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Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
aj. said:
I think it was more conflicting philosophy, i.e. Capers/Palmer v. Capers/Pendry than no philosophy. Wade is a Capers-Pendry kind of dozer/grinder. Wand, for example, is more of an agile Palmer kind of tackle -theoretically at least. Dom couldn't navigate the confusion.
It may just be semantics. Conflicting philosophies mean no philosophy--anarchy or mud, I suppose.

It was kinda painful to hear Carr in the interview trying to say nice things but explain what happened. The whole Pendry not completely doing his system and not feeling comfortable with the blended system and then sorta relinquishing the play calling for a couple of halves. It was ugly.

I think the whole Kubiak/Smith deal, and the hires that they have done with that are a reflection of a new determination to have everyone on the same page. I am not sure if it is all going to work, but it looks like they are committed to a philosophy, even if it means they have younger people to make it happen.

BTW, noticed in the McNair interview that he really played up the fact that one of the best things he liked about Smith is his openmindedness, and not just being committed to doing things the Denver way but to find best practices and incorporate it into the job. It was hard listening to that without making the mental jump that this was almost a sideways way of distancing himself from the Casserly traditional Redskins way of doing things.

Don't know if I was reading too much into that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

I think a lot of times when we have failures in our lives, the next moves we make are often a reaction to that. That whatever our next move is, we just don't want it to be the same as what came before. It doesn't mean the new thing will work better, but we just don't want to repeat the same mistake.

Certainly, getting an offensive minded coach is a reaction to our conservative defensive minded coach who helmed a team that was embarrasing offensively. Hopefully it will work better than Seifert following Capers in Carolina.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
Texans_Chick said:
It may just be semantics. Conflicting philosophies mean no philosophy--anarchy or mud, I suppose.

It was kinda painful to hear Carr in the interview trying to say nice things but explain what happened. The whole Pendry not completely doing his system and not feeling comfortable with the blended system and then sorta relinquishing the play calling for a couple of halves. It was ugly.

I think the whole Kubiak/Smith deal, and the hires that they have done with that are a reflection of a new determination to have everyone on the same page. I am not sure if it is all going to work, but it looks like they are committed to a philosophy, even if it means they have younger people to make it happen.

BTW, noticed in the McNair interview that he really played up the fact that one of the best things he liked about Smith is his openmindedness, and not just being committed to doing things the Denver way but to find best practices and incorporate it into the job. It was hard listening to that without making the mental jump that this was almost a sideways way of distancing himself from the Casserly traditional Redskins way of doing things.

Don't know if I was reading too much into that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

I think a lot of times when we have failures in our lives, the next moves we make are often a reaction to that. That whatever our next move is, we just don't want it to be the same as what came before. It doesn't mean the new thing will work better, but we just don't want to repeat the same mistake.

Certainly, getting an offensive minded coach is a reaction to our conservative defensive minded coach who helmed a team that was embarrasing offensively. Hopefully it will work better than Seifert following Capers in Carolina.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It seemed that with all involved in the old regime, everything was in stone. No matter how unsuccessful, essentially philosophies never seemed to change, all the way up to the end. Reminds me of a saying my dad used to use:

"A stubborn person never gets anywhere because he thinks he is already there."
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
aj. said:
The minimum hit they can take this year is the one year proration. They can always take more. Teams often split the amount 50/50 over two seasons but it all depends on how much is being amortized and how they want to split it. They are dealing with Walker's 7 million as well so I doubt they push all but one year of both Walker and Wade's dead money to next year. That's a wallop. I was pissed when they spent 31 million in bonus money on Walker, Wade and Smith and now it's biting them in the ass.

There's a new CBA rule (that doesn't apply in Wade's case but it did in Walker's) that made it allowable for teams to identify up to two players for release pre-March 1 and gain the post-June 1 cap benefit of splitting the dead money over two seasons. The only catch is that the releasing team has to carry the player's full current year cap hit from March 1 - June 1 which ties up a little cap money during the free agent period.
OK, thanks for clearing that up, I wasn't sure if the teams had the choice of exactly how much they wanted to split it up over the two season.
 

aj.

All Pro
Texans_Chick said:
BTW, noticed in the McNair interview that he really played up the fact that one of the best things he liked about Smith is his openmindedness, and not just being committed to doing things the Denver way but to find best practices and incorporate it into the job. It was hard listening to that without making the mental jump that this was almost a sideways way of distancing himself from the Casserly traditional Redskins way of doing things.

