From CNNSi, Don Banks: What we're hearing: In recent days, the buzz around the league has been that the Texans will cross up a few folks and select Newman, with the issue being their questions regarding Johnson's stage of development as a potential No. 1 receiver. There's also some who say Houston's defensive coaches have been chipping away at the team's front office, convincing it that it won't matter if quarterback David Carr has a big-play receiver to throw to if the Texans' D can't stop anybody. But others say slide your money on Johnson to Houston and leave it there. The rest is just smokescreen, designed to get somebody who's hot for Newman to pick up the phone and give the Texans a call. Until further notice, we're buying that version of events. _________________________________ Nothing like a little smoke and mirrors speculation to make the week at least a little interesting......
The problem with Banks' article is that we won't win if we can't score. Our defenseis good enough to keep us in games, but when you're getting 220 yards of offense a game you're not going to score many points. Besides, is it easier to get a possible gamebreaking receiver in the first round and get a good cover corner later, or vice versa? A. Johnson is the best choice for the team, then looking at an I. Taylor or E. Wilson later on. The only excuse I can think of is if the Texans are planning on trashing next season so they can get #1 and drafting Roy Williams or something. Bottom line, the Texans need offense in the worst way and can't afford to pass up a talent like Johnson
Lets take a little Draft History Lesson on Top 10 WR's Here's the draft since 1983. 1983 - No WR's taken in top 10 (1st taken - Willie Gault 18) 1984 - Irving Fryar (1), Kenny Jackson (4) 1985 - Al Toon (10) 1986 - none ( Mike Sherrard 18) 1987 - none (Haywood Jeffries 20) 1988 - Tim Brown (6), Sterling Sharpe (7), (Michael Irvin 11) 1989 - none - (Hart Lee Dykes 16) 1990 - no WR's taken in 1st round (Alexander Wright 26) 1991 - Herman Moore (10) 1992 - Desmond Howard (4) 1993 - Curtis Conway (7) 1994 - None (Charles Johnson 17) 1995 - Michael Westbrook (4), Joey Galloway (8), JJ Stokes (10) 1996 - Keyshawn Johnson (1), Terry Glenn (7) 1997 - Ike Hilliard (7) 1998 - none (Kevin Dyson 16) 1999 - Torry Holt (6), David Boston (8) 2000 - Peter Warrick (4), Plaxico Burress (8), Travis Taylor (10) 2001 - David Terrell (8), Koren Robinson (9) 2002 - None (Donte Stallworth 13) So in the last 20 years, a WR has never gone 3rd overall. The Texans probably won't buck the trend. You can find just as good talent at WR in the 2nd round sometimes than the 1st round Take for instance the 2001 1st and 2nd round WR picks (In order # picked) 1st round WR's - David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Rod Gardner, Santana Moss, Freddie Mitchell, Reggie Wayne 2nd round WR's - Quincy Morgan, Chad Johnson, Robert Ferguson, Chris Chambers, 3rd round WR's - Steve Smith, Snoop Minnis Keep in mind the 2001 draft was very stocked in WR talent, and most of the guys haven't even reached potential yet. But many of these guys would go higher or lower should the draft be held over
assuming it stays healthy for a second consecutive year, which isn't likely. if walker, payne, sharper or glenn were to go down, a decent defense would be devestated.
what do any of those players have to do with andre johnson? wouldn't it be just as relevant, if not more so, to list the number of miami hurricane first rounders the past 20 years and use that to judge johnson's prospects? history tells us nothing, in relation to the draft. it's useless. if the guy's the best player on your board and he fills a need, you draft him. period. regardless of what's happened the past 20 years. i have no idea if johnson's that guy, but i sure wouldn't use historical evidence as a basis for my decision.
Like it or not, History tells the story in the NFL most of the time. History tells us that drafting a WR isn't always smart, because normally the talent pool never has one guy clearly over the rest. In same cases, they do.
and this may be the rare case where there are at least 2 receivers who buck the trend...like it or not, the lions are taking rogers at #2...that bucks your trend before the Texans ever even pick!
....Arizona Cardinals officials rarely make draft-day trades, but they just might be getting an offer they can't refuse. Texans officials are said to be offering up the No. 3 pick for Arizona's first-rounder (No. 6) and third-rounder (No. 70). That would all but ensure the Cardinals a shot at Miami (Fla.) wide receiver Andre Johnson. The Texans want to move down -- but not too far -- and still get Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross and add another Day 1 pick, to boot. The Texans also are offering the same deal to Minnesota (for picks No. 7 and 71. The Texans can't afford to drop any further than No. 8 because the Panthers are projected to take Gross at No. 9. . . . http://ultimate.sportingnews.com/nfl/draft//voices/gary_horton/20030421.html
which history? i could spin this a 100 different ways and come up with a 100 different pieces of history. history suggests that the majority of players recruited by the hurricanes since butch davis arrived go on to have great NFL careers... should we use that "history"? or maybe that players that wore #5 in college always bust - how bout that history. frankly, while silly, they're both still every bit as relevant as what past WRs, who have no affiliation with johnson, have done in the NFL. he won't succeed or fail based on any history and we're not paying scouts to evaluate past drafts.
