bigtexx is a huge fan of Rice and is not the most objective person on Rice and Texas. People don't always respond objectively to what he posts. On the issue of Casey, I think he is very accurate.
i'm telling you guys, nfl star, kareem will be an ambiturner this season. He will turn his head around, left and right, to make a play on the ball. It will be the most beautiful thing . He showed me he could do it in the playoffs now he just to be consistent with it. As for his no catch up speed, he won't get burned. no QB in on earth with the exception of flash gordon will live to complete a 60 yard pass. Not with the Son of Bum around. Casey will have a great year lining up at fullback and going in motion...how are they going to stop that? With wade and an entire off season to implement more of his genius, I don't see who busts on the defensive side. The man just puts everyone in the right position to triumph. the right side of the line, guard to be specific, that's another story. I can see Caldwell struggling.
It's amazing how much better a pass rush will make our CB's look. Kareem Jackson "breaks out" in that he doesn't lay the turd in the punchbowl when given full time reps. I think Reed might be in for a bit of a sophomore slump. People will figure him out; I'm SOOO thankful Wade forced the hand of management to draft another pass rusher early. You can find a fast receiver or a big lineman throughout the draft, but physical specimens like Mercilus are first round material. Add the production in there and my bet is for him to win the starting job over Reed by midseason. Other potential guys I'd be looking at to improve: Caldwell, Carmichael, Guys with a chance of sucking more this year than last: Wade Smith, Shawn Cody, Ben Tate, Chris Myers Surprising rookies: Rare under this coaching staff, but my prediction would be for Crick to make the largest contribution by week 4 and for Martin to be the biggest contributor by week 12. It's great because this year every single one of our draft picks is essentially depth, but if one of them clearly proves himself then the spot that he's fighting for isn't taken by such an all-pro that he can't win it outright. And on defense, you can never have too much depth. It just makes your rotation larger and the opposing offense that much more tired.
I find Crick to be interesting. He may not be the best against double teams, but the Texans front seven should make give him plenty of opportunity to work one on one.
I think Brooks Reed busts (which just gives way to Mercilus breaking out). I think Schaub "busts" in that his foot is not ready to get him on the field until mid season and even then he is so tentative on it that he is not effective. I think Keshawn Martin breaks out as well as Earl Mitchell.
Brandon Harris is a guy who got very few chances last year but the staff is very high on him. Crick IMO will be a poor man's Watt and will eventually replace ninja who will be cut after this season. So I say Jackson, Crick, Mercilus, and Harris for breakouts. Ninja, Smith, and Caldwell for slumps.
Uhhh....Are you serious? The guy has put up some good stats, but he's come small in critical situations plenty of times before. (I can think of at least few costly interceptions). And the last time I checked you got to win a few playoff games (pressure games) before you get to the Super Bowl. I like Schaub, but there are plenty of things Schaub can do to "break out".
This has been discussed and analyzed and shown about a dozen or more times in this forum. Schaub's clutch record is quite impressive. So all he has to do to "break out" is get some team achievements checked off his list. Got it. To me, "break out" means you perform well after having not played at a note-worthy level before. Schaub has been a top 10 QB for years. His performance expectations can't get much higher. If he has a Brady or Manning-esqe year with a 100QBR and 40+ TDs, then that might qualify, but short of team achievements (which are unfair to place solely on him), there's not much else he can do to "break out" or advance his play.
It remains to be seen how he comes back in terms of his injury though. Will he be his old self, or merely a shadow of the player he was before the injury? I largely agree with you on defining "break out", but in terms of how he comes back from his injury... I hope he does have a break out year.
Breakouts - Graham, Harris, Crick, Brooks, Bullock. I think you could put Sharpton here too but I'm not sure how much tie James will take away from him. Busts - all the rookies WR's.
Break out: This may be surprising considering Arian is already considered by many as the best overall RB, but I think Arian takes his production to another ridiculous level ... something like 1800+ rushing yards with 500+ yards receiving, 20 TD -if he does this and gets 2500 yards from scrimmage, a serious MVP threat Mercilus Whitney - I think he will outshine, and exceed some expectations Defense as a whole - I think overall, the defensive players and scheme will be even better- Watt had his break out in the 2nd have of last year- he will continue to shine Posey - not sure if he will have extreme star numbers but think he can exceed some thoughts about him overall Flops: Brooks Reed - who knows he may play lights out & I could be wrong, but he slowed down a bit last year in 2nd half- I think Whitney makes it difficult as well All the WR's except Posey - I just don't see them contributing so much as Posey, and when you have proven weapons in AJ, Arian, Casey, Daniels, opportunity will be limited- not that this is really a flop, but you get the idea Can't freaking wait for season! ! !
yup he slowed down.. he only had 2 AND A HALF sacks in the baltimore game and 3.5 in the playoffs.. shame on him..
well, it appeared he slowed down to me but he did have a surge in those games you mentioned. but overall, he and Watt shined very well - If Whitney plays lights out, it may diminish Reeds' productivity (i.e. numbers), but if Reed & Whitney plays on fire, then that will be something! Hope I'm wrong on anyone "flopping"....& can't wait for season ! !
Yes, because if there was one thing this regime, pre-Wade, was known for, it was drafting WRs and OL ahead of defensive players.