Getting Walter was a brilliant move. I know he plays opposite Andre Johnson, but if you look back before he got here everyone was screaming that we needed a legitimate #2 to take some pressure off of Dre. Now that he's done that no one wants to give him credit for being a good WR (I'm not even going to put the #2 label on that). I'm not saying that playing alongside Dre doesn't help a ton, it does, but if it was so easy to operate across from Dre then why were our other receivers so bad before...besides the person throwing to them.

As far as blocking goes. Walter probably ranks higher as a blocker among WR's than Daniels does among TE's. I don't know that I would rate Walter as a better blocker straight up against OD though. OD has gotten much better as a blocker since he's been here, and I don't see any reason why his technique won't continue to improve.

I think Walter is clearly more valuable to the Texans than Daniels. I think the offense itself is what makes Owen's stats look so good. I have the feeling that if HWSRN were still here, Owen's stats would be so much lower that he would probably be asking for less than 3 million and hoping like hell he could get it.

I think it is a mistake to look at what other TEs are getting. To me, Daniels is much more replacable than Schaub, Slaton, Andre Johnson, or Walters. In fact, we may already have his replacement on the team, at a HUGE savings over what Daniels is asking. In fact, if we would receive the compensation in talent that a "top five" tight end is supposedly worth, I would trade Owen in a heartbeat and take my chances with what we have now. It seems to me we could get a top notch DT or a top notch SS for what Daniels is asking.

Is the offense the reason for it, or did Kubiak intentionally give the TE's bigger role as he began to see what a good one he had. Chicken or the egg thing, and there's no way to prove ones right and ones wrong really. Coaches have a system, but the details of the system change week to week. Kubiak wants to run the ball, but we weren't that succesfull with that until the line got together and we got a better running back...in what was supposed to be a "plug and play" offense for RB's that could succeed with low round talent.

It could be a mistake to pay what other TE's are getting, but Daniels has every rite to ask for similar amounts. That's how the majority of contracts are determined in the NFL. Winslow and Clark have set the bar so to speak, whether we like it or not. If Owen was an older player I would probably be willing to drive him to the airport myself.

Daniels likely is more replaceable than those guys, but that's a risky game to play; especially when a player is entering the prime of his career. No matter how much we like a rookie, it's always a crap shoot. Just because we had success with one late round TE doesn't mean we will with another. The Casey hype is getting a little out of hand IMO. I'm intrigued by him, and it's a great story because he's local. I hope he finds a place on the team and is very successful. The idea that a fifth round pick is going to come in and immediately replace 70 catches and 800+ yards is silly to me. It could happen, but that's something you can't depend on. I'm sure we would be just fine without Owen, but one other thing to remember is that Owen has worked hard at his blcoking since coming into the NFL to get where he's at now....which is only average at best. Casey has just as much, if not more, work to do in that department. If Casey was the starter we would likely revert to the days when the defense can tell what play we were running by which TE was in the game for a while.


No way you get a top flight DT. Those are way to rare in today's NFL. At this point ANY trade is very unlikely. If it was going to happen it would have happened at the draft. The only likely scenarios at this point are that we either agree to a long term deal with him, or he plays under the one year tender and we do it all over again next year...as either a RFA or FA depending on if there's a new CBA. If he's a FA next year then I would guess the chances of him being a Texan are very low.

Barrett, I don't think I could agree with you more about the KW acquisition. Kevin Walter for a 7th round pick was on the same level as Luis Scola for Visilis Spinoulis. You're absolutely right. Walter is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Just last night, as a matter of fact, I was having a discussion with a dude at the bar about this very subject, and then the passing game as a whole. He was saying that Kevin Walter sucks, that he shows up for 3 games a year, and is useless the rest of the time. Then I spouted off his numbers. "Damn, that good, huh?" And I told him to name me 5 #2 WR's better than him, and he couldn't get past anquan boldin and wes welker.

PB, You said exactly what I was trying to say about OD/KW's blocking.

BTL, Yes, with a crappy quarterback, OD's numbers would be far less, but so would KW's and Slaton's. Dre's gonna get his anyway. The way I see it, the only serious deficiency that OD has is that he doesn't catch TD's, while KW does. Let's take a moment to consider something. Now I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, so I don't know how many of KW's td's were from 20 yds and out, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he scored most often from inside the red zone, yeah? The TE is traditionally a much bigger target in the red zone, and when you have a good one, he must be accounted for by the defense. Now you've got one of the 2 best receivers in football on one side, and a top tier TE in the red zone. Those are two guys that will definitely be accounted for. Perhaps Walter is able to get open a little more often in the end zone because he's the guy the other team decided was going to be the one that beat them, if he could do it. You pick your poison, and it's not unreasonable to think that perhaps, in the red zone, teams pick Walter

Walter's 8 TDs were 14, 5, 8, 7, 39, 60, 17, and 58.