From an outsider looking in.... Untill you guys address your ofensive line situation, your team is going nowhere. Regardless of who gets the highlights or who makes the commercials, this game is won in the trenches. Your line needs help so bad, you shouldn't even be considering drafting anything else. Trade down, take Jordan Gross and use that extra pick to get some depth somewhere. Carr can only take so much of a beating back there, better protect him before you lose him. Just my opinion on this guys. Go Falcons!!
receivers who can actually get open and catch the ball help protect QB's too....offensive linemen are available throughout the draft without giving up a #3 pick for one. you draft best available when you're a team like the Texans...they need help virtually everywhere except QB and CB...and you can never have too many good CBs!
slightly off topic, but has anybody seen that commercial on ESPN that shows David Carr standing at center with no offensive lineman? The commercial says, "What does your team need?" I wonder if they did one of these for the Cowboys...I could see a Cowboys offensive line with no QB and no running back behind them...
OK I'm just now getting back after being out of town and saw this response. While it's true we don't have much depth to our defense, the fact remains that it's still the better of our units, and our receivers (outside of Bradford early) did little to nothing to concern defenses. Gaffney may turn out to be a keeper and if he gets over his drops Bradford could be another good one. What we need is someone who teams look at and go "We'd better plan our defense around in part stopping this guy". That may be (with a little coaching) Johnson. Plus, the cornerback position seems (IMHO) to be deeper that the receiver class this year. We can draft Johnson and still get someone like a Dejuan Groce, Kevin Garrett, or Rashean Mathis later on in the draft. After Rogers and Johnson there's quite a dropoff to guys like Jacobs, Washington, and Boldin. Besides, would do you personally think is more likely: our defense falling apart for any reason (injury, whatever) or our offense suddenly becoming respectable just because we've added Stacey Mack (not exactly a home run threat) and a couple more offensive linemen? Draft the name guy now, solidify your numbers later in the draft and maybe a FA or 2 still out in the market.
honestly? the later, and here's why: where's the improvement on defense going to come from? is 30-year old gary walker going to get better? 31-year old aaron glenn? 27-year old jamie sharper? the likliest scenario is they'll maintain last year's acceptable (but not great) level while we hope and pray none of them get hurt because if one does, the season's sunk, and considering they had no significant scratches last year, let alone injuries... on an older unit, how realistic is another injury-free year? meanwhile, on offense, you have three rookies who should be a year better: carr, gaffney and pitts. you've added depth, and, hopefully, quality, to the OL and there's always a chance boselli will play. mack represents an upgrade over allen/wells and you still have youngsters like weary and brown, and even billy miller and maybe corey bradford, who could make impacts. my contention is, if you left the 2 units alone, the offense has room, and the players, to grow and get better. the defense is operating at maximum output already. i'm not gonna be disappointed with johnson, but the defense is far from set -- it needs as much help as the offense.
I want them all. Rogers, Johnson, Gross and Newman. I guess I won't be disappointed, huh. I see your point, Ric, but the defense could improve a little from just having played together a season. I think you're right that the offense has the potential to make a much bigger improvement. I sure hope the reports on Boselli's progress are solid. Even thoughthe's not a big play back, Mack could help the offense a lot. He averaged over 4 yards a carry with few long runs to bring that average up. That means he didn't have a ton of low yardage or negative yardage carries. From what I saw of him, he "sees" the holes well and gets to them quick. If the Texans see more 2nd and 6 and 3rd and 2 situations, it would make a big difference. It seemed to me that the biggest breakdowns on defense last year were by Coleman and Stevens. If the Texans drafted Newman and Coleman moved to safety, they could improve two positions.
Here's where I point out that Keith and Warren agree with me over at HPF.com, but that's childish . Anyway, I guess we'll just agree to disagree. I see your point that the defense is getting older (it is) and that the offense will get better (it MIGHT). I just think that believing the rookies and other youngsters are going to be better just because they should is counting the chickens before they hatch. They're talented, but what happens if Gaffney or Bradford blow out an ACL? Would you like Avion Black to be an every-down receiver? I'd be a bit uncomfortable with that. Don't get me wrong, I think Newman can be a very good CB in the NFL. I'm just of the opinion that a combination of Johnson and whatever CB we get later in the draft would be better for the team than Newman and whatever WR is available later. I guess we'll see how the Texans feel in a couple days. To paraphrase an old adage, defense may win championships but offense wins the games to get you to the championship in the first place.
I would like to trade down, preferably get the two NY Jets picks. I think getting a Kelly Washington or Taylor Jacobs at WR and then picking up Troy Polamalu at Safety would be awesome. No Washington and Jacobs are no Johnson but it would be an upgrade on what we have and Polamalu would definitely be an upgrage at Safety. I am not sold on Matt Stevens at all.
