SB Nation - Stanford Keglar

Titans Linebacker Keith Bulluck Out for the Year with a Torn ACL

Jimmy — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:10:51 -0000

Titans Radio and The Tennessean are both reporting via Twitter that Keith Bulluck has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. I really cannot express how sad it makes me to think that he won't get to finish what very well could be his last season with the Titans. This will mark the end of an incredible 127 straight games that he has started.

They are also reporting that linebacker David Thornton is out for the season, so the news just keeps on getting better. Stanford Keglar better learn those pursuit angles in a hurry.

Boilers in the NFL: Week two of the preseason

BoilerTMill — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:45:54 -0000

With most of week 2 in the books it is time to start looking at fantasy draft options. Most of the Purdue guys are still kicking around, but the first round of cuts are coming. It is only a matter of time before this list gets a little shorter, unfortunately.

Side note: Speaking of fantasy, we have so far had four people sign up for the Hammer & Rails league through CBS Sports' college football. We need at least 6 more as well. If someone would be willing to commissioner this league it would be awesome as well. As a warning, CBS Sports fantasy is about as user unfriendly as possible, so hopefully someone out there has figures it out. Now, on with the update.

Arizona Cardinals - Chike Okeafor (OLB) - Okeafor had one assist on a tackle as he fights to stay a Cardinal. I would say his chances of making the roster are pretty good. The Cardinals lost to San Diego 17-6 in the second preseason game. He has been battling a sore back, however.

Carolina Panthers - Anthony Heygood (LB) - An undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot, Heygood got some more game action, notching a tackle as he tries to land a roster spot. He is in the same boat as Landon Johnson (LB) - Landon at least signed as a free agent this summer. He had no stats in the second preseason game though, a 27-17 loss to the Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals - Greg Orton (WR) - Undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot. Greg had no stats in a 7-6 win over New England, so I would say his chances of making the roster at this point are pretty slim.

Dallas Cowboys - Anthony Spencer (LB) - Spencer had two tackles and one assist as the Cowboys opened their giant new stadium with a 30-10 win over Tennessee. The Cowboys lost rookie OLB Brandon Williams to a torn ACL, making Spencer that much more valuable.

Denver Broncos - Kyle Orton (QB) - Kyle had a much better second week of the preseason, completing 16 of 22 passes for 182 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Chris Simms is still breathing down his neck for the starting job, however. Kyle had an ugly left handed interception hat left Denver fans shaking their heads in dismay. Denver lost 27-13 at Seattle. Brandon Gorin (OL) - Gorin has a strong chance to be a starter along Denver's offensive line.

Detroit Lions - Cliff Avril (DE) - Cliff had no stats in the second preseason game, which is a shame because he had the chance to sack Brady Quinn, Medicine Woman. He struggled in limited action. Schweigert (S) - Stu had a tackle in the 27-10 loss at Cleveland in week 2. John Standeford (WR) - John had two catches for 16 yards after missing the first game with an injury. He has as good of a chance of anyone of making the final roster, as he performed very well in the second half of last season, all things considered for the Lions.

Houston Texans - Jacques Reeves (CB) - Jacques is battling a broken leg at the moment and may miss the entire season. Jeff Zgonina (DT) - Jeff still has a good shot of making a roster for his 17^th season in the league. He had two tackles and a sack in a 38-14 loss to New Orleans.

Indianapolis Colts - Curtis Painter (QB) - Painter saw quite a bit of action as Jim Sorgi was out again with a sore hamstring, but that will change in week 3 against Detroit. Sorgi is expected to return. Given his experience with the Colts, I have a hard time seeing Painter overtake him for the number two job. This is a season of learning for Curtis. Still, he completed 11 of 19 passes for 119 yards and an interception in a win over Philadelphia. He also ran once for a loss of six yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Uche Nwaneri (OL) - Uche is starting for now, but is likely headed to the bench once the season starts.

Kansas City Chiefs - Bernard Pollard (S) - Pollard sat out week 2 of the preseason. Had five tackles in preseason debut. Alex Magee (DT) - Magee played but did not have any stats against the Minnesota Favres last week. No one seemed to notice as it was all about Brett.

