My prediction is for fun. I stand behind it. You can beat me up, but if I'm right, I'm hunting you down.
I'm not saying that they need to draft Reggie Bush, or that they'll gain much by drafting another running back, I'm just saying that there is something to individual talent of running backs, and that Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson are just better than Davis. Davis is an average NFL running back. Maybe a bit above average, but talent-wise, he's just not in the same league as those guys.
James, Average to a bit above average is a lot different than saying backup at best. I agree with Vengeance. Dominick is average to a little above average. He's adequate. But put him on the Chiefs and he becomes a little bit better and put Larry Johnson on the Texans and he becomes a little worse and then it is harder to distinguish the differences between them. I still stick with my point. You gotta have the beef up front for an offense to be balanced and productive and be able to keep the defense on their heels. I don't care how good the back is, if you can't pass protect, then the defense can key on the run and shut down the offense. It's that simple. By the way, if I had a nickel for every time I've heard a running back in college is a once in a lifetime player...........well, I'd have a very high tax bill. Billy Sims, Ki-jana Carter, Bo Jackson, Marcus Dupree, Lawrence Phillips, Maurice Clarett, Blair Thomas, Rashaan Salam, Herschel Walker, Charles White, Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson.................all had the "player of a lifetime" tag placed on them. None of them had or have had outstanding careers. Most are flat out busts. Some were decimated with injuries and their career was extremely short. Some are head cases. In all cases, they were not difference makers for their teams after being touted as the "savior". Running backs......because of the nature of their position are more susceptible to injury and shorter careers and more likely to be busts because their success is partially due to the quality of the lineman blocking for them. Bush is playing on the #1 rated team in the nation, with a Heisman Trophy winning QB and great blockers in front of him. He may indeed be the next Walter Payton, but it's too hard to tell and with our team in the condition it is, he could wind up like Payton and be fortunate to get to the Super Bowl because of the lack of line play. Payton, arguably the greatest RB of all time, had to wait until the Bears accumulated arguable the greatest defense of all time, in order to make it to the big game and win one. Goodness, after watching Adrian Peterson just burn up the gridiron last year as a freshman, I was ready to proclaim him a "savior" and hope that the Texans could get him. He may turn out to be a great one also. Or the next great back may come out of the sixth round of the draft. Peterson, after a fantastic year last year, all of a sudden looks quite human, with a few injuries, and lower quality talent surrounding him. One thing is for sure. Bush will NOT make this a playoff caliber team much less a Super Bowl caliber team. That will only happen when the play in the trenches improves significantly. We should invest our draft in lineman. You ain't gonna find too much quality line help in free agency. We had a chance to get Pace. It didn't work. That will be the best tackle you see on the semi-open market in a long time and he wasn't really even free. Look around the league and count how many quality blind side tackles there are that were drafted outside of the first round.
Busts and injuries and Larry Allen! For a team with needs all over the field trading one glamour pick for mutiple picks is the best stategy to get better quickly. Draft evaluation is science and luck, some of the surest thing picks never make it and some 6th round gambles turn in to all-pro's. You can hedge your bets by getting as many good picks as you can and letting the cream rise, especially if we are talking multiple picks in the 3rd and fourth round where the bulk of starters in the league are found. Now there will never be another Herschel Walker bonanza again but Teams coveting Bush and Leinert could very well offer their first and an extra third or even another first the following year. I read a post over on Houstonprofootball illustrating that most of the elite left tackles in the league are high first rounders so the new GM will have to determine if Pitts can be adequate. If not then that's where you have to go because other than QB it is the most important position on the field and the easiest way to make a big impact in your teams fortunes. That being said it's still no slam dunk to draft, just look at Robert Gallery. In investing I know one of the best ways to make money is to capitalize on other people's exuberence, let the hype jack up the price on something and sell before the market changes or realizes something is overvalued. It could be that we can exploit the Reggie Bush hype for a good solid gain. (Ask yourself What Would Jimmy Do?)
I can't believe that anyone who watches the Texans on an even casual basis would disagree that the O-Line is in need of serious upgrades, but my contention is that we don't have to spend a first round pick to accomplish that. You bring up the great Dallas Cowboy teams of the 90's, & their lines are made up of tremendous players such as Larry Allen, Nate Newton, Erik Williams, Mark Stepnoski, & Mark Tuinei. Larry Allen-2nd round pick Nate Newton-Undrafted Erik Williams-3rd round Stepnoski-3rd round Tuinei-Undrafted Aikman, Smith, & Irvin were all first rounders. Granted, it's just a difference of opinion regarding talent acquisition, but I feel that you have to have difference makers at the skills positions & then go find the grunts. If we continue along at our current pace, we are going to have the first pick in the second round, the first in the third, and another top five in the third thanks to New Orleans. This appears to be a deep draft at the line positions, but not so much with the athletes. I asked earlier, maybe no one saw it or knows, but how did Ferguson do against Va. Tech?
