This time of year with the draft speculation in full swing among NFL fans, one phrase gets repeated so often it almost hurts to hear it:  Best Player Available (BPA).  This is the draft philosophy that all NFL teams supposedly strive to adhere to when assembling their draft boards and eventually making their selections.  The idea is that you rank players regardless of the needs of your team and the position that prospect plays, and rank them on ability to succeed and make an impact in the NFL alone.

While I believe that most teams do follow this philosophy to a certain degree, no team in the NFL drafts solely by this model.  If they did, Patrick Peterson would be in contention for the first overall pick.  The reason he's not?  He plays cornerback, a position that can be avoided by the other team and therefore does not impact every play for his team, at least directly.  More proof?  Quarterbacks are always the most scrutinized and frequently drafted in the first round despite character concerns, lack of perceived intelligence and worries about the offense they ran in college because it is the most important position in football and you cannot win a Super Bowl without a good one.

Sometimes, BPA is used in vain to justify terrible draft notions.  If someone calls your team out for making a terrible pick that didn't benefit their team, you can simply reply, "He was the best player available."  So I ask you, fans of the Houston Texans, what if the highest rated player on the team's board in the second round was Kyle Rudolph, the talented tight end from Notre Dame?  Still stringently defending that strategy?

The truth is, every team balances need and BPA.  If you didn't, you would have an overload of talent at certain positions that would be wasted because they never saw the field, and a complete void of talent at other positions.  The ideal scenario is to have a healthy balance with as much BPA mixed in as possible.  For links that concern the Texans and their search for their best player(s) in the upcoming draft, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

It's a bad offseason for NFL fans.  For a time of year that is usually fairly devoid of football related happenings, this year is especially bad due to the labor uncertainty.  Different people prefer different ways of coping with the interruption of their cycle of free agency, draft, offseason workouts, training camp and then season.  Some are paying even more attention to the draft.  Some are following every bit of news about the CBA negotiation.

Another group of fans have chosen to protest the NFL for locking out the players, and therefore indirectly, the fans.  As Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports points out, this is in fact not intelligent because it shows a high level of interest on the part of these fans.  What the NFL fears is disinterest.  Using Silver's column as a muse, Rivers McCown wondered aloud why we would put up with the nonsense that is going on in the NFL.  Notice I say "we" because I'm just as guilty as I sit here writing this article.

The truth is, when the NFL is at its best which it has been lately, it is unsurpassed for its qualities as a sport.  While I would never disparage a fan for losing interest, I can honestly say that I am nowhere near my breaking point.  I almost feel weak for admitting that.  For more news that actually pertains to the Houston Texans and the draft, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Yesterday, the quarterback for the Houston Texans, Matt Schaub, hosted a private workout for members of the team (tip of the cap to WhiskeyR for his FanPost).  Several teams have been organizing such workouts while the players are locked out of the league in order to maintain their level of play.  I had been seeing this all over the league and wondered when the Texans would get this done.

While I find this incredibly encouraging and think this is just another feather in Schaub's underrated leadership cap, I want to know what is being done about the defense in the locked out offseason.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a completely new defensive scheme being implemented?  So it's great to see them take initiative and work out, but I'd like to see them take it a step further and find a way to learn Wade Phillips' defense.  For the rest of the links that pertain to the Texans, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

On Friday, the NFL announced the compensatory picks for the 2011 NFL Draft.  The Houston Texans were awarded the very last pick of the seventh round, otherwise known as "Mr. Irrelevant. " For those not familiar with the title, every year draft analysts hold a contest to guess who the very last person to be picked will be, and they call that man Mr. Irrelevant.  The name is a little misleading, as it makes it sound as if he was the last player picked in gym class, and it doesn't take into account the slew of undrafted free agents that get signed throughout the league.

