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Would you take Andre back next year on a cheap deal?

Would you welcome Andre back?

  • Yes, he could still be a good #2 here

    Votes: 8 8.4%

  • Yes, but only if he's willing to be a role player and catch around 40 passes

    Votes: 27 28.4%

  • No, don't want him at all

    Votes: 35 36.8%

  • *Yes, let's remove the taint of him ever being a colt and have him truly retire a Texan

    Votes: 25 26.3%
  • Total voters
    95
  • Poll closed .
Kaiser Toro said:
37 receptions and 453 yards. There will be stronger value at the position in the draft and FA.
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infantrycak said:
If you believe Indy was a functional team this season.
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Do we believe Houston was a functional team this season? I'm not sure I do. The Colts had more QB continuity than we did and yet both Shorts and Washington arguably outperformed AJ over the course of the season and they aren't even considered anything special. Between our own players, free agency, and the draft we can do better than a 35 year old Andre Johnson.

Bringing back AJ is also bad mojo for the chemistry of the offense (at this point with this regime) so I never even consider doing that.
 
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If this thread was made earlier this year i would've said yes I'd take AJ back in a heartbeat...But J-Strong has come on the last few weeks....he got targeted quite a bit more than normal today and I think that bodes well for him and us next year...bringing AJ back for next year I think would stunt Strong's growth.unless he came back as a #3..
 
infantrycak said:
If you believe Indy was a functional team this season.
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Eh, Luck and Hasselback took almost 90% of the snaps this season. Gore ran for almost 1,000 yards. Hilton went for 1,100 yards on only 70 catches. They weren't good this year, but AJ ending with 41/500 this year wasn't because the offense was non-existent. They simply didn't target him. 77 targets puts him fourth on the team. But the Colts were tied with the Texans for 9th in the league with 619 attempts. Both Shorts III and Washington operated in an even more dysfunctional system than he did this year, and still had the same or better stats.

I said going into the year that I expected AJ to be able to have a 75/1000 season in that Colts offense. While the injuries to Luck and overall mediocre year for them have had an impact, I'm not sure his numbers would have essentially doubled with a healthy Luck all season long. Luck was targeting him 5 times a games, which comes out to 80 targets on the season. He ended up with 77 targets. Luck actually threw to him 17 times in the first two games, and he ended up with 7 catches for 51 yards. There were two games where Luck didn't throw the ball his direction one time, including the big win against Denver. Is AJ better than a 41/500 season? Of course. But he wasn't going to have anywhere close to the 75/1000 that I thought he would have.
 
How would that work? Part of the reason AJ left, I think, is that Hopkins was emerging as "the man" and AJ didn't want to be the #2. Why would he want to come back now while Hopkins is even more clearly the #1, and possibly one of the best five WRs in the NFL? At this point AJ would be lucky to be the #3, I think. And despite the departure, and even despiute becoming (shudder) a Colt, I still love the guy. Would like to see him sign a one-day contract and retire as a Texan, but beyond that, I don't think he adds much now on the field.
 
Yes. I think this past season has probably brought his diva-ness down a notch.
So if we're talking about dumping Nate Washington and inserting Andre Johnson, for the same kind of money, I'm good with that.
 
I just really think that this coaching staff can't work with AJ at this point (and vice-versa) so while in theory one could make a case for him being better than what we have I don't think the reality would reflect that. If AJ is going to go somewhere and prove that this year (and to some extent last year) aren't an accurate reflection of what he can do now then he's going to have to do it somewhere else.

The year we traded for Eric Moulds I'm sure there were people in Buffalo who thought he could still get it done if he was on the right team or in the right system.
 
I think the bridge has been burned. With OB here, I don't see Andre playing here. I don't see Andre wanting to play here. So unless he is ready to retire, I don't see him being a Texan next season.

Kubiak will probably make room for him in Denver.
 
Hervoyel said:
I just really think that this coaching staff can't work with AJ at this point (and vice-versa) so while in theory one could make a case for him being better than what we have I don't think the reality would reflect that. If AJ is going to go somewhere and prove that this year (and to some extent last year) aren't an accurate reflection of what he can do now then he's going to have to do it somewhere else.

