This is awesome:










(Hat tip TexansTalk.com)

Labels: Inanity, The Schaub Experiment

Posted by matt at 6:31 PM | Permalink | links to this post

So, I get back from lunch to find an email from Shake regarding Stockdale high school's most famous alum, Darcy Maeda.

I can't confirm anything. All I know is that while distracting myself during lunch, I decided to Google search Darcy to see if there is anything new......maybe even a quote about her ex. I found no quotes, but I believe I may have found a recent picture.

Follow the breadcrumbs:

http://thevisualrevolution.org/?m=200602

"Twenty-six-year-old Darcy Maeda’s ex, Josh, “tested their relationship,” with another girl. He flunked, and got the pointy end of her shoe."

- Link at the bottom of that article: www.conceptentertainmentgroup.com

- Click "Photo Gallery"

- Click "Barracuda" (place mentioned in 1st link)

- Pic #2 (that's right, one of the only close-ups in the whole collection....it's fate)

Well done, sir. Well done.

Labels: Darcy Maeda, Inanity

Posted by matt at 3:25 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Morlon Greenwood is divisive. I happen to think he's slightly underrated, but many Texans fans seem to think he is some combination of "crap," "suck," and "utterly expendable." The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Last season, however, one could argue that Greenwood was the second-best player on our defense, as he posted career best numbers in tackles (84 solo), INTs (1), forced fumbles (2), and recovered fumbles (3). Not bad for a guy who, over the course of the last three seasons, has been sent from a very good defensive unit in Miami to a not-so-good unit in Houston, switched from strongside LB to weakside LB, and switched from 3-4/4-3 hybrid to a straight 3-4 to a 4-3 (with 3-4 personnel).

Well, according to Megan Manfull, part of the reason that Greenwood and this blog's namesake were so successful last season was because they spent hours together going over game tape. According to Greenwood,

I would be like, 'DeMeco, what do you think about that play?' [...] Then, he'd say, 'Yeah, I think I'd play it like this.' And then I'd say, 'That's the way we're going to play it then.' Other times, there would be a play that may put me in a bind, and I would say, 'I think we should play the play like this.' And he'd say, 'Cool.' It would just go back and forth like that.

I know exactly what he means. There are times when I am trying to think of something to blog and I email Tim and he's like "I'd blog that like this." And then I'm all like "Cool. That's how I am going to blog it."

Kidding aside, though, this article is a good sign. If you look back at Morlon's season, he was markedly better in the second half, posting 66 of his 110 tackles, all of his FFs and PDs, and his lone INT. This suggests that he was becoming comfortable in the new defense and possibly that the tape study was allowing him to better see how he needed to play the WLB. If he can come in and pick up where he left off, my claim that he might be supplanted by Clark or Barber might be way off. If both he and DeMeco can come in and improve on last year, our linebacking corps might just suprise some people. Right now, they appear to be taking the steps to do just that.

Labels: Athletes who don't stab people, DeMeco Ryans, Morlon Greenwood, Preview

Posted by matt at 2:35 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Just when I think I am relegated to writing second-hand stories about training camp, I get an email from a reader asking me if I had seen a certain article in last September's SportingNews by Brian Baldinger regarding Mario Williams. (Side note: People still get the print version of the SportingNews?)

Because this is a year old, it really has no bearing on much of anything. But I am starved for something to complain about and, anyway, the reader went to the trouble of typing out the entire (I assume) article for me. As it is so far beyond dumb, I feel the need to post it here, for your enjoyment.

Lack of a fast twitch will slow Williams' impact as a rush end.

When the Texans made defensive end Mario Williams the No. 1 pick of the 2006 draft, they said, in essence, this iwas a guy who would dominate as a pass rusher. He'd make offenses change their protection schemes. He'd demand double-teams.

Not gonna happen.

At 6-7, 291, Williams has amazing size for an end. He's smart, and he's hungry. He wants to live up to his draft status. But he'll have a hard time doing so because he isn't a fast-twitch guy.

Muscle fibers are different. Some are slow twitch, sort of like they're built for a marathon. Others are a fast twitch. They have a suddenness to them, like a cobra striking. All the good pass-rushing ends - Dwight Freeney, Jason Taylor, Michael Strahan, John Abraham, and a few others - are fast-twitch guys. You either have it or you don't, and Williams doesn't.

An example from Houston's season-opening loss to Philadelphia: Donovan McNabb faked a handoff going right, then turned and flipped the ball to Brian Westbrook going left. Williams, the right end, wasn't even blocked. He went with the fake then turned to chase Westbrook. In that situation, Williams has to put his foot in the ground and change direction instantly to make the play. But he didn't have the muscle fiber to do that. Westbrook ran for 17 yards.

Without that quick twitch, Williams will have a hard time making offensive linemen miss him. He invites contact. He may someday have the strength and savvy to deal with contact to some degree, but the ends who dominate are the ones who avoid contact by flashing past blockers before they can react. Don't hold your breath waiting for Willims to do that. In fact, the Texans are moving Williams inside to tackle on obvious passing downs and bringing in a couple of fast twitch guys - Jason Babin and Antwaan Peek - to rush from the outside. Teams don't move elite pass rushers to tackle. What does that tell you ?

The Texans switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this year and are rebuilding their defense around Williams. That's what you do with a player taken first overall in the draft. But I don't see him having the impact they envision. He wasn't noticeable on his NFL debut, and he won't be noticeable most Sundays.

"Paging Dr. Baldinger. Dr. Baldinger please report to Shut The Fuck Up."

Not to burst Brian's obviously learned bubble, but this is ridiculous. First of all, the discussion of "fast-" v "slow-twitch" muscle fibers is flawed beyond comprehension. Everyone--including Mario Williams--has both fast- and slow-twitch fibers. While percentages may vary slightly, we all--yes, including Mario--generally have an equal mix of both. Sure, some athletes (most notably world-class sprinters) have a slightly higher percentage of fast-twitch, but even they have slow-twitch as well. Thus, Brian's entire underlying premise is, well, retarded. (It's even more egregious when you realize that he could have googled "fast twitch muscle fibers" and avoided this whole thing. Asshat.)

Second, Dr. Brian is basing this diagnosis on one play in Mario's first professional game. In the play in question, Mario bit on a fake and then tried to run down an NFL running back from behind. I don't know that there are any defensive linemen in the league who can bite on the fake, change direction, and still catch up with a running back who already has a four or five yard cushion on them. Maybe Julius Peppers, but he is a mutant of the highest order. He's also not a rookie playing in his first NFL game.

Even if his reasoning is ridiculous, I suppose Baldinger's underlying point is that, while Mario is straight-line fast and very strong, he lacks the agility to make blockers miss. I'm not sure I agree with that at all. What he lacked last year, especially in the early games, was technique. Mario had spent his entire life being bigger, faster, and stronger than the players on the other side of the line. He never had to learn swim moves and the like because, when push came to shove, he could just push and shove the other players out of his way.

Mario knows this, too, which is why he spent the entire offseason working on technique.

Looking ahead, the 6-7, 291-pounder is eager to improve multiple facets of his game. He credits his physical presence as his greatest asset, but realizes he still has a long way to go to be dominant in the NFL.

"I want to take it to the next level and gain the knowledge I need to make playing easy for me and get things done," Williams said. "Basically I need to work on my technique as far as leverage. I'll also work on adding a couple of moves and get those working 100 percent and I'll take it from there."

I realize that I praised Baldinger once before, following his NFL TV assessment of Schaub v. Zoolander. But that is exactly my point, in a way. Baldinger is qualified to view tape and compare two QBs in terms of the skills an NFL QB needs. He is not qualified to watch one game and then make a determination about Mario Williams' biological makeup and how it will relate to Mario's future. (This is doubly true when said determination is wrong, top to bottom.)

It's pretty simple in the end. If you want to say that, as of kickoff of his first NFL game, Mario had zero finesse moves, you are basically correct. If you want to say that he lacks a biological component necessary to develop those moves, you are basically an idiot. An idiot with a really weird pinkie.

Labels: 2006 Draft, Inanity, Super Mario

Posted by matt at 9:34 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Perhaps signaling that the team is not completely convinced by at least one part of the Black Salaami, the Texans signed G/T Kevin Barry on Saturday. As discussed a few days ago, Barry has pretty good size and some success in a small sample size of games.

My guess is that the team realizes that Jordan Black is just not going to cut it at left tackle and that Ephraim Salaam was good only by stop-gap standards last year. Of course, there is no guarantee that Barry will be better than either of those guys. So, at this point, it almost seems as if Smithiak are hedging their bets when it comes to protecting the Schaub.

In other O-line news, the team released Tavo Tupola. Tupola was part of the gaggle of undrafted free agents we brought in back in May. His release means that my fodder for Mormon jokes has just been reduced considerably.

Labels: Black Salaami, Free Agency, Mormons, Offensive (punch)Line, The Schaub Experiment, Undrafted Free Agent watch list

Posted by matt at 2:22 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Chris Taylor's knee hates him. EDIT: Taylor underwent surgery for a torn meniscus on Sunday and he was placed on the IR, meaning he is lost for the season.

Taylor's value to the team was two-fold. One, he showed some flashes of talent as a starting RB (99 yds, 1 TD v. Cleveland). Two, he can also play FB, meaning your lead-blocker is about as fast as your RB in those packages. That's a nice weapon to have. At least it would have been a nice weapon to have.

In place of Taylor (and the PUPed Jameel Cook), the team brought in Quentin Griffin and Patrick Pass for workouts, signing Pass. They also re-signed the recently cut Darius Walker.

Signing Pass makes sense to me; he's a versatile back (RB and FB, like Taylor), he's a solid receiver out of the backfield, and he's played on a winner before. (That last fact is always a plus on any roster.) Re-signing Walker, however, confounds the hell out of me. We let him go (or he asked to be released) because the odds were not good that he would make the team and because, at least according to one source, he's not very good. Even if the loss of Taylor slightly improves Walker's odds, I don't think it will suddenly also make him an NFL-quality back.

In other injury news, Roc Alexander cracked his kneecap and was placed on IR. This isn't overly important.

Labels: Injury bug, RB free-for-all, Undrafted Free Agent watch list

Posted by matt at 10:30 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Well, that didn't exactly pan out like it was supposed to.¹

I was supposed to spend all day Saturday at the Methodist Training Center; instead, I spent all day at Methodist hospital. I was supposed to see at least three (possibly four) practices; instead, I saw not a second. I was supposed to eat my body weight twice over in Mexican food and brisket; instead, I managed only a trip to Ninfa's yesterday afternoon before I left Houston.

Which is not to say the weekend was all bad. The First Annual Texans Blogger Symposium and Drinkathon went off swimmingly. Tim and I (later joined by reader Will and his girlfriend²) solved a number of the Texans' problems.

• We decided that (a) someone should run over Travis Johnson as he crossed the street, even if that means we can only afford to pay league minimum for a third string DT.
  
• We opined that Jacoby Jones is totally deserving of the mancrush all of us seem to be saddling him with, as we are pretty sure Kevin Walter will never be a viable #2.
  
• There was much discussion about blogging in general--a topic that I'm sure you can never hear enough about--and how Will Leitch changed everything (and is likely underpaid).
• Of course, there was discussion about the drafting of Mario Williams and, tangentially, the degree to which we love (Tim) or loathe (Me) a certain Titans' QB.
• Sandwiched between jokes about my feelings re: Petey Faggins, we agreed that our best hope is that Fred Bennett can play CB2 and that, were we in charge, we'd put him there with instructions not to worry about play action--just stay with your WR, son.
• I believe there were at least three T-shirt ideas thrown out, which I am totally going to use. As soon as I remember what they were. They were funny, though. I think.

Other, non-Friday night stuff. I chose Ninfa's yesterday for three reasons. First, it was the only place that received more than one vote, with Stacy and Tim both chiming in on it. Second, it was a ten-minute drive from the hotel. Third, when a place is described as "legendary," I almost feel obliged to try it first. Anyway, I ordered the two beef tacos a la Ninfa and Stacy was right--those were the best tacos I have ever had. The salsa verde was awesome. The sopaipilla was excellent. And so on, and so forth.

Three other random tidbits about the weekend before I quit with the self-referential crap and turn to actual developments with the team.

• For lack of a better category, file this following under "Weird Shit. On the first leg of my flight (LR-DAL), seated a mere six rows ahead of me was one Barry Switzer. I still can't figure out what the hell a former pro coach (who should still have millions in illegal booster money from his college coaching days hidden away in the Caymans) would be doing flying Southwest Airlines. Tim's suggestion was "probably because they have a lax firearm-screening policy," which is slightly more likely than my theory of him acting as Michael Irvin's coke mule.
• Since moving to Little Rock, I have labored under the assumption that no sports radio could be worse than what we have here. Well 610 certainly gave that theory a run for its money. I was listening to drivetime on Friday and was shocked at how little grasp the two dudes had on NFL contracts, money, and suspensions. An entire discussion of Tank Johnson and who might sign him without a single mention of how he had to be signed BEFORE the suspension would take place. Dumb.
• So, that Galleria Mall of yours? Jesus.
  

