Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!
[Chron]Texans still flying well under NFL radar
- Thread starter b0ng
- Start date
beerlover
Hall of Fame
I'm a big LZ fan he also posts here adding intelligence & insight into the Texans, Draft & generally all things NFL. :mshadows:
My sentiments exactly. Isn't there a more prominent place for LZ in the local
hierarchy of NFL media members ? I dunno what he makes, but is a greater
compensation opportunity available at the Chronicle ? He's interested, very knowledgible, and could learn the mechanics of writing.
Justice has his moments but he's a MLB guy and huge Cowboys fan who really
has little inclination to cover the local NFL team.
Speaking of the Cowboys, can any analysis of national coverage of the Texans be complete without considering the prominence and burden/challenge of sharing the region with the states other NFL team ?
Texans_Chick
Utopian Dreamer
He's been doing a lot of tennis and a few feature articles here or there. He pitched in with some NFL stuff last year that actually contained information that I wasn't aware of. He was the first to break the information about when Andre Johnson was really coming back--though it was sort of said in an offhand way.
nero THE zero
All Pro
I'd also like to echo the sentiment on LZ. He's the best football guy Houston has, by far.
I often wonder what could be done to create some competition for the Chron. I know the Houston Press has started covering the Texans a little bit, but their coverage isn't really substantive and they're not a "real" newspaper. I've found that I've even stopped looking at the Chron for Texans' information because of how disappointing it is. I'll checkout HT.com for their coverage (though I wish they would do more stuff in print) and check out here for the collection of national stuff.
I'm basically starving for some legitimate local coverage, but I guess the chances of that ever happening are nill.
I often wonder what could be done to create some competition for the Chron. I know the Houston Press has started covering the Texans a little bit, but their coverage isn't really substantive and they're not a "real" newspaper. I've found that I've even stopped looking at the Chron for Texans' information because of how disappointing it is. I'll checkout HT.com for their coverage (though I wish they would do more stuff in print) and check out here for the collection of national stuff.
I'm basically starving for some legitimate local coverage, but I guess the chances of that ever happening are nill.
Texans_Chick
Utopian Dreamer
I think if he actually worked for the Chronicle, he wouldn't be able to read advertisements on his station. The Chronicle TV guy who I like, David Barron had something on that a while back as it related to Solomon and the Chronicle policy toward their sports guys on the radio. Something like they can't work over a certain number of hours a day, they have to say something like "Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle" and they can't do the advertising read for their sponsors...sponsors pay more for the host reading their content.
But ultimately, out of the people working at the Chronicle, who would you trust to get a non-Pravda X and O discussion from? Like discussing the prospects for different guys battling for the linebacking position around DeMeco? Or saying something like WTH, look where Marlon Greenwood ranks on Texans salary cap numbers? That's not Manfull's job. And McClain is more..."this is what people tell me."
I'd like to hear more of "this is what I'm seeing and this is what is concerning me" sort of talk. I don't trust a lot of this sort of information from the Chronicle because I don't think they have X and O guys, but more let's be provocative peeps. Even in November of last year, Justice was saying in his blog comments that Williams playing "terrible" and was doing a really good imitation of a sixth round pick. The defense has had all sorts of bad bad problems, and Mario Williams shouldn't have been considered a part of that problem. If you can't trust the Chronicle people about something just that basic, what can you trust them about?
nero THE zero
All Pro
I agree, I think this is one of the big problems the Chron has. I don't know how other papers do it, but Justice is the perfect example of how Chron articles are really more emotive than analytical. I think listening to his show on 1560 is really telling of his shortcomings as a writer for the Chron. He is terribly knowlegable about baseball, but he has serious shortcomings when it comes to other sports. You can listen to him interview people and then simply relay it in his articles with the obligatory dramatic spin. I don't think he understands the sport, so he just takes what other people say and exagerates it. The Mario Williams thing is the perfect example; he would simply parrot what seemed to be the popular opinion at the time instead of breaking down strengths, weaknesses, and formulating some sort of unique analysis.
That's where they could really use an LZ-esque writer who has a background in the sport, connections with scouts and coaches, and a mind of his own.
Everybody crucified the Texans for the Mario pick up until the 2007 season,
including LZ. The only media person I know of, locally or outside of Houston who has consistantl supported
the pick, was ESPNs Michael Smith.
But if you listen to 1560, you know that Justice bags some big names to interview, like #1 NFL Draft guru Rich Gosselin of the DMNs. Of course I will admit its been just lately that Justice doesn't all but apologize to Gosselin,
who of course like Justice is a Cowboys supporter, about asking him questions
about our "little NFL team" here in Houston.
But again, yea LZ is the local authority on the NLF, though the guy they've got in the afternoon on 1560 seems knowledgible also.
nero THE zero
All Pro
John Harris?
He's supposed to be a walking encyclopedia of football, but I never get a chance to listen to him. I think he keeps up a blog though.
Texans_Chick
Utopian Dreamer
I like John Harris a ton. He's been watching OTAs. What I like about him is that he will tell you what he thinks of things but doesn't say that this is the only way to think about it. He will say why he thinks the way he does so you don't have to be thinking....uh where you pull that one out of. He gives you things to think about but doesn't pretend that his point of view is the only one.
He has a background as a coach, and when he is watching practice, he isn't doing it just to gossip.
In other words, he is a football guy who can talk about more than just the big name positions on the team. Everyone likes to talk QB or maybe high profile players. He's interested in the team in its entirety.
Yea, that's the guy. And will he ever tell you his opinion !
For those who followed him on this years Draft and his remarks re the Texans picks, you know 2 basic things: (1) he was fairly supportive of their picks in general, with one glaring exception (2) I can't recall anybody coming down so hard on a Texans first round pick as he did of the choice of OT Duane Brown at #26 overall. And that certainly includes the pick of Mario in '06. Even for those wanting VY or RB instead of Mario, most acknowledged that Mario was the consensus top D player in the Draft, and therefor atleast a top 5 guy.
But Harris didn't even think D. Brown was worthy of being picked in the first 3 rounds ! And that's cool, because Harris obvioulsy knows his stuff as TC said, and he even talked about attending the East-West Shrine game/practices here in Houston a few months before the Draft where Brown played, citing specific reasons why he had such profound reservations about the pick. So I'm really looking forward to what he has to say about Brown and his progress as we get into TC.