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Rough start for Texans 2014 draft class

G

gtexan02

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Normally when a team has the 1st pick in each round, it means 2 things:
1) They are terrible and need a lot of impact rookies to start right away
2) The players they choose have the potential to make an immediate contribution

So far I'm starting to get a bit worried about our players:

Clowney - All world potential, has played 52 snaps (including preseasons) since being drafted. Hernia, concussion, and now knee injury. Ominous start

Su'a-Filo - Drafted to be an anchor on our OL, played 3 snaps. Great presence in the run game but struggling with pass blocking. Dont' see him making a huge impact

Fiedorowitz - Started game because of injury to Graham. B'OB stressed importance of TEs in our offense. No targets, no catches

Nix - Injuries have limited him as well. Did not appear on stat sheet. Did he even play?

Savage - Long term project. Inactive


We did get a nice special teams play from Blue and some great run blocking from Prosch, but our top picks are leaving a lot to be desired. I can't believe I'm saying this, but imagine Derek Carr or Jimmy Garapolo as our starting QB instead of Fitz. I think Clowney was the obvious 1-1 pick, but to get a back up guard at 2-1 when there were starting caliber QBs available.... hurts a little.

Obviously too early to tell, but this draft that seemed so promising a few months ago is looking like a lot of long term projects and injury prone players. That's tough for a team that went 2-14 the year before and is hoping for a quick bounce back
 
The Pencil Neck said:
We've played one game.

And we won it.

This might be a little too soon.
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Right, and I totally acknowledge that. But let's look ahead:

Clowney isn't playing for at least 4-6 weeks. Doc seems to think 8.

Su'a Filo didn't crack the starting lineup in week 1 and played 3 snaps. I don't imagine things will change much going forward unless there's an injury

Fiedo has a lot of promise. I hope he gets some looks in the passing game. Definitely too early on him.

Nix seems way behind. He missed almost all of camp. He did look ok in preseason when he was in. He may make an impact this year

We dont' have a lot of impact players who 'played like rookies' we have a lot of rookie players who didn't play at all. I don't know if that means our veterans are better than originally thought or our rookies just aren't ready to make an impact. Regardless, I was hoping for at least 2+ quality starters from our rookie pool. Looks like we may have to wait a few weeks to see any impact
 
gtexan02 said:
Normally when a team has the 1st pick in each round, it means 2 things:
1) They are terrible and need a lot of impact rookies to start right away
2) The players they choose have the potential to make an immediate contribution

So far I'm starting to get a bit worried about our players:

Clowney - All world potential, has played 52 snaps (including preseasons) since being drafted. Hernia, concussion, and now knee injury. Ominous start

Su'a-Filo - Drafted to be an anchor on our OL, played 3 snaps. Great presence in the run game but struggling with pass blocking. Dont' see him making a huge impact

Fiedorowitz - Started game because of injury to Graham. B'OB stressed importance of TEs in our offense. No targets, no catches

Nix - Injuries have limited him as well. Did not appear on stat sheet. Did he even play?

Savage - Long term project. Inactive


We did get a nice special teams play from Blue and some great run blocking from Prosch, but our top picks are leaving a lot to be desired. I can't believe I'm saying this, but imagine Derek Carr or Jimmy Garapolo as our starting QB instead of Fitz. I think Clowney was the obvious 1-1 pick, but to get a back up guard at 2-1 when there were starting caliber QBs available.... hurts a little.

Obviously too early to tell, but this draft that seemed so promising a few months ago is looking like a lot of long term projects and injury prone players. That's tough for a team that went 2-14 the year before and is hoping for a quick bounce back
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Alright, let me try:

Clowney: Injuries are a huge bummer - but he more than just flashed his potential. Definetly a talent worthy of a number 1 pick and those injuries don't seem to be lingering ones.

Sua-Filo: It takes time for O-Line-men to adjust to playing against stronger and faster guys. I clearly remember Iupati struggling his first season. Plus he wasn't even with the team the whole preseason. Be a little patient with him.

Fiedorowitz: He was supposed to be our blocking TE first and foremost. I was also surprised, that TEs weren't a bigger part of the gameplan, but Fido looked pretty good in preseason.