The year we traded for Eric Moulds I'm sure there were people in Buffalo who thought he could still get it done if he was on the right team or in the right system.
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Look for AJ in the Rockies next year... catching passes from Manning in the last hurrah for both
 
Hervoyel said:
The year we traded for Eric Moulds I'm sure there were people in Buffalo who thought he could still get it done if he was on the right team or in the right system.
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Exactly. I don't want somebody that's past his prime. Period. Especially someone who plucks on the local heartstrings. If you want to sign him on the day he hangs his cleats up, that's different.
 
infantrycak said:
If you believe Indy was a functional team this season.
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I believe they were .... up until the point Luck got injured .... and Andre did next to nothing during that period of the season , his only really good game was the first one against the Texans.

Vet min deal with no guarantees for playing time , sure.

One day contract to allow him to retire a Texan ... If you want ... but that doesn't change the fact that he caught his last ball as a Dolt and nothing can wash that taint off.

Anything else .... forget it , better options out there.
 
Nah, I think we need more speed and quickness at the WR position. Adding current AJ back into the mix wouldn't be doing that.
 
Corrosion said:
.

One day contract to allow him to retire a Texan ... If you want ... but that doesn't change the fact that he caught his last ball as a Dolt and nothing can wash that taint off.
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Just curious - as far as you're concerned, how much "taint" is there on Hakeem Olajuwon considering the fact his last basket, blocked shot, rebound etc. all occurred as a Raptor?
 
dont think it's likely he's back...

That said, regarding the better options being available w'll see if that actually leads to better players at the position.

There's always an idealistic view of players that can be added in the off season but teams still end up with bj Daniels and mumphry level players taking snaps on Sunday.

I don't think we'd sign Andre, but I don't think it's going to be because there will be too much talent at the position. And I don't think Andre should play a traditional wr role anymore wherever he goes.
 
infantrycak said:
AJ now could be Shannon Sharpe in his prime IF a coach would decide to do it.
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You and I are often on the same page with most topics, but this is not one of those topics. AJ is washed up and done. There are probably young, undrafted players at home on their couch with more to offer than AJ. So I voted NO. Unless next year is a one day deal to announce his retirement, I don't want anything to do with him in a Texans jersey.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
... then maybe he'd be a good mentor for some other young WRs.
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I wish the forums went back that far, but this is exactly what people said about Eric Moulds. And for all I know, Moulds helped AJ's game to some degree. Still wasn't worth the contract. I also remember how Ed Reed was going to be a coach on the field, LOL.

No. Just NO.
 
eriadoc said:
You and I are often on the same page with most topics, but this is not one of those topics. AJ is washed up and done. There are probably young, undrafted players at home on their couch with more to offer than AJ. So I voted NO. Unless next year is a one day deal to announce his retirement, I don't want anything to do with him in a Texans jersey.
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I don't think he is a good fit with this coaching staff who don't seem to know what a TE or the middle of the field are but I think a creative coach using him in the middle could get a lot out of him with some severe mismatches in coverage. You couldn't put a LB on him so it would help the run game as well (and he's a good blocker). But not for the currently constructed Texans.

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him go play for little Shanny.

Edit: and now big Shanny is interviewing in Miami.
 
I have to go 'no'. He just isn't productive anymore and the team should be in the business of winning. Not sentimental value. I'm all for resigning him and then he retires following the signing so he can go out a Texan but no need for him on the active roster in his current state. We are in need of a playmaking receiver opposite of Nuke or in the slot as it is which means more quickness than Dre can give at this point and where he'd probably fall on the depth chart would generally mean special teams. Like someone else already pointed out, Dre isn't going to be on special teams.

One of my favorite all-time Texans. Well, only second to Watt, but sometimes you just got to move on. Will always be thankful for what he gave to the team and community.
 
My heart wants him very much on my team. My brain is telling my heart it would suck to have to cut him.

Can't wait for him to have his sign-and-retire-as-a-Texan thing. The feels will be flowin'.
 