¹ Note my finely-honed gift of understatement.
² I am completely blanking on her name, for which I apologize. I do remember, however, that she invented a drink that we named the "David Carr." It is a not-so-potent concoction of Sprite, grenadine, and gin. It is pink. You can also turn it into the "Sandy Vag" by serving it in a salt- or sugar-rimmed glass.

Labels: Beer, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Mexican food, Secondary issues are primary, Self-Referential Stuff, Super Mario, The Fred, Training camp 2007, Vacation-related posts

Posted by matt at 10:03 AM | Permalink | links to this post

I didn't make it to either of the practices today. Not because it rained. Not because I was hungover. But because I spent the entire friggin' day in the emergency room at Methodist.

The good news is that I do not have Super Aids. The bad news is that I have a horrible sinus infection. Which, according to the doctor, was why I woke up at 5AM feeling like someone was beating the inside of my skull with a nine iron. And, apparently, why I threw up 11 times today. Somehow, this is Petey's fault; I am sure of it.

While I still hope to go to one or both practices tomorrow, you could say that this trip is not working out like it was planned.

Labels: Self-Referential Stuff, Training camp 2007, Vacation-related posts, Vomitopia

Posted by matt at 4:32 PM | Permalink | links to this post

I'm just going to come out and say it: Simeon Rice is better than Anthony Weaver. No offense to Weavs, but Rice--released yesterday by Tampa Bay--is just one season removed from a 14 sack campaign. The 33-year-old has posted sack totals of 15.5, 15, 12, 14, and 2 in the last five seasons.

Yes, he had a bad--even by our d-line--season last year, posting only 2 sacks and 18 tackles in 8 games. Rice was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury last November, but, prior to that, had missed only two total games in his other 10 NFL seasons. Which is to say, if the shoulder is healed, there is no reason to think that he will play an abbreviated schedule this season.

Of course, that's a big "if." Apparently, Rice failed a physical yesterday, which may have been part of the reason he was let go.

But, assuming that "if," can you imagine what an upgrade Simeon would be? We've talked most of the post-draft offseason about how Amobi should remove a little of the pressure from Super Mario. Well, put Amobi and Simeon Rice on the left side (and assume that Anthony Maddox plays like he did over the last few weeks of last year), and Mario will face one blocker almost all the time. One. Instead of 2+.

Now, I will grant you that Simeon was due to receive $7.5MM this season (which also probably figured into his release), so this isn't going to be a Keenan McCardell no one else wants me hometown sweetheart deal. However, even with all of our dead money and the money we just paid McCardell, we should still have around $6.5MM to play with. And I am reasonably sure that a healthy Rice would sign for the something in the $3.5-4MM range.

SO... yes, I am just rambling. And, yes, this is most likely a bigger pipe-dream than my crush on Sam Adams was. And, true, there is very little to indicate that Smithiak will even pursue something like this. STILL (or "THAT SAID" if you prefer), I claim that I am right about this.

(By the way, and before you ask, I am at the airport and, yes, I have been drinking. Stop looking at me like that. I hate it when you judge me.)

Labels: Beer, Sam Adams, Self-Referential Stuff, Simeon Rice, Super Mario, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 1:40 PM | Permalink | links to this post

In addition to being 20 years old, Amobi Okoye is now a Houston Texan. (Hat tip to Mark, who continues to make my job easy.) Late last night, Okoye signed a 6-year (voidable to five) deal with $12.785MM in guaranteed money (out of a total $17.6MM).

With that move, everyone who is supposed to be at camp will be at camp, where Kubiak can begin the process of crushing dreams and releasing underperforming players. (Travis Johnson, I am looking at you.)

Labels: 2007 Draft, Amobi Okoye is 20, Gary Kubiak, Training camp 2007, Tremendous Busts

Posted by matt at 9:00 AM | Permalink | links to this post

If you are like me, you don't really need an excuse to drink. Much like breathing, sleeping, and making jokes about Peyton Manning and Kenny Chesney, it's just something that you do with surprising regularity.

However, when you do have an excuse, it makes it all the mo' better. On that note, the world-famous¹ Tim from the universally-known² Battle Red Blog and I are using the simple fact that I will be in Houston as a reason to liberate as much beer from the crush of oppressive containerism as is humanly possible in one night. The details:

What: Drinking.
Where: Char Bar, 305 Travis St.
When: Friday, July 27 @ 8PM
Why: Um... DRINKING.
Who: Anyone who enjoys beer and football<sup>3

1</sup> Relatively speaking.
² In the universe of Houston Texans fans who spend too much time on the interwebs.
³ As an aside, if you don't like beer and football, you should probably stop reading this and go back to your WNBA highlights and Tina and the B-Side Movement CDs.

Labels: Beer, Peyton Manning's lovelife, Self-Referential Stuff, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 4:43 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Random updates, player notes, and assorted detritus.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that I completely forgot about Jameel Cook's injury when we were discussing moving Jon Abbate to FB in these comments. Now, I will grant you that Cook is not that good and that he made some really, REALLY stupid plays last year, but I did think that--if healthy--he would beat out a guy who hasn't played FB since high school. Now, of course, we learn that not only is Cook not healthy, but that he will join Charles Spencer on the PUP list to start the season. So, it appears that Abbate is FB2, barring something strange happening. At 5'10"/230, he certainly has the build for it. (Click here for the video that will make you like Abbate unless you are a heartless turd.)

Still no word on Manchild. He wants to sign. The team wants to sign him. Kubiak is optimistic that he will get signed. Yet... nothing. Prediction: He signs some time late (like after 5) this afternoon. Alternate prediction: He doesn't sign and I develop chronic heartburn.

Chester Pitts, in addition to going to Dubai and taking the time to tell us about it, has also pledged to be more energy efficient. I really have nothing to add to this.

Steph has a good piece at Fanhouse re: the battle at Center. In 20 words or fewer, I would sum up the situation thusly: Mike Flanagan good, Steve McKinney versatile but not as good, Drew Hodgdon mercifully moved to guard. Steph's take differs ever-so-slightly. Read it.

Labels: Amobi Okoye is 20, Batman, Charles Spencer, John Abbate likes to tackle, Offensive (punch)Line

Posted by matt at 1:43 PM | Permalink | links to this post

So, in the wake of Charles Spencer's PUPpy love comes news that the team worked out former Green Bay Packer Kevin Barry. (Hat tip to reader Mark. Again. Because he rules.)

Barry has pretty good measurables (6'4", 332), which is always nice. I suppose the two most intriguing things about him are, first, that he can play left tackle and, second, that in limited action (8 starts over 4 years) he didn't allow a sack.

This move makes me think that the team is either adding depth--always a good idea--or is having second thoughts about Jordan Black. (That would be the Jordan Black of 13 sacks allowed last year fame.) I am fine with either of those reasons, though I find myself leaning more and more to the "wait... you mean that Jordan Black?!" side of things.

In the end, I think this team can function with Salaam as our LT for as long as it takes Spencer to heal. That said, I also prefer seeing the team explore other possibilities. Standing pat is for suckers.

Labels: Barbaro is dead, Batman, Charles Spencer, Free Agency, Offensive (punch)Line

Posted by matt at 9:34 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Well, it's official. Charles Spencer will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he will miss (at minimum) the first six games of the 2007 campaign.

Damn. Double damn, even.

Now, I've spent the last 3 months harping on how our line was not that bad last year, despite not having Barbaro, as well as Mike Flanagan and the since-departed Zack Weigert. And, it's true, many of the sacks of David Carr were created by none other than David Carr--a problem that we won't face this year. And it's fair to say that Salaam did a decent job filling in last year, though allowing 7.5 sacks is not exactly what I would call All-Pro caliber.

So, no, all is not lost.

Still, I was hoping Spencer would be ready to go if for no other reason than I wanted the full varsity line intact when Schaub slides under Flanagan's butt for the first time against the Chiefs. Then again, by having basically the same line that Carr ended last season with, maybe fate has lined up so Schaub will still succeed and we can say "See?! I told you Carr was responsible!" That would be nice.

On the flip side, going against Julius Peppers with Ephraim Salaam scares me. A lot.

Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point. Spencer on PUP list. Matt not happy about it. The circle of life is complete.

Labels: Barbaro is dead, Charles Spencer, David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, Injury bug, Preview, The Schaub Experiment

Posted by matt at 3:21 PM | Permalink | links to this post

What in the world??? Fear not... just read here for an explanation.

Win #6--Week 12 @ Cleveland.

During warmups for this game last season, Ron Dayne passed out after eating a whole tub of Crisco¹ and Jeb Putzier fractured his foot. Even worse, Zoolander went 9/15 for 86 yards and a red zone INT. Still, when the shooting stopped the Texans were on top 14-6. (Thanks, in part, to Anthony Maddox getting a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and 47-yard TD all on the same play.)

So, what has happened in the days between Dec. 31, 2006, and right now? Dayne has been replaced by Batman. Carr has been replaced by Matt Schaub. The offensive line (save for Chester Pitts) is healthy.

In Cleveland, however, they drafted a whiny crotch grabber (who might hold out), then decided that they would stick (at least initially) with the QB who lost to Houston last year. Jamal Lewis takes the place of Reuben Droughns, which is what the guys in Vegas call a "push." They did improve the O-line by drafting Thomas and getting Bentley back, but even the mid-90s Cowboys' line couldn't make Charlie Frye into an NFL QB.

Here's how I see it playing out. Quinn will have gotten the nod about two weeks before this game. However, since he missed some of camp and because he is a complete ninny, he will still be somewhere near the bottom of his learning curve. Joe Thomas, as good as he might be, will struggle with Mario. Our running game will chug along, but probably not crack 100 yards. This won't matter, though, because Schaub and Co. will pick on Eric Wright, et al, to the tune of 250 and 3 TDs. Good times.

¹ Or, if you want to believe the media, he aggravated an existing ankle injury. Either way, he didn't play.

Labels: Batman, Posts that list too many players, Preview, Super Mario, Teams that aren't the Texans, The Schaub Experiment, Winner winner chicken dinner

Posted by matt at 12:58 PM | Permalink | links to this post

While in Houston over the upcoming weekend, I have three goals.
1. See at least three practices.
2. Eat Mexican food.
3. Eat brisket.

Now, as for number 1, that shouldn't be a problem, seeing as how I have tickets to three practices. (You hear me talking, Mother Nature?!? If it rains, I will cut you. So help me God, I will cut you.)

Because my knowledge of Houston is limited to the inside of Hobby airport, however, goals 2 and 3 require assistance. I have asked some fellow bloggers for input, but I don't know what to make of the results. They agreed on the best brisket (Goode Co. BBQ), but were incredibly divergent when it came to Mexican food. Like the ones one person liked, the other person apparently thought were crap.

SO... I want some input. Recommend places that will fill my belly with the best Mexican food in Houston. (Also, feel free to offer brisket advice as well.)

Labels: Mexican food, Self-Referential Stuff, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 11:53 AM | Permalink | links to this post

You know the off-season has gotten long when the "he is... no, he's not" regarding Keenan McCardell as a Texan becomes daily discussion.

That said, reader Mark¹ points me to this line in the NFL.com transaction log.

Green Bay Packers	Korey Hall signed/draft choice
Houston Texans	Keenan McCardell signed
Indianapolis Colts	Tarik Glenn retired
New Orleans Saints	Robert Meachem signed/draft choice, Five-year contract

So... um... I am going to say that McCardell is a Texan. Though that is subject to change at any point until I see him in uniform.

By the way, how cool is it (from our perspective) to see Tarik Glenn officially retire? (See Stampede Blue for a full discussion of Glenn's departure.)

Say what you want about how quickly Manning gets rid of the ball or how well he feels pressure or how good the offensive system is at replacing people, but Texans fans (more than just about anyone, I guess) know the true value of a real left tackle. Maybe Tony Ugoh or Charlie Johnson steps up and plays well... but neither of them is Tarik Glenn. And, for that, Mario Williams is exceedingly happy.

¹ And can I just mention how much I love readers who alert me to stories? They instantly become my favorite people in the whole universe for a solid 15 or 20 minutes.

Labels: 2007 Draft, Batman, Colts Shmolts, Free Agency, Super Mario, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 10:01 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Just over two months ago, when this blog still had that new car smell, I took a break from defending Mario Williams and the offensive line to post this story about Ahman Green and Jason Simmons' deal for Simmons' number.

On Monday, the final piece of that deal was put in place, as Green and Simmons, along with owner Bob McNair, presented a check for $50,000 to Regina Foster of Houston, TX. Foster, a single mother whose son suffers from autism, was understandably emotional.

"This is for Reggie," Foster said, tears running down her cheeks when she was surprised at work by Green and Simmons. "He needs it. Kids with autism can't adapt well to change, so it will be wonderful to have something we don't have to ever leave."

You know, this story is good enough even without the special needs child. But, you add in Reggie and this story becomes something really, really awesome. Green knew that, too.

