Finally some sanity. Yeah, If you're going to move up it better be for a can't miss prospect and the only can't miss prospect is Peterson. Besides the new projections have Carolina going with Gabbert and for some reason Peterson has dropped to #7 and Amukamara to the Texans at #11. I can live with this.
CB is one of the toughest transitions for college players - NFL players are bigger, faster, the schemes infinitely more complicated, the scouting much more refined... The likelihood of Peterson having an immediate impact is much less than Miller (given they're both of equal talent); more so (ironically, I so believe) when you consider Peterson won't have a Von Miller-type wreaking havoc in the opponent's backfield. A legitimate, successful pass rusher makes this entire defense infinitely better all by himself. Peterson is piece and a piece teams can either 1) exploit (if he's slow getting up to speed); 2) ignore. You can't ignore Von Miller.
How about trying to WIN this year? People act like we are still so young. Our core players are no longer a bunch of 1st and 2nd year players like a few years ago. Mario, AJ, DeMeco, OD...these guys are veterans now. None of them are getting any younger and all are either suffering from nagging injuries or coming off major injuries. We've had 1st round picks every year in our existence, sometimes really high 1st round picks. And we've still never made the playoffs. Maybe it's time for a different philosophy. Like building through free agency. I know about the lockout situation, but there were some good players changing teams before it started while the Texans sat on their hands seemingly unaware that the lockout hadn't started yet. That's what we need. Another rookie CB.
Atogwe. Yes, I know he's not Steve Atwater, but he's miles better than any safety the Texans have EVER had, no? And he could have been had for a fairly reasonable price. If he ends up being merely a serviceable starter in a much better defensive scheme, we're already ahead of the game. Sign him and it's one less position to worry about filling during the lockout. Shaun Rogers. Again, I know he's not exactly in the prime of his career, and he's no boy scout (so McNair probably never even considered him, since only boy scouts can play for the Texans...) but he can play NT and/or DE in the 3-4 and is certainly a better option than Okoye, Mitchell or Cody IMO. What's the harm in signing him to a 1-year contract like the Saints ended up doing? Not much risk there. I guess by "good" players, I meant better than what we currently have...which isn't saying much.
I just don’t think chasing mediocre players, even if they’re upgrades over our current personnel, is a smart use of resources. I mean, Attack of the Clones is a better move than The Phantom Menace, I guess… but it’s still a really bad movie, you know what I mean? If you read the many interviews with our new defensive staff, you’ll see it stated or implied, over and over and over and over and over again, that the unit last year was poorly coached. I’m not arguing we don’t need to upgrade – but the talent might be better than we realize.
Ric, I don't care what the new defensive staff says to the press....we need an upgrade. And I don't want to subscribe to this notion or give them a pass on failing to acquire upgrades at any position on the defensive side of the ball simply because the upgrades are good but not great. I'd love for them to get great players, of course....but I'd take good...I'd take average, frankly. When your defense is HISTORICALLY bad...as the Texans' defense was...it's not just one thing. It's not JUST coaching. It's not JUST personnel. But there is little question that personnel was a major component of that. Failing to go out and acquire an upgrade because it's better but not better enough just should not cut it with a fan base that's seen that kind of crap for too long now.
I wish that was the subtitle of their NFL Films annual summary. Hearing that very serious NFL Films voice say that line would be totally worth buying the DVD and having to watch the hijinks that led to a 6 win season.
I have to disagree with this. I kind of think that when your team SUCKS ON ICE, you should look to upgrade it. That's a crazy notion, I know. Just because you can't sign Brian Dawkins doesn't mean you shouldn't even consider signing anyone else. You want to go to war with Glover Quinn and Troy Nolan as your starting safeties? What if one of them gets hurt? Throw Quentin Demps into the fold? Yikes.... You mean like Eugene Wilson? Oh, he's gone. Maybe Bernard Pollard? Oh, he's gone too. That we need a safety is a fact, not an opinion. Why not try and sign one before the lockout starts? I'm not necessarily mad that Atogwe didn't sign here. Just that we (reportedly) didn't even make an effort to talk to the guy. I guess the Texans are just fine with the (backup) safeties we have. "messa no bumpa runna, messa bumpa falldowna!!"
Very highly likely. But, WADR - assuming he's being sincere and not simply toeing company line - I trust Phillips' evaluation far greater than, well, anyone else's here. By miles. Thousands and thousands of miles. And I'm sure some of it probably is empty and insincere. But given the labor situation, he might have to go to battle with those guys - why run 'em down and talk about massive replacements? Why? That's been their MO for far too long. This is why I was so adament that they run as far away as possible from Bob Sanders. All they've done is repeatedly stuck band-aids on gaping wounds - from front office, coaching, all the way down to personnel. Hiring a guy of Phillips' pedigree is at least a step in the right direction. Let's not revert back to, "He may be mediocre - but he's better than what we have!!" That's how you wind up with Jacque Reeves, Eugene Wilson, Shaun Cody, Anthony Weaver, Richard Smith, Frank Bush - the list goes on and on and on and on.......... Max, you're about to start arguing with yourself. No one is suggesting they try and fix just one thing. But I guarantee you coaching is going to cover far more holes than personnel will. I mean, they don't have terrible players up and down their defense. Williams, Ryans, Cushing, Smith; Quin was very good in '09, Jackson was a first round draft pick...... They have enough pieces to be better than they were last year. In all my years of watching football, I've never seen a team so aggressively throw a coach under the bus the way the Texans have Bush. Maybe that's their (subtle-ish) way of trying to pass blame for last season - but to hear "fresh" voices, over and over, stick it to them again and again... I just have to assume it was worse than we ever thought - and obviously none of us thought it was going swimmingly.
And how many wins will calling Atogwe's agent net us next year?..... Why is "just calling" so important to so many people? Who cares? And how do you know they didn't? The guy signed with his former, favorite defensive coordinator. Maybe they knew that was happening. Maybe he let it be known he was Washington-bound and to not bother. THEY'RE IN A LOCKOUT! Sorry to go all caps on you but my goodness... There has been no free agency; no spring cuts; no summer cuts; no draft......... People keep acting like everything is normal AND WHY AREN'T THE TEXANS SIGNING FREE AGENTS!!!! If this were September 1 with the lockout a distant memory, and Nolan and whoever were our starting safeties - OK. But man - it seems silly to get worked up about them not contacting quite literally the only safety that has been freely available thus far.
I don't understand the question. Are you saying we shouldn't try and contact a FA (before the lockout...) unless there is a 100% chance he signs with us? Having a safety who could occasionally cover a tight end would absolutely net us wins. Maybe. But I remember someone posting a twit, tweet, whatever saying the Texans weren't interested in signing any FA's before the lockout started. I just don't agree with that line of thinking. It's like you see the storm coming but you decide to leave the dog outside until after it passes because you can't find the cat. I KNOW THIS. I'm speaking only about Atogwe, who was available and signed before the lockout... LOL, you've got a deal! Because I have a feeling this is exactly how it's going to play out. It just seems silly that a team with the worst secondary in the league - whose two starting safeties won't be returning next year - wouldn't inquire about ANY safety that becomes available (before the lockout...).