I disagree. LJ is elusive, has a burst of speed, reads lanes properly… DD possesses none of those skills. the big difference in the two in this: DD gets caught from behind on his screen pass; LJ wouldn’t. DD is not, and never will be a gamebreaker. replace “running back” with quarterback… wide receiver… left tackle… defensive end… linebacker… corner back… draft history is filled with busts at all positions. neither will a better OL; not when you have a mediocre QB, a pedestrian running back; WRs who can’t get open and a defense devoid of playmakers that can’t stop anyone to save their lives. they need help everywhere; easiest way to get that ball rolling is a) jettison casserly and the coaching staff; b) draft the best player available, regardless of position.
Yeah, so bring in JJ and the OL coach on those teams and give him the keys then. Obviously, JJ knows the talent to know how to draft a winner.
LOOK! WE ALL KNOW THE OLINE IS THE PROBLEM! but I would rather DRAFT BUSH and fix the OLINE any other way like DAKIII said you dont need to fix the line with the top pick. ALOT of you guys who's oppose to drafting Bush thinks that WE PLAN or WANT TO KEEP THE SAME OLINE with Bush on the team. We know the problem is the OLINE, but I dont think you can pass up a player like BUSH (and I dont mean putting him behind this OLINE also) you draft him and fix the OLINE also. Do you guys really think just drafting D'BRICK that we'll be a PLAYOFF team also? Do you really think putting D'Brick at LT that Carr wont be sack and everything would be fine also? NO! Is like passing up LT and getting Robert Gallery who do you think the Raider would prefer to have? THE POINT IS GET BUSH! and FIX THE OLINE ALSO! not draft Bush and leave the OLINE alone ... (if the Texans ended up with lets say the #6-10 instead then you would get the BEST PLAYER avaible or then you'll get the next best OL but with a #1-2 pick YOU HAVE TO TAKE BUSH!)
This is EXACTLY what we, the current management team, has been doing for years now with absolute success. Thanks for getting our back. Sincerely, Charlie Casserly and Co.
I think that David Carr is on the verge of being a washed up quarterback. His confidence has been decimated. His only weapons offensively are Davis and Johnson. But, it's mainly Davis, because Johnson won't get the ball when David is getting SACKED!!! I think that the coaches have to be blamed for the level of pressure Carr Gets from opposing defenses. The O-Line does not have the talent to do the job. There are a couple of bright spots, mainly Pitts. But, If there is a franchise level Left Tackle out there, the Texans have to go for it. It's would be a sign to David Carr, the the organization is doing something to protect him. David has so much talent, but it's getting to the point that if the organization doesn't do something to protect Carr, then the Texans will be needing another Quarterback, because this one will have become another 1st round bust. (That would be a shame because Carr demonstrates such toughness, a trait of leaders) I second that notion that there are always franchise level running backs in the NFL draft. But, LT are few between. A good Left tackle will protect the back side of David Carr quite well. And with Pitts right next on the Left Guard, Carr will have some solid protection. And it's probably time to say farewell to McKinney. He plays bad under center. He is a good guard, but why dod they play him at Center?
I don't think Casserly has the ability to find good linemen in the latter rounds. If he does, he's doing an excellent job of keeping that ability a secret. The two best players on the Texans were top 10 picks. The draft doesn't end after round 1. Other teams find quality starters in the 2nd and 3rd round every year. This is where the Texans are really lacking. Their 2nd and 3rd round choices have turned out really bad, almost without exception.
link What are these people thinking? and this was an updated Mock Draft Nov. 18th #1 Jon Scott UT - Houston Texans #2 D'Brick Virg - Tennesse Titans
Well you probably haven't been watching college football this year. Scott has played really well this year, while D'brick has missed a few games and really hasn't played up to his potential. While I agree that its wierd that they have 2 OL sloted as the first two players drafted, don't be surprised in what order those two are in. In fact, those 'can't miss' OL that we have all been hearing about really havn't played worth an early 1st round pick regardless. I'm still on the Bush bandwagon, but if by some chance we miss out on Bush...my choice is AJ Hawk and then pick up an OL in the 2nd and a TE in the 3rd
Four UT players going in the top 11, and Reggie Bush going at #10. LOL!! He must be a Longhorn. Most boards I've seen have Jon Scott going in the later half of the 1st round now.
^^Thats a crazy list. They clearly dont know how to make a draft. Not only are the first two picks OTs, but 3 of the top six are. Reggie Bush 10th? ANd it has the Texans going for a running back in the second round. WTF? The biggest problem has come up as the running game. We should go A J Hawk.
I believe this team has way too many holes for one player to fix.They need to trade down and the more picks they can acquire the better.The common believe is the offensive line is the problem but its way more than just that.The offensive line is bad,they need another reciever,a tight end,d-line,linebackers,safety,and another corner.In other words they need players everywhere.
