Hollings - What was he still doing in the game?

[Ibar_Harry]

Everyone can say what they want about Hollings, but the fact is the players have confidence in DD and not Hollings. Hollings has yet to earn their respect. He has to show what he can do in a real game and until that time, he will simply be 2nd string. The line changes are not because of Hollings abilities to run the ball. They are designed to take advantage of DD's skills.

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by Ibar_Harry

Everyone can say what they want about Hollings, but the fact is the players have confidence in DD and not Hollings. Hollings has yet to earn their respect. He has to show what he can do in a real game and until that time, he will simply be 2nd string. The line changes are not because of Hollings abilities to run the ball. They are designed to take advantage of DD's skills.

Have you been in the locker room, because how do you know the players dont have confidence in Hollings???

The line changes werent made particuarly for DD, they made the line changes because the best rushing teams in the league use zone blocking and he takes cares of defensive line stunts for the passing game. It just happened that DD best attributes are used for running in a zone blocking scheme...

[mulpwr]

Originally Posted by DominatorDavis

from Fiddy ...so that means the Texans have already seen something in Hollings to state that he would carry half the load so there was no reason to play him....



I disagree. There was a major reason to continue to play him. Who do they put in there? Split time between two guys who just showed up for practice last week? Its very dangerous to do that. I think that they were keeping Hollings in there two fold: 1) further evaluation of Hollings to see if he can endure a 20 carry game - which he did and 2) quite simply there was no other alternative. It was an act of necessity. I believe that the conservative play was engineered to keep Hollings from injury. Not to take it out on the field and just dominate guys.

There is no doubt that the Texans see something in Hollings. We all do. For those of you who are Hollings bashers I really do feel for you. This guy is special and we are lucky to have him on our team.

More so then that I think that Cower wanted to lay it thick this game since we embarrassed him in 02 with only 47 yards in offense. Its ok though - our guys will not go into the season with malaise and puffed ego's. Cower wanted to show that 02 was just a fluke and that by giving us a good drubbing in the pre-season he has somehow undone all of that which has hurt his own sense of respectability. An expansion team beat him. That is a seasoned coaches worst nightmare.

I personally do not like Cower. I think that he is a spineless back stabbing ego-maniac. More so then that, most former players feel the same.

Lastly, is really sucks that Anderson got hurt. I really liked that guy.

You think Cowher ran up the score in a meaningless preseason game to get revenge on the Steelers regular season loss in 2002? You may hate Cowher and thats just fine. I see no reason to believe though Cowher would do that.It wouldn't serve no vindication.Your opinion might be what some fans think though. In regular season games,if the Steelers are up big they don't rub it in by trying to pile on points. You feel that former Steeler players think he's a jerk? I would love to know where you got that opinion from.

[clandestin]

You and I both know that Cowher has a "beat the preseason texans" bonus clause in his contract, mulpwr. You're not fooling anyone!!!

moving on to my Hollings v. Davis impressions thus far...

Hollings has that darned speed about him. I think that he'd be a heck of a denver back, in that if the hole is there where it's supposed to be he can fly through it. The thing that bothers me is that I'm not seeing that "get the extra inch" mentality so far. I think that Hollings is the kind of guy who could be lethal behind a dominant oline, but will live and die with the holes the line can create.

Davis creates. If the designed lane isn't there, he can first see and then bounce to another spot. He also has that mindset that if the choice is between 6 more inches and a big hit by the linebacker, or just rolling on the turf--he's getting those 6 inches every time. That attitude sometimes turns 6 inches into 6 yards. He may not ever be a big strike kind of runner, but when a play breaks down he's the guy you want in there. In fact, Davis's first standout play (in my eyes) came when he bounced off a 'sure' tackle in the backfield and turned it into a 15 yard gain.

[beerlover]

good points clan, I would take it one step further and say Tony Hollings is a tremendous talent that two years ago a coaching staff decided we've got to get him the ball somehow, hey I got an idea lets make him our RB. Makes you wonder how guys like Portis & Dominack Davis fall in the draft because of size or speed even though they've been RB's their whole football careers. There must be more to it than footspeed, cut-back ability & assorted combine testing.

on another note the Texans would have considered Kevin Jones two years ago in the draft, if he where eligible, possibly even over Andre Johnson, this year he slipped to Detroit with the 30th pick. Steven Jackson has the earmarkings of a great NFL back he was drafted by the Rams #24 pick. Maybe next year we can trade our 2nd, 3rd & 4th round picks to move up and select Texas Cedric Benson or Carnell Williams of Auburn.

no I'm not giving up, this is only a worst case scenero which would not be all that bad considering the Texans finish 8-8. Of course alot depends on how the Offensive lineman work together and injuys adversly affect the team such as Seth Payne & Gary Walker, but thats for another thread.

[eriadoc]

I don't know if I am in the minority, but Hollings sure seems unimpressive. If he's not fumbling, he is running straight ahead and leaning on D-linemen. He looks like as faster Wells.

I have not been very impressed with him, even last week, when he had holes. Perhaps it's a personal preference, but I'd rather have a back that has great field vision, hits the holes with authority, breaks tackles, has a low center of gravity, and is shifty and deceptive. Add in toughness and durability, and you've got a HOF-er, and Emmitt-type back. I may be in the minority, though, because a lot of folks seem to want that burner that can hit the outside and take it to the house. That's all well and good, but I prefer the former. They almost never are the same, unfortunately.

