SB Nation - Antwaun Molden

Playing The Expectations Game

bigfatdrunk — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:04:24 -0000

Over the years, I've had the pleasure of working for some of the most grossly inept and incompetent managers in known history. A couple of them would make the Pointy Haired Boss absolutely brilliant by comparison. Recent games have reminded me of a conversation I had with one of those rocket scienticians.

At the time, I was managing asset portfolios for wealthy investors. My portfolios were absolutely skyrocketing, but my boss' were doing horribly. Worst of all, he had most of the assets under his control, and he refused to change his strategy, relinquish control, or just do anything different. As a result, we were bleeding clients and money.

I had the audacity to lay out a concrete plan for him to follow in order to keep clients, but he erupted into one of his typical histrionic displays. I gave notice about an hour later.

When he tried to convince me to stay, he claimed he had done a poor job setting my expectations about his portfolios' performance. His argument was asinine. It wasn't *his* fault the portfolios were doing so poorly; it was the market's fault, and I had to stay and convince clients of this "fact." I was stunned by the lack of logic and the earnestness in which he avoided culpability. Needless to say, I left, and the company is out of business today.

By now you are probably asking yourself: What is your point? Great question! I'm so glad you asked.

I believe we, and by "we" I mean we as fans and the team, have failed the expectations game. Allow me to explain what I mean.

After back-to-back years of 8-8 ball, it's fair to have greater expectations and believe we'll be better year-in/year-out as fans. The reality is this isn't so easy to accomplish. Every fan base has this expectation (except for the Lions, of course) that their team is good enough to compete. So we get excited and hopeful. Gary Kubiak should also have these expectations, especially from a younger team.

Where we have failed is recognizing that our talent is still simply not there. Talent acquisition is, sadly, a prolonged process. The team Kubiak and Rick Smith inherited was almost completely devoid of NFL-quality talent. Not only do I believe we need time to build and diversify our talent base, I'm not convinced we are adequately addressing our weaknesses.

Now, this isn't to say we aren't trying, but it is clear we have serious holes throughout our starting 22 and depth problems everywhere except for TE and WLB (which needs a real quality starter).

Here's an example: Our offensive line has become a true weakness thanks in part to injuries, but also due to the lack of talent here. Duane Brown and Eric Winston have been decent but beatable. Our G and C play has been absolutely atrocious this year, even before injuries took down Chester Pitts and Mike Brisiel.

In other words, if we aren't winning the most basic, in-the-trenches battles, how can we possibly expect to win games?

Then, of course, are our expectations of FAIL. The team, at least. I had hoped the Miami game last year moved us beyond this. Or even the first BE-SF game this year. Especially in the second game against the Colts, you could see our body language change in the fourth quarter. We played down to our expectations, and it was depressing. If the Colts were in this position, there's no way they'd be hanging their heads in the same situation.

Obviously, part of the problem is Kubiak. I don't believe the team is under-prepared as much as poorly managed, both from a personnel and in-game perspective. But the lack of quality personnel is still the primary issue. However, Kubiak has got to do a better job in getting this team to play a full 60 minute game. The closest we've come to this was against the Bengals and somewhat versus the Bills. This is not acceptable.

Do I believe we need to fire Kubiak? I don't know. The offense especially is built around Kubiak's offensive style. The simple fact he believes Chris Brown is a legitimate goal-line back is an indictment of his ability to build a roster. Kubiak needs a more firm hand, and a better grip, of building his roster to meet his needs. At the same time, he has improved his in-game skills from last year (did somebody finally buy him Madden?).

Here's what I would like to see from a purely coaching standpoint:

Replace Bill Kollar (defensive line coach), Frank Bush, or both. I'm not sure who thought either of these guys would be a solution, but they clearly are not. When a Bills fan is taunting you about Kollar, you damn well know something is wrong.
Joe Marciano, special teams coach, should clearly go away. Not only do we make copious amounts of penalties, but he's managed to turn Andre Davis into a tip-toer on returns.
And we give Kubiak one. More. Year. That's it. No mas.

Again, I simply do not think we have the talent, on a personnel basis, to compete today. When you throw in the tremendous number of injuries to key elements of the team (Chester Pitts, Mike Brisiel, Owen Daniels, Antwaun Molden, Steve Slaton, Glover Quin, Eugene Wilson), we are going to be in trouble. Injuries are exacerbated by our obvious lack of depth, a problem that cannot be fixed in just one, two, or even three years. This is about expectations, and thoughts that we were a 12-4 team were optimistic and obviously misplaced. With a few breaks, was this possible? Chris Brown says "yes." We are, however probably better than 5-7 as well.

