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edo783

Hall of Fame
You know and I know our running game is trash. Now some of that is due SOMEWHAT to the O-line, but way short of all of it.

There is a very strong rumor in Pittsburg that they are very unhappy with Lev Bell. They are very pleased with his backup who is doing very well. The new kid is working for ~850K for the season. Lev is currently at ~900K per GAME. Lev wants to be paid ~ 17 Mill per year on a new contract and Pitt is adamant they aren't paying it. Pitt apparently may be willing to let him go. We could package a player like JD and say a 3rd round pick next year as an incentive. We offer Bell his 17 for 3 years fully guaranteed. Yes, that is WAY overpaying for an RB, but Bell is much more than just an RB. We offload the need for a new contract for JD in the process.

We have the means of making it work and there is no doubt he would add a dynamic component to our offense that we are now missing.
 
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I mentioned this a month ago, but we can sign Le'Veon Bell as an unrestricted free agent next off-season. And the Texans certainly have the cap space to pay him whatever he wants. The Texans were also mentioned as his #1 landing spot next off-season from a well written Steelers Wire USA article.

Or are you suggesting to trade for him right now?
That would be interesting but why not just wait?
I'm not down for trading JD for him like you said. No way!

I expect Le'Veon Bell to be a Texan next year.
Never really had him in our plans for 2018.
From 2019 to 2023. Sure, he'll help us win a few Super Bowls.
 
I'd like us too sign him in 2019 for sure. Our biggest needs imo (as of right now) are cb, o-line and rb. In that order. From what I understand the 2019 free-agent class is quite underwhelming as far as cbs and o-line;however, arguably the best back in the league will be free game and we have the cash to spend. I'd sign bell and try to fill other needs via draft.
 
There's a guy in Pflugerville who makes divining rods. Y'all sure need to head over to replace your broken issue.

Although I like JD for Bell in terms of 2 similar sized contracts, one with dwindling health chances for a guy with a bigger impact.
 
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Why not offer the extra second rd pick with Braxton and or Kevin Johnson?
Doubt the steelers are even wanting to trade at this point, as I would imagine they are kind of in a "win-now" mentality with big-Ben coming closer to retirement. I wouldn't think they would want to get rid of such a key offensive player, even if it's his last year. With that being said, I suppose everyone has their price.
 
Yes, get him now. Waiting till 19 doesn't do anything for this year. Yes, it would be cheaper to wait, but why. Make a move now.
 
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No thanks he's holding out because he wants to get paid and unless you are planning on breaking the bank plus what you will be giving them in picks/players the price is too steep.
 
Having the best rb in the league on our team sounds good to me. Wouldn't trade JD though. Why not just wait til he's a free agent in 2019?
Tend to agree.
I love JJWatt, but with his mounting injury history, we may need a strong backup in JD.
 
No thanks, i'll wait for this kid next year in the draft and franchise JD for the next 2 years then cut bait.

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no -would not trade JD for Bell and no way I pay that money have it or not for a RB. While Bell's attempts and total yards are impressive his average was only 4.0 last year. I do understand 4.0 for 1300 is better than 4.0 for 800. I'd trade for him but not Clowney and nowhere near what he seems to want. I still think if OBrien would use Miller better he would really improve his stats.
 
No thanks, i'll wait for this kid next year in the draft and franchise JD for the next 2 years then cut bait.

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I do like Anderson from Katy, TX but need more info on his neck injury missing all 2016.
If healthy, I could see a first round for him but not sure I'd do that.
 
Meh he's a shithead and an attention whore. Great player but he's beclowned himself throughout this whole ordeal.

I'm perfectly happy letting him be someone else's problem.
 
Guessing sarcasm was intended here? Either way, it's not difficult to turn an elite rb into a dime a dozen back - just put him behind a terrible OL. I think you'll get more out of a dime a dozen back behind a good OL than an elite back behind a bad OL. I say spend the $ on OL first.
Or put an average dime a dozen back behind an elite line and make the back elite, e.g. Emmit Smith who made it to the HOF.
 
Payton and Emmitt were the most well rounded RB's I've seen play.

# Greatness
I'll give you well-rounded maybe but elite, I don't think so. I think Smiths greatest attribute was durability.
Think of the truly great backs behind that line.
Now you want well-rounded, I'd go with Brian Westbrook: excellent receiver, excellent pass-blocker, gifted running back but unlike Smith played behind a less than stellar OLine.
 
