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Rick Smith subs as MMQB

I'm starting to think Peter King is a texan fan, with Eric Winston writing his articles and now Rick, wonder what the connection there. Anyways I was impressed with Ricks writing style.
 
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pirbroke said:
I'm starting to think Peter King is a texan fan, with Eric Winston writing his articles and now Rick, wonder what the connection there. Anyways I was impreesed with Ricks writing style.
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I was impressed too.

He's much better at writing. Than drafting players or talking FA's into joining the Texans.

Were Rick and Gary laughing at Jackson falling down again? Or did Turk shank another punt?

It's good to know MW has experience as the WOLB and Cush has experience at SAM ILB
 
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UPDATE: Rick Smith on 1560:

Tried to have fun with it.

...

What did you hope to accomplish with MMQB?

Friday afternoon, I got a call, SI had given Foxworth to do it from a players perspective so we got the call Friday asking us if I wanted to do it, I said sure. I wanted to model it after the way Peter writes. More a conversational column in my opinion. Did what they wanted and shed light from our perspective. Also wanted to talk about our team and issues we face here in Houston and things weve gone through and things we expect. Havent seen it yet. What do you guys think?

Interesting. Have lockout issues you cant talk about. In your opinion, will FAs be better off because of shortened signing period or guys will get less? What will it do to market?
No crystal ball to give you an answer. As you look back historically, few guys end up with mega deals, some with medium deals and then guys looking for an opportunity. I dont see that changing a lot this year.

I think teams will freak out. Might over offer on the big guys. I think teams will overpay for the big guys.

I dont disagree. Will be important you set your values and what you think the value should be for a contract. Teams will panic and do bad deals. In salary cap era, gotta be careful with your contracts or could hurt you for years.

We talked briefly weeks ago about contigency plans. One is, you got not only the transition to the 3-4, need to sign UDFA, FAs and rookie contracts. You cant do all of that. How will you break that up?

Will be a significant amount of delegating. We got plans. Assigned the members of our personnel department to do some of that-- who to go after and have dollar ammounts assigned. I will obviously be involved with the amount of deals to get done. We got a game plan for it. Will be some delegating. I cant do it all.

Coaching changes - making one on D. It will probably be easier than anyone else making a coaching change.

I cant speak for anyone else but I have confidence in our ability to get it done. Wade knows how to put the system in place. They know how to teach it and get players up to speed quickly.
So many guys moving positions. Is that a concern?

Its the reality. We're aware of that, and you better turn your attention to it. You're right that we got flux, change and transition. Guys will have to be focused on what were saying and teaching them. Guys will have to learn. We'll have to count on guys playing new positions but I believe in the guys teaching it. Believe the guys are smart to learn it and play.

One thing I think has been discussion with Texans fans, is the unwillingness to get a big 320+ pound two in there. More about speed or quickness than its been size. Can you discuss that? Organization philosophy on that?

Matter of choice from what th D coordinators wanted. We did draft Okam who was 350 pounds on a good day. What we looked for were guys who had movement and could stunt and slant and play on their feet. Thats what we were focused on. Mentioned Wade playing variety of guys at the nose-- big and small. I think previously what we looked for, that type of player(320+ lbs) didnt fit.

All of the changes and offseason scrutiny has been on D. Offense has been good but had its limitations. Bunch of games you were well behind. Do you think you will go after firepower on O?

Cant be complacent on any phase of our team. Gotta get better all across the board. Cant say because we had one of the best O, we wont/cant improve.

Do you think about the PR? Fan base has been tremendous. Is there value in making a splash?

Number one, we gotta do the right thing for our team and organization. If that means big name FA and people get excited, thats just a bonus. If we do the right thing now, maybe fans wont be excited now but if results in wins later on and achieving our goal, everyone will be happy. Smart decisions will be what helps us win.

You still dont know what the salary situation will be like. Mario will be a FA next year. Does Mario being FA next year play into this offseason?

It's a multi-layer complex situation. Working through your salary cap and player acquisitions, all those things are considerations. Some ways we can work and be creative and get the things done we need to get done. We're anxious to get started.

