SI: Offseason Breakdown - Houston Texans

[drs23]

Originally Posted by beerlover

I cannot fathom all this inward negativity from guys here that work in the draft forums. This is two years in a row Texans have surprised me with the quality & depth of their drafts, I think that is a huge reason to be optimistic moving forward not negative. I still hear 610 talking heads gush 2006 draft as the best, well who among them are still here & how much impact in 2012 will what remains impart? Wade Phillips came in here before 2011 draft & identified a course of action & really it starts with JJ Watt & Brooks Reed. He brought Cushing back to form from rookie season, rebuilt Kareem Jackson's role & has made some savvy free agent recommendations (Manning, Joseph, Bradie). Now add Mercilus to heal loss of Mario, then a cast of capable starting & role players in 2012 there is a lot to be fired up about. Is it Football Season yet

You sir, are out of line. There's no room for optimism on this MB!

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by beerlover

I cannot fathom all this inward negativity from guys here that work in the draft forums. This is two years in a row Texans have surprised me with the quality & depth of their drafts, I think that is a huge reason to be optimistic moving forward not negative. I still hear 610 talking heads gush 2006 draft as the best, well who among them are still here & how much impact in 2012 will what remains impart? Wade Phillips came in here before 2011 draft & identified a course of action & really it starts with JJ Watt & Brooks Reed. He brought Cushing back to form from rookie season, rebuilt Kareem Jackson's role & has made some savvy free agent recommendations (Manning, Joseph, Bradie). Now add Mercilus to heal loss of Mario, then a cast of capable starting & role players in 2012 there is a lot to be fired up about. Is it Football Season yet

The popular opinion after the 2009 season, was that we had arrived. With the addition of a running game, we would have been in the play-offs, & we would have gone deep.

At the end of that season, Arian Foster shows sparks fo greatness, we picked up Ben Tate in the 2010 draft.....

whoo-hooo here we come!!!

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by drs23

You sir, are out of line. There's no room for optimism on this MB!

It's been a long week @ work I guess not enough time.

I wanted to also include the 09 draft class which brought Texans core players Cushing, Barwin, Quin & McCain. All drafted to fit as 4-3 defensive prospects all of which have flourished in Wade Phillips 3-4. So credit should also be spread to the Texans scouting department: Brian Gardner, Director of Pro Personnel, Bobby Grier, Associate Director of Pro Personnel & Mike Maccagnan, Director of College Scouting to name a few. By promoting athletic specimens with size/speed, athletic ability, character, diversity & versatility this class outshines that vaunted 06 class in terms of where the Texans are now & where the Texans are headed in the future

[gary]

The key is Schaub more so than anyone IMHO.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by gary

The key is Schaub more so than anyone IMHO.

no question QB is the most important position in football, but Texans are the type of team who can keep rolling without him. It's all about defense & spreading the field offensively with solid line play on the back of Arian not Matt.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

The popular opinion after the 2009 season, was that we had arrived. With the addition of a running game, we would have been in the play-offs, & we would have gone deep.

At the end of that season, Arian Foster shows sparks fo greatness, we picked up Ben Tate in the 2010 draft.....

whoo-hooo here we come!!!

Hitting the mark with that first pick then following him up with next selection has been instrumental in Texans resurgence. I like what I've heard & seen so far from this years rookie class too

• 1st) Brian Cushing / Connor Barwin
• 1st) Kareem Jackson / Ben Tate
• 1st) JJ Watt / Brooks Reed
• 1st) Whitney Mercilus / DeVier Posey

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by drs23

You sir, are out of line. There's no room for optimism on this MB!

Why so? No one is telling you guys not to be optimistic, unlike your bunch telling us not to be pessimistic.

There's room for all of us.

Originally Posted by beerlover

I wanted to also include the 09 draft class which brought Texans core players Cushing, Barwin, Quin & McCain.

Except that puts a hole in the whole "We owe it all to Wade" mantra. Sure, 2011 was a nice draft, very nice. So was 2006, 2009, & really, 2010 & 2007 to lesser degrees. We're going to have a bad draft, picks that don't work out the way we want. Wade being here isn't going to change that. It's the same crap shoot it's always been.

If anyone has ever been in a leadership position, they know this is a whole new ball game. The Texans Kubiak took over in 2006 are a totally different Texans than the ones Kubiak will be leading in 2012. The 2006 group didn't expect anything but a paycheck. It wasn't about winning, it was about surviving.

This group, it's about succeeding, about being the best, about doing something very few teams have been able to do, & only one team is going to do this year.

I personally don't think Gary was the right man for the job in 2006 (to clarify, I liked the hire, but recognized & stated on this board, that he'll be learning on the job shortly after the 2006 season).

I have my doubts that he is the man to take this group we have now to the next level.

That's all I'm saying.

It's not about JJ Watt, Connor Barwin, Matt Schaub, or Arian Foster. Regardless what happens to them, the expectation for Kubiak is the same. Just like it was last year.

2012 is about Kubiak. He did a great job in 2011. Will he be able to back it up with another great year? What have you seen, to make you believe that?

I'm not here to draf anyone down, just sharing my opinion. You want to believe 2012 is going to end well for the Texans, I'm not going to stop you, talk about how much kool-aid your drinking, or in anyway denigrate you for having/sharing your opinion.


I'm just here to talk.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Why so? No one is telling you guys not to be optimistic, unlike your bunch telling us not to be pessimistic.