Compensatory picks are determined by an unknown equation that takes into account the free agent(s) a team lost and those gained.  The Texans' only notable free agent lost was Dunta Robinson to the Falcons, and they gained Wade Smith from the Chiefs and Neil Rackers from the Cardinals.  John McClain of the Chronicle is on record saying that he thought the compensatory pick was going to be higher.  Several writers, including our very own Rivers McCown, were sure that it was going to be a seventh round pick.  Obviously, the NFL thought that Smith and Rackers were valuable editions despite the big deal Robinson signed in Atlanta.  For more links pertaining to the Texans, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

The nine years of existence of the Houston Texans would be hard to categorize as a success.  One winning season, two .500 seasons and six losing campaigns are hardly what Bob McNair and the City of Houston had in mind for nearly a decade of football when the team was awarded to the city in 2001.  It's upsetting enough to know that mistakes took them to this point, but it's even more upsetting to know that repeated mistakes of the same variety have led to this sub-standard mark as a franchise.

The trick to avoiding those mistakes again and turning around the fortunes of the team is first to identify what has not been working.  Sometimes that's easier said than done, especially when the team seems "close enough" to success year in and year out that no one wants to blow the whole thing up and start over.  So how do you avoid conducting business as usual without completely disrupting everything?  Follow the jump for clues in the daily links.

Continue reading this post »

Before the Scouting Combine, possibilities for what prospects will be drafted by what team vary greatly.  This time of year, as players start to complete their last workouts at their pro days, the clamor of draftniks with different theories becomes more and more a voice of unison.  You will start to see more mock drafts that look like everyone else's in greater frequency all the way until the last week of April.

Mock drafts are usually bittersweet for me this time of year because I have one, maybe two, prospects that I not only hope fall to the Houston Texans at their draft slot, but that the Texans also take said player(s).  This year is different, because while there are a couple of players that are possibilities at 11, there are a handful of prospects that I would be thrilled to see in a Steel Blue uniform next season.  For links on those mock drafts and some of the players that are possibilities, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

It is now 45 days and counting until the 2011 NFL Draft.  The speculation of teams’ selections will begin to reach a fevered pitch shortly before April 28th.  Whenever an article or poll on the draft is posted you will invariably see one preferred choice over and over, and it’s not a player.  It's "trade down."  I think we as casual fans underestimate the complexity of this option.

There are several factors that a general manager has to consider when deciding whether to trade draft selections with someone.  One is whether there is anyone that desires the team’s draft slot, which in my opinion is an aspect that fans often take for granted.  If you force a trade down, it is difficult to get market value for the slot you’re leaving.  Also, the GM has to determine whether the compensation for the move and the players projected to be available at the new slot are worth leaving the original pick.

Sometimes there is a reason to move up.  While this practice is usually reserved for a team with fewer holes on the roster and therefore less need for draft picks, occasionally there is a player that is believed to be such a difference-maker that a team feels it is necessary to move up to select him.  This is a difficult task, because as you’re already using valuable draft picks to get your guy, you don’t want to pull the trigger too early or overpay for the move. 

So how feasible and likely is it that the Texans will move draft spots this season?  Additionally, what would the implications be on the rest of the draft if these moves were executed?

Continue reading this post »

I'm not going to keep beating a dead horse on this whole lockout thing, but for those of you that don't regularly read these daily links, I try my best not to focus on it too much.  Instead, I like to focus on the only other thing available pertaining to the NFL and therefore the Houston Texans, which is the draft.  It works with varied success depending on the day.

Yesterday though, my draft world collided with the world of labor strife.  The NFLPA, which is now a professional trade association after they decertified, has apparently asked top prospective draftees to boycott the draft in New York at Radio City Music Hall in April.  This request didn't anger me as much as astounded me by its utter stupidity.

The NFLPA has made it a priority to win the PR battle through the negotiation process.  The NFL has tried to emphasize the point that the players walked away from the bargaining table, and whether you believe that is true or not, it's a powerful message.  So, there is a greater tendency for the average fan to blame the players, and in response to that they decided it was best to try and alter the only major NFL event in the offseason.  An offseason that has already been altered by the absence of free agency, which as I just said, fans might increasingly see the players as responsible for.  Not very smart.

LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, who will almost surely be the first defensive back off the board, has already stated that he plans on going to New York for the draft.  I can't say that I blame Peterson or any other player that decides to attend because they deserve it.  Not only have they worked for that moment their entire life, but the NFLPA doesn't really have a leg to stand on asking someone like Peterson not to attend, considering that they had already agreed in principle to significantly lessen top draftees' salaries. 

I bring all of this up not to defend the owners, rather just to point out how terribly this whole issue was handled by the NFLPA.  For links pertaining to the draft and the Texans, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

The NFLPA decertified on Friday.  Following that news, the NFL quickly issued a lockout at midnight.  I'm sick of statements from both sides.  I'm sick of people weighing in with their opinions of who is to blame and when it will all get resolved.  I'm even sick of people talking about how tired they are of all the lockout news (irony).  For me, it's best just to concentrate on draft stuff to the extent that is possible.  I really wish I could put a filter on Twitter and sports media in general that let worthwhile lockout news through to me but kept all of the opinion and conjecture away; unfortunately, that's not possible.

As I continue to do these links, I will try to cater to both sides.  If you find the labor stuff interesting, especially as it pertains to the Houston Texans, I'll continue to link those articles as I come across them.  For those of you like me, rest assured that I will have a good amount of draft articles that have nothing to do with the labor strife so you can take the "wake me when it's over" approach that I wish I could.  You can find the first example of what I'm talking about after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Now that the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine is in the books, draftniks will be coming out of the woodwork to tell you who will be drafted and where.  People often complain about mock drafts, but I think they're great.  While I don't put a lot of stock into them until about mid-April, and that's only with a certain few writers, I think they have their place right now as well.  First of all, they're fun.  Everyone likes to play general manager and talk about who would be good for what team and why.  Besides, the only other option right now is to talk about labor uncertainty, of which there is no news.  Yay.

The other reason is there is value in learning by compilation.  I'm not saying that if you average all mock drafts you see that you will be able to read the tea leaves and tell how the draft will go.  I mean that the more you get an idea about who will go in the first round, the more you can estimate who will be around for your second and third round picks, which are the picks that are the most important in my opinion.  Let's see what everyone thinks about your Houston Texans after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Last week, Rick Smith signed three players who were already on the roster of the Houston Texans to extensions. One of these players was Shaun Cody, who Gary Kubiak, Rick Smith and apparently Wade Phillips believe can play nose tackle in the new 3-4 defense.  I made the hypothesis at the time that signing Cody meant that they preferred Earl Mitchell as the starter and that the Texans would probably not pursue a nose tackle in free agency, and very well might draft a prospect for Wade to mold for the future.

In today's Sunday Blitz by the National Football Post, there was an interesting nugget about the Texans:

"The Dolphins raised a lot of eyebrows when they put the franchise tag on nose tackle Paul Soliai, guaranteeing him about $12.5 million in 2011.  Why did the team step out like that on a player who most fans aren't even aware of?  My sources tell me the Dolphins surveyed the free agent field and believed there were no other nose tackles close to Soliai in ability.  Given the number of teams playing a 3-4 defense, the Dolphins feared Soliai would be the subject of a bidding war.  In fact, there were rumblings that the Redskins and Texans coveted him."

So this begs the question--are there any other potential free agent nose tackles that could be targets of the Texans, or was I right in my original theory?

Continue reading this post »

D-Day is upon the owners and the NFLPA.  By midnight tonight, we will know whether there has been an extension to the deadline, whether there's a deal done (unlikely), whether there is a union decertification and/or whether there is a lockout.  It is very possible that today was the last day for general managers to re-sign potential free agents from their team.  Rick Smith must have had a few million dollars burning a hole in his pocket because today he spent some money.

