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Summary of Kubiak/Smith postdraft presser

dalemurphy

dalemurphy

Hall of Fame
Dickerson: WR, will learn behind Andre Johnson

Holliday: KR/PR that will change the field... eventually will figure out how else to use him.

Shelly Smith: G/C. Can play both. They love him. Struggled with high ankle sprain as a senior. Should immediately compete with the group.

McManus: CB! not a safety. tough, leader, good athleticism, good ST

Graham: OD is ahead of schedule but his value was too good to pass up.

Sharpton: good ST, smart, can backup all three LB positions and compete with starters

EMitchell: explosive athlete that can make plays and help vs. run also.

Tate: impressived Kubes in interview. strong runner who can break it long also. May take a little time to adjust to I formation.

KJackson: love him, obviously.

Rick Smith also said they are happy with their safeties and at C/G... they may need another OT though. Kubes doesn't forsee any of the CBs being converted to Safety
 
Ecexpt for the CB from NWestern that I haven't looked at, I like all the picks. Just don't know where some of them will fit into the puzzle.

The top 3 guys were on my wish list so I can't complain.
 
76Texan said:
Ecexpt for the CB from NWestern that I haven't looked at, I like all the picks. Just don't know where some of them will fit into the puzzle.

The top 3 guys were on my wish list so I can't complain.
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Other than neglecting the Safety position, the other alarming thing to me is that they were strongly considering Gerhart. You watch a lot of college football. Do you agree with me that he is way too stiff and upright to be good in anything other than a strict power running offense. Also, he has zero lateral quickness, IMO... what do you think? He simply wouldn't make sense in for us, would he?
 
dalemurphy said:
Other than neglecting the Safety position, the other alarming thing to me is that they were strongly considering Gerhart. You watch a lot of college football. Do you agree with me that he is way too stiff and upright to be good in anything other than a strict power running offense. Also, he has zero lateral quickness, IMO... what do you think? He simply wouldn't make sense in for us, would he?
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I have Tate, Gerhart, and Hardesty as my RB choices in that order.

Tate is more of an all-around RB, in case Slaton's health is really a concern.
Otherwise, Gerhart would be a good complement to what we currently have.
 
See.. this just goes to show that all of the knee jerk fools around here need to take a break and trust the F.O.

They have done excellent in the draft every year so far.. i found it odd that so many people would spaz out this year just because the people we were taking didnt fit the script that they had played out in their head all offseason.

All the picks make sense.. especially now that Kubiak has given us the run down. One TE is a slot receiver. The other TE was too good a value to not take him. I dont think anyone can get mad at them for taking a player at a non-need position because they felt he was too valuable to let go, right?

An LB that can be solid depth at every LB position. WHAT!?!?! We drafted for DEPTH!?!? Its almost like we are thinking like a real football team with real talent, rather than an expansion team struggling to put talented players on the field.


Anyway. I guess my biggest question now is..why did we need a slot receiver? I mean obviously when you have the best passing game in the NFL you dont want to get complacent and LOSE that distinction... but does this mean that Walter orAnderson or Davis are on their way out?

Andre Davis is getting up there in years... perhaps we are thinking that Dickerson is his eventual replacement...despite the difference in speed.
 
Grid said:
An LB that can be solid depth at every LB position. WHAT!?!?! We drafted for DEPTH!?!? Its almost like we are thinking like a real football team with real talent, rather than an expansion team struggling to put talented players on the field.
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I don't think Dickerson is a slot guy. I think he's backing up AJ.

But it is relieving to see us drafting for depth like a real football team. It's a sign of progress.
 
Grid said:
They have done excellent in the draft every year so far..
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What was so excellent about the '07 draft? The '08 draft won't look so hot if Slaton can't rebound.

I realize it seems foolish to complain about players who have never stepped on a NFL field. But, it's just as ridiculous to praise them. So why not let everyone prescribe to their own brand of draft absurdity?
 
Brisco_County said:
I don't think Dickerson is a slot guy. I think he's backing up AJ.

But it is relieving to see us drafting for depth like a real football team. It's a sign of progress.
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Dickerson is backing up AJ. I think that Davis and probably Martinez are gone.

Davis because Holliday will handle the returns and Martinez gets beat out by Dickerson.

WR- AJ, KW, JJ, DA, DD

KR/PR- Holliday
 
I am so glad we have a front office and none of the Bozos on this board are any where near that office.

