Mike Bell rumored to visit

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by checo446

I wouldn't be surprised if we signed him and had him compete as a fullback in camp. The guy was okay as a fullback in Denver and could be solid depth at the position if the Taylor experiment doesn't work out there...

Although I have no problem with Bell coming in for a visit, I would in no way be able to state that he was "OK" at FB in Denver. In order to soften the blow of his demotion, Shanahan voiced that he had the potential to be a Probowl FB. It was widely publicized that Bell was resentfull of his move to that position but would "suck it up." He really never did. He was hardly used at that position (only 5 games) and carried only 6 times. His last carry resulting in an extremely critical situation.........led to his inactivation for the remainder of the season.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Vinny

what exactly do we have? A guy the Titans no longer wanted in Brown, a guy the Packers no longer wanted and hasn't produced in years in Green, an unproven back in Taylor, and an undersized situational back in Slaton....not exactly a cornucopia of talent.

I hope Duane Brown proves his worth.

Because Rashard Mendenhall was there for the taking. I think that's going to be a sore spot with some fans later in the year. It's been a sore spot with me, and it's due to the fact that Kubiak still seems OK with trusting the Shanahan philosophy that you can have lesser-talented RBs in a good zone blocking system (i.e. The System Makes The Difference philosophy).

And I know that hindsight is 20/20...but when we traded down and I saw the Steelers pick Mendenhall, I was like "Damn. Nicely done, Steelers." For Mendenhall to fall that far, when I felt like he was easily a top 15 pick...well, I just think we screwed up and could have had a feature back.

Some say Mendenhall was a one-year wonder, but I think he's going to do OK. (Sigh) Here's to hoping that Alex Gibbs really IS magical. Summon all of your powers, Mr. Gibbs.

[BornOrange]

Inviting Bell to workout serves several purposes:

1) If he looks to be better than someone we have on the roster now, we make a roster move.

2) This reminds everyone that they aren't just competing for spots on the final roster, they are competing for spots at camp.

3) Most importantly, this gives the staff time in advance to look at a prospective replacement in case of an injury. In a week or so, when injuries start hitting multiple teams, Bell could have to decide between several teams that are wooing him. Having already worked out for the Texans and having a little familiarity with the way they do things could be a deciding factor.

[Wolf]

I look at it as this way

If the Texans feel that Bell can do the same thing as our other backs but for less money ..they do it.

More bang for the buck esp in a salary cap era

[Goldensilence]

Originally Posted by GP

I hope Duane Brown proves his worth.

Because Rashard Mendenhall was there for the taking. I think that's going to be a sore spot with some fans later in the year. It's been a sore spot with me, and it's due to the fact that Kubiak still seems OK with trusting the Shanahan philosophy that you can have lesser-talented RBs in a good zone blocking system (i.e. The System Makes The Difference philosophy).

And I know that hindsight is 20/20...but when we traded down and I saw the Steelers pick Mendenhall, I was like "Damn. Nicely done, Steelers." For Mendenhall to fall that far, when I felt like he was easily a top 15 pick...well, I just think we screwed up and could have had a feature back.

Some say Mendenhall was a one-year wonder, but I think he's going to do OK. (Sigh) Here's to hoping that Alex Gibbs really IS magical. Summon all of your powers, Mr. Gibbs.

I really hope Mendenhall could've blocked at LT for this year because with Two teams in our division choosing to revamp their DE spots and one getting a pro bowler back would've made things interesting.

I have a sick feeling in my gut Jevon Kearse has a career renaissance of sorts back in Jeff Fisher's Defense. Time will tell if the move for Derrick Harvey and Quetin Groves will pay off but in the end they look much better on paper at DE. Freeney should be back for the Colts.

Would you really feel comfortable trotting Salaam out there all year with that ahead of him?

I think Mendenhall landed in a great situation in Pitt. He won't have to step in and be the guy there. In the end I feel confident with the decision....we play in the toughest division top to bottom in the NFL and... I don't see it getting easier any time soon.

[cuppacoffee]

Originally Posted by BornOrange

Inviting Bell to workout serves several purposes:

1) If he looks to be better than someone we have on the roster now, we make a roster move.

2) This reminds everyone that they aren't just competing for spots on the final roster, they are competing for spots at camp.

3) Most importantly, this gives the staff time in advance to look at a prospective replacement in case of an injury. In a week or so, when injuries start hitting multiple teams, Bell could have to decide between several teams that are wooing him. Having already worked out for the Texans and having a little familiarity with the way they do things could be a deciding factor.

