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Dang, this is a heck of writeup on Carr....

OzzO

.. and then?
Carr taking charge on, off the field

In the beginning, David Carr did what quarterbacks typically do. He took charge.

"He wanted to give every shot, do every test," David's father, Rodger, said. "He wanted to find out everything he could about the disease. That's his nature."

Actually what David Carr wanted to do in the very beginning was cry. He wanted to know why his 4-year-old son had to get sick with juvenile diabetes in the first place. He wanted to know if Austin Carr would still be able to run and play with the other kids. He wanted to know if Austin could play football.

"You wonder why," David Carr said. "You're shocked. We questioned it for a couple of days. But our faith never wavered."

Son comes first
Melody Carr first noticed Austin acting differently around the end of last football season. He was consuming large amounts of water, acting lethargically and taking frequent naps. He wasn't his same energetic self.

"She has a great sense about her kids," David Carr said. "She knows two days in advance if they're going to have a cold. She could tell something wasn't right."

Melody didn't know what to expect when she took Austin to the doctor. Even when the doctors told David and Melody their son had the disease, they had questions. They had heard of it, and they had seen people wearing bracelets, but they hadn't really paid attention.

Funny how real life sticks its ugly head through the front door at the oddest times and starts rearranging the furniture.

David Carr had other things on his mind. He was an NFL quarterback, the man the Texans were building a franchise around. He was one of those rare people with looks and brains and personality.

David Carr was going places. He felt he was getting there, too. He had crossed a threshold of sorts in January after his third NFL season. That season ended with an embarrassing 22-14 loss to Cleveland, but that one defeat led the Texans to look at themselves harder than they had before.

Loss was wake-up call
So poised and so careful with his words for most of his career, Carr seethed with anger after that game. He hinted at internal problems, at things that needed to be fixed before the Texans could even think of making the playoffs.

"It was the frustration of knowing the talent you have on the team is not matching up with what you're producing on the field," he said. "I felt last year we were a playoff team. We were good enough. We fell way short of that."

He was sacked 49 times last season to bring his three-year NFL total to 140. Carr knew if he kept getting hit, there would be long-term consequences.

That last game had ended badly. Carr had been booed. A fan had thrown a cup of beer at Melody.

He was swirling with anger and frustration when he asked to meet with head coach Dom Capers a few days after the season. Carr told him something had to be done. He said he couldn't keep getting hit the way he had been getting hit.

He couldn't have known it, but the Texans already were having meetings on that very subject. General manager Charley Casserly essentially ordered Capers to have offensive coordinator Chris Palmer fix the pass protection.

By the time the Texans returned to the practice field last week, their offense had been dramatically changed. They have added an array of quick throws, timing routes and new pass-blocking schemes. When they do throw down the field, they are going to keep extra men in to block for their quarterback.

Why they allowed their quarterback to be sacked 140 times before doing something so basic is a discussion for another day.

Capers has installed a buzzer at practice to remind Carr how much time he has to release the ball. Depending on the route, Carr typically has 2.6 to 3 seconds to unload it.

The immediate result will be more short throws, more dump-offs to backs and tight ends. But Carr believes as opposing defensive backs adjust to the short stuff, the deep routes will develop.

"I think the way the season ended might be positive in some way," Carr said. "I don't think we'd have made these changes and looked so hard at our offense if we'd have won that game. If we'd have won, we would have rode off into the sunset and said, 'OK, everything is great.' "

Decision to go public
Against this backdrop of change and optimism, David Carr learned that his son had a disease that could require insulin injections and a vigilant monitoring of his blood sugar and diet for the rest of his life.

Shortly after the diagnosis, Carr attended a meeting with other parents. That's when he decided to speak out.

"Things happen for a reason," he said. "That's why we decided to be public about it. These people would never have a chance to go out and explain what juvenile diabetes is and why it's different. We realized the one thing we could do for this disease is get the word out. That's what we're going to do."

The Carrs hope that adding their voice to the discussion will raise money for research, too. They are hoping, if not for a cure, a way to make life easier for those with juvenile diabetes.