At this point, I don't see firing Kubiak as the answer. We need to let our current crop of rookies age just one more year, and another year of drafting will be helpful. This team was a massive sack of shit when Smithiak took over, and we have seen improvement. We all hoped the consolidation phase was over, but it was not. I think they deserve one more year to prove themselves incapable.

Texans State of the Union: Defense

Jake — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:58:02 -0000

More photos » by Jose Yau - AP

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Three weeks ago the Texans were cruising. They were riding a three-game winning streak, and at 5-3 Houston was positioning themselves for a run at the post-season. Now after three divisional losses that were all squandered in the fourth quarter, the season seems lost for the Texans. Some have begun speculating that head coach Gary Kubiak will lose his job and the franchise will once again start over, while others have already started to focus on the pinnacle of the Texans' season (the draft), while another small contingent of fans cling to hope that the remaining soft schedule will allow the team to pull off a five game miracle finish to sneak into the playoffs.

The wide spectrum of feelings is understandable. The Texans have what is undoubtedly their best team ever, but despite that promise, they keep meandering around mediocrity. The game Sunday against the Colts is a perfect metaphor for the season. In the first half the Texans looked unstoppable on both sides of the ball, and then in the second half they didn't look like they belonged on the same field.

So what should we think of this colossally frustrating squad? I'm sure Tim will write a great breakdown on the train wreck for this weekend, so I want to cover what I think of the future, not just for the season but for next year as well. In an effort to break it up, I will start with the defense, then move on to the offense and finally look at the coaching staff.

Author's Note: Please don't consider this as me giving up on 2009. I will explain my opinion on what can and should be accomplished in the remaining five games, but I feel the near and far-term future go hand in hand so it's easier to explain it all at once.

The defense was the biggest focal point of the offseason. It didn't take a genius after 2008 to figure out that side of the ball needed more help. The vast majority of draft and free agent focus was spent on the defensive squad after Gary Kubiak went out on a limb to give longtime friend and colleague Fred Bush the defensive coordinator position despite having Bush no experience at that level.

- Defensive End:

- Antonio Smith has been worth the ransom we paid for him. He is one of the new additions that has created a mean streak that had been lacking last season. That emotion can be detrimental at times, but I think he is just one of those players who you have to take the occasional bone-headed play from along with his inspired ones. Smith has applied considerably more pressure than his 2 sacks suggest, and he also has been adept against the run.

- Mario Williams is seriously hurt, and his shoulder likely won't heal until the offseason. That's a shame too because he finally has a bookend supplying the kind of pressure Williams never had before when he was being singled out by protection schemes. One thing that still plagues Mario is his aggressiveness. Opponents continually allow him to rush straight into the backfield and then run the ball right by him. Williams is a gamer and will continue to give his best, but I don't think he will be back to regular form until next season, and there might even be a possibility of surgery following this year.

-Rookie Connor Barwin is just as raw as expected. His two sacks were the results of both speed and effort, which constitute the entirety of his pass rushing moves as of now. While some may argue that second round picks shouldn't be used on projects, the presence of Smith gives Barwin some time to learn his trade before he learns the tricks.

- Defensive Tackle:

- Amobi Okoye is not a bust, but he's not yet a Pro Bowler either. I'd like to think that he'll get to that level eventually, but at least he's showing that last year was more of a fluke than 2007 was. So far Amobi has been better against the run than I thought he'd be, but not as good at pressuring the quarterback as I'd expected.

- The Texans larger nose tackles have been decent to invisible, but out of Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina, DelJuan Robinson and Frank Okam, there isn't a single starting caliber player at the position.

- Linebacker:

- DeMeco Ryans is about as consistent as possible, which is key considering he plays a position which values that attribute above all others. Ryans isn't the type of player that will ever have an abundance of sexy stats like sacks or interceptions, but he can almost always be relied upon to know his assignments, lead the defense and plug the middle. Losing him would be an enormous blow because while he may not be the best defensive player, he is by far the defensive MVP.

- Brian Cushing has been just as good if not better than advertised. You can nitpick at his coverage technique but no player is perfect, especially a rookie. All bias aside, Cushing gets my early vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year because while Brian Orakpo has the sacks and Jairus Byrd has the interceptions; Cushing has shown the ability to do it all.