So he found the endzone from all over the field and had a number of long catches on the year in addition to the TDs. Walter benefits from the overall offensive talent and beats man coverage just like Daniels benefits from the overall offensive talent and beats man coverage. But in the Redzone, OD has little to do with Walter's performance. Teams are not shading goalline coverage towards a guy who does not catch TDs. Rather I think both guys benefit hugely from AJ and Walter just does a better job of cashing in in the redzone.

Either way I think Daniels is more "replacable", but I sincerely hope we don't have to replace any positive working part on our roster unless we are getting back a haul in return.

We aren't going to change anyone's mind here, but I couldn't disagree more. Daniels is a tight end with wr hands and playmaking ability. In my opinion, that is much more valuable than you are giving it credit for. Teams have to scheme for Daniels because he is such a good player AT HIS POSITION. Week in and week out most teams don't have to worry about having a tight end on the opposing team with OD's skill set, therefore when they are getting ready to play the texans, they have to take that into account and plan ways to try to neutralize him. When you add that to the fact that AJ is one of the 2 best WRs in the league, it is going to give defenses fits, and allows for Walter, who is a top notch #2 to take advantage of the situation (which he does). Having to account for OD's skill sets also likely helps the run game as well, as teams have to put a guy in coverage they might normally leave in the box.

You can't really think that you could take OD out, put a rookie or another unproven player in, and it wouldn't have a negative effect on this offense.

On the whole TD thing. I don't think you can say that a player isn't effective in goal line situations unless you can point to something tangible as to why. Without going back and looking at the tape it's hard for me to say. Maybe Daniels was open, but was often option 3 or 4 and the progression never got to him. Maybe he just couldn't get open. I think our problems in the redzone/goaline were a product of not running the ball well in those situations.

Andre Johnson TD's by year:
4
6
2
5
8
8

OD

5
3
2

You can see the improvement with Dre over the last few years, but even his TD numbers aren't as dominant the rest of his passing statistics. At least a handful of those came from farther out than the redzone too. No one would make an argument that Dre isn't as affective weapon in the red zone. My point is we just aren't that good down there, so I view it more of an incomplete grade than an actual limitation to his game.

I don't think we're at the point of our existence where we can say one player is replacable. Our biggest problem is consistency, and keeping a team together is the key to developing that consistency. Owen is much more, but at the very least, he's crucial security blanket for Schaub.

Gotta keep him.

I didn't say you could put a rookie in and not be hurt. I said I hope we don't have to replace any positive working part. We would take a hit by taking OD out of the lineup. How big is debatable, but whether we would take one is not.

Owen Daniels was on ESPN's First Take earlier today.

On his contract talks:
"...kinda still a little disappointed in the way things are going. Hopefully we can get something done before camp.

Houston is the place I want to be. I love playing for Coach Kubiak. I love the fans there. I love all my teammates. ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oprH1bOTyn0

This has got to make Rick Smith cringed a little.....

From PFT:
Steelers tight end Heath Miller, who would have been a restricted free agent in March 2010 absent a new labor deal, nevertheless reeled in a six-year, $35.3 million deal prior to the final year of his rookie contract.

But only about 12.5 million is guaranteed, according to what I've seen. I would think the Texans would do a deal like that.

And OD was at training camp this morning. that's good.

chron tweet:
I'm guessing the team has been busy on getting Barwin and Cushing inked this week. Daniels (and Ryans for that matter) are already under contract and obligated to attend unless they want to pay fines.

12.5 Million is very reasonable, comparitively speaking which is relevant to say the least. And TB gave Winslow 19-20 million guaranteed right ? This
deal makes Winslows deal look even sillier now.
I mean I realize that the guaranteed money isn't the only significant term of the contract, but it's probably the single most important ?

Could it be possible that they are delaying OD to see what Casey has to offer? I mean, they can't pay everyone top dollar, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. I am an OD fan, and hope he stays, but the reality is they have some big time contracts/bonuses coming due, and they are going to have to make some pretty tough decisions.

CBA resolution or not, even if the cap leaves for a season, there will be a cap again. I would imagine that most teams will operate in the same manner as if there is a cap, or even a little more frugal, and not too get too crazy if there ends up being a single uncapped year.

Lance Z. has captured some of the Daniels soundbites from after practice this morning.

http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootba.../post_110.html

OD just needs to be patient awhile longer. The Texans have to get all the draft picks signed and in to TC before they can begin to address Daniels and Robinson, IMOG.

Rick Smith's comments:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/6556278.html

I wonder if the Texans' haven't decided to go with a Lightening-Thunder combination after viewing film, or maybe the idea came from Alex Gibbs. That concept explains the drafting of James Casey and Antonio Hill, and maybe the reluctance to sign Daniels.

Let Daniels play while the new guys learn, and shift to the L/T scheme fully next year, and netting some cap savings.