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Texans look for more from Okoye
- Thread starter Wolf
- Start date
Texan JBZ
Da Sip's Finest
I agree that Amobi played his best game of the season against the Bengals, but he needs to pick it up big time. Mario was light years ahead of Amobi at this time last year. I'm rooting or Amobi, but he needs to start showing the fans of Houston more than he has shown so far.
I like Amobi and feel that in the long run he'll be a good player with some maturity and experience but it's obvious he was drafted way to high, I have to say that at this point in his career he's a bust. When your drafted #10 in the 1st round your expected to make an impact on your team and be a starter for years to come, not be a project. I guess the real blame lies with Smith and Kubiak, you draft project players in later rounds cause they're not that good and you give them time to develop, not #10 overall. I don't understand a guy that's 21 yoa. and can't play the hole game, in his second season in the league he's already having to be pulled so he can rest and then put in on passing plays. Maybe we should blame the strength and conditioning coach for that, a 21 yr. old athlete should be able to play the hole game. I think given time Amobi will be a good player in a couple years.
spurstexanstros
Texans Rising
Anything....can we get anything from this guy ...some tackles some batted balls..pressure up the middle. We have to have some expectations from a guy who wanted 14 sacks this year. At least put more than an arm tackle on a qb about to run in the endzone and we might be 4-3 right now.
noxiousdog
Rookie
2nd year players who have started every game are not busts.
Its not his condition thats the problem, they take him out because he's not strong enough against the run. And yes teams do take players in the draft with high potential. Its not kubiak and smith fault!
noxiousdog
Rookie
Hmm, apparently he's come off the bench for two games.
Still. Too early to slap bust on him.
noxiousdog and wolf123, I guess we'll just have to disagree. Maybe bust is too strond of a word, big disappointment. To me a player taken #10 overall should be a pick that's a no brainer, obvious, a starter in every game and play the whole game, he should be a difference maker someone who steps in and plays at a high level. Wolf123 you really make my point for me.
Its not his condition thats the problem, they take him out because he's not strong enough against the run. And yes teams do take players in the draft with high potential. Its not kubiak and smith fault!
Why would you draft a player #10 in the 1st round that can only play half the game. If he can only play the passing downs and not the run then he's obviously not ready to be a 1st round pick. I understand that teams take players in the draft with high potential and hope that one day they'll be a good starter but you draft projects in the 3-7 rounds. You draft obvious starters in the 1st round that can play the whole game. I think that if Amobi was a 3rd round pick he'd be fine cause your expectations aren't as high. If he's not strong enough to play the run then why hasn't he been working on an NFL level strength and conditioning program for the last 1.5 yrs. I think Amobi will eventually be a good player in a couple years but I don't understand drafting projects in the 1st round.
Its not his condition thats the problem, they take him out because he's not strong enough against the run. And yes teams do take players in the draft with high potential. Its not kubiak and smith fault!
Why would you draft a player #10 in the 1st round that can only play half the game. If he can only play the passing downs and not the run then he's obviously not ready to be a 1st round pick. I understand that teams take players in the draft with high potential and hope that one day they'll be a good starter but you draft projects in the 3-7 rounds. You draft obvious starters in the 1st round that can play the whole game. I think that if Amobi was a 3rd round pick he'd be fine cause your expectations aren't as high. If he's not strong enough to play the run then why hasn't he been working on an NFL level strength and conditioning program for the last 1.5 yrs. I think Amobi will eventually be a good player in a couple years but I don't understand drafting projects in the 1st round.
I'm reluctant to buy this story about AO being too young. Didn't Mario come into his own last year in his second season when he was just 22 ? In other words only a year older than AO is now. And AO may begin to be consistantly productive before this the end of his second year, or his productivety may end up being closer to that of another DT, Travis Johnson, who the Texans shouldn't have used a 1st round pick on ?
I've always thought that Amobi was a 'project' player, one who has great potential but will take longer to truly develop.
Unfortunately, we are not a team that should be picking project players at this stage of development. We need impact players, like DeMeco, who can immediately contribute and make an impact. Well established teams who are already successful and absorb project players and the longer time it takes to develop them. We are just not that kind of team at the moment.
But all that being said, I think Amobi will turn out to be a good pick in the long run. I think his upside can be molded into a solid DT, and hopefully more than just solid. Time will obviously tell.
Unfortunately, we are not a team that should be picking project players at this stage of development. We need impact players, like DeMeco, who can immediately contribute and make an impact. Well established teams who are already successful and absorb project players and the longer time it takes to develop them. We are just not that kind of team at the moment.
But all that being said, I think Amobi will turn out to be a good pick in the long run. I think his upside can be molded into a solid DT, and hopefully more than just solid. Time will obviously tell.
Why would AO be anymore of a project than say, oh Mario, when AO had one more of year of college ball than Mario did ?
alphajoker
Veteran
My guess is because he's a couple of years younger than Mario and came into the league as a teenager.
He was 20 during his rookie season while Mario was 21 during his first season.
Hardly any difference at all really ?
Because Mario was clearly a much better prospect. Not all college players are equal, you know, which is why some are drafted in the first round and most are not.
Because Mario was clearly a much better prospect. Not all college players are equal, you know, which is why some are drafted in the first round and most are not.
True, but Okoye was still a first round pick. Not #1 overall like Mario, but still in the top 10
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Polo
Guest
Wow we're comparing Mario to Okoye now ?
-Mario really didn't come into his own until about the mid-way point last yr so he has not been this beast all along...Mario started slow and picked up steam, Amobi gave us good production early on and then tapered off..Different guys means different paths to development
-Mario was a yr. and some change older than Amobi
-Mario is more freakishly talented than Amobi, we did choose Mario #1 overall even though he was up against some very good ball players for that selection
-Amobi is a DT and Mario is a DE
Not sure why Amobi's progress is being measured against Mario's....That makes about as much sense as measuring Chester Pitts transition into the NFL against Duane Browns...