I don't see Hollings as having too many of those qualities, and I really don't see the vaunted speed. Honestly, I don't think he's really that much faster than Wells. I have no clue what their 40-yd. times were, so I am probably off-base, but it seems that Wells has as much game speed as Hollings, at least from what I've seen in practice and in the Dallas game. Hollings still has a lot to prove, IMO.

[DominatorDavis]

Originally Posted by mulpwr

You think Cowher ran up the score in a meaningless preseason game to get revenge on the Steelers regular season loss in 2002? You may hate Cowher and thats just fine. I see no reason to believe though Cowher would do that.It wouldn't serve no vindication.Your opinion might be what some fans think though. In regular season games,if the Steelers are up big they don't rub it in by trying to pile on points. You feel that former Steeler players think he's a jerk? I would love to know where you got that opinion from.

Your coach is a jerk. Everyone knows it. Ask any writer on the NFL what they think of Cowher - outside of the ones on Pittsburgs staff. Maybe even them too. He has a bad habit of crossing people the wrong way. Let me just say that. You may have an affinity toward the man but what I am telling you is gospel.

You are on the Texans board Steeler-fan. I'm sure that Pittsburg has a message board somewhere where you can say all the good things about the Steelers that you want. But here you will from time to time be challenged.

Pittsburgh came out ready and laid the wood to us - it will concede that. That was a drubbing. Hands down.

Lastly, I do hope that Cowher, you, and your city are now content and able to sleep again after such a convincing victory.

[mulpwr]

Originally Posted by DominatorDavis

Your coach is a jerk. Everyone knows it. Ask any writer on the NFL what they think of Cowher - outside of the ones on Pittsburgs staff. Maybe even them too. He has a bad habit of crossing people the wrong way. Let me just say that. You may have an affinity toward the man but what I am telling you is gospel.

You are on the Texans board Steeler-fan. I'm sure that Pittsburg has a message board somewhere where you can say all the good things about the Steelers that you want. But here you will from time to time be challenged.

Pittsburgh came out ready and laid the wood to us - it will concede that. That was a drubbing. Hands down.

Lastly, I do hope that Cowher, you, and your city are now content and able to sleep again after such a convincing victory.

First do you have any proof? All the interviews and past players who played for Cowher that i know have done nothing but speak good things about him. I don't live anywhere close to Pittsburgh so i am not biased to their sports writers. How has he crossed people? All you have done is make an opinion with nothing to back it up. Your words are far from the truth. I don't think Cowher is a great coach and certainly don't happen to be a coddler. You act like you have some inside info though.
Second i love when i go to an opponents board and someone like you has to reaffirm the stance of "its our board don't you have a board to go to"! Listen dude i was on the old board back in 2002. I don't care if you rip the Steelers or not. One thing i have is an extremely thick skin so its going to take a lot more then your little winefest to get me to never come back.If i can take the heavy traffic of the Eagles and Browns board,this place will be a piece of cake.
If you've noticed i made no mention of the preseason game in this thread. It doesn't matter as its just a player evaluation scrimmage. The game back in 2002 has no bearing upon the 2004 season. Its obvious that win means a lot more to you now then the loss did to the Steeler fans.

[Fiddy]

How does a "Hollings" thread turn into a "Cowher being a jerk" thread....

[DominatorDavis]

from mulpwr: First do you have any proof? All the interviews and past players who played for Cowher that i know have done nothing but speak good things about him.

Yeah, I'm just making this stuff up. Your right. I'm wrong.

I'll stick to my original point - I think that Hollings will be a very good player for us.

[isawoj]

I think that the quickest part of Tony's game that will improve and we will see great results from is going to be his receiving. If the five yard rule is enforced, imagine putting Hollings in motion matched up against a LB or NB who can't be physical with him. Not to mention safety valve screens where he is in space against one to two defenders.

Let's say in the next two years it is evident that he just can't run between the tackles with any regularity and be a 100yd/gm rusher. What if his role becomes third down and passing situation back like Westbrook last year in Philly? Learn to pick up the blitz, chip block on the end, run a draw or two through gaping holes, catch a screen or split out like Faulk or M. Bennett effectively going three or four wide with speed against a safety or LB.

If he can do that effectively and consistently starting next season, I would be happy. Not a homerun draft pick but certainly not a bust.

[TheOgre]

I could see Hollings settling into a role like Kevin Faulk has for the Patriots. That guy ate us alive last year with the screen passes, end runs and draws. That is really the worst case scenario I see for Hollings (barring injuries).

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by Ibar_Harry

Everyone can say what they want about Hollings, but the fact is the players have confidence in DD and not Hollings. Hollings has yet to earn their respect. He has to show what he can do in a real game and until that time, he will simply be 2nd string. The line changes are not because of Hollings abilities to run the ball. They are designed to take advantage of DD's skills.

Hate to bring this thread back up but on SR610 today Capers was asked by Rich about why they put in the new zone blocking schemes and he said that the reason they switched to a zone blocking scheme was because and the end of each season he looks at what other teams have been successful doing and he said that he loves how Denver has been able to run the ball over the years and noticed how successful the Ravens were with it and also said that it would work out with the atleticism of the line, Capers didnt metion either RB once. He didnt say "We switched to zone blocking because of DD".....