Guess what: the Texans aren't picking first in the draft this year. I highly doubt you (or any fan) has seen this guy enough to say what his exact worth is, but since he's a projected mid first rounder, and they pick in the mid first round, I don't see the travesty you do. But anyway, you're saying that you know other players will pan out? If you "know" this, then what are you doing here?
Thats the problem, Sammy Boy, he's an OT projected to go in the mid 1st round. That shows how worthless the OT class is when your best prospect cant crack the top 10. If he was placed in last years draft, he wouldnt sniff the 1st round. He just isnt that talented and I dont see the obsession you have with him. The guy isnt necessarily a step up from Wand at this point, so why waste your 1st on him if the odds of him starting over Wand arent better than 50/50? Really Sammy Boy? Go back and find where I said that "I know". I dont ever recall saying something like that. I may have said something more along the lines of "You use your 1st pick on someone you know will pan out, not on someone you hope will pan out." And this is quite reasonable, IMO. The Texans dont have one glaring weakness...they have many holes to fill. Therefore, with this said, we can upgrade our team in many ways. My opinion is that we take a position that we can upgrade the most in. Taking a Troy Williamson, for instance, is a huge upgrade over Corey Bradford. Taking a Derrick Johnson would allow our ILB to be set for years to come. Taking Pac-man Jones would give us a lethal CB combo, one in which could potentially be the best duo in the NFL in 3 years. These picks would all have a huge impact on the development of the team. Taking Alex Barron just does not give the team that impact player and that is why he would be a waste with our first pick. He could be an upgrade over Wand, but Williamson or Edwards or Williams is an upgrade over Bradford/Gaffney, DJ is an upgrade over any linebacker we have, Pac-man Jones is an upgrade over the 33 year old Glenn, Shawne Merriman is an upgrade over Wong on the outside, Ronnie Brown is an upgrade over Dom Davis, etc... You cant say the same thing about Barron. The guy is a great pass protector, but his run blocking is suspect. Great athlete, great potential, but that says nothing about how is game will translate in the pros. Its too much of a gamble at this stage of the game for the Texans.
LOL, read your own post rezdawg - you are sure that these other prospects are sure things "is an upgrade", based on no more evidence than you haave about Barron being a bust (reading the Strengths & Weaknesses column in some NFL draft website - no doubt, unless of course you've been tracking Shawne Merriman since last year.) Oh, and you may want to add Jamie Sharper's ILB spot to that position where they need upgrades - I guess that 3rd round draft pick we fetched for him will have to suffice, right? Oh wait....
Regarding the "evidence", I look at footage. Every website says that Barron will be the savior for the Texans at LT. I dont see it and Im not quite sure why they think he is as good as he is. Sorry, but I dont see how a good 40 time and vertical leap help his ability to bulldoze a defensive end. And after watching every Texans game and watching a majority of players that are being projected in the top few rounds, I can come up with what I believe to be "upgrades". I dont need a website spoon feeding me the information like you need it. Jamie Sharper's release doesnt mean we couldnt fetch a draft pick, it means that the Texans have bigger plans with their cap space. Im not sure what they are planning on doing, but I would bet that the draft day will be an interesting one with Casserly and Co....Shaun Alexander anyone?
Denial..... So your position is that, we could have gotten a whole bunch of stuff for Sharper, but we just released him instead? Yeah, and the Rockets cut Andre Barret rather than trade him for LeBron James in order to stay under the salary cap. Don't make me quote your posts in the other thread where you guaranteed he would never be released for nothing and told me I was on crack if I thought differently , all the while talking about all of the great stuff he would bring back in a trade.
No doubt I was hoping for a 3rd rounder. I also did mention that a 4th rounder is more likely. However, look at the situation. What good is it for the Texans to just release him outright? You dont think they could have gotten a 7th rounder for him? Sure they could have, and a 7th rounder beats getting nothing for him. So, there must be a reason for it. Otherwise, purely idiotic move by the Texans. I know Charlie is smarter than that, so I would say that its safe to assume that this move was made to clear space for something bigger. Take this info along with the fact that Casserly has talked about not staying put at 13 and youve got yourself an interesting situation. I would say that he has something up his sleeve and that draft day will be a big day for the Texans.
The flaw in your conspiracy theory is that there is nothing to stop them from trading him for a 7th round pick and making a move for "something bigger". In fact it is basically identical, since the rookie salary pool is separate. How long are you going to cling to the fantasy that he had trade value? He had none- his contract made him untradeable. That's why he was released. Repeat after me: He had no trade value. He had no trade value. He had no trade value.
