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Cushing

Marcus said:
Not really. Crenel just used him in way that he didn't have to cover anyone.
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While I know we didn't see Cushing @ 100%, I thought he looked substantially better than the last time he was on the field vs Pittsburg. I thought his performance was encouraging.
 
Zero lateral movement. That's his issue. Any half ass RB can jump cut and complete negate Cushing's ability to make a play.
 
Cushing is one of the slowest LBs I've ever seen. He played a bit better than usually yesterday, but that's not saying much. He's just not the same Cushing anymore. He either disappears from the game or whiffs on a tackle. Way overpaid.
 
CretorFrigg said:
Cushing is one of the slowest LBs I've ever seen. He played a bit better than usually yesterday, but that's not saying much. He's just not the same Cushing anymore. He either disappears from the game or whiffs on a tackle. Way overpaid.
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After 2 serious leg injuries that is to be expected. Don't know what many expected when he came back, but he will never be the same guy he once was.
 
EllisUnit said:
After 2 serious leg injuries that is to be expected. Don't know what many expected when he came back, but he will never be the same guy he once was.
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I don't expect him to be as good as he was pre-injury .... But I can see steady improvement.

They say it takes two years to fully recover , he's half way to that ...
 
He wasn't wearing the humungous brace he's been wearing. Maybe he's beginning to gain confidence in that knee again? Who knows, but I'm rooting for him
 
Corrosion said:
I don't expect him to be as good as he was pre-injury .... But I can see steady improvement.

They say it takes two years to fully recover , he's half way to that ...
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The "two year" thing applies to only one knee blowout, not two. And he is still being paid like he was pre-injury.

I expect some very excruciatingly painful and unpopular decisions will be made during this coming offseason to a couple of 'sacred cow' players, if the commitment to win is indeed genuine.
 
HOU-TEX said:
He wasn't wearing the humungous brace he's been wearing. Maybe he's beginning to gain confidence in that knee again? Who knows, but I'm rooting for him
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This was the thing that jumped out at me with him. That brace seemed to inhibit him alot. He didn't have it on yesterday...you could tell though he had a lower profile 1 on underneath his uniform and that seemed to make a little bit of difference.

He's not completely back...still a bit too slow, but he looked light years better than he had been looking.
 
Mr teX said:
This was the thing that jumped out at me with him. That brace seemed to inhibit him alot. He didn't have it on yesterday...you could tell though he had a lower profile 1 on underneath his uniform and that seemed to make a little bit of difference.

He's not completely back...still a bit too slow, but he looked light years better than he had been looking.
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I agree. But admittedly, I thought he was getting better up until he shat the field a couple weeks ago.

I don't know if he'll ever be the real Cush again, but I hope he continues to progress and contribute in run D.
 
CretorFrigg said:
Cushing is one of the slowest LBs I've ever seen. He played a bit better than usually yesterday, but that's not saying much. He's just not the same Cushing anymore. He either disappears from the game or whiffs on a tackle. Way overpaid.
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CLEVELAND – Brian Cushing’s return made an immediate impact.

The veteran linebacker delivered several powerful hits and regained his form. Cushing forced a fumble during the second quarter and finished with five tackles and two quarterback hits.

“It is good to have Brian Cushing back for a lot of reasons,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “Obviously, because of the way he plays but also what he brings to our team in the locker room before the game, at halftime and the intensity and leadership.”
http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexan...esence-felt-in-return-from-injury/#28480101=0
***
As you know the Chronicle is the final authority, so here's their take on Cushing game yesterday.
 
Cushing only had 28 snaps in the Colts game........had no stats.......was tripping all over himself........and showed absolutely no lateral movement.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Cushing only had 28 snaps in the Colts game........had no stats.......was tripping all over himself........and showed absolutely no lateral movement.
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I saw that as well. A couple blitzes he missed the QB and all I was thinking was :"Cushing two years ago destroys Luck in that scenario"
 
DX-TEX said:
I saw that as well. A couple blitzes he missed the QB and all I was thinking was :"Cushing two years ago destroys Luck in that scenario"
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Good thing he didn't though. That would have caused more flags to be thrown.
:runaway:
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Cushing only had 28 snaps in the Colts game........had no stats.......was tripping all over himself........and showed absolutely no lateral movement.
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Without having re-watched the game, I'd guess it was due to being primarily in a nickel or dime defense.
 