You don't win games with nostalgia. Both sides have moved on, and it is probably best to leave it that way. Even the great Jerry Rice got too old for any team to even bother kicking the tires. Father Time is undefeated, and if our franchise wants to emulate the styles and successes of championship teams, you have to make decisions based on "what is" instead of "what used to be".
 
AJ had his chance to stay here at a reduced salary and role. He chose to end the relationship. We have moved on. See you when you retire AJ.
 
It's probably moot now that Pagano is back.

So AJ will likely have one more year to prove this year was just an abberation and not a signal of the end.
 
infantrycak said:
I don't think he is a good fit with this coaching staff who don't seem to know what a TE or the middle of the field are but I think a creative coach using him in the middle could get a lot out of him with some severe mismatches in coverage. You couldn't put a LB on him so it would help the run game as well (and he's a good blocker). But not for the currently constructed Texans.

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him go play for little Shanny.

Edit: and now big Shanny is interviewing in Miami.
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With Hoyer you really cant blame BOB/Godsey for not wanting to throw the ball in the middle of the field. Looks like BOB has those 9-7 seasons down like Kubiak had without throwing the ball in the middle of the field.
 
El Tejano said:
would he be any good in redzone like he was vs us this year?
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How many TDs did he ever score? How many did he score this year? AJ has never been good at directly putting points on the board. Some guys have a knack for it - AJ doesn't.
 
eriadoc said:
How many TDs did he ever score? How many did he score this year? AJ has never been good at directly putting points on the board. Some guys have a knack for it - AJ doesn't.
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Here is where we disagree. When it came crunch time like needing 8 against Baltimore AJ delivered. But Kubiak didn't ask for him to do that. He had Arian leading the league in TDs and he had Walter and TEs wide open. It was a design thing.

You can't tell me this boy can't score:

 
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infantrycak said:
Here is where we disagree. When it came crunch time like needing 8 against Baltimore AJ delivered. But Kubiak didn't ask for him to do that. He had Arian leading the league in TDs and he had Walter and TEs wide open. It was a design thing.
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Absolutely. I'd have trusted AJ to win a fight for the ball against a sabretooth tiger much less some other teams stupid DB, but Kubiak always seemed to have other ideas in the red zone.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
It's probably moot now that Pagano is back.

So AJ will likely have one more year to prove this year was just an abberation and not a signal of the end.
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We'll see what the Colts think. AJ's got a scheduled base salary of $5 Million next year, all of which could be saved off the cap if he's waived (there is a $2.5 Million roster bonus that's guaranteed and unavoidable). If what they got from him this season is approx. the level of production they expect from a #3 or #4 receiver, it would be easy to find someone who could do it considerably cheaper than that. Even if they think it's an aberration, they'd be paying a lot of money to find out if they're right. And even if they're right, how much does his production increase? He's not going to pass Hilton, Moncrief, or probably even Fleener in the receiving hierarchy. It's more likely that Indy hopes that Dorsett would take up some of AJ's production rather than hoping AJ's bumps up.

It's Ryan Grigson and Indy, so who knows for certain, but I think there's a fairly decent chance that AJ's not back for another season with the Colts.
 
gafftop said:
Then we have two 1.1s that don't care about football and are overrated. Seems like we would have learned the first time.
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For all the criticisms of Clowney that may have legitimacy, I've come to believe that not caring about football absolutely isn't one of them. Mario - maybe, Clowney, no.
 
infantrycak said:
Here is where we disagree. When it came crunch time like needing 8 against Baltimore AJ delivered. But Kubiak didn't ask for him to do that. He had Arian leading the league in TDs and he had Walter and TEs wide open. It was a design thing.
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Coaches lean on players that can score. If AJ were all that special at scoring (not under Capers or O'Brien either, BTW), Kubiak would have leaned on him. That's not to say he couldn't score, but it's not something he was especially adept at, a la Jerry Rice, TO, Cris Carter, Tony Gonzales, Tim Brown, or any one of at least a dozen other WRs I can name. Given the choice as a coach to take my chances with AJ or Arian Foster, I'd stick with Foster too. When the field gets short, there are really only a few receiving plays that work, and those just weren't AJ's strong suit. Hell, hand the ball off to AJ and he probably has a better chance. The man had unparalleled power at the WR position.

