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The current state of the Texans

Thorn said:
The draft is over, time for the serious bullsh!t now. What do the Texans look like to you at this point? Right now, to me, they look in better shape that any Texans team ever has. What that translates into we'll know later this year.

And spiffy new uniforms and helmets as well. :)
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I agree. I posted earlier that this is the most complete roster in team history, with the possible exception of the 2011 Texans prior to AJ and Schaub injuries.
 
dalemurphy said:
I agree. I posted earlier that this is the most complete roster in team history, with the possible exception of the 2011 Texans prior to AJ and Schaub injuries.
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When I look at this roster critically:
I have concerns at backup QB, LB depth, and some concern about how the OL will shake out. That's about it. We are loaded and ready to try to make our first legitimate Superbowl run!
 
We sure look good on paper but, won't really know until they kick it off. All the south teams seem like they have improved so, the division won't be a cake walk I suspect. Probably 4&2 there and another 4 to 7 elsewhere. I expect that we will make the playoffs and if we are moderately healthy, we should be able to make some noise. Heck, even a real run at it. The key will be the injuries. Management has done a great job putting together areal team.
 
I'm hoping the biggest disappointment of this season is the new look. Maybe it grows on me, but currently I prefer the old.

That said, I care about their games, not the fashion they play it in.

If the fashion is my biggest complaint of the season I will probably still be grinning ear to ear this time next year.

Of course until then Bah Humbug!
 
We might have drafted not a single game 1 starter - but I am ok with that. Before the draft the question marks to me were:

1. Who is CB2?
2. Can our OLine stay healthy (and if not, do we have adequate guys to replace the starters)?
3. Can our DTs stop the run?
4. Do we have enough depth at LB?

I was disappointed that 2 high profile secondary players were picked right before our first pick. I like Lassiter, but not sure, if he can be CB2, so that question mark still remains. I am thrilled with Fisher, but he also may be a developemental piece. Still, for me that is kinda best case scenario coming out of the draft. We adressed the other two question marks late, so those guys could be only camp fodder or we might have got something. Really like our safety and TE picks though, and am always happy to add a late round HB and pass rusher.

So yeah, this team looks stacked. If we stay healthy and the young guys got better, we have a shot at it all. But there is still a lot to go wrong. In the end, everything will go through KC, and covering those 2 speedy receivers (in addition to Kelce) scares me…
 
It’s useless to complain about a perceived notion of the quality of our draft because only god knows at this point what type of career any player drafted on any team will have. But I do like what the Texans did on paper. Texans had to caulk the walls. It took a forever three days but we see, if I’m remembering right before my first cup of coffee, a well balanced draft. Four players on O, five on D. On O: T, G, RB, TE. On D: Edge, DT, LB, CB, S. Kudos for bringing in nine players at nine different positions. Balance the roster and tweak it with a FA if necessary. I love this newfound sanity.
 
Just want to comment on the concerns I see and hear about CB2. Not just here but all over the net. I think there's reason to have faith that the Kamari Lassiter pick will work out. I think you have to consider the work that's been put into the defensive line. If the line is significantly better, which it appears to be, offenses aren't going to have long to get the ball downfield. I think that alone will improve Lassiter's rookie prospects.
 
edo783 said:
We sure look good on paper but, won't really know until they kick it off. All the south teams seem like they have improved so, the division won't be a cake walk I suspect. Probably 4&2 there and another 4 to 7 elsewhere. I expect that we will make the playoffs and if we are moderately healthy, we should be able to make some noise. Heck, even a real run at it. The key will be the injuries. Management has done a great job putting together areal team.
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Right on! And, while I only care about what the Toros do, I can’t help but get excited about the possibility of our fellow AFC Southerners knocking off a few dangerous teams from the playoff picture for us.
 