Great draft lets get to work.
 
dalemurphy said:
Dickerson: WR, will learn behind Andre Johnson

Holliday: KR/PR that will change the field... eventually will figure out how else to use him.

Shelly Smith: G/C. Can play both. They love him. Struggled with high ankle sprain as a senior. Should immediately compete with the group.

McManus: CB! not a safety. tough, leader, good athleticism, good ST

Graham: OD is ahead of schedule but his value was too good to pass up.

Sharpton: good ST, smart, can backup all three LB positions and compete with starters

EMitchell: explosive athlete that can make plays and help vs. run also.

Tate: impressived Kubes in interview. strong runner who can break it long also. May take a little time to adjust to I formation.

KJackson: love him, obviously.

Rick Smith also said they are happy with their safeties and at C/G... they may need another OT though. Kubes doesn't forsee any of the CBs being converted to Safety
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I think he's lying. Wouldn't surprise me at all during TC to see them ask one of the guys on the bubble of making the team to try and make a move to S. Especially if Troy Nolan isn't healthy enough to go.

I think they definitely will be finding ways to get the ball into Holliday's hands.
 
Lucky said:
What was so excellent about the '07 draft? The '08 draft won't look so hot if Slaton can't rebound.

I realize it seems foolish to complain about players who have never stepped on a NFL field. But, it's just as ridiculous to praise them. So why not let everyone prescribe to their own brand of draft absurdity?
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Our project in Jacoby has begun paying dividends. Kasey Studdard has stuck around and even started for us, can't expect better than that in a 6th round pick. Zach Diles is a quality starter who can play every LB position, our last pick was the best pick in this draft.

Amobi is a below-average starter and imo Smithiak's only bust (still holding out hope). Bennett never lived up to the expectations after teasing us his rookie year... bust but a 4th round pick. Brandon Harrison is no longer around... bust but 5th rounder.

07 draft is looking a lot better now that Jacoby is turning into a consistent playmaker. Amobi was disappointing but Diles makes up for it. The fact that only one player is no longer on the team is impressive.

For a draft where we didn't have a 2nd round pick, the 07 draft looks solid. It had a hard act to follow given all the studs in 06, but there have been worse drafts :)
 
Grid said:
See.. this just goes to show that all of the knee jerk fools around here need to take a break and trust the F.O.
<snip>
All the picks make sense..
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They only make sense if you think like Smithiak. And what I mean by that is ...

dalemurphy said:
Rick Smith also said they are happy with their safeties and at C/G.
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Really? Well, OK, but again - if they're happy with their safeties, then show me a pass defense that holds out long enough to help the pass rush, and preferably gets a few INTs. So far, they can be happy with their safeties all they want, but show me. Hasn't happened yet.

They're also happy with C. Really? OK, again, show me a run game that can get 3rd and 2 when the other team knows you have to run it. Show me a run game that can grind out the clock in the final minutes of a half/game. Show me a run game that can convert 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Goal. Again, hasn't happened yet, but they're happy with their Center. Ooooookay then.

Lucky said:
What was so excellent about the '07 draft? The '08 draft won't look so hot if Slaton can't rebound.
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This. I have hope for these guys, but honestly, after the '06 draft, the Texans are about average. That's an improvement over '02-'05, but still .... they overlook specific positions or types of players at positions and tell us they like what they have, when we can all see that what they have in certain areas is not cutting it.

It'll all shake out on the field, and the draft is a crap shoot anyway. But if you avoid taking the types of players that everyone thinks you need, then you have to prove everyone wrong. That's just the way it works.
 
76Texan said:
Ecexpt for the CB from NWestern that I haven't looked at, I like all the picks. Just don't know where some of them will fit into the puzzle.

The top 3 guys were on my wish list so I can't complain.
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I wonder when we'll get to the point, where some of our draft picks just aren't good enough to make the team.
 
eriadoc said:
They only make sense if you think like Smithiak. And what I mean by that is ...



Really? Well, OK, but again - if they're happy with their safeties, then show me a pass defense that holds out long enough to help the pass rush, and preferably gets a few INTs. So far, they can be happy with their safeties all they want, but show me. Hasn't happened yet.

They're also happy with C. Really? OK, again, show me a run game that can get 3rd and 2 when the other team knows you have to run it. Show me a run game that can grind out the clock in the final minutes of a half/game. Show me a run game that can convert 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Goal. Again, hasn't happened yet, but they're happy with their Center. Ooooookay then.