On O, from your perspective, how do you add level of consistency? Where you dont have those lulls from half to half?

Gary has done great job of identifying things we have fallen short of.(Mentions RZ problems). Go back over the years, things we needed to improve on, Gary has been successful improving that.

Ben Tate part of the plans this year? Where is he health wise?

Cant interact from rehab standpoint but can talk to doctors. My understanding is hes doing great and healthy. Excited to see him. Worked hard over the season in rehab and think hes healthy.

Any progress with Foster on contract?

Havent negotatied anything with Foster yet.

Wrote about a safety that I would like for you guys to look at. Dont think you have put a high priority on safety. One things missing on D is leadership. DeMeco tries to bring that. Maybe leadership from secondary something could help.

I'll go read your piece and see who that guy is. You're talking to a former safety. Naturally, it lends some leadership. Got some good leaders. I love leadership. Important to me. Never can have too many leaders. Leadership is action. How you go about your business, how you practice, and ultimately how you perform on the field.

Good to add a guy from winning organization then? Something you guys look at?

When you look at a guy, any number of variables in that decision. How he performs, how he fits, how is he in the lockerroom, does he come from winning org? Yes, we consider all that.

Appreciate the time. ... Wanted to give you the opportunity --anything to say regarding what Ahman Green or Marcus Coleman had to say?

This business people will have...its a public job. People will have opinions. Thats apart of it. They're well within their rights. We know what we're doing and we're focused on building a winning team.

Bunch of rain drops out there. Hope you dont get too wet. ... Best of luck Rick.

Appreciate it guys.

----------------------------------
Hope you dont mind me dropping this in here but a bit off-topic, Rick Smith coming up next on 1560.
 
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I think the city of Houston gets a bad rap. It is a wonderful place to live. We have all the elements and diversity of a big city but you never meet a stranger.
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Huh.

Never knew Houston had a bad rap.
 
pirbroke said:
I'm starting to think Peter King is a texan fan, with Eric Winston writing his articles and now Rick, wonder what the connection there. Anyways I was impressed with Ricks writing style.
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Agree. Not only that but he has pushed Texans type stories the whole year...Winston, Rick, Aso going to Houston, etc. Almost every column mentions some of these things.
 
Glad to know that they know what they're doing this yr and are focused on building a winning team.

Unlike the previous 5 yrs.

Rick is just towing the company line
 
nero THE zero said:
You're not. Does this city have a bad rap nationally?

I could understand it being generally unrecognized or irrelevant nationally, but I'm not aware of it having a bad rap (i.e. Detroit or Memphis).
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Are you joking? Mention Houston and people wrinkle their nose and scowl their face. We are considered one of the crap holes of the US.

Now, those views are usually shared by people who have never been here. Once they come here, they're blown away and like it. But for those who have never been here, Houston is consideried a big **** hole, and that view is passed along to others, and that's how our reputation is the way that it is.
 
The part about the sign in his office saying he wants tough smart dedicated football players is LOL.

See JJ

If this is true then why are the players he has drafted on this team being labeled as soft?

The Texans have a rep of being soft around the league.
 
nero THE zero said:
You're not. Does this city have a bad rap nationally?

I could understand it being generally unrecognized or irrelevant nationally, but I'm not aware of it having a bad rap (i.e. Detroit or Memphis).
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You don't remember when it was referred to as a "Hellhole" during the Rockets championship series against the Knicks?
 
Teams had to adjust on day two of the NFL draft, when there was a temporary lift of the lockout. While we were unable to execute any player transactions, we at least had a chance to lay eyes on our players, check on them and their families, and talk a little ball with them. We were able to connect Geoff Kaplan, our head athletic trainer, with our injured players and assess how rehab progressions were going. And then just like that, the lockout was back in place.
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Really Rick? Y'all didn't try to get playbooks out to folks?

:wadepalm:
 
ChampionTexan said:
You don't remember when it was referred to as a "Hellhole" during the Rockets championship series against the Knicks?
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I was 10.

