Rick Smith is still an amatuer

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by TEXANRED

I thought that he was there in when they won. Guess not. But even so Newsome did not put them in cap hell, Smith did.

Newsome was the Ravens pro personnel director in 2000.

Why do teams get into "cap hell"? Because they have a lot of talented players that deserve compensation. I'm not sure how that's an indictment on the GM. Though I think Smith gets too much credit for finding the talent. He's more of a facilitator.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Texecutioner

I don't see how you could excuse Rick Smith with what is going on right now. We were supposed to be trying to get those final pieces to really contend next season. We were finally so close. Hell, you've been very critical of Smithiak for years in here Lucky, so I don't see how one year of success can make your confidence grow so much in Rick Smith man.

I'm not giving Smith excuses. I'm calling it like I see it. And I've criticized Smith because the Texans failed to put a winning product on the field. And if the Texans don't win, I will return to the criticism I deem appropriate.

What I'm not going to do is critique a work before it's completed. I don't know what Smith, Kubiak, and McNair have in store. I don't know how they will answer the challenges. I do believe that every year is a year that a organization should try to win a championship (which is why "building a team to win for the long term" is bogus). That should have been the mentality in 2011, which is why trading Mario would have been foolish. I think the Texans should do everything they can to win in 2012. What "everything" entails is subject to interpretation. They can't grow the salary cap. They can't force players to take hometown discounts. Bottom line is, as always, find a way to win. I don't care if it takes endangering future salary caps or starting a 5th round pick at QB. Just win.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

Your entire basis for trading him and getting something valuable in return is because YOU so say so. Please offer some examples of players of Mario's caliber that were traded in the final year of their contract for substantial returns.

I don't have to offer you anything. You strategize to get out ahead and to improve your team. If you know that there is no way financially that you'll be able to keep a player in the next off season, then you at least "try" to trade him to get valuable pieces. Hell, the Texans had just come off of a 6-10 season with one of the worst HC's in the league coming back, so don't act like they were some SB bound type of team before last season to where there was just no way that they could have gotten rid of Mario.

But again, we are getting off track by just discussing Mario. The fact that the Texans were in this kind of cap hell just doesn't add up. We should have found a way to move pieces around earlier to avoid this to some degree.

[redwhiteblue]

Did everyone forget Next Man Up? The reason why the Texans made the playoffs last year? It's not like we have all new players coming in. We have been paying Butler, Caldwell and Graham for 3 years, they know the team and the system and it is their time to step up. Why did we keep them on the team for 3 years if we weren't hoping they would one day move up to starter?

[SW H-TOWN]

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

Did everyone forget Next Man Up? The reason why the Texans made the playoffs last year? It's not like we have all new players coming in. We have been paying Butler, Caldwell and Graham for 3 years, they know the team and the system and it is their time to step up. Why did we keep them on the team for 3 years if we weren't hoping they would one day move up to starter?

I fell you with the next man up but continuity is very important with the o line, especially when you are running a zone blocking scheme. That is why people are freaking out. If we loose Myers that will not be good. The bad news is that the dumb ass Raiders just overpaid for Brisel...driving up the price for Myers. Not good for a team with our current cap situation.

[SW H-TOWN]

This is why you do not let every single one of you UFA hit the free market. I'm going to flip if this happens again next year.

[DerekLee1]

Originally Posted by Say Watt

Wow. This team is falling apart right before our eyes.

LOL. Falling apart? Hardly. Duane Brown. Matt Schaub. Andre Johnson. Owen Daniels. Arian Foster. Ben Tate. Antonio Smith. JJ Watt. Brian Cushing. DeMeco Ryans. Jonathan Joseph. Danieal Manning. Connor Barwin. Brooks Reed.

You think you can't win with a core of those guys? Psshhht. Please. These guys are all superstars at their positions. They'll fill holes with drafting, good coaching, and free agents on the cheap.

I was worried yesterday. I'm feeling ok about it now. It just has to play out. You can't mortgage the future for right now. Especially when you're still able to win RIGHT NOW with what you have.

[houstonspartan]

I'm going to have to agree with Tex on this one. I am stunned, and flabbergasted at how we have bungled the salary cap. The GM's job has ONE focus: manage the salary cap. That's IT. Period.

