What moves do you think will be made if any?

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

The Jags could have traded down and still get Kaepernick; I'm glad they didn't.

I seriously doubt that Kaepernick would be on anybody's radar had he gone to Jacksonville.

[welsh texan]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

I don't know why but teams miss on prospect all the time.

For example, Kiwitexans and I were saying that Gabbert will be a waste of a first-round pick (he even called Gabbert a bust pre-draft.)

The Jags could have traded down and still get Kaepernick; I'm glad they didn't.

The Browns and the Broncos could have had Russell Wilson, but they didn't.

Keenum's injury certainly was a red flag for all the teams.
Then he pulled a hamstring running the 40s at the combine and couldn't make a lot of throws.
At his pro-day, his best receiver, Edwards, was still battling from an injury suffered during the Senior Bowl week.
Keenum did much better, but Edwards couldn't help him as much as he could.

Injury will always be a concern with Keenum due to his size, but hey, we may be lucky that he develops into a good NFL QB.
He did tear apart the Nittany Lions in the Ticket City Bowl Game.

I think you need to get a sig 76, Chris Myers...Kareem Jackson...Case Keenum? Hope your right, I've only seen the guy in pre-season for the Texans, going to dig around for some of that footage on YouTube right now and hopefully start feeling a lil more confident.

[Doppelganger]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Seattle has a big time defense but found themselves 20 points down vs the Falcons. Houston was 18 points down the same day. The difference? One team has a dynamic player as a quarterback, non-plus wr's and a big time feature back. The other team has a better go-to wr, better RB and a non dynamic QB. Seattle almost won their game as they scored in a fast and furious manner...we had the long, slow ten min dink and dunk drive as if it were garbage time and the game was over when we fell behind.

Just out of curiosity, how much of that is on Kubes? He does not seem to trust Schaub to call plays let alone audible. If Schaub can't call plays, he cannot really go into much of a up tempo offense.

I also wonder if Schaub is hiding an arm/shoulder injury. He has been under-throwing receivers for a while now...

Originally Posted by Vinny

Watching our offense "come back" was like watching Mr Furly work the chicks in three's company.

Rep for the Mr. Furley reference!!!

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by welsh texan

I think you need to get a sig 76, Chris Myers...Kareem Jackson...Case Keenum? Hope your right, I've only seen the guy in pre-season for the Texans, going to dig around for some of that footage on YouTube right now and hopefully start feeling a lil more confident.

In some videos (I know the UTEP game has it), they mention the fact that plays were suggested to Keenum, but he had the freedom to change it to anything that pleases him.

[powda]

Originally Posted by dream_team

The difference is also the Seattle defense adjusted and was able to contain the Falcons offense in the 2nd half, allowing the offense to comeback. Our defense didn't do that.

I think his observation was about how talent proportioned differently ended in an offense with a chance. The troubling thing is soon the strengths we do have are going to be used up and we'll be stuck with average wr, rb, and qb.

If kubiak continues on without an alternative to schaub he deserves the outcome. The qb i'm asking for doesn't have to be an instant starter / solution...but I want a chance for better talent at the most important position on the team. There's an iceberg up ahead and some of us on deck can see it. For those of you drunk and passed out in the galley...good luck.

[welsh texan]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

In some videos (I know the UTEP game has it), they mention the fact that plays were suggested to Keenum, but he had the freedom to change it to anything that pleases him.

Explains why Kubes passed on him 7 times over

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

I'm not one of the people blaming Kubiak and Schaub for the finish of our season. For me, our biggest problems were on defense: the lack of a starting quality ILB except for Cush, the lack of healthy depth at ILB, the lack of a passrush except for JJ, the lack of run stopping that comes from the NT and ILB spots. So that's why I concentrated my list of needs on the defensive side.

I don't think we need a big influx of talent on the offensive side. I think we've got most of the pieces we need on the offensive side.

Sorry, didn't mean to single you out then. But the general feeling on the board is that Schaub & Kubiak cost us the game... but then I go and see alot of people screaming for an ILB? Just didn't make sense.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by dream_team

Sorry, didn't mean to single you out then. But the general feeling on the board is that Schaub & Kubiak cost us the game... but then I go and see alot of people screaming for an ILB? Just didn't make sense.

