I'm pretty sure most QBs would be like that if they had to play behind this OL for the past four seasons. He hasn't had much of an opportunity to play the QB position like it should be played. The time he has, he's made good on it. I don't know which way he'll turn out, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for one more season under improved coaching and an improved OL.
Agreed. The Texans needed a "face" for the franchise and well, he definitely had the face to go along with an unbelievable stat sheet. Let's not forget that Bosselli set us back quite a bit but having a rookie QB in a brand new franchise had disappointment written all over it. If you could do it all over again, I would have selected Peppers and tried to find a vet QB.
But that was another short-sighted move desinged to create a buzz/hype without really analyzing if it was best for the team. Sure, they managed to get Walker and Payne from Jacksonville as well (which were good moves)... but they should have had a contingency plan in place if Bosseli never made it back (which they never did... unless you consider Chester Pitts, a guy who's apparently still fighting for his starting job according to today's paper, a backup plan). I should ease up a bit... as its easy to sit here now 4 years later and criticize these moves. But, 4 years ago, there was so much hype surrounding the return of the NFL... even I felt that the team could do no wrong, and I was all for them taking gambles on Bosseli and Carr. It was fun to have a team again, and one that didn't have the negative/cursed aura surrounding them like the Oilers did. But alas, 4 years later, you have to look back and analyze "what went wrong"... that's what happens when novelty wears off, and you actually need a team to show you something to remain interested in them. In many ways, this sort of thinking influenced the draft this year... they didn't go for the "sexy" pick with Reggie Bush. They didn't go for the quick payoff. Hell, THIS is the sort of draft the team should have had as an expansion team... an amazing DL prospect, a solid MLB, good OL prospects... I know many people hate the fact that they did this, but this team needed a "reset" button in the worst way possible. I don't blame them for taking the route they did, but times would be better right now had they done this earlier.
Well, how can you argue with such insightful analysis.... Nick, I agree. Hindsight is always 20/20, but if I had it to do over again, I would not have taken Carr #1. I would have either taken Peppers, or traded down for more picks. But the Texans were kind of pressured into taking a QB in order to create excitement.
And there was nothing wrong with that... they succeeded in creating a marketable product that didn't have to win games to do well at the box office, with merchandise, and they had personalities/pretty faces to show off to the national media. People think that Houston was so desperate for football that they could have put anybody out there and done well with interest... but I disagree... Houston's sports interest wax's and wanes with all sports. Even when the Oilers were perennial playoff contenders, Randalls still had to bail them out to avoid the blackout restrictions (even for some playoff games, no less)... and those teams had plenty of stars/recognizable faces as well. If Kubiak can coach up this line into a functional unit, and Mario becomes an all-pro, a lot of revisionist mistakes this team has made will be forgotten... but if it doesn't happen, this franchise should serve as a prime example of what not to do with an expansion team (if your only goal is to start winning as soon as possible).
Don't forget 2 QBs that would have been easily picked over Carr. I'm not as disappointed with our first draft as I was with the following 3, we made bonheaded picks that set us back so much: 1. Bennie Joppru? You can't predict the all the injuries would have, but LJ Smith and Jason Whitten have been very good TEs to say the least. 2. Ragone in the 3rd Round? I know, let's find a 3rd string backup rookie QB, that's exactly what we need. 3. Trading up for Jason Babin? There weren't a whole lot of good picks after #27 but trading up for him was just a bad move. 4. Travis freak'n Johnson? This one really pissed me off, you passed on Derrick Johnson, David Pollack, Erasmus James, and Marcus Spears for Travis Johnson? This guy was practicing with the freak'n 3rd team for the offseason.
I for one really was calling for this predraft. I wanted Peppers with the first pick and Trent Dilfer as a free agent. There were to many good QB's coming out the next couple of years to take one in our first year. I know most of the time QB is the "face of the franchise". That doesnt make it a smart move for an expansion franchise to draft a QB with its first pick ever. It was a stupid move no matter what kind of a spin is put on it. When Tampa won its Superbowl who was the face of that team? Sapp! When the Ravens won their title who was the face of that team? Ray Lewis. Both defensive players. It was a mistake to draft Carr. We did draft him however and he has done everything asked of him and more. He has taken a beating every year and stood up to the challenge. Because of that I hope he does well and I'm pulling for him.