Miami Dolphins - Akin Ayodele (LB) - 8^th year in league. Akin is the likely starter again for the Dolphins. He had one tackle in limited action against Carolina. Ryan Baker (DT) - Undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot. Baker had a tackle and an assist in the second preseason game.

Minnesota Vikings - Ray Edwards (DE) - Like Pollard and Magee above, no one noticed what Ray Edwards did as Favre played his first game as a Viking. Edwards had a tackle and an assist as he is a likely starter.

New England Patriots - Matt Light (LT) - 9^th year in league. Has won three Super Bowls and has started all but two games in his career. Light will be the starting left tackle once again. Rob Ninkovich (LB) - 3^rd year in league. Rob had a very positive second week of the preseason, leading the Patriots with six tackles and three assists. Apparently he has moved from Defensive End to Linebacker

New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees (QB) - It is still smooth sailing for Brees, as he was 9 of 14 for 87 yards and a touchdown in the win over Houston.

New York Jets - Dustin Keller (TE) - DK plays his second preseason game tonight at Baltimore. The game will be on ESPN at 8pm

Philadelphia Eagles - Eugene Bright (TE) - Bright did not have a catch against Indianapolis, but he is still in the running for a backup tight end spot.

San Diego Chargers - Shaun Phillips (LB) - Phillips had one tackle in week 2 as he continues to hold down a starting linebacker spot. Nick Hardwick (OL) - 6^th year in league. Likely starter with 68 career starts at center and a Pro Bowl nod in 2006. Charles Davis (TE) - Davis did not have any stats in the second week of the preseason, making it harder and harder for him to make the roster. There is the possibility, however, of Davis making the roster as a fullback/H-back

San Francisco 49ers - Kory Sheets (RB) - Kory continues to be the most likely candidate to go from undrafted free agent to roster member, as he ran for 51 yards on 12 carries and added a fourth quarter touchdown to give the 49ers a 21-20 win over Oakland. Kory has all but sealed the 3^rd string running back job now.

I had video of Kory's TD, but SBNation allows only YouTube embedding, so you'll have to follow the link.

Seattle Seahawks - Craig Terrill (DT) - Craig had two tackles in the win over Seattle. He has been a stalwart in the Seahawks' defensive line rotation for years now. Seattle fans do like his ability to disrupt things on the line.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Niko Koutouvides (LB) - Niko had no stats in week two, as he fights for a roster spot after signing as a free agent.

Tennessee Titans - Stanford Keglar (LB) - Keglar had two tackles in the preseason loss at Dallas. Mike Otto (OT) - Otto is fighting for a roster spot, but the blog Music City Miracles thinks both Otto and Keglar will make the final 53 man roster.

Boilers in the pros: Preseason week 1

BoilerTMill — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:56:12 -0000

With the first week of the preseason in the books I wanted to take a quick look and see how all of our guys did in week 1. Obviously many guys are established on rosters already, but some are fighting for spots. This was a lot of fun, as I did most of the research on Sunday night, but waited until this morning to post it because there were a pair of preseason games last night. If I have time, I think I will make this a regular feature, as I have no weeded out hte teams that do not have former Purdue players on their rosters. Some guys, like Charles Davis, were happy finds because I didn't know they were still kicking around out there.

Here is how everyone did in week 1:

Ladies and gentlemen, your reigning NFL offensive player of the year.

Arizona Cardinals - Chike Okeafor (OLB) - 11^th year on team. Had a tackle against Pittsburgh in opener. Likely starter.

Atlanta Falcons - No players on roster

Baltimore Ravens - No players on roster

Buffalo Bills - No players on roster Side note: Who the hell is Gibran Hamdan? Apparently, he is a former IU quarterback that is on their roster, but I have never heard of him.

Carolina Panthers - Anthony Heygood (LB) - Undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot. Had one tackle in preseason opener. Landon Johnson (LB) - 6^th year in league, fighting for roster spot. The Panthers played their first game Monday night and Landon had no stats.

