What about Peek?

[Vambo, the Marble Eye]

The headline from NBC Sports today "Texans need their defense to deliver" with the sub line- "Houston takes step back to improve ‘D’ for long haul"

Here is the part of the story that intrigued me.

“Peek might be the key to how well this unit plays. He is the team's best pass rusher but in his first two seasons was unable to handle the rigors and adjustments of playing full-time.”

Two questions:

-What do you think?

-What does "unable to handle the rigors and adjustments of playing full-time" mean?

[jmantexfan]

I think peek is great. He will really stir things up and cause cofusion and panic for opposing QBs

Playing full time in the NFL, requires you to always be on your toes, and ready to adjust to formations and differnent packages. You must have a ton of endurance and be very smart. Maybe some of these sources have reason to believe that Peek is lacking in one or more of those areas.

I say who cares if he is not perfect all around if he will gets to the QB frequently but gets burned on occasion. The added intensity will lead to frustration and turnovers.

[Boris]

-What does "unable to handle the rigors and adjustments of playing full-time" mean?

I think they're alluding to his decipline & work habits. From what i've heard, some of the great plays Peek made last yr. occured because he goofed up his assignment on the play. Evidently he was in the wrong spot @ the right time. As an eternal optimist,` i'll rack-up those plays as "Great Natural Football Instincts".

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by jmantexfan

I think peek is great.

I think a player should have more than 3 sacks in two years before you call him "grea.t"

[jmantexfan]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

I think a player should have more than 3 sacks in two years before you call him "grea.t"

Im not refering to peek as a great, man, like Seau, or LT was, no where near. i am just saying i have faith in him and i personally believe he will have a great step up year, not probowl, but he will signifigantly help us disrupt the back field and it will be fun to watch him play in more than just a few downs per game.

[kbourda]

Originally Posted by Bottle-O-Bud

The whole LB crew is the key cause:

1) How well Wong stops the run
2) Can Greenwood give us sharper like production
3) How well can Peek keep his cool
4) Will Babin be late on every pass coverage like last year.
5) Polk and our other back ups ready to step it up if one of the big 4 gets injured...

We shall soon see..... wont we. One thing is for sure, we are faster on the field.

Well, I think:
1) that's what he does best
2) considering Sharper isn't here now because of him , hopefuly better
3) he should bring his intensity
4) he'll be ready

[The Preacher]

I am a little worried about his durability but his stats show he has game changing ability. 7 forced fumbles his senior year in college and big plays the end of last year. Almost as importantly will be the development of Charlie Anderson. Maybe because I am a SEC guy I want to see him do well but he also was coming on at the end of last year. If Peek gets hurt Charlie could surprise some folks. Both were great special teamers and I can't wait to see these two develop. They may need another year but these two could make the difference between a mediocre LB core and an elite one. Throw in Babin, Greenwood, and Wong and I like our chances.

[F-minus67]

I think if your going to look at the success of the LB corps, you have to look at how well the d line will play. If the LBs are going to be as good as we think they can be, the d line has to be healthly the entire year and one has to play at a pro bowl level.

[TEXANS84]

Remember, like Jason Babin...Peek was a DE in college. So there is adjustment to moving to an OLB position, especially when he drops back into coverage.

As a 3rd down pass rusher, Peek only knew one speed: Wide open. Now he's going to have to adjust for different situations being a starter.

[DominickDavisFan76]

OK all these threads ive read so far are about peek, talk about someone else, ya we know he will have to step up this year if we can even think about the word "Playoffs" so what do u ppl think about our draft picks???? :brickwall

[ArlingtonTexan]

In my mind, Peek is as much a question mark as Wand. I am not that imprssed with him. He has made a couple of plays. he jumped around after them and got some fans excited. As for him being a dynamic pass rusher , I have my doubts. Normally, a team's best passer rusher forces his way on to the field no matter his short comings.

He is fast and athletic which are the physical qualities of many pass rushers, but I just have not seen it on the field. Of all the players, I hope that I am wrong on it is him.

[nunusguy]

I to like Peek: he's a tremendous athelte who is an intense and fierce competitor. But even though I appreciate his ability and efforts, I'm can't help but say I'm a little apprehensive. He does get hurt alot and he all too often loses his cool at the worst time for the sake of his teammates. And
he's suppose to be up to 255, not sure if that is really good. Peek's greatest
assets are his speed & quickness, and its hard to believe he has not lost some of that when he's gained 15-20 pounds.
An NFL season is very long and demanding and a Jason Babin type, who is atheletic though not as flashy as Peek, is maybe better built for the long NFL season because of being more steady and durable. Comparing the 2 is a bit like comparing a sports car and pickup, but I'm hoping the sports car (Peek) can end up being a hybrid who also has some pickup in him to go along with the flash.

