Mathis Competing for #2??

[El Tejano]

One thing we will have to remember is that he is going to need to make the team in different areas such as special teams and for most of the beginning he will be just there and not on the offensive end. I will say this, his size/speed is perfect for our offense. He can line up wide out or in the slot and that can actually throw fits for a defense. If you put him on the same side with Andre, you can have one or the other running underneath and one going long. We all have seen the results when AJ goes across the middle (GREENBAY game).

 

[Lucky]

Dunno, Coles can hold onto the football...

Coles dropped 7 balls last year. 11 the year before. And I think the guys at Stats, Inc. are being kind to Coles.


Coles stats at Stats, Inc.

I think the worst thing that could happen to a guy coming out of Division I-AA is have pressure to start right away. Forget route running, how about just learning to get off the LOS? A good press cover corner can turn a 4.3 speedster into a 4.6 mudder. Too bad Aaron Glenn is no longer on the team, he could have shown Mathis a lot of tricks in that area.

 

[Vinny]

The Texans don’t have their full complement of players this weekend so there have been no kickoff coverage drills. But Mathis has been shagging punts, something he never did for the Pirates.

“No, but I’m getting better at it,” Mathis said. “I learn something new about it each and every day. I just have to get my confidence level up more and listen to what Coach (Joe) Marciano has to say.”

Marciano is probably saying “Get this man some touches.” When Mathis returns with the veterans on May 16, the competition will get even tougher. But judging from what we’ve seen thus far, Mathis will be up for the challenge.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/news_detail.php?PRKey=1669

 

[THEFUTURE]

Dan Pompei on Jerome Mathis... http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/dan-pompei/20050512.html

I would be surprised if Mathis made an impact his first year. Many receivers take a year or two to get a feel for the NFL game. Eventually, he could be a very good pro -- a special player -- but all the signs point to a slow transition for him. Among them: 1) He has not played against top competition on a regular basis; 2) he has been a "track guy;" 3) he needs to bulk up; 4) he must improve his route-running skills; 5) he shows a questionable work ethic; 6) his hands could be more consistent

 

[throwANDREtheBALL]

I've read a lot of stuff this moron has had to say in the past and it seems like most of his opinions are re-gurgitated from other NFL prospect stereo-types...he just picks a couple he likes and then plugs them in, for every prospect.

Mathis has been playing Football longer than he's been in Track

How many Running Backs and Receivers in the NFL weren't in TRACK ?

not many, at all

And this guy did well in track because he was SO fast, what's wrong with that DAN ? Lots of other guys were in track, they just didn't go as far so they didn't get hit with the "TRACK GUY" label.

Other than Mark Clayton drafted by the Ravens, weren't most of the Receivers needing to work on their route running and pass-catching skills........so is DAN really informing me of anything......um...NO.

Thanks for wasting my time again DAN.

AND I question DAN POMPEI's work ethic to actually watch some tape of the prospects that he's talking about, instead of just reading what other guys wrote about them and inserting some more "small school" crap

I'm glad this kid went to a small school, or he wouldn't have been available to us in the 4th round.

This is all from a guy that gets more hate-mail than anyone cuz he pisses people off for getting away with the stupid things he says.

AND of course Mathis isn't going to be dominant in his first year, only a couple of receivers ever were, but, he can still return kicks and hopefully Palmer is smart enough to launch him the ball a couple of times in a game.

 

[Lucky]

I'm glad this kid went to a small school, or he wouldn't have been available to us in the 4th round.

And I'm glad the Texans took a project WR in the 4th round rather than the 1st. Some of the same questions about Mathis can be applied to Troy Williamson. In fairness to Pompei, he was just answering a question concerning Mathis. My response would have been, "What 4th round picks are expected to make a significant impact in their rookie seasons?".

 

[THEFUTURE]

i dont like the track guy phrase eitheer, a lot of receivers in high school and college are actually encouraged to do track in the offseason. it helps with a players explosion of the line, endurance, pure speed, running fluidly... all things a receiver needs, it just so happens that mathis is fast, really fast, and that his pure speed overshadows him and any other talent he might have... i dont like a lot of the stuff pompei says either, i just wanted to post what he was saying. seeing how it is about one of our own.