Part of the learning process was taking some shots himself. David Carr said he wanted to feel what his son was going to feel. So Austin watched his parents take injections from syringes filled with water.

A nurse then handed Austin a syringe and told him to give his father a shot. Austin complied. And laughed.

"He was pretty cool with that," David Carr said. "I asked the nurse, 'Are you serious? He's 4 years old. He watches Star Wars movies.' He stuck the nurse first. Then he did me. He was loving it."

Austin, who recently turned 5, now gets a shot in the morning and another at night. His blood sugar is monitored throughout the day.

"He's himself again," David Carr said. "Five minutes after taking his first shot, he was great. It's the best he has
felt in a long time. There are
no limitations on him. He can play football when the time comes."

Austin's diabetes has changed his father, too. Things that seemed to be hassles last fall are irrelevant.

"I enjoy things more," he said. "I enjoy football practice more. I'm healthy. I'm 25 years old and can run and not worry about taking insulin shots. I come out and play with a smile on my face."

chronicle (located article via PSH )

Carr... you're aces brutha.
 
"He couldn't have known it, but the Texans already were having meetings on that very subject. General manager Charley Casserly essentially ordered Capers to have offensive coordinator Chris Palmer fix the pass protection."

This is a quote from the Chronicle article and it speaks volumes about what is happening with the Texans. To begin with I think people are going to be very upset with the above statement. You can read between the lines what this statement is saying. Did Carr want this statement out there, did Casserly want this out there, did McNair want this out there or was it a slip of the tongue. It says a lot about the head coach.

David has grown a lot in the last three years. He's had to face a lot in his life. If you remember, he also almost lost one of his son's to a swimming pool accident in addition to everything else that's been happening. Through all of that I believe he has been basically a very loyal Texan. I hope the Texans realize what he really is, but then again some of you keep reminding me that football is only a business............

As an attorny would say, "I rest my case".
 
People always talk about how tought Farve is, I think that with all David has gone through he might be on Farve's level.
 
wow i cant beilive someone threw beer at his wife.....that makes me sad that their is some texan fan out there that would do that, hes not a texan by my books. thats just disgusting......
 
TopTexanFan16 said:
wow i cant beilive someone threw beer at his wife.....that makes me sad that their is some texan fan out there that would do that, hes not a texan by my books. thats just disgusting......

I totally agree. That fan should be banned from Texans games for at least a year.
 
Capers has installed a buzzer at practice to remind Carr how much time he has to release the ball. Depending on the route, Carr typically has 2.6 to 3 seconds to unload it.

The immediate result will be more short throws, more dump-offs to backs and tight ends.

So how long into the season before the first "throw it deep to Andre" thread? :bomb:
 
Part of the learning process was taking some shots himself. David Carr said he wanted to feel what his son was going to feel. So Austin watched his parents take injections from syringes filled with water.

A nurse then handed Austin a syringe and told him to give his father a shot. Austin complied. And laughed.

Beautifull man, beautifull.
 
Ibar_Harry said:
This is a quote from the Chronicle article and it speaks volumes about what is happening with the Texans. To begin with I think people are going to be very upset with the above statement. You can read between the lines what this statement is saying. Did Carr want this statement out there, did Casserly want this out there, did McNair want this out there or was it a slip of the tongue. It says a lot about the head coach.

Yes, Ibar, they wanted or at least weren't scared of it being out there--that is why they all talked to ... reporters who they knew would ... report it.
 
David Carr is the best role model you can have for a child. He is always polite, well spoken, a great leader, an intense competitor, and most of all----a great father. So for me, he isn't just a great role model for kids but he is for me too. The Texans better take care of him because he is a very rare find. People have called him baby Favre for a while because of his gun and scrambling ability but I believe he can be better than Farve if we can build the line to an "above average" level. He doesn't need the Chiefs line by any means but he does need an upgrade by all means. Hopefully the maturity and continuity of our current line will boast improvement from last year. Last but certainly not least----I don't believe the beer incident was intentional. I think a disgruntled fan just up and through the beer and it just so happened to hit Melody and the kids. You gotta be D.Carr to be that accurate with a cup of beer! :) Go Texans! :highfive:
 
Has a QB ever told the coach that the O-line sorely needs to be fixed ?