As long as you are clinging to the fact that Barron is the answer at LT, I will continue to cling on to my fantasy of Sharper having trade value. When you realize that Barron isnt a good pick at 13, I will give you that Sharper sucks balls.
LOL what? I'm not even saying that Barron is good, I'm saying it's absurd that you have automatically decided that he's a bust based on a whim. As for Sharper - I never said he sucks, I said he was untradable - it is a proven fact that he was, proven by his release yesterday.
Im not saying that he is a bust. He just isnt that much better than Wand, IMO. I think Wand will make big improvement this year and that is why I see it as a wasted selection if we go after Barron with our first pick. We can improve different parts of this team more dramatically if we go a different route with our first pick. As for Sharper, I would say that he F'ed himself by coming out and asking to be released. Looking back, this was the reason he may have become untradeable. Had he kept quiet, teams may have been more willing to get involved in a trade. And a trade would have assured Sharper of keeping that bloated contract of his. Now, he has to find a team to sign him...at a lower price.
What part of 6 million dollar salary for slightly above average LB do you not get? No team in their right mind would trade for him at that price. That's why nobody did. Sharper asked to be released earlier because he knew he was going to be released later.
LOL, so now he's slightly above average? C'mon now. I will give you that 6 million is a hefty price for what he brings, but he is definitely not slightly above average. On a side note, with this newfound cap space, I think the Texans should cut Gary Walker and absorb all the cap hit this year. That contract is brutal.
I have no qualms calling him slightly above average, considering the degree to which you monumentally overestimated his value earlier. He's adequate for what he does, like Len Pasquarelli said he's somewhat limited: solid, won't make mistakes, but he's not ray lewis in there, or anything close
Well, shoot, I think everyone knows he is nowhere near Ray Lewis, but he is a solid LB, in the echelon of "Not quite Pro Bowl material, but almost". Just one more thing, how do I find out the story behind "sura faints"? Its killing me softly.
Mock draft from NFL Draft Countdown... 1. SF - Aaron Rodgers 2. Miami - Ronnie Brown 3. Cleveland - Alex Smith 4. Chicago - Cedric Benson 5. Tampa Bay - Mike Williams 6. Tennessee - Alex Barron 7. Minnesota - Braylon Edwards 8. Arizona - Antrel Rolle 9. Washington - Pacman Jones 10. Detroit - Derrick Johnson 11. Dallas - Shawne Merriman 12. San Diego - Marcus Spears 13. Houston - DeMarcus Ware To say the linebacker corps in Houston are going through some restructuring this offseason would be an understatement. Jay Foreman is gone, Jamie Sharper will likely be either traded or released, Kailee Wong is being moved inside and Morlon Greenwood was signed as a free agent. That leaves one spot on the outside still open opposite of Jason Babin and an ideal fit in that role would seem to be Demarcus Ware, whose stock is skyrocketing. A dynamic pass rusher, Ware has tremendous speed off the edge and showed in Mobile at the Senior Bowl that he can dominate against top competition. One area the team is reportedly looking to address that may surprise some people is wide receiver so don't rule out someone like Troy Williamson being a very realistic option for them here. Houston has also been looking to land a top left tackle (take note of their courtship of Orlando Pace earlier this year) so if Alex Barron somehow fell this far he would receive serious consideration as well. And finally, the defensive line is solid but could use an infusion of youth if for nothing else other than depth at both end and tackle. As you can see the Texans have a number of options but Ware is such a great fit for their scheme that he would be tough to pass on, although the whispers are becoming increasingly louder in regards to the team targeting a top wideout such as Williamson with this selection so watch that situation as it develops over the next couple of weeks. 14. Panthers - Cadillac Williams 15. Chiefs - David Pollack 16. Saints - Thomas Davis 17. Bengals - Travis Johnson 18. Vikings - Erasmus James 19. Rams - Jammal Brown 20. Cowboys - Troy Williamson 21. Jaguars - Khalif Barnes 22. Ravens - Mark Clayton 23. Seahawks - Darryl Blackstock 24. Packers - Brodney Pool 25. Broncos - Carlos Rogers 26. Jets - Heath Miller 27. Falcons - Dan Cody 28. Chargers - Roddy White 29. Colts - Fabian Washington 30. Steelers - Matt Jones 31. Eagles - Shaun Cody 32. Patriots - Channing Crowder http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html
