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Sounds like Leach is gone...signs with Baltimore

As lead blocker on runs, at 6'4" 280#, he better be watching out for all those trees that will be "accidentally" falling on his knees.:kitten:
 
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I think it was the only truly bad move this entire off-season. A lot of things have gone right or as close to right as any Texans fan can reasonably expect this year so I don't want to sound like I'm looking for something to ***** about but I just think that keeping Jacoby Jones while letting Vonta Leach go is a big mistake.

Not a fatal mistake by any means but a big one. Jacoby Jones is a bad route running pair of questionable hands with speed. Vonta Leach is money in the bank at FB. If Foster hits walls next year and gets off to a slow start everyone is going to look back at the decision to not bring Leach back and shake their heads.
 
Hervoyel said:
I think it was the only truly bad move this entire off-season. A lot of things have gone right or as close to right as any Texans fan can reasonably expect this year so I don't want to sound like I'm looking for something to ***** about but I just think that keeping Jacoby Jones while letting Vonta Leach go is a big mistake.

Not a fatal mistake by any means but a big one. Jacoby Jones is bad route running pair of questionable hands with speed. Vonta Leach is money in the bank at FB. If Foster hits walls next year and gets off to a slow start everyone is going to look back at the decision to not bring Leach back and shake their heads.
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I'm already practicing shaking my head.........
 
Don't know why people are so worried. It's not like the Texans were beasts running the ball before Arian (when Leach was here). It's more the RB than FB. Leach just got a lot of publicity because Arian Foster was an UDFA and came out of nowhere. As long as the next FB is an adequate blocker and can get up field, the running game will go as far as Arian's (and Tate's and Ward's) legs will take it.
 
Texan_Bill said:
GOOD for Vonta!!! GOOD for the Texans..... Never, ever overpay for a FB!!! Good luck to Vonta as a Raven!!!
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Really?? Vonta had much to do with our success in running the football. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's my belief we will be forced into 3rd and long much more that we want due to Vonta's absence.
 
GuerillaBlack said:
Don't know why people are so worried. It's not like the Texans were beasts running the ball before Arian (when Leach was here). It's more the RB than FB. Leach just got a lot of publicity because Arian Foster was an UDFA and came out of nowhere. As long as the next FB is an adequate blocker and can get up field, the running game will go as far as Arian's (and Tate's and Ward's) legs will take it.
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I see it differently in this case. No usually where a RF and FB are concerned, but in this case I do.
 
Don't know how much not having Leach will directly effect the running game, but I remember watching LB'ers cring in the second half of games when they say Leach headed their way. To me that was huge.
 
JB said:
Don't know how much not having Leach will directly effect the running game, but I remember watching LB'ers cring in the second half of games when they say Leach headed their way. To me that was huge.
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Unfortunately, this year it will be OUR LBs cringing when Vonta is headed in their direction. And don't think Vonta won't be looking to put an exclamation point on each and every block.
Oh well, it's only one game.
I just hope this decision doesn't impact our offense as negatively as that "let's go with youth" did to our defensive backfield last year.
 
While it was fun to see Leech crush people, all the FB has to do is occupy the LB for a split second to allow Foster to pass by. I also think Casey's ability in the passing game will more than make up for the loss of Leech. Look, Kubiak may not be the greatest HC in the world but offensively he is top notch. In 09 we sucked balls in short yardage situations and we sucked at red zone efficiency (with Leech as FB) - both areas improved tremendously in last year. I think if we have issues with the FB you'll see different formations, mulitple TEs (insert obligatory TE joke here), H-back, spreading the field ect... I think we'll be fine.
 
Rey said:
Folks acting like Casey is some soft dude are crazy. You don't get the nickname Thor by being soft.
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I mean I realize that Leach deciding to leave will leave a negative backlash for anyone trying to fill that spot.....but I guess I just didn't think people would make **** up. Really....have you naysayers ever even SEEN the dude?
 
otisbean said:
While it was fun to see Leech crush people, all the FB has to do is occupy the LB for a split second to allow Foster to pass by. I also think Casey's ability in the passing game will more than make up for the loss of Leech. Look, Kubiak may not be the greatest HC in the world but offensively he is top notch. In 09 we sucked balls in short yardage situations and we sucked at red zone efficiency (with Leech as FB) - both areas improved tremendously in last year. I think if we have issues with the FB you'll see different formations, mulitple TEs (insert obligatory TE joke here), H-back, spreading the field ect... I think we'll be fine.
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This is my thinking. ^^^^^^^^

While I loved Leach and the way he played the game, you could plug Casey in that spot and virtually accomplish the same thing. Will there be a little drop-off, perhaps but enough to overspend for Vonta.
 
GuerillaBlack said:
Don't know why people are so worried. It's not like the Texans were beasts running the ball before Arian (when Leach was here). It's more the RB than FB. Leach just got a lot of publicity because Arian Foster was an UDFA and came out of nowhere. As long as the next FB is an adequate blocker and can get up field, the running game will go as far as Arian's (and Tate's and Ward's) legs will take it.
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Sometimes, it just comes down to finding the right match........I think they call it "chemistry." We may find it again. But how much time will be lost looking and in trial and error experimenting.........a couple of weeks, months, seasons??
 
Leach will be missed, he was one of my favorites and I loved his style of play. I definitely think he's a really good FB and helped the team tremendously.