 

[jacquescas]

anyone interested in seeing a couple 5 wide reciever sets? you could have bradford and mathis just running a race on opposite sides to stretch the field and keep AJ, Gaffney and Armstrong all around the middle.

Obviously there would be no pass protection so mathis and bradford wouldn't get very far.

 

[edo783]

Obviously there would be no pass protection so mathis and bradford wouldn't get very far.

let see, 40 yards in under 5 seconds. David gets about 2.5 seconds so they would get about 20 yards. If caught in stride could blow to the TD. Just pondering, not saying it will work.

 

[throwANDREtheBALL]

"IF caught in stride" (then it would work)

I'm with you guys I think more 4-5 reciever sets would be great, IF Palmer ever wakes up.

BUT

It seems like Palmer has built his offense around the "IF" plays

IF Carr gets enough time, IF Bradford commands any coverage, IF the line blocks for 3 seconds, IF Miller gets open, IF the other team's coaches are retarded, IF we get lucky, IF they don't intercept this everytime........just IF

How come we can't have some plays that actually work everytime ?


not just a bunch of "IF"s

 

[Number19]

...Forget route running, how about just learning to get off the LOS? A good press cover corner can turn a 4.3 speedster into a 4.6 mudder. Too bad Aaron Glenn is no longer on the team, he could have shown Mathis a lot of tricks in that area.

First, a defense's best DB will be on AJ. Second, Mathis just has too much speed. Very few DB's will be able to jam Mathis at the line and then cover him man to man deep. The new no-contact rules also work in Mathis' favor. At least to start the season, and until he proves to be a formable deep threat, Mathis will be single covered (assuming a 3 receiver set), with the DB lined up deep. The report on Mathis is that he uses his hands and his speed well to gain initial separation. With a little professional coaching, he should adjust well to this next level of play. We should hope that a team tries to do as you suggest. It will be a field day for Mathis, given Carr has just a little time in the pocket.

 

[TexansTrueFan]

at least we still have d-rob to show him some tricks of the trade. we dont have gleen but we have the younger better version to show mathis !

 

[Texas_Thrill]

I honestly am not sure what we should expect of the kid this year.

Could he do a boldin or a reggie williams (who?) lol

I think his speed has ALL of us salivating at the possibilities and speed will do that to you. I'm more concerned about his FOOTBALL ability. He sounds like he dominated the competition game in and game out in college which is what you want to hear if he was coming from lesser comp.

WR's always take some time to translate into the NFL game. I think he plays the #3 or 4 this year and is our #2 either by the end of the year or beginning of next. That's my HOPE anyway.

 

[Number19]

I agree, I'm hoping (and actually expecting) his hands prove good enough that he'll start the season as the #3. But he should at least be #4. His athleticism and instincts seem to be good. I like that Casserly described him as a football player who ran track. Although he attended a small college because he was academically weak, he won all-state honers in high school. Researching this player, I found that he has slightly larger hands than average, which means little but is better than having small hands.

Does anyone know what kind of speed - 40 yds - that Armstrong has? I've begun to think that as much as I like Gaffney, he may be the odd player out and maybe gone at the end of his current contract. He only has about 4.55 speed and I'm thinking that Armstrong may win out for the #4 spot.

I've also been thinking how attactive a line-up of Bradford and Mathis on the outside and AJ in the slot would be. Who would have single coverage?

Traditionally, Texas_Thrill, you are correct that WR's took a little time to adjust to the pro game. But it does appear that since the no-contact rule change, rookies now for the past couple of years have had an easier time of it. This is one reason that I'm a little more encouraged than I would have been 3 or 4 years ago.

If Mathis could have 20 - 30 catches this next season, for about 500 yds and 3 or 4 TD's, I would consider this to be a successful rookie campaign.

 

[El Tejano]

If Mathis could have 20 - 30 catches this next season, for about 500 yds and 3 or 4 TD's, I would consider this to be a successful rookie campaign.