The problem with our ILB was that we were down to Bradie James (who was the worse of our ILB duo from the beginning of the season) and a guy we picked up off the street in week 14 or something, so of course they were going to be awful. I think we need OLB's just as bad as ILB's because Barwin is likely gone, Reed was not good rushing the passer and that leaves Mercilus who was probably our best pass rushing LB by the end of the year (Take that however you wish).

That being said, I'm okay with drafting offense in the first round as well so it's whatev's.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by b0ng

The problem with our ILB was that we were down to Bradie James (who was the worse of our ILB duo from the beginning of the season) and a guy we picked up off the street in week 14 or something, so of course they were going to be awful. I think we need OLB's just as bad as ILB's because Barwin is likely gone, Reed was not good rushing the passer and that leaves Mercilus who was probably our best pass rushing LB by the end of the year (Take that however you wish).

That being said, I'm okay with drafting offense in the first round as well so it's whatev's.

Sharpton first....but he was awful, then he got injured. Ruud (vet FA) was next and really wasn't as awful to be honest. Not good, but not awful.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Sharpton first....but he was awful, then he got injured. Ruud (vet FA) was next and really wasn't as awful to be honest. Not good, but not awful.

It was "supposed" to be Cush and Sharpton with Bradie James and Dobbins as backups. But Sharpton was injured all offseason so Bradie James won that job. When Sharpton came back, he was just inconsistent as hell. He was more athletic and got more penetration at times but was totally lost in coverage.

I was having Morlon Greenwood flashbacks with Bradie James. Sure, he'd make tackles but they were 5-10 yards past the line of scrimmage. That doesn't get it done.

I was surprised with how well Ruud played but he still wasn't good.

I said this earlier in the season in the draft forum and didn't think it had any possibility of happening but now... after Notre Dame's demolition at the hands of the Crimson Tide... how about pairing Cush with Manti Te'o? I'm not sure I like Te'o at the line of scrimmage and I'm not sure he'll drop to us but...

[powda]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

I'm not one of the people blaming Kubiak and Schaub for the finish of our season. For me, our biggest problems were on defense: the lack of a starting quality ILB except for Cush, the lack of healthy depth at ILB, the lack of a passrush except for JJ, the lack of run stopping that comes from the NT and ILB spots. So that's why I concentrated my list of needs on the defensive side.

I don't think we need a big influx of talent on the offensive side. I think we've got most of the pieces we need on the offensive side.

We have a bootleg offense run by a qb who can't run. We have zero deep threats...and a qb who couldn't get that threat the ball anyway. We are an exclusively east/west attack...with holes at rg and rt.

Defensively we run a 3/4 defense without olb's who can get to the qb. We have a nose tackle who is just a role player. After being beat 3+ times in a game the defense refuses to adjust and keeps a lb on a split out rb. Clearly we need more depth at ilb.

I'd be thrilled with just average special teams.

We went from a somewhat disciplined team to more penalty stricken. That's the easiest fix right there...and yes Kubes that one is on you.

For the love of god, can we get someone in the booth with 20/20 vision to help with challenges?

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by Vinny

ok, those slow huddles, dinkanddunk passes and the plodding nature of our offense is the defenses fault. I'm glad you guys are learnin' me up.

I agree with you, that I'd like to see our hurry up offense be more efficient.

But at the same time, you have to be fair in your comparison. In the final 17 minutes of the game, the Seahawks were down 20. Their defense got an interception and forced two punts in a row. They didn't allow them to score a point (until the FG that ultimately beat them).

If our defense did the same with in the last 3 Pats possessions, guess what, it's a 31-28 game... we'd have the ball with a few minutes left, with a chance to tie or win the game.

This was a total team loss.

[welsh texan]

Originally Posted by dream_team

Sorry, didn't mean to single you out then. But the general feeling on the board is that Schaub & Kubiak cost us the game... but then I go and see alot of people screaming for an ILB? Just didn't make sense.

I agree here, I don't think you need DeMeco's talents or price tag at ILB #2, for instance I think a healthy Sharpton next to a healthy Cushing is everything you need.

Of course its becoming obvious that a healthy Sharpton isn't something to rely on. Bradie James even looks passable next to Cush. ILB isn't hitting the top of my draft board, maybe the braintrust differ.

