A few Questions

[Crazy Canuck]

This is my first post on the site. Being from Canada I am not able to find alot of Texan information so I was happy when I found this page (I only wish I found it a few years ago). This will hopefully be the first of many more posts.

Where do we begin??? How does a guy from Canada choose the Texans to be his favorite team? I thought it would be very cool to follow a team from birth to a superbowl (hopefully ** this is something I am sure I share with many of you). My brother in law also lives in Houston which gives me the opportunity to see a game or 2 when I am down to visit. Knowing that we were an expansion team just a few years ago has lowered my expectations of what I had hoped for the team. My hope was to see the team improve every year, which had happened and still could this year, but I am really starting to have my doubts. This is where my questions will begin, because I am only able to see the team on game day I was hoping some of you might be able to answer a few of these questions.

1. Jamie Sharper - How and when did we lose this guy? I consider him to be one of the top 10 LB's in the game. If we lost him before the draft why did we not adjust our strategy? This leads me into my next question.

2. The Draft - I know we drafted the top rated DT in Travis Johnson, how has he been doing this year? I have yet to notice him. - Why did we not draft more defensive players? I believe we took a RB in the 3rd round and then a couple more offensive players after him. DD is 24 or 25 years old and still has plenty of good years left in him, I know some will say that he gets injured quite a bit, but we have more pressing needs, we can't stop anybody!!! If anything we could use some help on the line to protect Carr, or perhaps another receiver, but another RB, it doesn't make sense to me.

3. The new OC - Who is he, and what sort of style does he employ?


Those are just a few of my thoughts and questions... I will be down for the Indy game and hope the team has turned things around by then.

CC

 

[Scottyboy]

Hey, Good to see a True Fan way up North!! I totally understand your doubts of the team. All of us are scratching are heads on Charlie C's Offseason moves! THe O-line was our main focus, and we did nothing to improve it! Bad move you're right. Another bad move, - Ditching Jamie Sharper, I mean we could have aleast traded him or something!!! THink we could have got a good draft pick of a starting Tackle for Sharper, Glenn, and a #3 pick.
So this leads me to belive Charlie C. is just going threw the motions, trying to keep the salary cap down, so he can put more dough in his pocket. Dont really think he gives 2 damns about this team! Just shows up to collect his 6 figure pay check!

Unfortuantley this team needs more coaching, and a new GM!! or a coach who could take over both duties, I like those kind of coaches who pick their players!

Don't know much about this new O.Coordinator's style. But he's one of Capers old cronies from Carolina, and both of them got the boot from the Panthers!! Im with you, I hope he lights a fire under Carrs Ars, and they shoe up and have a great game in Cincy!! Anywayz man, thanks for being such a cool fan!! GO TEXANS!

 

[FILO_girl]

This is my first post on the site. Being from Canada I am not able to find alot of Texan information so I was happy when I found this page (I only wish I found it a few years ago). This will hopefully be the first of many more posts.

Where do we begin??? How does a guy from Canada choose the Texans to be his favorite team? I thought it would be very cool to follow a team from birth to a superbowl (hopefully ** this is something I am sure I share with many of you). My brother in law also lives in Houston which gives me the opportunity to see a game or 2 when I am down to visit. Knowing that we were an expansion team just a few years ago has lowered my expectations of what I had hoped for the team. My hope was to see the team improve every year, which had happened and still could this year, but I am really starting to have my doubts. This is where my questions will begin, because I am only able to see the team on game day I was hoping some of you might be able to answer a few of these questions.

1. Jamie Sharper - How and when did we lose this guy? I consider him to be one of the top 10 LB's in the game. If we lost him before the draft why did we not adjust our strategy? This leads me into my next question.

2. The Draft - I know we drafted the top rated DT in Travis Johnson, how has he been doing this year? I have yet to notice him. - Why did we not draft more defensive players? I believe we took a RB in the 3rd round and then a couple more offensive players after him. DD is 24 or 25 years old and still has plenty of good years left in him, I know some will say that he gets injured quite a bit, but we have more pressing needs, we can't stop anybody!!! If anything we could use some help on the line to protect Carr, or perhaps another receiver, but another RB, it doesn't make sense to me.

3. The new OC - Who is he, and what sort of style does he employ?


Those are just a few of my thoughts and questions... I will be down for the Indy game and hope the team has turned things around by then.

CC

Please don't bring up Jamie Sharper. It is still a sore subject with me.

Welcome to our little cyber Texans home, pull up a keyboard and stay awhile.

 

[OzzO]

Welcome to the site, to answer your questions.....

1. Sharper was let go this past offseason. He had a back loaded contract that was coming due and "age and speed" was a factor with the coaches. He had numerous tackles as that's how our defense is set up for the run, however most note that his tackles came after yards gained.

2. TJ has been doing decent. Nothing much earth shattering yet, but it's still a bit early to tell since just drafted. Some feel DJ should've been taken before TJ (and is at the moment putting up better numbers) but the response was he would not have fit our defensive system.