Bayouboy1965 said:
Just want to comment on the concerns I see and hear about CB2. Not just here but all over the net. I think there's reason to have faith that the Kamari Lassiter pick will work out. I think you have to consider the work that's been put into the defensive line. If the line is significantly better, which it appears to be, offenses aren't going to have long to get the ball downfield. I think that alone will improve Lassiter's rookie prospects.
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Also, we run a lot of zone-based coverages. And, with the upgraded pass rush, Demeco will have even less cause to leave his CBs on an island.
 
The Fisher pick may be the most important pick in this franchise’ future if it works out. He could get you out from the Howard contract as soon as next offseason, and could then be the man who eventually replaces Laremy Tunsil at LT further down the line.

I would think Nick will be working his magic to cover the front 7 come cutdown time, although there are enough solid vets/developmental pieces for some healthy competition in camp. Given the quality of coaching at the position I’d bet they’ll be looking pretty good come September, and if not then, pretty good come December/January when it matters.

Caserio was serious before the draft when he said he wasn’t looking for immediate starters, though, they like the guys the brought in in FA, so their confident in guys like Okudah and Settle, they already looked fine to me on O, as we know if you are finding out how good your backup QB is you are already in a world of pain, I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

It’s really interesting to see that Caserio is telling the media that they aren’t trying to draft a track team when responding to going for guys with lesser 40 times, they are also happy going for undersized guys in the front 7, then you read some of the negatives for the offensive players they’ve drafted, especially underdeveloped blocking, they clearly are comfortable drafting certain red flags in order to get certain attributes that they do value highly. I’m excited to see what they get from the RB they drafted, the TE2 behind Schultz, the secondary guys and the amount of flexibility they have there to mix up coverages.

If they’ve hit on this draft the way they hit on the last one, this is going to be an exciting team to watch again, and set up for the future in a big way, especially if they can consistently develop these guys for that rolling 2-3 year window now it’s going to be great to see.
 
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I've said it already but I think the Lassiter + Bullock combo is going to be solid enough in year 1 improve their side of the field, but they both have talent enough to be coached up (Bullock especially) from year 2 out. I'm waiting for a good to solid pickup at DT in post-draft FA to give this team my 'ready-to-roll' check-mark. As it is I'm a little worried about the run defense if Fatukasi gets hurt (which he did often in the Jags defense last year.)

Here's a couple points that I'm interested in seeing through training camp:

A. Can Pitre be coached up to successfully fit in this defense? His sophomore slump has me worried, and I think Demeco's defense is counter to the downhill style that made him successful in year one. He's talented enough for a try, but he needs to be much more disciplined in pass coverage.

B. Will either of the former 1st round FA CBs find there stride? Both Henderson and Okudah have the physical talents, but injuries haven't let them develop. If one of the two can finally live up to their draft position, that gives Demeco the option of playing more man coverage to mix up his defensive scheme here and there.

C. Is Kenyon Green a bust or is there still life if he can stay fully healthy throughout training camp and the season? It always stings to have a first round bust, but this is his make it or break it season. Having a good LG would make a world of difference to the run game.
 
welsh texan said:
The Fisher pick may be the most important pick in this franchise’ future if it works out. He could get you out from the Howard contract as soon as next offseason, and could then be the man who eventually replaces Laremy Tunsil at LT further down the line.

I would think Nick will be working his magic to cover the front 7 come cutdown time, although there are enough solid vets/developmental pieces for some healthy competition in camp. Given the quality of coaching at the position I’d bet they’ll be looking pretty good come September, and if not then, pretty good come December/January when it matters.

Caserio was serious before the draft when he said he wasn’t looking for immediate starters, though, they like the guys the brought in in FA, so their confident in guys like Okudah and Settle, they already looked fine to me on O, as we know if you are finding out how good your backup QB is you are already in a world of pain, I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

It’s really interesting to see that Caserio is telling the media that they aren’t trying to draft a track team when responding to going for guys with lesser 40 times, they are also happy going for undersized guys in the front 7, then you read some of the negatives for the offensive players they’ve drafted, especially underdeveloped blocking, they clearly are comfortable drafting certain red flags in order to get certain attributes that they do value highly. I’m excited to see what they get from the RB they drafted, the TE2 behind Schultz, the secondary guys and the amount of flexibility they have there to mix up coverages.