I'm fairly well traveled and have never gotten the impression that people think down on our city, rather they don't think of it at all. I also know a lot of folks here have a pretty bad inferiority complex. But, now that I've been alerted to it maybe I will start to see it some.
 
nero THE zero said:
You're not. Does this city have a bad rap nationally?

I could understand it being generally unrecognized or irrelevant nationally, but I'm not aware of it having a bad rap (i.e. Detroit or Memphis).
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The bad rap I'm aware of is about heat, humidity, huge effing cockroaches and swarms of mosquito's that attack you 24/7. Lots and lots of other "big cities" that simply don't have those problems. I was born and raised in Humble and I got out as soon as I could. I remain faithful to the pro sports teams there, but I wouldn't move back to Houston unless it was for a ton of money...in the $200K a year range.
 
nero THE zero said:
I was 10.

I'm fairly well traveled and have never gotten the impression that people think down on our city, rather they don't think of it at all. I also know a lot of folks here have a pretty bad inferiority complex. But, now that I've been alerted to it maybe I will start to see it some.
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When the NCAA and Super Bowl were here the media and celebrities complained nonstop.

Every time there is a big event the celebreities and media complain - hard core.

Here are two complaints I remember specifically:

1. Media: The official hotel (the downtown Hilton) is too far from Reliant. I think someone on here mapped it and it was like 10 miles. Boo hoo.

2. Celebrities: The 'events' are too spread out. As in someone is hosting a party in midtown, someone else downtown, someone else in the Galleria. Again, boo hoo.
 
DocBar said:
The bad rap I'm aware of is about heat, humidity, huge effing cockroaches and swarms of mosquito's that attack you 24/7. Lots and lots of other "big cities" that simply don't have those problems. I was born and raised in Humble and I got out as soon as I could. I remain faithful to the pro sports teams there, but I wouldn't move back to Houston unless it was for a ton of money...in the $200K a year range.
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Actually - most large events are NOT during May-September, so tose are not the types of complaints lodged when we host a major event.
 
Yankee_In_TX said:
When the NCAA and Super Bowl were here the media and celebrities complained nonstop.

Every time there is a big event the celebreities and media complain - hard core.

Here are two complaints I remember specifically:

1. Media: The official hotel (the downtown Hilton) is too far from Reliant. I think someone on here mapped it and it was like 10 miles. Boo hoo.

2. Celebrities: The 'events' are too spread out. As in someone is hosting a party in midtown, someone else downtown, someone else in the Galleria. Again, boo hoo.
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Same stuff I remember. They all b****** & whined that everything wasn't centralized. They also hate our (LACK OF) efficient, reliable mass transit. If you want to go places in the Houston metroplex, you drive. Those of us who live here are used to it; those that haven't hate it to no end.
 
houstonspartan said:
Are you joking? Mention Houston and people wrinkle their nose and scowl their face. We are considered one of the crap holes of the US.

Now, those views are usually shared by people who have never been here. Once they come here, they're blown away and like it. But for those who have never been here, Houston is consideried a big **** hole, and that view is passed along to others, and that's how our reputation is the way that it is.
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Traffic
Weather
Culture
Pollution
Over-Populated
Foul Stench

I've lived there and have been there many, many times since. Once you remove variables like family, personal attachments, etc... there isn't much appealing about the city. When humidity is a selling point, you know your in trouble
 
Yankee_In_TX said:
Actually - most large events are NOT during May-September, so tose are not the types of complaints lodged when we host a major event.
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I was speaking of actually living there year-round. I must say it is usually fantastic in the early spring and late fall. Great weather for 3 months out of the year.
 
Today's installment of MMQB doesn't exactly fill me with confidence that the Texans organization has the right man as GM. I once believed in him fully, but I've come to a slow realization that Rick Smith is more bullshit artist than skilled leader.
 
dalemurphy said:
Traffic
Weather
Culture
Pollution
Over-Populated
Foul Stench

I've lived there and have been there many, many times since. Once you remove variables like family, personal attachments, etc... there isn't much appealing about the city. When humidity is a selling point, you know your in trouble
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Um, I would never add "culture" as a negative. Diversity is personally important to me, and Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the world. It's stimulating.

