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Sophomore Slump could derail Texans

barrett

All Pro
With so many rookies contributing last year, bleacher report asks "what if":

Slaton only achieved a 437 yards on the ground, and the Texans started the season expecting him to be the feature back. Let’s pray that the following rookies from 2009 don’t fall under the same sort of calamity.

First, the surprisingly solid third round draft pick Alabama’s interior offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell, who is expected to be competing for a starting job during the 2010 season. Caldwell played in 10 games and started in 3 of the last 4 wins during the 2009 season. It took 14 games for the Texans to figure out how to run the ball, and Caldwell was on the field when they finally did.

Second, undrafted free agent Arian Foster, this big running back from Tennessee was a bright spot near the end of a dismal running assault during the 2009 season for the Houston Texans. He came off the practice squad due to injuries and for the last four games of the season, had a chance to showcase his running ability. After getting benched for a fumble during his second game against the Rams, he came back the next week to route the Dolphins with 19 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. The following week, what he did to the Patriots during the last game of regular season was borderline embarrassing. This rookie ran the ball 20 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, right down their throats. The 2010 season brings with it a running back controversy for the Texans, but as of right now, Foster is on the top of the depth chart.

Third, second round pick Connor Barwin, the tight end converted to defensive end before his 2008 season in college as a Cincinnati Bear Cat. With his natural athletic ability, and high motor this man could be a game changer from Jump Street. Last season he racked up more sacks than any other rookie defensive end in the league with 4.5, and had 18 total tackles while only playing about a third of the total downs in a game. Imagine what he could do after another year to learn the position and with more time on the field.

Fourth, the corner back taken in the fourth round, New Mexico stand out Glover Quin. Starting in 12 games of the 2009 season he amassed 68 tackles, and led the team in passes defended with 11. Truly a come up and hit you corner with pretty good coverage skills. For a team that plays Payton Manning at least twice a year, corner is a very important position, and Quin is expected to start there for the Texans in the 2010 season.

Fifth, the controversial 15th pick of the 2009 draft Brian Cushing. Where do we start, he was voted to the 2010 AFC Pro Bowl, he was the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, he was the 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Week for weeks 6 and 8, and he was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in November 2009. Those are some pretty impressive honors. The real impact he made can be measured by his team leading 134 tackles, 4 interceptions and 5 sacks. This one is already going to decline in productivity due to the 4 game suspension enforced by the league for testing positive for a banned substance. A slump here is impending.

Not to mention TE James Casey, CB Brice McCain, and SS Troy Nolan who is the only one guaranteed improvement as long as he steps on the field for at least one game.

All of these 2009 rookies contributed to the first winning season in Texans history, and at least five of them were major factors. This outcome is a testament to the work that General Manager Rick Smith and his team have done by “building from the draft”.

Even if three of these players, who will be sophomores in 2010, experience a slump the impact could pull the rug out from under the Texans playoff hopes. If Quin starts to get beat deep, if Barwin gets stood up every down, or if Cushing really does need PED’s to perform injured every week. Well who will step up and fill the void? ... 2010 rookies?
 

Hardcore Texan

Magnet Man
The same bleacher report that called the Texans the #1 darkhorse to make the superbowl? :specnatz:

I can't wait for the offseason to be over.
 

b0ng

Bad Hombre
The same bleacher report that called the Texans the #1 darkhorse to make the superbowl? :specnatz:

I can't wait for the offseason to be over.
Bleacher Report is pretty much like a glorified messageboard that anybody (yes, even you, or me! Or that guy over there!) can write to. If it seems a little bi-polar it's probably because the authors of the articles are different people.

Somebody write an article about how Peytons forehead could lead the Colts down a troubled path this season and I will post it here for discussion.
 

Thorn

Dirty Old Man
If this, if that, if I had a dollar for every single prediction that didn't come true. Oh well, it's the off season, and there isn't a whole lot to do except bring up stuff like this.

He does bring up a point though, and that is we had a lot of rookies making contributions to the team last year. That means we drafted well. Hopefully we have that same "problem" every year. :)
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
I wish we had a good enough season to qualify for a sophomore slump but we've yet to even make the playoffs. The players must be really hard to motivate if they get excited about a 9-7 record.

Although judging by the team's inconsistent performances from week to week I wouldn't be surprised!!!
 

NitroGSXR

Super Sic #58
Bleacher Report is pretty much like a glorified messageboard that anybody (yes, even you, or me! Or that guy over there!) can write to. If it seems a little bi-polar it's probably because the authors of the articles are different people.

Somebody write an article about how Peytons forehead could lead the Colts down a troubled path this season and I will post it here for discussion.
Incorrect.

His forehead is actually beneficial to him and the Colts. You have to recognize that he's got the room to glob on a massive amount of dexmethasone gel on there. You see... when the sun catches it right, no defender alive can follow Manning's eyes and predict his throw. The glare is just too much. It's also why route running is absolutely imperative to a WRs success in Indianapolis. Without route running, nobody could ever catch a ball from Peyton Manning, not even our own Andre Johnson.

All hail the forehead.
 
He does bring up a point though, and that is we had a lot of rookies making contributions to the team last year. That means we drafted well. Hopefully we have that same "problem" every year. :)
I'd rather have the problem of our big-time rookies not getting enough early snaps because of the big-time veterans in front of them. Then, when those big-time veterans sign enormous free agent contracts, the young guys are ready to take their place.

But the early returns of the 2009 draft class were impressive, no doubt.
 

eriadoc

Texan-American
Incorrect.