That is what I was thinking. Even if he could produce the #s Armstrong produced last year, it would be a good rookie season.

 

[THEFUTURE]

"IF caught in stride" (then it would work)

I'm with you guys I think more 4-5 reciever sets would be great, IF Palmer ever wakes up.

BUT

It seems like Palmer has built his offense around the "IF" plays

IF Carr gets enough time, IF Bradford commands any coverage, IF the line blocks for 3 seconds, IF Miller gets open, IF the other team's coaches are retarded, IF we get lucky, IF they don't intercept this everytime........just IF

How come we can't have some plays that actually work everytime ?


not just a bunch of "IF"s

Palmer has opened up more and more of the playbook, as he has gotten the tools, 5 Year Plan is still in effect, we have not seen everything we have, and as Casserly, Capers, Palmer get their players they want in place, we will see more and more of our offense, and our defense

 

[THEFUTURE]

Coles dropped 7 balls last year. 11 the year before. And I think the guys at Stats, Inc. are being kind to Coles.


Coles stats at Stats, Inc.

I think the worst thing that could happen to a guy coming out of Division I-AA is have pressure to start right away. Forget route running, how about just learning to get off the LOS? A good press cover corner can turn a 4.3 speedster into a 4.6 mudder. Too bad Aaron Glenn is no longer on the team, he could have shown Mathis a lot of tricks in that area.

a track guy is used to getting of a line quick, and as its known, mathis was definatly a track guy as well as a football player, and the two do go hand in hand at some points... especially getting off the LOS. track runners need explosion off the blocks, and that can translate to explosion of the line. and when it does, he is so quick, he will have the DB on his heels and the DB will be done

 

[ATX]

AJ was a track guy in college and even came in second place at the probowl fastest man challenge, just barely losing it. didn't AJ come in running a 4.3 something out of college. sometimes i forget how fast AJ is because of his other abilities. anyway, i forgot my point.

 

[STEEL BLUE TEXANS]

I think AJ ran a 4.34

 

[Texan in Japan]

I have a good feeling about Mathis. He wants to prove teams that passed on him that they made a mistake. His speed alone, will open up some options for us if he sees time in 3-4 WR sets. On spec teams, we may have something special...I'm remembering the excitement a Billy "White Shoes" Johnson use to bring to Houston and think this kid may do that again for us. A lot will depend on him grasping the nuances of the pro game quickly and adapting his pure speed to the game's speed.

 

[vtech9]

I have a good feeling about Mathis. He wants to prove teams that passed on him that they made a mistake. His speed alone, will open up some options for us if he sees time in 3-4 WR sets. On spec teams, we may have something special...I'm remembering the excitement a Billy "White Shoes" Johnson use to bring to Houston and think this kid may do that again for us. A lot will depend on him grasping the nuances of the pro game quickly and adapting his pure speed to the game's speed.

I still see defenses double-teaming AJ and leaving Mathis in 1-on-1, at least at first. If Mathis starts burning the 1-on-1 coverage, will defenses start doubling him and leave AJ 1-on-1? Either way, it would open up the field for the other WR's & TE's, and it would also open the running game.

Someone said earlier that Carr only gets 2.5 seconds to throw the ball and in that time Mathis would already be 20 yds down the field. What they didn't mention is that if Carr throws the ball 40 yds and it takes another 2.5 seconds for the ball to get there, Mathis would have to stop and wait for the ball considering that Mathis runs the 40 in the mid 4.2 second rang.

If you can't tell, I'm excited to see our Offense in action.

 

[Number19]

Mathis, lined up in a one-back set (3 WR's plus a TE), opens up the offense in so many ways. If he proves to be a serious deep threat, I could see the opposing team being forced into a nickle defense, with a 2 deep zone covering AJ and Mathis. This results in a favorable match-up for the 3rd receiver and the TE. And just as important, it opens huge holes for the running game.

I think Bradford could re-emerge as a viable threat. Can you imagine Mathis lined up wide on one side, Bradford wide on the other, with AJ in the slot?