Texans Draft-Day Ineptitude (First Day)

I think you mean Patrick Ramsey, not Trent Green.

 

I didn't read that anywhere, but I could be wrong.

I don't think anyone expects the Texans to seriously compete for a playoff spot next year. I wouldn't be completely surprised if they made it to December with a shot, but realistically, they're probably looking at 2008 to really compete. I think that gives us another offseason and a half to shore up the defense (which improved dramatically last season) and improve the QB situation. It doesn't necessarily have to be done this season. I'm guessing they'll address it in the draft either with Quinn in the first round or in the second or third rounds. If they have to start Ramsey or Trent Green this year, it's by no means the final answer to the QB question.

I know Mario didn't have the greatest season last year, but it's not like he was a huge bust. Having him on the DL is much better than Babin/Weaver/some DL off the street/some other DL off the street. Passing on VY, ML (can someone explain to me why they're now picking ahead of us after adding a "franchise" QB?), or JC doesn't mean the end of the world for the Texans because we don't have a franchise QB in March 2007.

As bad as our QB position played last season, we still tripled our win total and were an OT away from having the same exact record as the team led by the guy everyone wants to annoint as the next HOF QB. Excuse me for not wanting to put a gun in my mouth when I think about the Texans' future.

How's that for hyperbole?

 

I hate to disagree here but I STILL don't understand those 2 decisions to this day.

 

hard to believe, but the texans had a far greater defensive need than offensive need heading into last year's draft. looking at the certified top prospects (the guys who went 1-4), their first order of business was to likely determine the differential between what they had on their roster and who was available?
williams vs babin/peek/weaver
bush vs. davis/morency
young vs. carr
fergueson vs pitts/wand

not to slight bush or young, but, really, fergueson and williams offered the biggest, most significant upgrades, imo; they also happen to play positions that are far "easier" to project (easier is always relative when it comes to the draft). carr was appealing because kubiak had 4 years of NFL game action to evaluate. no projections, no guesses - here's how he did against real, live NFL competition and here's what we can do to make him better. compare that to trying to figure out how a QBs college game will translate to sundays and it's a pretty easy choice, assuming the NFL guy has potential/talent.

so given the availablity of a "safe," but significant upgrade + a QB kubiak could properly evaluate made more sense than a college QB and money you may or may not have been able to use to upgrade positions of need.

think of this way: what if young were a bust and they couldn't sign anyone with the money from carr's release? are you telling me they'd be in better shape than they are now? young/cap space had a higher ceiling, yes; but also a much graver consequence.

 

I think the talk of Young here is too much...He isnt as good as you guys are making him out to be, at least not right now. Pacman single handedly won them a couple games. The Titans could have very easily been sitting at 5-6 wins...and nobody would be drooling over Young as they are now.

I dont think the Titans will match their win total from last year...which will have people backing off from anointing Young as the best thing since sliced bread.

 

I think he has great potential...I just think EVERYTHING fell in the right place last year for Young. You cant tell me that a few of those wins werent purely because of the defensive effort of the Titans.

 

Nope, you either think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread or you're a complete concussed moron like Hoge. There is no in-between.

 

he was a rookie. he made some big plays in games where they were needed. i have been among his biggest fans, and i wasn't even sure he'd get a chance to play last season. instead, he took over the starting role and did really well. i believe he will be a great NFL player.

 

here are the categories in which they ranked among the bottom three in 2005:
yard/catch allowed (30th);
comp % allowed (30th);
total D (31st);
yards/attempt allowed (31st);
scoring D (32nd);
rushing D (32nd);
total O (30th);
passing O (30th)

based on this rather fair assessment of their 2005 season, their biggest need was defense. that they used their top 2 picks on defensive players (as well as gave their biggest FA contract to a defensive player) confirms the organization drew the same conclusion.

so i should assume the improvements the defense made last year had absolutely nothing to do with the team's win total increasing from 2 to 6? it was just a coincidence?

because, offensively, they either regressed (the running game fell from 15th to 21st) or progressed incrementally (28th overall; 27th passing, up from 30th and 30th), while the defense made significant progress in every statistical category (24th overall; 25th scoring; 20th against the run; 27th against the pass).

this is nothing more than UT homerism. trying to project a DE is far easier than trying to project a QB.

yes, because lord knows, the baylor bears and the pittsburgh steelers are comparable when it comes to comparing college players to pro players.

once again, for the infinityeth time, it was not a choice of simply carr over young.

you can't see it, but my eyes are rolling.

let me stop you right there - no one said vy was, is or will be a bust. i said IF - let me be emphatic: IF he had been a bust AND they failed to lure a top FA with the carr money, they'd be in a far bigger hole.

 

Should the rest of the NFL disband? Because the way I look at it, 12 teams made the playoffs this season without Vince Young. 2 teams played in the Super Bowl without Vince Young. It seems there are other ways to build a winning football team besides having Vince Young, and if that's true, then it would seem completely illogical and ridiculous to say a problem is "beyond repair."

Also, Williams had 14.5 sacks his final season at NC State... to claim that wasn't even the best lineman on his team is pretty hilarious. Or, if you're talking about the Texans, who?

 

Who on the Texans was a better lineman?

 

Hilarious.

 

I know. It's trolls like him that are ruining this forum. Most of us here, regardless of how we felt about the decision last draft want the team to succeed and aren't dumb enough to say that because of one draft, they'll never have a good team.

He admits to not even being a Texan fan. Troll.

BTW, everyone loves to bring up Bowie over Jordan. Who made it to the Finals first? BOOYA.

 

the other component of this is how its processed. "bowie over jordan" is, obviously, impossible to defend. and its easy to dump on the pick 5, 10, 15, 20 years after the fact.

but at the time, bowie over jordan was very easily defensible. it's not like bowie was some college scrub plucked from obscurity; he was a gifted low-post presence from a perrenial powerhouse program. and, oh yeah, portland had a guy named drexler already on the team who was a much better pro prospect at the time of his draft than jordan was. but the years and loudmouth pundits have washed it of any context and now, it's just an easily digestible catchprase: "bowie over jordan."

looking at the decision the texans had to make, "williams over bush" or "carr over young" are the soon-to-be (if not already) ready-made catchphrases, but it was far more complex than that. even MM, an unabashed vince young backer, admits, "i wasn't even sure he'd get a chance to play last season." there was no such potential learning curve for mario williams. given kubiak's belief he could positively impact carr's performance, combined with mario impacting one of the team's consistently greatest needs, i don't think it's hard to see their perspective.

it's not like they deemed young unworthy; they merely deemed carr + williams more worthy. mcnair told young's mother he would have been the pick, otherwise. they recognized and appreciated young's potential.

 

look..i think they made an awful mistake. but beyond repair? uh...no.

 

it wasn't just bowie was picked in front of jordan, he was injury plagued at kentucky. he did end up having a better career than alot of people realize. he actually played 10 seasons.