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Texans could go after Lepsis...

texan279

Hall of Fame
from www.kffl.com

Texans | Team could make a play for Lepsis; if Denver does not re-sign him
Sun, 19 Feb 2006 07:49:09 -0800

Bill Williamson, of the Denver Post, reports word at the Pro Bowl was if the Denver Broncos don't finalize a new deal for OT Matt Lepsis, the Houston Texans may make a run at him. New head coach Gary Kubiak coached Lepsis his entire NFL career in Denver and the Texans desperately need offensive linemen.

Also found this at the Broncos MB...LINK

Word at the Pro Bowl was if Denver doesn't finalize a new deal for tackle Matt Lepsis, the Texans may make a run at him.

Houston's interest would make sense. New coach Gary Kubiak coached Lepsis his entire NFL career in Denver and the Texans desperately need offensive linemen. Many believe the key to quarterback David Carr's improvement will be protection - something he has never had. Lepsis would be a great start.

The former Colorado standout hails from Texas, so the attraction could be strong. Still, Denver will work hard to keep him. But if Lepsis hits the open market, don't be surprised if the Texans push hard for him.
 

texan279

Hall of Fame
CoachJim said:
Is he a LT? Couldn't find anything on him other than he played T.
Yes he is a LT, and has only missed one game in 6 seasons. He started his career as a TE and was converted to LT. he is listed at 6'4'' 290.
 

CoachJim

Waterboy
texan279 said:
Yes he is a LT, and has only missed one game in 6 seasons. He started his career as a TE and was converted to LT. he is listed at 6'4'' 290.
If I read right he's due 6 mil & some change this coming season but if he's worth it ...
 

texan279

Hall of Fame
CoachJim said:
If I read right he's due 6 mil & some change this coming season but if he's worth it ...
From what I read at the Bronco's MB, he is scheduled to count $6.95 against the cap in 2006 and has about $9 million in bonuses due in March.
 

LikeABoss

Rookie
Dime said:
No it wouldnt.. we need more then just 1 O-line.
And the rest of the o-lineman that will be acquired will be interior lineman.

Ferguson is a left tackle, if you just signed a left tackle in free agency, what's the point of drafting one @ #1 overall?
 

texan279

Hall of Fame
LikeABoss said:
And the rest of the o-lineman that will be acquired will be interior lineman.

Ferguson is a left tackle, if you just signed a left tackle in free agency, what's the point of drafting one @ #1 overall?
A lot of LT's in college play RT in the NFL in the beginning of their NFL career.
 

AcresHomesTexan

No Longer Arlington: Escaped From Jerry's World
Staff member
He is a solid player who can be a part of a good offensive line, not special in any regards and is 32. I player would not want to overpay nor have raised expectation from.
 

texan279

Hall of Fame
LikeABoss said:
I thought Kubiak said they he was looking to play Wand @ RT?
I have no idea. I have not read any of Kubiak's press releases, only what is here on the board, which has been all kinds of different things.
 

bdiddy

Waterboy
If the Texans sign Lepsis this would mean that Chester Pitts is moving back to guard. Lepsis would be our starting LT. I would think that this would also negate the need to draft a lineman high in the draft. I could see the team going after Eslinger in the 3rd or 4th round and possibly another couple of lineman in rounds 5-7 to build depth.

The likely starting lineup would as follows:

Lepsis - Pitts - McKinney - Weigart - Wand

Or, if the draft Eslinger

Lepsis - Pitts - Eslinger - Weigart Wand

Cut McKinney to justify signing Lepsis. Possibly resign him as a backup as he can play a three interior line positions.
 

Dunta_23

Rookie
What about Hogdon, wasnt he playing very weel before his injury last yr, or is he not a great fit for this scheme, and if he isnt a great for at centre, is he a fit anywhere else on the line?
 

HJam72

Hall of Fame
bdiddy said:
If the Texans sign Lepsis this would mean that Chester Pitts is moving back to guard. Lepsis would be our starting LT. I would think that this would also negate the need to draft a lineman high in the draft. I could see the team going after Eslinger in the 3rd or 4th round and possibly another couple of lineman in rounds 5-7 to build depth.

