LBC_Justin
Rookie
This is my basic conclustion after listening to interviews with McNair, Casserly, Williams, Williams Agent, Bush, Bush's Agent, New Orleans General Manager, and some converstion of Pat Kirwin and Gil Brant, and a few other tidbits in the media.
The Texans evaluated all the players and put equal grades on both Mario and Bush. They decided to go with Mario for the following reason, one of our biggest team needs is a pass rush, the DE position has a much longer career so the effects of this pick will last longer, easier to find backs than pass rushers. A star DE like Dwight Freeney can make a bigger impact on the game than a star Back like Edgerin James, and they are more rare.
With that said the Texans plan was to trade down get some picks and draft Mario Williams. Two problems:
#1 they had no trading partner
#2 They learned Mario was a favorite of many teams and was going to go second to New Orleans. So that means even a trade to the third or fourth position would have resulted in us missing both guys.
This is where it gets interesting. If you listen to all the interviews very closely, and I do, (I don't get as much Texans coverage as I like so when the topic comes up I hang on every word). There have been tons of hints. Some of the media guys with real football experience and front office experience have actually caught on to this...The Texans decided on Mario Williams a while ago. They kept the smoke screen of getting Vince Young or Reggie Bush going for a few reasons. The thought of getting Reggie Bush aided in aquiring talent like Eric Moulds. It gave the Texans a TON of national TV and Radio exposure, plus nonstop exposure in the local Houston market doing a normally quiet off season.
There is now speculation that the Texans were using Reggie Bush to get Mario Williams at both a low price and to commit before the draft. Not the other way around.
If you listened to the Interview with New Orleans GM on Sirius Radio it went something like this...
Radio guys: "Was this a christmas gift or what!?"
New Orleans GM: "We are happy."
Radio guys: "Tell us was it hard to turn down all the trade offers you got, from teams wanting Reggie Bush"
New Orleans GM: "We did not have a single serious trade offer."
Radio guys: "WoW! (followed by long moment of silence)..."Not one?"
New Orleans GM: "Not one."
Radio guys: "Can you believe the Texans passed on Reggie Bush."
New Orleans GM: "The Texans are getting unfairly critized. Williams is an amazing player and is going to do very well for them." (He sounded excited for the fans of N.O. but you could tell Super Mario was their guy.)
Radio guys: "Are you concerned about being able to sign Reggie Bush."
New Orleans GM: "Very concerned. It isn't going to be easy."
things the make you go Hmmmmmmmmm
The Texans evaluated all the players and put equal grades on both Mario and Bush. They decided to go with Mario for the following reason, one of our biggest team needs is a pass rush, the DE position has a much longer career so the effects of this pick will last longer, easier to find backs than pass rushers. A star DE like Dwight Freeney can make a bigger impact on the game than a star Back like Edgerin James, and they are more rare.
With that said the Texans plan was to trade down get some picks and draft Mario Williams. Two problems:
#1 they had no trading partner
#2 They learned Mario was a favorite of many teams and was going to go second to New Orleans. So that means even a trade to the third or fourth position would have resulted in us missing both guys.
This is where it gets interesting. If you listen to all the interviews very closely, and I do, (I don't get as much Texans coverage as I like so when the topic comes up I hang on every word). There have been tons of hints. Some of the media guys with real football experience and front office experience have actually caught on to this...The Texans decided on Mario Williams a while ago. They kept the smoke screen of getting Vince Young or Reggie Bush going for a few reasons. The thought of getting Reggie Bush aided in aquiring talent like Eric Moulds. It gave the Texans a TON of national TV and Radio exposure, plus nonstop exposure in the local Houston market doing a normally quiet off season.
There is now speculation that the Texans were using Reggie Bush to get Mario Williams at both a low price and to commit before the draft. Not the other way around.
If you listened to the Interview with New Orleans GM on Sirius Radio it went something like this...
Radio guys: "Was this a christmas gift or what!?"
New Orleans GM: "We are happy."
Radio guys: "Tell us was it hard to turn down all the trade offers you got, from teams wanting Reggie Bush"
New Orleans GM: "We did not have a single serious trade offer."
Radio guys: "WoW! (followed by long moment of silence)..."Not one?"
New Orleans GM: "Not one."
Radio guys: "Can you believe the Texans passed on Reggie Bush."
New Orleans GM: "The Texans are getting unfairly critized. Williams is an amazing player and is going to do very well for them." (He sounded excited for the fans of N.O. but you could tell Super Mario was their guy.)
Radio guys: "Are you concerned about being able to sign Reggie Bush."
New Orleans GM: "Very concerned. It isn't going to be easy."
things the make you go Hmmmmmmmmm