So Carr is tired of getting hit and so far Casserly has drafted a C in the 5th round and signed 4 udfa OL, and signed Victor Riley (who was the worst lineman on the SAINTS last year)

So I think that it is only fair to come to the conclusion that if they don't sign L.J. Shelton that they have effectively done nothing to help CARR.

Hodgdon could very well be a decent Center, I hope that he has a great TC and beats Mckinney out of a job. But, if they gave the O-line some priority maybe they should've drafted C Chris Spencer.

Mckinney is the weakest link, followed by Wand.

The off-season isn't over yet, but if they go into the start of the season with the same five guys starting on the O-line as last year then they have done zilch. I don't care if they bring in timing routes and new blocking schemes, they still needed to upgrade the talent level.

I've heard a lot of people say that Casserly is one of the best, if he was one of the best why would he wait until the third season before addressing the coach on how bad the line was, plus its Casserly's job to bring in good players, so I think that there is a lot of guys passing the buck in the TEXANS front office.

"its not my fault, its his"

Carr thought that the Texans should've been in the playoffs, but they weren't playing as good as their talent level. To me that sounds like he didn't think that the coaching was good enough.

Casserly's gotta stop blaming others and start putting the O-line as a priority.

Capers needs to wake up

Palmer needs to be replaced


But, that's just what I got from the article. So take it for what its worth.

And the guy that poured beer on Carr's wife..........that guy should be banned for life. Either that or they'll sign him as an Offensive Lineman. Since they seem to be doing a good job of signing nasty guys.


JMO
 
There just wasn't a lot good going at O-line in this draft, and certainly not around the spots we were drafting. Reaching for need is a good way to end up like the Browns. We went after Pace, we just couldn't get him.

Patience, dude. Wait till next year. An LT will come.
 
The way I feel right now is that our guys have tried to make the big acquisition by going after Pace, but didn't wanna sell the barn for him. I am sure they will make an offer towards Shelton. By what most people say, he is good but not worth giving up alot of money for. And if they don't get him well, this will be the first time the line has played together in consecutive seasons so we never know how much better they could be.
 
If they traded down three spots for TJ, who half the teams had rated down to the 2nd round, then why would spencer have been any more of a reach ?

personally I would've just drafted Jammal Brown at 13.

or keep trading down to 20-ish, draft Spencer, and pick up another 3rd rounder and draft OT khalif barnes or DT Attiyah Ellison with it.

All I'm saying is that if the O-line really was such a priority to them, like it should've been then they should've addressed it sooner rather than later.
 
throwANDREtheBALL said:
If they traded down three spots for TJ, who half the teams had rated down to the 2nd round, then why would spencer have been any more of a reach ?

personally I would've just drafted Jammal Brown at 13.

or keep trading down to 20-ish, draft Spencer, and pick up another 3rd rounder and draft OT khalif barnes or DT Attiyah Ellison with it.

All I'm saying is that if the O-line really was such a priority to them, like it should've been then they should've addressed it sooner rather than later.

I'm with you on this one T-a-B - if The O-line protection of DC was so important they had to have a special meeting with palmer about it, the coach knew it was problem and they didnt do a good job, Charley thought is was such a concern he had a talk with Dom and Palmer about, Mcnair says somethign to the team about it - yet it's the last thing they [the front office and coaches] address. - To me thats poor planning no matter how you want to spin it.

IMO - It will be interesting to see if the coaches gambles on their youth movement/all around switching with the defense mixed with no real changes on the O-line equals more wins next year. :pigfly:

I'm thinking it;s gonna be more like a little of this :ouch: mixed with some of this :dangit: will = :goodnight for some coaches and personal if these guys dont produce on the field and compete for a playoff spot[wildcard] next year.
 
throwANDREtheBALL said:
If they traded down three spots for TJ, who half the teams had rated down to the 2nd round, then why would spencer have been any more of a reach ?

personally I would've just drafted Jammal Brown at 13.
Many people thought we reached for Dunta Robinson last year. Why draft a RT when you don't need a RT? TJ will give us an inside pass rush that we haven't had since Walkers first year (Pro Bowl year) here. If you notice, most of David Carr's pressure comes from the inside. He gets flushed to the outside and gets sacked over and over. Defensively we had no inside pass rush last year so I can't see this as a bad move in retrospect.
 