Earlier in the week in the rumor mill, we discussed how Brian Cushing could be a candidate to restructure his contract with the Texans. That is still on the table, but Cushing's contract could keep him from being a cap casualty because of the dead money it would inflict on the salary cap if he were cut. Cushing could help his team by lowering his cap figure. After an underwhelming 2014 season, it seems warranted.
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http://walterfootball.com/seniorbowl2015rumors4.php
 
Playoffs said:
http://walterfootball.com/seniorbowl2015rumors4.php
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There's not a whole lot that can be done. His cap hit for 2015 is $7.9 mil. $1.6 is prorated signing bonus and $1.2 is prorated option bonus. Another $1.1 is roster bonus paid on a per game basis. That leaves his base salary of $4 mil (which is part of his guaranteed money). They could change that to league minimum and a prorated bonus over the remainder of the contract but that ups his hit in the next 3 years (about .75 mil per year) and only frees up about $2.25 mil. Cutting him isn't a realistic threat/option since there is $13.6 mil dead money
 
I don't want to turn this into a bash Rick Smith thread, but how can you write up a contract that locks a team into a player, but gives the team no avenue to provide cap relief via a restructure? Dumbfounding.
 
Lucky said:
I don't want to turn this into a bash Rick Smith thread, but how can you write up a contract that locks a team into a player, but gives the team no avenue to provide cap relief via a restructure? Dumbfounding.
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Cuz they were in such a hurry to show how smart they were by extending him before another injury hit... :kitten:
 
Lucky said:
I don't want to turn this into a bash Rick Smith thread, but how can you write up a contract that locks a team into a player, but gives the team no avenue to provide cap relief via a restructure? Dumbfounding.
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JB said:
Cuz they were in such a hurry to show how smart they were by extending him before another injury hit... :kitten:
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They set it up for an option out after 2013 but they didn't exercise the get out. It's more expensive to get rid of him now than it would have been then in terms of dead money. The per game roster bonus was a tiny bit smart.
 
Playoffs said:
http://walterfootball.com/seniorbowl2015rumors4.php
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11-9-08-captain_obvious.jpg
 
infantrycak said:
They set it up for an option out after 2013 but they didn't exercise the get out. It's more expensive to get rid of him now than it would have been then in terms of dead money. The per game roster bonus was a tiny bit smart.
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Joseph and Cushing were the first contracts that I had see the Texans use the Option Bonus structure. Watt's didn't have it set that way. Seems finally getting smart and getting away from the big SB & Option Bonus deals.

The Texans did recoup some of the signing bonus money given to Cushing after missing so much time in 2013...was done through insurance.
 
infantrycak said:
They set it up for an option out after 2013 but they didn't exercise the get out. It's more expensive to get rid of him now than it would have been then in terms of dead money. The per game roster bonus was a tiny bit smart.
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Yep,

That Rick Smith is a brilliant guy.
 
JB said:
Cuz they were in such a hurry to show how smart they were by extending him before another injury hit... :kitten:
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That assessment is fully justified. Blowing that much future commitment on somebody so obviously injury prone had to be the stupidest move in the history of professional sports.
 
Seegara said:
That assessment is fully justified. Blowing that much future commitment on somebody so obviously injury prone had to be the stupidest move in the history of professional sports.
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Well thinking someone can predict this kind of injury is right up there as well.
 
thunderkyss said:
Well thinking someone can predict this kind of injury is right up there as well.
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There was nothing to predict as he was already coming off an injury. You take a one year flier or give an incentive laden contract that's team friendly. Both of which could then be redone after he proves he can stay healthy...none of which happened but hey he's getting paid on the sidelines.
 
PapaL said:
There was nothing to predict as he was already coming off an injury. You take a one year flier or give an incentive laden contract that's team friendly. Both of which could then be redone after he proves he can stay healthy...none of which happened but hey he's getting paid on the sidelines.
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He played more snaps than any of the other ILBs.
 
Troy Chapman said:
I think TK was saying that Cushing played the most snaps at ILB in 2014.
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That's the way I took it. I'm anxious to see if he continues to regain the form he showed toward the end of the season after a "slow" start. He might not be where he was before 2012, but he certainly improved over his start this season.
 
Marshall said:
That's the way I took it. I'm anxious to see if he continues to regain the form he showed toward the end of the season after a "slow" start. He might not be where he was before 2012, but he certainly improved over his start this season.
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The last two games he looked more confident in his knees, could tell he was turning quicker and lateral movement was better.

I think a healthy offseason, instead of focusing on rehab, might be the best thing for him. Too early to cut bait with him, regardless of cap situation IMO.
 
