It's hard to think that they would not resign the captain of the O-line and trust a rookie C to lead the charge in a superbowl potential season.
^^^^easier said than done. This isn't MLB, you have a cap. Players can re-negotiate their contracts but its complicated. I would love to keep both, but if we can only sign one I take Arian 100 times out of a 100.
The Pittsburgh Steelers chose Pouncey in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. His rookie year, he started in all 16 games played at the center position, and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Additionally, in accordance with his exceptional play as a center during his rookie year, he received 2 votes (out of 50) for the National Football League Rookie of the Year Award.[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurkice_Pouncey
oh, well then. ..The texans just need to draft an all pro rookie Center then...that should be easy. Geez, for a second I thought drafting all pros was an unsure thing. Silly me
Like I said, it's not the way I would go....but it's hard enough to see a scenario where they fit both Mario and Foster into the 2012 cap, let alone all 3 of them. Early smoke signals seem to suggest the Mario-Foster double signing is priority 1 for the FO, and Myers takes a backseat to that gambit.
i didn't say there was no way it would happen (nor did i say that a rookie Center can't be very good), i just have a hard time believing they would given his importance and team chemistry. I don't think starting a rookie on the O-line is their plan A by any means. But i certainly understand if they can't afford him.
I'm pretty sure it was you that first put Foster = Marcus Allen in my head, and I haven't been able to shake it ever since. And one of the reasons is because Arian rarely seems to take big hits. It's amazing to watch. Plus... I think the shelf-life for RBs is incrementally increasing. Look at the top backs and you'll see 3, 4, 5 years of big production. Even guys like Gore and MaGahee are bouncing back from serious injuries and putting up huge numbers. I think too many of us were raised on Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson - but that "one horrible injury and done" trend seems very much a thing of the past. I'm firmly in the "Try to keep Mario" camp... but I would never term Foster "expendable." Ben Tate is very good - Arian Foster is on another planet, and I'd pick over Mario if it came down to a choice. This year proved you can scheme an effective pass rush. You can't elevate the running game the way Foster did with a back inferior to Foster.
This is one of the most successfully tight-lipped organizations in all of sports. Whatever smoke signals you're seeing are total conjecture.
Cant say I agree. The short lifespan of RB's isn't about big injuries, its about the ongoing pounding they take. If anything, McGahee missing time, then being able to come off the bench have probably prolonged his career. Look at Larry Johnson, Marion Barber, Westbrook, LT, etc... those guys are the norm.
To me, Myers is a bigger priority than Mario. He's that good. That said, I'm not discouraged yet. I don't think much has leaked from the Texans' side of things.
If LT is the norm, sign me up! After his 2nd year in the league(every bit as comparable to Arian), he went on to enjoy 6 more years of solid production, with his career year being in year 4 of that! Arian for 5 more years would be a risk worth taking, IMO!
In their first 4 years of existence (2002-2006) the Texans were terrible defensively. They gave up and AVG of 23.5PPG and 353YPG. They then spent the #1 overall pick on Mario Williams in 2006 and gave him a 6 year $54 million dollar contract. The change in the defensive numbers were remarkable. For the next 4 years the defense gave up 23.8PPG and 344YPG. Mario Gets injured in 2011 and Brooks Reed / Barwin step up to fill this huge void left by Mario. They do pretty good and the defense gives up only 17.4PPG and 285.7YPG. WHAT AN IMPACT PLAYER!!! We need to resign Mario Williams IMMEDIATELY. He obviously has such an effect on how well our defense plays that we need to pay him the $15 million plus a year he will command.
I think the biggest difference between the two is that Foster can be franchised for a much smaller number. Therefore he has much less leverage when it comes to a long term deal. As much as I hate it, I don't really see a scenario where we retain Mario unless we give up any hope of getting a WR in FA. And right now I'd much prefer getting a WR and perhaps a CB rather than keeping another 3-4 OLB.
ooooooooooooor it could be that they finally decided that playing Defense wins games in the NFL and got a mastermind in Wade and his scheme to tag along. =/
I would be completely cool with letting Myers walk if it meant that the Texans re-sign Mario and Arian. I'm also ok with a center with the first round pick but WR is also another hole to fill.
In defensive YARDS ranking, it went '03: 31st '04: 23 '05: 31 (year before Mario) '06: 24 '07: 24 '08: 22 '09: 13 '10: 30 '11: 2 Going by that, you can say Mario held the defense steady at least 5 spots. There was marginal, incremental improvement until '10 where it all collapsed. Even that year '10, the Texans run D was THE SAME (or arguably BETTER in YPC) as '09 when the whole D was 13th. Its the PASS D that was a flaming hot pile.
I heard ex-player Marcellus Wiley on radio say that NFL contract restructuring isnt THAT big a deal for the player, because they really don't lose anything (and in rare times might actually GAIN). He said the player still gets ALL THEIR MONEY where its through getting more guranteed money or just backloading some onto another year. I guess its the legalities and rules that are the tricky part.
is this poll even necessary...whoever picked mario needs to watch the last 2 seasons or just gtfo...its not even close..
