 The NFL draft is like sort of a painful Christmas--you get to unwrap the presents and see what you get, but your not allowed to open the boxes and see how cool your toys are yet. (But then lots of know-it-alls opine on how cool or uncool your stuff is).
In the first years of the Texans, they had a draft luncheon before the draft. Which was kinda odd because it involved Charley Casserly figuring out how not to say anything of substance. The last two years, the Texans have had the luncheon after the draft. Usually, it's great because you can hear more about the players that were chosen and what the plans are for the upcoming year.
So for thems who couldn't be there, here's some of the highlights ....
GM Rick Smith spoke first. He first talked about how they upgraded their draft information into the computer age. They used to have the information in a small room with names on a board. Now it is computerized and they want to be able to use the information they have on a continuous basis after the players are on the team.
He said that right before they were going trade in the fourth round, the fire alarm went off. Oops. It was just a drill. They showed a video of the players--some from games, some from the combine.
I wish all Texans fans could here Kubiak speak about the team. He makes you want to run through a brick wall. He talked about the offseason as a time to evaluate everything, including coaching and the way they do things.
He said three generalized things:
1. He wants the Texans to be a team that is a hard team to make. With the competition in camp it will make a better team.
2. He said he could talk at the luncheon about the different ways the team has improved but he's not interested in that. He doesn't want just improvement, he wants playoffs. He says that Bob McNair gives them everything they need to do that.
3. Even thought the focus is often about this player or that player, he is more interested in the team working together. He believes to win week after week, the entire team has to be better.
As it relates to special teams, they were trying to improve speed. He believes that Coach Marciano was one of the best in the league. He thinks that Jerome Mathis is clearly valuable to the team but that the Texans can't proceed as though he will be okay, so that went into their thinking with their free agent acquisitions and drafting Jacoby Jones. He didn't mention the kicking game.
He spoke about the left tackle position as one that you want to be able to depend on for a long time, but basically said that all 32 teams in the league struggle with that because it is hard. That he believes that Charles Spencer is that guy but that they can't plan as though he will be back. He was optimistic about his prospects. They acquired Jordan Black and drafted tackle and have other tackles, but that they weren't going to spend a ton of money on a tackle if that tackle wasn't going to be The Guy. That they would build with sensible acquisitions and drafting smart but that they weren't going to reach.
He talked about the difficulty of Carr leaving the team. He said that was only going to happen if the Texans had a better option and that Rick Smith worked hard to get Schaub. He said he has been working a ton with Schaub, and is happy with that acquisition.
He said that it was clear they needed to get better at the running back position and that he challenged Rick Smith to get Ahman Green. They actually had a bet whether he could do it.
He said that the defense was improving but was very young. He used free agency to fill in needs and to gain veteran experience and leadership.
I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out. For those other people who were there, did I leave important stuff out? For those who were not there, please ask if there is a subject or player you are interested in, and I'll let you know if they talked about them. Comments are a good thing. :)
In general, after listening to Smith and Kubiak, you couldn't help but be hopeful for the season and wanting for it to begin immediately.
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