I'm not going to put it all on Rick. If Wade gets credit for Watt, then he needs to take at least some of the blame for our defensive misses as well. I have to believe he was telling Rick and Gary that these DE's could play OLB in his system. But yeah, one thing we haven't been very successful at since moving to the 3-4 has been finding an OLB. Barwin had one good year. Since then we've drafted Mercilus, Trevardo Williams, and Sam Montgomery, all 3 college 4-3 DE's that we've tried to convert with limited success. Mercilus has been OK but hasn't lived up to being a 1st round pick. I think it's just very difficult to try to convert DE's. It's very hit or miss. While I'd still prefer a QB at #1, I'm intrigued by this notion of bringing in an actual OLB to play OLB rather than continuing trying to covert Ends.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Source tells me <a href="https://twitter.com/46Mack">@46Mack</a> has five private workouts set up, one of them is with the Houston Texans. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NFLDraft&src=hash">#NFLDraft</a></p>— Lauren Brill (@LaurenBrill4) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenBrill4/statuses/447432099080200193">March 22, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I think just about any QB in the NFL could tear up any secondary in the NFL if they had that kind of time. Brady could have taken a quick nap in the pocket if he wanted to. The Texans had an unbelievably terrible pass rush when they sent less than 5.
You have to agree that at least quite a bit of our pass rush woes (although, off the top of my head, I don't think our pass defense was that bad statistically...could be wrong here...on the phone and don't want to look) are at least scheme and personnel assignment based. We all know Wade was trying to fit square pegs in round holes in the sense that he was not adapting to any specific player, opposing team, or injury he faced. That, by and large, in my opinion, is the main reason his history is what it is, and our team could not generate s huge pass rush all the time. The teams that schemes for his predictable defense are the ones that we couldn't get any pressure against. It seems as if you keep pushing Clowney because of his pass rush ability (as the main reason amongst many). If you're taking him for that ability alone, I think you're gonna be let down. You've got to be worried the inside move will be neutralized by more athletic tackles. You've also got to worry about his ability to bend around the outside. Then, you have the other questions we all know about. The guy isn't exactly a can't miss prospect who is going to light the world on fire coming in to the league. It's going to take time with him as well, although he will generate more highlight tackles than other rookies, probably. I just don't think he fixes as many problems with this team as people suggest. I think a good quarterback fixes more, but there's debate at whether there's a good enough qb for number one, and rightfully so. After that, I think Mack may give us more value than anyone else.
I would argue that he was backed into a corner with this team, his front 4, even with Watt, couldn't generate a pass rush to save their lives. Wade had no choice but to blitz pretty much constantly which puts a ton of pressure on the secondary and a good QB or OC can exploit that....and they did. The reason our pass rushing statistics were pretty decent was that we blitzed almost constantly. The options were either A. Blitz all the time and risk leaving receivers open or B. Don't blitz and give the QB a month to find an open guy. We REALLY needed a second legit pass rusher in the font 4 last year and we just didn't have one. I think in previous years Antonio Smith was more effective, but he was in decline and worthless all too often. Once Cushing went down, the defense was trash. His pass rush is amazing, but he's probably even better against the run, he's just an all around beast. The reason I don't think his moves would be neutralized easily is because he doesn't have to beat guys with speed the way Mack or Barr have to, he can bull rush as well which makes it very difficult for O linemen to guess one way or the other because if they guess wrong, he can just shove them out of the way or push them back into the QB. IMO he's a generational talent and being able to pair someone like that with Watt should lead to the Texans being able to get pressure on QB's without blitzing, this is especially important because RAC generally doesn't like to blitz very often in his defensive scheme. Any time you get a rookie, you have to expect a learning curve, I think Clowney will generate FAR more pressure and be a lot more disruptive than any other rookie and as we all know, disruption is production. If there was a legitimate #1 QB in this class, that's who I would be all for, I started out on the Bridgewater bandwagon before I really looked into it more. Since there isn't (or at least doesn't appear to be) I want the best player in the draft which IMO is Clowney. Mack is a very good all around OLB prospect, but IMO his ability to drop into coverage and his more fluid hips which allow him to bend around the tackle are the only advantages he has over Clowney. Mack is a pure speed rusher but if any blocker gets their hands on him, he's done. He has to operate in space to have any value as a rusher or even as a run stopper. It may sound like rhetoric, but even TE's can take him completely out of the play if they don't miss him. If there is even a hint of a double team, he's worthless which is another difference between him and Clowney. If you look at Mack's tape, if the offense leaves a RB in to chip him, he'll probably end up on the ground. Now it may sound like I just ran him down, but his ability in coverage is pretty amazing and his ability to play in space is amazing. When he can make the blocker, be it a tackle or TE miss and there isn't a RB to chip him, it's a sack in a hurry. Also, he should be able to cover most TE's in the league easily...something Clowney can't even hope to do. The difference between Mack and Clowney is like the difference between a tank and a ninja. Both can be awesome if used properly but one can't do the job of the other.