Chicago Bears - No players on roster

Cincinnati Bengals - Greg Orton (WR) - Undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot. Had no statistics in 17-7 loss at New Orleans

Cleveland Browns - No players on roster

Dallas Cowboys - Anthony Spencer (LB) - 3^rd year with team. Had one tackle in loss to open preseason. Likely starter.

Denver Broncos - Kyle Orton (QB) - Had brutal debut as starting quarterback with three interceptions. Completed 9 of 16 passes for 89 yards. Is still listed as the starter for now, but he obviously must improve. Brandon Gorin (OL) - Trying to return to NFL after starting 8 games at tackle for St. Louis in 2007. Six year veteran with 26 starts and former member of the Visa Five Layers of protection, thus making him the rare offensive lineman with an endorsement deal.

Detroit Lions - Cliff Avril (DE) - Second year player. Had two tackles as Lions won on late field goal. Stu Schweigert (S) - Found a home in Detroit last year after getting cut by Washington and Denver. Had four tackles in preseason opener and should be safely on the roster. He is also loving the fact he plays for his hometown team. John Standeford (WR) - After years on the Colts practice squad, finally made a regular season roster with the Lions. Emerged as #2 receiver late last season with four starts. No stats in opener

Green Bay Packers - No players on roster.

Houston Texans - Jacques Reeves (CB) - 6^th year in league. Will likely start at corner after breakout season in 2008. No statistics in opener. Jeff Zgonina (DT) - An astounding 17^th season for the last active player from the Colletto Era. Played in all 16 games last year with two starts. Is fighting for a roster spot apparently. No statistics in opener. UPDATE: It is no wonder Reeves had no stats in the opener, as he suffered a broken leg in camp and will be out for some time.

Indianapolis Colts - Curtis Painter (QB) - Rookie likely playing 3^rd string quarterback. Took the majority of snaps for the Colts in a 13-3 loss that was a boring as it sounds. Completed 10 of 17 passes for 77 yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Uche Nwaneri (OL) - 3^rd year in league. Likely starter at offensive guard after making 15 starts last year.

Kansas City Chiefs - Bernard Pollard (S) - 4^th year in league, probable starter. Most hated non-Yankee in New England after ending Tom Brady's season last year. Had five tackles in preseason debut. Alex Magee (DT) - Rookie on defensive line rotation. Had four tackles in preseason debut. The chiefs lost to the Texans 16-10.

Miami Dolphins - Akin Ayodele (LB) - 8^th year in league. Starter 13 games with 75 tackles last season. Likely starter again. Ryan Baker (DT) - Undrafted free agent fighting for roster spot. Both Ayodele and Baker had one tackle Monday night in a 12-9 field goal kicking contest.

Minnesota Vikings - Ray Edwards (DE) - 4^th year in league. Likely starter after 15 starts and five sacks last season. Had tackle in preseason debut win over the Colts.

New England Patriots - Matt Light (LT) - 9^th year in league. Has won three Super Bowls and has started all but two games in his career. Will be protecting Tom Brady's blind side until both head to Canton most likely. Rob Ninkovich (DE) - 3^rd year in league. Has played in just 8 career games as he tries to return from serious knee injury. No stats in preseason debut.

New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees (QB) - 9^th year in league. Will be starter after making the Pro Bowl for third time and second time being named All-Pro. Reigning Offensive Player of the Year. Completed 6 of 9 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown in 17-7 win over Cincy.

New York Giants - No players on roster.

New York Jets - Dustin Keller (TE) - 3 catches for 52 yards in preseason debut. Likely starter after solid rookie season in 2008. Big things are expected from him this year.

Oakland Raiders - No players on roster.

Philadelphia Eagles - Eugene Bright (TE) - An interesting one, as Bright was a pretty average Defensive end at Purdue and never played tight end. Undrafted free agent trying to make roster. Had one catch for eight yards in preseason debut.

Pittsburgh Steelers - No players on roster.

