Draft or Bust
 

Texans don’t need starters, but they’ll look for some finishers
by John McClain

INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since he became the Texans’ coach in 2006, Gary Kubiak did not come to the scouting combine looking for a starter in the NFL draft.

The Texans are coming off their best season — a 10-6 record, an AFC South title and a first-round playoff victory — and for the first time, they’re not desperate for a starter in the first round of the draft.

Aside from defensive tackle Amobi Okoye (2007), every first-round pick since Kubiak became coach started last season. The Texans have the 26th pick — tied for the lowest they’ve ever selected. General manager Rick Smith traded down two times in 2008 before he selected offensive tackle Duane Brown.

Even if the Texans lose outside linebacker Mario Williams in free agency, they won’t have to draft a starter to replace him because they have Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed.

That’s quite a contrast to last year, when the Texans were desperate to repair a defense that ranked 30th, including 32nd against the pass. They used their top five picks on defensive players, and the first two — defensive end J.J. Watt and Reed — started for a defense that improved to second in Wade Phillips’ first season as coordinator.

“Nothing we’ve done is going to change the way we approach the combine,” Kubiak said Wednesday. “I’m always going to approach the combine and the draft like we hope our first-round pick is good enough to start.

“Now, if he doesn’t end up starting, it shows how much better we’ve gotten as a team.”

Kubiak and Smith have brought a large contingent of Texans personnel, including scouts, executives, coaches, doctors and trainers. They’ll be able to interview 60 players for 15 minutes each. They’ll watch the workouts and prepare for the next part of the scouting process — pro days on college campuses.

Unlike last year, when Smith and vice president of football administration Chris Olsen found enough cap space to sign cornerback Johnathan Joseph and free safety Danieal Manning as free agents, the Texans won’t be active in free agency. Their plan is to re-sign their free agents — beginning with Williams — and to get others to sign extensions.

Not pursuing free agents on other teams places more emphasis on the draft. The Texans won’t disclose anything publicly, but they need a wide receiver. If Williams leaves, they’ll need an outside linebacker in the first two rounds. They’ll look for an interior offensive lineman.

And Kubiak’s philosophy is that a team can never have enough cornerbacks.

“Our philosophy hasn’t changed,” Kubiak said. “The draft is very important. We drafted very well last year and expect to again. This (combine) is an exciting part of the process.”
http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans...ome-finishers/

I hate putting all our eggs in one basket.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

1 playoff series win and now the texans are kings of the hill forever. Kinda funny if you ask me. The combine isn't where you look for a starter,but drafting in the 1st 2 rds is the place they should look. A nt or wr should be ale to compete for a starting spot given what they have at those spots. Poe,jefferey,alameeda, are just a few to name who can put pressure on the starters.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

I hate how McLain throws crap like this out as if he has some inside information.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

yep, I don't like the way the article was phrased about that. I don't know why but I feel this draft is hugely important because there are a lot of guys that are going to get raises within a quick period of time within the next 2 years. (if memory serves me right with our FA coming up)

also to fix the article
.

:joker:

Re: Draft or Bust
 

If McClain keeps writing that we aren't going to do much in Free Agency because of the cap I think we will go after a very solid FA WR and have plenty of money available.

Looks like the typical spin from McClain the Minister of Propoganda.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

hope your right.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Two things I'm sick of hearing.





1.) We are going to draft a wide receiver in the first round.

Really? This is what the majority of the fans and the media thinks. Yet I haven't seen a single quote or heard a single sound bite from someone inside the organization say this. Walter is a coaches favorite and JJ just signed a new contract last year. I don't think Smithiack views WR as big a need as everyone else.

2.) If Williams leaves, they’ll need an outside linebacker in the first two rounds.

Why? Why in the first two rounds? We have our starters.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

I think he just speculates like we do. But he has a badge and we don't.

Watch the Texans dump Mario and go grab a free agent WR and another free agent CB to pair with Joseph. LOL. If that happened, John McClain should call it a career and find more horse racing movies to be in.

Random John McClain pic for the fun of it (made this back during preseason games):

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...id_mcclain.jpg

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Joined board in 2004 because I loved the Texans & wanted to know more about future players, aka via the draft, because we all knew even back then very few would still be with this team today.

The Draft is everything. It's where College & Pro games merge, its exciting & its hard not to root for these young men to become successful as Texans. I don't think McClain said anything wrong here & I agree with this - http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89957

First Round: Rueben Randle, WR, LSU, 6-4 208

Second Round: Jonathan Massaquoi, OLB, Troy, 6-3 250

First Round: TY Hilton, WR/KR, Florida International, 5-10 184

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Is Gary going to the combine this yr?

Or has he scheduled another elective surgery?

I would love to see the Texansign Brandon Carr and Meachem.

If they cant afford Meachem, a low cost alternative deep threat could be Chaz Schillens.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Touche.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

just random wrong stuff like that which he always throws into articles annoys me... we traded down....once.... with the ravens. most texans fans could tell you that. if he forgot it takes 2 seconds to check google if youve forgotten. just shows he (or his editors) cant be arsed to check anything

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Yep,pretty much. Mcclain said they won't be active? To me, they're never active,but they pick and choose their spots. They won't be in the 1st wave of free agency, but there will be quality players after the big money guys. Those 4m per yr guys under 27 are very good value.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Yep. His got inside information on fast food but not much on Texans.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Its worth remembering that the written press hails from a time before internet forums and 24/7 tv coverage in which people get to know every minute detail of the team before anything gets the chance to make it to print.

Therefore they tend to report all the information and not leave out the 'obvious'.

Don't forget that there will still be many Texans fans out there who aren't members of TT, don't watch round the clock NFL coverage, and use the Chronicle as their source for Texans news.

Therefore, giving these guys a hard time for 'stating the obvious' is really unfair, as the target audience isn't really people who devote their entire life to following every little snippet of information and discussing it on a message board, but rather people who have a passing interest in what the Texans are getting up to in the offseason.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Signed,

The Houston Chronicle

:rolleyes:

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Repped.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

Except Doughnuts spends less time doing research for his articles than many people on this MB are doing for the TT mock draft. He's really bad at doing his job and lives off his reputation.

McClain lost his draft insider the day Joel Buschbaum died. He was an example of how a dedication to the draft should be with all media members. It's only Doughnuts job to keep up with all things draft related. Joel heloed make the combine what it is today for the the fans.

RIP Joel, you were the best.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

???

Seriously?

Old ladies are using iPhones and have Facebook accounts now. And love it.

But the excuse for Mustache McClain is that he's writing for the 0.235% of the population who ONLY get their Texans news from the newspaper? Then why does he have a blog/Internet-based column, a Twitter account, etc?

Might as well pay him peanuts to write a printed article and let someone else do the heavy lifting on all things digital. I mean, it was nice of you to offer an alibi for him, but still.....there are less prominent people around here who do more in-depth coverage and analysis than John McClain does.

And McClain is routinely wrong about his speculation, opening the door in his face all the time on various predictions that almost always don't end up the way he says it will. I actually have begun to feel sorry for him, as if he's the guy in Office Space who wants his stapler back.

Re: Draft or Bust
 

This is the line where the rhetoric about McClain came from that Welsh responded to.

The comment is not that bad.

Yes, McClain should get his facts right, but I don't see why he should be lambasted for that comment.