Just something to think about....

[Caddo1361]

I was doing some research into the draft and I found something that I think is interesting.

While many people are vying for us to draft Alan Branch, AP, QB, Leon Hall or some line help (pick either line here), my opinion is that we go safety with the first pick. Landry or Nelson would be fine by me.

Two reasons for coming to this conclusion:
1. Rick Smith and Kubiak have stated before that there goal is to build a championship defense first. If that is there goal then we must take that for what it is worth.
2. On ESPN, leave all ESPN hatred out of this, they use Scouts Inc. for their scouting of all NFL players. The top ten safeties in the NFL are

1.Ed Reed
2. Troy Polamalu
3. Roy Williams
4. Rodney Harrison
5. Sean Taylor
6. Brian Dawkins
7.Bob Sanders
8. Tony Parrish
9. Michael Lewis
10. Mike Brown

Out of the top ten safeties in the league based on this list 7 made it to the playoffs this year. The only three that did not are Polamalu, which his team won the Super Bowl last year, Taylor and Parrish, Redskins, who can ever understand the Redskins?

My observation is that it takes a great leader and athlete at the safety level for your team to succeed.

Thoughts? Questions? Arguments?

[Scooter]

from Caddo's list ...

1.Ed Reed 24th overall by baltimore
2. Troy Polamalu 16th overall by pittburgh
3. Roy Williams 8th overall by dallas
4. Rodney Harrison ... 5th round, by san diego
5. Sean Taylor 5th overall by washington
6. Brian Dawkins ... 2nd round (31st pick) by philadelphia
7.Bob Sanders ... 2nd round (12th pick) by indianapolis
8. Tony Parrish ... 2nd round (5th pick) by chicago
9. Michael Lewis ... 2nd round (26th pick) by philadelphia
10. Mike Brown ... 2nd round (8th pick) by chicago

while history says that we've got a good chance of landing a solid safety in the second round, it also says that ball hawk free safeties are coming at more of a premium in recent years. landry, nelson, & griffin are high on this list ... and each is considered by many sources to be a first rounder. seeing as this is a position of considerable weakness, it wouldnt hurt my feelings in the least if we took the highest rated FS with our first pick.

dunta's a very streaky but talented playmaker, and faggins is a smart corner who excells in underneath and intermediate coverage. roc alexander is a kubiak favorite, but we have to evaluate his injury. that being said, for all three of them, their biggest weakness is over the top coverage and deep zone. a legitimate ball hawk at centerfield would mask our inefficiencies at cornerback and allow our trigger happy CB's to be tactfully more aggressive. whether by free agency or the above draft considerations, one of our highest priorities needs to be a centerfielder.

[El Tejano]

If we want our 1st pick from this past draft (Mario) to get more sacks it wouldn't hurt to have a very good secondary to create that time for him to get to the QB or harass him.

I won't be upset with the FS if we went that route. Like I said before there really isn't anything that we can't go with that I would be upset about at #8.

[dirty steve]

Originally Posted by Scooter

from Caddo's list ...

1.Ed Reed 24th overall by baltimore
2. Troy Polamalu 16th overall by pittsburgh
3. Roy Williams 8th overall by dallas
4. Rodney Harrison ... 5th round, by san diego
5. Sean Taylor 5th overall by washington
6. Brian Dawkins ... 2nd round (31st pick) by philadelphia
7. Bob Sanders ... 2nd round (12th pick) by indianapolis
8. Tony Parrish ... 2nd round (5th pick) by chicago
9. Michael Lewis ... 2nd round (26th pick) by philadelphia
10. Mike Brown ... 2nd round (8th pick) by chicago

is roy williams really the 3rd best safety? isnt in the course description for a safety to have some semblance of coverage skills and not just be a glorified linebacker who can hit real good? dude was a total rep pick for the pro bowl this year. his coverage skills are like deion sanders hitting skills.

taylor was taken 5th overall but that washington defense is still a train wreck without good D-Lineman. i'd take my chances with grabbing someone like dawkins in the 2nd or harrison in the 5th.

this really doesnt dissaude me from preferring DT over Safety at #8 in the coming draft given the chance between landry or branch.

