just looking at his stats...looks like his productivity dropped big time last year from the previous 2 years. was he a starter last season?
No, he was the backup... that's why his stats dropped. Although, apparently lots of Saints fans were upset that he wasn't the starter over Simoneau. He's supposed to be very good against the run but mediocre against the pass. Raiders fans liked him a lot in his two seasons there.
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4608402.html That should set the starting LB group for next year. Now, onto OL, WR, DL, S and QB...
And we have to fix all these problems THIS YEAR or they'll never get fixed! Honestly, I'm not picking on you today, MM, but unlike some people here, I am ENCOURAGED by the offseason so far. It shows we're trying to get better. Just because it's going to take more than 2 years to go from 2-14 to a SB contender doesn't mean it's never going to happen.
i'm not saying we have to address them this year. who said that, ima? but i hear so many people argue both sides of this...on one hand, we're on the cusp of being a really competitive playoff team. on the other hand, we didn't give carr enough weapons and the pieces around him are trash that no one could win with. which is it? one day they will be a competitor. i don't know when. but one day. i have no doubt of that.
I'm encouraged as well. All I was doing was pointing out that the total holes can get a little overwhelming. But, I'm encouraged that without a ton of cap room, they've gone out and addressed two weaknesses with solid starters in the first week. It's good news. There are certain other teams (not going to mention by name, but most of you know) with weaknesses who have significantly more cap room and have done nothing. Also, small issue, but I really think Faggins can be acceptable (not good, but not terrible) as a #2 CB if there is satisfactory safety help. That's why I put safety as a slightly higher priority.
here i go again... do you think the LB we picked up is a "solid" starter? he wasn't even a starter last year, solid or otherwise. his numbers from Oakland look decent. i think it's probably a good pickup, because we need depth, at the very least. truth be told, i don't know. i was encouraged by our pick ups last year in free agency...but they didn't amount to anything.
max, they're hand-cuffed, more than i think they ever knew - they have little-to-no room under the cap and five years of not just losing, but losing anonymously - an absolutely deadly combination. right now, sadly, houston is a football wasteland. it's why i'm dubious of ANY players who sign here and why, at the same time, i understand why they're targeting a lot of kubiak and sherman's former charges.
at what point will we be under the cap? (when do most of the bad contracts expire?) it's so frustrating that we have a great organization with a great owner who trusted the wrong idiot and now we are screwed. I HATE CASSERLEY
what makes this organization or that owner great? seriously. we hear that all the time. but by any measure other than the "he's a great guy" measure...what makes it/him great? i thought football organizations were great because they won football games. or because they showed steady improvement. or because they entrusted the right people to get the job done right. i'm sorry, but the Texans don't fall into that category, YET.
they're under the cap this year, just not by very much. i believe they're carrying $20M this year in dead money....? i could be wrong. i avoid the cap and the draft. max, couldn't agree more. i wrote an article last year about how drayton (inexplicably) continues to be villified while mcnair is still getting a free pass and how little sense that makes. this is, above all, mcnair's mess.
Well, if you remember the Bud Adams days, there is a pretty big difference, I think. McNair is willing to spend, he seems to really care about the team AND the city, he doesn't really get involved in the football decisions and doesn't try to coach behind the scenes (a la Jerry Jones)...he just hired the wrong dipsh*ts and we are all paying for it.
People who watched him play in Oakland and New Orleans claim to have liked him a lot. He's certainly not top tier, but he's athletic and excellent against the run. By most accounts, he should be an average starter... not good, but not a weakness either, and for this team, that's a step up.
yeah...i remember the Bud Adams days. i'm not a fan of Bud Adams. and as a human being i FAR FAR FAR prefer Bob McNair. but if i could do it all over, i'd far prefer to still have the Oilers in town (including the 1999 AFC Champs) over the Texans so far. for as goofy as Bud was, the Oilers were very competitive for a very long time. i'm still not sure what the Texans have done right.