- Zac Diles has been decent at the WLB position but nothing earth shattering. Xavier Adibi has seen little of the field since his removal from the nickel package in favor of Cushing in Week Two. Both are serviceable, but added depth would be beneficial, although low, on the list of priorities.

Cornerback:

- Dunta Robinson is not a number one corner... period. I know he is still a fan favorite to some, but the tape doesn't lie--he is not good in coverage. Quick, without looking, how many pass interferences can you remember Dunta committing because he was burnt? Now how many touchdowns do remember getting thrown to his man? Now how many interceptions and pass breakups do you think he has? I will give it to him that he plays the run extremely well for a cornerback, but that's not why you pay $25 million dollars guaranteed. I would be shocked if he was re-franchised. Rick Smith won't pay him the kind of money he is looking for, so in all likelihood he has five games left in Houston.

- Glover Quin is the reason that Dunta is expendable. He plays the run just as well and in the same fashion that Dunta does. He would, however, be just as abused as Robinson if he was out in the position to cover number one wide receivers, as would Jacques Reeves. Both are pleasant surprises as a number two cornerback and nickel corner respectively, but that doesn't mean that they can move up the depth chart once Dunta leaves. A lack of a true good-to-elite cover corner is one the biggest problems for this team, and considering that they don't get to free agency very often, it will likely be a problem next year too. By the way, you might have been able to tell but I have written off both Fred Bennett and Antwaun Molden.

Safety:

- Bernard Pollard has changed this defense because of a mixture of good play on his part and complete lack thereof on all the other strong safeties prior to Pollard's assumption of the starting role. He is not a prototypical interchangeable safety that can cover deep just as well as he can play the run, but it is rare to find a safety so good at one discipline. I can understand Kansas City feeling that they didn't want to start him, but he has made them look terribly stupid for giving him an outright release. As long as he is paired with a good coverage free safety, Pollard is a huge asset against the run and I am just as in favor of re-signing him as Mike Kerns is.

- Eugene Wilson is a good coverage safety and plays well with Pollard. The problem is that Wilson has played all 16 games in just one of his 7 NFL seasons, which is probably the reason why the personnel savvy Patriots let him go. What amplifies this problem is that the depth at safety is probably the weakest throughout the entire team (offense and defense) as Dominique Barber and John Bushing are substandard.

Summation:

- After three games of sieve-like defense, Gary Kubiak was under fire for elevating Frank Bush to a position that he appeared to not be ready for. Since those first three games, however, the defense has outperformed the offense. During the four losses in the time period stated, the defense allowed an average of 12 second half points, which is counting the two pick-6 interceptions that Matt Schaub threw. These were all games that were winnable and while the defense is not without fault, the offense continually showed an inability to put games away.

- The defense's performance is admirable considering the lack of depth and talent at certain positions, and Frank Bush should be commended for it. Take for example the lack of talent at NT, which has allowed opposing quarterbacks to step up in the pocket even when pressure is being applied on the outside. To counter this, Bush has sent Cushing on blitzes, resulting in 1.5 sacks but also making the defense susceptible to outside runs as well as quarterback sneaks like what we saw against Tennessee. Another huge problem is the coverage. If zone coverage is called, tight ends like Dallas Clark and Vernon Davis eat the middle for lunch, but if you go with man coverage you either concede Dunta getting burnt or lose a player to continually helping him over the top. Both options allow for quarterbacks to know exactly where they can deliver the ball and thus avoid pressure with quick throws. It's a vicious cycle.

Future:

- This season looks good for the defense considering they face the 24th, 22nd, 21st, 12th, and 2nd (in a game that may not feature starters for too long) offenses in the remainder of the season. Not only are they unproductive, but many are one-dimensionally favored toward running, which is something the Texans have stopped lately, even if marginally so in a loss against a Titans squad that scored 20 points. I believe that DeMeco will go to another Pro Bowl, and Brian Cushing will be defensive ROY.

- The future looks bright for the Texans' D despite the current holes. Pollard, Okoye, Williams, Ryans and Cushing have all yet to play their fifth season, making the corps of the unit extremely young. Cornerback would be my first priority for the draft as it is not only the most glaring weakness but the position also typically takes at least a year or two before a player can rise to a great or even good status. Defensive Tackle and Safety are close behind with both being slightly less crucial because serviceable players currently fill those spots.