Don't know if I was reading too much into that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
There's no "almost" about it.

Remember McNair's remarks when Reeves was hired? It was obvious then that Bob wasn't real happy with his GM playing the "that's the way we do it in the NFL" card on him. Bob's a smooth operator and for him to allow that to bubble up to the surface in public was quite telling at the time. It obviously burned his butt.

Rick Smith's "open-mindedness" is also code for McNair being a different owner now than he was as recently as two years ago. Now, if McNair sees something that he thinks is broken, he won't hesitate to play his CEO card (and Smith knows it) - instead of trusting his management team to work their way out of it - "because that's the way we do it in the NFL."

Our owner is going to be actively involved in this thing until he sees it working consistently the way he wants.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
aj. said:
There's no "almost" about it.

Remember McNair's remarks when Reeves was hired? It was obvious then that Bob wasn't real happy with his GM playing the "that's the way we do it in the NFL" card on him. Bob's a smooth operator and for him to allow that to bubble up to the surface in public was quite telling at the time. It obviously burned his butt.

Rick Smith's "open-mindedness" is also code for McNair being a different owner now than he was as recently as two years ago. Now, if McNair sees something that he thinks is broken, he won't hesitate to play his CEO card (and Smith knows it) - instead of trusting his management team to work their way out of it - "because that's the way we do it in the NFL."

Our owner is going to be actively involved in this thing until he sees it working consistently the way he wants.
I hope ( and don't think it will) that doesn't lead to a situation like Washington has with Snyder or, to a lesser extent, Jerry Jones with a micromanaging owner.
 

aj.

All Pro
Bob's ego (at least the part that desires attention) is non-existent compared to those two. So I wouldn't worry about that part.

Bob's ego (the part that is a competitor) is alive and well but he doesn't want to be GM. He really will let Smith, Kubiak and Ferens do their thing, but, it will be worth watching the level of his involvement during the next year or two.

I think Bob will be watching the operation more closely and if he thinks an assistant coach isn't pulling his weight, he won't be afraid to speak up. I also think he will be far less accomodating in the future when writing obscene signing bonus checks to guys like a past prime Gary Walker and average players like Todd Wade.

He's a more confident owner now but I don't think that translates to him becoming the meddlesome owner that causes more harm than good. I don't think he has it in him. I think he knows the line he can't cross if he still wants a functional organization beneath him..

He doesn't want a coach and GM who are afraid to make decisions, but at the same time he will be watching things very closely until we get this thing turned around.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
aj,

A way that I read somewhere some time ago that some clubs "play" with the cap, is to set up a bonus based on performance of supposed "easily" obtainable goals. But in fact they are virtually impossible for the player to attain. This is done so that a credit can be returned to the club later in the year when monies are needed to replace an injured player.

Have the Texans, as far as you know, used this "loophole" and how does this approach usually play out?
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
That's what it seems like to me also. It can be a fine line to walk when you consider ALL the ego's involved.
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
DocBar said:
I hope ( and don't think it will) that doesn't lead to a situation like Washington has with Snyder or, to a lesser extent, Jerry Jones with a micromanaging owner.

Jerry Jones == 3 Superbowls. I will take that anyday. I beleive that the owner should take a active roll in the managment of the team. McNair is a very intelligent man that knows how to win I am very happy that he has become more active with the team.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
aj. said:
Bob's ego (the part that is a competitor) is alive and well but he doesn't want to be GM. He really will let Smith, Kubiak and Ferens do their thing, but, it will be worth watching the level of his involvement during the next year or two.
Since you mentioned Ferens, doesn't there have too be some culpability with him due to the contracts for Walker, Smith and Wade? Or was he just signing away at Capers or Casserly's wishes? I just find it hard to believe he is still around. His resume is not that impressive in my opinion. Lead negotiator for the Steelers? That was and always has been the Rooneys. IMG? Golf and Tennis. Working the financial arm for a company that prospered because of Arnold Palmer and Nick Bollettieri does not really transfer to the American game of Football.

This guy is now our VP of Football Administration and I just do not see it. If you have any takes on him it would be greatly appreciated.
 

aj.

All Pro
My understanding is that part of Ferens charge was to look out for the long term cap health of the team, but prior to about January 27, Ferens worked for Casserly so the culpability is relative, especially when the organization becomes desperate for quick fixes as the wheels fly off.
 

Coach C.