This. I have hope for these guys, but honestly, after the '06 draft, the Texans are about average. That's an improvement over '02-'05, but still .... they overlook specific positions or types of players at positions and tell us they like what they have, when we can all see that what they have in certain areas is not cutting it.

It'll all shake out on the field, and the draft is a crap shoot anyway. But if you avoid taking the types of players that everyone thinks you need, then you have to prove everyone wrong. That's just the way it works.
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I'm fine with their contentment at C/G... they have added Wade Smith and Shelly Smith to a young interior line who is getting back Mike Briesel. So, if they feel good about that, I won't complain until September. Safety is still a concern for me. They've signed two UDFAs at the safety position, so it may have been all hot air.

Regarding the drafts: '06 and '09 look to be amazing drafts and '07 and '08 look to be somewhere between average and solid at this point. So, I'm not going to be too critical.

It's going to be an interesting season!!
 
thunderkyss said:
I wonder when we'll get to the point, where some of our draft picks just aren't good enough to make the team.
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Hmmmm, that's an interesting statement. One one hand you hope that your depth is so good that no draft pick is better than any of them, but then again, you might want to hope that your team is competent enough to draft guys who are good enough to beat out your depth.

Adibi wasn't good enough to beat out the depth at his position. Is that a positive for Diles? A negative for Rick Smith or a testament to something about Xavier?

You can't win with that line of thinking. But I'm with you on what you're getting at.
 
I will go on record saying that I like this draft. I like the speed and physicality that we added to our team. I think people are paying attention a little too much to the position that some of these guys are listed at. They have added some athletes onto this roster who will likely get a shot at making this team for their special teams play. We can't pick starters with every pick in the draft.

I think the first 3 guys we picked will get a very good chance to become a starter for this team from day one, hopefully they succeed.

A lot of people are miffed about not addressing the FS spot once again, but I think it was just a case of Smithiak not seeing a player in the late rounds who could beat out any of our back-up safeties. They would rather pick a guy who could be a special teamer rather then wasting a pick. FS will likely be a priority next year, just as CB and RB were this year.
 
Lucky said:
What was so excellent about the '07 draft?
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matt-schaub.jpg


Boom, outta here.

The front office has proven itself worthy with its picks and personnel decisions over the last three years, and none was bigger than this guy. While he may not have been an actual draft pick, picks were used to acquire him....and many, many internet knowitalls slammed Kubiak for giving up two second round draft picks for an unproven backup QB.

Well, I think we all know who got that one right.
 
TheRealJoker said:
For a draft where we didn't have a 2nd round pick, the 07 draft looks solid. It had a hard act to follow given all the studs in 06, but there have been worse drafts :)
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I'm not suggesting that '07 & '08 drafts were total crap. Just that Grid's premise that all Smithiak drafts are "excellent" is off the mark. Passable does not equate to excellent.
dalemurphy said:
Regarding the drafts: '06 and '09 look to be amazing drafts and '07 and '08 look to be somewhere between average and solid at this point. So, I'm not going to be too critical.
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That's a completely sound position. And you can judge this draft on whatever criteria you choose. My point is that everyone has the right to determine their own criteria. And it gets very tiresome to see posters trashed when giving their opinion. Trash their opinion, that's how we roll. So what if some posters see a dark side? Sometimes, there is a dark side. Calling out for "jerks" and "bozos" to zip it does not foster the type of open atmosphere we all want.
 
We still have lingering concerns at safety and center. If Shelley, Caldwell, or Wade doesn't beat out Meyers in camp then what? I am hoping Wade shows up big time, we already know what we got in Caldwell and Shelley will be a rookie so we will hear all the "it takes time to learn all the calls and acclimate to center at the nfl level" talk. And we need this rookie DT to come in a make a big impact too to help out the back end. We have to get production at this position, I hope this guy can deliver.

People want to call that "knee jerk" reaction or "bozos" just doesn't seem fair. I trust the FO enough, but to pretend these needs are not still prevalent is not bashing anyone. It's the state of team, right? So bust on me all you want I guess.

All that being said, I am pretty content with this draft and the players, a few I am excited about and a few I am meh about. Most importantly we got 2 CB's! And I am excited about Tate, Jackson and the KR/PR.
 