From everything I've read, Brown was a better OT on most teams boards then Barron and most experts thought Brown could play LT as well. I would've taken Jammal Brown at 13 if I couldn't trade down. Cuz the O-line was supposed to be the top priority. I've stated on too many post how much Mckinney sucks..........that's why if I could've I would've traded down to 20ish and picked Chris Spencer he was rated the top lineman in the whole draft by a lot of scouts. AND Center was our biggest need. And from trading down would've picked up a couple 3rd round picks or a 2nd.....so getting Khalif Barnes would've given us a decent OT prospect as well.

If we needed an inside pass rush, why did we draft TJ ?
He had how many sacks last year? Like 2 and a half ?

Come on, I hope that he gets 4 times that this year, but lets be realistic. Usually when you get to the NFL your stats decrease not increase. So TJ is going to bring this pass rush that we've been lacking ? The pass rush boost will come from the addition of Peek playing full-time. And I'd be surprised if TJ even starts unless Walker or Smith get hurt. TJ is so good that I think 6th round pick DT Anttaj Hawthorne will have a better career than him.

But, I still hope your right and that Casserly is other-worldly, and he knows more than anyone when it comes to what to do in the first round, and TJ gets 8-10 sacks for the next 15 years..........or at least gives a pass rush that is better than the Gary-Seth-Robaire tandem.

I hope your right, but, I fear that you are not.
 
I'm with you T-a-B - Honestly I hope it all works out and we havea great year - making many strides on both sides of the ball.

But my fear is this year will turn out like the Astros year has done thus far. Straigh to the bottom of the tank. Youth is great, but experience makes a big difference. I am hopefull the Texans staff and team will do alot better than the L-Astros have done this year. If not it could be a long year for all of us.
 
U4ikrob said:
I'm with you on this one T-a-B - if The O-line protection of DC was so important they had to have a special meeting with palmer about it, the coach knew it was problem and they didnt do a good job, Charley thought is was such a concern he had a talk with Dom and Palmer about, Mcnair says somethign to the team about it - yet it's the last thing they [the front office and coaches] address. - To me thats poor planning no matter how you want to spin it.

No to me this speaks volumes as to the fact that everyone is on the same page. Look they all know how important protecting Carr is however taking a reach on players will not get it done. They made a major run at Pace. They will wait until the right players come along. This is the right way to build a franchise. In the mean time we will upgrade where possible and when the right players are availible in the draft Casserly will do whatever it takes to aquire them. Casserly has a history of doing just that. Relax we are in great hands and this year we will make the playoffs.

:)
 
The only Great Hands belong to Andre Johnson.

I keep hearing that its wrong to reach ?

I never said reach for anyone, trying to trade down anywhere in the 20-ish spots and take Chris Spencer would've been a great pick. plus in trading down would've brought us one or more picks.

AND if its wrong to reach.........how come every single writeup on the draft that I've read said that TJ was a reach ? Seriously, I haven't read one site or article, other than TEXANS.COM........that said it was a good pick. Don't get me wrong I hope TJ does a great job. But, if these hands that we are in are SO great, then why did USA TODAY SPORTS WEEKLY give our draft a D ?

"D - bad values across board"

"BEST PICK Vernand Morency"

"SECOND GUESSING:Already minus their second-rounder, the Texans got no help this year in trading down three slots in the first round, then they made a questionable selection in DT TRAVIS JOHNSON. Johnson was a one-year wonder at Florida State and probably could have been had later in the first round. He is not strong enough to play nose tackle in Houston's 3-4 defensive front and might not be quick enough to play end."

quoted from USA TODAY SPORTS WEEKLY

Now I don't agree with everything they say so lets see what Foxsports.com had to say

"Houston Texans draft - C+"
"The team sacrificed character for talent in a couple of cases. It didn't have great options in Round 1, and the selection of defensive tackle Travis Johnson reflected that."