"Bortles has consistently impressed NFL teams in two areas. He excelled in college, and as the old saying goes, the tape does not lie. Bortles led UCF on six second-half comebacks in the 2013 season. The quarterback finished with 3,581 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season, plus a victory against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl." ------ Blake has the size, the tools, and he proved it on the field against good competition. Notice the 6 come from behind wins that Blake had and he ran a pro style offense as well. That's demonstrating being able to execute under pressure. That's the type of stuff Brady went through in college when people weren't paying attention to him when he was in the draft. A good solid starting quarterback is more valuable than an elite pass rusher and "IF" O'Brien believes in Blake and can fix his flaws like McCarthy did with Rodgers he should draft him. Why not...? Clowney only had 3 sacks and Mack is 6-3 and played at Buffalo... Nether one of those guys are on Julius Peppers level and may not be better pros than Mario (definitely not better physical specimens) so drafting one of them #1 overall is a bigger roll of the dice than drafting Blake. So saying Clowney is the only one worth that #1 pick when it's a quarterback league and the NFL continuously make rules to help the offense is ridiculous. Just because Blake wasn't hyped up by ESPN and all the .com scouts and writers all year long like Clowney, Johnny, Teddy, and others does not mean he's not worthy.
I agree that once Cushing went down, the defense went to trash. It's because Cushing is vastly underrated and overshadowed by Watt. It's no excuse as to why Wade blitzed so much. The reason Wade Phillips blitzed so much, is because he's Wade Phillips. It's what he's been known for for a long time now. It wasn't out of necessity. It's because that's what he does. We no longer have Wade Phillips employed here. His defense, and mainly, his pass rush, is no reason for us to draft Clowney. You keep pushing that. Clowney fans like to tout combine numbers. Here's one: 21. It's Clowney's bench reps. Mack did 23. I know these aren't indicative of bull rush(leg strength moreso), or even pure power, but it's got to make you wonder if Clowney is going to be able to bull rush at the next level (part of a bull rush is extending your arms to get off your block). Especially if you think Mack can't fight his way through a wet paper sack. Maybe he is. I just don't see it. A lot of red flags. Maybe he ends up being Dwight Freeney x 10, who knows. I'm just saying...the kid's floor is a lot lower than many on here seem to think. There is actually bust potential here. Something that people are choosing to ignore while they bash the quarterbacks who don't deserve to be taken number one overall. Okay. We will save this comment for later use. I think Dee Ford could potentially end up with a better career than Clowney. I think Clowney's ceiling is Mario Williams. I could be wrong. It's my opinion. You keep posting yours as fact, though. That's what's annoying about it, although I applaud you for using things like "I think" and "IMO" more lately. While there isn't necessarily a legitimate #1 QB option, what is there is not that bad. I wouldn't fault any team for drafting any of the top 3 number one overall. These scouts know far more than I (or you) do, so, let's see what they do. The top three guys are pretty good. They've all got their pluses. I'm a little apprehensive about Manziel and Bortles, but I could easily understand taking any of them. Funny, I just watched Kahlil Mack bull rush Taylor Decker (Ohio State's starting right tackle) right into Braxton Miller for a sack. That's right after he shed an attempted cut block by Jack Mewhort (2nd-3rd round Left Tackle prospect from Ohio State). Granted, that's a highlight film, but it's the best competition Mack faced. I just don't know where you get the notion that Mack is done once someone gets their hands on him. He constantly was making plays after people got their hands on him. Instead of tank vs. ninja, let's make a better comparison. In all likelihood, it'll look something like Mario Williams vs. Demarcus Ware vs. who knows what (QB). Neither one of us know what will happen. I place my trust in those evaluating the talent, though. In the meantime, I will not spew my opinion around here as fact, though. Clowney may be the best swing-for-the-fences