Green said part of the reason why Foster was chosen was because he learned through work with Easter Seals the difficulties and expense of caring for a child with special needs.

I don't have anything to add to this story, other than it still makes me proud to be a Texans fan.

Labels: Athletes who don't stab people, Awesomeness, Batman, Charity

Posted by matt at 10:50 AM | Permalink | links to this post

It's been really nice knowing all of you, even if only electronically. It's a shame we couldn't have all met for some beer and brisket before we ran out of time. I say this only because we are apparently approaching the end times. What other explanation could there be for Matt Mosley saying something even slightly positive about the Texans?

Labels: National Media, Tombstone

Posted by matt at 9:27 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Remember way back on July 10th, when the Texans--to much fanfare, I might add--signed LB Zac Woodfin? Nevermind, kid. Woodfin was released Monday along with FB Cory Anderson, G Atlas Herrion, C Enoka Lucas, CB Derrick Roberson, RB Darius Walker, and P Eric Wilbur. (Herrion was also with the team less than two weeks.)

Of these, I suppose the only true surprise is Walker, if only because we kinda sorta actively pursued him. Walker was close to signing with the Bears before, depending on who you ask, he either couldn't come to terms with the Super Bowl losers or we swooped in and signed him first.

Then again, I don't know that you can even call his release a surprise. As of right now, you have Batman and Cartman occupying spots one and two. That leaves Lundy, Taylor, and Gado fighting for two spots (assuming we keep 4 RB like last year). Surely Walker--and, more importantly, his agent Drew Rosenhaus--are smart enough to realize he is not likely to supplant TWO guys who have shown flashes of talent in the NFL (a description that applies to all three). It wouldn't surprise me at all if he asked to be released.

Lucas, Anderson, Roberson, and Wilbur were all part of the herd of undrafted free agents we brought in back in May.

*****
As to news of additions, it seems we brought in P Matt Turk. Which I am sure has the guys at BRB thinking of happy, Stanley-free days.

*****
Amobi Watch: Still no news.

UPDATE: Someone who would have occasion to know such things echoes the sentiment that Walker probably asked to be released, but adds "Walker’s not good, but you’re right [in thinking] he asked to be released. That said, I would be shocked if he made a roster, let alone play a down in the NFL."

The same person also said that both Manchild and JJ will sign before camp, but "it could be as late as Thursday."

Labels: Batman, Preview, RB free-for-all, Ron Dayne likes pie, Training camp 2007, Undrafted Free Agent watch list

Posted by matt at 8:58 AM | Permalink | links to this post

On the list of reasons why writing this blog is a lot of fun, "getting emails from real media types" is somewhere near the top. Oh, sure, the multitude of adoring female fans showing me their I [heart] DGDB&D thongs are nice,¹ but even that doesn't measure up to the thrill of getting an email from someone (relatively) famous.

Of course, there is really only one media-type² who ever emails me or even replies with more than two words to my incessant emailing, and that is Friend-of-DGDB&D KC Joyner. (You might remember KC from this post about Dunta, wherein he did all the work and I narrated.) Still, we are all about quality over quantity here, so I will gladly take one Joyner over ten Jerome Solomons.

And why do we like KC so much? Because, aside from pumping out some high-quality analytical work at ESPN.com, he also emails things like

By the way, I meant to ask you if you would be interested in getting an exclusive Texans excerpt from SF 2007.(emphasis added)

Umm...yeah. You could say that I would be interested. So, without Freddy Adu, I offer up an excerpt from Joyner's latest work, Scientific Football 2007³. (Note: This is really long for a blog entry, but totally worth the read. Also note: Clicking that last link will let you buy the book.)

HOUSTON TEXANS

Offense
One trait that I like to see in head coaches is a sense of dissatisfaction. I say this because an acquaintance of mine once told me that the only way to get better in life is to be dissatisfied, as that feeling is the most likely to lead you to make a change.

That Gary Kubiak showed a sense of dissatisfaction with David Carr last year wasn’t surprising, but the timing of his dissatisfaction was. Going into the week 8 game against the Titans, Carr had the 4th best passer rating in the league and had been ranked #1 in that category a mere two weeks earlier. The Texans were also coming off of a 27‐7 thrashing of the Jaguars, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if Kubiak had a sense of satisfaction with where both his team and Carr were at that time.

Kubiak’s knew better than to be satisfied. Carr built his great passer rating by throwing an extraordinarily high percentage of short passes. Out of the 178 passes Carr threw prior to the Tennessee game, 129 of them were short. That number alone accounts for 72% of his total passes. Toss in 15 throwaway passes and it means that 81% of his passes didn’t make their way very far downfield. Out of the 34 other passes, 22 were medium throws and a mere 12 of them were deep/bomb throws. Simply put, Carr wasn’t threatening a defense vertically at all.

Kubiak has been an offensive coordinator for years and knows that an offense cannot be successful if it has to rely on the short pass too often. He also knew that the best time to push for more improvements is after you have some level of success. The victory over the Jaguars provided Kubiak with just such a moment, as did the relatively weak Titans secondary, so that is when he decided to press Carr to go vertical more often.

Carr responded by having one of his worst games of the year. He forced a pass into true triple coverage in the middle of the first quarter that resulted in an interception. (I say true triple coverage because most of the time when you hear an announcer say there was triple coverage on a play, it means that there were three players in visual range of the receiver. On this play, Andre Johnson actually had three players in coverage against him).

Kubiak got on Carr’s case immediately after that play and that was the beginning of the end of Carr’s career in Houston. He was benched later in that game and his performance the rest of the year grew consistently worse. Kubiak had to find out if Carr could develop into the vertical passer he wants as his quarterback and Carr simply couldn’t pass that test.

The big question for the 2007 Texans is whether or not Matt Schaub can pass that same test. There aren’t a lot of metrics to go on but let’s take a look at what Schaub’s Atlanta vertical passing record has been the past two years:






Schuab’s vertical history is about as good as Carr’s vertical game was last year, so that doesn’t show Schaub will be an improvement. The issue with Carr really wasn’t his YPA or success percentage on long passes, though. It was much more that Carr wouldn’t throw the ball downfield often enough. Why that was is anyone’s guess. My take is that it was probably a combination of his developing cabin fever behind
ineffective pass blocking over the years and his own sense of not wanting to take chances and possibly making mistakes.

Schaub shouldn’t have a sense of cabin fever because he hasn’t been behind center long enough to develop that malady yet. Schaub also shouldn’t be hamstrung by a fear of risk taking, as he certainly seemed aggressive enough during his playing time in Atlanta. Add it all up and I believe Schaub will be a tremendous upgrade for Houston and will pay dividends in a hurry.

Andre Johnson
Johnson rightfully received a lot of acclaim for his 103‐reception performance last season, but his 7.3 YPA was mediocre. Some of the low YPA total has to do with the short pass focus of the Texans in 2006, but Johnson himself wasn’t that effective on a number of vertical routes.

He averaged less than 10 YPA on the go and fade routes. He also had a 6.3 YPA on comeback routes, 6.0 YPA on deep in routes and a 3.3 YPA on deep out routes. He did very well on the fade/stop and post routes but only had four of those passes thrown to him all season. I am not saying that Johnson’s vertical failures are entirely his fault but I am saying that part of the blame has to fall on him. If Schuab has a vertical test in front of him in 2007, so does Johnson.

Eric Moulds (unsigned by any team as of this writing)
I cannot understand for the life of me why Eric Moulds is unemployed right now. Moulds isn’t the deep threat he was a few years ago, but to focus on solely on that is to miss his potential value.

Moulds had the highest success percentage of any receiver in the NFL last year. A big reason for his success is that he had the 2nd lowest dropped pass percentage. He also had the 2nd highest medium pass YPA, so he does have some downfield usefulness left in him.

Moulds is said to be a locker room leader and he was quite valuable in helping Andre Johnson develop last year. I can think of probably a dozen teams at the very least that could use a receiver of his caliber. If he goes unsigned, it won’t be because of a lack of skills on his part.

Owen Daniels
Daniels could be primed for a Pro Bowl run in 2007. He ranked 8th in overall YPA last year and was in the top 3 in both deep and medium pass YPA. He was also 5th in overall success percentage. If he can keep these metrics even close to their current levels while moving his number of pass attempts from 46 to closer to 100, he will definitely garner some Pro Bowl consideration.


IS SOMEONE IN THE SCHEDULE MAKING OFFICE MAD AT THESE GUYS?
Houston had a tough stretch in 2006 where they played six road games in eight weeks. This stretch included a run of four road games in five weeks. No other team in the league played that many road games in that short of a stretch, although a few did play five road games in seven weeks.

The league didn’t hit Houston quite as hard this year, but they do have one section of the schedule that has five road games in seven weeks. I would bet that this is mere happenstance but if I were running the Texans, I might go ahead and send a Christmas card and a few Outback Steak House gift cards up to the league office when the holidays roll around. You never know when a little kindness might come back to benefit you come schedule making time.

Defense
The Texans have taken quite a beating from fans and the media for picking Mario Williams over any of the numerous other potential #1 picks in the 2006 draft.

Williams is currently seen as an underachiever and each member of the Bush/Young/Leinart triumvirate is already being classified as potential all‐time greats. I don’t mean to take anything away from the Bush/Young/Leinart group, but let’s take a look at why the Texans chose Williams. First, there were rumors that the Texans and Bush weren’t going to be able to agree on contract terms. Second, the Texans had David Carr and thought that Kubiak stood a good chance of developing Carr into a top‐flight NFL quarterback. Third, a lot of teams don’t like to draft running backs high because it is thought that with a good offensive line, any good running back will do, so why go out of your way to draft a potentially great one?

Another reason for picking Williams is that impact edge pass rushers are damn hard to find, and the Texans had very few, if any, pass rushing prospects on their team. That looked like a bigger hole for them to fill than either running back or quarterback.

The other issue I have with scoring the Williams pick as a bust for the Texans at this point is that it assumes each of these players’ careers will keep progressing as they have in year one. Young had a great rookie season but he is stuck in an offense that has no proven wide receivers and a revolving door at running back. Leinart’s offensive line will likely get better this year and give him the protection he needs to develop into a great quarterback, but haven’t people been saying that about the Cardinals O line for each of the past few years? Bush is being promoted as the
next Gale Sayers but up until around week 10 or so, he was doing next to nothing as a running back (although he was playing very well as a wideout). The Saints also need to prove they weren’t one‐year wonders and if they were, Bush could stagnate down there.

Williams’ relative lack of performance last year is also contributing to this mindset, but that could change as well. Williams was confused early on in the season due in large part to his being moved around to different positions on the defense. Once he started being moved around less and had a chance to acclimate himself, Williams started playing much better. In addition, Williams had a foot injury that slowed him down.

To be fair, Williams’ lack of effort was also said to be part of the problem, but that was something that Kubiak got on his case for big time. A lot of rookies have trouble adjusting to the demands of the NFL, so it is very possible that Williams was having a typical case of the rookie blues rather than simply not working very hard.

This is not to say that Williams might not turn out to be the next Kenneth Sims. My point is that it is still way to early to make a determination in any team’s or player’s favor when it comes to grading the top of the 2006 draft.

Dunta Robinson
I can never quite understand why Robinson gets the amount of positive publicity that he does. His 7.4 overall YPA says that he is an average cornerback and his 45.2% overall success percentage echoes that sentiment. His 16.7% missed pass and 9.0% forced incompletion percentages says that a disproportionate amount of his success last year was due to luck, and that might drop his overall status to mediocre.

Even without those numbers, though, I would still think that anyone watching Texans games would see Robinson’s talent level. The Dolphins and Cowboys both targeted him with success and there were many other games where it was obvious teams weren’t avoiding him in the least. He’s not a terrible cornerback by any stretch but he certainly isn’t “one of the best young cornerbacks in the league” as Kevin Harlan said.

Demarcus Faggins
Faggins spent his time going back and forth between the inactive and active lists due to injuries and it showed in his 10.0 YPA. When Faggins is healthy, he is a much better player than that YPA would indicate, so expect him to do much better in 2007.

CC Brown
Brown’s 2006 numbers were the epitome of the average cover safety. His deep coverage metrics were in the middle of the road. He didn’t have many forced incompletions but also didn’t benefit from many missed passes. Houston could do a lot worse than Brown, but they could also do a lot better.

Glenn Earl
Earl is said to be fairly good in run support but I don’t know that he is good enough to justify his poor coverage metrics. He was 28th in overall YPA and 25th in overall success percentage. If Houston is looking to replace any starter in their secondary, Earl would probably be the person to start with.

Team prediction:
Houston has made significant personnel strides the past couple of years but they still haven’t developed a strong offensive line and have big question marks at wide receiver. They are counting on Ahman Green to rejuvenate the running game, and that’s certainly something of a risky proposition. They have a great playmaker on defense in DeMeco Ryans but the rest of the defense is either inconsistent or unproven.