I think NT is a position to upgrade. Not asking for a huge plugger necessarily as Wade clearly can have success with a smaller guy if his skill-set is right. But I think you can get away with it if you upgrade NT, and get Cushing back injury free, you can make do with James and a mid-round rookie to develop next to him if the starters remain healthy. I think Mercilus and Reed can handle the load at OLB and contribute 2011 style (obv Mercilus replaces Barwin, but then Mercilus/Reed looks a more balanced pairing to me after another offseason then Reed/Barwin) Bring Barwin back if it makes cap sense but don't cry if it doesn't. Braman then gives me the confidence to replace Barwin with a lower round prospect because we can get by if one of Merci/Reed go down.

Time to ask the question about Sharpton unfortunately, I was one of the few who remembered how well he filled in for Meco a couple of years back when he was returning, and was proved right as he was probably our best ILB after Cush this season, but the dude can't be relied upon. Does his contract allow us to keep him and accept his fragility or not though?

I think the Texans are in a position where they can take early flyers on QB's right now too. I believe the CB position behind JoJo and Jax needs to be given the time to develop. Perhaps they can work Routt into the slot position over the offseason? Harris and Roc look like busts but you can't really judge a CB till the 3rd or 4th season.

The real reason I believe people are calling for ILB is because they saw how thin we were with injuries, and don't believe for a second that the HC/QB situation is going to change this offseason, whether they think it should or not.

The last 2 years I thought we should have been looking for strong competition for Schaub. In that time Wilson, Kap, and Cousins have all been passed on in the mid rounds by Smithiak, in rounds where we drafted for depth at other positions, not due to need for starters. I hope they are close to changing that viewpoint, and that they haven't missed out on some golden era of drafted QB's as well.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

It was "supposed" to be Cush and Sharpton with Bradie James and Dobbins as backups. But Sharpton was injured all offseason so Bradie James won that job. When Sharpton came back, he was just inconsistent as hell. He was more athletic and got more penetration at times but was totally lost in coverage.

I was having Morlon Greenwood flashbacks with Bradie James. Sure, he'd make tackles but they were 5-10 yards past the line of scrimmage. That doesn't get it done.

I was surprised with how well Ruud played but he still wasn't good.

I said this earlier in the season in the draft forum and didn't think it had any possibility of happening but now... after Notre Dame's demolition at the hands of the Crimson Tide... how about pairing Cush with Manti Te'o? I'm not sure I like Te'o at the line of scrimmage and I'm not sure he'll drop to us but...

Where are you getting that bradie was supposed to be a back up?

Everything I've seen and heard says he was brought here to start.

Teo would be an ok option. Not preferable IMO but would be an upgrade.

[BullNation4Life]

hmmm, changes to be made...

I hear L.A. is nice this time of year...

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Sharpton first....but he was awful, then he got injured. Ruud (vet FA) was next and really wasn't as awful to be honest. Not good, but not awful.

I thought Ruud played pretty well considering when he got in here. I think he's worth a look as a veteran backup and would like to see him backing up Cushing and a rookie ILB next year with a training camp under his belt. He had a lot more left in the tank than I expected.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by welsh texan

Explains why Kubes passed on him 7 times over

LOL, I saw what you did there.

By the way, if you go to YouTube and search for something like Case Keenum vs Southern Miss, then look for the 50-43 Cougars win in 09, and go to the 5:40 mark.

You will see Keenum catching the defense offside and go long for a TD.
That's the kind of smart I was talking about.

[BullNation4Life]

Originally Posted by Rey

Where are you getting that bradie was supposed to be a back up?

Everything I've seen and heard says he was brought here to start.

Teo would be an ok option. Not preferable IMO but would be an upgrade.

I believe I read he was to compete with Sharpton for the spot DeMeco vacated when he got traded. However Sharpton never could stay on the field...

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by dream_team

Sorry, didn't mean to single you out then. But the general feeling on the board is that Schaub & Kubiak cost us the game... but then I go and see alot of people screaming for an ILB? Just didn't make sense.

Most of us "screaming for an ILB" understand the fact we're stuck with both Schaub and Kubiak for a while. The ILB position cost us games too, so why not fix what we know the organization would be willing to fix?

[BullNation4Life]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

LOL, I saw what you did there.

By the way, if you go to YouTube and search for something like Case Keenum vs Southern Miss, then look for the 50-43 Cougars win in 09, and go to the 5:40 mark.

You will see Keenum catching the defense offside and go long for a TD.
That's the kind of smart I was talking about.

YESSSS! Like when Wolfork took a month to get to the side line a Schaub actually waits until he is off the field? WTF to that?