NFL and Houston Texans Superthread: Are we ready for some football?

Hopefully he will go to a team that will be in the playoffs. Originally Posted by oilfieldscum

^^^^^This.........

It will be a contender he has a few years left

Colts or Seahawks...

Forget the Colts. Denver most likely.

AJ was still pretty effective last year but I noticed something about his game I had never seen before with him. He started dropping balls. He both dropped sure throws that were right in his hands and he also dropped balls after he caught them. I think he simply was not worth the money anymore.

That does not mean he can't hurt us if he goes to Indy. But he has at most 2 more good years left. And you never can tell, it might all go all at once.

AJ was still pretty effective last year but I noticed something about his game I had never seen before with him. He started dropping balls. He both dropped sure throws that were right in his hands and he also dropped balls after he caught them. I think he simply was not worth the money anymore.

That does not mean he can't hurt us if he goes to Indy. But he has at most 2 more good years left. And you never can tell, it might all go all at once. Originally Posted by spear88

I concur. AJ wasn't the same player; he definitely lost a step, and his hands were a little questionable (although, that may have been on the guys throwing to him).

It sounds like BOB and Co might be looking to bring in another WR and have Andre take a step back, or else elevate Deandre ahead of him, and were maybe looking for a discount because of it.

I don't blame Andre for not lying down for it, but nor do I blame the team for trying to get better and get some of the money back that they owe Andre.

If he really has lost a step, he's not worth the $16 million cap figure the Texans are staring at - heck Fitzgerald only got $11 million. Hell the Cowboys have Dez for $13 million this year.

Of course, it hurts as a fan to see a guy you love, both as a football player and as a member of the community (seriously, dude seems pretty awesome), walk out the door this way - I'd love to see him retire as a Texan, hell come back under a life-time services contract - but with neither side willing to budge on money, this was going to happen sooner or later.

Of course, this is definitely not a good look for the Texans staff and ownership: Andre was a 'good soldier' for years, always did what was asked of him with only minor complaints and out-of-football issues (compared to say T.O., Ocho Cinco, or Pacman Jones) - he was EVERYTHING you could ask for in a player, and more - how is this going to look to those free agents you are trying to attract? Hell, the guys already in your locker room? Is JJ Watt watching what's happening to Andre Johnson and taking notes?

Hell, I know it's 'the patriot way' and all, BOB and co don't have Tom Brady to make 'B' list talent look great and 6 superbowl rings on their hand to get player's to trust 'em - this will probably come back to bite 'em in the ass.

Colts want him

http://www.hngn.com/articles/74162/2...y-or-trade.htm

Colts want him

http://www.hngn.com/articles/74162/2...y-or-trade.htm Originally Posted by oilfieldscum

Are the Colts planning on letting Reggie Wayne go?? That would be the question.

The direction the Texans are going is getting very scary. They let Chris Myers the center go today. Who is going to replace him. No one on the O line played very well last year except for Brown. I don't see the team as having anyone extra on the line that can step in and direct the O line as Chris did.

With Andre going it means that it is likely the Texans take a WR with the first pick because no one else on the team was better than him except Hopkins.

We could lose BOTH CBs or at least Jackson which means we would need to draft one. Add on top of all everyone seems to think the Texans are going to draft a QB, prolly the one from Colorado State I think it is. This would make the QB situation an unholy mess. You have Mallet that you traded for and played one game (and how the hell do you tear a peck muscle and no one seems to notice at all) and you have one in Savage that you drafted last year. If you draft one this year then what happens to Savage, does this mean you wasted a mid-round pick again? You need to go into the pre-season with one QB who gets most of the work. If you have 3 or 4 and you can't decide no one gets enough reps. It's all fucked up.

The Colts could get Peterson at running back and the Andre at WR if Wayne can't make it back. Bortles with Jacksonville will be better and with their draft position they will get a stud defensive player for sure so where does that leave the Texans, battling the Titans for last?

