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Kaiser Toro's SWOT Analysis, Part 1

Kaiser Toro

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
Just to get us going with some talking points

Texans SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunties & Threats) Analysis. I will just be doing my ideas on Strengths and Weaknesses today.

Strengths –
•Position – WR1, MLB, LG, RG, TE, FB
Andre and Demeco had terrific years and are no brainers for positional strengths. I have both guards as a strength since they have played all five years and started to flex some muscle when we eliminated the passing game late in the season. Pitts and Weary also provide flexibility in a pinch with the ability to play multiple positions along the line. All three TE’s bring something to the table and the prospect of a QB that will go through his progressions is exciting. Leach blossomed and the market spoke to his value.
•Intangible – College Scouting, Draft execution, Waiver wire work, Cheerleaders
We had an excellent draft last year due to scouting and execution of their board. Cass was still involved, but it was the first draft that seemed to be tactical. I will assume that Kubiak had his finger prints on the first draft and the scouts in the field executed a plan crafted to fit any system on Defense or Offense, in other words talented, smart and athletic players. Smith did a great job on the waiver wire through the season specifically at DT when Payne and TJ went down (Maddox, Johnson and Dalton).

Weaknesses
•Position – FS, CB2, C, WR2, PK, P
The new leadership did not address the secondary in last year’s draft nor in FA (outside of depth) and as expected it was the Texans’ most glaring weakness outside of our passing game. Center has never been a strong suit for this organization, on the field and on the cap, and needs to be addressed in this year’s draft or next year in FA. I have no problem trading back and picking up Kalil. We have never had a WR2 or a WR3 due to the passing game, so it is difficult for even the most connected fan to know what this team has in the form of talent and provide a scaling call at that position. I cannot believe that Kris Brown will cost us 1.7m dollars against the cap next year and shudder at Stanley costing us games with a young developing team while at a 870k cap price tag.
•Intangible – Player Development, Four Quarter consistency, Big Plays, Turnover ratio
I have Player Development as a weakness due to the awful track record of the former regime and two HC’s (Kubiak and Sherman) not finding a way to make it happen with Carr. Until we see some Year over Year incremental improvement in a couple of key players this remains a weakness. I honestly do not recall four quarters of football being put together that ever included the passing game, with the only game I recall that gave us four quarters of good football being the last Colts game. Big plays killed us last year as well as the lack of big plays being made. As someone who was never been a fan of Carr, there still is the possibility that Schaub could be window dressing posing as a solution as well. Demeco and Dunta can bring the pain, but that has not led to creating TO’s. We need pressure on the QB by the line or via good coverage to create TO’s, but that has never been a hallmark of the Texans outside of a cold day in Pittsburgh.
 
KT ... I agree with your assesment . I hope we can fix at least two negatives with this draft .

I think that DL and QB have the talent to be a plus .
 
Good analysis, KT. I'm a little more positive on the 'intangible' category, even though you're not far off from my perspective. But we did see some signs of improvement, especially finishing the year with two wins. Past Texans teams had mentally packed it in by that point in the season, so it is nice to see some signs of fight in the dog.

Player development is definitely more of a long term aspect that we can't really measure until we see Kubiak & Co. from a few years of hindsight. But with regards to four quarter consistency, big plays, and turnover ratio, I think we will see a significant improvement in all those areas this year. Richard Smith and this defense have a year under their belt of experience together, so there will be a good chance of having a defensive unit that gels much quicker at the beginnning of the year. A better, more consistent defense willl help in the turnover category, which provides assistance to the offense to put points on the board.
 
Solid post KT. Where DB was a little more positive, I'm going to be a little more negative. I'd add SS and LT to the mix.

The SS position isn't a primary cover position, but Earl's 3 ints and 10 pass defenses in the past three years is horrid. Granted, he was learning the position so the stat don't give a clear picture. I just think its time to bring in a real S. I wouldn't say SS is our most pressing need, but a need none the less.

The other need area is LT. I'm just not sold on Spencer coming back (at least not any time soon). We picked up Jordan Black during the off season, but this is far from an upgrade (and may even be a downgrade). More than likely we will start the season with Salam at LT again this year so unless we take a LT in the draft, it a need position. From what I heard on the radio the other day Kubes is going into next season with an all out competition at LT with no favorite going into camp. Between Salam, Black, Winston & Jackson (who???), my money is on Winston to start on opening day.
 
