What do the Texans have to do in the offseason?

[ATX]

ok, i know it's young in the season, and i seriously doubt we make the playoffs this year. so my question is, considering we have no major injuries, what do the Texans have to do with free agency and the draft to start competing on a major scale.

Offense: I think the Offense is growing and maturing slowly. DC and AJ will be here for a long time. i'm concerned with DD, and am thinking he will eventually be a 3rd down type of back. i'm hoping Hollings will step up and be the back we drafted him to be. we also have maturing fullbacks that could be a real threat one day and also provide us with good depth. We have some up and coming OL with Pitts and Wand, but Mckinney and Wiegert are getting old and will need to be replaced within the next few years. as far as TE, i have no clue. will Joppru be the TE we wanted when we drafted him? Now for WRs, Aj and Gaffney will probably be our 1 and 2 next year with Armstrong and possibly sloan thomas as 3 and 4 unless and hopefully we pick up another good, solid, veteran type WR in free agency.

Defense: I like our future in the secondary. With Robinson and Faggins as our future CB's and with the additions of McCree, Earl, and Walker for Safety i feel we have acquired some really good future players. I think Babin and Peek will be our future on the outside, but i think we need to draft a good inside LB for the future. as far as DL, they're getting old. Walker and Payne are on the decline and we need some future. i think we need to draft some DLas well as acquiring a Stud DL in free agency. this is all my opinion, anybody have any other ideas or suggestions?

[El Tejano]

You're right, the season is too young. I am not packing it in so soon but for the sake of your thread, we need D lineman. Looks like Udeze is playing as good as advertised.

[SBTexans08]

Yup....we need some young blood in the DL. We need some better, younger OL men.
I'd like to keep a Bradford type reciever....tall, fast, and a physical threat...possibly pick a younger one in free agency or keep Bradfor for another 2 years.
We need fresh men on the ILB spots...it'd be nice to draft one and possibly pick one up in FA. Another RB in the draft would be nice also IMO.

[Nawzer]

I was for drating Vince Wilfork and that guy is going to be a stud for New England. Not that I don't like Dunta Robinson but I think Wilfork could've been really good for us. As for next year, I really don't know but at this rate I would go d-line first and there a stud 0-linesman then get him too.

[Grid]

We are gonna draft defense. Which is a good thing cause we have some defensive geniuses on our coaching staff and they have been working with what they could get.. now they get to pick their own players and we will hopefully start to see them turn this defense into a monster.

[rittenhouserobz]

It was important to get CB iun here this year. I think DL can adjust to the progame faster than CB's. I am sure we will draft a stud. DL-man this year.

[MojoX]

Originally Posted by Nawzer

I was for drating Vince Wilfork and that guy is going to be a stud for New England. Not that I don't like Dunta Robinson but I think Wilfork could've been really good for us. As for next year, I really don't know but at this rate I would go d-line first and there a stud 0-linesman then get him too.

It wasn't Robinson over Wilfork as much as it was Babin over Wilfork. When it was announced the Texans were trading back up into the 1st round, I just knew they were going to take either Wilfork or surprise us all with Gamble. For a moment I thought they were going to walk away with both Robinson and Wilfork. It seemed to make so much sense, given the need for a young future anchor for the 3-4 and the questions surrounding Payne. Sometimes I still can't beleive the Texans passed on Wilfork with that second pick. (I understand passing on him withe the first one.) Anyway, I have no complaints about Babin, though. He has looked pretty solid and I look forward to seeing him in some all-out blitzes.

As for the next offseason, I am hoping the first rounder ends up being any position on D (with priority to DL and LB) or an OL.

[wags]

Originally Posted by MojoX

It wasn't Robinson over Wilfork as much as it was Babin over Wilfork. When it was announced the Texans were trading back up into the 1st round, I just knew they were going to take either Wilfork or surprise us all with Gamble. For a moment I thought they were going to walk away with both Robinson and Wilfork. It seemed to make so much sense, given the need for a young future anchor for the 3-4 and the questions surrounding Payne. Sometimes I still can't beleive the Texans passed on Wilfork with that second pick. (I understand passing on him withe the first one.) Anyway, I have no complaints about Babin, though. He has looked pretty solid and I look forward to seeing him in some all-out blitzes.

As for the next offseason, I am hoping the first rounder ends up being any position on D (with priority to DL and LB) or an OL.

What? Wilfork was gone before we moved up. We traded for the 27th pick and Wilfork was picked 21st.

[Grid]

I wouldnt count on any offensive draft picks unless something bad happens to someone this year.

Our offense is set.. any changes made to it will be from Free Agency.

We are looking to create OUR defense now.. so.. at this point im thinking something like this:

1st: DT or DE
2nd: ILB or OLB
3rd: DT or DE
3rd: tweener LB
4th: dunno.. maybe an FS.. maybe another DE or OLB.. or another tweener


These draft picks were chosen based on the phases of the moon, the tides, and the way my old bag of voodoo chicken bones landed when i dropped them on a bloody pentagram. So you can pretty much count on it going this way.

as for free agency.. Im betting we will be looking for a good TE, good Olinemen.. some kind of pass rusher.. and possibly a big running back.. some kind of north and south runner like Capers loves to have. Though I wouldnt count on that one.. I think we are gonna stick with Davis and Hollings.

Also.. if bradford's contract isnt renewed, we could be looking for a WR.. though im betting that we will either renew it.. or go with Johnson, Gaffney, and Armstrong and pick up someone who will make a good 4th receiver.