3. Pendry is the new OC... probably do some searching on the board or over the 'net to form your own opinion. Depending on what happens from here on out will determine if he keeps the position next year.

 

[Exascor]

1: Jamie Sharper made a lot of tackles. If that is what it takes to be a top 10 LB then I guess both he AND Foreman should have been rated top 10. Point is that a LB has more responsiblities than tackling. Both were weak as pass coverage. Most of their tackles came 4+ yards downfield. I'm not excited that we received nothing for Sharper but he had a large contract that would have made trading him difficult.

2: I never really know what the Texans are thinking in the draft past round 1. I was shocked that we traded down rather than taking DJ. TJ didn't thrill me but seemed like a solid choice. TJ will start this week so we should see more of him than the last 2 games.

3: Pendry was known for a conservative offense in Carolina when he was with Capers. I believe he had fairly successful offenses in Buffalo. I expect the conservative approach to become even more apparent now. I'm fine with that as long as it's successful.

 

[ojthecat]

Where in Canada are you from?

 

[Lucky]

3. The new OC - Who is he, and what sort of style does he employ?

Good questions. Many may think they know the answers to, but no one really does. One thing about Pendry is that he has a track record. 10 seasons as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, all under defensive-minded coaches. Here's a breakdown of the offenses Pendry has led in the past:

2000 - Buffalo – Total Offense (9th), Passing (9th), Rushing (13th)
1999 - Buffalo – Total Offense (12th), Passing (22nd), Rushing (8th)
1998 - Buffalo – Total Offense (7th), Passing (12th), Rushing (3rd)
1997 – Carolina - Total Offense (26th), Passing (25th), Rushing (15th)
1996 – Carolina - Total Offense (23rd), Passing (20th), Rushing (15th)
1995 – Carolina - Total Offense (27th), Passing (25th), Rushing (20th)
1992 – Kansas City - Total Offense (25th), Passing (19th), Rushing (23rd)
1991 – Kansas City - Total Offense (6th), Passing (18th), Rushing (3rd)
1990 – Kansas City - Total Offense (8th), Passing (10th), Rushing (10th)
1989 - Kansas City - Total Offense (15th), Passing (25h), Rushing (4th)

In evaluating Pendry's offenses, I'd toss out the Carolina years. Most of the Panther talent was on the defensive side of the ball. Kerry Collins was young and inconsistent (rather than old & inconsistent), while Tim Biakabutuka was an epic bust at RB.

In Buffalo, he presided over the Doug Flutie/Rob Johnson fued (he favored Johnson). The Bills offensive numbers were good, but how much of their success was due to Flutie & Johnson making plays outside of the offense? One thing that should be noted is how WR Eric Moulds flourished under Pendry.

Certainly, Pendry's offenses in KC were run oriented. But that's not surprising since the Chiefs' most talented offensive players at the time were RBs Christian Okoye & Barry Word. What would you do as the OC? Let Steve DeBerg or Dave Krieg pass or handoff to the Nigerian Nightmare?

FWIW, Pendry has been the OC on only two losing teams in 10 seasons (both 7-9 years in Carolina). Maybe his offenses weren't the primary reasons for the victories, but they didn't make the teams lose either. And that's with mostly journeyman QBs like DeBerg, Krieg, Beuerlein, Flutie, & Johnson. Kerry Collins had talent, but his head wasn't exactly screwed on straight. You'd think that Pendry would look forward to working with a QB with Carr's abilities and may want to take advantage of them.

There are a couple of things I've noticed regarding Pendry's use of RBs. One, he likes to use RBs as receivers. So look for Domanick to be a primary receiver this Sunday. Also, Pendry likes the RB by committee approach. I'm thinking that Morency gets his 1st NFL carry (or 10) in Cincy.

I think the final thing to remember is that Pendry will be using Palmer’s playbook. It’s not really his offense, so to expect major changes isn’t realistic. What I’m guessing that Pendry will try to do is find the things Carr, AJ, & Davis can do well & exploit them.

 

[Vinny]

There are a couple of things I've noticed regarding Pendry's use of RBs. One, he likes to use RBs as receivers. So look for Domanick to be a primary receiver this Sunday. Also, Pendry likes the RB by committee approach. I'm thinking that Morency gets his 1st NFL carry (or 10) in Cincy.

good stuff and I think we agree with that rbbc thing. Pendry was the Running backs coach with the Browns before he became the OC at KC with Shottenheimer. Mack and Byner were the first backs in NFL history to have 1000 yard seasons in the same year. One thing we do not have is a dominating defense however....most of Pendry's old gigs had some pretty solid defensive teams that led to a pounding, conservative running scheme flourishing. It's hard to run the ball when you are behind all the time.

 

[touttail]

1. Jamie Sharper - How and when did we lose this guy? I consider him to be one of the top 10 LB's in the game. If we lost him before the draft why did we not adjust our strategy? This leads me into my next question.

