www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/red-zone-scoring-pct 2011: 23rd 2010: 5th 2009: 13th 2008: 26th 2007: 4th I attribute that sudden dropoff to Schaub's absence more than Vickers' poor play. The last time we were unjustifiably bad in the red zone was 2008 (26th).
we were piss poor redzone team, because tate is not a red zone RB, see the saints game, if foster played in that game, we have scored more TDs in the red zone and not a lot of FGs like the texans did.
No, no, let me clarify -- I never meant we were bad this year. I was saying that historically, I've had to deal with the Texans struggling in the red zone. And like Magneto who had to wear a number on his wrist for the rest of his life -- "never again".
This is why there's much too much hand-wringing over WR. People have it in their head that you need a second WR to stretch the field, blah, blah, blah... Any traditional use of a WR, fashioned by Bill Walsh in 1982, has no relevance to the offense the Texans actually run. As is, they have three very significant receiving weapons: Johnson, Daniels and Foster. If Casey can stay healthy and take additional snaps at FB, that's a 4th. If you assume Dressen's production will be fairly replaced - that's 5. I'm 5 deep and haven't even mentioned WR2, let a lone WR3. This is why I'll be very surprised if a) they draft a WR in round 1 (barring a big-time prospect falling); b) release Jacoby Jones, who could very literally be the 7th option on a day when the offense is cranking.
The hand-wringing over the immediate need for a WR2 is overstated, but the longterm need is understated, IMO. The book is out on Jacoby, he sucks, he's never going to be a #1, and Andre's mortality is quickly catching up with him. He's missed more games than Matt Schaub over the past 5 years and he's going to be 31 when the season starts. When Andre is out, we have no wideout capable of filling the #1 spot. When he's out, everyone suffers. It is a legitimate problem, no matter how many tight ends, running backs, or H-backs you have on the roster with nice hands. But, that's just how it's going to be for now. We can't have viable depth at *every* position. But, even with that being a reality, a young, capable WR2 who can succeed Andre's throne in 2-3 years (the typical time it takes to for a WR to hit his stride) is absolutely needed. Now is the time to worry about it, not later when it's too late. This is a draft where we can afford to draft for the future/BPA. So I'm not going to be shocked if we take a WR early. Maybe not first round, but one of our first 3 picks (#52 or #77) for sure.
Fair point, re: heir apparent - though, I would qualify that to some degree - there is no 1:1 replacing of an Andre Johnson. They definitely need to add quality depth and develop players among the position group (Walter, too, will eventually need to be replaced)... but that's much easier said than done and not something you can force. They need to go BPA, period; not BWRA. But back to hand-wringing... AJ missed 7 games in 2007 - that was five years ago. He then played 45 in a row before wisely being shut down in a lost 2010 season - if they had playoff hopes, he likely suits up for all 16. I'm giving him a mulligan for last year - no offseason is likely a big reason why hamstrings start tearing. (Note: Foster and Joseph both had hamstring issues last year, too.)Beyond that, he was on AJ-like paces in both years. I think much too much is being made of his demise. If he blows a hamstring in training camp........ But, as with Schaub, there's nothing "lingering" about AJ's injuries - they've happened in the course of normal week-to-week combat. I'm not worried about him...
I don't want to draft a WR2 in the first round. I wanted a practical solution like Eddie Royal. But yes, I agree, we need to get Andre's replacement in here learning the system sooner than later. What pisses me off isn't the WR situation as it stands, or the fact we haven't cut Jones, what pisses me off is how much Jones makes. He makes a ton of money for a "7th option" on a good day....
On Jacoby and his salary, look at it this way: By continuing to hold onto him, other teams will go out and spend their cap room. Meanwhile, Jacoby will be stuck in purgatory on the Texans' roster. Then, come training camp, when most/all other teams are without meaningful cap room, Kubiak and Rick Smith can approach Jacoby and ask him to either (a) take a pay cut (a la Walter) or (b) have fun making the league minimum on another team. Seems like the smart play to me. You either have a cheaper Jacoby or NO Jacoby. I'm okay with either of those.
I'm on an ipad, so i can't get a link right now--i'm just going off of what my eyes have been telling me. Saying the texans only use the fullback 30% of the time is like saying third down isn't important. That's about 1 third of the time. It's very important.
It almost sounds like you're saying "besides his injuries in 2010 and 2011, he wasn't injured in 2010 or 2011." He played hurt throughout 2010 and that's admirable, but still troubling. And offseason or no offseason, he missed significant time in 2011. No player in the league had an offseason last year, but most of them managed to avoid hamstring injuries that caused them to miss multiple games. AJ didn't. I'm not saying he should retire today or anything, but I don't see how any reasonable Texan fan can say they're not worried at all about his health for next year. Do you honestly expect him to play in 16 games next year?