San Diego Chargers - Shaun Phillips (LB) - 6^th year in league. Likely starter as one of San Diego's best linebackers. Had 2 tackles in first game. Nick Hardwick (OL) - 6^th year in league. Likely starter with 68 career starts at center and a Pro Bowl nod in 2006. Charles Davis (TE) - Has bounced around league (Giants, Panthers, Jaguars) trying to make a roster, but has yet to play in an official game. No stats in opener

San Francisco 49ers - Kory Sheets (RB) - Undrafted free agent trying to make a roster. Kory probably had the most beneficial weekend of anyone. Rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries and a long of 25 in win over Denver. Also saw main competition Thomas Clayton unfortunately tear his ACL and get released. Has solid chance to make roster as 3^rd down back/kick returner.

Seattle Seahawks - Craig Terrill (DT) - 6^th year in league. Is having a very Jeff Zgonina-like career so far. Will likely be in the rotation at defensive tackle and may start. Had no statistics in opener.

St. Louis Rams - No players on roster.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Niko Koutouvides (LB) - 6^th year in league. Fighting for roster spot after disappointing year in Denver last season. Had four tackles in preseason debut. Buc fans are excited to have him.

Tennessee Titans - Stanford Keglar (LB) - 2^nd year in league. Played in 13 games as a rookie last season. Leads the team in tackles with 11 through 2 games (The Titans played in the Hall of Fame game too). The Titans think he may be the steal of last year's draft, too. Mike Otto (OT) - 2^nd year in league officially. Has been on practice squad and has played in one official game.

Washington Redskins - No players on roster.

Supplemental Titans Training Camp Report For 8/11/09

August West — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:05:34 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

This image is enough to make QBs wet the bed at night.

Browse more photos »

Let me start this by pointing out the fact that Hal has been killing the professionals when it comes to training camp practice reports. His stuff is easily better than we've gotten from local or national media on the other side of the fence. It's almost like he knows the roster, football fundamentals and pays attention the whole time (go watch a camp practice and take note of the media schmoozing... then you'll see what I mean).

I've had the last few days off work, so the soon-to-be Mrs. West and I decided to check out Tuesday's open practice session. This was my first full session this year after last week's evening practice was a bust. I was looking for Hal out there, but we must have just missed each other. I'm guessing got there on time, which means he got a better spot than mine (which was perched behind Hope Hines, at whom I was tempted to mumble insults under my breath).

Now, just to clarify, these aren't judgements made from long trends nurtured over extended evaluation throughout this camp. They're a compilation of what I already know about these guys and what I saw on this particular day.

Here are the things that stood out to me:

• Lets get this one out of the way: Vince Young looked bad. Epicly bad. He botched an option pitch, that's how bad he looked. I didn't see him even attempt a pass beyond 15 yards, and he didn't complete many that were more than 5 yards away. He looked unsure of the offense and didn't go through his progressions across the field. I never saw him scan from right to left, and I never saw him look off a DB. On at least two occasions he committed the most boneheaded thing bad QBs do: he pump faked at a receiver who was open (or at least open enough), didn't look away, then threw at the same receiver after the coverage had gotten into position. This resulted in multiple INTs. His footwork looked better than I'd seen it so far, but it still lacks consistency. He was also holding the ball for a few ticks too long.

All in all, Vince can't expect to start anytime soon with performances like that.

Follow me through the jump to find out which QB looked worse than Young yesterday...

• Vince's poor performance was one-upped by that of Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey was off the mark all day in a performance that certainly didn't inspire any confidence. The lesson I took away? Kerry better stay healthy.

• Kerry Collins looked good leading the first team offense all day. He sprayed passes all over the field with excellent zip and accuracy, and had completions to pretty much every available receiver as practice moved on. He also looked in even better shape than last year. You could tell pretty quickly that the team responds to his leadership in the two minute drill.

• During the sprints at the end of practice, LenDale made it a point to finish first when the RB group had to go. None of the backs were going 100%, so I appreciated the effort from Smash.