Veteran
I will weigh in like I have before. Ferens should be gone also. He is not a football guy and the Rooneys got rid of him because he did not go with their hardball tactics with players. Look at how the Steelers, Patriots, and teams of the like deal with players, Ferens does not fit that description. The thing is he is a good numbers guy he knows better which makes it even worse. He is one of McNair's people really so he will likely be around for a while until he pisses Kubes off with some off the wall signing.
 

aj.

All Pro
CloakNNNdagger said:
aj,

A way that I read somewhere some time ago that some clubs "play" with the cap, is to set up a bonus based on performance of supposed "easily" obtainable goals. But in fact they are virtually impossible for the player to attain. This is done so that a credit can be returned to the club later in the year when monies are needed to replace an injured player.

Have the Texans, as far as you know, used this "loophole" and how does this approach usually play out?
You're talking about likely to be earned incentives (LTBEIs). If a team writes any LTBEIs into a player's contract, they immediately count on the cap when that business year begins on or around March 1 in a normal year. If the player doesn't achieve the incentive during the season, the team gets that money back the following season in the form of a cap credit. The Texans reeived a cap credit this season for Corey Bradford's unattained LTBEIs - whatever they were.

Not sure about intentionally gaming the system but if there's loopholes, teams will find them. I vaguely recall something about the Redskins doing this in the past. Not sure on specifics.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
ojthecat said:
Jerry Jones == 3 Superbowls. I will take that anyday. I beleive that the owner should take a active roll in the managment of the team. McNair is a very intelligent man that knows how to win I am very happy that he has become more active with the team.
With the coaching staff and talent, that might have been in SPITE of Jones' meddling.
 

aj.

All Pro
Coach C. said:
I will weigh in like I have before. Ferens should be gone also. He is not a football guy and the Rooneys got rid of him because he did not go with their hardball tactics with players. Look at how the Steelers, Patriots, and teams of the like deal with players, Ferens does not fit that description. The thing is he is a good numbers guy he knows better which makes it even worse. He is one of McNair's people really so he will likely be around for a while until he pisses Kubes off with some off the wall signing.
I doubt if Ferens ever acted independently under Casserly - and Casserly was highly influenced by the wants of the coaching staff. It was a tangled web.

Ferens gained power in January and it will be interesting to watch the working relationship between him and Smith. I don't have a copy of Bob's org chart so I don't know if they have Ferens reporting to Smith or (more likely) having him report in to McNair, parallel to Smith. Sometimes you can't tell from titles, photo size, or name order in the media guide.

NFL Ops Business Managers don't have to be football guys, in fact most teams cap guys and contract negotiators are lawyers and finance guys. Ferens was one of two unanimous selections for best NFL capologist in a poll of 50 NFL executives in 1998.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
aj. said:
You're talking about likely to be earned incentives (LTBEIs). If a team writes any LTBEIs into a player's contract, they immediately count on the cap when that business year begins on or around March 1 in a normal year. If the player doesn't achieve the incentive during the season, the team gets that money back the following season in the form of a cap credit. The Texans reeived a cap credit this season for Corey Bradford's unattained LTBEIs - whatever they were.

Not sure about intentionally gaming the system but if there's loopholes, teams will find them. I vaguely recall something about the Redskins doing this in the past. Not sure on specifics.


Thanks for explain.
 

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
aj. said:
There's no "almost" about it.

Remember McNair's remarks when Reeves was hired? It was obvious then that Bob wasn't real happy with his GM playing the "that's the way we do it in the NFL" card on him. Bob's a smooth operator and for him to allow that to bubble up to the surface in public was quite telling at the time. It obviously burned his butt.

Rick Smith's "open-mindedness" is also code for McNair being a different owner now than he was as recently as two years ago. Now, if McNair sees something that he thinks is broken, he won't hesitate to play his CEO card (and Smith knows it) - instead of trusting his management team to work their way out of it - "because that's the way we do it in the NFL."

Our owner is going to be actively involved in this thing until he sees it working consistently the way he wants.

Well yeah. I said "almost" just because I am not a mind reader so I can't say with 100% certainty, but it would be certainty enough to bet money on.

Bob ain't gonna be doing pregame speeches and walking the sidelines during games or telling his coaches that they have to take Vince even if they don't want him, but yeah, you are right with:
Now, if McNair sees something that he thinks is broken, he won't hesitate to play his CEO card (and Smith knows it) - instead of trusting his management team to work their way out of it - "because that's the way we do it in the NFL."
I think, from hearing him talk, he is more interested in the process of things, best practices, and the big picture of how they are doing stuff (running football operations as a business), then the details of what they are doing. So if you are doing a big trade (P-Buc for two draft picks, for example) he wants to make sure that there is a process in place that makes sure that we have done our due diligence.
 

