When I was in Miami two weekends ago, my friends and I went out to a club. It was at this club that two things happened: 1. we ran up a ridiculous bar tab and 2. I (apparently) thought it would be a good idea to drink most of a bottle of champagne. Directly from the bottle. Thus adding all sorts of unfriendly carbonation to my bellyfull of gin, mexican beer, rum, orange juice, and Red Bull. Roughly thirty minutes after finishing the bubbly, I threw up in a cab. After getting back to my hotel room, I managed to throw up primarily in the toilet (with but one pit stop on the floor by my bed).

The next morning (predictably) was pretty rough. Looking back, I instantly realized the foolishness of adding champagne (a liquid that, to my knowledge, has never done anything good for anyone, anywhere) to an already dicey situation. This, my friends, is the beauty of hindsight. However, it would be disingenuous and revisionist of me to say now that I knew when I was drinking the champagne that it was a horrible idea. Which is to say that the situation at the time I was drinking must be considered and, in that instant, drinking it was a defensible act.

What does all of this have to do with the Houston Texans? A few things, actually. First, I was in Miami to watch the draft with friends. Second (and much more germane to the big picture here) is that my tale has some parallels with the choice of Mario Williams over Reggie Bush and Vince Young in the 2006 draft.

Consider:

• As of Draft Day 2006, the Texans were still convinced that David Carr was the QB of the future. Granted the whole "pay roster bonus, trade too much for Schaub, cut Carr a year later" plan was not well conceived. However, if you believe (as I do) that Kubiak really thought he could turn this team into a winner with Carr (and turn Carr into Brian Griese), then there is little reason for them to have used that pick on Vince Young.
• Speaking of Vince, revisionists look back now and pretend like they knew all along how good he would be in the pros. However, if you recall March and April of 2006, people all over were talking about whether he'd be smart enough for the NFL (based on that Wonderlic fiasco), whether his unorthodox throwing motion would hinder him at the next level, and whether his seemingly "run first" attitude would wind up getting him killed and/or turning him into a less talented Mike Vick. Granted, the answers to those three questions as of right now are "Yes. No. No." That was not so clear a year ago.
• Mario's numbers going into the draft: In the 2005 season at NC State, he had 62 tackles (24 for a loss), 14.5 sacks, 15 hurries, a safety, and a blocked kick. At the combine, he ran 4.73 (at 6-7, 290), had a 40.5 inch vertical, did 35 reps, and had a 10 foot broad jump. In fact, Mario was so dominating at NC State, John McCargo, who had no business even sniffing the first round, got drafted at 26. He made the ENTIRE d-line better. (You can also make the argument that Mario's play helped boost Manny Lawson's stock.) For a Texans team with a ghastly d-line, this was a hard thing to overlook.
• The team also had what they (again, wrongly) thought was their RB of the future in Domanick Williams (nee Davis). He had shown ability (see 2004, when he rushed for over 1100 yards and 13 TDs), despite running behind the same line that had treated Carr so horribly.
• As good as Bush has turned out to be, at least some of the reason for his success is the more fluid, more dynamic offense that New Orleans runs. Remember, Reggie didn't really establish a ground game until the last quarter of the season; he was being used primarily as a receiver. (In fact, a lot of people were jumping from his bandwagon like it was on fire around week 4.) Which isn't to say that he couldn't have been good in a similar role for Houston. Still, the Texans offense was not near as potent as New Orleans' (even if you leave Reggie out of the equation) and the idea that he would have had the quality downfield blocking with Houston that he had with the Saints is laughable. Using the first pick on a guy who is going to have to block more than he ever has and is probably going to have to create everything for himself is not exactly shrewd.
• Mario Williams, while he didn't have the eye-popping numbers people were expecting, actually played well. He was double-teamed more often than not and played most of the season with a serious foot injury, but he still showed a good motor and an ability to make plays all over the field.
• Reggie Bush had more or less said that it was going to cost the Texans more to sign him than it would other teams. And he wasn't just talking about the difference between the first and second pick; he was pulling a Eli and trying to avoid going to the worst team. Knowing that he had no desire to be there, why would the organization take him? More importantly, why would they take him over Mario when defensive line was actually a more glaring need, at least in the team's eyes, than RB (or QB)?
  

I know this sounds like I am some sort of front office apologist. I guess I am, at least in the sense that I don't think taking Mario was some sort of mortal sin. As I look at the team right now, would I rather have VY (or Reggie)? Maybe. Then again, if they take VY with the first pick, they probably go d-line instead of DeMeco with the second... so, I dunno.

Labels: 2006 Draft, Athletes who don't stab people, DeMeco Ryans, Reggie Bush, Super Mario, Teams that aren't the Texans, The Schaub Experiment, Vinsanity

Posted by matt on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 9:40 AM | Permalink