Wrong. You're right about us having holes (admittedly one is at the RB position) and we didn't fill an area of need. If Mario was making plays then it wouldn't matter. However, everyone thinks he looks like a bust. Say what you want about Kubiak's comments but he was definitely calling him out. Let's see how he responds
I think it's easy to look and say this, but like you said, picking Mario had logic behind it. The Texans had a pretty good running game behind a horrible OL, the defense on the other hand was 2nd to last and featured no pass rusher. I think it is definitely reasonable to expect a defensive prospect to improve over time. He'll have to learn that trying to bull rush a tackle won't get you the same results as it did in college, he'll have to learn how to read plays better, etc... Mario has looked like crap the first 3 games, no one can deny that. But at the end, it is still 3 games out of what can be a 15 year career. I know Mario shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Bruce Smith, but it took Smith 6 years to reach his peek. We all want a rookie that will come in and knock our socks off but we have to remember that he is a 21 year old playing in his 3rd game in the NFL. Bruce Smith's Stats (first 6 seasons) 1985: 48 Tackles 7 Sacks 1986: 63 Tackles 15 Sacks 1987: 78 Tackles 12 Sacks (12 games) 1988: 56 Tackles 11 Sacks (12 games) 1989: 88 Tackles 13 Sacks 1990: 101 Tackles 19 Sacks I'm not saying Mario is going to be the next Bruce Smith, but I'm just pointing out that even the best DE the NFL has ever seen didn't have that great of a rookie season. Obviously he contributed to the team...but it just shows that expecting a defensive prospect to improve greatly isn't so unreasonable.
you could have said the exact same thing about the saints on that fateful april day. as pgabriel correctly stated, they had holes everywhere. at that point, you take the best player available period. and that player, unanimously, was reggie bush. wait, what? smith very nearly averaged a sack a game in years 2-5 and you think it took him six years to reach his peak?
This is splitting hairs, but I saw a survey of GM's just before the draft, and 10 of them had Mario Williams #1, and 22 had Reggie Bush #1. 69% is a large majority, but it's not unanimous.
Not true at all. 3 games in on a rookie season on a crap line against good teams doesn't make him a bust.
The Texans did not have a pretty good running game ever. Your think 900-1050 yards is good? I call that mediocre at best. They said they chose Mario Williams to get Peyton Manning. If it takes him at least 6 years to get good, the colts may not be good in 6 years. Manning will be 36 and marvin harrison will be nearly 40.
I think value isn't as important in the NFL because there is no lottery and if you blow a pick you will get a top one the next season. Also, even though there are salary cap consquences, players can be cut along with base salary. blowing a top pick in the nba has a lot more severe consequences imo. that being said, you never want to blow a number one pick obviously. the texans, as bad as drafting has been, have not blown many, its the second and third round screw ups that have put this team in the position they are in.
I think its funny how you guys are acting like Reggie Bush hasn't done much. He is leading his team in receptions with 19. He got the assist on the devry henderson touchdown, I know most of you guys were watching the astros game but the entire defense went to Bush. If he gets any breathing room at all, he's gone, so defenses have to focus on him. I'm assuming defensive coordinators know more about him than message board posters who are claiming he is "busting". Sure he isn't getting 100 yards rushing per game, but thats because he isn't getting the carries right now. If he did get 25 carries a game, he'd have 100 yard rushing games and touchdowns, but there is no reason for that when they have deuce. Reggie is a huge huge part of the saints offense, he is involved in every aspect, and the saints are 3-0 thanks to his help. He is a well rounded all around player. I agree 100% with Clutch's post above concerning value at this point in time. I think some people may just be trying to save face at this point. The saints are 3-0. The first two weeks, the haters said "well he played bad teams, the browns have the worst defense" etc etc. Now they whipped the Falcons who are a superbowl contending team according to many experts. If warrick dunn can tear it up and run between the tackles, I guarantee you Reggie Bush can and he did so pretty well on monday night when they gave them the opportunites. I know you guys were watching the astros games and you only looked a stats, but Reggie Bush is the real deal and the saints look like a playoff team because of it.