The likely starting lineup would as follows:

Lepsis - Pitts - McKinney - Weigart - Wand

Or, if the draft Eslinger

Lepsis - Pitts - Eslinger - Weigart Wand

Cut McKinney to justify signing Lepsis. Possibly resign him as a backup as he can play a three interior line positions.
McKinney at center again. :crying:

How 'bout:

Lepsis - McKinney - Hodgedon - Weigart - Pitts

Wand can ride the pine and Riley can go fly a kite.
 

TreWardTxn

Waterboy
He would be a great pickup if the Texans were making a Superbowl run and needed to plug a spot, but that's not the case, we are building a team that we can win with 2-3 years from now. However, he is the model of lineman that the Texans need to pursue, being an undrafted free agent and solid team player while in Denver. I believe Mike Sherman was an O-line coach before moving up, so I have great confidence in his ability to develop underappreciated talent at the position...
 

aj.

All Pro
HJam72 said:
Wand can ride the pine and Riley can go fly a kite.
Riley hasn't been around since early Dec. By now he's probably only a donut or two short of 380 so I doubt there's much demand for his services around the league.
 

AustinJB

Rookie
texan279 said:
from www.kffl.com

Texans | Team could make a play for Lepsis; if Denver does not re-sign him
Sun, 19 Feb 2006 07:49:09 -0800

Bill Williamson, of the Denver Post, reports word at the Pro Bowl was if the Denver Broncos don't finalize a new deal for OT Matt Lepsis, the Houston Texans may make a run at him. New head coach Gary Kubiak coached Lepsis his entire NFL career in Denver and the Texans desperately need offensive linemen.

Also found this at the Broncos MB...LINK

Word at the Pro Bowl was if Denver doesn't finalize a new deal for tackle Matt Lepsis, the Texans may make a run at him.

Houston's interest would make sense. New coach Gary Kubiak coached Lepsis his entire NFL career in Denver and the Texans desperately need offensive linemen. Many believe the key to quarterback David Carr's improvement will be protection - something he has never had. Lepsis would be a great start.

The former Colorado standout hails from Texas, so the attraction could be strong. Still, Denver will work hard to keep him. But if Lepsis hits the open market, don't be surprised if the Texans push hard for him.
Here is a link for Lepsis' career offensive line stats:

http://snap.stats.com/stats/nflinfo/playerstats.asp?id=4572&Submit=Go
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
nunusguy said:
...I dunno...32 is gettin long in the tooth, definitely wouldn't want to tie up too much in him at that age.
Ogden, Pace, & Jones are of similar age and experience as Lepsis. And Willie Roaf played at a high level well into his 30's. I think the Texans need to focus on who can play rather than stress over a player's age.

Lepsis is playing his best football now. It would be nice to have a lineman of his caliber on the team. Plus, it would give Kubiak and his staff a chance to bring some young linemen along slowly. I think signing Lepsis would be an outstanding move.
 

AustinJB

Rookie
Lucky said:
Ogden, Pace, & Jones are of similar age and experience as Lepsis. And Willie Roaf played at a high level well into his 30's. I think the Texans need to focus on who can play rather than stress over a player's age.

Lepsis is playing his best football now. It would be nice to have a lineman of his caliber on the team. Plus, it would give Kubiak and his staff a chance to bring some young linemen along slowly. I think signing Lepsis would be an outstanding move.
I agree. Without even considering the draft, our line could look very respectable IMO.

Lepsis-Weary/McKinney-Hodgdon-Weigert-Pitts

THEN if we could get Bentley (probably unlikely if we get Lepsis) it would look something like this...

Lepsis-Weary/McKinney-Bentley-Weigert/Hodgdon-Pitts
 
Lucky said:
Ogden, Pace, & Jones are of similar age and experience as Lepsis. And Willie Roaf played at a high level well into his 30's. I think the Texans need to focus on who can play rather than stress over a player's age.

