European Vacation

[F-minus67]

So out of all of the players on the teams roster, who do you think is going on to play in Europe? I'd like to see kendrick starling and Brandon Evans go so they can get more game time and start to develop.

[wags]

Someone posted a link that showed Ragone was going. Check that, they are considering him going to Europe.

[hou059]

Why not Peek...I think he would shine in Europe

[texans]

becase there are no 3-4 teams in europe and him playing in the 4-3 would not help him

But how about faggins,simmions,holling and armstrong those are the ones i think could use some play time

[hou059]

Originally Posted by texans

becase there are no 3-4 teams in europe and him playing in the 4-3 would not help him

But how about faggins,simmions,holling and armstrong those are the ones i think could use some play time

My bad man! I didn't know that. Yeah our corners could use some experience and definetly Hollings!

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by texans

becase there are no 3-4 teams in europe and him playing in the 4-3 would not help him

But how about faggins,simmions,holling and armstrong those are the ones i think could use some play time

Faggins and Simmons are solid NFL players, and Armstrong has also proven he can play in this league...no reason to send them to NFLe.

[TEXANS84]

Originally Posted by hou059

Why not Peek...I think he would shine in Europe

Your kidding right? Why risk injury to him when he has already proven himself on the field.

Send Ragone, Sloan Thomas, and Jamaal Lord.

[infantrycak]

Although I believe it is rare for 2nd rounders to go to NFLE, sending Hollings would be a good idea IMO. Lord would be an excellent person to send.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by texans

becase there are no 3-4 teams in europe and him playing in the 4-3 would not help him

I'm sure you're right,and Peek shouldn't go anyway. But there are 6 teams that currently use the 34 as their base defense (almost 1 of every 5 NFL teams). So there should be at least 1 NFLE team that employs the 34.

[deftone]

NFLe? More like NFL Germany. How can they have a European league when only one team comes from outside Germany. The Claymores were stabbed in the back by the NFL!!!

[Hervoyel]

I would be in the "send Hollings to NFLe" camp but I swear the first thing that pops into my mind is "then he could get injured on two continents". Sooner or later the guy's going to get healthy for an extended length of time and hopefully it will be soon. I can just see him coming home with a blown knee or a hamstring injury that requires surgery. I wouldn't take the risk personally.

Could he use the work? Of course, I only worry that he might not survive the process intact.

[ledzeppelin229]

He could just as easily get hurt in training camp here or in preseason 2005, assuming he's still around by then. Might as well atleast give him a chance to make the cut with some more experience..

[El Tejano]

I haven't heard Jamal Lord's name in a while and it kind of made me think. What if we moved that guy to running back?

[hou059]

I think that would be too much to handle for him. Making the transition from QB to S and from S to RB. I think the Texans like him at S. Pluse right now they really need depth in the secondary.

[El Tejano]

True, it was just a thought. Maybe some of our back up O lineman should head over there to NFLE. I wouldn't be upset to see Seth Wand go over there.

[hou059]

Originally Posted by El Tejano

True, it was just a thought. Maybe some of our back up O lineman should head over there to NFLE. I wouldn't be upset to see Seth Wand go over there.

Wand and Brown. That's a great idea Tejano! What about Starling?

[El Tejano]

I think Starling should go also because I really don't see us keeping Bradford. This would mean either Gaffney or Armstrong move into the second spot and Starling would be a back up. Also maybe he could improve his punt returning skills because after Moses, we have noone.

Defensively I would like to see Ramon Walker go if he is all healed up and maybe someone like Junior Ioane go from the Dline.

[TheTim5125]

when do we announce who's going over there... i noticed the bears already announced some...

[Vinny]

The Texans have never sent a drafted player to NFLe per Warren at hpf, so I would not expect to see many of the guys you all are listing.

Originally Posted by Warren at houstonprofootball.com

I agree that Lord would make an excellent candidate for NFLE (too bad the team in England isn't around anymore; Lord would be a perfect fits as a London Monarch on name alone). But the Texans have yet to send a single draft pick to Europe. Like most teams, they signed a bunch of street free agents and allocated them to NFLE. The only player that they've sent that they seemed to have any long-term interest in was TE Rashod Kent, and they had little invested in him.

There's a couple reasons to think hard about sending Ragone (or anybody else). First, he could get hurt over there. If he does, the Texans are on the hook for his entire 2005 salary.

Second, you have to weigh whether he'd be better off going through the Texans' full offseason program and working with the Texans' coaches and players than being coached by the staff of the Hamburg Sea Devils or some other NFLE team. The obvious upside is that he gets playing time in game conditions.

Most of the time, when an NFL team sends a player to NLE that they've got anything invested in, it's a guy who they want to give one last chance before they cut him, like the 49ers with QB Giovanni Carmazzi (a 2000 3rd round bust) in 2001, the Patriots with WR Tony Simmons (a 1998 2nd rounder) the same year, or Jerry Jones with one of his "future-franchise-QBs/steals-of-the-century" Chad Hutchinson a year ago.

As Vinny mentioned, the Patriots' Rohan Davey last year was an exception to that rule last year. Maybe his success in NFLE will encourage more teams to take the risk with players who they need to see in live action, even though Davey followed his NFLE MVP season with a poor training camp.

I say send Ragone. The chance to get him some snaps against live competition is worth the risk. I don't see Banks getting any better offers, so even if Ragone gets hurt, the Texans should still have the primary backup QB. Plus they have Symons, another young project QB, in the pipeline and whatever other QB they draft this year (I don't think Casserly can go a year without taking at least one, which isn't that bad of a strategy due to the importance of the position).

http://www.houstonprofootball.com/fo...?threadid=3746

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by AlbinoRat

Gaffney would probably develope well over there. He hasn't produced like he should be, and if hes gonna be the number 2 guy, he's gotta improve. Also what about that new QB, and Possibly Glenn Earl, just to gain experience. Is the risk of injury really that high?

Well, did you read the post above your last entry (post number 19)? We haven't ever sent a drafted player to Europe and likely won't due to injury concen. Starters are simply not going to go to Europe and Gaffney and Earl both start. I'm going to steal one of Lucky's posts right about now...

Originally Posted by Lucky

Some interest stats regarding Gaffney in '04:

5.3 Yards After Catch average (YAC) - 8th among WRs with 40+ catches
21 1st down receptions on 3rd down - 7th in NFL (21 3rd down catches/21 1st downs)
82.9 1st down/catch % ( 34/41 ) - 6th in the NFL