John McLain Explains Why Duane Brown!

http://blogs.chron.com/nfl/

John McLain does a good job of justifying the selection of Duane Brown. I think the 2008 NFL Draft was one of those drafts in which teams selected based off of need rather then talent (for the most part).

Check out the article...


Why I like Duane Brown:

Works well in our zone blocking system (but needs to fine-tune his skills). Ran a 5.50 40-Yard Dash which was the fastest among linemen. He is 6'5" 308-Lbs. and has good footwork from the videos Iv'e seen of him.


http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/p...ospect_ID=1522 had this to say:

The buzz started during Senior Week when Brown had a good showing at the East-West Shrine game. The buzz grew fast at the Combine when Brown ranked among the leaders in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, 3-cone drill and 20-yard shuffle for offensive tackles. Brown will still need some work on his technique and to get a little stronger at the point of attack, but once that is taken care of many expect that he can be a great lineman for years to come. He will be just as quick as most ends and you cannot teach that speed or athleticism.

The second round might be a bit of a stretch, but he will be in the top ten offensive tackles on a lot of draft boards and just about everybody wants a tackle sooner or later (that could push him into the late second round). If he falls much further than that, he will be a steal as long as he can fine tune his technique and eventually live up to his Combine numbers.

[GP]

A lot of people had RB Chris Johnson going in the 2nd round, and based on what I saw of Chris Johnson...the dude should have been ranked a late first rounder.

So, I'm cool with us picking up a "2nd rounder" in the first round.

Gibbs wanted Duane Brown. Must be a good choice.

[Second Honeymoon]

just another 'we're smarter than you' pick by the Texans. i understand that they didn't have a 2nd Rounder and wanted to insure an LT selection, but this smells like a Casserley pick. I thought we got rid of him.

Oh well, what's done is done and hopefully it works out. Duane Brown definitely sounds like a OL but sorry if I am not ecstatic with the pick. Mendenhall was there at #18, Kenny Phillips was there at #26, and both could have helped.

look at the Steelers draft. they didn't act like they knew something that no one else knew and got Mendenhall and Sweed to fall right in their lap. I don't mind the Molden pick and it was at least somewhat positive getting another 3rd ROund pick.

This draft gets at first glance a D- but I will give it an INC until the season actually starts and we see if DB can be worth a crap.

[TheRealJoker]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

just another 'we're smarter than you' pick by the Texans. i understand that they didn't have a 2nd Rounder and wanted to insure an LT selection, but this smells like a Casserley pick. I thought we got rid of him.

Oh well, what's done is done and hopefully it works out. Duane Brown definitely sounds like a OL but sorry if I am not ecstatic with the pick. Mendenhall was there at #18, Kenny Phillips was there at #26, and both could have helped.

look at the Steelers draft. they didn't act like they knew something that no one else knew and got Mendenhall and Sweed to fall right in their lap. I don't mind the Molden pick and it was at least somewhat positive getting another 3rd ROund pick.

This draft gets at first glance a D- but I will give it an INC until the season actually starts and we see if DB can be worth a crap.

You should give it an INC regardless of what your draft magazine says about the guy until 2-3 years down the road. Gibbs thinks he can be a franchise LT. Regardless, he's the first LT in Texans history with the athleticism to stay with the edge rushers consistently, with Gibbs coaching he should be a stud in about a year or two.

That's worth more than a RB or a FS. I cant help but laugh at how some of you kept complaining how we've never gotten an OL and when we finally do you complain about it. I guess if we dont make the "sexy" pick every round then our draft is terrible.

I bet you HATED the 06 draft, good thing it got an INC until the players actually played a down in the NFL though

[PapaL]

It seems that his weaknesses are Gibbs's strengths. I get the feeling this will be alright.

[ArlingtonTexan]

I think I get why the Texans did what they did. MClain has become way too defensive about fans raisng legitimate questions concerning anything Texans related. Using his logic, no one could ever question the assistant manager at whatever fast food joint when your order is screwed up, because you are not a "professional"{ and don't know as much.

[Second Honeymoon]

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

You should give it an INC regardless of what your draft magazine says about the guy until 2-3 years down the road. Gibbs thinks he can be a franchise LT. Regardless, he's the first LT in Texans history with the athleticism to stay with the edge rushers consistently, with Gibbs coaching he should be a stud in about a year or two.