• The WRs were miles ahead of the atrocious display we had to watch last year. Nate Washington made some great moves after the catch, and he's definitely as quick as he is fast. Kenny Britt is bigger than I expected, caught the ball with his hands like a natural (this is much less common in rookies than most people think) and he got off the jam with ease thanks to good technique and tremendous arm strength.

• If Jared Cook can block a LB or DE for three seconds more often than not, there's no way they can keep him off the field. After being leery at first of trading a second round pick for him, I now fully endorse that move.

• The outrageous depth on the defensive line made the second team offensive line look rough at times. They did a nice job giving VY a pocket to step into, but you could quickly tell which unit was deeper when the ball wasn't in the air after four seconds. Still, for these mostly reserve O-lineman to mostly hold their own against D-lineman who will see heavy playing time was a good sign to me.

• HOF Game hero A.J. Trapasso punted during the special teams portion of practice. He showed some solid leg strength and very good hang time. He's absolutely a solid back-up plan should Craig Hentrich's back problems worsen, but he isn't beating out Craig anytime soon.

• Chris Henry is a cut man walking. He dropped a few catchable passes, missed holes and ran away from space on multiple occasions. Put it this way: the first thing I saw after I got settled in was RB coach Ernest Byner making Henry do push-ups as punishment.

• Boom King looks pissed and healthy. That makes me very, very happy.

• Stanford Keglar might end up being the steal from last year's draft. He has popped up consistently with impressive plays in various practice reports and he had some nice ones yesterday. The things he brings that I like the most are that he closes quickly, has great size and plays the pass just as sharply as he does the run. He cut his teeth on special teams last year (which is a biggie with this coaching staff) and could unseat Tulloch as the primary back-up on the weak side should KB go down.

• I felt a little better about the CB depth after watching solid, if unspectacular, play from Mouton, Faggins and Cary Williams. All I needed to see was that they had the speed and didn't look totally lost out there.

Should Texans Fans Watch The Combine?

Jake — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:42:35 -0000

Its mid February and the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine is almost upon us. As I have stated before, I personally am not a huge fan of the Combine because I believe too much emphasis is placed on the drills that the players perform. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t know how fast a guy is and the league should stop testing them in the 40 yard dash; that would be absolutely silly. I just think that the Combine was something that started off as another good tool for general managers to add with all the other steps they took to evaluate and eventually decide if a player was right for them or not, but somewhere along the way it went from a measuring stick to the end-all/be-all of player evaluation.

I’m not alone with my opinion of the Combine. Even Mike Mayock, who is employed as a draft analyst by NFL Network and therefore by the league itself, has criticized the Combine occasionally. He makes good points too, citing the difference between what he calls “functional playing speed and manufactured speed.” The only player that is going to run perfectly straight for 40 yards in a game is a WR, and even he isn’t going to do it from a three point stance.

Proponents of the Combine will be quick to tell you that the myriad drills simulate and test the physical talents you need to play in the NFL no matter what the position, and that the Combine is a venue where athletes from smaller schools can be sized up against players from larger programs while all in the same setting. The problems I have with these arguments are 1) many of the athletes choose not to participate in the other drills (in fact the majority only do the 40 yard dash and the bench press), and 2) the athletes all compete but they do so in athleticism tests, not at football.

For all my whining about the Combine, there is one thing I can’t refute--I will spend a lot of time watching and reading coverage of the event. What can I say? I love the NFL, and the only things happening in the league in mid to late February happen in Indianapolis. Interesting stories always come from putting that many front office personnel in one place during free agency, and draft speculation abounds, which helps me through my withdrawals from football, which are really bad right now (I tried watching basketball the other night and just felt cheap).

The biggest reason, however, that I will be paying close attention is not listed above. While it may not interest you to learn how I feel about the player tests, it will certainly be in your best interest to know how Gary Kubiak and Rick Smith feel about them. Unfortunately, we don’t regularly swap phone calls and I’m not exactly on their e-mail distribution lists. So in the absence of asking them, I took a look at how their draft decisions might have been influenced by the Combine since they took over in 2006, and I think you might be surprised at what I found.