I lived in Denver Colorado - a city everybody and their mother would sell their souls to live in - and I found it boring and homogenous.

Houston has negatives, but diversity isn't one of them.
 
He used the word "brink" and I immediately thought of Brinks truck as in back it up in front of Asomugha. My mind works like that.
 
DocBar said:
I was speaking of actually living there year-round. I must say it is usually fantastic in the early spring and late fall. Great weather for 3 months out of the year.
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Me, the wife and kids have now been in Chicago almost 4 weeks and we love it. It makes me wonder why we didn't leave earlier. Love the architecture. Love the views. Love the hospitality(midwestern folks really are off the charts nice) and love the weather so far. Public transport is nice too. I know winter will kick our ass but overall I couldn't be more pleased that we took this plunge and have our kids here. Really if it weren't for family and friends, we would have left a ways back. Cost of living, jobs and restaurants are great but after traveling we always wondered why we kept coming back. I really do think Houston is a good singles town but after I settled down it changed for me.
 
Nero, I know you are probably a little younger, but here is an excerpt from a Bill Simmons article when he came to Houston for the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Bill Simmons said:
In the past four years, I made four separate trips to Houston and spent a total of 24 days here. And you know why I did it? For you, the reader. I covered the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, the Super Bowl, baseball's All-Star Game, and now, the NBA All-Star Game. And you know what? That's too much freaking time to spend in Houston. My editors just bleeped me, I don't care. Maybe Houston doesn't suck any more or less than 20 other major cities, and maybe the people are friendly and likable, but the fact remains, you would never come here for any reason, other than these three:

(1) For work.
(2) To gain weight.
(3) To get shot.

You just wouldn't. And yet, dating back to the Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004, three of the last eight major sporting events were held in Houston. Does this make any sense? There are 30 to 35 American cities that could host the Super Bowl and/or either of the All-Star Games ... and yet Houston pulled off the Ultimate Pro Sports Trifecta in a 24-month span, despite the fact that it's a sprawling city with traffic and safety problems (the three intangibles you always want to avoid for major sporting events). Here's what really frightens me: I have spent so much time here, I actually know my way around. Can I have this information removed from my brain? Is there a pill I can take?

More Hoops
• All-Star Game coverage
• Scoop Jackson: The Little General
• Simmons: One-on-one with David Stern

Anyway, I have the following announcement to make: I am never, ever, ever setting foot in Houston again. I don't care if the Red Sox play the Astros in the World Series. I don't care if the Celtics play the Rockets in the NBA Finals. I don't care if my daughter gets engaged to an astronaut and has to have a quickie wedding in Houston hours before he gets launched to Saturn. I'm never coming back to Houston. Twenty-four days were enough. No offense.
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I don't really care what the rest of the world thinks about us. The mosquitoes and the heat/humidity and traffic weeds out the weak. Houston is Sparta.
 
House of Pain said:
Nero, I know you are probably a little younger, but here is an excerpt from a Bill Simmons article when he came to Houston for the NBA All-Star Weekend.

I don't really care what the rest of the world thinks about us. The mosquitoes and the heat/humidity and traffic weeds out the weak. Houston is Sparta.
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Heh. I'm 27. I dunno if that qualifies as "a little younger."

I've seen the complaints about the Super Bowl, but they were generally based more in the planning (WTF would you house the Panthers in Greenspoint of all places!?). But, I've never seen anything like the Simmons article (which I did get a chuckle out of).
 
I love Houston. It's my hometown.

But I've lived all across the country and Houston is not generally considered a nice place to go. A lot of that's because of the weather but the rest is that it's just not seen as having anything going for it. It's like Buffalo except with heat, humidity, and mosquitos the size of bats.
 
HoustonFrog said:
(midwestern folks really are off the charts nice)
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Everywhere I've lived, the people have been really nice.

LA people are generally a little harder to get to know but the thing that surprised us most about the NY/NJ area (especially my mom who was totally prepared to hate the whole NY experience) is that people are very friendly up there. I never got any of the rude NY attitude I'd always heard about.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Everywhere I've lived, the people have been really nice.