The '09 and this '10 draft remind me a lot of each other. Most of the picks aren't who I would have chosen, but the more I look into it the more I like and understand what they did.

I love the Kareem Jackson and Ben Tate selections, absolutely love'em.
After that its guys I'm not real familiar with. They addressed DT in the 3rd with a guy that can penetrate. Perfect. After that we all wanted them to address C/G and FS. From the 4th round on, those were all WTF selections by most of us but I'm totally fine with them.

What we have to understand, especially at OL and FS, is that there's probably a 99% chance that the guys available wouldn't have started for us this year. I like how they selected guys they thought were good football players and better than the others available. Those are guys that will have long term impact on our team. Choosing a guy to fill a need this late in the draft is useless, you get a worse player that's not going to play. Two TE's? At first I was like oh dear gawd, but completely understand why now. Injuries to our top 3-4 TE's, they grabbed a guy the had rated pretty high... could be another OD. Then in the 7th the get a guy to develop at WR.

I like this draft a lot. Our first 3 selections will get significant playing time. We have another cb to develop (smith will always select multiple cb's) and they addressed depth with players rated fairly high on their board. Would have loved to get a G early, but addressing RB was more important... and you could argue DT was too, as was CB.

The only guy I'm not overly excited about is Trindon Holliday, I may be THE only person on here like that. He's the only flashy player we all knew about so people automatically like him. I get that. He's lightning fast and a GREAT returner. I'm just not convinced he's a football player... I think he's a track star and will have a very short career with the Texans. I'm fine with the selection in the 6th though (essentially traded Travis Johnson for Trindon Holliday). If he sticks, we hit a homerun, if we didn't it really wasn't a big loss. I think we'll all be routing for him though because the return game and getting good field position is vital. I'd just be surprised if we see him playing in our uniform after preseason.
 
I must confess, the comments justifying the TEs made me say "WTF". They're concerned about injuries at the TE position .. OK, fine. The team's interior OL was hit hard by injury, but I don't see them going out and drafting a bunch of OL (which I'd be happy with).

Just a head scratcher is all.
 
eriadoc said:
I must confess, the comments justifying the TEs made me say "WTF". They're concerned about injuries at the TE position .. OK, fine. The team's interior OL was hit hard by injury, but I don't see them going out and drafting a bunch of OL (which I'd be happy with).

Just a head scratcher is all.
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Good point.
rep.

now they did go get two OL guys in the UDFA pool.
Before you scoff, Jeff Saturday went undrafted, to name one.
 
I don't think this team will ever make the playoffs with Chris Myers as their starting center. Every time you need to pick up a important yard, he gets completely blown up and against big DTs he puts Schaub's life at risk........I cringed when I realized Baltimore is going to have Haloti Ngata and Terrence Cody in the middle. How this FO/coaching staff could ever say they are happy with their C position is beyond me.
 
Carr Bombed said:
I don't think this team will ever make the playoffs with Chris Myers as their starting center. Every time you need to pick up a important yard, he gets completely blown up and against big DTs he puts Schaub's life at risk........I cringed when I realized Baltimore is going to have Haloti Ngata and Terrence Cody in the middle. How this FO/coaching staff could ever say they are happy with their C position is beyond me.
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Shelley, Caldwell and Wade Smith will all be in camp competing for that spot.
 
eriadoc said:
I must confess, the comments justifying the TEs made me say "WTF". They're concerned about injuries at the TE position .. OK, fine. The team's interior OL was hit hard by injury, but I don't see them going out and drafting a bunch of OL (which I'd be happy with).
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That's a good point. I think it boils down to the Texans organization thinking more of guys like Myers, Studdard, White, and Briesel than some of the Texan fans. Having said that, I fully expect Wade Smith and Antoine Caldwell to find their way into the starting lineup. And I haven't given up hope that a rehabbed Chester Pitts is re-signed. But, with Bryan Bulaga still on the board @20, I had to wonder why the Texans didn't address the CB and/or RB spot in free agency. An O-line of Brown-Bulaga-Smith-Caldwell-Winston would have looked real good, and possibly helped solve the red zone woes of the offense.
 
ObsiWan said:
now they did go get two OL guys in the UDFA pool.
Before you scoff, Jeff Saturday went undrafted, to name one.
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Nah, I don't scoff. I'm always happy about OL. I don't hold out much hope for them, but there's always a chance, right?

