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Gary Kubiak Presser

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Was listening to it on 610, but I missed the first part.
Anybody caught it?

Sounds like James is day-to-day but will probably miss the next game.
Texans don't plan to bring in anybody new.

Tate is not practicing today (?) but should be back tomorrow.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Pro Football Weekly ‏@ProFootballWkly
RT @NickScurfield: Rookie Whitney Mercilus starts at Will LB while Brooks Reed is out. Connor Barwin moves over to Sam #Texans

Lance Zierlein ‏@LanceZierlein
The SAM LB spot is a much better fit for Barwin who is a natural at that position. Mercilus gives Texans better edge speed at WLB now.

Lance Zierlein ‏@LanceZierlein
The loss of Brooks Reed may end up changing the future of the Texans OLB rotation and starting spots for years to come. We'll see.

Nick Scurfield ‏@NickScurfield
Kubiak said 2nd-year OLB Bryan Braman will be part of the rotation w/ Connor Barwin & Whitney Mercilus #Texans

Tania Ganguli ‏@taniaganguli
"We went from suiting 9 linebackers up ... to now if we played a game today there'd be 7 available players," Kubiak #Texans

Tania Ganguli ‏@taniaganguli
"Braman's been an exceptional special teams player for us. ... He's very talented. He can rush the passer. He can run." Kubiak said.
Yeah, I heard all that, too.
 

JCTexan

Hall of Fame
Lance Zierlein ‏@LanceZierlein
The loss of Brooks Reed may end up changing the future of the Texans OLB rotation and starting spots for years to come. We'll see.
What would they do differently?
 

Rey

Guest
Barwin is a much better fit a SOLB...

And Merci is a better fit for the WOLB position than Brooks or Barwin. I hope Braman gets some snaps at WOLB though because I want to see what he has as I haven't seen anything out of Merci that leads me to believe he's a long term solution for that position and the answer to our pass rush prayers...
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
I just hope teams don't start running draw plays towards the gaping hole left by Merci as he speed rushes the outside. The dude is cat quick but he doesn't set the edge very well. Hopefully he is getting coached up on that and a week with a 1's reps will help him. Along with being able to ride the pine early in the season. He hasn't hit that rookie wall, yet.

I must say, the lineup looks interesting.
 

silentassassin

Waterboy
I just hope teams don't start running draw plays towards the gaping hole left by Merci as he speed rushes the outside. The dude is cat quick but he doesn't set the edge very well. Hopefully he is getting coached up on that and a week with a 1's reps will help him. Along with being able to ride the pine early in the season. He hasn't hit that rookie wall, yet.

I must say, the lineup looks interesting.
Yeah, he's been caught a few times this year. I'm confident he'll get the hang of it as he'll get a lot more opportunities now, like you mentioned.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Hope they just hold JJo out until New England.
I hope so, too.
In fact, I think it would be good not to practice him for a few days, or just do some light stuff.

Also, just remember that Kubiak also said that Newton is day-to-day.
That and not bringing any new guy in probably means that his injury is not too bad???
 

badboy

Hall of Fame
I am probably in a fog but I think this forced change could make the team even stronger next season. Issue is can we keep winning this year? I say yes.
 

Texan_Bill

Hall of Fame
Hope they just hold JJo out until New England.
I hope so, too.
In fact, I think it would be good not to practice him for a few days, or just do some light stuff.

Also, just remember that Kubiak also said that Newton is day-to-day.
That and not bringing any new guy in probably means that his injury is not too bad???
I'm in y'alls camp!

Look, at the end of the day, we're not gonna go 15-1 in the regular season. So if they can get JJo extra rest, I'm all for it.

As far as Newton goes, I think Harris did "okay".. Not great, but by the same token, not terrible.
 

badboy

Hall of Fame
It'll be a much lower 1st round pick than we are used to. Hopefully though, we get used to it.
Depending on one or two being there, I'll probably be hoping for a trade down for a high second and high 3rd round.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
Barwin is a much better fit a SOLB...

And Merci is a better fit for the WOLB position than Brooks or Barwin. I hope Braman gets some snaps at WOLB though because I want to see what he has as I haven't seen anything out of Merci that leads me to believe he's a long term solution for that position and the answer to our pass rush prayers...
From what I've heard, he is obviously a beast on STs, but we haven't seen him in regular play because he has had a major problem assimilating the D LB playbook effectively enough for Wade. Despite this, at the right point, I would like to see what Braman can do when they "throw" him in there and let him rip.
 

wolf123

Rookie
Why exactly can Reed not be moved to Inside LB next year? He is relentless and one of the strongest players on our team. Has coverage ability, blitzing ability and is used to taking on bigger players.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Why hasn't Barwin been playing SLB before now? It makes sense that he would, but what's Wade's reason?
Who would you put on the weak-side?