quoted from Foxsports.com "Draft grades for every NFL team"

so again more neutral experts that took the time to bash our first selection

lets go to NFL.com

16 Houston Travis Johnson DT Florida State

"Pat Kirwan's Analysis
Travis Johnson is a bit of a surprise pick. I question his pass-rushing ability. He says he is great, but the numbers do not back it up -- some people consider him an underachiever. He will have to stay healthy and bring his game to the next level. More of a 4-3 tackler than a 3-4 end, but he does not lack confidence."

here's the link http://www.nfl.com/draft/analyzer

OK so if we're in such great hands I expect them to pick a great player with their first pick, if they are going to trade down, then address your most pressing need by drafting a center. AND if you are going to pick a DT that can rush the passer, then draft one who is at least known more for rushing the passer then he is for stopping the run.

And out of all the stuff I read on the draft the best grade I ever saw was a C+ I saw a couple D's some C's..............no B's

If we are in great hands, I want to at least get B's. AND I expect a great front office to get a guy that will start!

So when you say to me, the last thing we needed to do was start reaching in the first round..........well, that's exactly what we did.


P.S. I hope TJ proves the critics wrong and I'd also like to go on record that I liked the morency and mathis picks.........excellent value picks.
 
I wouldn't put too much stock in post draft "grades". They are often more wrong than the teams who actually use real scouts to evaluate talent. Richard Seymour had 1.5 sacks in his Sr year...I bet you would have hated that pick too. Here is a nice 'draft grade' from 2001 to look at with some time as perspective....This one by Nationally known NFL writer Ron Borges
D-
NEW ENGLAND - You hate to fail anybody who shows up for class but
what are they doing? If you didn't know better, you'd think the Jets sent
Bill Belichick north to destroy the Patriots from within. On a day when they
could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson or the
second-best tackle in the draft in Kenyatta Walker, they took Georgia
defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1½ sacks last season in the
pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play
defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where
they could have gotten the last decent receiver in Robert Ferguson and
settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help any time soon unless last
year's draftees Adrian Klemm and Greg Robinson-Randle are busts.
http://lists.rollanet.org/pipermail/rampage/Week-of-Mon-20010423/003626.html
 
No, what I am doing is showing you how flawed these instant draft grades are. You seem quite capable of understanding that point.
 
Interesting note on that Draft Grade is now the Pats have Seymour and Terrell.

Thats why the Pats stay on top.
 
Point Taken.

But, usually for every 1 guy that they wrongfully bash, they are usually right with the other 5 guys.

So I'd say if all the "experts" are bashing him then he's got a 20% chance of becoming a star.

And to be fair, I agree with you that a lot of the "experts" are so good that they haven't made it as NFL scouts.

So I guess that gives him a 50% chance, just like all the Draft Prospects.

But, if my team was making the O-line "priority number one", I would've done what I had to do to get an offensive lineman or two on the first day of the draft.
 
throwANDREtheBALL said:
But, I still hope your right and that Casserly is other-worldly, and he knows more than anyone when it comes to what to do in the first round, and TJ gets 8-10 sacks for the next 15 years..........or at least gives a pass rush that is better than the Gary-Seth-Robaire tandem.

I hope your right, but, I fear that you are not.