That's worth more than a RB or a FS. I cant help but laugh at how some of you kept complaining how we've never gotten an OL and when we finally do you complain about it. I guess if we dont make the "sexy" pick every round then our draft is terrible.

I bet you HATED the 06 draft, good thing it got an INC until the players actually played a down in the NFL though

excuse me, but I have never been one of the 'our OL sucks' crowd. our OL was above average last year and I felt we had more pressing needs. The guy was drafted about 20-30 spots too early imho but obviously I aint making the decisions. We should have traded down and picked him or traded up from the 3rd if we were so damn high on him. There were players that would have helped us win much more and this stinks of a Casserley-type pick. 'I am smarter than everyone else and I can 'coach him up'....i'll believe it when I see it....

you can't drink the koolaid all you want but by definition, we reached on Duane Brown. Period. End of story. If we got a guy perfectly suited for the ZBS couldn't we have gotten him later since not many teams run the scheme? But of course that is using logic and not being a member of the sheeple....the same sheeple that made excuses for Carr and blamed the OL, RB, WR, and just about everyone else but the problem. Excuse me if I think you may be homering.....just a bit.

I did like our 2nd part of the draft a lot more. Slaton and Okam are good prospects that seem like good fits and were taken at positions of value.

[aj.]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

If we got a guy perfectly suited for the ZBS couldn't we have gotten him later since not many teams run the scheme?

Which tackle(s) better than Brown and perfectly suited for the ZBS could we have gotten later? Just curious.

[ChampionTexan]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

just another 'we're smarter than you' pick by the Texans.

As opposed to "You're smarter than us, so we'll go with Mendenhall, Phillips or whoever else the masses would have rejoiced over"?

The one thing that seems obvious to me is that while talent evaluation and team building are pretty subjective activities, clearly, Kubes and Smith are going with their convictions and taking a "Public and Media reaction be damned" approach to things.

I can't imaging anything worse than a FO pandering to our expectation even if they didn't agree.

Keep in mind that while lots and lots of NFL HC's, GM's and Scouts have been fired for bad drafts, none of those firings occurred the next day. Yeah, the fans have a right to expect a winner, but under any circumstances, we won't know how well this draft class addresses that expectations for a minimum of 2-3 years.

[PapaL]

Let me say this - I wanted Mendelhall. I, however, have no control over the situation. I'm sure Smitiack has invested more time into the whole thing than I have. I'm sure Brown will do well for us (especially since Dayne isn't around to ruin another career).

[DiehardChris]

Originally Posted by aj.

Which tackle(s) better than Brown and perfectly suited for the ZBS could we have gotten later? Just curious.

Bingo.

just another 'we're smarter than you' pick by the Texans.

But... they are smarter than you. This is what they do for a living. I didn't LOVE the pick when it happened, but hey - they hired Alex Gibbs to give us a top-notch running attack, and they went with the guy they wanted most out of who was available.

Had they taken him at 18, I'd be more upset... but they traded down EIGHT spots, picked up two picks and still got the guy they wanted after the top tackles they preferred were gone. Could they have gotten a better value at 26 with a different position? Sure... but they decided that we needed our LT of the future more than anything else.

It's not sexy, but I'm good with it. My only concern is that he's not a sure-fire immediate starter like Williams or Albert likely would have been.

[eriadoc]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

you can't drink the koolaid all you want but by definition, we reached on Duane Brown. Period. End of story. If we got a guy perfectly suited for the ZBS couldn't we have gotten him later since not many teams run the scheme? But of course that is using logic and not being a member of the sheeple....the same sheeple that made excuses for Carr and blamed the OL, RB, WR, and just about everyone else but the problem. Excuse me if I think you may be homering.....just a bit.

I might have read a more arrogant and ignorant post somewhere on this board before, but I'll have to seriously think back over the past few years. By whose definition? Yours? There is no prescribed spot where he should have been picked. There's just a bunch of hacks who don't have NFL jobs offering up their opinions. Those opinions are worth jack squat at the end of the day. All that matters is on-field production. If we'd taken Dom Davis in the 3rd round instead of the 4th, would that have been a reach? How about if we'd taken Demeco in the first round?