[yourfavoritetexan42]

a little off topic but great point, look at florida yesterday, covered all the osu receivers all night, and troy smith was on the ground all night.

Bringing in a good safety really helps out your defense. Safeties that can fill good on the run but also stay over the top and make plays on the ball are very valuable. I still think Glenn Earl can be a good starter, he just needs another safety to help him out, and this may sound kind of weird but corners help out safeties more than anything.

In cover 2, if your corner can get a good jam it disrupts the play long enough for the safety to make a big play... on my high school team I had a very good jamming corner, and it helped me lead the team in interceptions. In Cover 4 it helps to have a good communicating corner, and a corner who will stay on the receiver, so the safety can just go up for the ball.

[TexanFanInCC]

Originally Posted by El Tejano

If we want our 1st pick from this past draft (Mario) to get more sacks it wouldn't hurt to have a very good secondary to create that time for him to get to the QB or harass him.

I won't be upset with the FS if we went that route. Like I said before there really isn't anything that we can't go with that I would be upset about at #8.

you can also look at it this way. by drafting a disruptive DT and lining him up next to mario, you can divert attention away from mario, making mario's task easier of getting to the QB. besides, the texans run defense could improve some. it was pretty good at times last yr, but pretty bad at times as well. you can kill 2 birds with one stone. i do agree that we need a FS, not with our 8th pick though

[U4ikrob]

I aggree that safety is a big position of need for our team as our secondary was exposed many tiems the last 2 years. Of course our GM Rick Smith being and Ex-safety himself also might give some insight into this too.

[hobie]

Well Roy Williams can hit like a Mac truck, but he can't get back into coverage very well. Would you prefer a safety that just lays the lumber, or would you like a saftey that can drop into coverage well and defend when the CB needs help..There are not too many of those who can do both.

[ATX]

We need a quality safety, preferably Free Safety to add yet another piece to our puzzle. We have 3 1st round picks on the Dline and as of now, I don't want another Dlineman drafted in the 1st round.

I want high quality at all 4 levels in our defense if you see what I'm saying. We have Mario on the line, Demeco backing the line, Dunta behind Demeco, and a FS would give us the quality at the last line of defense. That sounds like a foundation for a quality defense. Add a few more pieces from other rounds and FA, and our defense is starting to look alot better, well atleast on paper.

[Tayton]

I was excited to see Nelson last night but couldn't get a feel for what he was doing. Apparently their DBs were covering very well but on the 2 scoring plays Nelson took HORRIBLE angles to the ball and "Matt Stevened" the ball carriers.

[PapaL]

This is a good thread and good idea. Tired of the Mickey Mouse Safety combos we throw out there. You have two safties, one to bring the hits and one to cover. We need someone to cover. If the top cover saftey is rated as high as #8, then Welcome to the Houston Texans.

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by Tayton

"!@#$%" the ball carriers.

He who shall not be named!

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by LCROD

He who shall not be named!

Funny!

[Ole Miss Texan]

Great post and very insightful. I found it really interesting. There are so many things we could do with our 1st rder that I would pretty much be happy with whatever we do. But FS is one that I have been very high on a lot. I would love landry or nelson

Originally Posted by hobie

Well Roy Williams can hit like a Mac truck, but he can't get back into coverage very well. Would you prefer a safety that just lays the lumber, or would you like a saftey that can drop into coverage well and defend when the CB needs help..There are not too many of those who can do both.

To answer your question. Glenn Earl can hit hard. I like him as our starting SS. He will only improve with Landry or Nelson next to him. CC Brown is more of a SS imo. I WANT A FREE SAFETY THAT WILL INTERCEPT AND KNOCK DOWN THE BALL. I want one that can get to the ball and deflect it instead of getting there too late and having to make the tackle.

I think if we go FS with our 8. we can get a good DT (Okoye, Dorsey, Pitcock, Mebane)in the 2nd..or a CB(Hughes, McCauley) that slips out of the 1st. would aaron ross more solid than Faggins? will be there for us in the 3rd? I like Bishop from California as a LB we can pick up in the 4th. (guessing on round). We would have a killer defense.