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
ojthecat said:
Jerry Jones == 3 Superbowls. I will take that anyday. I beleive that the owner should take a active roll in the managment of the team. McNair is a very intelligent man that knows how to win I am very happy that he has become more active with the team.
Alternative history is a funny thing.

I've always wonder what would have happened had Jerry Jones been able to get along with Jimmy Johnson. Fewer or more rings? It will be interesting to see how the Tuna experiment ends because if it ends poorly, Jones runs the risk of becoming the next Raiders--meddling owner that quality coaches don't want to defer to and work for.

Or if the Oilers had stayed in Houston and not had the horrible lame duck season and the travelling seasons. Does Steve McNair's team go to the Super Bowl--did the adversity help them or did it just delay their development dealing with all the junk?

We will never know. I personally prefer owners that stay in the box and out of the limelight, and hire quality football people.
 

Insideop

All Pro
LCROD said:
Just because I live in MD now doesnt mean I have always lived in MD.
I wasn't implying you were born and raised in Maryland! Just pointing out to Infantrycak where "some of this stuff" was coming from now. It was meant to be a joke! Thus the lol:

Peace my friend. We are on the same side!:gotexans1 :logo: texanpride
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
aj. said:
I doubt if Ferens ever acted independently under Casserly - and Casserly was highly influenced by the wants of the coaching staff. It was a tangled web.

Ferens gained power in January and it will be interesting to watch the working relationship between him and Smith. I don't have a copy of Bob's org chart so I don't know if they have Ferens reporting to Smith or (more likely) having him report in to McNair, parallel to Smith. Sometimes you can't tell from titles, photo size, or name order in the media guide.

NFL Ops Business Managers don't have to be football guys, in fact most teams cap guys and contract negotiators are lawyers and finance guys. Ferens was one of two unanimous selections for best NFL capologist in a poll of 50 NFL executives in 1998.
There is a certain amount of blame that can be assigned to Ferens for many of the bad contracts that were signed in the past four years, but at the same time Casserly and the scouts were likely responsible for informing how good the players were and the ballpark figure that they should be looking/willing to sign the player for, since Ferens isn't a scout of any kind and doesn't know how valuable players supposedly are. Despite many of these drastic overpakd contracts, the Texans have never been in a real bad cap situation like the Titans, Redskins, and some other teams, so at least Ferens has kept us under the cap pretty well.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
MorKnolle said:
Despite many of these drastic overpakd contracts, the Texans have never been in a real bad cap situation like the Titans, Redskins, and some other teams, so at least Ferens has kept us under the cap pretty well.
I am dying to see his magic for the 2007 off season with Walker and Wade's dead cap slapping us in the face.

At some point you have to tell your football people you are friggin crazy and negotiate with them rather than with the player's rep for the fiscal health of the team. We have not been in dire straits, but the decisions have been extremely questionable.
 

Coach C.

Veteran
KT you are right, but Walker's dead money is on this year is it not? Also, I am we will need to start negotiating certain contracts next year, mainly AJ and Peek. I would not let Peek go without some type of compensation and if AJ can return to form we need to lock him down sooner than later.
 

aj.

All Pro
Walker and Wade's 14 million or so in dead money will be dealt with this year and next (exact proportions TBD). And it will be felt. They will be required to take at least a one-year proration this year ($3.5 million) but hopefully they can take more to save space for next year.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
aj. said:
Walker and Wade's 14 million or so in dead money will be dealt with this year and next (exact proportions TBD). And it will be felt.
Yep and people wondered why we drafted Mario and brought Wand back from the dead. We will most likely only have room for signing our rookies next year. There is no major contract set to sunset in 2007 other than Cowart that we could possibly cut for a minimal dead cap hit to help with the load.

What is an interesting residual benefit of a bad cap situation is that players such as P Buch are in a very difficult spot. He must perform this year as he will not have much leverage with us or able to have leverage against other teams. I expect him to have a very good year and move on and then we go CB with the first pick.
 

aj.

All Pro
Weaver (through '10) and Robaire (through '09) have similar deals to Wade and Walker. But at least they should be able to play a few years - theoretically. Robaire needs to dominate this year or else he will be next. Payne's deal is not as painful.