pick, and I'm okay with that. We may HAVE to take him at number one. I guess my point is just that no one knows, and that I Clowney scares me a bit because I feel that there is a decent risk of bust potential with Clowney (doesn't seem to love the game, motor issues, possibly plays for paychecks, sometimes he keeps his pads too high, etc.) His tape is real, though. Likely, he's going to be a multiple time pro bowler. He just isn't a shoe-in, and has a decent amount to learn. I think our best options (probably just like you) are either Clowney or Mack at one and Garoppolo or someone in the second, OR trade down and take one of the three quarterbacks. My ideal draft would be something like: 1.Clowney/Mack 2.Carr/Garoppolo 3. Shayne Skov 4. Justin Ellis 5A. Right Tackle 5B. Dri Archer or Jerrick McKinnon BPA
No, Baylor was the best competition he faced, but you don't want to watch that game, he was pushed around quite a bit and he wasn't effective at all. He did have a very good game against Ohio State though.
Maybe. It's debatable on who was better in Baylor vs. Ohio State. The difference is that Baylor learned from the game he had against Ohio State and largely gameplanned around Mack with runs away from him and long passes. They wisely concluded that Mack's teammates were nothing compared to him, and basically took him out of the game. Ohio State ignored Mack. It almost seemed as if they did not know who he was. He made them pay. He even said in an interview that he felt a little bit of disrespect scheming-wise when they played Ohio State.
Well yeah, that's sort of what I'm saying, Mack thrives when people completely ignore him because he's a pure speed rusher. If you look at the majority of his tape, when the TE or Tackle gets their hands on him, he's almost always out of the play. That's not to say that there weren't times where he caught someone off balance, but almost all of his success comes when he makes someone miss. Also, the Ware comparison is not accurate at all, I know why people are comparing him to Ware, because they both went to small schools and they are physically impressive talents, but Mack doesn't have the pass rush ability of Ware and Ware doesn't have (and never did) the coverage ability of Mack. They are just different type players, Ware plays the elephant, Mack is more of a well rounded OLB.
More media chatter. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...s-everyone-wants-to-trade-down-in-this-draft/
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Been trying to figure out how to explain the uniqueness of Clowney's talent for the last week or so, for the casual fans. Came up w/ this.</p>— Jayson Braddock (@JaysonBraddock) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaysonBraddock/statuses/447902491338735616">March 24, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>When evaluating OT prospects this year, I completely threw out their tape vs Clowney. He's that dominant, I couldn't hold it against them.</p>— Jayson Braddock (@JaysonBraddock) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaysonBraddock/statuses/447903162205077504">March 24, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>In over a decade of doing talent evaluations, I've never done that with any prospect.</p>— Jayson Braddock (@JaysonBraddock) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaysonBraddock/statuses/447903319965454336">March 24, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://walterfootball.com/draft2014reader.php Houston Texans: Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida Blake Bortles: 58.9% Jadeveon Clowney: 28.5% Teddy Bridgewater: 5.5% Johnny Manziel: 4.2% Khalil Mack: 3.0% Total votes: 2,477
B Ob says the Texans will draft a QB, just not sure which round. Well that settles that. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ans-will-draft-a-qb-we-dont-know-which-round/
My take on his comments is that it likely won't be the Texan's first pick. Sounds like the big three are not on his radar like every one was thinking. Yep, no Andrew Luck, so just cull one from the herd.
The beautiful part of the Fitzpatrick signing is that it buys BOB time to wait until next year to get his "franchise" QB. Taking a QB with the 65th pick this year doesn't guarantee him a starting job here. I think it's wise to wait until he really likes a guy before going all in. No need to be in a huge hurry. McNair is nothing if not patient.
