Kubiak is gaga for Earl Mitchell

[dalemurphy]

(on the progress of DT Earl Mitchell has made in his first team practice) "Well, he has been a very flashy player. He's made a lot of plays. He's quick and strong. He's a heck of a draft choice. We need somebody in there to get active to help us to get our rotation. He sure looks like he has a chance. But it's very early so we'll keep going, but I've been impressed with him."

Kubiak isn't prone to effusive praise and excited utterances. He's clearly been very high on Mitchell and then yesterday's comments really solidified for me that he is jumping out of his skin with excitement about this guy.

Here's my reaction to his jubilance:


God Please Don't Ron Dayne Earl Mitchell
Dallas Cowboy fans really don’t understand this mindset. They believe that they have some sort of God-given right to win every game they ever play. You could talk to a Cowboy fan during the Dave Campo era, and they would have bravado about how Quincy Carter was going to carve up the opposing defense, Troy Hambrick was going to run over the LB corp and don’t even get me started about safety Roy Williams! My uncle (a typical and rabid Cowboy fan) would argue with me for hours about how much better Roy Williams was than Ronnie Lott ever dreamed of being.

We’re Texan fans, though. I certainly am. So, I went to bed last night feeling so good about Kubiak’s effusive praise of Earl Mitchell http://www.houstontexans.com/news/St...?story_id=6241. After all, I saw the same thing this weekend at camp http://www.texansbullblog.com/traini...-contact/news/ (read #1 from the article)… all of our Bloggin’ friends have noticed similar things. The last time it was this clear the Texans had struck gold with a player in a position of need like this was in 2006… And his name was Charles Spencer!

So, as I was saying, I went to bed absolutely thrilled about our new DT and how he is going to impact our interior pass rush and DL depth. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with a series of horrible images in my head. They didn’t all make sense but they included Ron Dayne, an Angry God, and an evil wizard from Indianapolis all huddled together conspiring against me.

So, I don’t know what to do but plead with God, “LET ME HAVE THIS! PLEASE. LET ME HAVE THIS! Don’t shatter Earl’s tibia or his femur or crush his skull with Ron Dayne’s foot, belly, or anything else.

I feel a little better now. You have to get ahead of these things or terrible things can happen!

http://www.texansbullblog.com

[TimeKiller]

I hope Earl does more of the crushing RBs than getting crushed.

[CDNTexansFan]

Depth like this is what separates good teams from the truly elite. If Earl can carry this over to the preseason, it spells bad news for opposing QBs! Our front seven from top to bottom no matter who ends up starting is looking NASTY!

[IDEXAN]

Kubiaks right, Mitchell does look like a very good Draft pick. But I'd have to temper the positive vibes by saying I'm as excited about Mitchell as I'm disappointed about Kareem Jackson, based upon the first few days of practice.

[Kaiser Toro]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

Kubiaks right, Mitchell does look like a very good Draft pick. But I'd have to temper the positive vibes by saying I'm as excited about Mitchell as I'm disappointed about Kareem Jackson, based upon the first few days of practice.

I would love to hear what you have seen at Training Camp that makes Jackson a disappointment, as well as anything positive.

[IDEXAN]

Originally Posted by Kaiser Toro

I would love to hear what you have seen at Training Camp that makes Jackson a disappointment, as well as anything positive.

I'm a bit too far removed from H-Town zip codes to attend all the TC practices, so I'm making reference to the "vibes" I'm hearing 'bout the players on the different MBs, especially the rookies.
Let me just sum it by saying that there is so much positive vibe/noise about Mitchell that I don't think people would mind if he were the Texans first round pick, just as they'd also prefer that Jackson was our 3rd rounder since he seems to be falling way short of expectations for the first-pick.
For example I'm hearing that he's getting beat badly by the Texans WRs, and I don't mean just Andre J. And other reports indicate that he seems confused, his focus or instincts are lacking. And he's reportedly had problems keeping up with receivers on deep-routes, even though IIRC he reportedly ran his 40 in the 4.4s ? On the positive side, I'm hearing he's a "good kid" to use Kubiaks vernacular, good team guy so I guess he's got the "intangibles" covered.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

I'm a bit too far removed from H-Town zip codes to attend all the TC practices, so I'm making reference to the "vibes" I'm hearing 'bout the players on the different MBs, especially the rookies.
Let me just sum it by saying that there is so much positive vibe/noise about Mitchell that I don't think people would mind if he were the Texans first round pick, just as they'd also prefer that Jackson was our 3rd rounder since he seems to be falling way short of expectations for the first-pick.
For example I'm hearing that he's getting beat badly by the Texans WRs, and I don't mean just Andre J. And other reports indicate that he seems confused, his focus or instincts are lacking. And he's reportedly had problems keeping up with receivers on deep-routes, even though IIRC he reportedly ran his 40 in the 4.4s ? On the positive side, I'm hearing he's a "good kid" to use Kubiaks vernacular, good team guy so I guess he's got the "intangibles" covered.