The only "pass rusher" we have is Mercilus & they probably didn't want to overwhelm him if we didn't have to. Barwin showed some ability from WOLB last season, but this year, even at WOLB, he hasn't been used exclusively as a pass rusher.

So some of his "lack of production" is due to not being on kill all the time. But only some.


Why exactly can Reed not be moved to Inside LB next year? He is relentless and one of the strongest players on our team. Has coverage ability, blitzing ability and is used to taking on bigger players.
I'd love to see it. However, there are two things they've got to think about when assinging positions.

#1, I think, is getting your best players on the field.
#2, rotation/depth.

I want Brooks, Barwin, Mercilus, & Cush on the field, I think that's our best four. But then what? Barwin & Reed are our only SOLBs. I imagine when Whitney comes on the field, he plays WOLB & either Barwin or Reed plays SOLB. I like Brahman, but he's really a weakside guy, I think, and Nading is lucky to have a job..... still.

Maybe Mr Alexander can play the SOLB, I think Dobbins & Sharpton are straight inside players.
 

Rey

Guest
Brooks Reed is not the right type of athlete to play ILB full time. He doesn't have good enough lateral agility.

Barwin has a beter shot at being an ILB than Brooks Reed.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Brooks Reed is not the right type of athlete to play ILB full time. He doesn't have good enough lateral agility.

Barwin has a beter shot at being an ILB than Brooks Reed.
I don't know Rey, his numbers in the short shuttle and three-cone are comparable to Sharpton. He's faster in the 10-20 and 40.
And he's much bigger than Sharpton.
I think he should be able to handle it.
 

wolf123

Rookie
Brooks Reed is not the right type of athlete to play ILB full time. He doesn't have good enough lateral agility.

Barwin has a beter shot at being an ILB than Brooks Reed.
If bradie James and Ryans can play ILB with their agility then Reed can too.
 
They talked about playing Reed in the middle in the preseason. I posted about it here.

Herring also talked about Reed’s “linebacker body.”

“That’s where people get discombobulated with him,” Herring said. “Look, he’s 6-2½, 250. The fact that he was playing with his hand in the dirt (the three-point stance of a defensive end) in college turned him into a ‘tweener’ to some people. But he was always a ‘Mike’ linebacker to us. Half the teams in the draft wanted him bad, and the other half didn’t think he could (make the transition). We were in the half that saw the upside potential. He’s still projecting and growing as a player. The sky’s the limit.”
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Also, Herring said somewhere in one of his interviews that Reed is one of the strongest guys on the team (I think it was when they drafted him.

In fact, when I look at the combine results, his 30 reps on the bench is up there for the last 3 draft classes. That's more than a bunch of DT and NT can manage.

Strong, fast, quick, good lateral movement.
Yeah, I think those are some good traits for an ILB.
He should be able to take on the Guards and Centers.

His time in the first 10 yards is better than a bunch of DBs.
Surely he can keep up with the RBs in the short area.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Oh, and his times are better than Tim Dobbins in every category by at least 1/10 of a second.

10-yd split, 20-yd split, 40-yd dash, 20 SS, and 3-cone, you name it.
 

Brisco_County

Apples and roadmaps
His 10 yard split is only a hair short of Clay Matthews. We got a steal with Reed, and he has a lot more potential than people realize.
 

Rey

Guest
I don't know Rey, his numbers in the short shuttle and three-cone are comparable to Sharpton. He's faster in the 10-20 and 40.
And he's much bigger than Sharpton.
I think he should be able to handle it.
Lots of guys have posted good times and can't play a lick. I figured someone would bring up his combine numbers.

I can't explain it really, but some guys just have better reactionary and anticipatory athleticism.

When you are running drills you can practice that drill....over and over...you know exactly what you're going to do...the drill doesn't change...

Even if you don't practice, you know exactly what you're doing far ahead of time.

On the field it's not the same. Guys with slower times all of a sudden look quicker and more explosive.

Mario posted great numbers too, but he doesn't play nearly as explosive as those numbers indicate. Doesn't explode off the line like you'd think he should based on numbers.

Really different when your brain knows 'on your mark, set, go' vs. Trying to get off the ball on a qb's cadence.

Are you trying to tell me reed looks quick and explosive out there on the field????
 

Rey

Guest
They talked about playing Reed in the middle in the preseason. I posted about it here.
In Brandon harris' rookie season Vance Joseph basically said the nickel position was his.