Nix: If it were not for injuries, he wouldn't have been there for the taking. In his one game he looked lost. But NTs also take a long time to adjust (NTs, OL and CBs take the longest I'd say - of course you could add QB). Give him time

Savage: Everybody knew this guy would need time. He has never played longer than 1 season in any system. He is a developemental guy that has all the tools but a lot to learn.

Bottom line: give them time.
 
Su'a Filo and Nix are projected as future starters and were drafted to help anchor the lines. Nix came in fat and injured, so I understand why he's a bit behind. Maybe Filo is just going to take a bit longer.

I'm trying to be optimistic here. If they both eventually do what they were drafted to do, we'll be in fine shape.
 
I know in this day and age everyone wants instant gratification but the fact is more rookies struggle vs having immediate success. Let's give these guys time to adjust and adapt to the NFL before we talk about their struggles.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
We've played one game.

And we won it.

This might be a little too soon.
Click to expand...

2014 draft was a total bust.
angrywife.gif
brodkavelarg.gif


We should've drafted Robinson or Bortles and kept them safe on the sidelines.
 
otisbean said:
I know in this day and age everyone wants instant gratification but the fact is more rookies struggle vs having immediate success. Let's give these guys time to adjust and adapt to the NFL before we talk about their struggles.
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True that. Rookies who come in and immediately set the league on fire are the exception to the rule. Just that whenever we see a youngster do so, it's kneejerk to turn and look at the other rooks like, "well, c'mon, what's your excuse?"

Not every rookie QB is ready to take command of a huddle week 1. Not every O-lineman is ready to get manhandled in week 1 by much bigger, stronger, faster guys than he did in college. Not every rook WR is ready to digest complex NFL offenses week 1. There are those few that take to the league like a duck to water, but most take more than week 1.

The NFL is an awfully big leap, they'll come along.
 
Stealing LikeMike's take with my versions.
Clowney: Gotta throw out the hernia one, it was lingering from college. The Concussion is a one-off. Much more worried about the knee injury. 6-8 weeks without your new "all world" OLB sux.

Sua-Filo: Not sure he's just not ready "now" or won't be ready "ever". Expect to see more contibutions as folks go down or we need fresh legs. Project to be starting by week 10-12.

Fiedorowitz: The gameplan isn't his fault. Thought they were crazy starting a WR who hadn't seen one day of camp. That same WR got at least two targets on plays that should have gone to Fiedo instead. He was getting effective blocking and getting open. Least of my draft worries.

Nix: Dropped in draft due to injuries. Same injuries kept him out of camp. H'es the highest risk/reward guy we chose. If he's not starting by mid-season, or at least getting 40% of the snaps by that time, then I'll worry.

Savage: Was a shot-in-the-dark with next to no chance of seeing playing time this season. Right where I expected him to be.
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Too early to worry about these when Fitzmagic doesn't look like an NFL starter in this offense for 4 quarters yet.
 
One thing about Sua-Filo which is going unmentioned is that during TC he really had his plate filled high, learning both OG and OT. In Sunday's pre-game show, they said he actually took more snaps at OT than OG. So it's not surprising he's not quite ready to start.
 
TheIronDuke said:
I, too, think it's too early to tell on this draft class but Rick Smith not drafting well is hardly a surprise.
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When you draft the greatest defender of all time, when the fans wanted Fairley, and the experts said we should get Amukamara... you have to let some of his bad picks slide. :)
 
It's funny how you can say "rough start" and everyone interprets it as me saying "ALL OUR PLAYERS ARE BUSTS!"

I just said they had a rough start, and as a 2-14 team, you'd hope they could make more of an impact. Yes, Clowney will be back. Yes, XSF will likely develop into a starter. Yes, Nix will probably come around.

But again, as a 2-14 team, you need contributions right away if you're going from worst to ... respectable?

If we had a draft like this after an 8-8 year or 10-6 year I'd be jumping right now. I just wish we had a class ready to contribute a little earlier (whether because of injuries, talent, etc)
 
LikeMike said:
Bottom line: give them time.
Click to expand...

Ding Ding, we have a winner!

These things take time. Clowney is a starter, and has already made some big plays in preseason. Injuries happen, Clowney was the unfortunate one this time. He will be back!

As for the rest of the rookies, we have to wait and see with them, after all they are rookies.
 
I think a 2-14 team would hope to have some immediate impact players in the draft. High draft picks, areas of immediate need - the potential is there for a rookie or two to make some noise. However, the Texans were treated with injuries and the sound of silence.