I'm not sure where you're getting this mumbo-jumbo from, but I think it's a bit early in camp to be coming to conclusions on K Jax. CB is much more difficult to learn than DT. Mitchell simply blasting somebody off the line is a bit easier than covering NFL WR's 4 days into camp, no?

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

I'm not sure where you're getting this mumbo-jumbo from, but I think it's a bit early in camp to be coming to conclusions on K Jax. CB is much more difficult to learn than DT. Mitchell simply blasting somebody off the line is a bit easier than covering NFL WR's 4 days into camp, no?

Exactly. The way I see it is if a guy like Mitchell is being disruptive, KJax will make alot of plays.

[TimeKiller]

KJ looking bad? That there's why they have camp. He'll be a fine player with some practice.

[HJam72]

Right now, before it's too late, resign Mitchell to a 10-year gazillion dollar contract and cut KJ. We gotta get ready for the season.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

I'm a bit too far removed from H-Town zip codes to attend all the TC practices, so I'm making reference to the "vibes" I'm hearing 'bout the players on the different MBs, especially the rookies.
Let me just sum it by saying that there is so much positive vibe/noise about Mitchell that I don't think people would mind if he were the Texans first round pick, just as they'd also prefer that Jackson was our 3rd rounder since he seems to be falling way short of expectations for the first-pick.
For example I'm hearing that he's getting beat badly by the Texans WRs, and I don't mean just Andre J. And other reports indicate that he seems confused, his focus or instincts are lacking. And he's reportedly had problems keeping up with receivers on deep-routes, even though IIRC he reportedly ran his 40 in the 4.4s ? On the positive side, I'm hearing he's a "good kid" to use Kubiaks vernacular, good team guy so I guess he's got the "intangibles" covered.

LIke TK said, that's why they have camp. What did you expect out of him? Did you think that he was going to be in there shutting down Jacoby Jones and a crafty vet like Walter right away. Hell, I won't even mention AJ. AJ would make any rookie that hasn't even attended a full training camp look like a joke.

I think he'll be a fine player. It's just a matter of how well he can play in this first season when we really need him in the secondary to play like a vet. He's going to have a huge responsibility on him this season and if he doesn't play well that will be more on the coaches than it will be on him since they didn't get any solid veteran CB to play the #1 spot and they're putting that burden on a first year player. It's not his fault that he's a rookie having to play the #1 CB spot on a team with high expectations that's going to be facing some real tough offenses this year.

[badboy]

Everyone knows I was pushing Kyle Wilson for CB and why but I have not heard anything negative on Kareem Jackson that was identified on this thread. Everything has been positive. WIth the number of posters that usually goes to TC, I would have thought negatives on Jackson would have been inundating this MB. McClain has been and has said nothing but Jackson is well thought of.

[IDEXAN]

Originally Posted by Texecutioner

LIke TK said, that's why they have camp. What did you expect out of him? Did you think that he was going to be in there shutting down Jacoby Jones and a crafty vet like Walter right away. Hell, I won't even mention AJ. AJ would make any rookie that hasn't even attended a full training camp look like a joke.

Reportedly Mitchell was overwhelming from Day 1 in some drills, for example he blew-up the Texans starting LG on one 1-on-1 drill. I hear no such raves about Jacksons early play. On other hand some Houston websites I've seen report just the opposite on his workouts so far.
Now Jaclkson may turn out to be an All-Pro, maybe a HOFamer, I don't know I hope so, but early on he's sounding more like the midround project while Mitchell is sounding like the first-round pick who might seriously push
to break into the starting lineup. He's sounding like the guy we expected Okoye to be.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

Reportedly Mitchell was overwhelming from Day 1 in some drills, for example he blew-up the Texans starting LG on one 1-on-1 drill. I hear no such raves about Jacksons early play. On other hand some Houston websites I've seen report just the opposite on his workouts so far.
Now Jaclkson may turn out to be an All-Pro, maybe a HOFamer, I don't know I hope so, but early on he's sounding more like the midround project while Mitchell is sounding like the first-round pick who might seriously push
to break into the starting lineup. He's sounding like the guy we expected Okoye to be.

It's always in human nature to put "undue" pressure on a first round pick and "show some love" for lower picks when they do well.