The defense does have more holes than the offense, but Mario Williams is one of those holes, he's contributing to the holes. I don't blame the Texans for going with a defensive player but as of right now, it was not the right choice. One knock on Reggie i've noticed so far is that his blocking is weak, he really needs to work on it, that would not be helpful to David Carr at this point in time with our Oline.
I hope Mario can turn it around by week 6 or at least show some growth at year's end. Not because I want him to prove his doubters wrong or I want ESPN to shut up, but just for our team's sake. Right now, both the O-Line and the Defense are pretty bad but the Defense still has a lot of potential and room to grow.
I'm not talking about the merit behind the pick, we probably should have gone with the bpa, but I also understand addressing the 2nd to worst defense in the NFL. You're misreading my post, I'm basically pointing out that it is reasonable to believe that a defensive prospect (or maybe any NFL prospect) will improve over time. Clutch was asking this question and I was just pointing out that even the best DE that has ever played the game took some time to be great. Yes...he did nearly averaged a sack a game in years 2-5 but if you only look at his rookie year, it wasn't all that spectacular. Hopefully Mario will get better just like Bruce Smith got better through the years. Stat wise...yes it did take him 6 seasons to reach his peek...unless you don't consider 101 tackles and 19 sacks to be his peek.
Here are some NFL runs in this video where Bush is going between the tackles just fine and lowering his shoulder. He's a strong back with speed, not a scat back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCXoIaF5Eys
I've never seen a player run through the tackles like that before, you're absolutely right. I could make a 1 minute video that makes Carr look better than Dan Marino. Rewatch MNF's game, the sidelines tackled Bush more than actualy defenders did. But seriously, you're not looking at highlight clips on youtube to prove a point are you.
He ran in between the tackles and he lowered his shoulder and finished runs. Most people watching the astros game and then looking at the saints box score come in here and say he's a scat back who runs to the outside and can't run in between the tackles. The video doesn't show him to be the greatest runner ever, but it simply proves people wrong thats all. And yes I used a video to prove a point because most of the people bashing him haven't watched a saints game all year. Like I said the video I posted doesn't show anything spectacular, just the basics.
Is your stance that Bush can't run between the tackles? Yes or No? If no, we will talk later. But so far, after 3 games, he has done so just fine. And that video doesn't include the Falcons game where he had two nice runs between the tackles. I have it on Tivo but it isn't on youtube yet.
jgreen- I'm a huge college football fan and I watched just about every single USC/Bush game they broadcasted on national television for his sophomore and junior seasons. I've watched an unbelievable amount of Bush highlights (including NFL) and I've never said that he can't run between the tackles, but rather that he chooses to cut it out more than not. With his speed, I don't blame him for wanting to outrun everyone to the outside. But the speed is different in the NFL and all those unbelievable runs and huge gains Bush use to get running to the outside aren't there anymore. Can Bush run between the tackles? Of course he can. But if you have the game on tivo, rewatch it and count how many times Bush ran to the sideline rather than up the field, then count how many of those plays were suppose to go right up the gut.
It also shows the first thing I noticed with him this preseason. At USC, I never saw him caught from behind. In two places, he has the Browns defense beat, and a linebacker explodes and catches him. To his credit, one part of his game translates beautifully. His ability to shake and change direction is absolutely amazing. That punt return was one example of how well that's going to help him.
When are you going to stop making excuses for Bush? He sucks ars as a RB. He has showed nothing. Im starting to thinik you have a mancrush on him. I have never seen someone make up so much crap to defend a player that isnt even on the team that person is a fan of. I bet you have a poster of Bush you hold up with one hand all the time.
If the Texans Defense can't get any sacks in this game im giving up on their defense this year. Miami has allowed a total of 15 sacks in 3 games....YES more than the Texans (As amazing as that is). So we better have some damn pressure on Cullpepper considering he is not as mobile and the OL of Miami Sucks. Im hoping that Mario reacts to Kubiaks comments and comes out to play and prove something. He lit a fire under his ass and lets see if he just sits and burns or runs from it and shows up.