Let me set the record straight by saying that there is no way of knowing that a good or bad Combine performance directly led to Smithiak taking or passing on particular players. They obviously looked at intangibles such as if they fit or respective schemes; Alex Gibbs’ zone blocking system, Kyle Shannahan’s vertical passing attack, or the lack of scheme in the case of Richard Smith’s Defense (sorry, still bitter). Also, some people around the league will roll the dice on a draftee with “personality problems”, but Kubiak and Smith placed a high priority on detecting if a player is right for our locker room, which I’m proud to say seems like a deal-breaker for whether or not they would add someone to the roster.

Draft analysts have identified another trend with the Texans besides looking for players with good character that fit their schemes. In May of every year, most of the articles about the Texans center on the fact that we “reached” for our draft selections. The most notorious of the "reaches" was in the first Texans draft in which Kubiak participated. Every so-called expert slighted us for taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush, and comparisons were immediately made to passing on Michael Jordan. While Super Mario’s play since then has vindicated that pick, the criticism for other drafts has been the same. While I have confidence that Kubiak and Smith know what they’re doing, I’ve often wondered why we continually take players before they’re “supposed” to be picked. With the Combine coming up now, I decided to try and discern if the famous scouting event might be part of the reason.

Author’s Note: I have to admit that my brother Tyler (a.k.a. Prussian) also inspired me to take a closer look at the Combine. The research for this post was extremely difficult. Thanks Ty.

The way I went about analyzing how the Combine affected their decisions was definitely not what you might call exact, but I feel it gives insight nonetheless. I looked specifically at the players that the Texans drafted in the first four rounds in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (I used only the first four rounds because I believe any player you select in rounds 5-7 is an educated guess and therefore the “reach” theory doesn’t apply). First I took note of where they were projected to be drafted and where we actually took them. With the “reaching” trend in mind, I then researched their combine performances, and tried to determine if the way they tested could have influenced our early selection of that player. Lastly, I tried to compare the player we selected with other players at the position that were still available who were projected before or near our draftee in an effort to see if the respective combine performances were drastically different. I realize that this process is limited because it assumes that Kubiak and Smith were drafting for a specific position, but the idea of analyzing every position of need instead of the position we took makes my head hurt. Call me lazy.

2006 Draft:

Mario Williams – DE – NC State. Obviously everyone thought that Mario Williams was a reach. In fact, as long as we’re being honest, I wasn’t thrilled either. I didn’t think it was terrible overall, I just didn’t understand why they didn’t trade down if they knew they weren’t going to take Reggie Bush or Vince Young. Later, after I found out that there were pretty much no deals on the table, I was ok with it. Mario, as you would expect, had a great Combine. Comparing Mario to any other DEs would be unnecessary because it was pretty much unanimous that he was going to be the first defensive player taken. It seems apparent that the mixture of need on defense and not being sure about Young and Bush as franchised players led to this decision, not the Combine.

DeMeco Ryans – LB – Alabama. DeMeco was projected to be a first round selection, which he missed by one pick after being selected 33rd overall. DeMeco had a good Combine, but was pretty comparable with both Thomas Howard and Roger McIntosh. Howard’s 4.42 was much faster than both Ryans’ and McIntosh’s 40 times, while the results of everything else were very similar. If the Texans were just using the combine, they would have missed out on the 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Many reports cite DeMeco’s uncommon intelligence and character as the reason he was chosen before the other two candidates.

Charles Spencer – OG – Pittsburgh. Spencer was taken slightly early with the first pick of the third round, as he was supposed to be selected either later in the round or the beginning of the fourth. Both Max Jean-Giles and Jason Spitz were projected as higher values, but at the Combine Spencer showed that he was bigger, stronger and faster, which was enough for the Texans to look past fluctuating weight and motor issues and pick him before the other two candidates. Score one for the Combine.

