Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍
Selection 6.216 Christian Covington, DT Rice
- Thread starter Playoffs
- Start date
But will he be looked back on having had a long and productive career or an untimely short and productive career? It's extremely difficult to go the HOF on a short career.Right or wrong JJ will go down in history as one of the best to ever play the game because of his never quit mentality. I have full confidence JJ will come back next season and be just as dominate as he has been in the past.
The whole Dline should be working out with JJ. Hard for the opponent to win with no QB!
xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
I prefer certain types of guys too, however, as a coach you have to be versatile and be able to mold your system and adjust it to your personnel.
Not going to list out what adjustments I think they can make to get both guys involved in the pass rush along with Watt, but I don't think having both clowney and Mercilus start has to be an issue.
EllisUnit
Vote RED!!!
I'm sure he will have a long productive career, he does all the right things to make sure his body is a 100%.
I hope that's the case, but take note of what the good doctor said about overworking causing degenerative and chronic issues.
bah007
Hall of Fame
That's true to a point but not absolutely. At the high school level we do not get to choose our players. So we are always adapting what we do to fit what we have.
But at the NFL level that's not a necessity for all. For example, Pete Carroll runs a specific scheme on defense and picks his players for the system. If a player does not fit a role in the system Carroll doesn't bring him in.
Romeo has shown versatility in the past so I don't think he is that stuck on a specific scheme. I think he reverts to a specific style because it's most comfortable to him, but I don't think he's married to it.
I don't think it has to be an issue either. For example, if they wanted to mix in some four man fronts, a DL of Mercilus, Covington, Watt, and Clowney could be very dangerous in passing situations.
What I'm worried about is trying to mix the two into the current 34 system without making adjustments. I think that kind of scheme could be effective but would only work situationally, because it's really closer to a 52 than it is to a 34, regardless of where guys are lining up.
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
Even the Texans have referred to him at times as DE..................http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-med...ovington/bec5bf01-1f40-4915-859e-d40e107c6594
xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
I agree it's not a necessity. Texans could have absolutely chosen different types of guys.
However......it's still not an exact science. What I mean is that you can't always predict who your best players will end up being for the immediate year or in the future. Part of coaching is adjusting in the short and long term.
Remember...this staff didn't pick Mercilus. Until vrabel started working with him he didn't really look all that hot. Clowney was their first pick. Once Mercilus starts coming a long that's not something they could automatically bank on. I think the play was to have merciless in a reserve/specialty type role until he showed he deserved to start.
Well now it's either trade one or make it work. If they aren't going to trade one at this point their only option is to make it work in some capacity.
Same thing in high school. If a kid transfers to your school or you have a freshman come in or a guy comes back over the summer and they are unexpectedly better then as a coach you want to maximize that talent.
All that said, I don't believe merciless was bad playing with clowney. I think clowney has the better potential as a weak side player and I think that's why they kept bumping merciless out but if clowney can't stay healthy it's moot anyways.
In this draft I'd look for a more versatile OLB that can step in on the strong side just in case.
I get what you're saying but I think Simon will play the role of backup SAM. Draft capital probably will be spent on the offensive side of the ball and hopefully getting Wilfork/Watt some help on the DL.
They need to add a safety also
xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
I have no idea what the team will do. Just saying what I would do.
delete
Who are you recommending?
What do you think of Justin Simmons? Yeah we should talk this in the draft forum
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
TheRealJoker
Hall of Fame
I have very high expectations for Covington this season. I think he's going to have a breakout year on this defense and be more than "just a guy" on D.
Hell. Didn't know he was Canadian. Now I'm all conflicted about rooting for him.
I wouldn't have broke the bank on him, but I'd have tried to keep him. Rick needs to get better at keeping guys like Crick.
He signed a two year $2M deal with Denver, how much more would it cost to keep him?
We'd be better off with Crick, Covington, & Still rotating opposite JJ Watt, maybe backing up Jj Watt if need be.
But hey... the coaches know. They obviously feel Covington can match Crick's day in day out, every down attitude.
All I'm saying, if the best defense in the league can see paying Jared Crick $2M/yr, why can't we?
I know most of you don't see it this way, but my GM should have been able to sell him on the Texans to keep him for similar money.
Heck, he got their QB for an extra $2M. Surely he could have kept Crick for an extra $500k or so.
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
I believe that Crick was let go because he seldom could take advantage of all the one-on-one matchups he was afforded.
It ain't always about money
Number19
Hall of Fame
He's up to 310 lbs? If he's to stay at NT, fine. But if he's moving to DE, he may need to drop 20 pounds. Says he's kept his speed but I'd be more concerned about his quickness, and 10 yd burst. He'll figure it out in camp. I expect him to win the position battle and to have a marked increase in production, over Crick, this next season
Brandon420tx
Flounder
But if he went up to 310 while maintaining that quickness and burst he'll be a downright force. Plus the weight will help him vs. the run and that might be all Crennel wants out of the other DE spot
sandman
Brexit Advisor
He is listed as 6'2" and 290. Now at 310. I'm an inch shorter and 100 pounds skinnier. Sometimes it is hard to imagine the physiques these guys are able to maintain. Granted I'm mid-40's, but the only way I would ever get that much weight on my frame is with daily trips to Hometown Buffet on a Hoveround.
