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State of the O-line

Number19 said:
Depends on if we carry four on the 53. There’s Quessenberry, Lamm and someone named Jake Rodgers competing for that forth spot.
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What you have something against a guy and his 5 different NFL practice squads in 2017?
 
beerlover said:
Not sure, too early, way to early to tell but since Davenport has some experience already playing LT he should have the edge as starter. Rankin has experience and is comfortable playing Left or right side I'm betting he will be starting RT. Allen is ahead in system and should showcase much better consistency @ LG. Martin is already proven best Center on this roster leaving Fulton and Fuller to fight it out for starting RG position. Others will get spot duty affording rest to starters, specific match-ups and or injury's, hopefully just the nagging kind not season ending.

LT - Davenport/ Lamm
LG - Allen/ Kelemete
C - Martin/ Mancz
RG - Fulton/ Fuller
RT - Rankin/ Henderson
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BL, like the post but I'm going to politely disagree with you in regards to Center. Mancz was much better in his full season as starter versus Martin's crack as starter last season. If this season is truly an open competition, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Mancz was to beat Martin out at Center...if he's allowed to compete at the Center position.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
BL, like the post but I'm going to politely disagree with you in regards to Center. Mancz was much better in his full season as starter versus Martin's crack as starter last season. If this season is truly an open competition, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Mancz was to beat Martin out at Center...if he's allowed to compete at the Center position.
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Agree.
Mancz's 2016 campaign should have solidified him at Center, but Texans were so underdone along that line that they had to try something.
Moving Mancz was not the right move imo - if you have a good piece, you leave it there and build around it. That way at least you have one piece of the puzzle in the right place.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
BL, like the post but I'm going to politely disagree with you in regards to Center. Mancz was much better in his full season as starter versus Martin's crack as starter last season. If this season is truly an open competition, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Mancz was to beat Martin out at Center...if he's allowed to compete at the Center position.
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And if he can stay healthy.
 
Number19 said:
And if he can stay healthy.
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I caught myself wondering if he would've gotten injured last season if he was starting at C versus playing RG even though he'd essentially replaced Allen as the starter. I wish O'Brien and Devlin had called Martin in and let him know before the end of the 2016 season, that Mancz was going to be the starting C going forward so they could fully prepare him to take the RG position in 2017.
 
At this point in time I guess you could say I'm not optimistic but just somewhat curious to see how this will all get sorted out as to who plays what position. I am hopeful that this line will be better than last years. I just can't say with any certainty that it will be. Right now it just looks better on paper. Whoever is picked to fill the positions I still expect some initial problems in the 1st several weeks until the players can get settled in and get use to playing with each other. That's where Watson's awareness and ability to evade the rush will probably have to do until the O-line can gel and start playing as a cohesive unit. I just hope he can stay healthy for the season and that this O-line can develop into a solid unit that can give him the protection he needs.

My guess as to who will fill what position based on what I know now....

LT Davenport, (Henderson or Rankin at Swing)
LG Allen, Kelemete
OC Mancz or Martin
RG Fulton, Fuller
RT Henderson or Rankin
 
OptimisticTexan said:
BL, like the post but I'm going to politely disagree with you in regards to Center. Mancz was much better in his full season as starter versus Martin's crack as starter last season. If this season is truly an open competition, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Mancz was to beat Martin out at Center...if he's allowed to compete at the Center position.
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Texansphan said:
Agree.
Mancz's 2016 campaign should have solidified him at Center, but Texans were so underdone along that line that they had to try something.
Moving Mancz was not the right move imo - if you have a good piece, you leave it there and build around it. That way at least you have one piece of the puzzle in the right place.
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I'll revisit our previous conversation:

OptimisticTexan said:
BL, like the post but I'm going to politely disagree with you in regards to Center. Mancz was much better in his full season as starter versus Martin's crack as starter last season. If this season is truly an open competition, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Mancz was to beat Martin out at Center...if he's allowed to compete at the Center position.
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CloakNNNdagger said:
He sustained a high ankle sprain/fracture just before his 2016 rookie year. His rookie year essentially was entirely lost. In 2017, Mancz's knee was already becoming sore, sending up red flags, which ended up having him miss weeks 4 through 6 and the Bye and missing several more games or being severely hobbled the rest of the year. O'Brien had little option other than Martin.
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Now, we'll also have Martin trying to come back from his 2nd high ankle ligament tear with fracture. It's going to be a toss up as to who can show decent performance and stay on the field at any line position this season.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I'll revisit our previous conversation:




Now, we'll also have Martin trying to come back from his 2nd high ankle ligament tear with fracture. It's going to be a toss up as to who can show decent performance and stay on the field at any line position this season.
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Any update on Kyle Fuller the Baylor center who injured hamstring last season? He may be better option if Manz or Martin cannot handle.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I'll revisit our previous conversation:




Now, we'll also have Martin trying to come back from his 2nd high ankle ligament tear with fracture. It's going to be a toss up as to who can show decent performance and stay on the field at any line position this season.
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Well, we have Kyle Fuller.
 
badboy said:
Any update on Kyle Fuller the Baylor center who injured hamstring last season? He may be better option if Manz or Martin cannot handle.
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No real update. The hamstring he suffered in early Oct "hamstrung" him the rest of the season. Last year, he played some on STs and when he finally returned from the hamstring for the last 3 games of the season, with the hamstring still bothering him, out of necessity he was plugged in at guard. At Baylor, because of their type of offense, the OL didn't have to hold but a couple of seconds. His OL play with the Texans exposed his poor blocking. Hamstrings very unpredictable, but once a player has a severe one, it isn't surprising to have them reappear in future seasons. Just one more big question OL mark going into the season.
 
ArlingtonTexan said:
What you have something against a guy and his 5 different NFL practice squads in 2017?
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The closest to real competition that he ever got was when he was placed in the last preseason game in 2016 when he was with the Giants...............he left the game with a high ankle sprain and was given an injury settlement before being release just a few days later.

Today, he has been released by the Texans.
 
JB said:
We also have Fulton which may be the best option to start the year


LT Davenport
LG Allen
OC Fulton
RG Kelemante
RT Rankin

Texans will also carry 4 or 5 swing OL...

versatility has been a key factor in all their additions
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Interesting no Martin or Mancz

If it do play out like this, does it mean Martin was a bust?
 
TheKDog said:
I think the only for sure big upgrade is Fulton.

Can't count on a rookie, and Kelemente is pretty mediocre, probably just a small upgrade over xsf.

Henderson is probably worse than Breno and Clark.

A lot will ride on the guys we already had (Davenport, Martin, Mancz, Allen) improving.
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Way to piss in everyone's cheerio's ..... It's hard to imagine anyone playing worse than those two last year.


Mancz and Martin - apparently OB doesn't think either of them can play OG any better than XSF did last season and that was piss poor to worse. (otherwise we'd have seen it)


Expecting Allen to improve is asking a lot of an aging veteran , at this point that zebra aint gonna change his stripes.


Davenport .... He's probably our only hope for a competent LT and I think that's asking an awful lot of him.


Max said:
I feel similarly about Lamm as I did about Keenum - I think that there's potential there and would like to see more of him before we let him go.
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That's how I felt about Lamm last year ..... then last year happens and man he looked BAD. He looked really good , solid technically in camp ....
 
My fear in regards to Davenport starting at LT, if he gets beat and it could be often, then there will probably be some ugly holding penalties that kill great plays by Watson. I'm hoping that he has a great camp and carries the momentum into the season.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
My fear in regards to Davenport starting at LT, if he gets beat and it could be often, then there will probably be some ugly holding penalties that kill great plays by Watson. I'm hoping that he has a great camp and carries the momentum into the season.
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For better or worse it looks like the LT spot is Davenport's to lose. Personally, I'm pulling for the kid to have a good year and stabilize that LT spot. I'm sure he will take his lumps and have some bad plays that everyone will harp on and say, "see I told you he couldn't play LT!" But, over the course of the season I hope he improves play by play and game by game until he can be at least a competent and solid NFL LT by season's end. If he does, he'll lock down the position for years! JMO.
 
Insideop said:
For better or worse it looks like the LT spot is Davenport's to lose. Personally, I'm pulling for the kid to have a good year and stabilize that LT spot. I'm sure he will take his lumps and have some bad plays that everyone will harp on and say, "see I told you he couldn't play LT!" But, over the course of the season I hope he improves play by play and game by game until he can be at least a competent and solid NFL LT by season's end. If he does, he'll lock down the position for years! JMO.
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If he can accomplish this, it certainly changes the direction of the 2019 NFL Draft...otherwise, LT, DE and probably RB will be a top priority. OLB could be on the radar depending on how things shake out with Clowney and Mercilus.
 