If they’ve hit on this draft the way they hit on the last one, this is going to be an exciting team to watch again, and set up for the future in a big way, especially if they can consistently develop these guys for that rolling 2-3 year window now it’s going to be great to see.
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I'm really interested in the (newfangled) player movement tracking data that we as fans don't get to look at, and how it's used by teams when evaluating. Paraphrasing Seth Payne, but he looks at it as a return to the old-school method of judging a guy's speed by looking at his game tapes, as opposed to a 40-yard dash, and having actual numbers to back that up.
 
cland said:
I've said it already but I think the Lassiter + Bullock combo is going to be solid enough in year 1 improve their side of the field, but they both have talent enough to be coached up (Bullock especially) from year 2 out. I'm waiting for a good to solid pickup at DT in post-draft FA to give this team my 'ready-to-roll' check-mark. As it is I'm a little worried about the run defense if Fatukasi gets hurt (which he did often in the Jags defense last year.)

Here's a couple points that I'm interested in seeing through training camp:

A. Can Pitre be coached up to successfully fit in this defense? His sophomore slump has me worried, and I think Demeco's defense is counter to the downhill style that made him successful in year one. He's talented enough for a try, but he needs to be much more disciplined in pass coverage.

B. Will either of the former 1st round FA CBs find there stride? Both Henderson and Okudah have the physical talents, but injuries haven't let them develop. If one of the two can finally live up to their draft position, that gives Demeco the option of playing more man coverage to mix up his defensive scheme here and there.

C. Is Kenyon Green a bust or is there still life if he can stay fully healthy throughout training camp and the season? It always stings to have a first round bust, but this is his make it or break it season. Having a good LG would make a world of difference to the run game.
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If Green (LG) can play up to his talent level and having Scruggs or Patterson (C) with Mason at RG and Fisher at RT, plus Stover in 12 personnel the run game with Mixon will be much improved.
 
My concerns

1. Outside CB, Stingley is a good player but injury prone and Lassiter runs a 4.64 and likely projects as a nickel in the NFL. We are a Stingley injury away from a CB duo of CJ Henderson and Jeff Okudah and that doesn't feel good to me at all.

2. Can the OL run block this year? Run blocking was our biggest issue last year and in my opinion was the main reason we lost the Ravens game.

3. Safety play. Maybe Pitre can recover his level of play and maybe Ward can stay healthy but neither of those things happened last year so I'm struggling there

But my biggest worry is just the schedule. Obviously you can't tell who will be good and who won't next year but we can make educated guesses.

The AFCS looks tough, Trevor Lawrence is a good QB and will keep the Jags competitive at the very least and the Colts dang near won the division with a backup QB. Richardson looked very dangerous when he was healthy so if he can stay healthy they will be a force. Even the Titans added some good pieces this offseason and could be a sneaky team to watch if Levis has a second year leap.

Our floating games are the Ravens, Chiefs, and Cowboys. Cowboys have been a good regular season team even if they choke in the playoffs and I see no reason to think they won't be a tough game. The Chiefs got better this offseason with their WR additions and with Mahomes they're always gonna be a top 5 team. The Ravens lost a lot of pieces this offseason but I see no reason to think they won't be dangerous again this year.

Then we play the AFCE. The Dolphins have a lot of offensive firepower, the Jets beat us last year and are adding Rodgers to a talented squad, the Pats were terrible but they picked up Maye so they should be at least a little better, and the Bills have Josh Allen. I see no gimmes there except maaaaybe the Pats.

Finally we close it out with the NFCN who I believe will be the best division in football next year. The Vikings have a good squad and I believe McCarthy can step in day 1 and at least be competent. The Packers have Jordan Love playing very well and he's got a good if not great supporting cast. The Bears were not a bad team last year and added a lot of talent this offseason including Caleb Williams, I think they will be good next year. And finally the Lions were one of the best teams in the NFC last year and only added pieces this offseason.