Guessing sarcasm was intended here? Either way, it's not difficult to turn an elite rb into a dime a dozen back - just put him behind a terrible OL. I think you'll get more out of a dime a dozen back behind a good OL than an elite back behind a bad OL. I say spend the $ on OL first.
What o-line do you recommend spending our money on though?
 
"use of his off-hand" ?
I dunno what exactly does that mean ?

The hand not holding the ball. Emmitt was very unusual in rarely swapping which side the ball was carried (95% time carried in left hand). He then used his off hand to guide or direct arms, shoulders coming in to attempt tackles. He'd also stay upright by using it to balance or prop himself on them.

Oh, his start/stop was exceptional as well.
 
What o-line do you recommend spending our money on though?
None this year. Next year possibly upgrading center and one or both OT's through the draft and FA after we see what we have this year. My point was that you're not going to get a good return on investment by spending top $ on a rb right now. I'd rather reserve cap space to overhaul the OL again next year if need be - then look to upgrade the rb position. I think we'll see more return on money spent this way in both our running game and in protecting Watson.
 
Emmitt is perpetually underrated b/c of the talent around him..but he made the offense go...I think his greatest attribute was his vision followed by his balance.
 
LT in his prime in 2003-07...... rushing for 1300+ and catching 50+ passes every year...bannanas

LT was an all-time great and definitely a well-rounded back, but for context:

Emmitt Smith in his prime 1991-1995 averaged over 1600 yards rushing and 55 receptions per year... and scored 92 TD's
 
You know and I know our running game is trash. Now some of that is due SOMEWHAT to the O-line, but way short of all of it.

There is a very strong rumor in Pittsburg that they are very unhappy with Lev Bell. They are very pleased with his backup who is doing very well. The new kid is working for ~850K for the season. Lev is currently at ~900K per GAME. Lev wants to be paid ~ 17 Mill per year on a new contract and Pitt is adamant they aren't paying it. Pitt apparently may be willing to let him go. We could package a player like JD and say a 3rd round pick next year as an incentive. We offer Bell his 17 for 3 years fully guaranteed. Yes, that is WAY overpaying for an RB, but Bell is much more than just an RB. We offload the need for a new contract for JD in the process.

We have the means of making it work and there is no doubt he would add a dynamic component to our offense that we are now missing.

So spend all this money on a RB with a crappy Oline? That makes your high investment on a RB a bad one. Pitt is dong the right thing by not committing long term to him, because he'll likely be damaged goods for the majority of that contract. He wants way to money any way. This would likely be a terrible investment for the Texans especially with such a bad Oline.
 
LT was an all-time great and definitely a well-rounded back, but for context:

Emmitt Smith in his prime 1991-1995 averaged over 1600 yards rushing and 55 receptions per year... and scored 92 TD's

Behind a HOF Oline and other HOF skill players throwing to him and catching balls around him to help out. For the most part LT had very little help on a franchise that had a pretty poor roster for most of his career.
 
LT was an all-time great and definitely a well-rounded back, but for context:

Emmitt Smith in his prime 1991-1995 averaged over 1600 yards rushing and 55 receptions per year... and scored 92 TD's

LT's numbers comparable favorably to Emmitt's in the timeframe you highlighted. Both guys were truly special no doubt. LT was by far more electric though.
 
For the most part LT had very little help on a franchise that had a pretty poor roster for most of his career.

During that time period, 2003-7, LT had (not every player/position every year obviously):

All pro FB
All pro TE
Probowl QBs
Probowl WR
Probowl LT, LG, C
 
During that time period, 2003-7, LT had (not every player/position every year obviously):

All pro FB
All pro TE
Probowl QBs
Probowl WR
Probowl LT, LG, C
And Emmitt didn't...? How many HoF'ers did Emmitt play with again...?
:D
 
And Emmitt didn't...? How many HoF'ers did Emmitt play with again...?
:D
And how many teams passed on those Pro Bowlers and All Pros the Dallas Cowboys had on their offensive line? I want to say that none of them were even selected in the first round. Any team could have drafted some of those guys in the second and third round, much less the first round.