Over the course of a 13-year career, the cream rises to the top. AJ rose to the top in most situations. The red zone wasn't one of them. I won't say Kubiak couldn't have called his number more frequently, because it was often a frustration of mine as well, but if AJ had shown he was the type of red zone threat that you think of when you think of Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss or even TO, then Kubiak (or Capers, or O'Brien, or even Pagano) would have called his number a bit more. Think of all the categories in which AJ ranks among the all-time leaders. There are at least 40 WRs, a few TEs, and several guys who played multiple positions ahead of AJ on the total TDs list. I mean, he's well behind guys that will never sniff the HOF.

Some guys just excel at different things.
 
ChampionTexan said:
For all the criticisms of Clowney that may have legitimacy, I've come to believe that not caring about football absolutely isn't one of them. Mario - maybe, Clowney, no.
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I agree. Clowney wants to play, he's just injury prone and can't. To bad, with him at full strength our defense would be even more bad ass.
 
Even if he had productive years remaining (which I doubt), AJ would be a horrible fit for the Texans, who need to get faster and more explosive on offense.
 
dalemurphy said:
Even if he had productive years remaining (which I doubt), AJ would be a horrible fit for the Texans, who need to get faster and more explosive on offense.
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Generally you want to have different types of receiving threats to be able to take advantage of different types of match ups.

WR's should be like a basketball team.

Andre wouldn't have hindered the team from picking up other faster receivers.

But at the end of the day talent trumps speed.

And this post isn't really Andre specific, just speaking in general.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Generally you want to have different types of receiving threats to be able to take advantage of different types of match ups.

WR's should be like a basketball team.

Andre wouldn't have hindered the team from picking up other faster receivers.
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I thought we were talking about next year? With Hopkins, Washington, and Strong, I don't see any use for AJ... We need someone with elite quickness or gamebreaking speed to stretch the defense... or, someone that is special after the catch.
 
It's weird that AJ never had a double digit TD season, even when he had a couple of 1,500+ yard seasons.

In 2009, Schaub had 29 TD passes. 9 of them were to A.J. You'd think a QB would lean on a weapon like him a lot more.

The TD numbers and lack of championships will be what delays A.J.'s entry into the HoF, even though I believe he should (and deserves) be there eventually.

ChampionTexan said:
For all the criticisms of Clowney that may have legitimacy, I've come to believe that not caring about football absolutely isn't one of them. Mario - maybe, Clowney, no.
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tbh, both Mario's and Clowney's body language on the field seem very similar to me. Neither has the "on all the time" motor like J.J., and both have the feel of turning it on when they want to. That's just my impressions of the limited action we've seen with Clowney and the many years of watching Mario. Both of them have very high potential and great talent, but I do not sense greatness in either player.
 
ChampionTexan said:
For all the criticisms of Clowney that may have legitimacy, I've come to believe that not caring about football absolutely isn't one of them. Mario - maybe, Clowney, no.
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Caring was a poor choice on my part. Maybe "does not have the burning desire to win" is a better choice.
Again my bone is not with Clowney but with Rick in drafting him.
 
They handled Andre wrong. OB wanted to show he was the boss vs showing respect to one of the greats. The texans could've used AJ just like AZ uses Fitzgerald. The same way Brees uses Colston. Inside slot player who can move the chains and play inside. Andre is and was better than every tight end and slot man on this roster. So Hopkins and Nate outside, Andre in the slot, whats wrong with that?
 
dalemurphy said:
I thought we were talking about next year? With Hopkins, Washington, and Strong, I don't see any use for AJ... We need someone with elite quickness or gamebreaking speed to stretch the defense... or, someone that is special after the catch.
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Not to derail this thread, but I wouldn't keep Washington and he only signed a 1 year deal, so I doubt they resign him. I love the combo of Hopkins and Strong with Shorts in the slot. I would consider drafting a younger faster slot receiver. Maybe signing someone, I doubt it happens but I would try and sign Marvin Jones from Cincinnati. Loved the guy coming out of the draft and think he would work well in the slot here.
 
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