LT I consider a threat, due to the uncertainty of Spencer's injury, the re-signing of Salaam and the acquisition of Black. I have been an advocate of Winston for quite some time, but I am not sure I want to see him start his first game at LT when Schaub has his first start.
 
Excellent post.

What is interesting is last year at the draft luncheon, Kubiak was saying that the secondary was a strength of the team.

And I was all wha??? It was good that I wasn't drinking ice tea at the time.

I have coaching as a questionmark. I do not think the offense has a consistent philosophy/identity--usually with teams you know what they like to do--last year looked like a mish-mash.

A lot of the coaching fingerprints I've seen on the defensive side have been ugly--moving Mario around, playcalling against Titans in Game 2, the hideous stuff at the beginning of the Buffalo game.

A lot of that may be the coaches getting more used to the players and with each other and whatnot, but was not encouraged by a lot of what I saw.

So, I wonder about the Kubiak-Sherman marriage and whether the mish-mash works, and wonder about how the Smith-Bush thing is going to work next year with the limitations of what players we will be brining into the system.

Looking forward to Part II.
 
Good post, pretty much in line with my thoughts on this stuff. I especially like how you point out the PK/K weakness, I still cannot understand the point of these people still being here. I can't imagine there's no one better out there, even for league minimum... Oh well, what do I know about kicking a ball around, europeans are clueless at that ;)
 
Kaiser Toro said:
Just to get us going with some talking points

Texans SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunties & Threats) Analysis. I will just be doing my ideas on Strengths and Weaknesses today.

Strengths –
•Position – WR1, MLB, LG, RG, TE, FB
Andre and Demeco had terrific years and are no brainers for positional strengths. I have both guards as a strength since they have played all five years and started to flex some muscle when we eliminated the passing game late in the season. Pitts and Weary also provide flexibility in a pinch with the ability to play multiple positions along the line. All three TE’s bring something to the table and the prospect of a QB that will go through his progressions is exciting. Leach blossomed and the market spoke to his value.
•Intangible – College Scouting, Draft execution, Waiver wire work, Cheerleaders
We had an excellent draft last year due to scouting and execution of their board. Cass was still involved, but it was the first draft that seemed to be tactical. I will assume that Kubiak had his finger prints on the first draft and the scouts in the field executed a plan crafted to fit any system on Defense or Offense, in other words talented, smart and athletic players. Smith did a great job on the waiver wire through the season specifically at DT when Payne and TJ went down (Maddox, Johnson and Dalton).

Weaknesses
•Position – FS, CB2, C, WR2, PK, P
The new leadership did not address the secondary in last year’s draft nor in FA (outside of depth) and as expected it was the Texans’ most glaring weakness outside of our passing game. Center has never been a strong suit for this organization, on the field and on the cap, and needs to be addressed in this year’s draft or next year in FA. I have no problem trading back and picking up Kalil. We have never had a WR2 or a WR3 due to the passing game, so it is difficult for even the most connected fan to know what this team has in the form of talent and provide a scaling call at that position. I cannot believe that Kris Brown will cost us 1.7m dollars against the cap next year and shudder at Stanley costing us games with a young developing team while at a 870k cap price tag.
•Intangible – Player Development, Four Quarter consistency, Big Plays, Turnover ratio
I have Player Development as a weakness due to the awful track record of the former regime and two HC’s (Kubiak and Sherman) not finding a way to make it happen with Carr. Until we see some Year over Year incremental improvement in a couple of key players this remains a weakness. I honestly do not recall four quarters of football being put together that ever included the passing game, with the only game I recall that gave us four quarters of good football being the last Colts game. Big plays killed us last year as well as the lack of big plays being made. As someone who was never been a fan of Carr, there still is the possibility that Schaub could be window dressing posing as a solution as well. Demeco and Dunta can bring the pain, but that has not led to creating TO’s. We need pressure on the QB by the line or via good coverage to create TO’s, but that has never been a hallmark of the Texans outside of a cold day in Pittsburgh.
Click to expand...
Guard play was probably most consistent, definitely.