Lepsis is playing his best football now. It would be nice to have a lineman of his caliber on the team. Plus, it would give Kubiak and his staff a chance to bring some young linemen along slowly. I think signing Lepsis would be an outstanding move.
Agree! OL can last well into their mid-late 30s...esp if they've been injury free as Lepsis appears to have been. A solid vet LT, with zone blocking experience and he's from Texas...let's do it!!
 

keyfro

Veteran
i think new orleans are going to franchise tag lecharles bently so ya'll can just about forget about him coming to houston...lepsis would be a solid pick up for us...we then focus on trading down for either mario williams or aj hawk to help us out on defense...i was thinking if we trade down with Green bay it might give us just the deal we need...think about this...green bay is probably going to be cutting donald driver due to their abundance of recievers...we sign driver(a texas kid) to be our number 2 reciever...we then trade with green bay so they can have bush we'll pick up mario williams with the #5 pick and gain another 2nd round pick with bubba franks...solving our needs at WR, TE, DE, plus with their 2nd round pick gives us a chance to draft d'quell jackson or another solid player
 

Bubbajwp

All Flopper
keyfro said:
i think new orleans are going to franchise tag lecharles bently so ya'll can just about forget about him coming to houston...lepsis would be a solid pick up for us...we then focus on trading down for either mario williams or aj hawk to help us out on defense...i was thinking if we trade down with Green bay it might give us just the deal we need...think about this...green bay is probably going to be cutting donald driver due to their abundance of recievers...we sign driver(a texas kid) to be our number 2 reciever...we then trade with green bay so they can have bush we'll pick up mario williams with the #5 pick and gain another 2nd round pick with bubba franks...solving our needs at WR, TE, DE, plus with their 2nd round pick gives us a chance to draft d'quell jackson or another solid player
Texan in Japan said:
Agree! OL can last well into their mid-late 30s...esp if they've been injury free as Lepsis appears to have been. A solid vet LT, with zone blocking experience and he's from Texas...let's do it!!
Im sorry but these guys being from Texas should have nothing to with why we should get them.
 

Dr. Toro

Rookie
keyfro said:
i think new orleans are going to franchise tag lecharles bently so ya'll can just about forget about him coming to houston
If you franchise tag Bentley you are forced to pay him LT money. I don't see Tom Benson, or any owner doing that.
 
Dr. Toro said:
If you franchise tag Bentley you are forced to pay him LT money. I don't see Tom Benson, or any owner doing that.
They could do it in the hopes that a trade comes from it. The going rate for a "Franchised" player is a 1st and a 3rd unless otherwise worked out to different compensation. If not then they can negotiate him a new contract whenever they like. Just because someone is "Franchised" doesn't mean that they have to keep him "franchised for the whole season.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
Isn't Lepsis a guy that many Broncos fans were on this board saying we could have him? At any rate I am sure he can help our line. I mean he has to be better than anyone on our team right now. One major thing that we could get out of this guy is the fact that he hasn't missed many if any at all games in his career. We need those kind of guys. I feel when we got damaged goods for our Oline before it set us back majorly.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
Big B Texan Fan said:
The going rate for a "Franchised" player is a 1st and a 3rd unless otherwise worked out to different compensation.
A franchise tag costs a team bidding for the player two 1sts under the CBA. Teams may agree to take less.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
LikeABoss said:
I thought Kubiak said they was looking to play Wand @ RT?
I have not seen or heard anything saying that Kubiak wants Wand at RT. If they went for Lepsis, he and Pitts would likely compete for the two OT spots, then we would need a couple interior linemen to compete for those spots with Wiegert and Hodgdon. Lepsis is getting older so I wouldn't count on him being a long-term solution, but if we got him (hopefully only for a decent price and not overpaying him like we did with Todd Wade) then it would enable us to maybe draft one with a later pick rather than getting one towards the top of our draft.
 