Troy Chapman said:
The last two games he looked more confident in his knees, could tell he was turning quicker and lateral movement was better.

I think a healthy offseason, instead of focusing on rehab, might be the best thing for him. Too early to cut bait with him, regardless of cap situation IMO.
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Really looked like he was lost most of the time as well. Like he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. Maybe another off-season with RAC & Vrabel will help him figure it out.
 
Troy Chapman said:
I was commenting on his agility and movement...not playmaking.
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I don't think his lateral ability improved any. Downhill he was fine but if it involved running and cutting he was usually tumbling to the ground when he cut.

Playing the most snaps a ILB doesn't mean much to me. How effective was he? How was his pass coverage? Not very and bad are the answers.

I'd be trying to rework his deal with an eye on replacing him. Going into his 7th year and has played all 16 games twice. It sucks but we need better play from that position.
 
PapaL said:
I don't think his lateral ability improved any. Downhill he was fine but if it involved running and cutting he was usually tumbling to the ground when he cut.

Playing the most snaps a ILB doesn't mean much to me. How effective was he? How was his pass coverage? Not very and bad are the answers.

I'd be trying to rework his deal with an eye on replacing him. Going into his 7th year and has played all 16 games twice. It sucks but we need better play from that position.
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I'll disagree based on the tape I saw.

But I will admit that I am being optimistic (maybe overly) and hoping that Cushing continues his progress into being a productive player in 2015. Unfortunately there is not much room to work on his contract as noted a few posts back.
 
PapaL said:
I don't think his lateral ability improved any. Downhill he was fine but if it involved running and cutting he was usually tumbling to the ground when he cut.

Playing the most snaps a ILB doesn't mean much to me. How effective was he? How was his pass coverage? Not very and bad are the answers.

I'd be trying to rework his deal with an eye on replacing him. Going into his 7th year and has played all 16 games twice. It sucks but we need better play from that position.
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"No thanks. I am still guaranteed $5 m for 2015. Cut me and it costs you $13.6 million dead money and I will spend the year rehabbing and waiting for a team needing 72 tackles to offer me five years $25 million." Brian Cushing
 
badboy said:
"No thanks. I am still guaranteed $5 m for 2015. Cut me and it costs you $13.6 million dead money and I will spend the year rehabbing and waiting for a team needing 72 tackles to offer me five years $25 million." Brian Cushing
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Wonder if his contract has offset salary language or not.
 
badboy said:
"No thanks. I am still guaranteed $5 m for 2015. Cut me and it costs you $13.6 million dead money and I will spend the year rehabbing and waiting for a team needing 72 tackles to offer me five years $25 million." Brian Cushing
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He's obviously going to be on the roster this year. Doesn't mean you can't bring someone else in.

I'm sure people will be beating his door down for 5 tackles a game from an ILB with bad wheels.

This is the year he either shits or gets off the pot. Might as well bring in a young guy to learn from him.
 
PapaL said:
I wonder if there's some injury insurance. Retire and get it all.

*Edit*
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/brian-cushing/

2014 Salary guaranteed for injury only
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I think that was a typo should say 2015. Look at the bullet item before that saying '14 & '15 is guaranteed.

Houston Texans have already received some money back from the original signing bonus due to time missed from injuries. Yes the 2015 salary is GTD for injury only but will likely become fully guaranteed around mid april (per Joel Corry)....basically his 2015 salary is guaranteed no matter how you look at it.

Since the team has already recouped some of the SB money paid, there is definitely insurance available in the contract.
 
thunderkyss said:
When someone uses the words "as well" to their comments, it means... "in addition to" or "I agree with what you're saying, & I'll add..."
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Except he was saying something positive, and your "as well" added a negative which kind of doesn't make sense given the context.

Troy Chapman: Billy Bob's blood pressure and cholesterol are much better than a year ago.

Thunderkyss: And he has cancer as well.

See - just doesn't quite do it.
 
ChampionTexan said:
Except he was saying something positive, and your "as well" added a negative which kind of doesn't make sense given the context.

Troy Chapman: Billy Bob's blood pressure and cholesterol are much better than a year ago.

Thunderkyss: And he has cancer as well.

See - just doesn't quite do it.
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Maybe I worded it wrong, I didn't mean it any more negatively than Troy saying Brian didn't have confidence in his knee before the last few games. The point was Troy Chapman said an off season where he isn't worrying about rehab could help.

I agreed, since it would give him time to learn it on the field instead of the mental reps he was doing last off season.
 
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