Carr Bombed said:
How this FO/coaching staff could ever say they are happy with their C position is beyond me.
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That goes back to the point I've been trying to make since the middle of the draft. First, at some point, I have to take them at their word, right? Second, if they're happy with Myers, then show me. So far, they haven't because they can't.

Lucky said:
That's a good point. I think it boils down to the Texans organization thinking more of guys like Myers, Studdard, White, and Briesel than some of the Texan fans.
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Yep. And if those guys go out this season and have a bang up year where they can not only put up the yards in the middle of the field, but grind out the tough ones, then I'll leave it alone. But I have as much confidence in Myers being a part of that as I do all our TEs taking the field at the same time, LOL.
 
TexCanada said:
Well what can be done besides bringing in competition?
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Bring in a player that Myers flat out can't compete with, a player that parks his ass right on the bench. There should be no competition, Myers sucks. If he's a starter again next year I'm going to be sick.
 
Carr Bombed said:
Bring in a player that Myers flat out can't compete with, a player that parks his ass right on the bench. There should be no competition, Myers sucks. If he's a starter again next year I'm going to be sick.
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Well why don't we do that with every position on the team then?
 
TexCanada said:
Well why don't we do that with every position on the team then?
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LOL, not every position is woefully bad as the center position.

Again as I've said many times before, this team WILL NOT make the playoffs with Chris Myers as their starting center. It's just not going to happen.
 
Carr Bombed said:
Bring in a player that Myers flat out can't compete with, a player that parks his ass right on the bench. There should be no competition, Myers sucks. If he's a starter again next year I'm going to be sick.
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Carr Bombed said:
I'm hoping one of the guys we have on the team will beat him out, frankly I don't care how he's replaced....just replace him.
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Aren't you contradicting yourself here? My point is that it isn't easy to go out and find a guy who is an automatic upgrade. They have brought in a veteran in Wade Smith, and they now have 2 young guys in Caldwell and Shelley Smith who will all be competing for that spot. This is really the best they can do until we can afford to use a higher pick in the draft to get a C.
 
TexCanada said:
Aren't you contradicting yourself here? My point is that it isn't easy to go out and find a guy who is an automatic upgrade. They have brought in a veteran in Wade Smith, and they now have 2 young guys in Caldwell and Shelley Smith who will all be competing for that spot. This is really the best they can do until we can afford to use a higher pick in the draft to get a C.
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From what I recall I thought they were going to play Smith at guard. I know he can play all three interior positions.

Thought Shelly was a guard as well? Guess they are going to try and move him inside?

Strange idea here. How about drafting... I dunno a center late as opposed to trying to move a guy inside?
 
TexCanada said:
Aren't you contradicting yourself here? My point is that it isn't easy to go out and find a guy who is an automatic upgrade. They have brought in a veteran in Wade Smith, and they now have 2 young guys in Caldwell and Shelley Smith who will all be competing for that spot. This is really the best they can do until we can afford to use a higher pick in the draft to get a C.
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No I'm not contradicting myself.....my point was that Myers needs to be replaced and he does. I just don't understand how the FO/coaching staff can be comfortable with their C position when Myers is at the top of the depth chart.

You can keep making excuses for them all you want, but it's ridiculous that we might be going into our 3rd year with Myers as our starting center...HE SUCKS and it shouldn't be that hard to find a upgrade at center. I don't care how it happens, they just need to make it happen.
 
Goldensilence said:
From what I recall I thought they were going to play Smith at guard. I know he can play all three interior positions.

Thought Shelly was a guard as well? Guess they are going to try and move him inside?

Strange idea here. How about drafting... I dunno a center late as opposed to trying to move a guy inside?
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I think its unlikely to find a center that late who could take Myers' spot from him. I'm not trying to defend Myers here or anything, I agree that it is important to find an upgrade, I just think that we had more important positions to solidify with our early picks and that there wasn't a great talent to be had in the later rounds.
 
TexCanada said:
I think its unlikely to find a center that late who could take Myers' spot from him. I'm not trying to defend Myers here or anything, I agree that it is important to find an upgrade, I just think that we had more important positions to solidify with our early picks and that there wasn't a great talent to be had in the later rounds.
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I guess I'm alone in thinking Matt Tennant or Eric Olsen could have easily pushed Myers for the starting spot.

But, on the bright side we sure are tapping that CSU talent pipeline.
 
