Dan B.
Hall of Fame
Or is he trying to jinx us?
Apologies for basically cribbing Zod's post, but I thought this guy had an interesting post concerning comparisons between the Texans and Panthers on their fan forum. There are a lot of comparisons I had never thought of:
Blown 1st picks and attempts to rebuild with their next top pick*
"both the Texans and the Panthers have taken similar routes in their drafts. As an expansion team, the Panthers used their first pick on quarterback Kerry Collins. Capers thought Carr, a more-mature version of Collins, would be the perfect choice to get things started right in Houston.But both the Panthers and the Texans went away from quarterbacks the next time they started over. Coincidentally, the Panthers crossed that road just as the Texans were approaching it. In the 2002 draft, three players were in the running for the top spot. The Texans grabbed Carr. The Panthers considered Joey Harrington, but realized they needed to win faster than a rookie quarterback could develop. That's why they used the second pick on North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers.Houston made a similar choice last year when the Texans used the first overall pick on N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams and, much to the chagrin of their fans, passed on quarterback Vince Young and running back Reggie Bush."
Hiring hot assistant coaches to replace Capers
"They both hired Dom Capers to be their first coach and they both fired him after four seasons. At first, at both places, Capers seemed like the perfect choice. In Carolina, Capers made a first-year team competitive and took a second-year team to the NFC Championship Game before things began to fall apart as he took on more personnel duties.When McNair came into the league, he wanted someone familiar with the expansion process and he paired Capers with veteran personnel man Charlie Casserly as the general manager. The hire came after McNair had consulted Richardson about Capers and received a solid recommendation.Capers didn't produce many wins in four seasons and that led to his firing. McNair then turned to a hot NFL assistant who had never been a head coach before, hiring offensive guru Gary Kubiak from Denver. Richardson had taken a similar path in 2002, when he hired New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox to replace George Seifert.Fifty wins, a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Game appearances later, Fox has established the Panthers as an annual contender. Kubiak hasn't come close to doing that yet, but the hope that came out of last week's win against Kansas City has swept through Houston."
(most hopefully) a resurgence under a former backup QB:
"There might not be a more popular person in Houston right now than Matt Schaub. He's the guy who led that victory against Kansas City and, in many ways, he's Jake Delhomme, circa 2003.Delhomme came out of obscurity as a New Orleans backup to become Carolina's quarterback halfway through the 2003 season opener. A few months later, Delhomme was starting in the Super Bowl.Schaub spent the early years of his career in Atlanta as Michael Vick's backup. Despite only making two career starts, Schaub was Kubiak's hand-picked choice to replace (drum roll please) David Carr.Now Delhomme's backup, Carr was once the face of the Texans. He started for five seasons and was the first-ever draft pick by Houston."
"Williams took a lot of heat during a rookie season that didn't produce big results. But he won some fans over with a big play last week. Maybe those same fans and the ones who haven't joined them yet should remember this: Williams and Kubiak are now in their second season and the Texans appear to have a new quarterback who has some intangibles that were being wasted on the bench.That's pretty much the same backdrop as the Panthers had in 2003 with Fox and Peppers in their second season together and Delhomme arriving to spark the offense. That's the same season the Panthers went to the Super Bowl.It was in Houston."
*yes I know Peppers was second but the Panthers were the worst in the league the previous season
Apologies for basically cribbing Zod's post, but I thought this guy had an interesting post concerning comparisons between the Texans and Panthers on their fan forum. There are a lot of comparisons I had never thought of:
Blown 1st picks and attempts to rebuild with their next top pick*
"both the Texans and the Panthers have taken similar routes in their drafts. As an expansion team, the Panthers used their first pick on quarterback Kerry Collins. Capers thought Carr, a more-mature version of Collins, would be the perfect choice to get things started right in Houston.But both the Panthers and the Texans went away from quarterbacks the next time they started over. Coincidentally, the Panthers crossed that road just as the Texans were approaching it. In the 2002 draft, three players were in the running for the top spot. The Texans grabbed Carr. The Panthers considered Joey Harrington, but realized they needed to win faster than a rookie quarterback could develop. That's why they used the second pick on North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers.Houston made a similar choice last year when the Texans used the first overall pick on N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams and, much to the chagrin of their fans, passed on quarterback Vince Young and running back Reggie Bush."
Hiring hot assistant coaches to replace Capers
"They both hired Dom Capers to be their first coach and they both fired him after four seasons. At first, at both places, Capers seemed like the perfect choice. In Carolina, Capers made a first-year team competitive and took a second-year team to the NFC Championship Game before things began to fall apart as he took on more personnel duties.When McNair came into the league, he wanted someone familiar with the expansion process and he paired Capers with veteran personnel man Charlie Casserly as the general manager. The hire came after McNair had consulted Richardson about Capers and received a solid recommendation.Capers didn't produce many wins in four seasons and that led to his firing. McNair then turned to a hot NFL assistant who had never been a head coach before, hiring offensive guru Gary Kubiak from Denver. Richardson had taken a similar path in 2002, when he hired New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox to replace George Seifert.Fifty wins, a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Game appearances later, Fox has established the Panthers as an annual contender. Kubiak hasn't come close to doing that yet, but the hope that came out of last week's win against Kansas City has swept through Houston."
(most hopefully) a resurgence under a former backup QB:
"There might not be a more popular person in Houston right now than Matt Schaub. He's the guy who led that victory against Kansas City and, in many ways, he's Jake Delhomme, circa 2003.Delhomme came out of obscurity as a New Orleans backup to become Carolina's quarterback halfway through the 2003 season opener. A few months later, Delhomme was starting in the Super Bowl.Schaub spent the early years of his career in Atlanta as Michael Vick's backup. Despite only making two career starts, Schaub was Kubiak's hand-picked choice to replace (drum roll please) David Carr.Now Delhomme's backup, Carr was once the face of the Texans. He started for five seasons and was the first-ever draft pick by Houston."
"Williams took a lot of heat during a rookie season that didn't produce big results. But he won some fans over with a big play last week. Maybe those same fans and the ones who haven't joined them yet should remember this: Williams and Kubiak are now in their second season and the Texans appear to have a new quarterback who has some intangibles that were being wasted on the bench.That's pretty much the same backdrop as the Panthers had in 2003 with Fox and Peppers in their second season together and Delhomme arriving to spark the offense. That's the same season the Panthers went to the Super Bowl.It was in Houston."
*yes I know Peppers was second but the Panthers were the worst in the league the previous season