LA people are generally a little harder to get to know but the thing that surprised us most about the NY/NJ area (especially my mom who was totally prepared to hate the whole NY experience) is that people are very friendly up there. I never got any of the rude NY attitude I'd always heard about.
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I didn't expect the people here in Chicago to be rude but including our trips here to home hunt it has been almost crazy how much people will bend over to help us. Sometime we aren't even asking for help but you can tell we are trying to make our way around and people will grab us and spend 10 minutes explaining directions, etc. We had a waiter who was the son of the guy who owned the place. Sometimes you just want to eat but he basically gave us 30 minutes of places we need to go, some houses that might be for sale, weather history from the last 5 years. Just really made us feel welcome overall.
 
Houston is not a city that visually takes your breath away (although the Downtown skyline still impresses me every time I see it), and the weather for 5 months or so requires a certain attitude to be able to tolerate. The idea that it's near the coast probably turns to a negative once folks compare the reality of Galveston to their preconceived notion of a beach destination.

That said, it's got great restaurants, arts, people, business opportunities, and the weather during the rest of the year makes up for the 5 months of somewhat above average heat and humidity. These are just a few as I haven't even mentioned the hospitals, universities etc.

Virtually any big city in this country can be an outstanding place to live if you spend some time figuring out how to maximize its strengths, minimize its weaknesses, and have the right attitude about things. Enjoyment of life is far more driven by internal as opposed to external forces, and I believe that the reality is that Houston is an above average place to live.

That said, Houston isn't exactly the kind of place you visit for two or three days and then say you've got to find a way to move here, and between that and the lack of success, the Texans will have to find a way to sell both themselves and the city to any worthwhile FA possibility.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
I love Houston. It's my hometown.

But I've lived all across the country and Houston is not generally considered a nice place to go. A lot of that's because of the weather but the rest is that it's just not seen as having anything going for it. It's like Buffalo except with heat, humidity, and mosquitos the size of bats.
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I rather large mosquitos than the cat sized rodents that NYC calls rats.

As for all the heat complaints, I rather be hot than cold. Honestly no city is without it's complaints and Houston just gets picked on like every other 2nd tier American city because it's not L.A, NYC, or Chicago.
 
fiasco west said:
I rather large mosquitos than the cat sized rodents that NYC calls rats.

As for all the heat complaints, I rather be hot than cold. Honestly no city is without it's complaints and Houston just gets picked on like every other 2nd tier American city because it's not L.A, NYC, or Chicago.
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That was the reason that we left the Philly area and moved back to California. I'm from Houston, my wife's from San Angelo -- we don't do cold. It snowed in October and there was snow on the ground until April. I had no idea snow was so hardy.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
That was the reason that we left the Philly area and moved back to California. I'm from Houston, my wife's from San Angelo -- we don't do cold. It snowed in October and there was snow on the ground until April. I had no idea snow was so hardy.
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I'd move to California in a heartbeat if it didn't cost me $800k for a 1600 sq ft home.

My parents lived in San Jose for a few years and when I visited them I absolutely fell in love with Santa Cruz. I'd give my left arm to (be able to) live there.
 
nero THE zero said:
I'd move to California in a heartbeat if it didn't cost me $800k for a 1600 sq ft home.
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And that's one of the reasons why we moved back to Texas. We had a beautiful place up in the canyons (2200 sq ft, $800k, almost no property, almost a condo) and we realized the market was going to burst and we didn't want to get caught upside down, so we sold for $1M and came back to Texas.

And then the housing market collapsed. So we got lucky.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
And that's one of the reasons why we moved back to Texas. We had a beautiful place up in the canyons (2200 sq ft, $800k, almost no property, almost a condo) and we realized the market was going to burst and we didn't want to get caught upside down, so we sold for $1M and came back to Texas.

And then the housing market collapsed. So we got lucky.
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Hope you cleared some equity to bring to Texas with you?
 
badboy said:
Hope you cleared some equity to bring to Texas with you?
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We did OK.

