My musings on the status thus far

[gtexan02]

I fail to see why Eric Winston is rated so much higher than Daryn Colledge.

Colledge
Height: 6-4 3/8 | Weight: 299 | 40-Time: 5.04
Strengths:
Has a good frame and should be able to add some weight...Is a brilliant pass blocker...Very technically sound...An excellent athlete with great quickness who moves extremely well...Has a nasty demeanor on the field and plays to the whistle...Hard worker who wants to be great...Strong and Explosive...Is a stud in the weight room...Has a lot of experience and consistently grades out very well...Mature with top intangibles...Versatile and can play multiple positions.

Weaknesses:
Needs to add some weight and continue to bulk up for the next level...Must improve as a run blocker...Struggles with massive defenders and can get pushed back...Is still developing and not yet a finished product...Doesn't always play with proper leverage and knee bend...Did not always play against elite competition.

Notes:
Lightly regarded recruit from North Pole, Alaska who entered college at 235 lbs...Very raw coming out of high school and did not play football as a sophomore or junior...Started every game of his college career...Has the physical tools and natural ability to play the critical left tackle position in the pros which is coveted.

Winston
Height: 6-6 5/8 | Weight: 310 | 40-Time: 4.94
Strengths:
Has excellent size with long arms and the frame to pack on some additional weight...Extremely athletic and quick for the position...Has amazing feet...Mobility is outstanding...Can pull and block in space...Competitive and physical...Uses his hands well and has a good initial punch...Very smart and a hard worker with top intangibles...Gets better each game and still has a ton of upside and potential.

Weaknesses:
Suffered a major knee injury as a junior in 2004 and didn't appear to be fully recovered yet...Has some trouble with speed rushers...Can he play left tackle or will he have to move to the right side?...Raw and is still mastering the nuances and technique of the position...Needs to get stronger and continue to develop physically...Can he get much bigger without losing his quickness and mobility?

Notes:
Came to college as a tight end...Looked like a future elite left tackle prospect prior to the injury...Stock dropped in 2005 but that downturn in play might be attributed to his not yet being 100% healthy...It usually takes two seasons to come back from the type of surgery he had so some team may get a steal if he slips a bit on Draft Day and then reverts back to the form he showed in '03 & '04.

Colledge just seems underrated, and is predicted to last until late 2nd-middle 3rd. That'd be huge if we could get someone like D'Qwell Jackson with our #33

 

[Bobo]

2-14 season = not too hasty. You list me a team that went 2-14 and/or worse in the coaches 3rd or later year and didn't fire their coach and I'll be very surprised.
Just for your own knowledge, since you seem to be utterly confused, here are Cowher's stats with the Steelers:
Year Team G W L T PCT
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 11 5 0 .688
2004 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 15 1 0 .938
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 6 10 0 .375
2002 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 10 5 1 .656
2001 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 13 3 0 .813
2000 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 9 7 0 .563
1999 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 6 10 0 .375
1998 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 7 9 0 .438
1997 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 11 5 0 .688
1996 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 10 6 0 .625
1995 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 11 5 0 .688
1994 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 12 4 0 .750
1993 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 9 7 0 .563
1992 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 11 5 0 .688

The worst he's ever done is 6-10, and other than those 2, he's had significant winning seasons to surround those

And Holmgren:
Year Team G W L T PCT
2005 Seattle Seahawks 16 13 3 0 .813
2004 Seattle Seahawks 16 9 7 0 .563
2003 Seattle Seahawks 16 10 6 0 .625
2002 Seattle Seahawks 16 7 9 0 .438
2001 Seattle Seahawks 16 9 7 0 .563
2000 Seattle Seahawks 16 6 10 0 .375
1999 Seattle Seahawks 16 9 7 0 .563

Again, only 6-10, and only once. And he had a winning percentage before coming into Seattle with GB, going 11/5, 13/3, 13/3, and 11/5 before coming to seattle.