It is a disappointing start; I don't think we have to wait two years to discuss how the first game for this rookie class worked out. I find it interesting anyway.

That being said, everyone knows there is a lot of story yet to unfold for these rookies. At least are we are almost certainly assured the story will get better from here.

Building a straw man argument that the OP has already stated that this class is full of career busts is ... inaccurate.
 
Runner said:
I think a 2-14 team would hope to have some immediate impact players in the draft. High draft picks, areas of immediate need - the potential is there for a rookie or two to make some noise. However, the Texans were treated with injuries and the sound of silence.

It is a disappointing start; I don't think we have to wait two years to discuss how the first game for this rookie class worked out. I find it interesting anyway.

That being said, everyone knows there is a lot of story yet to unfold for these rookies. At least are we are almost certainly assured the story will get better from here.

Building a straw man argument that the OP has already stated that this class is full of career busts is ... inaccurate.
Click to expand...

Like I said, I think 1 game, a game that we won, is too soon.

We expect Jadeveon to be a beast and we've seen some flashes that he will be. Like OB said, guys getting hurt is a part of football.

A second round guard not coming in and starting immediately is not an issue for me. A third round TE who's known for his blocking who starts his first game and blocks pretty well but doesn't get thrown to doesn't worry me. A third round DT/NT coming off of surgery and working his way back who's on the inactives list his first game doesn't worry me. A fourth round rookie QB not coming in and starting doesn't worry me.

We got good snaps out of Pagan, Prosch, and Hal. Or are we supposed to ignore that? Do they not count because they weren't drafted early?

And although Blue didn't do much as a RB, he kinda flashed a little on special teams. Are we supposed to ignore that? Is him scoring a ST TD considered a "rough start"?

So.

Did our rookies play lights-out? No.
Could we have gotten more production out of some guys? Sure.

So freaking what. Why are we talking about this? Why are we ignoring the fact that some of our rookies did play and did make plays? Are we wanting to begin the "Fire Rick Smith" talk already? Are we wanting to be negative on this season already?

Really?
 
This. This is why people outside of Houston see the fan base as a doom and gloom kind of thing. We don't seem to be happy unless we have a tragedy to cry in our beers about. And we'll manufacture one if our sports teams don't cooperate.

<shakes his head muttering "it's only been one game">
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Like I said, I think 1 game, a game that we won, is too soon.

We expect Jadeveon to be a beast and we've seen some flashes that he will be. Like OB said, guys getting hurt is a part of football.

A second round guard not coming in and starting immediately is not an issue for me. A third round TE who's known for his blocking who starts his first game and blocks pretty well but doesn't get thrown to doesn't worry me. A third round DT/NT coming off of surgery and working his way back who's on the inactives list his first game doesn't worry me. A fourth round rookie QB not coming in and starting doesn't worry me.

We got good snaps out of Pagan, Prosch, and Hal. Or are we supposed to ignore that? Do they not count because they weren't drafted early?

And although Blue didn't do much as a RB, he kinda flashed a little on special teams. Are we supposed to ignore that? Is him scoring a ST TD considered a "rough start"?

So.

Did our rookies play lights-out? No.
Could we have gotten more production out of some guys? Sure.

So freaking what. Why are we talking about this? Why are we ignoring the fact that some of our rookies did play and did make plays? Are we wanting to begin the "Fire Rick Smith" talk already? Are we wanting to be negative on this season already?

Really?
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I think it's a good topic, and even you have added some good points about it even though you think it is so worthless.

Cut out the whining posts about the topic, and this thread has back and forth football discussion. Cool!
 
clown is young and physical freak hes a super human he will prob be back in 4 weeks but coud prob really be good to go in 3 weeks besides no need to rush him back IMO
 
A couple of things on this topic I didn't see mentioned. First, I believe XSF missed all of OTA's due to UCLA's late semester (might be trimester) system similar to when Luck came out from Stanford and he missed the Colt's OTA's. When XSF showed up to TC he was already way behind everyone else, and, as mentioned before, they have been moving him around the O-line quite a bit. My guess is he will be getting more and more snaps in the coming weeks and will probably be starting by mid season.

