What did you want them to do? Who was available that we could have realistically gotten? They tried to get Pace, and Pace used them. None, I repeat NONE, of the tackles available in the first round of this draft would have started on out team, so why not take a very good DT to backup an aging Walker and Payne (coming off injuries). They switched schemes last year and it takes time to learn, add to that it was Wand's first year. In year 2, 610am interivewed Boselli and asked him about Wand. The guy was extremely complementary about him when he did not have to be. That should tell you the guy has talent. The line will be fine, and Carr's sack numbers will drop because 1) the line will play better due to experience with the system 2) Carr will use shorter drops and get rid of the ball more quickly. They will be fine.
I do think the line will improve. I would like to see Victor Riley get a real shot at starting. With the shorter routes from the WR, Carr should have a much better and less painful season. I also think that Mathis is going to emerge as the #2 WR pretty early, if not in Week 1. As long as he's got good hands, that speed will give him an advantage over most corners. I'm still not sure why they bothered to bring Bradford back. I think he might be looking at #4 or #5 receiver at this point. Mathis, Gaffney and Armstrong could all be ahead of him.
I wanted them to draft Oklahoma tackle Jammal Brown or trade for an offensive lineman with another team. I hope you are right, but I still have this picture in my head of Carr running for his life. Don't believe the hype, the offensive line is a huge questionmark. And if the right answer doesn't emerge, big trouble, big disappointment. Bottomline, the Texans dropped the ball on this one and will be very lucky if it doesn't cost them the season.
I have to disagree. Jamal Brown is a good run blocker, but will be questionable in the passing game (BTW that is the scouting report on Wand). There was no way the Texans could have traded for an OT, they would have gotten raped. Teams aren't going to trade good OTs, as they are too hard to find. We would have given up way too much and would have paid the price later on down the road. We don't have enough overall talent to give up a bunch of picks for 1 player- if you could even find a team willing to trade a good LT. I do understand the O-line is a question mark, but again this will be the second year in the "zone" blocking scheme - ie they should improve. Their young guys (Wand and Pitts - OG new position) should be better due to more experience. Additionally they will change their scheme on O (I believe they will resemble more of a west coast offense - shorter routes and more timing routes) which will help Carr get rid of the ball faster - not to mention Carr's maturation will help him avoid sacks. Also, Victor Riley could certainly emerge as a factor as he has been a pretty good OT over the years.
First round - fine. What about the other 6 rounds of the draft? Or the draft before? Or the one before? And I find it hard to believe that "none" of the available tackles would start when the Texans were apparently looking at moving awful Pitts back to T to replace the piss-awful Wand at one point this summer. Wand stinks, and being a 3rd round sleeper (if he's lucky) without much of a reputation - just idly hoping he gets better seems silly. When used-up players like Zach Wiegert can walk in off the street and become one of the anchors of the OL, you have huge problems. It's not a "new system", it's the fact that the personnel running the system sucks. Bad. Probably worse than anybody in the NFL, due to the simple fact that the area has not been addressed sufficiently in any offseason since the Boselli plan backfired 3 years ago.
