Significance of Dre's Chronicle Article

Dre's interview that was in the paper Friday was interesting for a couple of reasons. There were the things he said, but more significant than that is the fact that Andre Johnson said something at all.

AJ is a quiet, focused guy who, when told to do something by the coaches, does it. No complaining, no bad attitude. He is very professional and more of a team player than a couple of other high end receivers we could all name. In college he was also used to winning in a winning organization.

The fact that AJ publicly said anything at all gives me pause for concern. I think this is one of the biggest indicators of serious team discord that we've had.

The recent performance of the team and the reported discord between the coaches was cause for concern. Now add the fact that the best players on the team may not buy into the system, and we have big trouble brewing.

My point is this: if Dre feels strongly enough to voice his displeasure, the rest of the team probably have the same feelings. Maybe the reason the Texans look lackadaisical is that they are just going through the motions, because they don't believe in the system, coaches, and team "leaders".

Take a look at this thread .It is a discussion of the same article .

http://www.houstontexans.com/fan_zone/messageboards/showthread.php?t=12317

Thanks - I skipped a day on the board and missed that post. I looked through the titles and "Fundamental Differences" didn't jump out at me.

The key to the Texans is putting th eball in AJ's hands. If they can do that, they will win. Forget DD, forget the defense. You need all those factors, but no true testament sto the Texans' success stands out for the Texans like Carr connecting to AJ. But in order to get the ball to Carr, we need to hit the Mathises, Amstrongs, Gaffneys, Davises, and yes, even the Bradfords. With the Defense struggling to cover them, it diverts their attention from AJ. Go pass-happy.

For Andre to say this stuff on the record speaks volumes, given his default demeanor.

I've been saying it for a while... post

The guy deserves better than what this system has to offer him and I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone when his contract is up if the foundation of this team (Carr, Capers and staff) is still intact.

We won't lose AJ. We'll slap the franchise tag on him so quick it'll make our head spin.

DC, on the other hand, has this season to get it together. Even the national media has been making remarks about him, as the experts see tendencies in his play that have not been corrected since his college days and rookie year.

The truth is that DC and the coaches will be gone well before we lose AJ.

oso said:

The key to the Texans is putting th eball in AJ's hands. If they can do that, they will win. Forget DD, forget the defense. You need all those factors, but no true testament sto the Texans' success stands out for the Texans like Carr connecting to AJ. But in order to get the ball to Carr, we need to hit the Mathises, Amstrongs, Gaffneys, Davises, and yes, even the Bradfords. With the Defense struggling to cover them, it diverts their attention from AJ. Go pass-happy.

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Ok.. time for a comment from me. If you havent noticed.. AJ is not doing his best right now. He has dropped and continues to drop some VERY catchable balls. HE is a beast when he gets into his hands, but getting it there has been a problem, and it is not Carr's Fault most of the time (you all must understand, if it was Carrs fault, I would be very willing to say so). The key to a win is NOT getting it in AJ's hands, but getting it spread around where AJ can have holes or single coverage to punch it through the other teams D.

Hulk75 said:

They (Charlie and the Coaches) go out and get all these great players from college that are from, practiclly a throw first Offense and try to mold these guys into something they are not:
Dre- In college used to getting the ball every down almost, gets drafted here and rarely sees the football, 3 catches a game sometimes for him.
Carr-Was not a running QB in college, he threw the ball 30 to 35 times a game, he was 235 pounds when he was a rookie, now looks like he is around 210.
The Texans set most of the time should be a 1 back 3wr TE set. Something other then the I or sets w/2 TEs and 1 WR. You know we were still in those sets in the 4 quarter!