Secondly, there have been many changes on both OL and DL. Here are the ones I know of:
1) Hiring Sherman as OL coach
2) Signing Flannagan
3) Signing Peko
4) Shuffling OL to suit our needs
5) Switching to the 4-3
6) Moving Peek/Babin back to their traditional spots
7) Moving Smith and TJ back to DTs
8) Signing Weaver
9) Signing Kalu

How is that not "significant changes" to the lines exactly?

A.) You are forcing me into sounding like a broken record. Do a search on my postings and you will find I have dealt with these so-called "significant" changes. Moving folks around and signing folks with back problems and backups are not significant changes by any means. And like I have also said, I am not the only person who has said this. B.) Under Cowher from 2001 to 2003, the team regressed 7 games (13-3 to 6-10) and went from being a successful, winning franchise to a losing one in two years. Cowher's team plummeted a lot farther than the expansion Texans did (dropped from 7-9 to 2-14, five games) yet Cowher kept his job and went on to the Super Bowl. Capers didn't regress as much as Capers did and he didn't have a team with an infrastructure already in place like Cowher and Holmgren did when they took over their teams. When Seattle and Pittsburgh fell, it was a much worse decline than the Texans when you take into account the type of infrastructure both the Seahawks and Steelers had. C.) Like I've said many times before, Capers came into this town and took a team from scratch -- something neither Holmgren nor Cowher did -- and brought them to within a game of .500 within three years when all he had to work with was NFL rejects and green rookies. Funny how I never hear anyone mention that fact. D.) For some reason, people try to compare the Texans records with the records of other teams without taking into account the fact that the Texans were an expansion team with no infrastructure whatsoever during Capers' tenure. When you honestly take that into account, what Capers did was remarkable. Yet, he was fired despite his accomplishments -- after one bad season. As I recall, the coach of the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs went a year and a half without getting one lousy victory, yet he still held his job. Capers accomplishments far superceded McKay's, but it was Capers who was given the axe. Face it -- Capers was treated unfairly and one will never know how far he would have taken this team if the Texans front office would have exhibited the same patience that the Seahawks and Steelers did with their respective SB coaches.

 

[Texas]

OMG WERE GONNA BE BETTER THEN THE 95 COWBOYS

OR MAYBE LIKE the 72 DOLPHINS

OR MAYBE WE WILL BE JUST OKAY

HOWEVER RIGHT NOW WE DONT KNOW ANYTHING SO LETS STAY

 

[HJam72]

Well, I'm totally convinced now. Let's fire the whole staff and bring Capers back.

 

[texplayer2]

A.) You are forcing me into sounding like a broken record. Do a search on my postings and you will find I have dealt with these so-called "significant" changes. Moving folks around and signing folks with back problems and backups are not significant changes by any means. And like I have also said, I am not the only person who has said this. B.) Under Cowher from 2001 to 2003, the team regressed 7 games (13-3 to 6-10) and went from being a successful, winning franchise to a losing one in two years. Cowher's team plummeted a lot farther than the expansion Texans did (dropped from 7-9 to 2-14, five games) yet Cowher kept his job and went on to the Super Bowl. Capers didn't regress as much as Capers did and he didn't have a team with an infrastructure already in place like Cowher and Holmgren did when they took over their teams. When Seattle and Pittsburgh fell, it was a much worse decline than the Texans when you take into account the type of infrastructure both the Seahawks and Steelers had. C.) Like I've said many times before, Capers came into this town and took a team from scratch -- something neither Holmgren nor Cowher did -- and brought them to within a game of .500 within three years when all he had to work with was NFL rejects and green rookies. Funny how I never hear anyone mention that fact. D.) For some reason, people try to compare the Texans records with the records of other teams without taking into account the fact that the Texans were an expansion team with no infrastructure whatsoever during Capers' tenure. When you honestly take that into account, what Capers did was remarkable. Yet, he was fired despite his accomplishments -- after one bad season. As I recall, the coach of the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs went a year and a half without getting one lousy victory, yet he still held his job. Capers accomplishments far superceded McKay's, but it was Capers who was given the axe. Face it -- Capers was treated unfairly and one will never know how far he would have taken this team if the Texans front office would have exhibited the same patience that the Seahawks and Steelers did with their respective SB coaches.