[Haams]

Personally I'd feel a lot better about our linebacker's if we had drafted Derrick Johnson... Oh well. I'm still extremely optimistic, hopefully the Johnson we did get will add some pass rush for us.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Haams

...I'm still extremely optimistic, hopefully the Johnson we did get will add some pass rush for us.

I think he will, indirectly at least. The Texans got little push up the middle from the d-linemen last season. That allowed the oppostion QBs to sit back in the pocket all day. If the Texans can get that push up the middle from Travis Johnson (or any of the d-linemen) & force the QB out of the pocket, Peek & Babin can come up with some cheap sacks.

[keyfro]

when i look at both peek and babin i see the same thing...both bit on play action and boot so many times last year...that's what the article means by adjusting to the full-time player status...can they keep from bitting on fakes...can they be reliable in pass coverage not just pass rush...can peek and babin keep contain on the QB and the outside runs?

those are all the major question marks leading into the training camp...i for one don't see this being a major problem...i see the first two games them still adjusting but by the third game i think we'll see them mature into the players we know they can become

as for wong and greenwood...i have no doubt that wong is a serious upgrade over foreman...nuff said on that...greenwood will have something to prove to us...sharper as much as he was lacking in leadership skills had the physical skills to be great at the MLB position...does greenwood?...i think he has the physical skills to do the same thing sharper did...but does he have the leadership skills sharper was lacking that's the real question...obviously capers brought him in because he feels like he can deliver some of those things jamie couldn't...we will see...i hope he can for caper's sake and them teams

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by Vambo, the Marble Eye

-What does "unable to handle the rigors and adjustments of playing full-time" mean?

It means he was driving the coaches nuts. He was constantly pissing them off with his mental mistakes, which consisted of constantly blowing his assignment, either by a)not knowing what to do on the called play, or b)actually knowing what to do, but not doing it anyway. He is also undisciplined on the field, as he was constantly letting his temper get out of control, drawing numerous unsportsmanlike conduct penaltles on more than one occasion. As much as he was praised by the coaches for his physical talents, he was always getting yelled at by Capers himself, or the other coaches on the sidelines. I heard Capers himself say on the radio, "That kid has more energy than anyone else on the team. The problem is getting him to focus that energy in the right direction."

Now, with that going on in front of the TV cameras and on the radio waves, you have to conclude that that immaturity, lack of discipline, or even lack of intelligence was coming out behind closed doors . . . on the practice field, or in the classroom.
He's already lost his playbook . . . something which, at the time, I thought would have gotten him immediately thrown off the team. God only knows what else he's doing that's aggravating them, like sleeping in class, or not paying attention in class, or on the practice field.

Or . . . or . . . or, it could be that he doesn't have intelligence to pick up a complicated system like the 3-4. (I heard John Granato allude to that possibility on the radio, in which he said, if that's the case, the Texans should just dumb it down so Peek could play it. :brickwall )

No matter what the case, or what is wrong, or the reasons behind it. When the coaches themselves admit that Peek is the best linebacker talent on the team, and they still haven't played him full time after two seasons. . . the reasons why are not petty.

[jmantexfan]

Their are many reasons why a player goes 2 years without starting. Maybe he was not ready, and maybe he is lacking discipline. I am 26 years old and i know when i was 22 or 23 i was , as a matter of fact i am still trying to work on my discipline. the point is, people grow and mature over time. Some of the greats in the NFL were not ready to start in there first two years. A talented player with the drive to succeed can learn discipline, and I am sure that a possibility to start on this team will give Peek a reason to put forth an extra effort to learn the scemes and atleast give a valid effort to keep his cool on the field

[keyfro]

absolutely right...some people just take a little longer to mature into the person they eventually become...if peek can grasp the concepts and keep his cool...although i will say this...we definetly need guys on defense with his natural aggression

[disaacks3]

Originally Posted by Marcus

It means he was driving the coaches nuts. He was constantly pissing them off with his mental mistakes, which consisted of constantly blowing his assignment, either by a)not knowing what to do on the called play, or b)actually knowing what to do, but not doing it anyway. He is also undisciplined on the field, as he was constantly letting his temper get out of control, drawing numerous unsportsmanlike conduct penaltles on more than one occasion. As much as he was praised by the coaches for his physical talents, he was always getting yelled at by Capers himself, or the other coaches on the sidelines. I heard Capers himself say on the radio, "That kid has more energy than anyone else on the team. The problem is getting him to focus that energy in the right direction."

That's it in a nutshell. To me though, this is the kind of thing that shows how good a "coach" we have. Can Capers & Co, overcome the issues, or do they just give up? Peek had real "presence", now to get him reigned in and "under control".

[cred]

Originally Posted by DominickDavisFan76

OK all these threads ive read so far are about peek, talk about someone else, ya we know he will have to step up this year if we can even think about the word "Playoffs" so what do u ppl think about our draft picks???? :brickwall

Well, you got to think, when the thread is "What about Peek" why would there be other info in this thread when it could be in other locations and posts.