Their schedule is tough as hell, as they face Kansas City, Carolina, Atlanta and Indianapolis to start the year and then have that nasty road game stretch I spoke of earlier. They follow those games up with Denver, Indianapolis and Jacksonville. It will all be too much for them to overcome for a playoff spot in the tough AFC but if they win anywhere between 6 and 8 games this year, it should be seen as a sign of progress.
KC’s 2007 forecast: 6‐10

Now, I will grant you that he hits us pretty hard. 6-10? Not really what I (a) think or (b) want to hear. He also pulls no punches when it comes to Dunta, though following our last conversation, that is to be expected. (My biggest question is why he lets Petey off so easily, considering that he has said elsewhere that Faggins is a good nickel corner but not so hot at CB2.)

At the same time, he is also quick to point out (as all of us have) that there are several reasons why the Mario pick is defensible and (possibly) the right move, even in retrospect. He also agrees with anyone who has watched Carr play ever that Schaub is going to be an upgrade.

Now, I am not saying that I buy this whole thing soup-to-nuts, but I do think KC is correct on a good deal of this. More importantly, however, I think KC continues to crank out real analysis grounded in solid research. Which is beyond rare among football writers today. I also think it's freakin' awesome that he let me post this.

¹ My wife counts as a "multitude," right?
² I'm talking about sports media-types. Friend-of-DGDB&D Whitney Pastorek is an entertainment media-type and she hasn't blocked my emails... yet.
³Copyright © 2007 K.C. Joyner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the Publisher, except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Labels: Andre Johnson, Athletes who don't stab people, Batman, Demarcus Faggins sucks, DeMeco Ryans, Dunta Robinson, Preview, Super Mario, The Schaub Experiment

Posted by matt at 5:15 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Reader Dan points to this article by Redskins Insider Jason La Canfora (picked up by Rotoworld) regarding Keenan McCardell. According to La Canfora

[I h]eard the veteran WR has agreed to terms with Houston, as expected. The Skins had some serious interest in him, but only at the right price - the [veteran minimum]. He lives in Houston and if he was going to sign anywhere for that kind of money it was going to be there.

Now, I have not yet been able to verify this report, but I am inclined to believe it. After all, dollars being equal, why wouldn't he sign with us?

Assuming the veracity of said article, what does this mean for the Texans?

McCardell joins the logjam at WR2, but I have to think he is going to be given the first best chance to win the job. Just looking at the raw numbers over the last five years, however, I think one has to temper his expectations of what McCardell can do. Best case scenario, we are probably looking at 65 catches, 850 yards, and 7 TDs. Worst case scenario, he resembles Eric Moulds, circa 2006. Unfortunately, at least for planning purposes, each of those scenarios is as likely as the other.

We can argue all day long whether McCardell is the right guy to "teach" Jones and Walter how to be starting NFL receivers. I suppose it depends on what level of instruction you are looking for--if you mean "show them some tips and tricks for playing at this level," then he can do that in spades; if you mean "take them under his wing and groom them to replace him," I don't see Keenan going that far. What he will bring, though, is a higher level of competition for the WR2 position. I get the feeling, just from McCardell's quotes around the time of his workout that he sincerely plans on making the team and starting all sixteen games. (Sure, maybe it's just to pad his career numbers, but it's better than just signing for a paycheck.) This means that Jones & Walter & Apostrophe & Anderson & Bethel & Adams & Mr. Glass are all going to have to work that much harder to make the team.

Speaking of making the team, the Texans broke camp last year with 5 WRs. If they take that same number this year, who are the odd men out? Johnson is in. Jones is in. Walter is likely in. Which means you have 5 or 6 guys competing for 2 spots. My guess is that Apostrophe and McCardell round out the squad.

Ever intrepid, I'll keep looking for some sort of confirmation of this rumor. You can click here for DGDB&D's discussion of KMc.

UPDATE: I emailed Carmine Pirone and Nicholas Scurfield of houstontexans.com and asked about the rumor. Pirone's response was a simple "Not true." So--for now, at least--there you go. Somewhere, Apostrophe Davis just relaxed a little.

Labels: Free Agency, National Media, Preview, Rumors, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 2:17 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Chester Pitts apparently went to Dubai in the offseason. And, for some reason, he decided to tell us about it in his NFL Player blog.

Trip to Dubai
07/23/07

I went to Dubai this offseason. I was out there for about eight days. It was amazing. I have never seen so much construction at one time. The atmosphere out there was very cool. You never would have believed that you were in the Middle East, that's for sure.

This post comes right on the heels of his last one... dated 8/12/04. That post talked about the move from tackle to guard.

Whoa... easy Chester. At this pace, you are going to quickly run out of things to write about and find yourself pulling inane crap from the internet just to fill space until camp starts.

Labels: Athletes who don't stab people, Inanity, Offensive (punch)Line, Please let the season start soon

Posted by matt at 1:13 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Maybe it's because I am writing this blog and searching (mostly in vain) every day for something worth writing about, but this offseason has seemed oppressively long. I've seen glaciers move more quickly.

Slow or not, however, the end is nigh!

Rookies have already reported for "indoctrination"--which sounds ominous, but likely isn't--and actual camp begins in earnest on Friday. Saturday and Sunday each feature two practice sessions open to the public, of which I will be attending 75%. I spare no expense when it comes to you, the loyal reader.¹

If last year's camp is any indication, camp will be hot,² well organized, and pretty up-tempo right from the opening bell. We've gone over the positional battles repeatedly here, so I won't rehash them, but I am hoping to get a little insight into "Who's Now" at some of the key positions. (I would also like to understand exactly what "Who's Now" means, but that's a different story.)

*****

In other "camp is almost here" news, the teams has still not reached an agreement with Manchild or JJ (or Brandon Frye). This is not bad news as of right now, but it merits watching as this week progresses. The Raiders have stated that J-Rock is close to signing, which would make it easier to slot everyone in after him, so I'm still guessing that Amobi is signed by midweek.

Also, I was flipping through the Preview issue of Pro Football Weekly, when something curious caught my eye. They predict the Titans to go 6-10, despite giving their QB, RBs, and WRs grades of B, D, and D+ respectively. By my math, that's a GPA of 1.74. The Texans, whom the magazine says will go 5-11, have grades of C+, B-, and C+ at those positions. 2.66 GPA. Interesting. Even if we include the offensive lines (B- and C-) in those grades, the discrepancy only closes to 1.91 for the Titans and 2.24 for the Texans. What about the defense? 2.22 for the Titans (C, B-, C) and 2.66 for the Texans (C+, B-, C+). Pardon me... but how the hell does this many any sense?


¹ This is a total lie. I just wanted to go to camp. Still, you kinda benefit from it.
² Unless, of course, The Weather Jesus decides that he wants to keep raining on Houston, in which case the public viewing will be canceled and I will have to hurt someone.

Labels: 2007 Draft, Inanity, National Media, Preview, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 9:01 AM | Permalink | links to this post

The Texans have reached an agreement Kasey Studdard. And, like nearly every other article you read about him, the linked entry says he "plays with a mean streak." What the hell does that even mean? Does he pinch opposing linemen? Take his opponent's mother out to a nice dinner and never call her again? Maybe one of the Longhorn fans can fill me in.

So, with Studdard in the fold, we have lowered the number of non-signees to four. Unfortunately (at the moment), that foursome includes the two guys who are going to get a whole lot of playing time. No disrespect to Brandon Harrison or Brandon Frye, who both stand a good chance at being number 2 on the depth chart at their positions, but I will rest a little easier once Manchild and JJ are signed.

Update: As Tim points out, Harrison signed about 5 hours after this post went up. I have magical powers.

Labels: 2007 Draft, Amobi Okoye is 20, Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 5:48 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Translation: Just win, baby.

OK, so file this under "huh?"

The Raiders also announced that they'll broadcast four home games in Navajo. Trask said the Raiders games against the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos will be broadcast in Navajo. This marks the third straight season of such a venture.

First, how do you say "Hey, Mike Williams, why don't you put down the jelly donut, you fat, lazy turd" in Navajo?

Second, why the hell did they pick Navajo? According to this site

The largest, most populous Indian Nation in the US, the Navajo Nation is located in the Four Corners Area, covering northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. Its capital is Window Rock, Arizona, just across the New Mexico state line. Three other Navajo Bands in New Mexico are located away from the main reservation at Alamo, To'hajilee and Ramah. The Navajo Nation's population is over 250,000, with 70,000 residing in New Mexico.

Now, granted, that area is out West, as is California. (Man, I read maps well!) But it's actually an hour closer to Dallas. And MUCH closer to Phoenix.

Don't get me wrong--I have no problem with this move whatsoever. It just strikes me as odd. Are there really that many Raider fans in the Navajo Nation? (Are there even any Raider fans outside of Oakland proper?) Is this all part of some master plan to find the next Jim Thorpe? Can I really end a post with four straight questions?

Labels: National Media, Preview, Teams that aren't the Texans

Posted by matt at 11:31 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Some random Friday Texans nuggets while I let it sink in that my wife is pregnant.

• The Texans have inked draft picks Zac Diles and Fred Bennett. With rookies scheduled to report to camp on Sunday, expect a flurry of deals in the next 48 hours.
• Texas.com has a breakdown of the three TEs. Nothing overly newsworthy in there, except that it appears all three are healthy and ready to contribute to the team in slightly different ways.
• Single game tickets are now on sale. The Titans game and the Saints game reportedly sold out in minutes. I have no idea why...
• Not so much "breaking news" as just really cool and helpful, USA Today has a searchable NFL salary database.
• Finally, I just wanted to mention that I will be in Houston around 6PM next Friday. Somewhere in between the three practices (note: if any of those three are canceled, someone dies), I'd like to meet up with readers/fellow bloggers/non-serial killers and have a beer or thirty. An Astros game is also doable if anyone is interested.
  

Labels: 2007 Draft, Chocodiles, Non-Texan stuff, Self-Referential Stuff, The Fred, Training camp 2007

Posted by matt at 9:32 AM | Permalink | links to this post

It's rare that another blogger does something so cool for me that I feel the need to mention it. And, by "it's rare," I mean "it has never happened before." Today, that changed.

Stephanie Stradley, aka Texans Chick, procured for me tickets to the Saturday morning and afternoon and the Sunday morning practices for camp's opening weekend. So, it looks like I shall be in the heezy (fo' sheezy).

But, that wasn't her only piece of awesomeness today. Oh, no. She also sent along this link. Which, you may rest assured, will be turned into a t-shirt as soon as I finish this post.

(Speaking of t-shirts, I'm picking up the bar tab for the first person I see wearing one of the DGDB&D shirts. Offer void in Rhode Island and where prohibited by law.)

Labels: Awesomeness, David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, T-shirts, Teams that aren't the Texans

Posted by matt at 5:16 PM | Permalink | links to this post

If you are the observant type, you might notice that down near the bottom, over on the right side, is a section entitled "DGDB&D Gear." And, though it's a little hard to see in that thumbnail, you might also notice a certain, slightly famous photo available on a t-shirt.

If you click on that shirt, there are a couple others available, too.

I suppose I should mention that I am not doing this to make money. (In fact, that store is set up at 0% commission, so that I don't make a single dime on any of them, that you might get them as cheaply as possible.) I am doing this because (a) that picture makes me laugh and (b) I think the thought of someone wearing a DGDB&D t-shirt is beyond awesome. You know... someone other than me.

Labels: David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, Self-Referential Stuff, Shameless begging, T-shirts

Posted by matt at 2:01 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Joey Harrington.

*insert maniacal laugh here*

Labels: Federal Pound Me In The Ass Prison, Mike Vick, Preview, Teams that aren't the Texans, You're the Man Now Dog

Posted by matt at 9:21 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Confused? Don't be. Look here for an explanation of what's going on.

Win #5--Week 9 @ Oakland. Let me start by saying that the Raiders have a very, very good defense. Kirk Morrison and Thomas Howard are an amazing duo at LB and the secondary is highly underrated. (I also keep waiting for Anttaj Hawthorne to pan out, but that's neither here nor there.)

So, why am I chalking this up as a win? Because a rookie QB + a ridiculously bad offensive line (it's nice to be able to say that about someone) + a couple malcontents at WR = a recipe for dysfunction not often seen this side of Detroit.

Did you know that Robert Gallery allowed 10.5 sacks in 10 games last year? That's awful. Like 2004 Texans awful. Of course, the bad news for the Raiders is that the rest of the line is nearly as bad. And that JaMarcus Russell isn't exactly mobile. In fact, here's a prediction for you: this game will be Shantee Orr's best of the season, with him putting up at least 2.5 sacks. Yes, that's right, I just made a Shantee Orr prediction... because that's how I roll.

Anyway.

No, I am not just assuming that everyone will beat the Raiders this year. There is enough talent on that defense that I can see them winning 5-6 games with a couple lucky bounces.

Still, I think their deficiencies on offense play exactly to our strengths on defense. Plus, we play them at the end of a good stretch (from our perspective) of their schedule--two conference games @ San Diego and then home against KC followed by a (winning) game against Tennessee, where they will chase VY around for extended periods of time--so, we've got that going for us. Which is nice.

