SB Nation User Blog: bullpen116

Only 2 of 16 'experts' from ESPN pick Houston for the playoffs

bullpen116 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:42:38 -0000

ESPN has posted their AFC Preview and only two brave souls have selected our Houston Texans to make their first playoff appearance. KC Joyner the 'Football Scientist' and Bill Williamson . KC has Indy winning the division and Jacksonville missing the playoffs in favor of the Browns while Bill predicts that Jacksonville will win the division with Houston and the Colts with the Wild Card. 5 out of 16 have both wild card winners coming from the AFC South. Bill and Matt Williamson (scouts inc) both predicted Gary Kubiac will be Coach of the Year. Matt Willamson also predicts Mario will win Defensive Player of the Year. So Matt says we'll have coach of the year and the defensive player of the year, yet we miss the playoffs in favor of the Jets. Huh?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview08/news/story?id=3552727

**edited awful spelling.

Walters = Easy Ed ??

bullpen116 — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:43:38 -0000

Walters = Easy Ed ??

Kubes says Walters reminds him of Ed McCaffery. Thats quite a compliment. Walters could get some love from lil' Shanahan this year.

Pancakes says Petey's hanging on by a thread, in other news the Sun rose in the east ... From...

bullpen116 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:02:13 -0000

Pancakes says Petey's hanging on by a thread,
in other news the Sun rose in the east ...

From McClains chat today :

"Koviak_1: What are the chances Petey makes the team?
John_McClain: Not good if he stays injured. If he's healthy he might make it as the last CB."

NFL Rankings - Am I a blind homer?

bullpen116 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:32:57 -0000

So I ran into the "Fan Nation" Team rankings over at the four letter networks' website and I couldn't resist ranking all 32 teams. And well..I have the Texans at number 11. This seems extremely high but when I look at the teams I have ranked below them I can't say that I really feel any of those teams are head and shoulders above us. What say you BRB? Am I a certifiable homer or do you think that's close?

For the record "Fan Nation" has us ranked at 22. That is just indicative of the national perception of our franchise.

My Rankings :

1.Patriots
2.Chargers
3.Cowboys
4.Colts
5.Saints
6.Jaguars
7.Giants
8.Browns
9.Steelers
10.Eagles
11.Texans
12.Vikings
13.Broncos
14.Packers
15.Seahawks
16.Buccaneers
17.Redskins
18.Bengals
19.Titans
20.Lions
21.Cardinals
22.Rams
23.Bears
24.Panthers
25.Bills
26.Jets
27.Raiders
28.49ers
29.Ravens
30.Chiefs
31.Falcons
32.Dolphins

Amobi Turns 21

bullpen116 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:40:49 -0000

Amobi Turns 21

sounds like it was quite a bash. 400 people! and zac diles and darius walker rappng happy birthday. nuf said.

USA Today Texans Preview

bullpen116 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:09:35 -0000

USA Today Texans Preview

An Accurate preview, but nothing ground breaking. I'm just starved for any Football related news right now! Training camp cant get here soon enough. I'm bored =(

It doesn't help that the Astros are out of contention right now either. Although I'll never count them out, but our pitching sucks.

D. Walker a Cougar!

bullpen116 — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:54:11 -0000

D. Walker a Cougar!

There's a new "Wednesday's With Walker" video up on the Texans web site and apparently D. Walker has been going to classes at U of H during the offseason. I'm a Cougar alumn, so I found it pretty funny to see him hanging out at the UC and playing NFL Blitz. He plays the piano as well, but can he make the Team this Year ?? I guess we'll see.

USA Today Power Ranking

bullpen116 — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:22:49 -0000

USA Today Power Ranking

USA Today has us ranked at 15 in the preseason power rankings, right where we were at the end of the season. I think thats reasonable. His comment states we have to win in division, you'll get no argument from me there.

AFC South Draft Recap

bullpen116 — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:55:49 -0000

I found this draft recap of our division, and it's the one of the best post draft articles I've read. Enjoy :

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-05-02-afc-south-draft-recap_N.htm

-Tyler

HOUSTON TEXANS

Once the Texans couldn't draft offensive linemen Chris Williams or Branden Albert with the 18th overall pick, they went to Plan B.

They traded down eight picks to No. 26 and held their breath for Duane Brown out of Virginia Tech. Assistant head coach/offense Alex Gibbs fell in love with Brown and convinced the staff that he was going to fit perfectly into the team's zone-blocking scheme.

Coach Gary Kubiak was nervous Brown would be taken before No. 26, but for once the team got lucky at left tackle. For the first time in franchise history, they took an offensive lineman in the first round. Now, they just hope he can develop quickly and solve their long-time issue at that position.

"We're just very excited to get Duane, and obviously we're calling on him to help this football team very, very early," Kubiak said.

It really was a solid pick for the Texans. They picked up an athletic offensive lineman, one capable of starting soon. In addition, they picked up an additional third-round pick and a sixth-round pick, which was crucial in a draft that they entered with no second- or sixth-round picks.

Another key addition could be running back Steve Slaton, the Texans' second pick in the third round. He will likely make an immediate impact as a rookie with the Texans targeting him to become their third-down back. The Texans have lacked speed at running back the past two seasons, and Slaton adds speed and playmaking ability.

"We see him as kind of a change-up kind of guy," Kubiak said. "He's got home run ability as far as his speed. He makes a lot of big plays. There's a place in the National Football League right now for what people describe as third-down backs, guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield do those types of things. So he's got that dimension. He's a very smart young man. This kid had 1,700 yards two years ago. We know he's a great kid and we know he'll catch up with us real fast as far as what we do. We just think he gives us a little bit of a speed element that we may have been missing."

The biggest surprise pick was the fifth-round selection of Frank Okam. They needed a defensive end, but couldn't find one all weekend. Instead they took a risk by drafting Okam, whose motivation to play the game has been questioned. They interviewed him just last week, and are convinced he will be good in the NFL. He's already dropped 20 pounds since the NFL scouting combine and is weighing around 328 pounds.

"Okam adds an element to our team," general manager Rick Smith said. "We didn't have a big massive man with quickness in his body and a very intelligent guy."

The Texans are somewhat undersized at tackle, and Okam adds a big presence and a solid run stopper.