Looking at the schedule as a whole this is going to be a dog fight all the way through the season, I am seeing very few if any easy games. If we didn't take a big step forward this offseason then we could easily be looking at a 7-8 win team.
 
True, but I believe the continuity with the coaches and players plus some new upgrades will make us plenty competitive.
If we have two top receivers on the field each game plus Mixon, our offense will have a lot more firepower than '23.
Have faith brothers.
 
Khelar said:
My concerns

1. Outside CB, Stingley is a good player but injury prone and Lassiter runs a 4.64 and likely projects as a nickel in the NFL. We are a Stingley injury away from a CB duo of CJ Henderson and Jeff Okudah and that doesn't feel good to me at all.

2. Can the OL run block this year? Run blocking was our biggest issue last year and in my opinion was the main reason we lost the Ravens game.

3. Safety play. Maybe Pitre can recover his level of play and maybe Ward can stay healthy but neither of those things happened last year so I'm struggling there

But my biggest worry is just the schedule. Obviously you can't tell who will be good and who won't next year but we can make educated guesses.

The AFCS looks tough, Trevor Lawrence is a good QB and will keep the Jags competitive at the very least and the Colts dang near won the division with a backup QB. Richardson looked very dangerous when he was healthy so if he can stay healthy they will be a force. Even the Titans added some good pieces this offseason and could be a sneaky team to watch if Levis has a second year leap.

Our floating games are the Ravens, Chiefs, and Cowboys. Cowboys have been a good regular season team even if they choke in the playoffs and I see no reason to think they won't be a tough game. The Chiefs got better this offseason with their WR additions and with Mahomes they're always gonna be a top 5 team. The Ravens lost a lot of pieces this offseason but I see no reason to think they won't be dangerous again this year.

Then we play the AFCE. The Dolphins have a lot of offensive firepower, the Jets beat us last year and are adding Rodgers to a talented squad, the Pats were terrible but they picked up Maye so they should be at least a little better, and the Bills have Josh Allen. I see no gimmes there except maaaaybe the Pats.

Finally we close it out with the NFCN who I believe will be the best division in football next year. The Vikings have a good squad and I believe McCarthy can step in day 1 and at least be competent. The Packers have Jordan Love playing very well and he's got a good if not great supporting cast. The Bears were not a bad team last year and added a lot of talent this offseason including Caleb Williams, I think they will be good next year. And finally the Lions were one of the best teams in the NFC last year and only added pieces this offseason.

Looking at the schedule as a whole this is going to be a dog fight all the way through the season, I am seeing very few if any easy games. If we didn't take a big step forward this offseason then we could easily be looking at a 7-8 win team.
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The schedule is definitely an issue this year. However, unless Stroud misses a big chunk of the season, there is no way this team doesn't have a winning record. The roster is light years better than it was heading into last season, before even taking into account the inordinate amount of injuries we suffered last season. Literally, other than QB, I believe we have upgraded the talent of every position group from the 2023 season (some will argue about DT, but I believe we are much better at DT). I doubt there are any other playoff teams that can say that.
 
Dejaview said:
No I was just referring to his spot in the Texans nine picks. He wasn’t even a LB until this past season. Don’t understand if the Texans want him back at S or as a LB.
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He's a project and will be on the practice squad if he doesn't make it as a special teamer. He's an elite athlete, my guess is that they will work on him as a WLB/Coverage LB.
 
dalemurphy said:
The schedule is definitely an issue this year. However, unless Stroud misses a big chunk of the season, there is no way this team doesn't have a winning record. The roster is light years better than it was heading into last season, before even taking into account the inordinate amount of injuries we suffered last season. Literally, other than QB, I believe we have upgraded the talent of every position group from the 2023 season (some will argue about DT, but I believe we are much better at DT). I doubt there are any other playoff teams that can say that.
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Hehe, ran your comment through my head position group by position group, going nope they did this, nope they did that, etc. All I've got is FB, C/G (if you don't count health), and as you mentioned DT.
 