I don't expect this to be a high scoring affair. Wait...you know what... it's not even 6PM and I am almost drunk, so I'm going to take this even further. I'll give you a score: Houston 17, Oakland 6. You should bet on that.

And, when you speak of me, speak well.

Labels: Bo Jackson was a Tecmo God, Preview, Shantee Orr, Teams that aren't the Texans, Winner winner chicken dinner

Posted by matt at 5:18 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Like a toddler to an open electrical outlet, Matt Mosley is once again drawn mindlessly to a Chron.com article ripping the Texans (or, more accurately this time, Texans fans). While the article Matt links to is crap at best, that is not what concerns me. [Author's Note: See BRB for a breakdown of that article.]

What does irk me is Matt's snarky comment.

How much longer can the Texans use the "expansion" thing as an excuse?

Gee, Matt... I don't know. You want to see something cool, though?

0-11-1
4-9-1
5-8-1
4-10-0
5-8-1

Know what that is? That's your beloved Cowboys first five years in the NFL. If my math is correct¹, that's 18-46-4. If we throw out the ties, that's a winning percentage of 28% (and, if we include the ties, we can accurately say that Dallas won 18 of their first 68 games). Eww.

Fast forward a few decades, and the Texans currently stand at 24-56-0. That's a winning percentage of 30%. Again, if we trust my math, 30% is better than 28%.

I know the rebuttal--the Texans were given high draft picks and the Cowboys just had to assemble a team from cast-offs and spare parts. That overlooks that the majority of our original roster was assembled of cast-offs and spare parts. It also glosses over how much easier it was to build a team before free agency, hard salary caps, revenue sharing and whatnot if a team had a proactive owner with deep pockets. Did we get the first overall pick that first season? Sure. And we botched it (in retrospect) and we STILL have a better record after five seasons than Dallas did.

By now, I don't expect Matt Mosley to suddenly start supporting the Texans. I would, however, appreciate it if he would just shut the hell up and not even mention them. Well, that, or try not to look like an ass when he does talk about them. Either way.

¹ I mistakenly wrote 18 of 60 in the Hashmarks comments. Guess I was giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Labels: History, Huh?, National Media, Spin City, Teams that aren't the Texans

Posted by matt at 12:57 PM | Permalink | links to this post

I am all in favor of optimism. I mean, for many people, a belief that the future will improve upon the past is all that they have. I can respect that and, to some degree, empathize.

Of course, there's a difference between optimism and crazy, wild-ass speculation. And I think this comment string about Vince Young's upcoming stats falls squarely into the latter category.

Seriously, guys... why not just "predict" 5200 YDS, 44 TDs, and 0 INTS?

My favorite quote: "He won't have time to fumble. He will be quickly releasing the ball to an open WR."

Labels: Huh?, Inanity, Preview, Teams that aren't the Texans, Vinsanity

Posted by matt at 10:02 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Reader Alok just sent me this link. It seems that Pete Prisco has ranked Andre Johnson as the second-best receiver in football. The full list is

1. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati: His 15.7 per-catch average was the best among the league's best receivers. That's why he is tops on this list.

2. Andre Johnson, Houston: He's big and strong and fast. He doesn't get the due he deserves.

3. Torry Holt, St. Louis: For some reason, he doesn't get the attention he deserves. He's right there near the top.

4. Steve Smith, Carolina: When he was slowed by injury, it really affected the Panthers offense. When he's on the field, he is a game-breaker.

5. Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis: He's consistently among the top receivers in the league. At some point, though, he will start to slow down.

Next best: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona -- He will be Matt Leinart's go-to guy for a long time. The Cardinals should have a dominant passing game in large part because of him.

Now, part of me like this. I dig seeing Andre get the mass-media love we all think he deserves. But the other part of me thinks that this is just Prisco writing something that he thinks will spark comments/blogosphere buzz. I mean, if he left Johnson off and replaced him with Fitzgerald (or Roy Williams), only the Texans fans (for the most part) would be up in arms. If he left off Steve Smith or Marvin Harrison, anyone who read the thing would call him an asstard. Which isn't to say that Andre isn't every bit as good as those other guys, but, rather, that Prisco knows which buttons to push to get a response without coming off as a total fraud.

The conspiracy-theorist in me also thinks that Prisco is just throwing us a bone here so that he can appear totally unbiased for or against any team. That way, he can rip on the Texans with impunity and, when pressed on it, say "See... I give them credit where credit is due!"

In the end though, it's nice to see any Texans player getting national love, regardless of the motives behind it. And, since you can make a pretty solid argument that Andre belongs somewhere in the Top 5, it's hard to fault Pete too much for putting him at #2. Especially when there is so much more that you can fault Pete for.

Labels: Andre Johnson, National Media, Teams that aren't the Texans

Posted by matt at 12:29 PM | Permalink | links to this post

I was going to apologize for the lack of posting around here over the past few days. Then I remembered that there is nothing to post about, so you would be getting rehashed arguments and recycled jokes.

However, now that the weekend is over and I am back at work, I have to find something to do to keep myself busy. Enter the STATS, Inc. database. My goal--to find ten stats from last season that should make us look forward to the upcoming season.

1. Eric Winston was only charged with 2 sacks allowed last season. As a rookie. In 12 games. That's a-nice.
2. Of David Carr's 140 incompletions, only 16 were due to dropped passes, while 30 were due to bad throws and 19 were hit at the line. This is one of the lowest percentage of dropped passes in the league and suggests to me that--just as we've all said--many of Sandy Vag's problems were of his own making.
3. DeMeco Ryans was eerily consistent last year. 75 tackles at home, 81 away. 73 in the first half of games, 83 in the second half. 37 on the left side of the field, 38 on the right.
4. Andre Johnson caught 62.8% of the balls thrown at him. By way of comparison, Marvin Harrison caught 64.2%, Torry Holt caught 52%, and Chad Johnson caught 57.2%. Now, granted, all of them had a higher first down percentage, but that should come up for Andre as the offense becomes accustomed to a QB who actually looks downfield.
5. Morlon Greenwood was noticeably better in the second half of the season, posting 66 of his 110 tackles, all of his FFs and PDs, and his lone INT. He's also Jamaican, which cracks me up for some reason.
   
6. Owen Daniels owned the Titans, going off for 11 catches, 124 yds, and 2 TDs against them. (That's "owned" by TE standards.) I'm setting his over/under against them this year at 16 catches.
7. Fred Weary had only 4 penalties and 3 sacks allowed. Combine that with Eric Winston's production and I think it's fair to say our right said could be one of the best in football this year. Fred also enjoys swingers clubs, which is both hilarious and frightening.
8. Ahman Green averaged 5.4 YPC against the AFC last season, compared to 3.5 against the NFC. Now, he gets to rush against the Titans and Colts twice instead of the Vikings and Bears twice. That is a good thing.
9. Anthony Maddox was statistically almost twice as good in December as he was in October. Instead of struggling to get into football shape, he seemingly became stronger and better each week.
10. Sage Rosenfels was sacked once in 40 attempts. I'm pretty sure he was playing with the same line the other QB was. Just sayin'.

T-minus 10 days until camp. (I feel like a little kid at Christmas. But without the fear that I will again walk in on my mom tongue-bathing Santa.)

Labels: Andre Johnson, Athletes who don't stab people, Batman, David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, DeMeco Ryans, Fred Weary is dirty, Offensive (punch)Line, Preview, Super Mario

Posted by matt at 8:26 PM | Permalink | links to this post

On the ESPN NFL page as of this moment, we have the following:

David Carr was just too smart for the Texans and now he's free to think his way to greatness. The author does not broach the subject of Carr having sand in his vagina.

Scouts, Inc., ranks the Texans QB corps as 25th best, RB corps as 28th, O-line as 30th, WR corps as 26th, and the TEs as 20th. The O-line ranking is based (in large part) on the expected contribution of Jordan Black, who may not even start. Nicely done, nerds.

Christopher Harris thinks that none of the Texans--including Andre--are worth owning from a fantasy perspective. He also mentions Reggie Bush FIVE times in the opening, before he ever gets to any fantasy analysis.

Looking around, aside from anal ventriloquist Bucky Brooks' take on pre-camp questions for each team at SI.com, none of the major sports outlets seem to have anything really Texans-centric.

While I enjoy TWWL's Texans-hate as much as the next guy, there is only so much I care to write about it. I need camp to start. Like, now.

Labels: Broken Record, David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, Preview, Reggie Bush

Posted by matt at 11:28 AM | Permalink | links to this post

The team announced the signing of five free agents yesterday. WR Harry Williams, CB Jason Horton, G Atlas Herrion, TE Joel Dreessen, and C Chris White.

This is a good thing, in that it means training camp is quickly approaching. (That's what we call "accentuating the positive.")

Williams was technically with the Texans last year, though he didn't play a single snap. He played in one game with the Jets in 2005, but recorded no stats.

Horton was out of football last year after two season in Green Bay where he was a special teamer.

Herrion was with the Texans last year (DNP) and has a really cool name. He's also got good size (6-4, 305) and played in a real program, so he's got the most upside here.

Dreessen was out of football last year, but played in 14 games with the Jets in 2005. He racked up 5 catches for 41 yards.

White... see everything I wrote about Williams above, but replace "Jets" with "Packers."

Of course, I realize that teams aren't going to find All Pros at this point in the preseason. Hopefully, though, these guys will show up, take a beating for a couple weeks, and provide the guys who are going to be on the team with some decent practice.

Labels: Batman, Free Agency, Please let the season start soon, Preview

Posted by matt at 8:09 AM | Permalink | links to this post

By now, I am sure you've heard that we signed Bethel Johnson and Zac Woodfin yesterday. Bethel is a former Aggie, might get to return kicks, and is booooring. Really, I am in agreement with bfd--the only way I'll give a squirrel's nutsack about Johnson is if his signing pushes Jacoby Jones out of the special teams and into the WR2 slot.

Now, Zac Woodfin... I mean, what can I say?

No. Seriously. What the hell can I say about him? I've never even heard of the guy. Thankfully, Google has. Here are the top 5 things worth knowing about Zac Woodfin.

• Played one game for the Baltimore Ravens in 2005, wherein he recorded one tackle, and was on the roster (DNP) for two more.
• Holds the single-season and career tackle records at UAB.
• Was two-time all-conference C-USA.
• Has the same name as a hotel chain, a funeral home, a town in North Carolina, and an auto parts store.
• Will not make the 2007 Houston Texans final roster.
  

Labels: Free Agency, Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Preview

Posted by matt at 8:39 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Filed under "Betcha ESPN never mentioned this," over the last eleven games of last season, the Houston Texans had a top-10 defense.

Now, before the negative types in the audience say anything, yes, I know the whole "if you remove all the bad, of course they were good" rebuttal. But, however true that argument is in other situations, it misses the huge underlying point here.

Last season, Kubiak took a 3-4 defense and transmogrified it into a 4-3. Considering the struggles of the 3-4 in 2005, especially against the run, one would have expected some struggles with the change in scheme. And struggle they did for the first six games.

Week 1. McNabb throws for 314 and 3 TDs, the Eagles rush for 130, and Houston loses 24-10.
Week 2. Mrs. Chesney throws for 400 and 3 TDs, the Colts rush for 125, and Houston loses 43-24.
Week 3. Brunell throws for 261 and 1 TD (and sets the consecutive completion record), the Redskins rush for 234, and Houston loses 31-15.
Week 4. Culpepper throws for 249 and 1 TD, the Dolphins rush for 70, and Houston squeaks out a 17-15 win.
Week 6. The Cowboys threw for 203 and 3 TDs, rushed for 170, and beat Houston 34-6.

Now, the conventional explanation for why this D struggled out of the gate was because it was attempting to fit square 3-4 pegs into round 4-3 holes. This sounds good, but isn't completely true. Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, and Seth Payne were the only DL remnants (with Babin technically a LB in '05) from the 2005 season on the 2006 roster.

A more accurate reason is that the defense was almost completely new, not only in terms of scheme, but also in terms of personnel. Two-thirds of the starting DL from 2005 (Robaire Smith and Gary Walker) were missing from the '06 team. Meaning you had Travis Johnson and rookie Mario Williams thrust into a starting roles, Anthony Weaver starting at DE without the support of the Ravens' D all around him, and a revolving door at the other DT position that started with Seth Payne and ended with someone who was delivering furniture a few weeks before he suited up.

Right behind those guys, you had a rookie MLB replacing both Antwan Peek and DaShon Polk, and a SLB (Orr) with only one full season and 59 career tackles. In fact, one could argue that the WLB Greenwood was the only member of the front seven who was a proven performer in the 4-3 (having played it in Miami).

Looking at all of that, not struggling would have been surprising. Yet, something happened on the way to the cellar--this group of guys gelled, the system clicked, and the defense became good. Their 300.1 YPG in the last ten games would have ranked 8th over the course of the whole season. Compared to other teams over the same span, that average also ranked the Texans in the top 10 in the NFL.