Insideop said:
For better or worse it looks like the LT spot is Davenport's to lose. Personally, I'm pulling for the kid to have a good year and stabilize that LT spot. I'm sure he will take his lumps and have some bad plays that everyone will harp on and say, "see I told you he couldn't play LT!" But, over the course of the season I hope he improves play by play and game by game until he can be at least a competent and solid NFL LT by season's end. If he does, he'll lock down the position for years! JMO.
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You've been conditioned to have lowered expectations.
 
Insideop said:
For better or worse it looks like the LT spot is Davenport's to lose. Personally, I'm pulling for the kid to have a good year and stabilize that LT spot. I'm sure he will take his lumps and have some bad plays that everyone will harp on and say, "see I told you he couldn't play LT!" But, over the course of the season I hope he improves play by play and game by game until he can be at least a competent and solid NFL LT by season's end. If he does, he'll lock down the position for years! JMO.
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This is exactly what I posted after watching him in college. His long arms will also help. A strict pocket passer would not be helpful to Big D but Watson is the just right porridge.
 
We just need 2-3 'hits' this season for our top three picks next year to be exciting. Even if Mathieu leaves we should be comfortable at safety (Hal and Justin Reid). Corners should be good as should WR. OGs and RT (Rankins if not an extended Henderson) should be plush so at worst we can move up compared to this draft to select any needs. As of now 2019 after top 51 cap space will be $64 million; not including the current $35 million possible roll over to 2019 AND if Kevin Johnson recover his rookie plays we have another season to evaluate/train up corners. If he isn't the guy, we cut him before game one 2019 and add his $9 million to cap.

I remain hopeful we will be able to strengthen our depth with cut players in the next 2-3 months.

A possible 2019 o line of Davenport LT, Fulton RG, Martin C, Kyle Fuller RG and Rankins at RT would be sweet. Heck I wouldn't be stunned if we saw this sometime this season.
 
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Allen is out, so I guess they are counting on Kelemente and Henderson to start (unless rookie Rankin can take one of those spots).

LT - Davenport
LG - Kelemete
C - Martin/ Mancz
RG - Fulton
RT - Henderson
?? - Rankin
 
TheKDog said:
Allen is out, so I guess they are counting on Kelemente and Henderson to start (unless rookie Rankin can take one of those spots).

LT - Davenport
LG - Kelemete
C - Martin/ Mancz
RG - Fulton
RT - Henderson
?? - Rankin
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I think Kelemete will be an excellent fit at LG. Moves very well in space. I am thinking Rankin will beat out Henderson and be our RT week 1.
 
The Texans worked out former Washington offensive lineman Kevin Bowen on Tuesday today. He is huge at 6'9' 346#. He was an udfa in 2016. He was waived in TC with an injury designation (injury was not disclosed), then re-signed and placed on IR. The next year, he sustained a significant ankle injury in OTAs and went through the same process that he underwent in 2016. He has never made it beyond PS. His release by the Redskins was in March.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
The Texans worked out former Washington offensive lineman Kevin Bowen on Tuesday today. He is huge at 6'9' 346#. He was an udfa in 2016. He was waived in TC with an injury designation (injury was not disclosed), then re-signed and placed on IR. The next year, he sustained a significant ankle injury in OTAs and went through the same process that he underwent in 2016. He has never made it beyond PS. His release by the Redskins was in March.
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It's "scrap heap" time again for the Texans O-line! This is about the same time they picked up Giacomini last year but I guess they had to do something since KJ Malone decided to retire after the Rookie Mini Camp. They need bodies in there for all the reps in OTA's and TC. Hopefully, they can find somebody that will stick on the Practice Squad at least so they can try do have some depth at the position for the season. Who knows, maybe that player might develop into a decent enough O-lineman to give them some that needed depth. Welcome Kevin Bowen! It's your turn under the microscope! Let's see what you can do!
 
Insideop said:
It's "scrap heap" time again for the Texans O-line! This is about the same time they picked up Giacomini last year but I guess they had to do something since KJ Malone decided to retire after the Rookie Mini Camp. They need bodies in there for all the reps in OTA's and TC. Hopefully, they can find somebody that will stick on the Practice Squad at least so they can try do have some depth at the position for the season. Who knows, maybe that player might develop into a decent enough O-lineman to give them some that needed depth. Welcome Kevin Bowen! It's your turn under the microscope! Let's see what you can do!
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Great

Signed another backup OL.

SMH

Actually I think the guy from Cincinnati may become a player.
 
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