There's room for all of us.

I haven't seen anyone telling folks they can't be pessimistic and certainly nobody should be labeled as pessimistic if they won't go on record predicting a SB appearance. I'll be honest though, my perception is you are playing with being contrarian.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Except that puts a hole in the whole "We owe it all to Wade" mantra. Sure, 2011 was a nice draft, very nice. So was 2006, 2009, & really, 2010 & 2007 to lesser degrees. We're going to have a bad draft, picks that don't work out the way we want. Wade being here isn't going to change that. It's the same crap shoot it's always been.

I'm just here to talk.

On the contrary, Wade put his in player evaluation long before his first Texan draft. He identified Glover Quin as a suitable strong safety which I had been in favor of all along, why did that take so long to make a change? He then moved Barwin quickly into his natural position as OLB. Brought in his positional coaches to impact secondary along with LB's simplifying roles & filling in gaps. He essentially took an ideal 4-3 SAM LB & retooled his job description into a 3-4 ILB. Kareem had one of the worst rookie seasons I have ever had the misfortune to endure, yet he built him back into a solid CB in a miraculous one year turnaround. There is no denying Wade Phillips impact on this team, his friendship along with respect & love showered upon him by his players, fellow coaches, front office plus entire Texan fan base

[gary]

Originally Posted by beerlover

no question QB is the most important position in football, but Texans are the type of team who can keep rolling without him. It's all about defense & spreading the field offensively with solid line play on the back of Arian not Matt.

In the playoffs Matt would have helped more than Yates.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by gary

In the playoffs Matt would have helped more than Yates.

probably, but Texans would have won if not for Jacoby coughing up the turnover. Yates played well enough.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by beerlover

probably, but Texans would have won if not for Jacoby coughing up the turnover. Yates played well enough.

The same could be said about Yates' 1st int. Yates did not play well enough. Both Yates and JJ were at fault because an argument can be made for both costing us the game

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

The same could be said about Yates' 1st int. Yates did not play well enough. Both Yates and JJ were at fault because an argument can be made for both costing us the game

That was Ed Reed. He makes a lot if QB's look silly. Sure TJ would like to have that one back, but that's what makes Reed the greatest safety of his era.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by beerlover

probably, but Texans would have won if not for Jacoby coughing up the turnover. Yates played well enough.

3 INT's in a game is never playing well enough. You escape with it sometimes but that is all it is.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

3 INT's in a game is never playing well enough. You escape with it sometimes but that is all it is.

Brady threw for 2 the next week. Roethlisberger threw for 3 against them the first week of the season.

TJ didn't play well. But a lot of good, experienced quarterbacks have looked bad against that defense.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by gary

In the playoffs Matt would have helped more than Yates.

Originally Posted by beerlover

probably, but Texans would have won if not for Jacoby coughing up the turnover. Yates played well enough.

JUP!!!!

You play a playoff game with a rookie QB, you need to play from ahead which the Texans did (Field Goal). Then the defense goes out and causes a three-and-out... PERFECT!!!!

Enter Jacoby Jones... A bone-headed play costs our defense 4 yards and a TD (AGAIN, after the "D" went 3 and out)... All of the sudden, we're down 7-3. This is not how you protect a rookie QB that had started how many games??? Yates (and believe it or not, I don't think he's anything but a backup) of course, WAS put in position to fail... He had to attempt throws that he wasn't prepared to make...... That said, the defense was money, the entire game.

SO YES, this was on Jacoby!!

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

Brady threw for 2 the next week. Roethlisberger threw for 3 against them the first week of the season.

TJ didn't play well. But a lot of good, experienced quarterbacks have looked bad against that defense.

So? The Steelers got their asses handed to them that game. Brady said he played awful and they got lucky - heck the FG kicker missed a 30 yarder to end the game. TJ did not play "well enough" against Baltimore. You don't have a QB rating of 28 (half of their bad games) and have played "well enough."

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

JUP!!!!

You play a playoff game with a rookie QB, you need to play from ahead which the Texans did (Field Goal). Then the defense goes out and causes a three-and-out... PERFECT!!!!


SO YES, this was on Jacoby!!

How 'bout, "You play a playoff game with a rookie QB, you need to do better than 3 YPC in the second half" ?

That's what killed us. The Score was 13-17 to start the second half. Baltimore didn't score again, until after TJ's 2nd INT with 4:29 left in the game.

Ben Tate didn't get one carry in the second half. Foster killed them in the first half, with 100 yards on 15 carries. Tate didn't do so well. But in the second half, they adjusted to Foster.

Tate isn't better than Foster, but he's different enough, that a healthy, creative dose of both backs would have been benificial to us.

TJ Yates was never going to win that game, on the road. Foster & Tate could have.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

3 INT's in a game is never playing well enough. You escape with it sometimes but that is all it is.

The last INT would have never happened if we were up 3 instead of down 4. 2 INTs should pretty much be expected for a rookie QB against the Ravens' D.

[beerlover]

Funny, maybe it's my selective memory kicking in? But don't remember being that upset with TJ in Ravens match-up. The defense was playing at such a high level the Ravens would have never scored except for Jacoby gift on the doorstop. I suppose if anything on Yates turnovers this game would have been a comfortable win, but Raven defense lives off turnovers. Flaco's not that much better than a rookie QB named Yates (Texans traded that pick which Baltimore used to take Joe. Kinda ironic if you think about it).