Smith was a busy man today.  In a few hours he came to terms (in chronological order) with Owen Daniels, Derrick Ward and Shaun Cody.  Before we get into what to think about the individual signings, the timing strikes me as odd.  These deals must have been in the works for some time, so why wait until the last minute to get deals done?  The only thing I can think of is that Bob McNair and/or Rick Smith are under the impression that something just shifted in the labor negotiation realm.  I have no idea what they were assuming was going to happen before today, and what that might have changed to, but why tender a first round pick to what you're assuming is going to be a restricted free agent just to possibly overpay him less than 24 hours later?  Where did the rush come from?

I'm getting ahead of myself.  Follow the jump to see my take on the afternoon shopping spree.

Continue reading this post »

There's been a lot of doom and gloom this offseason.  First of all, there's been a cloud hanging over the NFL for the last two years since the owners opted out of the last collective bargaining agreement.  Additionally, for fans of the Houston Texans, there has been the nasty business of falling very short of expectations.  Will Gary Kubiak get fired?  Will Rick Smith stay to hire the next head coach?  Who will be hired to coach the defense?  These are all questions that have been answered, and many have found those answers to be sub-standard.  I myself, while not happy about a lack of regime change, have been on record as being pleased with the Wade Phillips hiring, even though I was not happy with the hiring process.

Sometimes I have to wonder if my faith in Phillips and his ability to work with the other two that kept their jobs is misplaced.  Surely, as HDH Chris hypothesized, the Earl Mitchell-is-our-nose-tackle talk is a smoke screen.  Yesterday, lost in the Combine and labor issue news, Shaun Rogers quietly signed a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.  Rogers, who previously said that he'd love to play in Houston, took $2 million dollars less to play in New Orleans than another offer because it was important to him to play for a desirable team.  Follow the jump to find out why I think this was the biggest Texans news item of the day yesterday.

Continue reading this post »

In years past, draft season wasn't necessarily fun for Houston Texans fans.  As a draft guy, you could analyze all the prospects you wanted and hypothesize about who would fit great into our system, but in the end you remembered that the Texans were predictable and all of your prognosticating (read: wishing) was for nothing.  Every year it seemed that the Texans had zeroed in on a position before the draft, and sometimes a particular player, and however you tried to change it with your wishing, what is going to happen is going to happen.

This was the case in 2009.  Everyone had shoehorned Brian Cushing to the Texans with the 15th pick.  I and several other writers tried to explain why this wasn't going to happen, and then inevitably, it happened.  I'm not bringing that up to rekindle the Cushing debate, I bring it up as a prime example of the phenomenon I mentioned above.  I don't think anyone saw Kareem Jackson coming last year, but everyone pretty much knew it would be a cornerback, despite John McClain claiming it would be Ryan Mathews Devin McCourty.

This year is different.  Between an incredibly deep defensive draft class, where we pick and a new guy calling the shots for defense, anything could happen this year.  I know several people that prescribe to the "seeing is believing" mentality when it comes to drafting outside the Texans box, but I believe that the fresh injection of Wade Phillips and the desperation of Kubiak and Smith possibly losing their jobs will make this year different.  The possibilities, for once, are numerous.  So who are those possibilities?  Follow the jump for the daily links.

Continue reading this post »

The Houston Texans need a nose tackle; what else is new?  You could make the case that they have needed a true nose tackle since their inception, which is rather sad because they ran a 3-4 defense for the first four seasons.  Now they’re at it again with newly hired defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and nose tackle is a priority, but this time there is a decent chance it might be a real priority.