Individual Defense
Total Tackles Assists Sacks Fum Rec
Jamie Sharper 18 13.0 5 0 0
Michael Boulware 15 12.0 3 1 0

bobby 119C

 

[touttail]

1. Jamie Sharper - How and when did we lose this guy? I consider him to be one of the top 10 LB's in the game. If we lost him before the draft why did we not adjust our strategy? This leads me into my next question.

Individual Defense---3 games
Total Tackles Assists Sacks Fum Rec
Jamie Sharper 18 13.0 5 0 0
Michael Boulware 15 12.0 3 1 0


Individual Defense--2 games
Total Tackles Assists Sacks Fum Rec
Kailee Wong 18 11.0 7 0 0
Robaire Smith 14 7.0 7 0 0
Morlon Greenwood 13 7.0 6 0 0
Seth Payne 9 8.0 1 0 0
Antwan Peek 7 6.0 1 1 0
Jason Babin 6 2.0 4 0 0


Linebackers---League Leaders
Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
Player Team G Ints Yds LG TDs FF Rec TDs Pdef Scks SFTY Cmb Tck Solo Ast
Zach Thomas MIA 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 41 26.0 23 15
Andra Davis CLE 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 23.0 15 16
Jonathan Vilma NYJ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 24.0 15 8
James Farrior PIT 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 31 17.0 11 14
Donnie Edwards SD 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 31 21.0 17 10
Gary Brackett IND 3 2 31 31 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 30 22.0 8 8
Kirk Morrison OAK 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 29 21.0 17 8
Nick Barnett GB 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 17.0 14 12
Mike Peterson JAC 3 1 14 14 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 27 17.0 11 10
London Fletcher BUF 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 26 14.0 10 12
Demorrio Williams ATL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 18.0 11 8
Danny Clark OAK 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 25 19.0 14 6
Antonio Pierce NYG 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.5 0 23 19.0 12 4
Junior Seau MIA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 22 13.0 9 9
Dat Nguyen DAL 3 1 7 7 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 22 20.0 16 2
Brian Urlacher CHI 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 22 18.0 15 4
Cato June IND 3 1 30 30 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 21 15.0 9 6
Eric Barton NYJ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 21 13.0 8 8
Derrick O. Johnson KC 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 21 17.0 17 4
Keith Brooking ATL 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 21 14.0 9 7
Ben Taylor CLE 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 20 14.0 8 6
Earl Holmes DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 17.0 14 3
Jeff Ulbrich SF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 20 15.0 15 5
Ray Lewis BAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 19 16.0 12 3
Keith Bulluck TEN 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 19 15.0 11 4
Al Wilson DEN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 19 19.0 18 0
Randall Godfrey SD 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 15.0 10 4
Carlos Emmons NYG 3 1 6 6 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 19 13.0 10 6
Marcus Washington WAS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 16.0 16 3
Shelton Quarles TB 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 19 17.0 13 2
Derek M. Smith SF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 19 15.0 13 4
Jamie Sharper SEA 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 13.0 8 5
Dhani Jones PHI 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 18 17.0 16 1
Orlando Huff ARI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18 12.0 10 6
Julian Peterson SF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.5 0 18 12.0 11 6
Dan Morgan CAR 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 18 11.0 11 7
Kailee Wong HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 11.0 10 7
Takeo Spikes BUF 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 17 11.0 8 6
David Thornton IND 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 13.0 8 4
Monty Beisel NE 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 10.0 5 7
Clark Haggans PIT 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 3 0 17 13.0 10 4
Kawika Mitchell KC 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 17 15.0 10 2
Karlos Dansby ARI 3 2 20 18 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 17 13.0 9 4
Edgerton Hartwell ATL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 11.0 7 6
Odell Thurman CIN 3 1 14 14 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 16 11.0 9 5
Brad Kassell TEN 3 1 21 21 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 16 13.0 9 3
Will Witherspoon CAR 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 16 15.0 13 1
Angelo Crowell BUF 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 9.0 4 6
Adalius Thomas BAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 15 11.0 8 4
Daryl Smith JAC 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 15 10.0 9 5

bobby 119C

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Vinny, good points about the running with the lead - It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks.

Thanks everyone for the feedback... I still am not convinced that we didn't lose a good player in Sharper, you have to remember that he is learning a new system as well.

Have tickets to the Indy game... What time should I get down for tailgating and is there anything that is a must see before game time?

 

[touttail]

I still am not convinced that we didn't lose a good player in Sharper, you have to remember that he is learning a new system as well.

Have tickets to the Indy game... What time should I get down for tailgating and is there anything that is a must see before game time?

Canuck, I have 3 Jamie Sharper jerseys for sale--cheap! LOL

The gates for the tailgaters open 4 hours before the game. You definitely want to get there early enough for some partying. You also, may want to go inside about a hour before the game starts to see the players warm up.

We will be in the RED LOT(North lot) tailgating. If you see a Texan and LSU flags flying, that's us. You are welcome to stop by!

bobby 119C