Greg Eslinger signed to Practice Squad

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Dang !
Sandwiched in between Jammal Brown in 2004 and Joe Thomas in 2006,
all this kid did was win the Outland Award in his junior year at Minnesota
in 2005 ! http://encarta.msn.com/media_7015004...d_Winners.html

don't forget former Texan - 1994 Zach Wiegert Nebraska

[beerlover]

this is the beauty of following the NFL draft process, you build a solid base of understanding, maybe not all but certainly the cream of the crop each year coming out of College. then apply that knowledge, sometimes years later out of the blue & suddenly you know alot more about a teams roster than you ever care to imagine.

Eslinger was projected a 3rd/4th rd. pick. I remember watching him open holes in the center of the line for Laurence Maroney to run through @ Minnesota. If he still has that kind of quickness & somehow can build his strength to deter the bull rush he can play in this league because he is a true workhorse, game film studying, football player & excellent technician similar to Ryan Kalil just less powerful.

[Porky]

I was pretty high on him coming out, but obviousely he hasn't hit his stride yet. I see this as a low risk, high reward transaction, and it is another feather in Rick Smith's cap.

[Errant Hothy]

Does anybody know anything about Kevis Coley, the LB we signed along with Eslinger? Finding any decent info on him is proving to be a challenge.

[mexican_texan]

I've wanted this guy since he played at Minnesotta. I think he'll take Flannagan's job, leaving Chris White to start.

[TheRealJoker]

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

[mexican_texan]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

As for Denver, Tom Nalen, first of all.

[Specnatz]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

I got blasted when someone here called Brisiel a scrub and I said he is not a scrub he just has not had the oppertunity to play and for us to see what he can do in live game options.

While I agree not labeling him anything just yet, but it sure would be nice to keep him around and see if he can put a few pounds on. It is not like there is no good BBQ joints around town.

[Fox]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?...nfl&id=3130515

Here's an article I found on him that's pretty recent from ESPN.

[YoungTexanFan]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

Tom Nalen. Mis-fit system in CLE. IR.

Those are 3 fairly solid reasons he hasn't gotten a fair shake to this point.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

before he becomes our future center he must prove he can handle pressure @ the point of impact, against huge NFL NT's/DT's who outweigh him 50 pounds, he must be able to hold the point without collapsing the pocket. my guess is he will upgrade depth @ the position, replace Hodgdon/White or both behind Flanagan & McKinney & used in run oriented playcalling.

just an observation on my part, probably way off base, but instant replay has slowed down the game & allowed the proliferation of the modern day giant linemen, not just giving them time to catch their wind but amass huge chunks of mass. think of Greg as a throwback, old school offensive linemen when the average size was around 275 lbs. obviously I'm not a fan of instant replay it takes away from the beauty, endurance & purity of the game.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

The reason he fell down the draft boards was because of his probable lack of ability to handle the massive two gap beasts inside in the NFL...and his shoulder injury (just about as bad as having bad wheels) in Denver hurt his chances early on as he hasn't been able to stick on a roster despite him being a blue collar technician with good feet...if he is ever going to make it in the league this is probably his best shot now as he can go into camp and compete for a roster slot in 08 with a team that has a couple of older Centers who are on the backside of their careers.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by beerlover

obviously I'm not a fan of instant replay it takes away from the beauty, endurance & purity of the game.

I'm pretty sure the NFL has always had a play clock. So I'm not sure how instant replay would impact the game (other than helping determine a referee challenge).

It's not just the NFL seeing bigger, stronger athletes. Baseball and Basketball are going through the same evolution. Probably even sports most don't follow, like water polo. Mainly, just improvement in training and nutrition. Maybe a little unnatural help here and there.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

I hate to be Debbie Downer but I wouldn't crown him as our future center just yet.

Everybody is talking about his college accolades but nobody is talking about his warts, lets talk about the reasons he was never able to crack the active roster in Denver or Cleveland before we crown this guy our future starting center.

For the record, im happy to have him if he's anywhere close to what he was in college.

Originally Posted by mexican_texan

As for Denver, Tom Nalen, first of all.

As for Cleveland, Hank Fraley, second of all.... (not that Fraley is a world beater, but he is an established vet.)

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

As for Cleveland, Hank Fraley, second of all.... (not that Fraley is a world beater, but he is an established vet.)

And they have a huge contract with LeCharles Bentley--actually they just restructured it today to lessen the cap consequences if he can't play next year.

[nunusguy]

Eslinger has Tom Nalen written all over him, or actually a young Tom Nalen.
Nalen was drafted late, very late in the 7th round and is quite smallish for an NFL OLineman, at a listed weight of 286. But in his prime (he's now 35 and on IR this year), he was very quick and a real fit as the center in Denvers ZB schemes it used in its offense. He was also a very savy football player with
excellent tecnique.
So with Kubiak in clear control of the O after Shermans exit and assuming the Texans return to Kubiaks roots so to speak in Denver and given the need for a transfusion of youth in the OLine, expecially at center, its little wonder that Rick Smith (and Kubiak) jumped on Eslinger when he became available at a bargain price.
He's got his best shot yet.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by awtysst

This is huge. I was big on drafting Eslinger and thought he would be a great pickup. I think that he is our Center of the future and will be solid in that role. He likely wont play this season, but he just might crack the starting lineup week 4 next year.

This is a great move for multiple reasons. First, it gives us our longterm answer at Center. Second, it gives us more depth at Oline. If we end up moving White to RG/C, we can get Studdard to be our backup LG/C. Third it means one less position we need to worry about in the draft or FA. Now we can focus on other positons of need in FA and the Draft.

So our O line next year could look like this

LT: from Draft, Salaam, Butler
LG: Pitts, Studdard
C: Flannigan, Eslinger
RG: Weary, White
RT:Winston, Frye, Butler

This leaves Spencer to fill in and get his strength back before coming into one of the guard positions.

Eventually it could be:
LT: from Draft, Butler
LG: Studdard, Pitts
C: Eslinger, White
RG: Spencer, Weary
RT:Winston, Frye, Butler

Assuming Steve McKinney is healthy, I see him on team rather than Flannagan, Especially with Sherman gone.

[TheRealJoker]

Interesting stuff, hope he works out for us.

[edo783]

Had some good college stuff (I remember wanting him in the draft)and seems to have had a bit of bad luck so far in the pros. If he is anything like everyone thought he would be coming out of school, we may have a real steal. This would seem to drive the need to draft a center much further down the draft day list.

[barberman]

Another smart move by Rick Smith.