Period. End of story. Whatever.

[Second Honeymoon]

Originally Posted by aj.

Which tackle(s) better than Brown and perfectly suited for the ZBS could we have gotten later? Just curious.

You aren't getting my point. My point is that we could have gotten Brown himself later in the draft. Phillips, Mendenhall, Cason, and Merlin were all available at various points the Texans were at. My point is that we drafted him too early.

1st Round (after trade) - Kenny Phillips or Phillip Merling, Cason, or Flowers
3rd Round - Duane Brown LT VTech (or worst case Collins, Hills, and Zuttah of whom all were available at this spot where we took Molden)
3rd Round - Charles Godfrey CB Iowa
4th Round - Xavier Adibi OLB VTech
5th Round - Frank Okam DT Texas
6th Round - Geno Hayes OLB FSU or Bo Ruud OLB Nebraska
7th Round - Mike Hart RB Michigan

That draft kicks the snot out of our draft and addresses more needs and adds more quality players to the team. possible impact players. drafting a QB in 7th Round just seems lazy to me. Hart was there. Dude is a warrior and will be successful in the NFL. bank on it.

if you are so deluded to think that drafting Brown in the 1st Round wasn't a reach then that is your prerogative. If you asked Brown, even he would tell you it was a reach. Even he was amazed to go in the 1st Round to Houston at #26. This just smacks of a Casserley 'coaches' pick like Babin was. Let the coaches stay in the locker room and let Smith make the damn picks. Our defense is atrocious and barring a miracle trade for Jason Taylor, we don't look to be that much better on defense in 2008. That isn't good enough. Our defense isn't good enough. It is critical and our OL wasn't what held us back last year, it was defense namely on 3rd Down.

I do love the selection of Okam and Slaton though. Great value for both and Slaton seems like a perfect complimentary back for our system.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

1st Round (after trade) - Kenny Phillips or Phillip Merling, Cason, or Flowers
3rd Round - Duane Brown LT VTech (or worst case Collins, Hills, and Zuttah of whom all were available at this spot where we took Molden)
3rd Round - Charles Godfrey CB Iowa
4th Round - Xavier Adibi OLB VTech
5th Round - Frank Okam DT Texas
6th Round - Geno Hayes OLB FSU or Bo Ruud OLB Nebraska
7th Round - Mike Hart RB Michigan

Godfrey went to the Panthers on the 4th pick of the 3rd round... LONG before we picked Molden.

[barrett]

apparently we were offered a chance to trade down once more but Kubiak was so nervous about us not getting the player PERFECTLY SUITED FOR THE ZONE BLOCKING SCHEME THAT ALEX GIBBS HAND PICKED that Smith conceded and didn't answer the phone. I love our organization so much it's sick. really. these are guys i would hang out with. it's crazy.

[Second Honeymoon]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

Godfrey went to the Panthers on the 4th pick of the 3rd round... LONG before we picked Molden.

point taken. then maybe Justin King out of Penn State so we can still try and address the CB position in my 'hindsight' draft.

it wasn't a failure of a draft. it was just a big reach with our first pick and I felt we needed more of a sure thing with our 1st since we didn't have a 2nd. I did like picking up the extra 3rd/6th for 8 spots.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

point taken. then maybe Justin King out of Penn State so we can still try and address the CB position in my 'hindsight' draft.

it wasn't a failure of a draft. it was just a big reach with our first pick and I felt we needed more of a sure thing with our 1st since we didn't have a 2nd. I did like picking up the extra 3rd/6th for 8 spots.

We really don't know how big a reach it was. We got him at the 26th pick. One mock had him at 27. There was a rumor that the Niners had their eye on him. It's possible we could have traded back to 28 and he might still have been there... but he might not. It's not like every player went were everyone expected them to.

So, while Brown might have been a reach, he might not have been. Better to get the guy you want when you can get him than miss the guy you want because you got greedy for a few picks.

[J-Russ]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

You aren't getting my point. My point is that we could have gotten Brown himself later in the draft. Phillips, Mendenhall, Cason, and Merlin were all available at various points the Texans were at. My point is that we drafted him too early.

