OL - color me concerned

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by TexanCR

I honestly do not understand this move either...as far as I know we are under the cap and we could have cover Winston contract under it, not to mention that we could had something for him (anything, even a 6th rounder although everybody says that he is worth at least a 4th rounder) if the FO really do not wanted him on the team.

Can somebody explain the move for me please?

Rashad Butler simply isn't the player we all thought he was. When Butler stepped in for DB (during his suspension), he looked really good. The guy looked like he could be a solid starter in this league. This wasn't just the coaches, but you can do a search on these forums, most of us fans thought highly of Butler as well. I don't know what happened, but Butler just doesn't seem like the same guy.

On the other hand, I'm a believer in Newton. I think he's starting sooner than the coaches were probably planning, but he's currently beating Butler.

I don't think we'll lose much in pass pro, but I just moved Arian Foster down as my #3 fantasy football RB (behind McCoy & Rice). The runs to the right just don't look the same anymore.

[Runner]

Originally Posted by eriadoc

As I said repeatedly, if Butler was better than Winston, you'd either have him playing ahead of Winston or you'd have to question how good your coach is. You could argue that they thought they could develop him into a better tackle than Winston, but I honestly never saw anything that made me think that would be the case. But hey, I am just a fan.

I expected the line to be weaker because the cuts were made for salary cap reasons rather than talent/performance reasons. I suspect the "backups were better than the starters last season" arguments were mostly rationalizations to avoid admitting the Texans might take a step back in some areas where starters were lost. Similarly the "next man up" jingo was often presented as an appropriate mitigation strategy.

That being said, the o-line doesn't have to be outstanding. It has to be just good enough to allow the so called "skill position" players to do their things. At this point, the o-line needs to be adequate and the whole offense needs to avoid injury. The latter is easier said than done, of course.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

I just don't understand why we just outright cut Winston...

He didnt look all that good either. He was a huge liability in pass protection. Im ok with the Winston cut but I think we should have nabbed a RT in the draft.

[Playoffs]

Texans could face more OL changes in 2013
http://www.profootballweekly.com/201...hanges-in-2013

The rebuilding of the right side of the Texans’ offensive line has received plenty of attention this offseason. However, the likelihood that the Texans could make changes on the right side in 2013 has flown largely under the radar.

This offseason, Houston demonstrated how highly it values C Chris Myers, cutting ORT Eric Winston in part to free up the cap space to extend Myers, and OLT Duane Brown, who received an extension before OLB Connor Barwin and QB Matt Schaub. With the two core pieces of the line in place for the next several seasons, don’t be surprised if veteran ORT Rashad Butler and ORG Antoine Caldwell, both competing for starting jobs in 2012, are allowed to walk when their contracts expire after the season. Houston has younger reinforcements, OG Brandon Brooks and OT Derek Newton, waiting in the wings, and if their time to start isn’t now, it likely will be in 2013.

Of course, this is a byproduct of Houston's strong team building through the draft under GM Rick Smith and head coach Gary Kubiak. The club is as deep as it’s ever been..

As for Butler and Caldwell, their contract years couldn’t come at a better time, as they will have a chance to parlay strong showings into big dollars on the open market, similarly to ORG Mike Brisiel, who received a five-year, $20 million deal with the Raiders after a career year in '11.