I'm not quiite sure about Center as a weakness.
Even with the revolving three, it seems that we got decent production at that spot, didn't we?
 
76Texan said:
Guard play was probably most consistent, definitely.

I'm not quiite sure about Center as a weakness.
Even with the revolving three, it seems that we got decent production at that spot, didn't we?
Click to expand...
I thought Flanagan was inconsistent and past his prime...not to mention that his injury prone past reared it's ugly head. McKinney came in and the blocking improved, but this is a position we could upgrade for sure. I don't think Hodgdon makes the team this year. He didn't impress me too much and doesn't seem to have enough lower body/trunk strength even though he has enough upper body strength (chest and shoulders).
 
Blazing Arrow said:
You don't feel that Glen Earl as SS would be considered a weakness? I am not sure he would start on most teams.
Click to expand...

The problem with saftey is that the Texans start two marginal guys, neither of whom is strong in coverage and both of whom are SS. You live with starting one guy like that, but he needs to paired with a true FS.
 
ArlingtonTexan said:
The problem with saftey is that the Texans start two marginal guys, neither of whom is strong in coverage and both of whom are SS. You live with starting one guy like that, but he needs to paired with a true FS.
Click to expand...

This is why I question S being a weakness not just one side.

Don't wory Texans fan, it has been announced Young has the 08 Madden cover. :gun:
 
Blazing Arrow said:
Don't wory Texans fan, it has been announced Young has the 08 Madden cover. :gun:
Click to expand...

Oh man, you can hear the knee ligaments snapping already. Sucks for him.

I like your thoughts on the guard play. Considering the chaos of lineup changes and position shuffles on the OL last year, I didn't think the guards were quite so bad. One was such a tough guy that it took a Taser to stop him. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) I believe this draft is the time to make a strong move to address LT and take Brown if he's available at 10...but that's improbable with Miami ahead.

If he's not there, then I think the next most critical weakness is in the secondary. This team has to get CC Brown out of the starting lineup. Period. Whether Landry will be there at 10 is another doubtful one, but among the critical needs this team has, somebody able to fill one will be...so even if by some miracle both are still on the board (I'm praying a certain team :vinny: and/or Tampa will do something bizarre and screw up the whole board) I'd hope the Texans address LT first and S next.

There are enough offensive weapons on the roster now (and good WR prospects available in the draft) to address it after the #10 pick. But it'll definitely need to be addressed in this draft. If the BPA at 10 is somebody like Jarrett, I wouldn't throw myself off a bridge over the pick, but I think there are more pressing needs. The current WRs may suddenly, magically seem a lot better this year now that a QB who can see beyond 6 yards will be on the field with them.
 
Vinny said:
I thought Flanagan was inconsistent and past his prime...not to mention that his injury prone past reared it's ugly head. McKinney came in and the blocking improved, but this is a position we could upgrade for sure. I don't think Hodgdon makes the team this year. He didn't impress me too much and doesn't seem to have enough lower body/trunk strength even though he has enough upper body strength (chest and shoulders).
Click to expand...

As a group, I thought that Center was a productive position for us.
The Texans like to run up the middle a lot. That's where we got a big chunk of our first downs. Also 10 of the 13 rushing TDs.
Flanagan & McKinney combined had only 1.25 sacks (and that includes 4 games with MK at guard). Hodgdon allowed 3 sacks in 5 games, that's not good, but not terrible, besides he only committed 1/2 sack in 3 starts the previous year.) All of them are penalty free.

If we look at all the other centers in the league, our production was better than average. Besides some little snafu like Flanagan stepping on Carr's foot, the pass protection in the middle was never a real cry for help. Our RBs can use some improvement in that area (Green should do.) As well as our TE corp as a whole.

True, you would like to have one guy playing the position the whole year.
If that's what you want, we can put McKinney there. He only missed 3 games in 9 years. I imagine the Texans signed Flanagan last year 'cause of concern due to Weary's health. It's ironic that while McKinney was nursing his minor groin injury, Weary performed well in preseason and earn the starting nod at guard.

At any rate, those are the reasons why I don't think Center is a weakness for our team.
 
With no second round pick addressing WR needs to come first round or don't expect much out of a 3rd round WR after all of the other teams have taken there picks.
 
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