I'm kinda excited about this. I think June still has something left in the tank and has been undervalued by the league.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6358781.html

Well, he is a cheap veteran presence. I'm almost as excited as I was about the Roosevelt Colvin signing. Maybe he'll pay off.

I actually like this alot, I think it is these signings that make Smtih worth his salary. We have gotten some pretty good players from these signings.

Maybe I'll warm up to the Cato June signing when TC starts and I find out he's not just another Roosevelt Colvin looking for a place to flop.

I dunno but dosen't this have significant implications for our Draft strategy, namely that WIL is no longer the priority that it was before this signing ?

Basically we have done our best to allow a wide open, talent driven draft board next month, and a competitive camp in August. Both are good things.

Maybe and maybe not.

Did signing Antonio Smith make us less likely to draft a DE?

Did signing Shaun Cody make DT less of a priority?

Perhaps matching David Anderson's offer made us less likely to draft a WR?

If for some reason Clay Matthews, Everette Brown, B.J. Raji, and Jeremy Maclin are available at #15 - I don't know if ANY of the FA signings will preclude us from drafting the player we had ranked highest.

This just makes it less painful if we don't get a guy we thought we might in the later rounds.

For example, I recently ran a mock where I drafted Maclin in the 1st with the thought that I'd be able to get a player like Gerald McGrath later on. However, he and comparable players were off the board when I went looking for a WLB.

So, I would say that the WILL is still a priority. However, if the chips don't land the way we hope on draft day, we won't be caught with our pants down.

Agreed. Only backup RB remains to be addressed really, that and maybe a Sam.

As for the Colvin vibes, totally different imo. Colvin was a 31-yr old pass rusher who wasn't consistently healthy. I think June, who's more of an asset in pass coverage, ought to be able to make some plays... just not in the backfield. I like the veteran depth so long as they have the guys they need on special teams.

No, but each of those signings made it less likely that we would reach for one of those positions or try to maneuver in the draft in order to get to a position. Each move allows a little more freedom on draft day.

I'd go as far as to say only RB and OC/OG absolutely must be addressed on draft day. Certainly there are many things I'd like to see but those are the only two positions where we really don't have quality NFL depth.

I actually asked Frank Bush about our situation at SAM. I asked him if he thought Diles was better suited to play WILL and what is thoughts were about Chaun Thompson, who I think is a better fit for SAM. He gave a pretty pat answer about the team being excited to have Thompson compete at SAM this year healthy. However, it seemed clear, he did not agree that Diles was better suited to compete at WILL and seemed satisfied with Diles potentially playing SAM again this year.

If they see Diles at SAM, I think CThompson and then Bentley give us reasonable depth there. I, for one, would love to see Clint Sintim fall to us in the second round. If that were to happen (or someone else of that ilk), I'd hope we'd take a stab at him. However, I don't think they feel compelled to simply add depth to the spot at this point.

I've noticed that there is a bit of philosophical differences between the types of players we fans would like to see and what the Texans are content with having.

I would guess most of us would like a SAM who is a legitimate pass rusher (Chaun Thompson was my best chance). A large, 2-Gap NT to play beside Okoye would be nice (Frank Okam had my hopes up). Getting a rangy FS that plays deep and a SS who can stop the run and blitz are two players I'm still waiting for.

The answer to all of those questions is in the affirmative. Of course the emphasis in this upcoming Draft on all of those position is reduced unless we want to emulate the Detroit Lions who seemed to never tire of using their first round pick on a single position - WR ? But there's also degrees in each situation, e.g. Anderson doesn't repressnt a major cap investment while Smith does.
For lack of a better term, I don't think it's "politically" possible (or atleast it's very unlikely) that we draft a DE with our first pick. On the other hand I fully expect us to do just that with our 2nd or thirds round pick. The problem is we made a substantial investment in DE Smith while still not solving our basic problem of providing another major pass-rushing threat. We're gonna have to do better than Bulman and Nadin.
Of that foursome you listed I'd think the most difficult player for the Texans to leave on the Board would be Raji, pot-head allegations and all.

IMO the way to improve the pass rush is to improve the run defense. If you are a top 10 defense against the run, then usually you have more 3rd and longs, that helps the rush. So Smith should help the run and he has a little more ability to rush then Weaver.

Greenwood's has been a bigger problem than most realize, we have had a sub-pare LB group since before the last year of Capers. And when you have weak LB play the offense can act on will.

Also IMO to much emphasis is placed on sacks, when you analyse the data, stop the run, win.

LB corp coming more into focus.

Sams: Diles, Bentley, Thompson
Mike: Ryans, Bentley, Davis
Will: Adibi, June Thompson

This is the camp group, not all will make the team.

You know that's a reasonably impressive LB corp.
But here's my question, despite all protestations that they'd ever move DeMeco to WIL where he was also very succesful in college at 'Bama, I just wonder if there's any way they'd do that if they had a chance to Draft a big thumper to play in the middle ?

I would have said yes before this off season started. But now I do not see that happening.

I have had the thought that everyone considers Rey Rey as the tough guy to play MLB in this draft. However, after watching South Carolina a couple of times, I must say I was impressed with the presence Jasper Brinkley brings. I wouldn't ask him to drop back into coverage very often, but he's got some Jeremiah Trotter in him. JT was pretty productive as an Eagle when the DT's shot gaps and he cleaned up whatever got through.

IMO the Texans have obsessed about Indianapolis and their Peyton, passing attack for too long. We have 14 other games to play. In any case, I agree with you.