Capers had a good philosophy for starting the franchise, but did not expand that as his team grew. I think he should have developed his system as his players experience increased. To me it seemed like the same stuff for four years and the other teams began to figure out his system. As for the two Superbowl Coaches, those teams got worse for one season and then rebounded. Capers never did get to .500 and then our team nose dived into a 2-14 record (worst in the League).

 

[tulexan]

I fail to see why Eric Winston is rated so much higher than Daryn Colledge.


Came to college as a tight end...Looked like a future elite left tackle prospect prior to the injury...Stock dropped in 2005 but that downturn in play might be attributed to his not yet being 100% healthy...It usually takes two seasons to come back from the type of surgery he had so some team may get a steal if he slips a bit on Draft Day and then reverts back to the form he showed in '03 & '04.

I think this is why.

 

[TreWardTxn]

The scouts like Winston more than Colledge because of his longer arms, that kind of thing can make or break a prospect, or at least move them down the food chain.

In all honesty, did anyone expect Capers to be the long term coach of the Texans? He was brought in to get another expansion franchise off the ground, which he did, but I don't think McNair ever intended him to be the one to take it to the next level. He didn't have the know-how (or staff) to develop a young QB and made bumbling mistakes like jumping on the 3-4 defense bandwagon and juggling the offensive line.

Hopefully, Kubiak can improve the talent the team does have and install stable offensive and defensive systems that prove they do work, as Cowher did in '95, before they came "crashing down" to 6-10 some years later...

 

[tsip]

...talk about forgetting to mention the 'facts'---which expansion team of the modern era was the only team not to make the playoffs by their 4th year? Which expansion team of the same era had the worse record in their 5th year? Which expansion team was 5-24 in the last 29 games they played?

Give Up? It was 'Done Wrong' Capers Texans-you know, the same Capers that was getting his door knocked down for new coaching jobs for '06...nottttttttttttt.
Hey, you're almost up to 700 posts on the Titan's site--you know--that site you said you had nothing to do with!!!

 

[TreWardTxn]

The "facts" of the matter are, that after the success the Panthers and Jaguars had as expansion teams, the NFL changed the rules; limiting the expansion draft, and their amount of draft picks (including those in the first round) available to build the team. Those teams were built on talented veteran players with plenty left in the tank, the Texans had/have a lot of young talent.

So, if you want to say Capers was handcuffed by the NFL, fine. That said, I still think he made too many bonehead mistakes to be retained as the HC. It got to the point where you looked at him and wondered how the team could do anything right...

 

[Texans_Chick]

The excitement and the electricity that was here when Capers was in charge just isn't there anymore for this team and I doubt it will ever return.

My vote for Funniest MB Quote 2006.

Read it again. Slowly. Savor it.

I can't decide if Bobo's humor is unintentional or if he is wicked super genius funny ala the Tony Clifton/wrestling Andy Kaufman.

BRILLIANT!










(I just want to add that I think there are nice things to say about Capers, but engendering excitement and electricity are probably not terribly high on that list).

 

[gtexan02]