Eric Winston – OT – Miami. Winston actually slipped, as he was supposed to be selected in the second round, possibly even late in the first. He was clearly the better athlete among Paul McQuistan, Rashad Butler (yes I know Butler plays for us now) and pretty much every other OT still left. Questions as to whether Winston had the footwork to play LT was the primary reason he slid so far; coincidentally, these questions arose after scouts observed poor testing at the Combine, which obviously didn’t faze the Texans that much.

Owen Daniels – TE – Wisconsin. OD was selected in the very beggining of the fourth round, which was a round earlier than he was projected. Daniels had a decent Combine but nothing that was earth-shattering. The Texans likely saw something in him that sparked their interest outside of his 4.65 40 time so they decided to take him early. Then again, the alternatives were Garrett Mills and Jason Pociask. I’ve never heard of them either.

2007 Draft:

Amobi Okoye – DT – Loiusville. Amobi may or may not have been considered a reach depending on where you looked for pre-draft projections. Some people had him slated as a mid to late first round pick, while others thought he belonged in the early first round range, which is where we consequently selected him with the 10th overall pick. Okoye ran a 5.06 40 and had 29 bench press reps, which were fairly comparable numbers to both Alan Branch and Justin Harrell. Harrell, who was projected as a late first round pick, ran a 5.10 and had 24 reps. Branch, who was projected as a mid first round pick, ran a 5.04 and had 33 reps, which was technically better than Okoye’s. In the end, Okoye’s age (19) and his lights-out performance at the Senior Bowl is probably what led to the Texans taking him before all other DT prospects.

Jacoby Jones – WR – Lane. Jones was definitely considered a reach when we selected him with the 9th pick in the third round, as he was not slated to be picked until somewhere between the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth rounds. At the Combine, Jones ran a 4.53, which was ok for a 6’2” receiver who weighs 205. Yamon Figurs, Jason Hill and Paul Williams all had better Combine numbers. Also, Figurs was the only receiver smaller than Jacoby, while Hill and Williams were just about the same size but ran faster at the Combine. I’m not saying they were right, but it doesn’t seem like Smithiak selected Jones based off just his Combine performance.

Fred Bennett – CB – South Carolina. Bennett could be considered a reach because he was taken in the fourth while he was projected in the fifth, but this is misleading. The 2007 draft had an amazing run on CBs that I don’t think anyone could have seen coming. By the time the Texans selected Bennett with the 7th pick in the fourth round, there were only a couple of CBs with better Combine performances, but none had Bennett’s mix of athleticism (4.55) and size (6’1”, 196). It seems like Smithiak realized they waited too long to take a CB and they picked the best available.

2008 Draft:

Duane Brown – OT – Virginia Tech. Brown was considered by most, if not all, to be a reach when we selected him 26th overall after our trade down with Baltimore. He was slated to be taken around the middle of the third round, and many speculated that his impressive performance at the Combine enticed the Texans to be impatient. His 5.08 40 time was the fastest of all lineman, and he was one of the few to participate in the vertical, shuttle and cone drills, which showed confidence in his athletic ability. When I was trying to find players to compare him to, however, I found something startling; there were none. Brown was the sixth OT taken, and between him and the third round (when he was supposed to be taken) there were only three OL selected--two guards and one center. Obviously the Texans needed a OT and they saw that they were getting scarce so they took Brown. The fact that he knew how to block in a zone blocking system and he had a great combine was a plus, but they were smart to take him when they did since OT was a priority.

Antwaun Molden – CB – Eastern Kentucky. This wasn’t a reach in the classical sense because he was taken with the 16th pick in the third round, which fulfilled his mid third round projection, but there were two CBs still available, Justin King and Tyvon Branch, who were projected for the second round. While King’s 4.37 time and Branch’s 4.33 time were both faster than Molden’s 4.44 time, Antwaun put on a show at the Combine by adding 23 reps and a 37.5 inch vertical to his 40, which was far better than both King and Branch. This is probably a clear-cut case of the Combine causing the Texans to draft someone before they were “supposed” to be taken. Side note: I didn’t realize that Molden was such an impressive athlete. Hopefully he can translate that athleticism to success on the field next year.