Seasoned GM's are able to look a few years out, and manage the best way they can. Rick decided to go ALL IN last year, which is fine, but, look at what it's gotten us.

So, we re-sign Arian (which I thought was a great idea), then we break up his O-Line?

WTF??????

[houstonspartan]

Originally Posted by DerekLee1

LOL. Falling apart? Hardly. Duane Brown. Matt Schaub. Andre Johnson. Owen Daniels. Arian Foster. Ben Tate. Antonio Smith. JJ Watt. Brian Cushing. DeMeco Ryans. Jonathan Joseph. Danieal Manning. Connor Barwin. Brooks Reed.

You think you can't win with a core of those guys? Psshhht. Please. These guys are all superstars at their positions. They'll fill holes with drafting, good coaching, and free agents on the cheap.

I was worried yesterday. I'm feeling ok about it now. It just has to play out. You can't mortgage the future for right now. Especially when you're still able to win RIGHT NOW with what you have.

O-Line.
O-Line.
O-Line.

In case I'm not clear: 0-Line.

[DerekLee1]

Originally Posted by houstonspartan

O-Line.
O-Line.
O-Line.

In case I'm not clear: 0-Line.

Myers is still a Texan. Your starting O-line is D-Brown, Wade Smith, Chris Myers, Antoine Caldwell and Rashad Butler. I'll take that and not break the bank any day.

[DerekLee1]

Originally Posted by houstonspartan

I'm going to have to agree with Tex on this one. I am stunned, and flabbergasted at how we have bungled the salary cap. The GM's job has ONE focus: manage the salary cap. That's IT. Period.

Seasoned GM's are able to look a few years out, and manage the best way they can. Rick decided to go ALL IN last year, which is fine, but, look at what it's gotten us.

So, we re-sign Arian (which I thought was a great idea), then we break up his O-Line?

WTF??????

What it would have gotten us is a Super Bowl had our top two QB's not gone down with injuries. We were about two plays away from the AFC championship game.

[BullNation4Life]

Originally Posted by Texecutioner

47-49 is the record since Rick Smith has been the GM here.

Last season we finally had the only break out season they've ever had under Rick Smith and it took year 6 years just to do that. Now finally when the Texans are actually looked at as real contenders assuming they were going to try and get better in the off season, not only are they not trying to fill holes like so many other previous off seasons where Smithiak failed to go after talented players, but we're not even standing pat. We're freaking losing some really important players that we need.

Now before you Smithiak apologists try bringing up the one off season where they actually did use free agency wisely, just look at how much it helped last season with Joseph and Manning in the secondary.

Now how in the hell were the Texans going to go into this season in this kind of cap hell without realizing it last season to where they could have made some moves to avoid this kind of situation???

How in the hell did Rick Smith not see this coming before?? Why in the hell did we even keep MARIO WILLIAMS just to have him for one season, knowing we weren't going to be able to afford what he would demand?? Why would you not have traded him knowing that? If our cap situation was going to be this bad, there is no way in hell the Texans management couldn't have known that this would end up being unfeasible to re-sign Mario. So, instead he walks and we get nothing for him.

If you're not getting better in this league, you're getting worse. That's how it always is for the most part, and we're actually losing assets on this team right when we finally have a team that can be true contenders. This is amateurish GM stuff from Rick Smith as usual. He has obviously mismanaged this cap big time, and the Texans could very well likely end up wasting another season of Andre Johnson's career where he might not see the playoffs again. Our window is open right now, and we should be jumping in!!

Get Rick Smith out of here already, and find a real GM that can and will go out and get players to fill holes, and a guy that knows how to manage our cap situation. This is ridiculous.

Ever occur to you that it might not have been Rick Smith putting the Texans into a cap hell, and more so that little thing that happened over the summer called a lock out? Or even that little thing that happened last year called, Un-Capped year? The new CBA changed everything....

What makes you think they didn't shop Mario Williams around? Can't trade a player on IR. Oh I know, why not shop him before the season? Again, lockout effected everything! Who is to say they didn't really want to keep Mario? Rick Smith had no clue as to what the defense was going to do this year. Had no clue that the defense wouldn't skip a beat after Mario Williams got hurt. Why would you trade your best defensive player? Why would you trade the franchise leader in sacks? You don't unless you absolutely, 100% sure you cannot sign him, and I guarantee you the Texans had every intention to resign Mario Williams, that is until they saw what the defense was like without him...