Robaire and Weaver will account for more than 10 million between them on the '07 cap. Why they paid Weaver all that jack is still a bit puzzling.
 

Brandon420tx

Flounder
Kaiser Toro said:
Yep and people wondered why we drafted Mario and brought Wand back from the dead. We will most likely only have room for signing our rookies next year. There is no major contract set to sunset in 2007 other than Cowart that we could possibly cut for a minimal dead cap hit to help with the load.

What is an interesting residual benefit of a bad cap situation is that players such as P Buch are in a very difficult spot. He must perform this year as he will not have much leverage with us or able to have leverage against other teams. I expect him to have a very good year and move on and then we go CB with the first pick.
Anyone know any CB prospects to keep an eye on?
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
Brandon420tx said:
Anyone know any CB prospects to keep an eye on?
I will be watching Leon Hall this year, but his 5'11'' frame concerns me due to Dunta on the other side. In sports 5'11'' usually means 5'9''. BTW Dunta is listed at 5'10''.

Anyone to add Mork?
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
Kaiser Toro said:
I will be watching Leon Hall this year, but his 5'11'' frame concerns me due to Dunta on the other side. In sports 5'11'' usually means 5'9''. BTW Dunta is listed at 5'10''.

Anyone to add Mork?
__________________________________________

Might want to watch this one:

CB Marcus McCauley, Fresno State… 6-0, 205, SR… McCauley played in the shadow of former Fresno State CB Richard Marshall, a second round pick by Carolina at the 2006 draft, but is an emerging cover corner in his own right. At 6-0, 205, McCauley the size to match-up with most big receivers, plus he has excellent speed and quickness with a nice break on the ball. For good measure, McCauley is also a tremendous leaper who will battle for the ball in the air. McCauley had 4 picks and 11 other pass breakups the past couple of years; he’s also a very good tackler who had 45 stops last fall; at the same time, though, McCauley isn’t all that aggressive coming up to support the run defense, but is an excellent open field tackler.


link
 

Wolf

100% Texan
www.houstonprofootball.com

The Texans waived right tackle Todd Wade on Friday, aborting the four years left on a free agent contract he signed with the team in 2004.

Wade, who finished last season on injured reserve, became expendable this offseason following an overhaul of the coaching staff and a subsequent change in offensive philosophy. The oversized tackle, at a mammoth 6'8" and likely more than 320 pounds, was probably not quick and agile enough to succeed in the revised zone blocking scheme being implemented by the team.

Sadly, in letting Wade go with four years remaining on his contract, the Texans will be absorbing $6.67 million in dead money on the salary cap. While the team has the option to push $5 million off to the 2007 cap, it is expected that the team will eat the entire amount on this year's cap.

Replacing Wade at right tackle will be Zach Wiegert, who mostly played right guard over his career in Houston, though he does have ample pro experience at his new assignment. The Texans also drafted two tackles, Eric Winston and Charles Spencer, in the third round of April's college draft. Both rookies, along with free agent addition Ephraim Salaam, will likely challenge to play right tackle should Wiegert get injured sometime this season.

In addition to Wade, the Texans also released two other players on Friday, linebackers Fred Brock and Terry Pierce. Brock was signed as an undrafted free agent in May following his career at Texas Southern, and Pierce had been added to the roster following a three year stint with the Broncos.
 

aj.

All Pro
I saw that earlier. I have an email into Keith to see if he has good info on that or if he's just speculating.
 

Runner

Hubcap Diamond
Staff member
I don't know how Wade's exit physical went, but here is what I found out about injury compensation. Someone more in tune with the CBA might want to check these "facts" in case I'm in error.

If Wade doesn't make a team (I don't know if that means this year or forever) than the Texans owe him and additional $275,000. This is a drop in the bucket compared to his $6.67M of course, but I think it may be in the CBA to provide some support to players who get hurt before earning the big dollars that others get. It seems like a saftey net set up for younger players that highly paid players can also receive under the same circumstances.
 

TexanFan881

All Pro
wrestler4life said:
I am curious why we did not try to trade these guys? Were they just no good as bait?
Most likely we wouldn't get anything for Wade because of his huge contract. I'm sure most NFL teams that were interested in him knew that we were considering releasing him and they would just wait until he got cut. Pierce and Brock were worth next to nothing to NFL teams except maybe a slim shot at making the team. We wouldn't be able to get anything for them.
 
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