It depends on what he looks like. If it's spare tire weight, lower body power kinda weight, probably so. But if it's the thick, stocky, top to bottom evened out kinda weight, not so much.
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
The recent pics I've seen of him show that he has bulked up significantly.
Hervoyel
BUENO!
My guess is because we know him and they don't. At least I hope that's what it is about.
sandman
Brexit Advisor
FA's go play for their old coaches all the time. This is pretty norm for the NFL. It's not like Kubes hasn't gotten some of his old players the last two years and Crick was the first. And he won't be the last. There is nothing inherently special about Crick that the Broncos saw and no one else did.
In other words they wanted to upgrade the position which makes sense to me, but what doesn't is them not drafting a player to
replace Crick. Why not use just use a 4th round or 5th round pick. What I find confusing is it looks like they are left with Covington and others on a roster of players that Crick beat out for the starting job last year, therefor one could argue the position that Crick vacated has regressed.
Or they like Covington's progression more than Crick's and feel where Covington will be in 2016 is better than any 4th or 5th rounder in this draft.
Not saying anyone has to agree with any of that, but if the idea is to look for reasoning.
badboy
Hall of Fame
i think bold is answering your own question as Smith thought OS worth it and Crick not. He also did not draft to fill spot so team eval is different than ours. It seems too big a gamble to bet on a vet who can start to be cut and end up on roster so Smith is satisfied with Covington and Devon or he is a better poker player than I think.
Covington was a rookie. Some opined he was a bargain where we got him & that he slid due to injury. He's also young & supposedly still growing.
Maybe they drafted Crick's replacement last year. Like Kjohnson is Jjo's replacement & Reeder is Wilfork's replacement.
It helps our depth if we can retain players like Crick for $2M/yr.
dream_team
Hall of Fame
I think we all agree 2M/year is cheap for an NFL starter. But just like Ben Jones, it's obvious the Texans didn't care to retain those guys. My guess is BOB wanted to go a different direction and simply told Rick to let those guys walk. We'll have to wait and see if it was the right decision.
badboy
Hall of Fame
Come on TK, they obviously believe they have enough depth without Crick. They did not want him even at $2 m. They have a plan whether we see it or not.
powda
The bridge between stupid and useless is short.
Crick showed flashes his freshman (sophomore?) Year and did nothing since.
How many guys get the opportunity to play opposite a potential nfl mvp? Whatever production he got was in part to watt. And he's still a jag? You can pay a guy like crick 2m if you want but why not pay less if you get the same production from someone cheaper?
Crick opposite of watt did what he did. He's probably not even a jag. A jag would've produced more then crick did.
How many guys get the opportunity to play opposite a potential nfl mvp? Whatever production he got was in part to watt. And he's still a jag? You can pay a guy like crick 2m if you want but why not pay less if you get the same production from someone cheaper?
Crick opposite of watt did what he did. He's probably not even a jag. A jag would've produced more then crick did.
It appears that RAC/BOB agree with this assessment.
Personally, I have a problem when we talk about the guy opposite Jj.
What are we talking about? Are we saying the guy should have double digit sacks like Whitney Mercilus, or are we saying the guy should have between 5 & 10 sacks like Antonio Smith?
I think other "DE" in our system should be getting between 5 & 10 sacks, along with all the other things that go with that kind of number; QB pressures, Tackles, TFLs. Crick fell short. However, I thought Antonio earned his money when he was in that 5 & 10 sack range & he was making $8M/yr.
"We" "always" complain that this team has no depth. To me, to fix that problem we need to sign guys like Crick, Barwin, Reed in that $2M~$3M range (I know some of those guys got more, so this is more specifically about Crick) & have a guy threatening to take his spot (Covington/Still).
Maybe the coaches feel Covington can & will slide over & be that 2 to 5 sack guy at minimum, & Still can be the guy threatening to take his spot. I'm fine with that, just taking a wait & see approach. I'd still rather have Crick at $2M & the possibility of Covington & Still beating him out (Still hasn't suited up in over a year).
If we sign a post June 1st cut who is a 2 to 5 sack guy... great. We might save a little money (league minimum is $885K for a four year vet) but that's still more bird in the bush kind of stuff.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
To follow on TK, Gary Walker made the pro bowl on 6.5 sacks. What JJ does isn't normal.
Crick wont be hard to replace. He's an avg/rotational depth piece. I see Wilfork playing 25% of run downs at DE with Reader at NT, if Reader is what we hope he is. (That's about 10 plays a game at DE. I see Pagan/ Heath/FA playing the other 15/20 run downs at DE. On passing downs you will see a bunch of Mercilus/Covington/Watt/Clowney.
I just dont see replacing Crick as a big deal. Certainly not on the level of replacing Barwin/Reed and especially Quin. But I can understand why you are gun shy when it comes to the texans letting their own walk in FA.
Walker and Crick played totally different positions. Apples/Oranges
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
I'm sorry wtf? Gary Walker played 3-4 DE in Houston.