Great, reasoned thinking. I never gave much thought to #2, but it's a very good point.

[Thorn]

Originally Posted by Goldensilence

I really hope Mendenhall could've blocked at LT for this year because with Two teams in our division choosing to revamp their DE spots and one getting a pro bowler back would've made things interesting.

I have a sick feeling in my gut Jevon Kearse has a career renaissance of sorts back in Jeff Fisher's Defense. Time will tell if the move for Derrick Harvey and Quetin Groves will pay off but in the end they look much better on paper at DE. Freeney should be back for the Colts.

Would you really feel comfortable trotting Salaam out there all year with that ahead of him?

I think Mendenhall landed in a great situation in Pitt. He won't have to step in and be the guy there. In the end I feel confident with the decision....we play in the toughest division top to bottom in the NFL and... I don't see it getting easier any time soon.

While we NEED a solid person at RB, I have to agree a good left tackle in our divison was a better move.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Thorn

While we NEED a solid person at RB, I have to agree a good left tackle in our divison was a better move.

Generally speaking its always a "better move".
But it kinda makes we feel we're still one Draft away from being where we want to be in terms of personnel ? With a full Board of Draft picks in 2009 (including a 2nd rounder for the first time since 2006), we should be able to pick up a real edge rusher to play across from Mario and a corner and perhaps another young back ? But we don't need to burn a first-rounder on no stinkin running back.
Speakin of running backs, I think Slaton is primarily a special-sit type guy like Reggie Bush. BTW, anybody else notice how much Slaton looks like Bush, atleast his likeness in the pictures I've seen of him ? Since I've yet to see him play, I can only wonder if the similarities persist on the Field ? You know, fast, agile, pretty good hands but can't block and despises physical contact ?

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

Isn't it sacreligious to cut Methusaleh?

Very funny

I was thinking the same thing.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Goldensilence

I really hope Mendenhall could've blocked at LT for this year because with Two teams in our division choosing to revamp their DE spots and one getting a pro bowler back would've made things interesting.

I have a sick feeling in my gut Jevon Kearse has a career renaissance of sorts back in Jeff Fisher's Defense. Time will tell if the move for Derrick Harvey and Quetin Groves will pay off but in the end they look much better on paper at DE. Freeney should be back for the Colts.

Would you really feel comfortable trotting Salaam out there all year with that ahead of him?

I think Mendenhall landed in a great situation in Pitt. He won't have to step in and be the guy there. In the end I feel confident with the decision....we play in the toughest division top to bottom in the NFL and... I don't see it getting easier any time soon.

Amobi "landed" to us, too. But we didn't try to get too smart about it.

Look, I know what the idea was: Use the trade down to grab an OL and use the 3rd for hopefully a RB. Or at least that's the way it felt, to me.

I just think we missed a golden opportunity to grab a top tier RB when he was there. Did anybody here foresee Mendenhall lasting past pick 10...or even past pick 15? I didn't.

(Sigh) That's why I am hoping Gibbs is the miracle worker that we think he is.

[PHAROAH]

none of the backs are proven they will stay healthy and they don't know if they can depend on Steve Slaton for an entire season so why not bring in Mike Bell.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by Goldensilence

I really hope Mendenhall could've blocked at LT for this year because with Two teams in our division choosing to revamp their DE spots and one getting a pro bowler back would've made things interesting.

I have a sick feeling in my gut Jevon Kearse has a career renaissance of sorts back in Jeff Fisher's Defense. Time will tell if the move for Derrick Harvey and Quetin Groves will pay off but in the end they look much better on paper at DE. Freeney should be back for the Colts.

Would you really feel comfortable trotting Salaam out there all year with that ahead of him?

I think Mendenhall landed in a great situation in Pitt. He won't have to step in and be the guy there. In the end I feel confident with the decision....we play in the toughest division top to bottom in the NFL and... I don't see it getting easier any time soon.

I have to agree with GP here Golden Silence. We needed a RB really bad. The O line needs improvement, but they got a little bit better last year.

Many people forget how much DD helped the Texans when he was here at RB. He had a much worse O line, and a worse passing game under Carr that didn't help either. Mendenhall was the guy that I wanted all off season before the draft. Brown was not some guy that happened to slip to the Texans either. We reached for Brown.

It doesn't really matter now though. The Texans did what they did, and all of us fans will have to live with it, and support Brown. I just hope he ends up being what they thought he could be.