Lucky said:
I'm not suggesting that '07 & '08 drafts were total crap. Just that Grid's premise that all Smithiak drafts are "excellent" is off the mark. Passable does not equate to excellent.

That's a completely sound position. And you can judge this draft on whatever criteria you choose. My point is that everyone has the right to determine their own criteria. And it gets very tiresome to see posters trashed when giving their opinion. Trash their opinion, that's how we roll. So what if some posters see a dark side? Sometimes, there is a dark side. Calling out for "jerks" and "bozos" to zip it does not foster the type of open atmosphere we all want.
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I'm with Eric on this one. I want things done differently. Smithiak have drafted differently than I would've. Who's right, Who's wrong, time will tell. Dickerson was a great pick.

People can trash my opinion all they want. But one little fact the sunshine gang cant get around is the Smithiak way has not produced a playoff appearence. I hope that fact changes this season. But right now I'm just not seeing it happening.
 
Carr Bombed said:
Let's put it this way, I'd take a 39 year old Kevin Mawae over Chris Myers.


I'm hoping one of the guys we have on the team will beat him out, frankly I don't care how he's replaced....just replace him.
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To this point, 31 NFL teams (in addition to the Texans) have made the decsion not to have him on their roster. Doesn't mean he's not still decent, it just kind of tells me he no longer fits your criteria of being so much better than what we have that there doesn't even need to be a competition.

I was on record as saying I was hoping they'd take Pouncey in round one - knowing that even if he was there, they would likely go another direction. With him gone, I can honestly say I didn't see a single Center available in the draft that made me believe he had a realistic chance of winning a starting position on the O-line.
 
My thought on Iupati was that they could of plugged him next to Myers and it wouldn't of mattered. Iupati would have been strong enough to cover up all of Myers warts. However, it is clear now we would have had to jump Singletary, into the ten slot ? . So we would have gone without Ben Tate, Mitchell, and a high pick next year. If they do that, they miss the corner they coveted...Jackson.
 
threetoedpete said:
My thought on Iupati was that they could of plugged him next to Myers and it wouldn't of mattered. Iupati would have been strong enough to cover up all of Myers warts. However, it is clear now we would have had to jump Singletary, into the ten slot ? . So we would have gone without Ben Tate, Mitchell, and a high pick next year. If they do that, they miss the corner they coveted...Jackson.
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Wouldn't have minded Iupati one bit either. I agree with you though that trading up to get either one of them wouldn't have been worth the price of admission.
 
Carr Bombed said:
Bring in a player that Myers flat out can't compete with, a player that parks his ass right on the bench. There should be no competition, Myers sucks. If he's a starter again next year I'm going to be sick.
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Myers may not be at risk of making the pro bowl, but he is not 'chopped liver' either. It makes no sense to bring in someone to beat out and replace Myers as the starting center if the person who is brought in does not appear to have the ability to accomplish that objective. As hard as it may be to swallow, most centers in the draft are apparently just not up to that task. Our current starting center, as lacking as he is, is good enough to where he is not likely to be beaten out easily by a lower round draft pick. In any case, we have drafted a number of potential candidates for this role over the last number of years, and Chris Meyers remains standing at the top of the heap. At least for now.

All that being said, your first sentence is exactly correct. The Texans need to bring in a player who Myers "flat out can't compete with". The earliest that is likely to occur is at next year's draft.

I know that is a long way off, but speculate with me for a minute based on the roster the Texans have right now, including the players drafted this weekend. What are the Texan's truly glaring holes that scream out to be filled by a first round draft pick? I would say 1) Center (interior OL) and 2) Free Safety. In no particular order, I would propose that these are probably the most likely first and second round picks in next year's draft.

There are a few other positions that could be upgraded by a first or second round pick, but we have serviceable players at those positions. Maybe we could add DT to that list, but with all the first round defensive linemen the Texan's have taken in recent years, it might make sense to hold off on that for a while.

A first or second round center (interior OL) appears to have moved up to the top of the list of Texans roster needs. You do not see a lot of centers or free safeties taken in the first round. But the Texans have reach a point in their development where it probably makes sense to consider doing that, perhaps next year. This actually says very good things about how far this team has come.
 
I think it is pretty obvious Mojo, Kubes and Smith LOOOOOVE Myers. Now you can be as gung ho as you want, between the twenties he is everything you want in a ZBS center. Every time he goes against an elite DT or a heavy duty nose tackle, he gets his a$$ whipped all game long in the running game. and that isn't going to change. He's as good as he is going to get.


