Does he remind you of a suckier version of Reggie Bush? Bush IMO is probably worth a late first rounder, but Harvin is probably a late 2nd rounder at best with his injury and off the field problems.
I think he can take on some contact unlike Reggie. And yes, his off field stuff has to be thoroughly researched. He would be a top 25 pick instead of #2 overall. I think it's probably moot since the odds are the Texans will go defense early and often on draft day.
OK, now the Harvin talk shall end, he was popped at the combine for mar1juana (according to Pro Football Talk). Dumb.
^^ Good news. Sounds like the previous agent was a dumbass. Hopefully, they get a long term deal together so that the core of this defense stays together for a long time.
mar1juana is not a performance enhancement drug (unless you are a musican ). Harvin's history of injuries is more worrisome.
Still, he was using it around the time of the combine when he KNEW he would be tested for it. It's something he will be disciplined for in the NFL, so the fact that he couldn't stay away from the stuff long enough to pass his combine drug test is pretty telling.
I think it's the lack of judgment and decision making that is the most worrisome for teams. These kids know they're going to be tested at the combine, to do anytype of banned substance before is just plain dumb. If these kids can't even give up weed at least until after arguably the biggest test they'll take, you have to wonder when they'll be able to give it up (if at all).
you know who the Texans should take a stab at........??? His current team is trying like hell to get out of his huge contract that the previous regime awarded him, so he's gonna be a bargin, and I think he'd be a perfect 1-2 punch with Slaton..........he's got some off field issues, but he's not a locker room cancer.......... Spoiler
after Johnson was beat to death by Herm in 06 via 460 somethin carries, and the nagging foot injury it procured, I think LJ would be just fine with being the second half of a 1-2 punch. LJ is 29 now.....he can't carry the ball 25+ times a game and still put up 2004-05 numbers. He knows he isn't a premier RB anymore, and we all know Slaton can't take the beating of 25+ carries a game. I'd throw a 5th rounder at KC and probably up it to a 4th if they pressed real hard, but nothing more. I don't think KC is expecting more than that anyway. Give Slaton 20ish carries or so, and LJ 10-12, 15 if needed....presto! Championship! lol.
i appreciate the sentiment; it even makes quite a bit of sense (though i don't know the details of his contract). but the texans need to steer clear of "old" RBs with a lot of wear and tear on their tires - it's just not a sound investment. they've been trying to squeeze "one more year" out of an endless succession of guys - james allen, stacey mack, ron dayne, ahman green... i'm starting to think, more and more, that the texans are going to use that first pick on an offensive player, and if so - i think that player will be a RB. they're talking defense, defense, defense; they're feeding mclain defense, defense, defense......... i think it's a smokescreen. i think if wells or moreno is there, they're going to happily bite. i loved what slaton did last year. but i think you (the texans) are being hopelessly naive if you go into 2009 expecting a similiar performance. and let's face it: while defense is certainly a top priority, so too - if not moreso - is scoring TDs in the red zone...... i think they have RB at or near the top of their wishlist....
Ric, why do you think it is naive expecting Slaton to continue where he left off last season? And how weird would it be to draft a RB in the 1st round? Especially after the team modeled it itself after the Broncos, who rarely draft high round RBs, and certainly not when they already have a promising RB already on the team. If the team really didn't feel there were any defensive players worthy of that pick, I would have no problem with it. Unless someone slips, the defensive prospects at #15 certainly don't blow my skirt up. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think a lot of our strategy could be greatly effected by how well any Demeco Ryans or Owen Daniels contract negotiations go.
I don't think it's naive at all to expect a similar performance, at least as far as breaking big runs and YPC is concerned. He did a lot of the work himself last year, keeping his legs moving and getting yards after contact. His yardage and TD's might fluctuate depending on who we get to share the load, though. Slaton and the o-line will only be better after a year under the Gibbs zone-blocking scheme...I expect big things from the running game this year. I'd be completely floored if we took a RB in the first round, especially without trading down. If we didn't take Mendenhall last year when we really needed a RB, I don't think we'll take one this year. This is actually a good year to trade up into the top 10 with all the teams that want to get out. I'd love to see them move up and get Raji if it's reasonable...but I could also see them trading down for Peria Jerry. If we stay at 15, I think it's either Matthews or Malcolm Jenkins.
and then carried the ball nearly 800 times in his 3rd and 4th seasons. the texans need a 22-25-year old back with some tread, not another 29-31-year old.
Agreed, don't forget about Chris Brown either. Also, I'm not sure if they're feeding McClain any type of information. From what it sounds like, it's just complete conjecture on McClain's part that we're going defense. It does make sense since our defense was terrible last season, we're breaking in a new DC, and since we seem to have more holes on defense than offense. I'd be really suprised to see the Texans go for a RB in the first. As someone already pointed out, we passed on Mendenhall when a RB was a HUGE need for us last year. I think they'll go for the same gameplan as last year and wait, especially since we're looking for a complimentary back rather than a feature. While RB is definitely near the top of their wishlist, I think the Texans know that they can probably wait until the 3rd and pickup a big back like Andre Brown, Shonn Green, or Rashard Jennings.
i loved what slaton did last year; he worked hard, played hard, ran hard - he was a big surprise... i'm always leery of big surprises - especially big surprises who aren't very big... the texans really maximized slaton's effectiveness last year & that was a key component of his success. there's a tendency (and we saw it happen with domanick davis) to forget that element of his game as you start doing the math, figuring if he can average 4.8 ypc on 260 carries... imagine what he'd do with 360! etc., etc. you start to overexpose him, run the guy into the gorund... look - he was a 3rd round pick thought of primarily as a 3rd down back for a reason... he needs to be the change of pace back, he needs to be in space, and they need to watch his touches closely. i've always maintained that's always been a little misleading, if not completely false. for most of shanahan's tenure, the broncos were very good and drafting near the end of the first round - RBs don't often tumble to end of the first round. so i would argue draft position, not some organizational mandate, has had a bigger impact on them not selecting many RBs early. plus, everyone seems to forget they used a 2 on portis (51 overall) and a 2 on bell (41) so it's not like they were adverse to picking backs higher in the draft.