TexanAddict

Texan 'til I Die
Big B Texan Fan said:
They could do it in the hopes that a trade comes from it. The going rate for a "Franchised" player is a 1st and a 3rd unless otherwise worked out to different compensation. If not then they can negotiate him a new contract whenever they like. Just because someone is "Franchised" doesn't mean that they have to keep him "franchised for the whole season.
I think the problem with this senario is that if they franchise Bentely, he will be paid LT amounts of money, pretty much turning off any would be suitors and killing his trade value. If they intend to trade him they should attempt to simply re-sign him at a reasonable salary and then shop him around. This would also keep them from having to attempt to re-sign him midseason after removing the franchise tag, pretty hard to lower someone's salary to competitive C money when they are already getting paid like the cream of the LT crop.
 

TexanExile

A New Hope
infantrycak said:
A franchise tag costs a team bidding for the player two 1sts under the CBA. Teams may agree to take less.
Yup. And I believe that problem was a major hurdle in the Orlando Pace saga last season. Well, that and Pace using the Texans like a gym towel.

No way somebody gives up two 1st-rounders for anybody in this era. You end up eating the picks AND the huge salary. We've all seen the laundry list before...this post always starts with "_________ was only worth a __-rounder" and repeats itself ad nauseam. I'll spare y'all the repetition.
 

cap1

Rookie
TexanExile said:
Yup. And I believe that problem was a major hurdle in the Orlando Pace saga last season. Well, that and Pace using the Texans like a gym towel.

No way somebody gives up two 1st-rounders for anybody in this era. You end up eating the picks AND the huge salary. We've all seen the laundry list before...this post always starts with "_________ was only worth a __-rounder" and repeats itself ad nauseam. I'll spare y'all the repetition.
Very true. I don't think we see a 2 1st for a player any time soon.
 

GoBlue

Noob
MorKnolle said:
I have not seen or heard anything saying that Kubiak wants Wand at RT. If they went for Lepsis, he and Pitts would likely compete for the two OT spots, then we would need a couple interior linemen to compete for those spots with Wiegert and Hodgdon. Lepsis is getting older so I wouldn't count on him being a long-term solution, but if we got him (hopefully only for a decent price and not overpaying him like we did with Todd Wade) then it would enable us to maybe draft one with a later pick rather than getting one towards the top of our draft.
I like your signature- what are we getting to trade down to #4 to pick up Williams? I think Nick Mangold would be a solid choice, but what about Dominique Byrd from USC instead of Winston? Winston's injury history worries me a bit.
 

Coach C.

Veteran
Pitts is not a LG people stop trying to put him there. He is a tackle. Damn that is annoying. Either way Nick Mangold would go a long way on our line. He would play either G or C depending on the personel. Go Blue Winston's injury history should not bother you, even D'Brick has had injury situations. Either way Winston should always go above Byrd who may last till late second early third. Also do you mean Davin Joseph in your signature. Like him, but not really the best fit and how did we get three second round picks.
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
infantrycak said:
A franchise tag costs a team bidding for the player two 1sts under the CBA. Teams may agree to take less.
Can you imagine the Rams having our first overall this year and next year if we did that Pace deal last year?
 

gtexan02

Working?
Coach C. said:
Pitts is not a LG people stop trying to put him there. He is a tackle. Damn that is annoying. Either way Nick Mangold would go a long way on our line. He would play either G or C depending on the personel. Go Blue Winston's injury history should not bother you, even D'Brick has had injury situations. Either way Winston should always go above Byrd who may last till late second early third. Also do you mean Davin Joseph in your signature. Like him, but not really the best fit and how did we get three second round picks.
Technically, he's a bit of both. He played "quick" tackle in college for a few years with no real experience before, played LT here and did badly, moved to LG where he did well, then moved back to LT where he was average. He's sort of a man without a position at the moment in my opinion. With some solid OL coaching, I believe he could be either a great LT or LG.
 

gtexan02

Working?
Vinny said:
Can you imagine the Rams having our first overall this year and next year if we did that Pace deal last year?
Theoretically a player like Pace would have helped us win at least a few more games last year. That being said, I'm sure our coaches would have Wade-ified him
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
gtexan02 said:
Technically, he's a bit of both. He played "quick" tackle in college for a few years with no real experience before, played LT here and did badly, moved to LG where he did well, then moved back to LT where he was average. He's sort of a man without a position at the moment in my opinion. With some solid OL coaching, I believe he could be either a great LT or LG.
To be clear...Pitts ONLY played Tackle before he played here.