Much has been made of what type of nose tackle will fill the bill.  There is the obvious, short and squatty space-eater of a nose tackle.  The Steelers’ Casey Hampton is the best example of this type.  The purpose of this type is to take on double teams and is better against the run than rushing the passer.  Wade Phillips has certainly used this type of player in Buffalo and Denver

Then there is the other option that Wade Phillips has most recently worked with--the smaller, penetrating nose tackle.  This nose tackle is more like a three technique defensive tackle in the 4-3 system.  He’s supposed to split double teams and get into the back field.  While this puts more run stopping responsibility on linebackers, this type of nose tackle creates matchup nightmares for offensive lines.  As readers of this blog know, a good example of this type of tackle is the Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff.

The fact that Wade Phillips can make either type of tackle work is one thing I really like about him as a defensive coordinator.  That attribute shows the ingenuity and imagination that the Texans have never had from defensive leadership.  Which type of NT will be better for Wade this time around?  There could be a player that fulfills both types in this year’s draft.  I make my case for Marcell Dareus after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

On the way to work this morning, I flipped on Sirius NFL Radio and the first word I heard was "lockout".  I immediately switched away to some mindless drivel.  I choose to read selected people's thoughts and opinions on the labor strife and all the implications of it, but the potential work stoppage is a subject that everyone seems to be a self-proclaimed expert on.  When it comes to these people, I choose the ostrich approach.  That is to say, anytime someone other than few people I trust to know what is going on starts talks talking about their genius solution to the labor negotiations or their guess on how long it's going to take to get resolved, I stick my head in the sand.

Luckily for me this week, the 2011 Scouting Combine was in full swing this weekend.  The offensive linemen did their drills on Saturday, and yesterday was the offensive skill positions.  I've always hated that the defensive players do their drills during the week during work hours (linemen and linebackers today, defensive backs tomorrow), but that's because I'm a Houston Texans fan and therefore I'm always focused on defensive players.  Still, I enjoy the eight hours a day I get to listen to Mike Mayock talk about nothing other than the draft.

One thing that does annoy me about the Combine is all the people who go on TV and radio, or write articles and Twitter messages, about how worthless the Combine is.  It is extreme to say that a Combine performance alone will propel or drop a player radically, but if you're trying to break a tie between two players on your board and only one showed up to the biggest job interview of his life in phenomenal shape, that's not going to sway your opinion?  If anything, just enjoy the fact that the Combine is an oasis in the middle of the offseason desert, a desert which is particularly inhospitable this year.  For all the comings and goings of the NFL other than the labor strife and how it affects the Texans, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Today marks the official start of the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.  The Combine was created in order to give NFL teams a centralized event to evaluate players medically, but it has evolved into so much more than that.  The Combine is a place that is still used to poke and prod potential draftees, but it is also used to judge prospects' athletic ability, interview players and as a place to talk shop with other NFL scouts, coaches and executives.  It has also become a media circus for countless outlets, most notably the NFL Network, which covers the event on television.

Much is made about the evils of the Combine because of what it has grown into.  NFL people sometimes allude to annoyance with the level of scrutiny that they now receive, but they shouldn't.  The fact that a scouting event can rate higher ratings than other sports' games shows how wildly popular the NFL has become, and it is that popularity that allows the NFL to garner $9 billion in revenue annually to argue over.

Pretty much any draftnik that has a decent amount of pull has received media credentials to the Combine and is spending today traveling to Indianapolis.  Due to this migration, there isn't as much draft-specific stuff today.  I will have a list of Twitter users that I suggest you give a follow to as they will be covering the Combine up later today.  In the meantime, follow the jump for all Houston Texans related happenings.

Continue reading this post »

Wes Bunting is the head draft analyst for the National Football Post and one of the most respected draft guys in the business these days.  If you don’t already read his stuff at NFP, he puts out a ton of interesting articles about prospects, rumors that he hears directly from scouts, and what teams are looking at which players.  His Twitter account is a must-follow as well.

Wes sat down and answered a few questions in our interview as we prepare for the draft and the 2011 Scouting Combine, which starts this week.  Follow the jump for Wes’ insight into the Houston Texans draft issues.