His forehead is actually beneficial to him and the Colts. You have to recognize that he's got the room to glob on a massive amount of dexmethasone gel on there. You see... when the sun catches it right, no defender alive can follow Manning's eyes and predict his throw. The glare is just too much. It's also why route running is absolutely imperative to a WRs success in Indianapolis. Without route running, nobody could ever catch a ball from Peyton Manning, not even our own Andre Johnson.

All hail the forehead.
/winner
 

HOU-TEX

Ah, Football!
Incorrect.

His forehead is actually beneficial to him and the Colts. You have to recognize that he's got the room to glob on a massive amount of dexmethasone gel on there. You see... when the sun catches it right, no defender alive can follow Manning's eyes and predict his throw. The glare is just too much. It's also why route running is absolutely imperative to a WRs success in Indianapolis. Without route running, nobody could ever catch a ball from Peyton Manning, not even our own Andre Johnson.

All hail the forehead.
Then after the game the entire team can sit down to a nice movie reflected off Peyton's forehead.
 

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Good thing we got solid depth of vets if that happens

CLadwell might not even start IMO at least not every down

Mcain migt not even start has well

Casey wont

Barwin wont


alot of these guyz arent full time starters
 

Carr Bombed

Hall of Fame
Give me a break, The only rookies who could have a slump that would really effect what the team did last season would be Glover and Cushing (who were the only players that were pretty much starting all year), the writer drastically exaggerates the contributions the other rookies had last year.

Most of the other rookies didn't start making plays or a impact until late in the year......so what the writer needs to take into account is what if just some of those rookies can provide that type of play all season long, how good can the Texans be then?
 
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barrett

All Pro
If this, if that, if I had a dollar for every single prediction that didn't come true. Oh well, it's the off season, and there isn't a whole lot to do except bring up stuff like this.

He does bring up a point though, and that is we had a lot of rookies making contributions to the team last year. That means we drafted well. Hopefully we have that same "problem" every year. :)
Couldn't agree more..

I'd rather have the problem of our big-time rookies not getting enough early snaps because of the big-time veterans in front of them. Then, when those big-time veterans sign enormous free agent contracts, the young guys are ready to take their place.

But the early returns of the 2009 draft class were impressive, no doubt.
No. Wait. I couldn't agree more with THIS!
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
With so many rookies contributing last year, bleacher report asks "what if":All of these 2009 rookies contributed to the first winning season in Texans history, and at least five of them were major factors. This outcome is a testament to the work that General Manager Rick Smith and his team have done by “building from the draft”.

Even if three of these players, who will be sophomores in 2010, experience a slump the impact could pull the rug out from under the Texans playoff hopes. If Quin starts to get beat deep, if Barwin gets stood up every down, or if Cushing really does need PED’s to perform injured every week. Well who will step up and fill the void? ... 2010 rookies?
Then when you add first year starters (for our team) like Studdard, White, Pollard, Antonio Smith, Sean Cody, Diles (more or less, especially considering it's a new position) & Barber, not to mention new defensive coordinator, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that we would be on the outside looking in at the play-offs.

I understand we were 1 play away from the play-offs, several times, and couldn't pull it off. But that's what young teams do.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm thrilled, or ecstatic that we finished 9-7, or just missed the play-offs... But to think Kubiak can't get it done because of what he did in '09 with what he had in '09 just doesn't compute for me.
 
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Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
For the love of all that is holy, please no more Bleacher Report threads.

Bleacher Report = A report that makes me want to put bleach in my eyes because what is written is usually so stupid.

I know the off-season is long. And there is little original content. But 99.9% of BR hurts to read.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
For the love of all that is holy, please no more Bleacher Report threads.

Bleacher Report = A report that makes me want to put bleach in my eyes because what is written is usually so stupid.

I know the off-season is long. And there is little original content. But 99.9% of BR hurts to read.
Don't know wh anyone quotes BR as a serious source. Kinda like saying Adams Jones is an upstanding citizen.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
There may be an explanation for the slump seen in SOPHOMORES if you look at the origin of the word SOPHOMORE.


Though the first part does come from the Greek word sophos ("wise"), there is no direct relation to the Greek word for "foolish" [moros] as is commonly believed. In truth, sophomore is a variation of sophist, a word that has a long and twisted history in itself.

Originally, a sophist (Greek sophistes) was a man who had achieved wisdom. The sophist Protagoras is said to have been the first professional teacher, charging only what his students thought he had earned. He, and many sophists who came after him, were serious thinkers but not on the level of, say, Socrates. Later, professional teachers in ancient Greece became generally known as sophists, but many of these were more pretenders to wisdom than truly wise. These guys were the original insufferable know-it-alls. The sort of plausible yet unsound arguments they were fond of using are called sophisms and the use of such arguments is called sophistry. Other ancient Greek thinkers, more interested in finding truth than winning arguments, were less comfortable claiming to have achieved wisdom. They called themselves philosophers ("lovers of wisdom").

After a year in the NFL, there just maybe the same tendency to overconfidence, arrogance and "Now that I've been around for a year, I don't have to try as hard, because I know it all."

[a more complete history of the term is found in the above link]
 

NitroGSXR

Super Sic #58
Vomit makes koolaid taste better? Most BR articles make me want to vomit.
Vomit? Come on now. Was that graphic detail really necessary? I'm with you regarding the quality of these articles but tack yourself down off your high perch a smidgen. I'm appreciative for anybody who takes the time to write something. Even mere message board posters. Writing is work anyway you look at it.
 
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