No kidding, I heard on the news that they said the same thing about coaching Ragone at the Senior Bowl! What a joke... At least we have Bob McNair as the lone bright spot and he will always dish out the money to get what we need.
from cbs.sportsline.com: Tight end was a need position. Billy Miller is a wide reciever playing at tight end who couldn't block to save his life. He had a good recieving year but that doesn't mean that he's an adiquate starting tight end.
This is Sports Illustrated's Take which pretty much is in line with every draft list: There were other, higher-rated tight ends on the board, namely Tennessee's Jason Witten. But the Texans like Joppru and are hell-bent on giving QB Carr some help. Frankly, we couldve taken a player like Chris Kelsay and then Witten in the 3rd if we really wanted a TE. I think the Texans botched this pretty bad when there were other spots that needed to be filled. When you have a lack of depth on this team you would think you'd take best player available instead of who you fell in love with in the Senior Bowl. Apparently their love fest included Ragone, Joppru and Wand. They obviously fell in love with these players and were determined to take them no matter who else was available and at what positions. Great job Casserly.
OK, I guess the rule now is that you can't draft a player unless he plays for you in the senior bowl. Damn, I hope some better players play for Dom in next year's senior bowl.
Well I'll say this was a wierd draft. People who are b*tching about not drafting Suggs or O. Smith well guess what, they're both still available going into tomorrow. So everyone can get a nice tall drink and stop hyperventilating. Even if the Texans don't take one of them, the June 1st cuts will probably net us a selection of RB's should we feel the need to get one. As for the draft as a whole, can you say it was a "disappointment" when none of them have played a down in the pros? Sure they might not have taken the player you might have wanted, but I have faith that Casserly and Co. know what they're doing. As for my personal opinions: A. Johnson - Big play type of guy, physical, not afraid to go over the middle, willing to block on the outside on running plays. B. Joppru - Big target for the middle of the field. Whitten was on the board, but Capers has seen Joppru in person at the Senior Bowl. Usually described as having great hands and a decent blocker. Gives Carr a larger target than Miller and an every down TE. A. Peek - The kind of tweener that the Steelers have been making into sack monsters for years now. Good pass rusher and had decent (for college level) coverage capabilities. Good in pursuit and back side rusher. Can also block kicks (Woohoo special teams help in a rookie). S. Wand - Unfortunately, Hunter was gone just before this pick. Huge guy (6'7", 321), and can get bigger. Lacks strength, but not terrible (20 reps at the combine, OT average was 22). Very quick feet and good at positioning. By all reports is willing to put in the time in the film room. Another guy Capers saw in person at the Senior Bowl. Will require time, but that's something the Texans have. D. Ragone - OK, I'm kinda with you guys on this one. I can see that the Texans want to get a backup for Carr, but didn't think they'd draft one, and especially not in the 3rd round. Big guy with an aggresive streak. Like to go deep. Ball will flutter on the touch passes (mainly from trying too hard to loft it in there). Not terrible mobile, more of a pocket passer. Another guy Capers saw at the Senior Bowl. On a personal note, I saw his games against Cincinnati and Kentucky. Surrounded by a horrible OL, he got his ass kicked all over the field, and still came back for more. He's tough, make no mistake about it. Even if he becomes a great backup QB, he can always become trade bait (see Rob Johnson). All in all it was an interesting day 1. I'll give it a wait and see to see what we get on day 2. Still some names available out there.
OK, Dominick Davis, a decent enough pick I guess, though I would have thought O.Smith would be better. But, look at his bio, guess what: ANOTHER Senior Bowl guy. I'm not so sure about this all senior bowl strategy; only time will tell I guess. It explains the Ragone pick, but doesn't justify it iMO.
I hope the Draft turns out better than it looks (after the 1st pick) because from this unpracticed eye it smells like a stinker to me.
Domanick Davis!?!? Did we really need to draft a running back in the 4th? Geez. Here's hoping we get a safety in the 5th round and some more OL and DL help in the 6th and 7th rounds...
compensatory picks I suppose. This draft stinks. Forget 5-10, looks like they'll be picking 3-5 next year. Worse if there are any key injuries. And this "senior bowl strategy" is a joke.
when you lose fas, the nfl awards teams picks sometimes. The better the fa you lose the higher the pick you get.
It's pretty funny. I go to the NFL Draft tracker which allows you to click on a name and read their bio. They had no bio for Mathis. Wonder what we got in return.
Admittedly, I know lless about football players than basketball ones, but the "analysts" don't seem to think the Texans are drafting that poorly. CBSSportsline has the TE becoming a solid pro-bowl caliber player, Mel Kiper liked the first pick today as a real good all around player. Does it make a difference that they all played at the Senior bowl? Why is that so bad?
There's a fine line between taking who you want and taking best value. In football, depth is key. You need to make every pick count. if you take a player in the 3rd round who wouldve been available in the 4th, you lose that opportunity to take players legitimately pegged in the 3rd. For example, we took Joppru in the 2nd when there were higher ranked players available. If we waited, we couldve probably gotten him in the 3rd, maybe 4th round. Jason Witten, a higher ranked player was available in the 3rd yet we took a lower ranked TE in the 2nd. This is especially annoying considering that we have a ton of holes and should fill those first. Bypassing your biggest needs (OL, S, DL depth, etc...) and taking them earlier than projected (reaching) is the worst combination for a team like this. Im sure the staff fell in love with these players and were determined to take them no matter what.
Not only do I have a new found hatred for Casserly, but I now have one for the Detriot Lions. This is the 3rd time this draft where they've taken a player right before we picked that we had been eyeing. AAAAAAARRRRGH. And then Casserly trades the pick, AGAIN! Man, I dont see what the big deal is over Casserly.