Your whole post is based on hindsight. At least the Mario Williams part is. Now has Rick Smith made some mistakes, hell yes he has. Has he hit some home runs, hell yes he has. Not every player you get in the draft or in FA is going to be a home run, but he has gotten some outstanding talent on this team thus that outstanding talent eventually needs to get paid.

Now you are concerned about 3 players, who are VERY, VERY replaceable? Seriously? Out of all the FA on the Texans this year, 1 was hurt for 11 games, one was a UDFA and the other gave up more sacks than anybody on the O-line combined. Not a damn concern except Meyers, ONLY becasue he is a zone scheme center, otherwise all would be replaceable...

Also about the cap, this is what happens when you backload contracts, they come back to bite you, BUT had they not, they couldn't go get players like Manning and Joseph. So which is it? Get mediocre players that make you cap friendly and stay mediocre or work out deals that allow you to get those players, and deal with the cap situation later? You think the Texans are the only team in the NFL that goes through this? Look at the Steelers, Pats, Ravens, and any other elite team. Players, good to Pro Bowl players, come and go and they have the same cap situations and those teams have some of the best GMs in the game.

Know what makes those GMs great though, they don't worry about "what if" or "what could have been," they reload and go straight ahead. FA isn't even a week old and everybody is freaking out. Let it work itself out already, damn...

Kinda stupid really....

But I guess this is what happens to fans who have never been in this situation....

[arb729]

Just a quick question.. how would everyone feel if Mario played this entire last year, finished with 12-16 sacks, and led us to the Superbowl (win or lose). would everyone be criticizing Smith for not trading him then? He obviously didn't know he would miss most of the year being injured. Mario was an important piece of our defense going into last year. He got hurt. It happens in all sports.

I'm a huge Celtics fan, and it was very trying at times trusting Danny Ainge running the team. But, it all worked out in the end. Just let it all happen everyone.

That being said, if he has a chicken-poop draft, I'll be the first one at his door with the pitchfork.

[BullNation4Life]

Originally Posted by DerekLee1

Myers is still a Texan. Your starting O-line is D-Brown, Wade Smith, Chris Myers, Antoine Caldwell and Rashad Butler. I'll take that and not break the bank any day.

I honestly hope Shelly Smith beats out Caldwell. He was absolutely horrible to the fact they wanted a 85% healthy Briesel in over a 100% Caldwell....

[The Cush]

Originally Posted by BullNation4Life

I honestly hope Shelly Smith beats out Caldwell. He was absolutely horrible to the fact they wanted a 85% healthy Briesel in over a 100% Caldwell....

Is Casey Studdard still under contract? He will be in the mix as well

Rick Smith really amateur houred his way to a nice contract with Myers

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Say Watt

Wow. This team is falling apart right before our eyes.

I'll admit, I kinda freaked when we cut Winston, knowing Myers & Brisiel were out in the open. Then I rationalized I liked Butler better than Winston & have so for years. Now Myers signing for a "decent" contract & I'm ok.

Tex has got a point, we paid Mario over $30M for the last two years. Did not get a lot of production from here over that time. He just became the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. Off back to back injured seasons...... whatever you think of Mario, there is no denying he had value & we got nothing for him.

The outcry we've heard from Winston's release.... obviously had value. Brisiel has been signed to a healthy deal 3 days into FA..... value. & we've got nothing for it, any of it.

[The Third Man]

The salary cap has turned a lot of posters around here into complete morons. I don't know how a lot of you losers can walk five steps with collapsing onto the ground as your knees start jerking. It's March, fools, March. Have your hissy fit later.

[wolf123]

Originally Posted by The Third Man

The salary cap has turned a lot of posters around here into complete morons. I don't know how a lot of you losers can walk five steps with collapsing onto the ground as your knees start jerking. It's March, fools, March. Have your hissy fit later.

+100

[Wolf]

this is why you have to draft well

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by The Cush

Is Casey Studdard still under contract?

No, Kasey is a free agent.