They said they liked what reed and barwin were doing, but bow they are saying they need more pressure.

Coaches say a lot of things. Don't take it all as gospel.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
Lots of guys have posted good times and can't play a lick. I figured someone would bring up his combine numbers.

I can't explain it really, but some guys just have better reactionary and anticipatory athleticism.

When you are running drills you can practice that drill....over and over...you know exactly what you're going to do...the drill doesn't change...

Even if you don't practice, you know exactly what you're doing far ahead of time.

On the field it's not the same. Guys with slower times all of a sudden look quicker and more explosive.

Mario posted great numbers too, but he doesn't play nearly as explosive as those numbers indicate. Doesn't explode off the line like you'd think he should based on numbers.

Really different when your brain knows 'on your mark, set, go' vs. Trying to get off the ball on a qb's cadence.

Are you trying to tell me reed looks quick and explosive out there on the field????
While it's true to a degree, the Combine and pro-day numbers can't be ignored.

Reed's numbers show that he has the tool; whether he has the mentality to play the position is the other important factor.

Let's see, Reed played 2-way in HS, as a DE and a FB; he was around 220 at the time.
The Wildcats worked him at HB and TE.
Then came Sonny Dykes and his Air-raid offense.
They moved Mitchell to DT and Reed to DE.
That guy is not only versatile but should also have a pretty good grasp of both sides of the ball.
Wade and Herring must have seen that and started play him some as an LB on the second level against the Jags.
(So the talk of seeing Mercilus, Barwin, and Reed on the field at the same was fulfilled.)
There was one play in particular that shows his capability at the second level.
I will take some snap shots and show them later.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I heard much of Kubiak's 3:30 presser. I thought he was asked some pretty tough questions.... Pancakes kept pressing. I thought Kubiak had some good answers. I saw a bit of it on NFLN a few minutes ago I'm sure it will be on Houstontexans.com in its entirety & post a link for you.

If you're interested, you should check out the Gary Kubiak show coming up at 5. They said he's agreed to do the whole hour, should be interesting.
 

powda

The bridge between stupid and useless is short.
Gary now on 610.

"I am, 100% committed to Matt"

"Matt will continue to get better"

:vincepalm:
Also...

Barry asked about more mobile quarterbacks.

His response was (paraphrasing): "if you look at the afc teams still playing none of the qb's are very mobile..."

Yeah thats true coach, but they dont run a bootleg east west offensive attack like we do.
 
Also...

Barry asked about more mobile quarterbacks.

His response was (paraphrasing): "if you look at the afc teams still playing none of the qb's are very mobile..."

Yeah thats true coach, but they dont run a bootleg east west offensive attack like we do.
BAL runs WCO too.
 

powda

The bridge between stupid and useless is short.
BAL runs WCO too.
Im sure those elements are there...they are in almost every offense. I just haven't seen flaco run a lot of boots. Also they have guys like torey smith who are a legit deep threat...and flaco can get it there. We dont have that luxury.
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
Also...

Barry asked about more mobile quarterbacks.

His response was (paraphrasing): "if you look at the afc teams still playing none of the qb's are very mobile..."
Brady and Flacco look like cheetahs compared to Schaub. Disheartening.
 

dream_team

Hall of Fame
Brady and Flacco look like cheetahs compared to Schaub. Disheartening.
Flacco yes, but Brady? Are you serious? When did he run in our two games to prove this to you? He is not more mobile than Schaub, but he does have better pocket awareness and moves better in the pocket. But he is not "more mobile".
 

Honoring Earl 34

Something Witty !
Flacco yes, but Brady? Are you serious? When did he run in our two games to prove this to you? He is not more mobile than Schaub, but he does have better pocket awareness and moves better in the pocket. But he is not "more mobile".
Moving in the pocket is mobility , combined with pocket awareness , makes him look like Sugar Ray Leonard compared to Schaub .
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
First time I've listened to this show, seems like a love-fest, no tough questions...yet.
Pretty close. This is the "official station of the Houston Texans" so they really can't give Kubiak too hard a time. Wouldn't really be much of a point either, if they want to keep him coming on & answering questions.... which I do like them doing.

When they aren't talking to a Texans, or Rick Smith, or McNair, they can get pretty brutal. I think they all agree with what's being said on this board, that Matt was the biggest issue & he's playing over his head.

But, being that they share your thoughts, I thought the questions were pretty interesting & as tough as it can get in this situation.

In short, this is not a presser, this is not the media trying to get to the bottom of anything. These shows are a partnership between the team & the radio station.
 
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