Not as good as when my wife's company forces us to move. They used to pay all closing costs on the house you sold, all closing costs on the house you buy, and a month's salary for pain and suffering. I don't now if they do that anymore in this economy but they did that for us for 4 moves they made us make between '96 and '04.

But we were able to get a good deal on a good house here.
 
Not a bad read. Looks like Ricky will have something to fallback on once he's finally canned as a GM. Maybe Casserly can get him on at CBS or NFL.com?
 
I wonder if DA ran into Rick while in California. Hermosa Beach is right next to Manhattan Beach where DA stayed during off season.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
We did OK.

Not as good as when my wife's company forces us to move. They used to pay all closing costs on the house you sold, all closing costs on the house you buy, and a month's salary for pain and suffering. I don't now if they do that anymore in this economy but they did that for us for 4 moves they made us make between '96 and '04.

But we were able to get a good deal on a good house here.
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They still do it. We made money on our house in Houston. Once we got a bid, the relocation took over and we got our money. Free and Clear. They pay for everything including giving us a nice sum of money to fix up the house and use for the move, paying to box and move our house without us touching a thing and we got 3 months of corporate housing in downtown. Also positive space flights instead of our usual standby when coming to house hunt and do moving stuff. It was an incredible deal that included a promotion and raise for my wife. Put that on top of the market being so down for housing here and we can clean up on houses that were before unattainable. Feel blessed and lucky by the opportunity for us.
 
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HoustonFrog said:
They still do it. We made money on our house in Houston. Once we got a bid, the relocation took over and we got our money. Free and Clear. They pay for everything including giving us a nice sum of money to fix up the house and use for the move, paying to box and move our house without us touching a thing and we got 3 months of corporate housing in downtown. Also positive space flights instead of our usual standby when coming to house hunt and do moving stuff. It was an incredible deal that included a promotion and raise for my wife. Put that on top of the market being so down for housing here and we can clean up on houses that were before unattainable. Feel blessed and lucky by the opportunity for us.
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That's a hell of a deal Frog. Not many companies like that out there any more.

If I understand correctly, you're in 90 day temp housing while your permanet housing is being renovated? And subsidizing the renovation as well. That a hell of perk very seldom heard of today.

Congrats to you and yours.
 
drs23 said:
That's a hell of a deal Frog. Not many companies like that out there any more.

If I understand correctly, you're in 90 day temp housing while your permanet housing is being renovated? And subsidizing the renovation as well. That a hell of perk very seldom heard of today.

Congrats to you and yours.
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Thanks. It was a no-brainer once she got the offer and I found out I could continue here with my work.

Let me clarify. Before we sold our Houston house they gave us a nice sum to do what we wanted with. But the idea was we could use it to spend on the day to day costs of moving prep...fixing the house up, etc. We also could pocket it. We also got movers who packed the house, drove it up here and put it in storage where they will then remove it and put it in a new house. The relocation also took over the closing and all back-end work once we got a legit offer. (here is your money, see ya). You have flight benefits anyway but they give you up to 5 positive space trips for the whole family to go back and forth and check things out. Here in Chicago they have us in a 3 month/90 day corporate apartment/highrise downtown(big monthly chunk of change)) while we house hunt. They do pay for inspection, closing and get us a great mortgage rate and deal going in. You are basically set up to buy and some of the top neighborhoods here have homes that are basically going for 30% less than their value. With everything going on now and our kids not in school yet there was no reason not to take it and run.
 
HoustonFrog said:
They still do it. We made money on our house in Houston. Once we got a bid, the relocation took over and we got our money. Free and Clear. They pay for everything including giving us a nice sum of money to fix up the house and use for the move, paying to box and move our house without us touching a thing and we got 3 months of corporate housing in downtown. Also positive space flights instead of our usual standby when coming to house hunt and do moving stuff. It was an incredible deal that included a promotion and raise for my wife. Put that on top of the market being so down for housing here and we can clean up on houses that were before unattainable. Feel blessed and lucky by the opportunity for us.
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What company is this, and are they hiring?
 
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