Two time All Pro and six time Pro Bowler, Nate Newton, went undrafted and signed with the Dallas Cowboys from the USFL if I'm not mistaken. Two time Pro Bowler, Mark Tuinei, also went undrafted.

Three time All Pro and six time Pro Bowler, Mark Stephnoski, was a third-round selection. Three time All Pro and four time Pro Bowler, Erik Williams, was also a third-round pick.

Heck, seven time All Pro and eleven time Pro Bowler, not to mention Hall of Famer Larry Allen, one of the best offensive lineman I've ever seen play in the NFL. He was drafted with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the 1994 draft. I remember being in junior high at the time and asking myself, "why did so many teams pass on this mountain of a man?!"

So as you can see, that Dallas Cowboys offensive line, while truly special and a luxury for Emmitt Smith, none of them were first-round picks. Any team could have drafted them. So I don't see why people always bring that up. Like when they say "If Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line for example." Well, the Detroit Lions or any other team could have certainly drafted the same O-Line if their scouting department did their homework.
 
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During that time period, 2003-7, LT had (not every player/position every year obviously):

All pro FB
All pro TE
Probowl QBs
Probowl WR
Probowl LT, LG, C

He had a brief few years with Shotty and Phillips after several years of being a league bottom feeder for a while. Remember they had bad Drew Bree's until Rivers was drafted and then HOF Drew Brees showed up in like year 4 or 5 and SD was finally pretty good. Remember after they got close to the SB and fired Shotty they quickly fizzled out pretty fast from what I remember. The Chargers have just been a pretty crappy ran organization.
 
Too many carries, rb shelf life is short, selfish, and injured a lot. Plus he’s a patient runner which wouldn’t work with our o line
 
So as you can see, that Dallas Cowboys offensive line, while truly special and a luxury for Emmitt Smith, none of them were first-round picks. Any team could have drafted them. So I don't see why people always bring that up. Like when they say "If Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line for example." Well, the Detroit Lions or any other team could have certainly drafted the same O-Line if their scouting department did their homework.

You don't understand why someone would speculate how ridiculous Barry's numbers could've further been running with the mid-90's Cowboys oline?
 
You don't understand why someone would speculate how ridiculous Barry's numbers could've further been running with the mid-90's Cowboys oline?

I've heard the question a million times. A better one would be behind the Terrell Davis Broncos lines. Dallas/Houck ran a designed power run scheme. Sanders' improvisational cutting style seems better suited to ZBS.
 
And how many teams passed on those Pro Bowlers and All Pros the Dallas Cowboys had on their offensive line? I want to say that none of them were even selected in the first round. Any team could have drafted some of those guys in the second and third round, much less the first round.

Two time All Pro and six time Pro Bowler, Nate Newton, went undrafted and signed with the Dallas Cowboys from the USFL if I'm not mistaken. Two time Pro Bowler, Mark Tuinei, also went undrafted.

Three time All Pro and six time Pro Bowler, Mark Stephnoski, was a third-round selection. Three time All Pro and four time Pro Bowler, Erik Williams, was also a third-round pick.

Heck, seven time All Pro and eleven time Pro Bowler, not to mention Hall of Famer Larry Allen, one of the best offensive lineman I've ever seen play in the NFL. He was drafted with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the 1994 draft. I remember being in junior high at the time and asking myself, "why did so many teams pass on this mountain of a man?!"

So as you can see, that Dallas Cowboys offensive line, while truly special and a luxury for Emmitt Smith, none of them were first-round picks. Any team could have drafted them. So I don't see why people always bring that up. Like when they say "If Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line for example." Well, the Detroit Lions or any other team could have certainly drafted the same O-Line if their scouting department did their homework.
This is an excellent essay on how imprecise/inexact the scouting process and the draft is in the NFL. I'm more impressed when GMs/scouts hit than when they miss.
:D
 
I've heard the question a million times. A better one would be behind the Terrell Davis Broncos lines. Dallas/Houck ran a designed power run scheme. Sanders' improvisational cutting style seems better suited to ZBS.

Barry would’ve excelled in any blocking scheme & He only did that kind of cutting when he had to...when there was a hole, he shot through it.

if he’d played behind Dallas’ o-line, he would’ve obliterated the all time rushing record & Dallas probably wins at least 1 more SB.
 
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