1st Round (after trade) - Kenny Phillips or Phillip Merling, Cason, or Flowers
3rd Round - Duane Brown LT VTech (or worst case Collins, Hills, and Zuttah of whom all were available at this spot where we took Molden)
3rd Round - Charles Godfrey CB Iowa
4th Round - Xavier Adibi OLB VTech
5th Round - Frank Okam DT Texas
6th Round - Geno Hayes OLB FSU or Bo Ruud OLB Nebraska
7th Round - Mike Hart RB Michigan

You do know that if we didn't take D.Brown at #26, another team would've shortly after. He wouldn't had been there in the third, not by a long shot. We had a chance to trade back with Seattle and pick-up a extra 4th, but we didn't feel he would had been there the next time we picked.

Also, I don't consider the pick a reach. A reach would be taking someone in one spot, when no other team had him rated in that area. Well, apparently other teams did grade him in the late first - early 2nd area, thats why we didn't trade back. They wanted Duane Brown and got him. I'm happy with it.

[Wolf]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

You aren't getting my point. My point is that we could have gotten Brown himself later in the draft. Phillips, Mendenhall, Cason, and Merlin were all available at various points the Texans were at. My point is that we drafted him too early.

1st Round (after trade) - Kenny Phillips or Phillip Merling, Cason, or Flowers
3rd Round - Duane Brown LT VTech (or worst case Collins, Hills, and Zuttah of whom all were available at this spot where we took Molden)
3rd Round - Charles Godfrey CB Iowa
4th Round - Xavier Adibi OLB VTech
5th Round - Frank Okam DT Texas
6th Round - Geno Hayes OLB FSU or Bo Ruud OLB Nebraska
7th Round - Mike Hart RB Michigan

That draft kicks the snot out of our draft and addresses more needs and adds more quality players to the team. possible impact players. drafting a QB in 7th Round just seems lazy to me. Hart was there. Dude is a warrior and will be successful in the NFL. bank on it.

if you are so deluded to think that drafting Brown in the 1st Round wasn't a reach then that is your prerogative. If you asked Brown, even he would tell you it was a reach. Even he was amazed to go in the 1st Round to Houston at #26. This just smacks of a Casserley 'coaches' pick like Babin was. Let the coaches stay in the locker room and let Smith make the damn picks. Our defense is atrocious and barring a miracle trade for Jason Taylor, we don't look to be that much better on defense in 2008. That isn't good enough. Our defense isn't good enough. It is critical and our OL wasn't what held us back last year, it was defense namely on 3rd Down.

I do love the selection of Okam and Slaton though. Great value for both and Slaton seems like a perfect complimentary back for our system.

there would be no guarantee that Brown would still have been there by the time we picked again, if we had a 2nd round pick maybe but never know ..who would have thought 7 tackles would have been taken so early.. lets let Gibbs and crew get a hold of him and see what happens

[thunderkyss]

I think SecondHoneyMoon has a point. And it's Valid.

I personally would have loved a first round CB. Right now, we're so jaded, we think DuntaRobinson is the best there ever was to play that position. So anytime we get a cornerback, (4th rounder, neverwas free agent) who plays at Dunta's level, we think we really scored or something.

Offensively, we've got guys who weren't perfect LTs in traditional systems, who Gary thought he could make ZBS LTs on our roster. We've got a smart QB, a real Center, a future probowler at RT(watch), a probowl WRs, a tough as nail posession reciever(Walther), a speedy vet(Davis).

I don't ever expect to see Kubiak pick a running back in the first round, but with Ahman Green, Chris Brown, Chris Taylor, & Darius Walker, I can see the need to get a running back.

But with Steve Slathon in the third, I can't see wasting the time arguing about not getting Mendenhal, Rice, or Hart.

Now, all that said, I like the Duane Brown pick. I really like the pick. He's another project, and we've got a ****load of projects on this team. But the more I think about it, the more I really like the pick. Physically, he's exactly what I thought Kubiak would've picked in '06. I didn't understand the Spencer pick at all. His measurables are as good, if not better than the top Tackles in this draft. & he's new to the position.

I see that as a good thing, because he's fresh. Kubiak & Gibbs don't have to unteach him a bunch of junk.

& getting Okam in the fifth.... hell, all our corners(including Dunta) have gotten one step closer to the probowl.