He did not do a bad job at the Tackle before they moved him to Guard contrary to what is said about him over and over. He struggled a little bit with his handfighting at the Guard spot, but he has clearly been a much better player at T than at G. He's probably an ideal RT.
 

Runner

Hubcap Diamond
Staff member
Vinny said:
To be clear...Pitts ONLY played Tackle before he played here.

He did not do a bad job at the Tackle before they moved him to Guard contrary to what is said about him over and over. He struggled a little bit with his handfighting at the Guard spot, but he has clearly been a much better player at T than at G. He's probably an ideal RT.
Player X: Center, Guard, Tackle.

Regardless of who plays where, I hope the new staff identifies a position for each player, and keeps them at that position unless forced to move people around. I think that injuries can justify moving players around. I also think that searching for a quick fix by juggling positions is very counter-productive and indicates a failure in the system: talent evaluation, coaching, schemes.
 

nunusguy

Hall of Fame
Vinny said:
He did not do a bad job at the Tackle before they moved him to Guard contrary to what is said about him over and over. He struggled a little bit with his handfighting at the Guard spot, but he has clearly been a much better player at T than at G. He's probably an ideal RT.
Still difficult to comprehend Capers & Co management of players in the OL,
especially LT with the revolving door of Pitts, Wand, Riley and back full circle
to Pitts. And I seem to recall Capers rationalizing about how Pitts ultimately became a competant LT because his technique was improved while playing guard. As if to say Pitts time at guard was part of a training period planed by Capers to make him a better tackle.
 

Runner

Hubcap Diamond
Staff member
nunusguy said:
And I seem to recall Capers rationalizing about how Pitts ultimately became a competant LT because his technique was improved while playing guard. As if to say Pitts time at guard was part of a training period planed by Capers to make him a better tackle.
That comment by Capers was typical of the coaches' "we need lineman who can play multiple positions" philosophy. For instance, they worked Wand at guard during coaches' sessions last year. If Pitts isn't suited to play guard as well as he does tackle, Wand is far less so. They liked to work guys at guard to improve their play at tackle. I just want coaches who let tackles improve their play by practicing being tackles.
 

AustinJB

Rookie
Runner said:
That comment by Capers was typical of the coaches' "we need lineman who can play multiple positions" philosophy. For instance, they worked Wand at guard during coaches' sessions last year. If Pitts isn't suited to play guard as well as he does tackle, Wand is far less so. They liked to work guys at guard to improve their play at tackle. I just want coaches who let tackles improve their play by practicing being tackles.
Call me cynical, but I don't believe any of that crap from the old coaching staff. I don't think they played players at G just to improve their play at T.

I just think they had absolutely no idea what they were doing. A few mistakes by a player at one position resulted in a position change w/ the idea that, "maybe they can play better there." When that didn't work, they moved them back. This was in no way by design IMO. Instead of changing the players all around to different positions, we just needed an Oline coach that actually knew what the hell they were doing. Thankfully, we have that now in Sherman.
 

College Texan

Waterboy
Although we did not have good enough talent last year, we could have won alot more games by playing

--Wand--Pitts--McKinney--Riley--Wiegert-- all of which make good run blockers, wich is about all we did last year. An we could have changed it, in the forth quarter when we most likely would be passing on every down to

--Pitts--McKinney--Hodgdon--Weigert--Wand
 

BuffSoldier

Veteran
Lucky said:
Ogden, Pace, & Jones are of similar age and experience as Lepsis. And Willie Roaf played at a high level well into his 30's. I think the Texans need to focus on who can play rather than stress over a player's age.

Lepsis is playing his best football now. It would be nice to have a lineman of his caliber on the team. Plus, it would give Kubiak and his staff a chance to bring some young linemen along slowly. I think signing Lepsis would be an outstanding move.
True, but do we want a LT that can only play at that top level for 3 years. By the age of 35 he will not be playing at that same level. Is that what we want. I am not a big fan of signing old FA because they seem to be a "quick fix" they help out for a year of two then go downhill.
 
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