[NoBullTexan]

I think the reference to drafting Wilfork instead of Babbin assumed that we would have traded with someone with the 21st pick, and that of course, would have been N.E. And nope they wouldn't have traded him cause they needed him as bad as we did. Of course the Texans thought Payne would be his old self, which he has certainly not been. I'm for giving Ioane more playing time.
When I dropped my bag of chicken bones on the Oija board, they fell off, but they still indicated a big 'ol ugly, mean NT for our first pick, with an ILB #2, another CB/safety type at #3a, and an offensive lineman at #3b. I don't care if it is a guard, tackle, or what, but I would really like us to firm up in the middle with maybe a center that could also play guard.

[Wolf]

I think Dline will be the priority.. but I would LOVE to have a Derrick Johnson out of UT at LB ..(but where to put him?)

Next I think we need OL and depending on what is goin on with Bradford.. possibly WR (I think Bradford is a FA along with Coleman)

[bckey]

1-NT
2-DE
3-MLB Sharpers eventual replacement
4-OL help please
5-DB A. Glenn eventual replacement. Maybe Wright or Faggins

Day 1 of the draft will probably be all defense unless a stud OL is just sitting there in the 2nd or 3rd round. 1st round is definately a dl at this point. Injuries and free agency can change everything. I wouldn't care if the entire draft was spent on the defensive and offensive lines.

[TheOgre]

Priorities IMO:

1. DL - the D-line has underperformed thus far. I really don't like the quality of our depth. It seems like the majority of good defenses in the league have depth on the DL. Being able to rotate guys really does help keep them fresh in the 4th quarter.
2. WR - we need a true #2 WR to take pressure off of AJ. I fairly sure Gaffney is nothing but a #3 slot receiver. Armstrong has potential to be that #2 but I'm not sure. Bradford likely will be gone. Think about what adding Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley to Marvin Harrision has done to open up the passing game for the Colts.
3. C - we need to start working on McKinney's replacement ASAP.
4. FS - assuming Coleman doesn't resign do we really want Lord/McCree to start? The two safety positions have been a weakness since our inception.
5. ILB - Foreman gets a ton of tackles but doesn't make many big plays. We need someone that is more disruptive here.
X. HB - we may find we need to get one of these badly. I want to see what DD and Hollings do over the course of the season. Can you imagine adding a Cedric Benson to our club?

[Grid]

I think McRee could be our starting FS. I think he has the talent.

As for McKinney.. I see us replacing him through free agency when the time comes.

Cedric Benson does look awesome

[Meloy]

IMO:
1. Forget Cedric @ RB. He will be a top 10 1st round & we can't afford even a low 1st on RB. We stay with what we have unless a stud power back avail @ 5th or below. (Yeah I know)
2. Someone will take a chance on Bradford & we can pick up a wr with speed @ 2nd round (don't we have Dallas pick for the QB we gave them?)
3.McKinney:Not sure when contract up, but what about his younger brother who starts @ center for Dolphins? His contract may be up same time as Steve & lot of strings we can use to get him here as a Free Agent.
4. Linebackers should be set through 2005 except for low round studs @ back up.

If I were GM: Round 1 DT (uh, what is a DE in a 3-4? Basically we use 300+lb guys to stuff the middle call them what you want. Yes, I was a Wilfork guy too but we had to have a shutdown corner & Wilfork was never on board for us. Round 2a Wide receiver with speed(love Armstrong but never seen his 40 speed.)Plenty of these avail from what I hear with some experts saying deeper than '04 draft. 2b(Hensen) best DT or Safety avail. Ramone Walker needs to show something soon. Earl is ?mark after one game. I like Lord but he has to get on team first.Coleman may fool some & resign for less to stay. Brown is good on run but lost on pass defense. 3rd and below- best avail.McCree not a starter.

Unsure of what $ avail for free agency but Miller/Breuner should be ok for 05 & I like what little I've seen of Murphy. Unless something really stands out,(See McKinney above) I think we may hold. Ok- tear it apart.

[TheOgre]

Actually we got a 3rd rounder from Dallas not a 2nd or a conditional pick. I still think Henson may be the Cowboys starter the game after they are eliminated from playoff contention.

[Marcus]

We need to either sign a good free agent center to replace that wink link in the offensive line, named Steve McKinney ...

.... or we need use a high draft pick on a center to replace Steve McKinney.

Either way, we need to find a replacement for Steve McKinney.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by NoBullTexan

Of course the Texans thought Payne would be his old self, which he has certainly not been.

As I recall, a big reason (if not the one main reason), to pay G.Walker a bundle to stay on with the Texans was out of uncertainty for Payne's
recovery from his knee injury. So I don't think they were necessarily counting
on him, and it's still premature to definitively characterize his comeback
from injury. But, for sure, the D line may be the most disappointing single
unit re. its performance so far. Not sure why, but it's not getting the job done.

[texansfan88]

Originally Posted by bckey

1-NT
2-DE
3-MLB Sharpers eventual replacement
4-OL help please
5-DB A. Glenn eventual replacement. Maybe Wright or Faggins

Day 1 of the draft will probably be all defense unless a stud OL is just sitting there in the 2nd or 3rd round. 1st round is definately a dl at this point. Injuries and free agency can change everything. I wouldn't care if the entire draft was spent on the defensive and offensive lines.

how are you going to take a nose tackle in the 1st round? If Haloti Ngata nor Orien Harris come out, no one will be good enough to take in the first round. Antaaj Hawthorne is too small to be a 3-4 NT

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by texansfan88

how are you going to take a nose tackle in the 1st round? If Haloti Ngata nor Orien Harris come out, no one will be good enough to take in the first round. Antaaj Hawthorne is too small to be a 3-4 NT

I can get in trouble speaking for someone else, but I think this priority order for bckey not saying draft a NT in round one.