A.) You are forcing me into sounding like a broken record. Do a search on my postings and you will find I have dealt with these so-called "significant" changes. Moving folks around and signing folks with back problems and backups are not significant changes by any means. And like I have also said, I am not the only person who has said this. B.) Under Cowher from 2001 to 2003, the team regressed 7 games (13-3 to 6-10) and went from being a successful, winning franchise to a losing one in two years. Cowher's team plummeted a lot farther than the expansion Texans did (dropped from 7-9 to 2-14, five games) yet Cowher kept his job and went on to the Super Bowl. Capers didn't regress as much as Capers did and he didn't have a team with an infrastructure already in place like Cowher and Holmgren did when they took over their teams. When Seattle and Pittsburgh fell, it was a much worse decline than the Texans when you take into account the type of infrastructure both the Seahawks and Steelers had. C.) Like I've said many times before, Capers came into this town and took a team from scratch -- something neither Holmgren nor Cowher did -- and brought them to within a game of .500 within three years when all he had to work with was NFL rejects and green rookies. Funny how I never hear anyone mention that fact. D.) For some reason, people try to compare the Texans records with the records of other teams without taking into account the fact that the Texans were an expansion team with no infrastructure whatsoever during Capers' tenure. When you honestly take that into account, what Capers did was remarkable. Yet, he was fired despite his accomplishments -- after one bad season. As I recall, the coach of the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs went a year and a half without getting one lousy victory, yet he still held his job. Capers accomplishments far superceded McKay's, but it was Capers who was given the axe. Face it -- Capers was treated unfairly and one will never know how far he would have taken this team if the Texans front office would have exhibited the same patience that the Seahawks and Steelers did with their respective SB coaches.

Since you seem so stuck on rebutting everything I say, how about tackling this one. It was painfully obvious that the team and the fans had given up on Capers. Carr was visibly frustrated with his playcalling, multiple people the defensive side of the ball were angry with the schemes, etc. They may have come out publically and said "We like Capers" and whatnot, but it was clear from watching game film that they were frustrated and ready for a change. So you can either stick with Capers and demoralize the players even more, or you can make a change in the coaching system and reenergize the players. Which do you think is more effective? Sure you could cut all the players that had a problem with Capers (ie Sharper, Glenn, etc) this year, but then you'd be left with almost no one. The team demanded a change, and they got it. End of story

 

[Big78]

I don't know where you get this "excitement is in the air with our team" I don't feel any and the unbiased observers don't sense any either. If you put out the same team with the same coach this year, they'd probably be better than 2-14. Heck, they were 7-9 the previous year. I would rather they have kept Capers. He had the team going in the right direction. Yes, he had a bad year last year. But both Cowher and Holmgren had bad years and look where they ended up this past season.

How can u be unbiased and still say this is "your team". To claim a team as your own, u must like it and therefore you are biased. And if u are a texans fan and dont think that we have improved enought o become excited about the upcoming year, how can u be a fan? If u like the team that means u want them to succede, and that means that when the chance of their succeding is higher u should be more excited, right?

And, true, we would probably do better if last season were retried, but u cant say that capers had us going in the right direction and mean it. Most of the injuries that contributed to our sucking lately were due to overworking and misusage of players and their skills and that all leads back to capers and his staff. I am tired and cant think clearly enough to complete this point but i think most people get what im trying to say.

 

[gtexan02]

What it comes down to is this: Football, like it or not, is a GAME. It is simply a bunch of guys trying to either have fun or make big money. The outcome isn't going to cure diseases, or educate children, or find wmd in iraq. It simply brings joy or sadness to a bunch of people who like to watch it. Therefore, if you are a fan of a team, and want to spend your valuable free time watching said team, you are generally hoping to get joy out of it.

Where am I going with this?

Because there are two attitudes you can take while being a sports fan. You can either A) Hope your team will get better than they were the previous year, and believe that the owner, gm, and coaches know what they are doing or B) Be pessimistic and doubt every move, while ducking under cover of your roof for fear the sky may be falling.

Some people derive pleasure from, well, pleasure, as in case A. Others seem to derive pleasure from the drearier case B. People are who they are, and theres no use trying to change them. If we had kept Capers, I'm sure Bobo hear would be just as ominous about our future.

If you aren't deriving pleasure from the dreary outlook case B, why even watch the team anymore? If you put your hand on a hot stove, and don't like the pain, then take it off for heavens sake. Bobo, if you are really this sad about the future of the Texans, do yourself a favor and quit watching them.

 

[Mr. White]

Sure you could cut all the players that had a problem with Capers (ie Sharper, Glenn, etc) this year, but then you'd be left with almost no one. The team demanded a change, and they got it. End of story

I never heard this one before..... did Sharper and Glenn leave because they had a problem with Capers?

 

[TheOgre]

Trolls die when they are not fed.

That is all.