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Sorry guys, because I have been chastized for 3 years talking about problems with the coaching staff based on comments by the players and talking about the fact that players don't fit Capers scheme and about passing 1st to open up the run which was the 49ers did with Montana. Its a shame that people couldn't open up their eyes long ago. This has been building for a long time and its why I've been saying we have wasted a lot of time and Carr may well be down the road before this is all fixed. AJ might also be down the road. I've also said there was more to the Glenn story than has ever appeared in Public. That might also be true of some of the other veterens as they were some comments from them indicating people didn't know what they were doing. What is even worse is here we sit with the owner and GM with their mouths open with nothing coming out like Capers on the side lines. It is really horrible for the fans and the team. Capers lost control of this ball club two years ago and nobody every noticed. He does not have what it takes to be a head coach and leader. He's a detail man and a coaching specialist and that might even be open to question given what is happening with the defense. I will also say, contrary to others, that our defense did not play well last Saturday despite not giving up TD's. We did not stop the other team in the 1st quarter and we did not give our offense a chance as dismal as they were. Carr and his offensive players never got a chance to get in rythm. Buffalo had the ball for around 90% of the 1st quarter possession time. Our offense was setting on the bench.

When I stated this would be a much worse season than most expected I was roundly criticized again. Is there hope for this team? Most assuridly there is. This ball club has a lot of talent and they threw away a lot when the cut down to the 53 man rooster. What they didn't throw out was the coaching staff and we will be haunted by that fact for at least another season. This team has been running a drift for a long time and the players have been giving lip service to the defensive and offensive coaching staff for a long time. You could read and hear it in their comments, but no one would believe it. What a waste this is. I will repeat this is a VERY TALENTED GROUP OF BALL PLAYERS WHOSE TALENT IS BEING WASTED.............................

Hulk75 said:

They (Charlie and the Coaches) go out and get all these great players from college that are from, practiclly a throw first Offense and try to mold these guys into something they are not:
Dre- In college used to getting the ball every down almost, gets drafted here and rarely sees the football, 3 catches a game sometimes for him.
The Texans set most of the time should be a 1 back 3wr TE set. Something other then the I or sets w/2 TEs and 1 WR. You know we were still in those sets in the 4 quarter!

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don't know if you watched alot of miami games but andre was never the go to guy on the offense. when miami was rolling they were a run first offense and then used play action to get the big play. the rose bowl was really the only big game that andre had in college. he rarely saw the football on sunday, but i wouldn't say it has been that way since he has been here. yeah he could probably get it a little more, but we all saw the stat about his catches vs. rice's after two years.

Well we've seen the players play , it may be time to see the owner own .
I think the Steelers will win 34 to 9 . This may be the week the spotlights on Mcnair .

I think this is the put up or shut up week, especially with the bye week coming. I've said in other threads, losing is one thing but if they totally crash and burn again something has to be done.

Carr is damaged and A.J. is on the same path too, I think with the right coach they can get fired up again but something needs to change, and FAST.

Honoring Earl 34 said:

Well we've seen the players play , it may be time to see the owner own .
I think the Steelers will win 34 to 9 . This may be the week the spotlights on Mcnair .

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I understand deep throat is starting to rumble.

I am just now mentioning this because i think it is relevant to this thread:

When the NFL Network had its evening show "Total Access" do a spotlight on Texans training camp, they had Capers wired for sound.

I was not impressed.

And, I could see the players just tuning him out completely.

"Come on guys, Come on guys....."

"Let's go guys. Come on guys...let's go guys....."

"No walking now....come on guys, let's go guys....."

And at the end, when he had the players huddled for what was obviously the end of the day's workout....he said some cheese-ball high school coach mumbo-jumbo speech that was just really lame. And those guys didn't hardly even look at him, or act fired up or anything.

It was as if you could draw a cartoon bubble above their heads, the kind that shows the thoughts of the cartoon character, and inside the bubble you could write several different responses to Capers' pep talk above the players' heads...such as:

"Come on guys, let's go guys....come on guys, let's go guys..."

or,

"Who let Matt Foley motivational speaker in here? Where's the coach?"

or,

"You are soooooooo out of here by week four."

or my favorite,

"Hey! I didn't know Dom was trying out for the high school play. I guess they're doing a theatre verison of that high school football movie "Radio." Man, Dom does a good Cuba Gooding, Jr."

Capers is as done as a steak cooked by my father-in-law.