Concerning the schedule, last year didn't they play 10 games against teams that had a winning record at the end of the season, as well as four teams that made the playoffs? Not saying the schedule won't be tougher in 2024, but it wasn't as weak in 2023 as some make it out to be. They had a better strength of schedule than three other teams in the playoffs and their strength of victory was better than half of the playoff teams. We just keep remembering those bad Falcons, Panthers and Jets losses. Can't lose to bad teams this year.
 
dalemurphy said:
The schedule is definitely an issue this year. However, unless Stroud misses a big chunk of the season, there is no way this team doesn't have a winning record. The roster is light years better than it was heading into last season, before even taking into account the inordinate amount of injuries we suffered last season. Literally, other than QB, I believe we have upgraded the talent of every position group from the 2023 season (some will argue about DT, but I believe we are much better at DT). I doubt there are any other playoff teams that can say that.
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In the NFL, only half of the playoff teams return to the playoffs in the following year, so the strength of teams is always changing. (Of course we were a playoff team last year, so there's that.) If we can get lucky (or less unlucky) with the health of our OL (and as you said QB) I have high hopes.
 
sandman said:
Concerning the schedule, last year didn't they play 10 games against teams that had a winning record at the end of the season, as well as four teams that made the playoffs? Not saying the schedule won't be tougher in 2024, but it wasn't as weak in 2023 as some make it out to be. They had a better strength of schedule than three other teams in the playoffs and their strength of victory was better than half of the playoff teams. We just keep remembering those bad Falcons, Panthers and Jets losses. Can't lose to bad teams this year.
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Last year we did in fact play 10 games against teams that ended with a winning record. But 7 of those were against teams who ended 9-8. Last year we just played a lot of teams kinda hovering around that middle of the NFL. I guess the promising thing is we did drop those 3 games against straight up bad teams which really did hurt our record. And while our season was a lot of fun and we did beat some solid teams ultimately that last Ravens game showed us where we aren't up to par yet.

I guess I'm just saying we're going to have to be on our A game every week unless some of these teams really regress. or don't take the steps forward I expect them to. If our offseason moves work out and some of our young players gaining experience turns out to really help then it will be a very fun season with a lot of great games and a battle tested squad heading into the playoffs (hopefully). If it turns out we made the wrong moves this offseason or Stroud has a sophomore slump or whatever then the season has the potential to really be ugly relative to expectations.
 
Khelar said:
Last year we did in fact play 10 games against teams that ended with a winning record. But 7 of those were against teams who ended 9-8. Last year we just played a lot of teams kinda hovering around that middle of the NFL. I guess the promising thing is we did drop those 3 games against straight up bad teams which really did hurt our record. And while our season was a lot of fun and we did beat some solid teams ultimately that last Ravens game showed us where we aren't up to par yet.

I guess I'm just saying we're going to have to be on our A game every week unless some of these teams really regress. or don't take the steps forward I expect them to. If our offseason moves work out and some of our young players gaining experience turns out to really help then it will be a very fun season with a lot of great games and a battle tested squad heading into the playoffs (hopefully). If it turns out we made the wrong moves this offseason or Stroud has a sophomore slump or whatever then the season has the potential to really be ugly relative to expectations.
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Agree with all of this. Was more responding to the "worst to first" schedule aspect. Temper expectations based on wildly overachieving last year. Don't lose to the bad teams. Have a .500 or better record against good teams. See where we stack up against the Chiefs/Ravens at the end of the year.

I personally expect another 10-7 season, but will be more about realized talent and determination that shows itself in the playoffs than about all the potential that was capitalized on last year.
 
Very muted or should I say cautious, optimism for our lads - I'm surprised.
Personally I think Texans are going to be ultra competitive and give teams fits even if the injury bug bites again which it inevitably does - but this time we have some depth.
We played some good football teams last season too and had plenty of injuries with poor or no depth so I am very optimistic.
Our rooks from last year should make a step up as well.
I'm thinking we take the South and win 11 games.
 
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