That a team so comprised would struggle out of the gate with such a switch is almost expected. That the same team would pick up the new system so well in five games so as to be one of the league's best defenses over the last 10 games of the season is wholly unexpected. That a team would rise to that level despite having an injured RDE, uninspiring play from DT, and a 'tweener at LDE is unheard of.

Along with David Carr packing his sandy vagina and moving to BBQ Hell,¹ the development of the defense over the course of last season is one of the most exciting things about this upcoming year. After all, the team went out and improved the defensive line by bringing in Manchild and relegating Travis Johnson to the bench.² DeMeco is another year older. Mario is healthy and has been working on his technique. Anthony Maddox is not beginning the season as a Rent-A-Center associate. Shawn Barber and Danny Clark were brought in to provide depth at linebacker (and possibly challenge for a starting spot). And on, and on, and on it goes. With the way this unit finished last season, if the pass coverage can just be passably decent (or if, by some sort of divine intervention, Petey Faggins becomes WAY better during camp), this side of the ball could be one of the best in football.

[Author's note: Tip of the cap to Stephanie whose post here gave me the idea for this one.]

¹ Also known as "North Carolina."
² I fail to even pretend that Okoye will not be better than Bust Johnson.

Labels: 2007 Draft, Amobi Okoye is 20, Athletes who don't stab people, David Carr has Post-Concussion Syndrome, Demarcus Faggins sucks, DeMeco Ryans, Gary Kubiak, Posts that list too many players, Preview, Super Mario

Posted by matt at 11:37 AM | Permalink | links to this post

In case you haven't listened to any sports radio, watched any ESPN news, or surfed any NFL web coverage in the past 24 hours, I feel it is my duty to remind you that the supplemental draft is Thursday.

I don't expect the Texans to take anyone in said draft. We are already lacking a second round pick next April, so we can't very well go offering a third or fourth in a supplemental draft where players often don't pan out. (Side note: Remember, also, that--in addition to losing the corresponding draft pick in next April's draft--teams face the headache of affording players taken in the S-draft within their existing rookie pool monies. Non-drafted free-agent signees do not have to fit in that pool.)

For teams who are looking to draft on Thursday, there are three names popping up--Jared Gaither, OT, Maryland; Paul Oliver, DB, Georgia; and Chris Patrick, OT, Nebraska.

Of those, Gaither has dominated the talk today and for good reason. At 6'8.5" and 324 lbs., with a sub 5.0 40 time, Gaither has measureables better than those of Joe Thomas. (Gaither only managed 15 reps on the bench, but that was due--in part--to a slight shoulder injury.)

Still, the very fact that he is in the supplemental draft (due to being academically ineligible) is enough to raise serious flags among most teams. That will prevent any teams from spending a first or, likely, a second round pick on him. At best, Gaither can hope to go in the third, possibly to one of the teams with multiple picks in that round. (The lesson: Stay in school, kids.)

All that said, I would totally spend a 7th on Oliver, though I suspect he goes higher than that. He is big (if not exceptionally fast) and he shut down Calvin Johnson in their head-to-head matchup.

Labels: 2007 Draft, 2008 Draft, Preview, Secondary issues are primary

Posted by matt at 4:01 PM | Permalink | links to this post

This weekend's apparent themerology is piggy-backing on posts at BRB. Because I am lazy, mainly, and because--let's face it--it's not like there's a lot out there to comment upon.

Anyway... Tim links to the Texans' draft history and then points out that only these players are still on the roster:

Pitts (2002)
Weary (2002)
Faggins (2002)
Dre (sole remaining 2003 draftee)
Dunta (2004)
Babin (2004)
Earl (2004)
C. Anderson (2004)
Tr. Johnson (2005)
Mathis (2005)
Hodgdon (2005)
C.C. Brown (2005)

Eww.

But, continuing that post one step further, who could we have had? By which I mean, who were the three picks taken immediately after our picks in each round? (I use the next three somewhat arbitrarily, but under the assumption that all of the teams would have had those fours players ranked somewhat similarly. I realize how faulty this assumption is when taken to Babin-esque extremes, but I had to draw the line somewhere. Occasionally, I will note when a very good player was taken more than three picks after ours. Also, by and large, this ignores any trades up or down.)

In 2002:

Round 1. We took David Carr. The next three were Julius Peppers, Joey Harrington, or Mike Williams (T, Texas). Ouch. Seriously... ouch. Best possible pick: Peppers.
Round 2, Pick 1. We took Jabar Gaffney. We could have had DeShaun Foster, Kalimba Edwards, or Josh Reed. Best possible pick: Foster or Reed.
Round 2, Pick 2. We took Chester Pitts. We could have had Clinton Portis, Anthony Weaver (oh... wait), or Langston Walker. Best possible pick: Portis.
Round 3, Pick 1. We took Fred Weary. We could have had Matt Schobel, Andre Goodman, or Saleem Rasheed. Best possible pick: Weary.
Round 3, Pick 2. We took Charles Hill. We could have had Lamar Gordon, Kris Richard, or Marquise Walker. Best possible pick: Walker?
Round 4. We took Jonathon Wells. We could have had Dante Wesley, Kevin Bentley, or Jeff Chandler. Best possible pick: Wells, strangely.
Round 5, Pick 1. We took Jarrod Baxter. We could have had Randy Fasani, John Owens, or Justin Bannan. Best possible pick: Owens, I guess.
Round 5, Pick 2. We took Ramon Walker. We could have had Jonathan Goodwin, Terry Jones, or Aaron Kampman. Best possible pick: Kampman.
Round 6, Pick 1. We took DeMarcus Faggins. We could have had Keith Heinrich, Chris Cash, or Kevin Thomas. Best possible pick: Insanely, Faggins.
Round 6, Pick 2. We took Howard Green. We could have had Jeb Putzier (oh... wait), Reggie Coleman, or John Stamper. Best possible pick: Putzier.

In 2003:

Round 1. We took Andre Johnson. We could have had Dewayne Robertson, Terence Newman, or Johnathan Sullivan. Best possible pick: Johnson.
Round 2. We took Bennie Joppru. We could have had Ken Hamlin, Pisa Tinoisamo, or Taylor Jacobs. Best possible pick: Hamlin.
Round 3, Pick 1. We took Antwan Peek. We could have had Lance Briggs, Jason Witten, or Gerald Hayes. Best possible pick: Briggs or Witten, depending on what you needed.
Round 3, Pick 2. We took Seth Wand. We could have had Mike Seidman, Musa Smith, or Wade Smith. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 3, Pick 3. We took Dave Ragone. We could have had Andrew Williams, Donald Strickland, or Visanthe Shiancoe. Best possible pick: Shiancoe.
Round 4. Domanick Williams (nee Davis). We could have had Montrae Holland, Bradie James, or George Wrighster. Best possible pick. Williams. (Assante Samuel was taken 19 picks after ours.)
Round 6, Pick 1. We took Drew Henson. We could have had Marques Ogden, Aaron Hunt, or Antonio Garay. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 6, Pick 2. We took Keith Wright. We could have had Scott Kooistra or Ben Johnson. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 7, Pick 1. We took Curry Burns. We could have had Malaefou MacKenzie, Justin Bates, or Blue Adams. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 7, Pick 2. We took Chance Pearce. We could have had Spencer Need, Ahmaad Galloway, or Brandom Drumm. Best possible pick: N/A.

In 2004:

Round 1, Pick 1. We took Dunta Robinson. We could have had Ben Roethlisberger, Jonathan Vilma, or Lee Evans. Best possible pick: Vilma, though Evans could change that with another good season or three. (Tommie Harris was taken right after Evans.)
Round 1, Pick 2. We took Jason Babin. We could have had Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, or Kevin Jones. Best possible pick: Gamble.
Round 4. We took Glenn Earl. We could have had Stacy Andrews, Michael Waddell, or Jason David. Best possible pick: David, though Earl is close.
Round 6, Pick 1. We took Vontez Duff. We could have had Triandos Luke, Kelly Butler, or Von Hutchins (oh... wait). Best possible pick: Ironically, Hutchins.
Round 6, Pick 2. We took Jammal Lord. We could have had Kirk Chambers, Bo Lacy, or Marko Cavka. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 6, Pick 3. We took Charlie Anderson. We could have had Jeff Smoker, John Navarre, or Drew Strojny. Best possible pick: Anderson, I guess, though I will always claim Navarre should have gotten a chance in Arizona.
Round 7, Pick 1. We took Raheem Orr. We could have had Eric Taylor, Darrell McClover, or Jonathan Smith. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 7, Pick 2. We took Sloan Thomas. We could have had same as above.
Round 7, Pick 3. We took B.J. Symons. We could have had Bobby McCray, Bradlee Van Pelt (oh... wait), or Scott Wells. Best possible pick: Van Pelt.

In 2005:

Round 1. We traded down three spots and took Travis Johnson. Had we not traded, we could have taken Derrick Johnson. Even with the trade, we could have had David Pollack, Erasmus James, or Alex Barron. Best possible pick: D. Johnson.
Round 3. We took Vernand Morency. We could have had Justin Tuck, Eric Green, or Karl Paymah. Best possible pick: Morency. (Drafting with what was originally our pick, the Raiders took Kirk Morrison five spots after Morency.)
Round 4. We took Jerome Mathis. We could have had Marviel Underwood, Craphonso Thorpe, or Chase Lyman. Best possible pick: Mathis.
Round 5. We took Drew Hodgdon. We could have had Adrian McPherson, Adam Kieft, or Robert McCune. Best possible pick: N/A.
Round 6. We took C.C. Brown. We could have had Jovan Haye, Tab Perry, or C.J. Mosley. Best possible pick: Brown.
Round 7. We took Kenneth Pettway. We could have had Shaun Nua, James Kilian, or Matt Cassel. Best possible pick: N/A.

We'll assume it's too early to tell "best" picks in 2006, but here are the results.

Round 1. We took Mario Williams. We could have had Reggie Bush, Vince Young, or D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
Round 2. We took DeMeco Ryans. We could have had D'Qwell Jackson, Rocky McIntosh, or Chad Jackson.
Round 3, Pick 1. We took Charles Spencer. We could have had Abdul Hodge, Claude Wroten, or Paul McQuistan.
Round 3, Pick 2. We took Eric Winston. We could have had same as above.
Round 4. We took Owen Daniels. We could have had Max Jean-Gilles, Michael Robinson, or Darnell Bing.
Round 6. We took Wali Lundy. We could have had Mike Hass, Jonathan Orr, or Reed Doughty.
Round 7. We took David Anderson. We could have had Marques Colston (oops), Dave Tollefson, or Vickiel Vaughn.

So, what's the verdict? I think the most striking thing is that, other than the Andre Johnson pick, our misses are much more noteworthy than our hits. I mean, Travis Johnson over Derrick Johnson? Carr over Peppers? Chester Pitts over Clinton Portis? Those are all the types of moves than set your team back seasons. On top of which, most of our successes are with guys like Brown and Earl (both of whom we have talked about needing to replace).

The two other things that jumped out were, first, the number of players we could have drafted who are now on our roster and, second, the number of players we drafted who were never heard from again. I'm sure the latter happens to some extent with every team, but I don't know that most people notice the number of Kenneth Pettways and Sloan Thomases every team discards.

Labels: 2002 Draft, 2003 Draft, 2004 Draft, 2005 Draft, 2006 Draft, Athletes who don't stab people, Batman, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Dunta Robinson, Offensive (punch)Line, Posts that list too many players, Secondary issues are primary

Posted by matt at 9:05 PM | Permalink | links to this post

There are three things that I am obsessive-compulsive about--making my lawn perfect, bar-b-queing, and writing about football. I point this out for two reasons: first, I have been doing the second of those things today, which is why I haven't posted, and, second, it appears that former GM Charlie Casserly was in no way obsessive about anything related to his position.

You see, to be truly OCD about anything, you have to be able to devote a singular intensity to it, so that nothing else matters while you are working. I can stand and stare at the thermometer on a smoker for 8 to 10 hours at a stretch--I've done that today, in fact, starting at 6:30AM. Casserly, apparently, couldn't make it through a single contract negotiation without losing focus (and possibly taking total leave of his senses) and he damn sure could not devote the focus needed to build a cap-friendly, successful team.

Why do I say that?

See, e.g., here. (Hat tip to the fellas Tim at BRB.) As of right now, the Texans have approximately $30.5 MM locked up in dead money (i.e. money paid to players who will not suit up for the Texans this season).

Such luminaries as Gary Walker, Zach Weigert, and Seth Payne grace that list. Plus, you have the always-fun situation of paying Robaire Smith to play for Tennessee and Cleveland. Great.

Now, there are some glimmers of a silver lining to this situation. For one, at least according to the author of the article, it was precipitated by the regime change from Shitard-Fucktard¹ to Smith-Kubiak and from the switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. If last season is any barometer², both of those changes were for the better. Certainly the coaching change was an improvement--Capers reliably demonstrated that he couldn't manage a whore house on a troop train. Moreover, the defensive shift certainly allowed DeJesus Ryans the freedom to roam without worrying about too many 300-lb blockers. Both of those things have to be worth a certain amount of money down the road.