Decision Day: 53-Man Roster Speculation

bigfatdrunk — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:13:47 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

3 months ago: Houston Texans' David Anderson (89) congratulates James Casey (86) after Casey's 11-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Rex Grossman during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

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With cuts due by 3pm CDT (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong), I wanted to pontifibate one last time on the 53-man roster. It's not going to be much different than my first take.

As a refresher, here's the composition of the Texans original 53-man roster last year:

2 QBs
3 RBs
1 FB
5 WRs
3 TEs
5 OTs
5 Gs (1 C/G)
1 C
3 Special Teamers (P, K, LS)
6 DEs
5 DTs
6 LBs
4 CBs
5 Ss

Again, there's substantial reason to believe the roster will be similarly composed. So here goes:

2 QBs: Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky
3 RBs: Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Arian Foster (over Ryan Moats)
1 FB: Vonta Leach
5 WRs: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones
3 TEs: Owen Daniels, James Casey, Anthony Hill
4 OTs: Duane Brown, Cliff Washburn, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler
5 OGs: Antoine Caldwell, Chester Pitts, Kasey Studdard, Mike Brisiel, Chris White. Last year, there were 5 OTs and 4 OGs.
1 C: Chris Myers
3 Special Teamers: P - Matt Turk, K - Kris Brown, LS - Clark Harris
5 DEs: Antonio Smith, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading
5 DTs: Amobi Okoye, DelJuan Robinson, Frank Okam, Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina
6 LBs: Zac Diles, Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Buster Davis, Kevin Bentley
5 CBs: Jacques Reeves, Fred Bennett, Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden
4 Ss: Dominique Barber, Eugene Wilson, Nick Ferguson, John Busing

Again, that leaves us with 52 of the 53 spots. I think it's going to come down to:

Rex Grossman: He'll be tough to cut after last night's performance.
Glenn Martinez: Was a fiend on special teams all preseason.
Joel Dreessen: Your basic, but very good, utility TE.

After Anthony Hill's performance last night, I believe Dreessen takes the last spot. While Casey needs some time to mature into the position, Hill is definitely not ready. Dreessen will be the steady hand.

As far as Grossman, I believe there's a chance he still makes the team over Jeff Zgonina. Kubiak hasn't shown any indication he's going to take three QBs, and after last night's game, he seemed pretty non-committal about keeping Rex. Personally, I don't believe Rex makes the team.

I'll be out of town when the cuts are made, but I'll be back this afternoon.

Texans Down 'N Dirty: Hide Sharp Objects Edition

Jake — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:17:10 -0000

The days since Saturday Night have been brutal for Texans fans. I myself, having not even seen the game yet, have been down because of reading the post game coverage and reading reactions around the site. After the progress made in the last couple of seasons, there is no way to explain the Saints game as aptly as Gary Kubiak's description of "A step back."

How do the Texans recover from this? Someone has to be accountable right? DeMeco Ryans says he will accept responsibility for the poor defensive play despite being the one player on that side of the ball that was singled out by Kubiak for his exceptional play."Our performance reflects my leadership," he said, "and obviously, it wasn't good enough." Leadership is an intangible that can't be taught, and DeMeco is showing that he gets it.

Amobi Okoye didn't play well on Saturday night, which led to the Saints gaining an average of over 8 yards on every running play. Some think that Okoye should now be labeled a bust, but others believe he still has time to turn into a good to great player. Most importantly, Okoye realizes what he did wrong the other night and seems like he is learning from it. This will be a long process for Amobi, which is frustrating to the fans, the Texans and most of all himself, but it's not an instantaneous process.

Injuries have hampered the team throughout the preseason. The first thing I wanted to hear following the Saints game was the injury report to make sure that no one else suffered serious injuries. There is good news on that front though. Chester Pitts was back at practice yesterday, and Antwaun Molden will return to full duty this week and might play in the MNF Game against the Vikings. Chris Myers is improving every day and might play next game as well, which would be great to have the entire O-Line be able to play against the vaunted Vikings' run defense together. Brian Cushing is doing drills away from the team, and the earliest he will be on the field is the last preseason game against the Buccaneers.

The other important thing to do in this situation is not panic. There aren't that many bandwagon Texans fans out there, so almost everyone frequenting this site and other Texans-related ones has seen their fair share of downs. We all want this team to live up to it's potential so much that we cringe every time we see evidence that points to the past woes.