Continue reading this post »

The big news out of the NFL yesterday was that the NFL and the NFLPA agreed to sit down for seven straight days of mediation that has no binding power.  Everyone seems to have their own take on what this means to the labor negotiations, and our very own Stephanie Stradley does a good job breaking it down with her opinion.  While I find it mildly encouraging that they actually agreed to something, I don't really care to pay a lot of attention to these mediated negotiations.

Either side can walk away before the end of the seven day session, and as I and everyone else has mentioned, the mediator can only suggest solutions, which can then be ignored by either side.  With two sides that don't seem to be grounded in reality right now (one more so than the other), that doesn't sound like recipe for success.  I write about football because I find it interesting.  While I pay attention to the details of the labor negotiation because football next season hangs in the balance, I found nothing interesting about two sides arguing over revenue.  For that reason, I take the "wake me when we have a deal" approach rather than get excited or discouraged by every new event. 

For news links that affect your Houston Texans outside of the labor negotiations, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

I have to apologize for this morning, but I simply don't have the time to put the normal effort into the daily links.  I should be back and writing normally tomorrow or Monday at the latest.  In the meantime, follow the jump for the links.

Continue reading this post »

I started writing for Battle Red Blog about the Houston Texans late in the 2008 season.  That offseason the topic de jour was what should be done about unrestricted free agent Dunta Robinson.  After suffering a horrific injury in 2007, Dunta managed to rehab and return for the end of the next season, although he was obviously not close to 100%.  Some fans were in favor of rewarding Robinson for being the emotional leader of the defense for some time with a long-term deal.  Some were in favor of applying the franchise tag, which would surely anger the former first round pick, while others were in favor of letting him walk all together.

In the end, General Manager Rick Smith opted for the franchise tag, there were barbs thrown out by both sides through the media, and shoes were written on.  Dunta went on to have an underwhelming season to say the least, and was allowed to walk and eventually sign with the Atlanta Falcons the next offseason.  Dunta was not met with rave reviews from his new home in Georgia this year, as by almost all accounts he was regularly exposed by opposing quarterbacks and was outshined by Brent Grimes. 

Some good will come of the Dunta situation though, right?  He left to sign a relatively huge deal and started almost the whole season for the Falcons, which would earn the Texans a high compensatory pick, an unheard of phenomenon in Houston.  Rivers McCown thinks not, and his logic is pretty solid.  Even if he is wrong and the Texans get higher than a seventh round pick, it won't be much higher I'm sure.  For news that won't make you finally throw away your limited edition "Pay Me Rick" kicks in the garbage, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

As this turbulent offseason swirls around us, I have tried to remain focused on actual football-related matters.  I read just as much as anyone on the CBA negotiations and I want to see an agreement reached, but I attempt to make my writing a platform for football as it relates to the Houston Texans.  I don't see the point in getting heated and writing angry messages about a business transaction that ultimately has nothing to do with me.

My simple philosophy on the labor strike is that neither side really cares about the fans; both are trying to get the best possible deal for themselves that they possibly can.  I don't have a huge problem with that either; it's as American as apple pie.  To take it personally is a little silly in my opinion.  I would compare it to going to a used car lot and watching two strangers negotiate over a used car all the while getting angry at the car salesman for "being unfair".  This situation is just a little different because our pastime hangs in the balance.

Having said all that, I am amazed by the League's lack of PR savvy.  Throughout this process, both the NFL and the NFLPA have tried to garner fans support, and while the players association has its slip-ups from time to time, they look like public relations masters compared to the NFL.  Take yesterday, when the league filed a labor claim saying that the players aren't negotiating in good faith.  Doug Farrar did a great job encapsulating the hypocrisy of the owners.

In the end, the ugly truth that no one wants to admit is that the owners have the leverage, and that's all a negotiation is about.  It also seems that they are willing to damage their reputations with the fans to an unknown degree in order to use every bit of leverage they have, which scares me because there could be a lengthy lockout at the end of that road.  Despite my wish to remain impartial, it's hard to watch the game getting damaged and not point fingers. 