Second, the salary cap this season is $109 MM. On top of that, we currently have $3.35 MM in "forward cap adjustment"³, meaning we have cap space of around $7.2 MM dollars to spend between now and kickoff 2007. Translation: We aren't exactly scraping and begging for cap room just to field a team. Sure, we'd like to have more room--every team would--but we are sitting more or less fine at the moment. Besides, the author of the above article draws the line for "problematic" dead money at $10 MM, which is a threshold that 2006 playoff participant New Orleans crosses (as do a number of other teams with first- or second-year head coaches).

Finally, and most fantastically orgasmic, next year's projection only has us on the hook for about $2.93 MM, with cap space of over $37 MM. Obviously, that is an estimate, but it is a FAR better number to look at than many teams have right now.

Now, please, PLEASE, don't get me wrong. None of this absolves Casserly of the shit-poor job he did over the past few years. Signing someone like Gary Walker to a contract that would have you on the hook for $5.5 MM even if he played this season is asinine. At best. And paying Robaire Smith to play for a friggin' division rival last season smacks of incompetence of the highest order. Casserly was to Scott Pioli as Corky Thatcher was to Stephen Hawking.

Still, you almost have to consider us lucky that we can be in year two of a new regime and still have over $7 MM in cap space to spare, especially with the core that we have. Right now (other than 75% of a secondary) what do we really need? A veteran WR2? Sure. But that's enough money to sign any one that might come available to a one year sheet. Honestly, that's even more than enough to sign, say, Keenan McCardell and Tank Johnson.

At this point, I don't know how much more we could ask for.

(You know, other than a real CB2.)


¹ Also known as "Casserly-Capers."
² Three straight sentences with a meteorological bent. I'll stop. Maybe.
³ Quickly, if a team defined an incentive as "likely to be earned" (based upon language in the CBA) in a player's contract in 2006, that incentive would have counted against last year's cap. However, if the player never actually achieved the required goal to trigger the incentive, then a portion of that incentive counts as a credit against this year's cap. It's not a great reflection on your prior season is people fail to reach "likely" incentives, but it sure helps this year. C'est la vie.

Labels: Casserly blows goats... I have proof, Money Money Money, Preview, Tank Johnson's gunrack

Posted by matt at 6:06 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Other than Peter King, I rarely find a reason to read anything at SI.com. Andrew Perloff is insufferable, Dr. Z might actually be retarded¹, and Michael Silver has never written anything that kept my attention beyond the first paragraph.

Occasionally, however, Bucky Brooks writes something that I not only read, but that I feel the need to comment on. Obviously, if I am writing this, today was one of those days. In his AFC South preview, Brooks lists the key challenges for each team in the conference. Thankfully, not one of his challenges is about the offensive line, as B^2 posits the following:

Challenge No. 1: Make Matt Schaub comfortable in a new offense.

Challenge No. 2: Find another threat in the passing game.

Challenge No. 3: Get better play out of the defensive line.

Now, 1 and 2, I can't argue with. We've talked about both of those ad naseum for the last two months. Schaubby definitely needs to be "comfortable" in the offense, assuming that "comfortable" means "good," and the WR2 slot needs to be filled by someone who doesn't play like he is missing one leg and three chromosomes. No surprise.

As for 3, well, I suppose I agree with the sentiment. After all, with the number of first round picks we run out there in the front four, you'd expect for that to be the best third of our defense. The part that stuck out to me, however, was this:

But now with Mario Williams, Travis Johnson and '07 draftee Amobi Okoye slated to start, the onus is on this crew to produce some pressure on opposing signal-callers. [...] Johnson's ineffectiveness as a rusher allowed teams to double Williams without fear. If Johnson can recover from his season-ending calf injury and provide a push inside, Williams should begin to see less of the double teams that he faced last season.

Um... huh? First of all, am I the only person who hadn't heard that TJ was going to start? I've lived the last six or seven months assuming that Anthony Maddox was going to be the starting two-gapper, since, you know, he was MUCH better than TJ last year, in pretty much every way (tackles, sacks, ff, fr, etc.). Besides, Kubiak has pretty much been singing Maddox's praises since minicamp. So, why, dear Bucky, is Johnson "slated to start?"

In the end--unless I completely missed the memo--this is probably some writer just looking at the current depth chart at NFL.com and basing opinions thereon. Whatever. The bigger question is here is "what if Bucky is right?"

The single most important thing for Manchild is that he isn't continually double-teamed (like Mario was last year). Teams are going to focus on him early, if for no other reason than the hype that accompanied his selection. Part of the reason that Weaver has already been penciled in at LDE is because he's a better rusher (supposedly) than Jason Babin. Maddox showed last year that, of the two real options, he is the better two-gapper. You combine Weaver on the outside with Maddox on Manchild's right (along with a healthy Mario), and Amobi should see nothing more than a single guard (with the occasional clip from the center) all season. This is important--Okoye is at his best when he gets penetration straight up field and can read-and-react to the QB and RB. He is faster in the pass rush than any of our other defensive linemen. If he is forced to fight through double-teams all season, not only will he be hampered, but the entire line will be worse by orders of magnitude. I can't say this strongly enough--Johnson getting single blockers while Amobi gets doubles make the entire defense worse; Maddox taking on two, even if he never makes a single tackle, frees Okoye and makes the entire defense better. I'm no coach, but I am pretty sure that a better defense is better than a worse defense.

So Bucky, don't take this the wrong way, but I hope you are just as full of shit as the rest of the national media. Thankfully, if your colleagues are any indication, you are.

UPDATE: The Texans' own website ran an article yesterday about how Anthony Maddox is the starter and anyone who wants to play that position is going to have to beat him. That's pretty much what we've been hearing and planning for since December, and it looks like Kubes is using some common sense.

It's not overly surprising that a columnist would just glance at the Texans depth chart on NFL.com and use that to form his "opinion." I'm sure that sort of thing happens all the time. What is surprising, though, is that he would devote paragraphs to supporting something that was wrong to begin with, while simultaneously failing to mention the secondary as a "challenge" this season. Poor showing, Buckwheat. I now lump you in with the rest of the 'tards.

¹ Seriously, I cannot stand that guy. How many self-referential mailbags where he talks about wine and his wife being redheaded do we have to endure before he is euthanized?

Labels: 2007 Draft, Amobi Okoye is 20, Big dudes doing the little things, Gary Kubiak might be high, Jason Babin, National Media, Preview, Super Mario, The Schaub Experiment

Posted by matt at 4:34 PM | Permalink | links to this post

If you read Deadspin or Fanhouse, you've undoubtedly heard about the NFL's new video policy. Stephanie sums up the rule thusly:

In sum, the rules limit videos to 45 seconds of footage for interviews, practice footage, just about everything. The videos can't be archived and have to be removed in 24 hours.

As I am generally opposed to stuff that is asinine, I am not in favor of this rule. Oh, sure, I understand the idea behind it--the NFL wants people to have to go to official team websites to view video. More people to those websites, in theory, generates more revenue from those sites. (I picture Roger Goodell rapping in his office. "Cash rules everything around me--C.R.E.A.M.--get the money, dolla dolla bill, y'all.")

I also understand that the NFL can do whatever they want with their product. But, to (again) quote Ms. Stradley, "just because something is legal to do, doesn't mean that it is right, smart or advisable." That is a concept that seems to escape the NFL here. Yes, you can tell all of us what to do vis-a-vis your product...but you can't make us like your product.

As of now, everyone loves the NFL. (Well, anyone I would want to be around.) We love it despite the insane cost of tickets and parking and memorabilia, despite the abhorrently bad television announcers, despite the inability of most fans to get NFL Sunday Ticket, despite the positive steroid tests, despite the continued legal trouble of Tank and Pacman and 48% of the Bengals, and despite a number of other things that might make us turn our collective back on a lesser organization.

It is this love of the NFL's product that makes Joe Fan practically insatiable when it comes to NFL news and coverage. Yet, instead of reveling in this adoration and keeping up with our football jones, they are now trying to take away some of what we already had. We are begging for more (see, e.g., the whole thing about people wanting to end DirectTV's monopoly on the Sunday Ticket) and they are trying to give us less.

What. The. Fuck? How does this make sense?

Do you really think that making us go to the team sites to watch video clips is going to raise your revenue that much? I love the Texans as much as the next guy, but I can only sit through so many homogenized, team-produced fluff pieces on TexansTV before I want to put a thumbtack in my left eye. I can't imagine watching those clips and then suddenly being inspired to order a jersey or a koozie or a window sticker from the team website. It's just not going to happen. At least not as long as ordering from the official site is the most expensive way in the world to get a jersey.

Besides, this rule is more than likely going to make people spend less time watching NFL videos as a whole. Once I watch whatever is on the Texans' page, I am not going to some other team's site to watch their videos; I'm moving on to read about my team on other (read: non-official, non-pandering) websites. So, congrats, you have effectively reduced the average fan's exposure to your product. That makes total business sense.

Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against people making money (though I don't think this new rule will increase revenue). If I had a product that millions of people clamored for, I'd try to maximize my profitability, too. But I would also try to make sure that I remained as popular as possible. You don't remain popular for too long if every move you make is a big sandpaper fist right in your customer's shitter. (Unless that is actually your business, in which case such a move would ironically make you more popular.) When every move you make is designed to line your pockets and you blatantly disregard what your customers want, you cannot be surprised when one day many of those fans move on to something else. This video rule might not be the cliche that broke the camel's back, but it is another step in that direction.

Labels: Bad Idea Jeans, Inanity, Is Roger Goodell gonna have to choke a bitch?, Johnny Fisterbottom, Legal stuff, Pacman Jones' gunrack, Tank Johnson's gunrack

Posted by matt at 11:07 AM | Permalink | links to this post

Ignoring for a second that celebrating the Fourth of July as "America's birthday" is akin to celebrating the day you were conceived instead of the day your mom actually crapped you out, I would just like to wish everyone a happy holiday.

Now go out, get drunk, and see what you can blow up. It's the American way.

Finally, this entire post was an excuse to post this video, which will either be the funniest or the most retarded thing you'll see this month.

Labels: Holiday posts, Inanity, Non-Texan stuff, YouTube

Posted by matt at 12:00 AM | Permalink | links to this post

I spent most of the afternoon doing two things--driving fiftyleven miles into rural Arkansas¹ and trying to come up with an argument for the Texans to sign Tank Johnson.

There are myriad reasons not to and they are all pretty obvious. Dude has a penchant for firearms; he couldn't stay out of trouble long enough to complete probation and wound up serving time; he hangs out in places that get his bodyguards/friends killed; he drinks and drives; and² he has had more than enough chances to pull his large head out of his large ass, but has failed every time.

I know all of these, yet I am still intrigued.

Perhaps the most alluring part of signing Tank is that he plays a position (0- or 1-technique, 2-gap DT) where we have struggled³ to get production. What, you want a visual aid?

Maddox, Anthony
2006: 12 G, 24 Tkls, 2 Sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR

Johnson, Travis
2006: 9 G, 8 Tkls, 0 Sacks, 1 PD
2005: 15 G, 23 Tkls, 1 Sacks

See? Now, I realize that neither of those guys has technically played a full, healthy season, and that tackles are hardly the measure of a two-gap tackle. On the other hand, I also realize that Tank could be had for roughly $255,000 this season. (Base salary of $510,000, minus salary for the 8 games of suspension.) I further recognize that Tank would be eligible to practice through camp and up until kickoff of the first game and that, by all accounts, he was a very good player on a very good defense last year. So, I am willing to roll the dice at that kind of price tag for a 25 year old two-gap d-lineman who played on a Super Bowl team.⁴

But what of the influence of Tank the human being? Won't his presence poison the team?

Look around... we have, basically, a group of large, well-paid boy scouts. We are currently more concerned that someone might over commit himself for charity appearances and not be able to make one of them, than that one of them is going to bang a stripper's face on the stage. We also have a defensive leader (Ryans), a coach that seems willing to cut bait if push comes to shove, and good veterans like N.D. Kalu and Jeff Zgonina to counteract any bad vibes. Moreover, I think the pressure Tank would take off of Mario and Manchild in-game would be greater than any detriments he might bring to the team.

Seriously... worst case scenario if you sign him for $300K or whatever is that he screws up (again) and gets suspended (again). Except, while he is suspended, you don't have to pay him, so you are really out no money. As for the whole "poisoning" of the team, I don't buy it. He didn't poison the Bears last year, our guys should be mature enough to deal with him in the clubhouse and ignore him (if need be) off the field, and, honestly, the complaint about him is that he is asstarded off the field. On the field, the man can play.

In the end, I am pretty sure that the turds up north will sign him to a two- or three-year sheet, so this is all probably meaningless. Still, if the chips fell right and we could get him under this scenario, I think it would be a good move.

Of course, I am opining on whether to sign a guy who has been suspended for half the season. Please, god, let the season start soon. Or let one of the scout team guys pull a Rae Carruth.