Secondly, as for Fiedorowicz, he did get thrown to at least once that I remember but, if I recall, the ball was either knocked away from his hands or he dropped it. Either way though, I was surprised that BOB didn't use the TE's very much in the passing game. He did say in one of his interviews they had to change their game plan a little since GG was out and use their WR's a little more.
 
Runner said:
I think a 2-14 team would hope to have some immediate impact players in the draft. High draft picks, areas of immediate need - the potential is there for a rookie or two to make some noise. However, the Texans were treated with injuries and the sound of silence.

It is a disappointing start; I don't think we have to wait two years to discuss how the first game for this rookie class worked out. I find it interesting anyway.

That being said, everyone knows there is a lot of story yet to unfold for these rookies. At least are we are almost certainly assured the story will get better from here.

Building a straw man argument that the OP has already stated that this class is full of career busts is ... inaccurate.
Click to expand...
I'm disappointed that JDC is going to miss a big chunk of the season, but that's about it.

I think the fact that the Texans don't need to have rookie's come in and produce right away is a good thing. It tells me that the Texans had more bad luck than bad players last season.

The team is 1-0 and going to Oakland to play a team starting a rookie QB who's 0-1. The pass rush we saw against the Redskins should wreak havoc against a rookie QB.

All in all, I still see holes in the team, but I don't see utter ineptitude or overwhelmingly bad play.
 
Worst sign to me is XSF not starting. 1-1 no arguments against Clowney, as you can't predict injuries. A rough start for sure for him though. He may be hard to keep on the field consistently.

XSF not starting week 1 is a major disappointment. He isn't starting for 1 of 2 reasons: We have a veteran in his position that is better than him, which means we drafted a backup guard (not smart for a 2-14 team with lots of holes) or he is under performing relative to his expectations (also disappointing). There were other impact rookies available at positions of need we could have taken that would have been more use than a backup guard.

I don't think he's a bust and I imagine he'll make an impact sooner rather than later (he's shown a lot of promise in the run game already) but I'm surprised more people aren't surprised by his lack of playing time or at least regretful we didn't address another area of need with that pick (QB, S, etc)
 
Rick Smith hard stance to other teams who might otherwise traded up for Clowney set parameters for at least next three rounds. Then other teams traded up for a QB in front of Texans (Manziel/Bridewater) or Patriots instead of taking a comp to Gronk in Fiedorowiez took Garoppolo-which resulted in Mallet. Hence Rick Smith/O'Brian waited until the 4th to add developmental QB instead of more pro-ready QB. I'm not unhappy with this haul, my point is by not working that first pick, addressing QB early & maneuvering to maximize bpa @ positions of need it's all on Rick. I know a majority of draft geeks here felt same way, that Texans needed to trade down to position themselves to add QB with lower risk plus address other positions of need to improve razor this depth that's haunted this franchise since expansion. :barman:
 
beerlover said:
I like it because it's easier for me to see/read (oddly enough I'm @ my optometrist getting frames changed out, lol) :)
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My glasses are expensive as hell. My lenses are blended trifocal, the frames are titanium twist/flex, resulting in a $400 price tag for my glasses.
 
I went to my high school reunion and it was a rough start for my graduating class. All basically losers. So i know how it feels......
 
gtexan02 said:
Worst sign to me is XSF not starting. 1-1 no arguments against Clowney, as you can't predict injuries. A rough start for sure for him though. He may be hard to keep on the field consistently.

XSF not starting week 1 is a major disappointment. He isn't starting for 1 of 2 reasons: We have a veteran in his position that is better than him, which means we drafted a backup guard (not smart for a 2-14 team with lots of holes) or he is under performing relative to his expectations (also disappointing). There were other impact rookies available at positions of need we could have taken that would have been more use than a backup guard.

I don't think he's a bust and I imagine he'll make an impact sooner rather than later (he's shown a lot of promise in the run game already) but I'm surprised more people aren't surprised by his lack of playing time or at least regretful we didn't address another area of need with that pick (QB, S, etc)
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XSF starting week one or not doesn't define his drafting as that of a backup guard or necessarily mean he isn't living up. We drafted a guard, one that they may have even believed would have a bit of a learning curve, but also believed would see his ceiling. As of Sunday the staff felt that he was, at least, still a week away from giving us the best chance to win that particular ballgame. That will continuously be evaluated and can change any given week. It really seems you're trying to write the guys career arc just sixty minutes in.

