Texans 2010 Offseason Outlook
Written by 19Lonestar87, Friday January 08 2010
The Houston Texans finished 9-7 this year and seem to have gotten the "8-8 monkey" off their backs but could easily be back there next year if they don't come out of this upcoming draft as winners.Kubiak wants an extension and should in my opinion coach the remaining year on his contract to prove he can have Texans statisically among the elite teams in the league and consistently in playoff contention.
In last year's draft Houston used the 15th overall pick to select the Defensive Rookie of Year in USC's Brian Cushing which I thought was the best 1st round selection by Houston since Mario Williams. In the 2nd round they took Cincinnati's Connor Barwin who I thought of as the hybid player who can play DE or LB. They looked at him like they looked at Jason Babin(Bust!!!). I personally had my fingers crossed for Oklahoma's Phil Loadholt or Utah's 6'3'' cornerback product, Sean Smith but Kubiak doesn't think about building an great offensive line unit let alone knows when to take an offensive lineman. Duane Brown was a reach to say the least.I somewhat applauded the selection of Alabama's Guard/Center Antoine Caldwell because the O-line has needed attention since the team was born but Georgia Tech's DE Michael Johnson was still on the board and he has much more upside than the overpaid Antonio Smith.
All that aside the 4th round is where I began to scratch my head. I'm thinking what steal Florida wideout Louis Murphy would be but I hear Glover Quin's named called. Who?
We know we need a WR opposite of Andre Johnson and we had a chance to take him but didn't. The Texans had another pick in the 4th round and I'm sitting on the couch expecting Kubiak to have LSU Guard, Herman Johnson's name called but no its a Tight End from N.C. State,Anthony Hill. Well considering Mark Bruener's retirement I saw the logic in that pick.
The 5th comes around and I just know they'll take Duke Robinson who played alongside Phil Loadholt at Oklahoma but the 152nd overall pick was used on...Another Tight End? That makes 4 at the position. I dont think anyone understood that one. Macho Harris would've made sense at that spot given the cornerback situation. Brice McCain in the 6th round was OK, but he's 5'9'' and I don't see him defending any routes where size matters.
Troy Nolan,Safety out of Arizona State was taken in the 7th round to end their draft. Now the city is waiting on the Texans to take a power back and Rashad Jennings was still on the board so there must be a free agent rookie they had in mind which turned out to be Arian Foster from Tennessee.
Had it been up to me the 2009 draft would've looked something like this:
1st round-Brian Cushing OLB USC
2nd round-Phil Loadholt T Oklahoma
3rd round-Michael Johnson DE Georgia Tech
4th round-Louis Murphy WR Florida
4th round-Herman Johnson G LSU
5th round-Victor "Macho" Harris CB Virginia Tech
6th round-Mike Mickens CB Cincinnati
7th round-Rashad Jennings RB Liberty
Now this year's draft is a make or break for the Texans. I believe because the city can't and won't accept another mediocre season filled with heartbreak losses. Andre Johnson will be a free agent and is arguably the best WR in the league and sooner or later is going leave for a contending team where he see's his contributions result in a championship if Houston doesn't get it together. Dunta Robinson proved that he should be paid nickleback money but wants the franchise tag this time around after complaining about it last year. I foresee another short term deal for him maybe a two-year deal. Dunta's poor play has made Bernard Pollard much richer. 13 Texans will be free agents come March 1, 2010 and this is what I think what should happen.They are as follows:
QB Rex Grossman (He wasn't good as a starter in Chicago and I'm not too fond of how he holds the clipboard on the sideline either.Let him go!!)
Running Backs Chris Brown and Ryan Moats(Personally I rather see Chris Brown,the entertainer run it than this guy. Moats will be a journeyman RB, we can do without him. Besides Arian Foster and Jeremiah Johnson could fill in immediately)
WR Kevin Walter(He may want to test the waters but I think he gets resigned. He should be in the slot not the outside. No one is scared of Walter due to his speed. He is rarely beating coverage so you got him running step for step with a corner and Andre double-covered,Schaub gets sacked or throws a bad one. Jacoby has stepped up enough to take his spot full-time. Let him go!!)
TE Owen Daniels(Cut the check for Owen!! The Texans offense wasn't the same without him. Pay him Rick!!)
OL Chester Pitts,Mike Brisel,Rashad Butler(Butler is expendable I hardly see him on the field. Pitts however is a veteran and has started from quite some time. Injury bug bit hime this year and at the age of 30 makes him a cheap keep. Now he'll have to become part of the rotation. As far as Brisel goes I'm tired of seeing him get beat.Let him go!!)
DL Deljuan Robinson and Tim Bulman(Let them go!!)
LBs Demeco Ryans and Chaun Thompson(Pay him Rick!! Demeco and fellow DROY Brian Cushing are going to be fun to watch for years to come. Thompson is another cheap keep for depth purposes.)
CB Dunta Robinson(No tag for you sir,matter of fact I hope Rick Smith kept the receipt on you. Maybe they throw him a two year deal and trade him on draft for a pick. Would love to see him go but with Glover Quin being the only bright spot at the position we at least have to sign him and only because he's our vet corner. It's sad,your the number one CB and you get targeted by the opposing QB every week. Cheap keep for now)
S Bernard Pollard and Nick Ferguson(Pay him Rick!! Pollard was the lone standout in the secondary this year. I liked him coming out of Purdue because he's a good tackler and has improved his coverage skills since his tenure in KC. Thanks alot KC!! He has proven to be a piece to puzzle that is the secondary. Ferguson at 34 can barely cover his nose when he sneezes let alone a NFL WR. Let him go!!)
ST Matt Turk and Kris Brown(Turk gives us good field position and has been quite reliable to say the least and at 39 he's a cheap keep if he doesn't retire. 2009 just wasn't a good year for anybody named Chris Brown even if you spell it with a K. Starting to look like Mike Vanderjagt when his time was up in Indy but he's signed through 2014. He's an original Texan but at 32, its probably time to get a young leg in there atleast for the spirit of competition.
Letting go 9 of the 14 free agents should free up some cap space therefore allowing the Texans to make some moves in the market. If it was up to me we'd be down 1 QB,1 WR,1 T,1 C,1 DT,and 1 FS
My theory on attacking free agency is replace Grossman with Jake Delhomme. After all I don't see Carolina bringing him back based on Matt Moore coming on late in the season. He's a vet and I don't see why he can't back up Matt Schaub and he shouldn't be expensive at all.
There's nothing sexy about this year's WR class at all. Most of the guys will be re-signed for the part and there's not much talent. There's an assortment of guards and tackles but most of them will be retained by their teams. Richard Seymour will most likely hit the market, maybe the Texans can compete for his service, but outside of him, free agency really has nothing to offer expect players who provide depth in my opinion.
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