With that said, Leach did not make Arian Foster. No. 23 is good, guys. I don't want to discount Leach's presence in the run game last year... but we cannot discount Foster's abilities. What makes Foster so good for this team are his abilities to see the field, anticipate the hole and then break extremely quickly. He can and will be able to do this without Leach.

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of "highlight" videos but in many cases it's all us fans can go off of. I urge everyone to watch this all the way through: pause and play frequently so you can see when Leach is in there, when he's not, where he blocks, where Foster goes. This is a testament to how well we clicked last year. At the same time, it shows how many times Foster made the play himself. Sometimes you can "project" where Casey or the new FB may take care of business. And in some cases you can see just how dominant Leach was. Nonetheless, Foster is good because of his individual skillset.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY9TRNzF4wY&feature=related
 
Meh.

I don't think you should over pay for a blocking fullback. We can find another mean guy willing to slam into people for six figures.

And really, the writing has been on the wall since the draft when it became obvious we were going to have to spend money to upgrade the secondary in free agency.

I think Joseph + Manning is worth losing Leach. If it was a trade scenario, I'd certainly send the big dude packing.
 
The running game will suffer, but we don't by how much just yet. Foster and (hopefully) Tate will still have a good year, perhaps just not as good as we had hoped for.

I'm sad to see Leach go, but I'm not going to panic just yet. Game one against Indy will tell us a lot then. As others already said, the defense had to be improved no matter what. You can't make it very far into the playoffs without a good defense no matter how good your offense is.
 
We need to get used to things like this.

The better we get, the more frequently other teams will want our players, & our coaches. We aren't any different than the other 31 teams. It would be nice to keep everyone... but it ain't going to happen.

Vonta could have given us a home-town discount. He didn't... c'est la vie......

I wish him luck, I'll look forward to seeing him in the pro bowl & the play-offs for years to come.

& yes, I threw up a little bit in my mouth when I said other teams will be wanting our coaches.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Sometimes, it just comes down to finding the right match........I think they call it "chemistry." We may find it again. But how much time will be lost looking and in trial and error experimenting.........a couple of weeks, months, seasons??
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Agree. Look at Emmitt and Moose. Some guys are smart, know their role and the RB trusts them to make the right block and spring the right hole. People saying you can just plug in other people are wrong. There is a reason there are the same top FBs every year and not just 31 running into a wall dummies. This year teams will scheme differently on Foster. It helps when you have a FB that can still hit the right guy. People HIGHLY underestimate the role of guys like this in championship teams.
 
HoustonFrog said:
Agree. Look at Emmitt and Moose. Some guys are smart, know their role and the RB trusts them to make the right block and spring the right hole. People saying you can just plug in other people are wrong. There is a reason there are the same top FBs every year and not just 31 running into a wall dummies. This year teams will scheme differently on Foster. It helps when you have a FB that can still hit the right guy. People HIGHLY underestimate the role of guys like this in championship teams.
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It's not like Foster followed Leach on every carry. If they are right about Leach only being in on 30% of the run plays I would guess 50% of those, Leach went one way & Foster went another.

Foster isn't just following blocks, he's reading them all in front of him. Those cutbacks.... no lead block from the FB.
 
thunderkyss said:
It's not like Foster followed Leach on every carry. If they are right about Leach only being in on 30% of the run plays I would guess 50% of those, Leach went one way & Foster went another.

Foster isn't just following blocks, he's reading them all in front of him. Those cutbacks.... no lead block from the FB.
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The FB still has to make whatever block he is in for though..whether it be backside, taking on a LB or whatever. It is very important that you have a guy that can carry out his role. Again, there is a reason why people know Moose Johnston and over the recent years Lorenzo Neil, Tony Richardson, etc.
 
This is what we would expect to hear.

RT @NickScurfield James Casey took reps at fullback. Gary Kubiak: "We could be built a little differently when it's all said and done." 08-01
 
Showtime100 said:
I'll take under on the 8 wins. :strangle:
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So, they fix a HUGE weakness on the secondary, and lose a fullback that means under 8 wins? A real d coordinator with actual talent won't improve 8 wins? A little too much riding on a fullback. It sucks in football, but these are decisions that a team has to make.
 
The next time that a player (or his teammates) asks for my vote for the Pro Bowl, then they can pound sand.
 
Bummer. Sad to see him go and JJ stay. We'll see how that works out...hopefully for the better, of course.
 
With the Vickers signing, I finally feel a sense of closure with all of this.

I can now fully be happy for Leach getting the big payday that he deserved, while we found a GREAT value replacement who I expect to more than fill his shoes

WIN-WIN for both parties I say, let the Vickers to the Beach era begin!
 
vupac1 said:
With the Vickers signing, I finally feel a sense of closure with all of this.

I can now fully be happy for Leach getting the big payday that he deserved, while we found a GREAT value replacement who I expect to more than fill his shoes

WIN-WIN for both parties I say, let the Vickers to the Beach era begin!
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Whoa... let's just squash this Vickers to the beach thing before it get started.
That's how we ended up losing Leach in the first place!!!
 
Leach got paid and I don't blame him for that. I hope to see him in more Pro bowls to come he deserves it.
 
vupac1 said:
Sorry it's gonna be hard to dispute after Foster leads the league in rushing again ;)
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This saying makes me terrified.... not if it happens, just the matter of fact way its said, to me it feels more like making the cover of madden or "the titanic is unsinkable" am I to superstitious?
 
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