEAGUE - EVERY POSITION NEEDS AN UPGRADE" Hell, @raining threes thinks Watson needs to be replaced - preferably by Derek Carr, who by his account is a much better QB. It's never as bad as it looks nor is it ever as good as it looks. Coaching is far and away the most important thing outside of having a franchise quarterback. We already have Deshaun. I have full confidence in him. Now they need to surround him with a coaching staff that amplifies his abilities vs. him performing in spite of the coaching.
I get what you’re saying, but Carr has been playing pretty damn good. Not better than Watson but he’s been good.
I watch him play quite often, he's improved alot this year with new weapons under Gruden. The Raiders are about three good defensive players and Wade Phillips away from being a contender. Trivia question, Who's the only team to beat the Chiefs this year?
This is where lack of leadership from the top comes in. Prudent thing is to shut Watson/JJ down and start playing the hell out of Blacklock, Greenard and John Reid to give them experience and see what we potentially have in them.
Trivia question: Who is the only team that trailed to the Jets in the final minute of the game and needed a rig job by Gregg Williams to win? Who is the only team to make the Falcons look like the 2000 Ravens?
His numbers look good, and he has improved, but he's still subpar at getting the ball downfield. He relies on a lot of dink and dunk schemes to inflate his numbers. Adds to my point about coaching....