BoB did pretty good last year but I think he is making some mistakes on players, he is learning as he goes. Maybe in 5 or 6 years he'll be a really good coach but maybe not here. And will JJ Watt be like Andre, wasting his best years on a fucked up team that goes nowhere because they could not come up with a franchise QB and could not draft in the middle rounds. Honestly the last two years have been terrible drafts and has left the team with no depth and in a position to get in cap trouble again because they have to sign people to make up for draft day mistakes. Meanwhile Rick Smith seems to be going nowhere, just like the team.

The direction the Texans are going is getting very scary. They let Chris Myers the center go today. Originally Posted by BigLouie

/Agreed.

Scary stuff.

If I were Tom Savage, I'd be very nervous right now; anyone with a bit of common sense can figure out that weakening the offensive line and sending your multi-pro bowl, never-miss-a-game starting center packing is bad news for a 'rookie' quarterback.

With Myers leaving town, I'd expect to see them resign mallet, try to restructure fitz. If both of those things happen, theyll probably draft a qb in the later rounds and Savage is asta la vista, baby.

Either way, I expect to see Garrett gone and EITHER Jackson re-signed and joseph cut, OR, if jackson leaves, a possible restructure for Joseph.

I also think Clabo and Mercilus should get long, hard looks at their performance.

Clabo's an obvious choice - in 15 games, he has yet to break into the stat sheet - at all, and yet is commanding 1.3 mill that would, arguably, be better used elsewhere (1.2 mill cap savings).

In comparison, Mercilus' 2.29 mill for 30 tackles and 5 sacks looks great, but cutting him would save another 1.4 against the cap, and I'm just not sure his relatively low level of production warrants spending money on him. <shrug>. He's on the bubble as far as I'm concerned: I'd cut him in a heartbeat if I didn't have so many damn holes to fill on this team.

Speaking of holes, just how many fricking players do we need to find/re-sign now?

We've got an open spot at corner and safety, our linebackers, historically have stunk (Cushing and all health questions aside), Nose tackle is a position of real concern, No quality tight ends, missing at minimum one #1/#2 wide receiver, questionable players at the center, tackle and guard positions, dire need of a quality back up to split time with foster, and, lest we forget, an actual franchise quarterback.

Did I miss anything?

We have about 30 million in cap room.

I would spend a good chunk of it like this:

Iupati OL Guard
Bulaga OL Tackle These 2 solve the weak as fuck OL problem, you then have Su a Chik Filo and Brandon Brooks battling for a Guard spot. Su a Fuck filo could be your swing tackle

Jordan Cameron TE, nice fit as we don't have a TE worth a fuck now.

Michael Crabtree WR this guy was comparable to Dez Bryant in College, his Achilles injury and shitty QB's in SF have robbed him of production. If he is fast still, and may not be because of the Achilles he could be a steal on the cheap.

Antone Smith or Jacquizz Rogers, both are fast plus I just like saying Jacquizz. Best Fantasy Football name I saw last year was a team called "Jacquizz on her Breastons" RB is not really needed however but these 2 guys could be an upgrade from our 2nd and 3rd stringer but they are currently cheap.

Still have to sign Mallett or we could get stuck with Sanchez or the like. Mallet better be cheap.

A Cheap corner with Experience as KJ is going to be way overpriced for his production.

Right now the whole team is a house of cards. They are letting Andre go but the players they are interested in are not as good as Andre, it would be a step down even at his reduced play. WTF. We are not building for the future if we bring in over priced FAs who will be here a short period of time. That is what got us in cap trouble in the first place.

We are not building for the future if we bring in over priced FAs who will be here a short period of time. That is what got us in cap trouble in the first place. Originally Posted by BigLouie

You are not wrong. While the team hasn't come out and said we are in a rebuild, I'm definitely getting that queasy feeling in my stomach.

It's certainly not too late for 2015; the Texans, with over $30 million in cap space, could definitely acquire some free agents worth having, but is that the best-case scenario?

Or is it time to bite the bullet and just blow the whole thing up, try to rebuild as quickly as possible while JJ is on the clock?

If it's a full blown rebuild, that is, of course, the kiss of death: such things are boring as you see a slew of JAGs pass through here while they try to find diamonds.

So let's talk about what free agents we'd like to see them pick up, hopefully on the cheap, at what position.

