Are they bad or just badly coached?

What do the names Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, Antwaan Peek, Anthony Weaver, ND Kalu, Mario Williams, Thomas Johnson, Anthony Maddox and potentially Amobi Okoye all have in common?

They have all played DL for the Texans over the past 2 years

AND they all suck at rushing the passer. With the possible exception of Okoye, but his talent is still under the "waiting to be resolved category"

Anyway, so whats the deal?
Babin, TJ, Mario, and Okoye were all 1st round picks
Weaver was a highly touted FA acquisition
Kalu was supposed to be a pass rushing machine
Peek was supposed to be an incredible QB sacker

All of these guys have had HUGE potential. Mario was supposed to be one of the best DE prospects in recent NFL history. And yet they've all failed. Mario isn't playing like the #1 pick in teh draft. Hell, he's not playing like a 4th round pick at this point. Same goes for the rest of them.

And to make matters worse? They are SO horrible at rushing the passer, that they are obsessed with it. Screens and draws go for HUGE yardage against us. They aren't even that good against the run anymore.

They all had potential, they all play for us, they all show flashes, but in the end, they all disapoint. We've already switched DL coaches once. So whats the deal? Do we have crappy talent or coaches? Or motivation?

ND is not a bad pass rusher.... IMO....

yes to both your questions. Good news, both coaching and players will get better. I'm not sure when.

gtexan02 said:

What do the names Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, Antwaan Peek, Anthony Weaver, ND Kalu, Mario Williams, Thomas Johnson, Anthony Maddox and potentially Amobi Okoye all have in common?

They have all played DL for the Texans over the past 2 years

AND they all suck at rushing the passer. With the possible exception of Okoye, but his talent is still under the "waiting to be resolved category"

Anyway, so whats the deal?
Babin, TJ, Mario, and Okoye were all 1st round picks
Weaver was a highly touted FA acquisition
Kalu was supposed to be a pass rushing machine
Peek was supposed to be an incredible QB sacker

All of these guys have had HUGE potential. Mario was supposed to be one of the best DE prospects in recent NFL history. And yet they've all failed. Mario isn't playing like the #1 pick in teh draft. Hell, he's not playing like a 4th round pick at this point. Same goes for the rest of them.

And to make matters worse? They are SO horrible at rushing the passer, that they are obsessed with it. Screens and draws go for HUGE yardage against us. They aren't even that good against the run anymore.

They all had potential, they all play for us, they all show flashes, but in the end, they all disapoint. We've already switched DL coaches once. So whats the deal? Do we have crappy talent or coaches? Or motivation?

Click to expand...

Richard Smith = Opposing QBs dream defense.

gtexan02 said:

What do the names Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, Antwaan Peek, Anthony Weaver, ND Kalu, Mario Williams, Thomas Johnson, Anthony Maddox and potentially Amobi Okoye all have in common?

They have all played DL for the Texans over the past 2 years

AND they all suck at rushing the passer. With the possible exception of Okoye, but his talent is still under the "waiting to be resolved category"

Anyway, so whats the deal?
Babin, TJ, Mario, and Okoye were all 1st round picks
Weaver was a highly touted FA acquisition
Kalu was supposed to be a pass rushing machine
Peek was supposed to be an incredible QB sacker

All of these guys have had HUGE potential. Mario was supposed to be one of the best DE prospects in recent NFL history. And yet they've all failed. Mario isn't playing like the #1 pick in teh draft. Hell, he's not playing like a 4th round pick at this point. Same goes for the rest of them.

And to make matters worse? They are SO horrible at rushing the passer, that they are obsessed with it. Screens and draws go for HUGE yardage against us. They aren't even that good against the run anymore.

They all had potential, they all play for us, they all show flashes, but in the end, they all disapoint. We've already switched DL coaches once. So whats the deal? Do we have crappy talent or coaches? Or motivation?

Click to expand...

Throw David Carr, Kris Brown and Matt Turk. I've never even seen anyone of them bearing down on the QB. That is unquestionably the worst example of loading a question I've ever seen.

Jason Babin
Decent pass rusher. Didn't hold up at all vs the run.
Travis Johnson
He's a DT. You didn't draft him to be a pass rusher.
Antwaan Peek
Decent pass rusher. Have you seen my comments about Babin? Double them and add a side order of undiscliplined.
Anthony Weaver
Never intended to be a primary pass rusher.
ND Kalu
He's a pretty good pass rusher. He however is really a vet here to teach kids the ropes.
Mario Williams
This should have been the first and only name on your list really. Get over the fact that he isn't a great pass rusher right now. It will come.
Thomas Johnson
You have effectively thrown in a few guys who aren't really pass rushers twice. Give me a break. He's a DT AND a free agent.
Anthony Maddox
Another guy on the streets when we found him. WHAT HE'S NOT PRODUCING?
Amobi Okoye all have in common?
He's a top 10 pick. He won rookie of the month the first month. He has 4.5 sacks (I think that's right). You are right. As a DT he looks horrilbe at rushing the passer.


Desperate for something to complain about? FS/CB2/LOLB/ROLB/LG/C/T/RB.

I dunno. I think we've got bigger problems than the DL right now.

Mike

Bad coaching AND bad players.

I have come to the conclusion that Mario will never be worth what we pay him and will be just another player. Not bad but not good either. He has little heart, no speed, and no technique. I wouldn't call him a 'bust' but its painfully obvious to anyone that he was not the right pick for the Texans.

The coaching has been bad since Day One of this franchise and Kubiak isn't making that much of a difference from the previous regime. I am already sick of Kubiak's act and I am thoroughly fed up with Richard Smith's 'defense'.

In my opinion, McNair needs to make some big moves this offseason. He needs to go out and get the best Def Coordinator available and do WHATEVER it takes to get him in here short of firing Kubiak. I think Gary deserves another year with a good DC beside him. Maybe we could convince Buddy Ryan's son to come and take over for Smith. He has done a great job in Oakland and they come out with intensity on defense.

I have two HUGE problems with Kubiak. He is way too conservative and his team's are not ready to play when the whistle blows. There is little to no intensity and I am sick of him being soft on the DL. I will give him credit for giving Travis Johnson credit but he has been way too coddling with Mario. We had the same problem with Carr. Bench Mario and see if he responds. He never sticks his nose in the action and constantly runs himself out of plays much to the opposing OL's delight.

Fire Richard Smith
Bench Mario and see if he responds
Hire Rob Ryan
Stop being so damn predictable
Bring in real players that actually make plays and arent just goodie two-shoes

The product on the field is much improved but they are pissing away 2007 as we speak. Not enough playmakers and too many sleepwalkers like Mario and Weaver.

I'm probably in the very small minority here, but as I said in another thread, I think the front four did a pretty good job getting pressure on Collins. He was generally getting rid of the ball in 2 seconds or less.

Looking at the past few drafts, many of the rookie sack leaders are second day picks like Mark Anderson or Dummervile. The first round DE's are gearing themselves towards more "complete" DE's like Mario and less towards the pass rushing, slightly undersized DE's like Freeny. The pass-rushing guys are popping up in the latter rounds, while the more complete guys with great measurables are going really early now.