I still have faith that this team is heading in the right direction. Did we take a large step back the other night? Absolutely, but that's going to happen time to time. As much as I wish there won't be, there is likely going to be at least one game this season where the Texans will get beat so bad that there will be little to no positive aspects of our performance, just like the other night. In my estimation though, the end result is what is most important, and you don't get there by taking all steps forward; you get there by taking more steps forward than you take backward.

I'm with Tim that the run defense or lack thereof is scary, and that it makes sense to discuss it. I just don't think that all is lost at this point. I recognize that no one is necessarily saying that, but that's prevailing feeling around the blogosphere. I think the quote of the week in the comments belongs to Tyler, a.k.a. bullpen116:

I'm not pushing the panic button... But, not taking my finger of it either.

bfd's First Take at the 53-Man Roster

bigfatdrunk — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:31:53 -0000

Great discussion last week on the possible composition of the 53-man roster started by Texans-Brocos. Here's my take with a little bit of background.

Last year, the Texans' opening roster consisted of:

2 QBs
3 RBs
1 FB
5 WRs
3 TEs
5 OTs
5 Gs (1 C/G)
1 C
3 Special Teamers (P, K, LS)
6 DEs
5 DTs
6 LBs
4 CBs
5 Ss

I think it's reasonable to believe the 2009 roster will be similarly composed. After last night's game, here's my guess as to how the 53-man is shaping up:

2 QBs: Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky
3 RBs: Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Ryan Moats (depending on his injury)
1 FB: Vonta "Human Coke Machine" Leach
5 WRs: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones (almost by default)
3 TEs: Owen Daniels, James Casey, Anthony Hill (no Joel Dreessen, which is our loss)
4 OTs: Duane Brown, Cliff Washburn, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler
5 OGs: Antoine Caldwell, Chester Pitts, Kasey Studdard, Mike Brisiel, Chris White. Last year, there were 5 OTs and 4 OGs.
1 C: Chris Myers (depending on his health, obviously)
3 Special Teamers: P - Matt Turk, K - Kris Brown, LS - Clark Harris
5 DEs: Antonio Smith, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading
5 DTs: Amobi Okoye, DelJuan Robinson, Frank Okam, Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina (no Travis Johnson)
6 LBs: Zac Diles, Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Buster Davis (depending on Cato June's health), Kevin Bentley
5 CBs: Jacques Reeves, Fred Bennett, Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden (no Dunta Robinson...just in case)
4 Ss: Dominique Barber, Eugene Wilson, Nick Ferguson, John Busing

Several differences from last year, though nothing crazy. Last year, we carried 6 DEs and 5 DTs, whereas I have us carrying 5 DEs this year. Sadly, I still have us carrying Jeff Zgonina as I just don't see anybody on the roster otherwise. There's the difference in OGs and OTs, and I have us keeping 5 CBs and 4 Ss, where that was swapped last year.

Also, and I doubt you noticed, but I have listed only 52 players for 2009. If Dunta signs, I do believe we'll keep 6 CBs on the roster as I believe the Texans, rightly so, would be afraid to release either McCain or Molden, who are the two I believe to be most on the bubble. I also believe that one of the CBs will be in line for a position change to S.

One guy who really intrigues me is Glenn Martinez, as he was the most "on" last night. He can return punts and kickoffs and looks like an excellent gunner on special teams. As I said in the game thread, he reminds me of Steve Tasker in the way he plays. There's a chance he overtakes Jones, but because we're carrying extra CBs, it'll make it tougher for Martinez to win a job.

What do y'all think?

Texans Down 'N Dirty: Day 13 Recap Edition

DreKeem — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:00:19 -0000

You know, there's something cool about Andre Johnson's demeanor. Yeah, he's quiet, but it's a cool quiet. I can't quite point out what exactly it is. I can't imagine him being the guy to entertain a group of friends for hours upon end, but I do think hanging out with him would be a cool experience. What am I saying? No idea. Check out his all access video.

Not many links today, unfortunately, aside from the usual practice recaps. Speaking of, here's the Chronicle's as well as the team website's. It's good to hear that Eugene Wilson is backing up a solid end to last season with an impressive training camp. You had to question how much of an impact he could make when he came to the Texans, but he's really solidified himself as the starting free safety of the team since his arrival. The real big news from the day came from the announcement that Brice McCain, a sixth round pick, would start opposite Fred Bennett for the pre-season opener against the Chiefs. McCain has been the most impressive corner at camp so far, even holding his own (if that's even possible) with Andre Johnson on some occassions. He's one of the, if not the, fastest players on the team and some thought his immediate contributions would be in the return game. Few could have foreseen this from the speedy corner out of Utah.