QB

FREE AGENCY
The QB free agent class is, let's admit it, dismal, to say the least. When the best QBs available are Mark Sanchez, Brian Hoyer and Jake Locker, you know you're in trouble here.

Solution: Re-sign Mallet immediately on a team friendly deal so that you can cut him if he sucks too bad. At least his ceiling is an *unknown*. We already have fitz under contract as a back-up, cut Case Keenum and give Savage another year of learning, see what he becomes.

DRAFT NOTE

The draft is thin, here, according to most. Two choices: Winston and Mariota.

In an ideal world, trading up for Mariota is what I'd do, but the price may be just too high for the Texans to swallow. I'd go a little under RGIII numbers, definitely NOT more than that. It's a definite 'No' from me on Famous Jameis, as that guy is a total knucklehead off the field and almost certainly will be making the commissioner's exempt list at some point.

I want Mariota for this team BAD.

WR

The 'big' names will be too expensive. Cobb, Maclin are going to get (over?)paid.

A run at Torrey Smith could be good, if a little on the expensive side.

While he's older, I'd personally like to see the Texans make a run at Harry Douglas here. The guy has been playing second fiddle to big personalities in Atlanta and you almost never hear about him rocking the boat (at least, I haven't). He could be good for (relatively) cheap.

Crabtree is pretty intriguing.

Failing Smith, Douglas or Crabtree, it might be worth it to take a flyer on Denarius Moore: while there are some definite questions with this 26 year-old wideout, his performance for three years was pretty consistent, and he seemed to find the end zone on a regular basis. Last year, however, a couple of injuries and Moore seemed to quit on his team. Maybe a change of scenery would do him wonders (come on, he was playing in freaking OAKLAND).

TE

Julius Thomas is going to get PAID. The Texans cannot afford to chase him, period.

That said, given our current tight end core, pretty much anyone could be an upgrade.

In all seriousness, Niles Paul is the one that everyone wants to sign, and I *totally* get that: he's talented and 26, could be good for years to come.

The one I *really* want to see in Texans deep steel blue is Jordan Cameron. With a stat line of 24 receptions for 424 yards and 2 touchdowns in 10 games last year (for CLEVELAND, no less), I have a feeling that Cameron could do way more in Houston, especially if Mallett pans out.

RB

Oh, running back. How far you have fallen. I think people underrate the crap out of how important the running game still is in the NFL. If nothing else, a run threat will keep the defenses honest. Houston has that in Arian Foster, and Alfred Blue sure looks pretty sitting behind him...but the Texans just murdered their o-line by dumping their captain.

We're going to NEED help, no doubt.

Ingram, Spiller and Forsett will probably be expensive as hell, so since we are unlikely to sign any of those three, next man up.

SHANE VEREEN. Guy can run the ball, yeah, but excels at catching it out of the backfield and making something happen. Sound like anyone you know? A Foster/Vereen/Blue backfield would probably give us one of the better stables of running backs around, IMO, and I think the guys is underrated. He could be a real value pick.

Failing Vereen, Roy Helu and Jacquizz Rodgers are intriguing. Helu would be the better option; stuck behind Alfred Morris in Washington, he has good hands, and I feel like he could deliver much more than he currently is.

I'm not sure why I like Rodgers; he's comparable to Blue and Grimes in terms of production and capability, the only thing that distinguishes him from the other two is his proven ability to carry the ball 90+ times a season and not get hurt. Of course, durability may be very important in the near future.

O-Line
On the oline, you gotta go big or go home. We already have second tier talent filling most of these positions, the only untouchable is Duane Brown, as far as I'm concerned.

C

Either Wis from the Raiders or Hudson from the Chiefs. Gimme the Wis: he was from the raiders, and if he looked good there, imagine how much better he'll look here. Just sayin'.

G

Orlando Franklin or Mike Iupati. Why not both? No? Ok, If I have to choose one, Franklin: sure, he's a penalty magent, but his verstility speaks to me.

T
Bulaga. Get him. End of story.

Same old shit from you Texan fans enjoy another bad off season

Same old shit from you Texan fans enjoy another bad off season Originally Posted by jstone420

Yeah, but at least we have hope that Rick SMith might get canned at some point. Jerry Jones isn't going anywhere until he dies.