I just don't wanna hear no bitchin' by Kubiak any more post game at the podium that they can not run the ball. I mean we got it. We're going to pass first and use the short passing game as our rushing attack. And that works until you hit the end of the season and you have to run the ball because of bad weather. Then you're screwed. You think we're running the ball against Baltimore with that defense and those Nose tackles...no way. We'll be one dimensional. I just don't want to hear any griping about it anymore. They picked this.
 
threetoedpete said:
I think it is pretty obvious Mojo, Kubes and Smith LOOOOOVE Myers. Now you can be as gung ho as you want, between the twenties he is everything you want in a ZBS center. Every time he goes against an elite DT or a heavy duty nose tackle, he gets his a$$ whipped all game long in the running game. and that isn't going to change. He's as good as he is going to get.


I just don't wanna hear no bitchin' by Kubiak any more post game at the podium that they can not run the ball. I mean we got it. We're going to pass first and use the short passing game as our rushing attack. And that works until you hit the end of the season and you have to run the ball because of bad weather. Then you're screwed. You think we're running the ball against Baltimore with that defense and those Nose tackles...no way. We'll be one dimensional. I just don't want to hear any griping about it anymore. They picked this.
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I am with you 100%. Interior OL and the center position is my area of greatest concern for this year's team. The Texans need an upgrade at center if they want to make a substantial improvement in their running game.

Meyers is not a dominant center, that is obvious. However, he is effective between the 20's as you point out, and not just anyone is going to be an upgrade over what he brings to the table. Personally, I would love to see Antoine Caldwell get a look this year. Center is the position Caldwell was originally drafted for. And now that he has his rookie season behind him, maybe he will have a chance to win the job this year. Of course, no one who has any idea what they are talking about really thought Caldwell was going to be given the starting center job last year as rookie. But now that Caldwell is no longer a rookie, perhaps now he will get his chance.

If you are looking for a center that can deliver occasional pancake blocks to the likes of Ndamukong Suh and Kris Jenkins, we probably just do not have anyone like that on the roster right now. And if such a player does actually exist, he will not be sitting around his parents house on day 3 of the draft hoping to hear his name called. I think what we all want to see is a center who is effective in pass coverage, but even more, who is a difference maker as a run blocker. I am not completely convinced that Antoine Caldwell cannot develop into that role. But if it is not going to be Caldwell, it definitely is not Meyers either. It just appears to me that if Caldwell is not our guy, then our best bet is probably to look forward to drafting a center in the first two rounds of next years draft.
 
threetoedpete said:
I think it is pretty obvious Mojo, Kubes and Smith LOOOOOVE Myers. Now you can be as gung ho as you want, between the twenties he is everything you want in a ZBS center. Every time he goes against an elite DT or a heavy duty nose tackle, he gets his a$$ whipped all game long in the running game. and that isn't going to change. He's as good as he is going to get.


I just don't wanna hear no bitchin' by Kubiak any more post game at the podium that they can not run the ball. I mean we got it. We're going to pass first and use the short passing game as our rushing attack. And that works until you hit the end of the season and you have to run the ball because of bad weather. Then you're screwed. You think we're running the ball against Baltimore with that defense and those Nose tackles...no way. We'll be one dimensional. I just don't want to hear any griping about it anymore. They picked this.
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No offense, but who else runs against Baltimore? No one that I've seen. That's what they try to take away. Having said that I would love a top 10 center but Meyers isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be. He got handled by Jenkins in the first game of the year and since then he's garbage to alot of fans eyes. If I remember correctly the play where Meyers got crushed by Jenkins (it made everyones low-light reel for him) someone missed an assignment - I can't remember if it was Pitts or not, it was discussed on a post game interview.

Point being grading the OL is REALLY difficult to do as you have to know what each guy's assignment was on a given play. Meyers must not be Fing up as much as people think as I am sure they would replace him if he was. Despite what some over-reactionary fans think Kubes and Smith aren't stupid, if he was the piece of trash that some think he is, he would be gone. Why would you keep a guy that clearly can't play. Just because some fans think he sucks doesn't mean every time we get stuffed it's his fault. Maybe Wade Smith is the answer. We'll see. Meyers seemed to function fairly well in 08 when Slaton rushed for over 1200 yds, and the running game picked up at the end of the year with Foster. Maybe some of our woes are RB related.
 
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