Some things just involve too many factors to correlate...
-Mario really didn't come into his own until about the mid-way point last yr so he has not been this beast all along...Mario started slow and picked up steam, Amobi gave us good production early on and then tapered off..Different guys means different paths to development
-Mario was a yr. and some change older than Amobi
-Mario is more freakishly talented than Amobi, we did choose Mario #1 overall even though he was up against some very good ball players for that selection
-Amobi is a DT and Mario is a DE
Not sure why Amobi's progress is being measured against Mario's....That makes about as much sense as measuring Chester Pitts transition into the NFL against Duane Browns...
Some things just involve too many factors to correlate...
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This is true. But given that fact, shouldn't he be making an impact now? At least more of an impact than he made in his first year?
I'm not saying that a project player is a bad thing. It's just a player that takes longer to mature and develop. And at the DT position, with a much greater learning curve than many other positions, it can take that much longer to fully realize his potential.
It's not a bad thing in any way. My point was that the Texans are not the kind of team that should be using first round picks on players that have a longer development cycle. We lack depth in many areas, and to be honest, we lack a quality starter in a few positions, as well.
Good points. My only inclusion of Mario was because nunu quoted me and used him as an example. But it's different players and different positions, as you pointed out.
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Polo
Guest
I've always found it strange that high first rounders get so much more time to develop than 3rd or 4th rounders. The same level of performance that gets a late rounder cut earns another year or two of OJT for a first round pick. It has a lot to do with potential, but also that the people making the picks don't want to look bad.
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Polo
Guest
I think that's definitely part of it....
I also think that's it's because of the investment...
Like if I just recently went out and bought a 2008 vehicle but I already had a 1990 model vehicle...
If the 2008 vehicle gets into an accident and is badly damaged, it may be worth it to repair...
If the 1990 vehicle gets into the same accident, in all likelihood it'll probably be totaled...
With lower round draft picks it may not be worth the investment to see if they'll pan out...They aren't worth as much so it doesn't make sense to put as much into them...
I was going to mention the same thing as Polo. I think there is too much money involved not to give the player as much of a chance as possible to develop before they admit that he wasn't worth the pick/money. We have a couple of examples in this team's history *cough*HWSNBN and TJ*cough*
Exactly, It sounds kinda arbitrary to me to ?
Why not compare his progress to D-Rob, or DeMeco, or Owen D, 2 who weren't even taken in the first round ?
The seasons only half over, but he needs to really step it up by the end of the year to remove these doubts that we didn't get a Tommie Harris kinda
1-gapper.
The higher the pick, the higher the expectations and he was a 10th overall.
noxiousdog
Rookie
Top 15 DTs over the last few years.
2008
Glen Dorsey 18 tackles, 0 sacks
Sedrick Ellis 10 tackles, 1 sack
2007
Okoye 41 tackles, 5.5 sacks
#16 Justin Harrell 16 tackles, PUP
2006
Ngata 117 tackles, 5 sacks
Broderick Bunkley 57 tackles, 4 sacks
2005
#16 Travis Johnson (cringe) 85 tackles, 2 sacks
2004
Tommie Harris 145 tackles, 20.5 sacks.
2003
Dewayne Robinson 264 tackles, 15 sacks
Johnathan Sullivan - 3 years, 77 tackles, 1 sack. retired.
Kevin Williams - 269 tackles, 40 sacks.
I think bust is a little premature.
2008
Glen Dorsey 18 tackles, 0 sacks
Sedrick Ellis 10 tackles, 1 sack
2007
Okoye 41 tackles, 5.5 sacks
#16 Justin Harrell 16 tackles, PUP
2006
Ngata 117 tackles, 5 sacks
Broderick Bunkley 57 tackles, 4 sacks
2005
#16 Travis Johnson (cringe) 85 tackles, 2 sacks
2004
Tommie Harris 145 tackles, 20.5 sacks.
2003
Dewayne Robinson 264 tackles, 15 sacks
Johnathan Sullivan - 3 years, 77 tackles, 1 sack. retired.
Kevin Williams - 269 tackles, 40 sacks.
I think bust is a little premature.
threetoedpete
Hall of Fame
Yeah...but there is reason for concern. Look bust or not....he whipped everything in front of him at the senior bowl practices. I still got the thing on DVD some wheres around here. It was the correct move. His numbers and production said he was the best player on the board. Everything else is up to Okoye. I mean the guy is clearly giving an effort. Too much chicken fighting and not enough first step. No swim move...no spin move....just chicken fighting.
Could be worse. He ain't dead yet and he's fighting.
http://www.gbnreport.com/index.htm
Could be worse. He ain't dead yet and he's fighting.
http://www.gbnreport.com/index.htm
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threetoedpete
Hall of Fame
Which makes you kinda wonder who the heck was in love with Criss Taylor ? I don't know, but someone clearly saw some upside with the guy. They got better eyes than me is all I know.
Scooter
Funky
this is it in a nutshell. we're talking about a kid we drafted as someone who we could personally develope basically as a college sophmore and shape as a texan. okoye's sharp as a tack and is a success in everything he sets his mind to. being already built for the position and his success as a rookie tells us that as he grows and becomes an adult that he'll be someone that we can build a defense around. that in itsself is an impressive feat when we're already built upon kids growing into a man's game with mario and demeco. while it doesnt seem fair to the instant gratification folks, it's a beautiful thing to the folks that see tomorrow and 7 years from now. 9 years in the league at 28 years old ... consider that for a moment.