Here are the best quotes of day 13:

Second-year cornerback Antwaun Molden, who is on the physically unable to perform list while he recovers from foot surgery in December, improves every day. He could come off PUP as early as next week, or the Texans could wait until the week after. He stays after practice every day to work by himself. It’s against the rules for him to practice with his teammates. - John McClain

It's good to see Molden on his way back to practices. He flashed some noteworthy skills last year around this time and was a force to be reckoned with on special teams before he injured his foot and ended up missing the last two games of the season. He could provide a boost to what is an otherwise depleted secondary with no Dunta Robinson and an injured Jacques Reeves.

(on the playing time schedule for Kansas City) "Our first group will probably play 12 to 15 snaps in the game. There are some guys in our first group, very young players, who will play more than that. They will play probably 20 to 25 snaps. Our twos will basically play the second and third quarters, then our threes will play the fourth quarter, so that's the way we go about it. There'll be an adjustment here or there." - Gary Kubiak

I know I'll be most looking forward to how the backups play. I'll be paying attention to the starters the most when the third game rolls around and they play for three quarters or so. Until then, young players such as Glover Quin or Dominique Barber will have my eye most of the time.

I'm excited to see how (DT) Amobi (Okoye) plays. I think he's had a great camp. I want to see how he plays those 15 snaps." - Kubes

Kubes seems genuinely excited about Amobi's progress thus far. It looks like he's really moved on from last season's troubles and evolved into the playmaker he was his rookie year. Let's hope he continues to improve, as he is an integral part of the upcoming season.

Also, check out Chris' analysis of Kubiak's quotes. He's much better at this gig than I am. Have a good Friday all and be sure to be a part of the gamethread here tomorrow.

Texans Down 'N Dirty: Patchwork Secondary Edition

Jake — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:26:43 -0000

Practice seemed to be pretty boring yesterday, as everyone seemed to be focused on injuries. Not only are Reeves and Myers on the report, but the two UDFA running back candidates are also dinged up--Arian Foster with a sore hamstring and Jeramiah Johnson has a bruised shoulder.

With all of the injuries and holdouts at cornerback, Brice McCain is getting the opportunity to get reps with the first team. Alan Burge is impressed with his attitude and his play, but I just can't get behind the idea of relying on a 5'9" CB. Antwaun Molden is supposedly two weeks away from getting taken off the PUP, Glover Quin will practice today and Fred Bennett has been reacting well to being the veteran among the CBs. I personally believe that one of these three players will step up this year, but I have definitely been proven guilty of wishful thinking when it comes to the Texans before. If that happens though, and Dunta Robinson is decent, we wouldn't have an elite secondary, but it will be better than what it is in camp right now.

Richard Justice thinks that Rex Grossman is an exemplary third string quarterback. If you ask me, that's kind of like being the world's tallest midget. On the subject of (mental) midgets, Vince Young told Esquire magazine that he will be the next black quarterback to win a Super Bowl and he will make it to the Hall of Fame. I've been accused of being a VY apologist in the past, but this is just asinine, and I'm not the only one who thinks that. To make HOF guarantees with the media would be stupid for any player in the league because it's not confidence; it's arrogance. In the case of Vince Young, it's misplaced arrogance.

Texans Down 'N Dirty: Camp Finally Here Edition

Jake — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:55:47 -0000

Gary Kubiak talked to the press last night on the eve of training camp. Most of the press conference was centered around the success of this year's season, but he did note that Antwaun Molden, Travis Johnson and Anthony Hill will all start camp on the Player Unable to Preform (PUP) list. One name not on that list is Amobi Okoye, whom Kubiak stated was going to take it slow at first. Also from the official site, Vonta Leach has started the locker room mantra of "Playoffs or Bust."

Two players who will likely not be at camp today are Dunta Robinson and Owen Daniels. Dunta is under no penalty since he has not signed his franchise tag tender, but OD is subject to $17,000.00 a day in losses. I think that Daniels might miss a few days to make a point, but it's hard to take that hit over 5 weeks of training camp, especially with a rookie like James Casey wainting in the wings. Casey obviously doesn't have OD's résumé but if Smithiak decides to play hardball they do have somewhat of a backup option.