Possum and gucci888, where is Peppers now? I haven't heard too much of him. I 'memmer Moon could bench press 415, I think, someone CMIIAW.
Are you kidding? If youare not then= He plays for Carolina and is considered by experts as one of the best defensive linemen in the game. In his 4 years he has accumilated 40.5 sacks, 3 ints for 164 yards in returns (Thats an avg of 54.7 per int), forced 14 fumbles and defensed 20 passes. Started in the last 2 pro bowls. If you have enough time here is a list of his accomplishments. http://www.panthers.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=894
Peppers is an animal. We could have even taken Roy Williams (went to the cowboys 5th overall that year). I wanted Roy Williams. We would not have gone wrong with either of those two instead of Carr. I think Capers was the demise of this franchise and his conservative ways influenced our draft picks negatively. Still can't believe we didn't draft Derrick Johnson, that one hurts the most........ for now.
To be fair, both Brady and Big Ben were/are the face of their superbowl teams, but they also had one of the best defenses in the game at the time. Like I posted, I understand why they chose Carr, we needed a "face" for the franchise. What I like about this past draft is that Kubiak knew how important it was to get our defense turned around, no matter how good our offense can be, we're not going anywhere if we're 31st in the league on D.
This seems an overwhelming convincer for the Texans they don't like having a player unsigned Rocket River
BINGO I think it was unfair to Carr because too much pressure besides I thought we should have got some QB HACK to be back there and to take the lumps for a couple of years Trent Dilfer would have been prefect Then again . .the league has moved to CARE TAKERS and CLOCK MANAGERS rather than Play Making QBs Rocket RIver
someone mentioned he played in a prostyle offense in Fresno. I don't know too much about the styles of offenses ie West coast offense, etc. but isn't that what Carr is playing in right now? He must have had a better offensive line in Fresno with the stats he accumulated over there. I was also wondering why don't we just set the offense similar to Fresno's to maximize his skills if we aren't already?
Here are the top 20 picks that year. Of these 20, using hindsight, who would you rather have than david carr? I'd take (Peppers, Roy williams, Jammer, John Henderson, Dwight Freeney & Jeremy Shockey). Peppers, Freeney, Henderson, & Roy Williams are all Pro-Bowl starters. 1. Houston David Carr QB Fresno State 2. Carolina Julius Peppers DE North Carolina 3. Detroit Joey Harrington QB Oregon 4. Buffalo Mike Williams OT Texas 5. San Diego Quentin Jammer CB Texas 6. Kansas City (from Dallas) Ryan Sims DT North Carolina 7. Minnesota Bryant McKinnie OT Miami (Fla) 8. Dallas (from Kansas City) Roy Williams SS Oklahoma 9. Jacksonville John Henderson DT Tennessee 10. Cincinnati Levi Jones OT Arizona State 11. Indianapolis Dwight Freeney DE Syracuse 12. Arizona Wendell Bryant DT Wisconsin 13. New Orleans Donte Stallworth WR Tennessee 14. NY Giants (from Tennessee) Jeremy Shockey TE Miami (Fla) 15. Tennessee (from NY Giants) Albert Haynesworth DT Tennessee
I wanted Bryant McKinnie all along, it was absurdly stupid to put a rookie QB straight into the fire on an expansion team. I know what the Texans were trying to do with Bosseli and Ryan Young was hit the ground running and be competitive from the start. That was the strategy on both sides of the ball if you look at how the team was initially built. In hindsight we should have taken young guys who had shown potential but for one reason or another they were left unprotected in the expansion draft. We also should have built our core by drafting lineman and skill players such as corners or wideouts (they did ok here with Dunta and AJ) I am 100 percent confident that if the team had been built this way we might have had the 2-14 season in year one but that we would have steadily gotten better each year. As it stands Kubiak is in a hole from the start and there are still as many questions about the team as there were after year one.
His stats are even more astounding when you factor in that he was playing in the super competitive WAC against football powerhouses such as Oregon State, Tulsa, Lousiana Tech, Colorado State, Boise State, Rice, SMU, Nevada, San Jose State, and Utah State.