I like CC a lot. And I've posted over and over again my thoughts on the O-line. But if you guys remember, they made a choice with the very first pick. They chose the francise QB over moving down and building from the inside out. They chose the all world WR over moving down and building from the inside out. They chose to take a franchise CB instead of moving down and building from the inside out. CC was very lucky in Washington picking O-lineman. He's been very unlucky here. I just read where someone KNEW T. Bosselli
would never line up for us. As I remembered, no one Knew for sure untill the second year. Joppru is the same deal. Just unfortunte that it didn't work out. All the indicators were that BJ had the chance to be something special. And from what I saw this draft, their was no certain prospect to come in and beat out Wand. The top guy was a roll of the dice guy. I can't argue with the direction CC and Capers have taken the team. All of their first round picks have been solid in my book. I would have done a few things differently. And some of the things I would have done would have been just dead wrong. We got just as good a shot at going 12-4 this year at this point as going 4-12. But some of their gambles have to come through for them this year to get to 12-4. And the list is a long one, Babbin, Peek, Wand and or Shellton, Phillip Buchannan all have to step up their games. It's just that simple. The lines have to come around.The Green Bay - Texan's game was on again last week. 13-3 lead, ball on the fifty yard line...three and out. ON WAY that should ever happen. Never. That drive was our season last year. If Wand doesn't work out, if things do go poorly, we are in a great position, whomever the new brain trust is, to go after a great prospect at left tackel. There's a herd of them coming out for '06. Even Yoda could pick one. But the thing about that is Oakland took one of the better prospect coming out of college in a very long time, Robert Gallery . And he is still having trouble taking over at the LT position. It takes a very special big man to be that quick, that powerfull, to anchor the left side. Even the good ones it takes time. There are very few Paces and Odgens i the NFL. The good news is at least they're beating the bush, building fires under people to get a response. I'm not wooried about them moving Pitts all around, Pitts is just the two-by-four for the Mule. Now wether the wacking of Wand sinks in or not... time will tell. The preasuure is on. Either the lines are gonna make this season or the pipe will burst. We're rebuiolding a new o-line for '06. That's the bottom line with this group of players and coaches. And What I beilieve Mr. McNair has been saying publicly all off season. Sink or swim boys. A good try is no longer acceptable.
The one thing I fear for '05 is that the team does regreess, and we lose Carr mentally. I believe, IMHO, Jacksonville has passed us this off season. The Luck of the draw this year is catching them late. We'll see. We end up at the bottom of the barrel, I expect a regieme change.
 
"I would've taken Jammal Brown at 13 if I couldn't trade down. Cuz the O-line was supposed to be the top priority. I've stated on too many post how much Mckinney sucks..........that's why if I could've I would've traded down to 20ish and picked Chris Spencer he was rated the top lineman in the whole draft by a lot of scouts. AND Center was our biggest need. And from trading down would've picked up a couple 3rd round picks or a 2nd.....so getting Khalif Barnes would've given us a decent OT prospect as well."

quoted from what I said earlier in this thread.


I wanted a Center not a Tackle..........but, if the O-line really is priority number one they should've picked up any O-lineman on top of their board with one of their first day picks.

If the O-line isn't their top priority, so be it, but, don't tell me it is and then wait until the 5th round to take a lineman. And then wait in free agency and sign a sloth a.k.a. Victor Riley.
 
throwANDREtheBALL said:
but, if the O-line really is priority number one they should've picked up any O-lineman on top of their board with one of their first day picks.

Look just because we need to upgrade our OL does not mean that the draft will be full of OL that will be All pro. Some years the draft is rich in Corners, other years Quaterbacks and some years lineman. We have to take players not positions. This is how teams build for the future. We all wish there would have been an Orlando Pace sitting there for us at pick 13 but this year there was only Alex Barron and I dont think he is the "answer" to anything. You dont get rich taking reach players it is far better to take sure bets in the first round. I am comfortable that that is what we have done.
 
New England took Mankins in the 1st round. He was and is a LT and protected Carr when he played at Fresno. I'm really interested in seeing how he develops at NE. Some said he would play G in the NFL, but the guy always plays better than people think. I thought he was a sleeper and so did NE. Mankins was picked up because the NE head coach and FSU head coach are very close friends. I think NE got an inside view on Mankins. I still say our priority is defense 1st and that's because of Capers. Their were a lot of people out there that thought we would make some moves to fix the O-line, but nothing obvious transpired. The young Center might make a bigger splash than people think and we have a couple of young FA's that might come on. Is it likely, NO. But then again you never know. I've been realtively unimpressed with the older FA's so far.
 
Mankins is listed as left Guard backing up Russ Hochstein for now. Matt Light will be the LT.
 
Vinny said:
Mankins is listed as left Guard backing up Russ Hochstein for now. Matt Light will be the LT.

Thanks, Vinny. It will be interesting to see how far he goes. As you tell us, nothing is certain in the NFL. It will be interesting how they bring him along as they do seem to have that luxury. He's quite smart and a very hard worker. I really expect him to challenge someone even as a Rookie.
 
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