The Chronicle makes the point that DelJuan Robinson is trying to make the best of Travis Johnson's absence. I would think that at this point is Robinson's job to lose, and the player with the most to gain from Johnson's absence is Frank Okam. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone going to camp about how Okam looks over the weekend.

Lastly, for anyone that enjoyed Part One of the podcast between myself and Diehard Chris, here's the follow-on Part Two. In this part Chris and I discuss players on the hot seat, players who's good play is integral for success, and we went over most of the rookie class. I'd like to thanks Chris again for having me. Hope you all enjoy.

Trade Dunta? I'll Pass

DreKeem — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:30 -0000

Recently, Tim asked BRB what equal return would be for Dunta Robinson in a trade. In the attached poll, a small amount of the community (53 votes) said that the secondary was too weak to trade a cornerback of Robinson's caliber, however, an overwhelming majority (304 votes) voted for some form of draft picks in return for Robinson.

Now, I understand that many people were just voting for what they believe would be fair value for him, meaning they wouldn't necessarily want to trade him in the first place, but the fact that so few people voted for the "no trade" option tells me that said option is on the back-burner in a lot of minds. That means that there are a decent amount of people that would look to trade him first, rather than having him play out the season and leave via free agency come 2010. Or, BRB readers are lazy and just didn't look at all the options. Most likely though, I'm still the idiot the readers believe me to be.

My stupidity aside, it's safe to say there are people here who would trade Dunta in a heartbeat if the right deal came up. More on that after the jump.

Any deal for Robinson would undoubtedly be for future draft picks. Rarely in the NFL do we see player-for-player deals and even then, they almost never involve stars of any sort or even valuable role players. Robinson would be dealt for draft picks in 2010 or 2011 or both, which means there would be no new player not already on the roster attempting to fill his role on the team. If their real goal is the playoffs, as they say, and it is, a trade of Robinson means the front office has complete confidence in the players currently sitting behind him on the depth chart. Should they?

The CBs (not including Robinson) on the roster before we begin training camp consist of Fred Bennett, Jacques Reeves, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden, Brice McCain, A.J. Davis, Mark Parson, David Pittman, and Matterral Richardson. Ignoring the fact that I have no idea who Matterral Richardson is or that he was even on our roster, let's take a look at a few of those who would be asked to step up in Robinson's absence, what it is they need to replace, and what we would be able to realistically expect from them in the hypothetical scenario. If you're going to trade Dunta, you must have a backup plan. Do any of the current players fit the bill as a true replacement?

First, let's assess what exactly it is Robinson brings to the table. Not surprisingly, when on the field last year he played at a fairly average level. He provided a spark to the rest of the team just by coming back, but his actual performance left a lot to be desired. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise though, because it was his first time back in game action with little practice time under his belt, not to mention he was only playing at around 85-90% of his health. I understand that in this regard, Robinson can be seen as a bit of a question mark, considering no one knows if he's 100% healthy only a year and a half removed from reconstructive surgery. I'd be willing to bet, however, that as hard a worker as he is, as quickly as he has healed already, and as much money as he wants, he'll be in top shape whenever he decides to show up. And when fully healthy, it's undeniable who the best cornerback on the roster is. He will be able to consistently man the number one receiver on the opposing team without double team help. He may not be the elite corner he believes himself to be, but he's undoubtedly a difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball. With that in mind, let's move on to the replacement candidates and see if they can offer what's lost with Robinson in a trade scenario.

Fred Bennett - We all know the kind of talent Bennett possesses. The coaching staff would immediately look to him as the replacement to Dunta, based purely on his talent. And yes, I do believe he would be the number one corner over Jacques Reeves in this scenario unless he were to perform horrifically in training camp. If he played even slightly above the level he did as a rookie in 07, the transition away from Robinson would be absolutely nothing to worry about. The problem is the scary decline he suffered last year and how that effects the way he should be assessed going forward. It's easy to brush it off as a sophomore slump, but how can we be assured it's not a sign of things to come in the future? It's impossible to know. We know his leadership skills have improved, which is nice considering the pressure that would befall on the rookies if Robinson was traded, but how much have his on field skills improved? Kubiak did briefly state that he's a better player than before, but even after training camp we simply can't know until the real games roll around. Hell, Jacoby Jones lit training camp and the pre-season on fire his first year and we all know how that turned out. It's simply too much to ask a team hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time to rely on such an unknown to cover the number one receiver on the opposing team week in and week out