Now that I broke my own rule, follow the jump to check out the Texans daily links.

Continue reading this post »

Draft speculation season is in full swing, which I thoroughly enjoy.  If you like it as much as I do, you should know who Aaron Aloysius is.  Aaron writes for a site called Draft Breakdown, and he also puts a lot of videos on Youtube of draft prospects that are the closest thing that we can get to coaches' tape to evaluate players.  Aaron uses a lot of these videos to determine what he thinks of players rather than repeating what other draft analysts are saying about potential draftees.  Aaron answered some questions that I had about the draft specifically for the Houston Texans which you can find after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

After a one day absence, I've been cleared by the trainers and am back in the game.  I want to thank Kerns for filling in on Friday.  The offseason has been quiet so far, and in what I can only guess was an effort to keep your Houston Texans in the news, General Manager Rick Smith did a radio interview on Friday to discuss the team.  He claimed that DeMeco Ryans is just fine, and as Alan Burge noted, he said that this is his first time personally dealing with personnel issues pertaining to a 3-4 defensive scheme.  As Burge correctly pointed out, this just means that Wade Phillips will be picking his own defensive players in the draft and free agency.

I personally see this as a good thing.  The Texans' track record for evaluating defensive personnel speaks for itself.  Brian Cushing, Ryans and Mario Williams have all been nice picks, but the first round is scrutinized so heavily because you're supposed to be successful.  Effective GMs make their money on days two and three of the draft, something that Smith has failed to do.  Again, I don't like how this system of Wade running the defense along with player acquisition for that side of the ball came to be, but I truly believe that it will be a case of a broken clock being right twice a day sort of thing.  Apparently, as Diehard Chris points out, the scouts don't know 3-4 players either.  Now that I can't spin.  So who will Phillips be eyeing for his new defense?  Follow the jump for the daily links.

Continue reading this post »

With the Houston Texans coming off a 6-10 season, the fan base is expectedly upset with the lack of progress from the nine year old franchise.  After Bob McNair decided to keep head coach Gary Kubiak in place and just change defensive staffs, the Texans need a quick turnaround to prove he made the right choice.  This means the Texans don't have the luxury of being as "prudent" with player acquisition as they normally are.

A team that usually shies away from free agency is probably going to have to sign some players to play integral positions for Wade Phillips newly integrated 3-4 defense.  It would be nice to have some of those players signed before the draft, but the looming expiration of the CBA has made that pretty difficult.  Sometimes though, luck can help you out a bit.  Want to know what I mean?  Follow the jump for your daily links.

Continue reading this post »

As of two days ago, the entire NFL joined the Houston Texans and other teams that had shorter than desired years to officially begin what will be a turbulent yet often times quiet offseason.  The draft order is complete with the reigning champion Packers selecting 32nd and the runner up Steelers picking right before them.  We are 78 days away from said draft, and it's going to be a difficult ride to get there.  I apologize as these posts get shorter and shorter, but the fact is that people are really starting to shift focus elsewhere now that football has gone into hibernation.  The daily links post will trudge on though, even if there are only a few articles worth the read.  For the ones today that are worth your time, follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Human beings are often a slave to their own routines and habits.  The older you get, the more entrenched you tend to be in your ways, whether you like it or not.  When trying to judge how a person will react to a certain situation, it's obvious that the first place to look is how they've reacted to similar positions in the past.  People do not change that often.

Yesterday, Titans owner Bud Adams named Oilers Hall of Fame lineman Mike Munchak as the second ever head coach of the Titans.  Hiring someone that will piss of Houston fans?  Check.  Adams has a history of making decisions that seemingly are predicated on upsetting the fan base of the city his team once called home.  What other common occurrences could the Texans learn from?  Follow the jump.

Continue reading this post »