I think more people aren't surprised that a second round pick isn't starting in week 1 of his NFL career. And those same people aren't ready just yet to call for a re-draft after that same week 1.
 
If we're being so quick to judge, why no mention of blue?

Dude is going to surpass Hester as best special teamer ever
 
Thorn said:
My glasses are expensive as hell. My lenses are blended trifocal, the frames are titanium twist/flex, resulting in a $400 price tag for my glasses.
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Umm hmm, another reason I won't ever have social security.
 
i'm still pretty excited about the class. of course we all want 7 picks to come in and be probowlers their first year (or game it seems), but that's just not realistic. the rooks are playing well, and the guys infront of them are playing really well - nothing wrong with that.

clowney ... has shown all world potential against pros. can he stay healthy? too early to say
XSF ... was late to camp and has been moved all over the line. this isnt on the player, it seems more like the coaches are waiting for an opening to lock him into. could be that he's the entire line's first backup if injury happens, we dont know yet.
nix ... injury has been a slow recovery, but he's been making noticeable improvements - will start next season (or sooner).
fido ... looks strong. coach and quarterback are why he wasnt on the stat sheet
blue ... good in preseason but grimes was lighting it up. still put up 7 points by himself
prosch ... exactly as advertised
hal ... flashing big time. lots to learn, but he's going to be seeing a regular bump in minutes this year and in the future.

edit: what i'm getting at is these are guys (outside of clowney's injury and nix's recovery) that could've seen a lot more time on sunday, but werent required to do so. that's a good thing. XSF will replace someone when the time is right. blue's going to start getting the 'ugly' carries as the season goes on and arian's carries pile up. fido's going to be a target in many gameplans, and non-existent in others. and i'd rather our DB's stay healthy so that hal only shows up in dime situations until next year.
 
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Yeah, as a group, I'm pretty happy with the new players, especially on special teams! It actually looked like they knew what they were doing most of the time, as opposed to the last few seasons. All of a sudden, Shilo isn't the brunt of our angst.
 
I think a lot of Nfl teams are going have issues with there rookies. Look at Rams they drafted Greg Robinson at No 2 and he not even starting. Texans are not gonna be bad as folks think. Next year I will scream at Mr.Smith if he does not get a impact Qb.
 
Blue's looking solid as a fill in for Foster. Concern about the rest of the class:

From Brian T Smith
#Texans 2014 picks Clowney, Nix, Fiedorowicz, Savage all out today, while Su'a-Filo will likely barely play.
Click to expand...
 
Not really worried at all. Clowney is out with the knee injury but I'm not going to judge him too harshly. If he comes back and gets hurt again then we can start worrying about injury prone.

Su'a-Filo is struggling to get his pass pro up to par just like pretty much all rookies do. I won't be shocked if he's the LG next year and Jones is the C.

Fiedorowicz started his first career game but hurt his foot. Should be back soon so not worried at all.

Nix was an injury risk when we drafted. That's the reason he was still available in the 3rd round despite having 1st round talent. He might not ever play but it was a risk we were willing to take.

Savage was drafted to sit on the bench and learn. Not worried one bit.
 
Pagan got 11 snaps on defense.

Prosch played 1/4 of our offensive snaps.

Alfred Blue appeared to be the #2 running back, first off the bench to give Arian breathers.

Hal got no snaps this week.

:panic:
 
WolverineFan said:
Not really worried at all. Clowney is out with the knee injury but I'm not going to judge him too harshly. If he comes back and gets hurt again then we can start worrying about injury prone.

Su'a-Filo is struggling to get his pass pro up to par just like pretty much all rookies do. I won't be shocked if he's the LG next year and Jones is the C.

Fiedorowicz started his first career game but hurt his foot. Should be back soon so not worried at all.

Nix was an injury risk when we drafted. That's the reason he was still available in the 3rd round despite having 1st round talent. He might not ever play but it was a risk we were willing to take.

Savage was drafted to sit on the bench and learn. Not worried one bit.
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Werd to all this. Not to mention the work we've got from Prosch, Blue, Pagan, and Hal so far.

I'm much more comfortable starting off 2-0 and looking for more and more contributions from these guys as the year goes along than to be coming off a 2-14 season and counting on a bunch of rooks to be immediate difference makers.
 
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