Jacques Reeves - John McClain tried to make a reasonable argument claiming that advanced statistics showed that Reeves was an above average cornerback last season. That attempt was debunked fairly quickly. However, Frenchy did improve a lot towards the end of the year and performed at a decent level, if not better. The man can run stride for stride with any receiver in the NFL, but his inability to turn his f'ing head around and get his hands up rendered him nearly impossible to watch last year. With Dunta gone, Reeves would be asked to man the number two position opposite Bennett. The obvious focus David Gibbs has put on technique should benefit Reeves more than anyone else in the secondary and should help him improve greatly. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Reeves would be an average to solid No. 2 with or without Dunta. Unfortunately, Reeves isn't a guy you can rely in to fill Robinson's role (which is the goal here) as a true number one option. Since we've established that Bennett is too much of a question mark heading into the season, it's apparent neither of these guys can replace what Robinson brings to the table.

Glover Quin, Antwuan Molden, Brice McCain - I'm grouping these three because honestly, I'm keeping my expectations low for rookies not named Ponytail, Connor Barwin, or Anthony Hill (kidding). Obviously, everyone's role gets bumped up a notch if Dunta were to leave the team, but who knows how any of these guys would produce under the circumstances. At least with Bennett and Reeves, we've had a pretty large helping of on-field evidence of how they perform. Not so much with this group. Molden is still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered at the end of last year and McCain is speed, speed, and little else until proven otherwise. The Glove did stand out during mini-camp but keeping in mind that no pads were put on, the accomplishment is less spectacular.

You might argue that the improvements that have taken place on the defensive line are enough to make up for the expected decline from the secondary should Dunta be traded. I say those improvements will be rendered worthless if we lose him now. To me, there's just not enough behind him to take a risk for future benefits. If healthy, Robinson can take on the opponent's top man with no fear. If he's gone, it suddenly creates a huge hole in the roster that the coaching staff would have to worry about, with little time to fix the problem. Again, I understand this is all hypothetical and more likely than not D-Rob will be playing in a Texans uniform next season, but I would be very troubled if we traded our top corner for draft picks when we are incredibly close to taking the next step as a franchise by reaching the playoffs.

Continue reminding me how brain dead I am in the comments section below and let your opinion be heard. Why are you for or against a trade of Dunta Robinson?

Houston Texans OTAs: Day Five

Jake — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:46:05 -0000

The Houston Texans continued OTAs today after the long weekend for Memorial Day. Today seemed like a slow day in terms of on-the-field action (or at least what was reported), but several key issues for the 2009 season were addressed with the media after drills. Even that was a welcomed oasis in the vast expanse of the boring NFL offseason.

Antonio Smith was healthy enough to participate in today’s practice. Kubiak seems hesitant to declare him completely healthy, but he did discuss Smith’s importance for the defense this year:

“He’s very important. He’s the big, strong, powerful guy opposite of (DE) Mario (Williams) is what he is. So he helps us with the tight end and those types of things, not letting them off the line of scrimmage. He can go inside and rush the passer, which I saw him do throughout the playoffs very effectively. So he’s a key, and that’s why we brought him here.”

Kubiak went on to talk about Smith, Mario, Amobi Okoye and Connor Barwin together on the field during passing downs. I know this notion has been discussed ad nauseum, but it still excites me, especially considering the pass rushers the Texans have utilized in previous years.

Zac Diles and Antwaun Molden are both on the road toward full recovery. Diles is already at a self-described 90 percent, and says that the only symptom that remains in his leg is fatigue. Molden has a little further to go and still needs a scope on his ankle to clean the joint out one more time. The team has set training camp as the target for Molden to be fully healthy and able to participate in practice. Both Diles and Molden will be important for the depth of the team, although Diles could win the WLB spot and Dunta’s absence has created a vacuum at one of the starting CB positions.

The most discussed issue of the day was RB Chris Brown. Everyone and their mother seems to be excited about the notion that Brown is healthy and possibly able to back up second year starting RB Steve Slaton. Even Kubiak had this to say:

“The good news for him, we were going to modify our program for him a little bit this offseason; he won’t let us. He’s done everything everybody else has done and he’s holding up well. So that’s a good sign.”

Huh? Forgive me if I’m not starting up the Chris Brown fan club because of the revelation he turned down special treatment that no other professional football player is currently receiving. The worst part is that everyone is genuinely surprised and pleased that he’s made it through half the offseason without being injured. Shouldn’t that tell everyone something about our collective expectations from Brown?