No, it isn't. We had this *same* debate last year circa Vonta Leach and we got our answer. The Texans (for the amount of times they run the ball, especially) rarely utilize a fullback. Total non-issue. Leach was better than Vickers (and Casey) and we trucked people anyway. A player the caliber of Vickers is easily replaceable, if not completely expendable. This is nothing worth worrying about, let alone wasting breath over.
Foster missed Week 1 and Week 3 entirely, and admittedly wasn't himself for his one half of Week 2 because of the ongoing hamstring issue. His first (and only) healthy game with Casey at FB was Week 4 against the vaunted Steelers run D, and he rushed 30 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. Your eyes are deceiving you, if that's what you believe. Casey was just fine as a run blocker.
After going back and compiling all those stats from weeks 1-5, I watched a good amount of clips of Casey's run blocking. I was surprised and impressed. He gets to the 2nd level VERY quickly and makes effective contact. Against the Steelers and Colts he made some key blocks on some big runs. Having a competent blocker that can do the kind of damage he does catching passes gives this offense a whole new wrinkle. In play action, he could be downright deadly.
Exactly what I saw, too. Fullback is the Youtube position of the NFL, in that most fans seem to base everything on how physical a player looks aesthetically and the one or two times per game he'll have a chance to completely lay someone out for a highlight play. Problem is, that's about 10% (at most) of what goes into blocking.
I don't get what's "troubling" about an ankle injury that is fully healed (and didn't seemingly impact his #s, anyway) and a completely unrelated hamstring issue (that should be healed, come September)? BTW, Arian Foster missed most of camp, all of the preseason and three regular season games because of a hamstring last year. Miles Austin missed a total of six games due to a hamstring issue. Knowshon was limited to 17 carries the first 6 games of the year due to a hamstring issue.... A lot of hamstrings felt the impact of a truncated offseason. Again, why wouldn't he?
This isn't hard to understand. Is 31 old for a NFL skill position football player? Yes. Does AJ have a history of injury? Check. Is AJ the most important player on the Texans? Yep. Is lack of depth and level of dropoff at wideout the most significant of any position group. Again yes. Why you insist on devaluing these concerns just makes you seem like an apologist. Besides the health of Schaub, it the the biggest worry of the entire team and why just about everyone other than you thinks drafting a WR2 is a neccessity.
a history of injury? 2o year olds get an ankle sprain, but none of them can withstand the pain and carry out an entire season with that injury? You can be banging kim K, third year in the league and still suffer a hamstring injury. Last season, there were more hamstring injuries than ever. It had nothing to do with AJ being 31. he has a good three seasons lelf before he drops off to maybe 1000 yards instead of 1,500. All that said, you want to provide schaubie with the best arsenal, so fleener or smith would be fine with me. And I have no doubt one of our picks will turn out to be a holy phenom. Man, Has this thread been hijacked. Any one hear Bradie james comments that the Texans are the best team in Texas? that was fun to hear. :grin:
No. Wes Welker, Roddy White, Steve Smith, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Lloyd, Anquan Boldin, Tony Gonzalez – all extremely productive football players as old, or older, than Andre Johnson. You’re creating a pattern out of thin air – how does an ankle sprain have any relation to a hamstring? These are not reoccurring injuries. Uhm… no. He’s third on offense behind Schaub and Foster. And he’d rank behind Jonathan Joseph, at the very least, from the defensive side. This isn't 2005. They went 7-4 in games he didn't at least finish last year, including beating three playoff teams. It’s never been a problem – they rolled up 41 and 37 points last year without Andre Johnson. Texan fans are completely oblivious to how vital WR2 and WR3 are to the passing game – they’re 4/5th+ priorities. What am I apologizing for? Because I'm not ready to buy Andre Johnson a gold watch and send him off into the sunset with Murtaugh? His performance has shown no drop-off – and that’s with him fighting through various injuries the past two years. There’s absolutely no reason to be worried about Andre Johnson’s health moving forward - he'll be 100% healthy this summer. As for finding a replacement – this is a system. Guys like Andre Johnson make the system better, to be certain – but it can still thrive without him, or an equivalent replacement. Besides, Andre Johnsons are once-a-decade players. They’ll (probably) never 1:1 replace him. And they sure don’t need to start throwing draft picks away trying to do so. If a good one falls into their lap, I’m sure they’ll pull the trigger. But I would wager they don’t list WR as high a priority as fans do.
Lets just go with the WRs to block. Much like drafting corners to support the run... Lets make it okay to draft Garrett Graham for "insurance" for our #1 tight end. But no insurance behind our #1 WR. Cuz we know Lestar Jean will become something past a camp prospect.
There are 7 rounds in the NFL draft; the Texans have 8 picks. You don't have to address the WR position in round 1. There are scores and scores and scores of not-round 1 WRs having huge impacts on the NFL.