¹ You got a purdy mouth.
² Whether drunk or not, the man was going 40 in a 25 and swerving. Even Mario would look at that and say, "Damn, that's some DUMB driving."
³ Understatement.
⁴ I am not willing to pull a Jerry Jones / Dan Snyder and take a chance on a longer deal, considering he still faces charges in Arizona that might preclude him from playing for years.

Labels: Anger, Athletes who don't stab people, DeMeco Ryans, Gary Kubiak, Is Roger Goodell gonna have to choke a bitch?, Preview, Super Mario, Tank Johnson's gunrack

Posted by matt at 3:57 PM | Permalink | links to this post

It is not by accident that I don't waste words on "big" stories like Pacman/Vick/Tank, the demise of NFL Europa, and the like. I figure that any story of that size or importance is going to be covered to death by every other outlet, so what the hell could I possibly add? Besides, we at DGDB&D aspire to be Texans-centric and these stories would require much thinking and writing about non-Texans football. Blech.

In that vein, I was going to ignore the whole "former players wanting better compensation after football" thing. Then I saw where former Texans o-lineman Ben Lynch filed suit against the NFL's retirement and disability plan.

[Lynch's attorney] alleges in the federal court suit that Lynch was improperly denied full disability benefits because plan administrators claimed his disabilities were not the result of an "active" football injury.

The suit says Lynch, 34, suffered an "on-the-field injury" that ended his career. It said his knee was seriously hurt in a 2003 preseason game, that he had a staph infection during his recovery and that he now suffers "crippling pain in his leg, lower back and neck."

Assuming that the allegations here are true, one has to think that Lynch has a pretty strong case. I mean, I'm not a doctor (shocking, I know), but staph infections would seem to be relatively common post-surgery issues. It's not like he's claiming that his busted knee caused him to get hit by a truck¹--he's saying that he hurt his knee in a game and that led directly to his inability to work now. In response, if we are again to believe the allegation, the NFL disability people said that the infection that stemmed directly from the surgery to repair his injured knee did not qualify as an "active" injury.²

Whatever. At best, the league is playing a semantic game. You get your leg torn off mid-play? That counts. You have to get your leg amputated a year from now because of a freak thigh injury? Not so much.

I have no idea what the long-term implications of this case will be, if any, so I'll stop talking about it now.

¹ Here is where I would get into a discussion of proximate cause and the like if I didn't HATE legal discussion.
² Causation/intervening cause (kinda) discussion would go here. My head hurts.

Labels: Injury bug, Legal stuff, Old dudes

Posted by matt at 1:56 PM | Permalink | links to this post

The offensive side of the ball is a little more settled than the defensive side, so we'll lump the special teams question marks into this post as well.

Position: WR2
Incumbent: Eric Moulds (no longer with team)
Players involved: Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Andre Davis, Keenan McCardell (?)
Analysis: The story over the past six weeks has been that Kevin Walter is our second receiver. Of course, the team then turned around and worked out Keenan McCardell, so I'm not sure how sold they are on K-Dub.¹ I know that I'm not sold on him. Rookie Jacoby Jones has impressed in college all-star games and possesses serious, game-breaking speed. One can argue that such speed would be better utilized in the slot, and maybe that's true, but given the choice between Jones and Walter, I still lean to Jones. Veteran malcontent Apostrophe Davis is the dark horse here. I mean, he was brought in for a reason and I'm pretty sure that reason wasn't "to play the fourth receiver role." So, I look for him to either win the #2 slot or be cut--I can't imagine keeping him otherwise. Jerome Mathis does not figure into this discussion.
Prediction: Unless McCardell signs with the team, Davis wins the job early on and gets supplanted by Walter or Jones later in the season.

Position: LT
Incumbent: Ephraim Salaam
Players involved: Charles Spencer, Salaam, Jordan Black, Eric Winston
Analysis: Let's be real clear about something: This is Charles Spencer's position as soon as he is healthy enough to play it. Now, while Carmine Pirone told me via email that Spencer was working hard and was going to give it a go at the beginning of camp, other writers at the Chronic have suggested that Spencer is going to start the season on the PUP list. If he can't go, it's primarily between Salaam and Jordan Black and Kubiak has been pretty clear that he prefers Salaam. The darkhorse is Eric Winston, who played LT at The U and has gotten some reps over there this summer. Physically, he's probably the best of the rest (not counting Spencer), but that would be asking him to play a new NFL position this year and would thrust rookie Brandon Frye into a starting role as well (or require Salaam and Black to switch sides... I don't like either alternative). If Spencer never comes back, maybe Winston is the long-term answer, but not this year.
Prediction: Salaam, until Spencer comes back. Winston in 2008 if Spencer is still PUP.

Position: RB2
Incumbent: Technically, Samkon Gado
Players Involved: Gado, Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy, Darius Walker
Analysis: I've avoided most of the backup battles, but the RB2 will get plenty of touches in this offense, so it's worth discussing. As of this instant, Ron Dayne is penciled in. Problem is, Ron Dayne is pretty much awful. I don't care that he led the team in yards last year; 612 yards doesn't even give me a semi. Gado showed flashes in Green Bay, but Harvey Williams once showed flashes in KC--it doesn't always translate to continued success. Lundy was supposedly going to be the man after Domanick Williams (nee Davis) went down, but that never really happened. Walker was an undrafted free agent², but who knows if he will even make the team? It's not like we are going to carry five RBs. In the end, this battle becomes the equivalent of being the prettiest girl in Clovis, NM--not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Prediction: Dayne in Week 1, but more or less a carousel all season.

Position: KR/PR
Incumbent: Jerome Mathis
Players Involved: Mathis, Jacoby Jones, Dexter Wynn, Wali Lundy, David Anderson
Analysis: Mr. Glass has likely seen his last reps as a Texan. Kubiak seems incredibly fed up with Mathis' inability to keep from hurting himself and also seems enamored with Jones' breakaway speed in the return game. Currently, the NFL.com depth chart lists Dexter Wynn as both the KR and PR, but I don't think that matters much (with his 22 YPR on kickoffs). And, If Lundy really is in the mix for the RB2 position, I don't figure him to be also returning kicks (especially since he can't return punts), though he's probably a better choice than Anderson.
Prediction: Jacoby Jones, unless/until he takes over the WR2

¹ It's possible I'm the only person who refers to him as this.
² Probably should have gone back for another season, eh Darius?

Labels: Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Jerome Mathis got hurt reading this, Offensive (punch)Line, Preview, Ron Dayne likes pie

Posted by matt at 7:42 PM | Permalink | links to this post

With 25 days until the opening of Training Camp, it's time to get up to speed on position battles and the players involved. Up first, the defense.

Position: SLB
Incumbent: Shantee Orr
Players involved: Orr, Charlie Anderson
Analysis: I already did some of this position here. Long story short, the better candidate for this job depends greatly on the role Kubiak sees for the SLB. If he wants to blitz from that side, in order to free Weaver/Okoye (and draw attention from Mario), Orr is the answer--he played that style in the old 3-4. If, however, Kubes sees more of an all-around LB role, with TE pass coverage and whatnot, Anderson might be the way to go (better height and slightly faster).
Prediction: Orr named "starter," but Anderson will get plenty of second/third down reps.

Position: WLB
Incumbent: Morlon Greenwood
Players involved: Greenwood, Shawn Barber, Danny Clark
Analysis: All three of those guys have at least seven years of NFL experience, so we aren't exactly talking about a long-term solution here. Even more strange, you have three dudes here who are incredibly similar. All are roughly the same height and weight and all have posted multiple 100-tackle seasons. The biggest differences lie with Barber, as he is far better in pass coverage than the other two, but also has a lot of trouble staying healthy. Given the choice, I would probably go with Clark because he is a little younger than Barber and a little better than Greenwood, but I don't know that any decision here will make or break much of anything.
Prediction: Greenwood keeps his job, at least to open the season. (Note: If one of these three gets cut, my guess is it will be Barber, as Clark can also play MLB if needed.)

Position: CB2
Incumbent: Demarcus Faggins
Players involved: Faggins, Fred Bennett, Jamar Fletcher, Dexter Wynn
Analysis: So, the official word is that this position is Petey's to lose--something he is completely capable of doing. Bennett, the rookie out of South Carolina, looked good in OTAs. He picked up the defense quickly and seemed to be taking in everything the coaches taught. The knock was that he still needed to improve his ball skills, but you could say the same thing about Faggins and Wynn. Neither Wynn nor new addition Fletcher have never really shown anything that would suggest they could be a starting NFL CB, so this competition is really just about Faggins and Bennett.
Prediction: Faggins continues to butcher the CB2 position.

Positon: FS
Incumbent: C.C. Brown
Players involved: Brown, Dexter McCleon, Von Hutchins
Analysis: Newsflash--Granted, I spend most of my words on the secondary complaining about Petey, but Brown was no great shakes last season. Because of this, the Texans did not receive much in the way of big plays from their safeties last year. As a possible remedy, veterans McCleon and Hutchins have been taking reps at free safety through the offseason. Now, if the goal for the free safety in this defense (and the reason for moving two CBs to FS) is to create turnovers via the interception, then my vote goes to McCleon. (As an aside, I have no idea why Hutchins would give anyone the impression that he can play a ball-hawking centerfield type of safety.)
Prediction: McCleon.

Position: SS
Incumbent: Glenn Earl
Players involved: Earl, Brown, Brandon Harrison
Analysis: If Brown is supplanted at FS, he will likely get the chance to compete at his natural position of SS. Rookie Brandon Harrison will also be in the mix there as well. The odd thing about Harrison is his size--he's 6'1"/227 and will likely fill out at this level, meaning he might be better served playing nickel LB. (There are also rumors that he is afraid of making big hits, which isn't exactly what I want out of my SS.) As for Earl and Brown, flip a coin.
Prediction: Earl keeps his starting gig.

Position: Nickel CB
Incumbent: McCleon
Players involved: Bennett, Fletcher, Hutchins
Analysis: Such is the state of our secondary that a guy who was not even the primary nickel CB at the beginning of last season is in a position to be our starting free safety this year. Also, in a nice twist of irony, our starting CB2 is not good at the position he gets to play, but might be our best nickel CB. Crud. The team brought in Fletcher to play this kind of role, and I am sure he will get some opportunities, but I think a strong showing by Bennett in his competition with Faggins might land him this gig as a consolation prize.
Prediction: Bennett

Labels: 2007 Draft, Chocodiles, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Preview, Secondary issues are primary, Shawn Barber and Danny Clark, The Fred

Posted by matt at 1:12 PM | Permalink | links to this post

Win #4--Week 7 v. Tennessee; Win #7--Week 13 @ Tennessee. The one place where I differ from many (most? all?) other Texans bloggers is in my feelings toward Vince Young. Oh, sure, I acknowledge that he is very good and has a knack for coming up big in big games. I just don't think he's Jesus in Cleats (and I also suspect that he is more than a tad overrated). And, because he's not the missing piece of a holy foursome, even Vince needs a little help to win football games.

Unfortunately for Vince, Jeff Fisher did not get that memo. Gone from Nashville are Drew Bennett, Bobby Wade, and Travis Henry. In their places are Brandon Jones, David Givens, and cut-then-begged-to-come-back Chris Henry. Fisher and Co also scrambled post-draft and tried to sign everyone from Keyshawn Johnson to Steve the Beer Guy. Clearly, this is not an offense that is going to blow anyone out.

The Titans' O-line--surprisingly good at run blocking last year--is solid, but asking Michael Roos to block a healthy Mario Williams is a recipe for problems. (To say nothing of the potential Okoye v. Benji Olson matchup, which has possible hilarity written all over it.) On the flip side, Kyle Vanden Bosch is going to have all sorts of problems with Eric Winston. Advantage: Texans.

On the defensive side of the pigskin, the Titans lost Pacman Jones. Say what you will about the dude's off-field stupidity, but, on the field, Jones was a game changer in coverage and in special teams. He almost single-handedly beat Jacksonville last year. In his place, the Titans hope Nick Harper--a man who is MUCH better in nickel coverage--can shut down Andre Johnson. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. Keith Bulluck and David Thornton are both high quality OLBs, but MLB Stephen Tulloch is the opposite of that. Besides, if you are relying on your two outside 'backers in run defense, you are giving up lots of four and five yard carries. Not good. Advantage: Texans.

In the end, this game comes down to the same thing last year's meetings did--Vince Young against the Titans defense. However, unlike last year, unless Bo Sciafe becomes Antonio Gates, Vince is going to face a whole lot of 8- and 9-man fronts. Even Jesus would have some trouble running against that. So, pencil us in for wins in both contests this year, pencil me in winning a certain bet with Tman, and pencil in the Vince saga as back to even.

Labels: Amobi Okoye is 20, Desperate times call for desperate MEshawns, Jeff Fisher's Mustache, Pacman Jones' gunrack, Preview, Super Mario, Teams that aren't the Texans, Vinsanity

Posted by matt at 9:11 AM | Permalink | links to this post