In the breakdown thread on Mitchell, I had clearly emphasized his abilty to penetrate due to an excellent first step. But let's remember also that he's not very strong at the POA, especially in short yardage situation. This part of his game is not readily observed due to the fact that we don't have montrous DTs.

[Goldensilence]

Real good news to hear about Mitchell being impressive this early on. Let's hope he can keep that up as TC rolls along into the preseason.

I didn't expect Jackson to come in and be a lock down corner during TC or preseason. I expect that the more reps he gets he'll feel more comfortable in this defense.

Still wouldn't surprise me if the FO is going to be looking close at TC and preseason cuts for another veteran corner. It does make me nervous going into the season that our most experienced corner is Reeves who still has issues with fundamentals at the position.

Make no mistake this season hinges on our young corners growing up FAST.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

It's always in human nature to put "undue" pressure on a first round pick and "show some love" for lower picks when they do well.

In the breakdown thread on Mitchell, I had clearly emphasized his abilty to penetrate due to an excellent first step. But let's remember also that he's not very strong at the POA, especially in short yardage situation. This part of his game is not readily observed due to the fact that we don't have montrous DTs.

This very well may be true, it'd be hard to believe by the looks of him. The dude's lower body would put Earl's to shame. He's a freakin tree trunk.

I'm going to reserve my first impressions of the Mitch until I see him in game action, but if I were going by his quickness I saw from him yesterday, he'd destroy Okoye in pass rush and short yardage.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

This very well may be true, it'd be hard to believe by the looks of him. The dude's lower body would put Earl's to shame. He's a freakin tree trunk.

I'm going to reserve my first impressions of the Mitch until I see him in game action, but if I were going by his quickness I saw from him yesterday, he'd destroy Okoye in pass rush and short yardage.

is it just me or does Okoye fit square peg in round hole syndrome? they try to play him over nose, off nose stuff him inside but no matter how you slice it he may actually be more of a 3-4 DE or strongside 4-3 DE. I just don't have a good sense about him yet & its going on three years.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

Reportedly Mitchell was overwhelming from Day 1 in some drills, for example he blew-up the Texans starting LG on one 1-on-1 drill. I hear no such raves about Jacksons early play. On other hand some Houston websites I've seen report just the opposite on his workouts so far.
Now Jaclkson may turn out to be an All-Pro, maybe a HOFamer, I don't know I hope so, but early on he's sounding more like the midround project while Mitchell is sounding like the first-round pick who might seriously push
to break into the starting lineup. He's sounding like the guy we expected Okoye to be.

I do not agree, that a guy picked in the third round is necessarily a project. But I wouldn't put too much into the hoopla being said about Mitchell. It's practice.

Kareem Jackson... I'm doubtful myself. I haven't seen anything to get excited about in the highlights, or the games they've replayed, and I watched. What I've seen so far, is that he is another Dunta Robinson, strong in run support, strong tackler, meh in coverage.

To me, it looks as if we're doomed, if we don't get the pass rush fixed. I believe the pass rush is essential for a great secondary, but I also believe good coverage is essential for a great pass rush.

Looks like we're going to be decent on the pass rush, and decent in coverage, and we're going to be giving up 25 points/game.

[pbat488]

Originally Posted by IDEXAN

Kubiaks right, Mitchell does look like a very good Draft pick. But I'd have to temper the positive vibes by saying I'm as excited about Mitchell as I'm disappointed about Kareem Jackson, based upon the first few days of practice.

Remember, as some people have kind of touched upon, K-Jax is going up against the best WR in the league in AJ, one of the craftiest WRs in the league in Walter, and one of the most explosive players on our team in JJ.

Mitchell is blowing up Studdard, Myers, Chris White etc etc..

It's a bit different 1 on 1 on an island opposed to what the big nasties are doing in the trenches.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by badboy

Everyone knows I was pushing Kyle Wilson for CB and why but I have not heard anything negative on Kareem Jackson that was identified on this thread. Everything has been positive. WIth the number of posters that usually goes to TC, I would have thought negatives on Jackson would have been inundating this MB. McClain has been and has said nothing but Jackson is well thought of.

When I went out I saw a few bad plays by Jackson...I commented in the training camp thread...

I saw him get handled by AJ down on the goal line (to be expected) and Pollard let him know he wasn't pleased with him..

I also saw him get roasted by Dorin for about a thirty yard strike...Dickerson dropped the ball for a would be score..

That said it's only TC...He definitely has not been a world beater, but I wouldn't declare him a bust...He does have me a little worried about facing Manning wk 1 though...

I'd like to see him in some pre-season games before I get too worried though...