Steve Slaton – RB – West Virginia. With the 26th pick of the third round, the Texans took Slaton slightly earlier than his early to mid fourth round projection. After his phenomenal sophomore season at WVU, Slaton was talked about as a potential first round pick in the 2008 draft. His production diminished his junior year, which worried scouts, and ironically, he was compared to Reggie Bush (see comments above about taking Mario instead of Bush) as a RB that could not run between the tackles and would be injury-prone due to his size. His 4.44 time was one of the better runs, which was to be expected of a smaller RB who was only 5’9”, but his 33.5 inch vertical was better than all but one, showing how good of an athlete Slaton is. This performance was slightly better than Tashard Choice, who was the only other back on the board who fit the mold of speed back, which I believe the Texans were specifically targeting. Maybe the Combine gave him a slight edge, but I would tend to believe that it was more because of his starting experience that the Texans ended up selecting Slaton. Whatever it was, I’m ok with it.

Xavier Adibi – LB – Virginia Tech. Adibi was actually taken after he was supposed to be, which is a rarity when it comes to the Texans’ drafts. Adibi’s 4.69 time was comparable with Bryan Kehl ,who was still on the board, but was slower than Stanford Keglar. Also, both Kehl and Keglar tested in the bench press, vertical, shuttle, and cone dirlls, all of which Adibi did not. Even though Adibi was impressive, he was obviously not taken for his Combine performance.

Overall, I’m actually surprised by what I found when researching for this article. I expected that the Texans’ commonly documented tendency of taking players earlier than most think they should was directly associated with stellar Combine performances, but for the most part that wasn’t the case. As for the “reaching” theory, I would much rather Kubiak and Smith be proactive, i.e., “We know this guy will be great and he might not be there next round” than reactive, i.e., “Well, everyone thinks this guy is going to be good and I guess we got lucky that he fell to us.”

We commonly praise the Texans for their ability to find talent in the later rounds, as we should. I guess I should not be surprised to see that they are not relying just on the Combine to simply plug in “the most talented player”, but rather using it as a tool that is combined with scouting diligence to determine overall intelligence, character and talent of prospective Texans. Having said all this, I’m sure they still scrutinize the Combine heavily. And so will I.

Wednesday Camp Quick Hitters

Jimmy — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:26:02 -0000

Terry McCormick's Tuesday camp confidential.

PLAY OF THE DAY: It isn’t often Jeff Fisher stops practice over a play that is made, but he took issues during the first practice in full pads when linebacker Stephen Tulloch launched himself toward fullback Casey Cramer, knocking him to the ground and raising Fisher’s ire. The coach stopped practice and, in so many words, warned players that they needed to learn how to practice without risking their teammates to injury. Before and after the Tulloch play, Eugene Amano and Kyle Vanden Bosch got into scraps at the end of plays.

The fights were the big story coming out of camp yesterday. This kind of stuff happens all the time in camp.

Jim Wyatt blogs about his appreciation for Kyle Vanden Bosch.

While it (KVB's playing style) contributed to a brief skirmish in Tuesday's practice, you can be sure no one involved hates Vanden Bosch. They appreciate him.
And they're glad he'll go to battle with them on Sundays.

Darn right the do.

Rookie linebacker Stanford Keglar is writing a training camp blog for The Tennessean's website. Yesterday's addition was about resting up.

Chris Johnson has high hopes for himself:

"I feel like they don’t make them like me any more,’’ Johnson said with a smile.
Later he compared himself to Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, a highly successful veteran.

"I always set my goals high,’’ Johnson said. "I feel like I can be a big-time player in this league.’’

I love the fact that he has that much confidence in himself. Now let's just see it play out on the field.

I also like the quote from LenDale White in that article about sharing the load:

"I have never been threatened,’’ the third-year pro said. "When I played with Reggie Bush at USC they said the same thing and I led the nation in scoring, I still had 1,300 yards. I have no problems with sharing the rock. I honestly believe having a guy like Chris is only going to make us better. Dinger will find a way to get him the ball and it will make it better for all of us.’’