My Lessons for next year
 

Lesson #1 - The player we take in the 1st is not going to be a guy we have visited with. Plus he will be someone I am not happy with for one reason or another.

Lesson #2 - RB will be drafted every draft. Wait throw out that lesson, we can get by by with an UDFA or two.

Lesson #3 - Even with a ton of research, Rick Smith will find guys I have not heard of to draft.

Lesson #4 Gibbs does know what he is doing

Evaluation
I am not a fan of Cushing, but I respect ability and his experience on the field.5

Another thing I noticed, having more than one guy with talent is a good thing. Do not mistake a guy making a lot of tackles for a guy making offenses account for him. Cushing is a huge upgrade .


We are going to be able to bring Barwin along at the slower pace that will allow him to succeed. He should also be a special teams monster.

If Caldwell plays this year that is a bonis, it should be next season before he get a shot at starting. BTW he can be the OC in a few years, if injuries do force him to be sooner.

I understand the blocking TE, but the kid from Rice? He was to good to pass? This must be the year of the TE. I am not knocking his talent, he has a ton of it was supposed to be a 2nd rounder iirc. Another super special teamer...

Another thing Smithiak seems to like to do is draft a high-potential-project fairly high in the draft. They've done it with Amobi, Jacoby, Molden, and now Barwin.

They also seem to like small school guys and guys from the Carolinas/VA. I was actually surprised that we went to the SW a couple of times in this draft. I was starting to think we didn't have scouts that worked that area of the country.

not sure if this is valid observtion, but seems the spots where we have a veteran complaining about wanting a better, updated contract even if he is not yet an RFA or FA, is where we drafted and brought in FA, maybe just depth or maybe a backup plan. Sometimes giving the boss a hard time is not a good negotiating tactic even if it is just business, things get personal real easy.

so, these aren't seen as draft needs yet, but maybe will be. is this what NE does. they seem to always get these compensatory draft picks and keep rebuilding while letting seeming good plyers go as FA. and they fill in with a few over the hill FA that know how to play smart and just want to win. easier to do when you have that winning track record and proven QB on your side.

and Smithiak do seem to find guys we all think are like rank 30 at their position by draft analysts, but then you start looking at their background and they have a good chance to succeed in nfl, as good a chance as anyone . Our first three picks were players ranked near those spots, below that seemed reaches by most boards, but we'll see. one extra TE pick doesn't bother me since we did seem to stress flexibility in our choices this year and the value seemed obvious for the pick. always could be trade if someone needs this position, which seemed to be a strategy of previous regime, ie. draft for trade value, not sure that worked to well.

Going into the Draft the Texans biggest top priority need arguably was finding an edge-rusher to play at the other end of the DLine from Mario in passing situations: Barwin, an unpolished but nevertheless talented pass-rusher, was drafted to meet that need now, this year.

Barwin has played one year as a DE in the Big East.

Are you trying to say he's not a project?

A guy who had double digit sacks in a major conference can't be called a project.

Now you can say he has only started reaching his potential due to his inexperience at the position, but he has production at that spot already. He is not a project.

He's played the position for one year. Being inexperienced inherently means that he's a project, the two things are synonymous.

Read his scouting profiles, everyone of them is littered with the words raw and potential. That means he's a project.

You can argue semantics all you want. But my point still stands; Another thing Smithiak seems to like to do is draft a high-potential-project/raw/inexperienced (players) fairly high in the draft. They've done it with Amobi, Jacoby, Molden, and now Barwin.

Tomato:tomato

A project is a guy who is drafted based on what you are projecting, not based on what you have seen. And because it's based on projections, it is a guy who you are prepared to wait on for development.

Barwin on the other hand was the team MVP for a team that made it to the BCS, 1st team Big East (led the conference in sacks), and an All-American. You cannot be an All-American DE and be considered a project at that same position.

I think you guys are probably talking past each other a little bit and both have a point. Clearly, Barwin produced in college, although it is a limited sample size of 1 year. However, by most accounts, he produced without being technically sound, with a limited number of pass rush moves, and with just very little experience at the position in general. I don't think it's wrong to assume that to be successful in the NFL, one generally needs more than athleticism and some technical proficiency at your position is necessary (I seem to recall numerous discussions of Mario's lack of pass rushing moves (swim, spin, etc.) early on). Thus, I don't think it's wrong to categorize Barwin as a project in that sense. However, he did produce at a high level in college without much experience at the position which is encouraging.

We're working off different definitions of "project."

To me, a project is a guy who takes an extraordinary amount of work, for a number of possible reasons, to develop to realize his potential. It could be because he was new to/inexperienced at his position (ie. Barwin), was extremely young (ie. Amobi), or played in a small conference against inferior competition (ie. Jacoby.)

Again, that's not to say that Barwin won't succeed in the NFL. But, it is going to take more work on Barwin to develop his pass rushing skills and DE acumen because of his lack of experience at the position. That is, by definition, a project.

Again; You can argue semantics all you want. But my point still stands; Another thing Smithiak seems to like to do is draft a high-potential-project/raw/inexperienced (players) fairly high in the draft. They've done it with Amobi, Jacoby, Molden, and now Barwin.

Tomato:tomato

I agree it will take a lot of work for him to reach his potential, but name me the DE taken who will not take a lot of work.

To me, Barwin can come in and have an impact as a situational rusher completely "as is." His current skill set may be limited in regards to what it may become, but I think he can get after the QB this year before any work other than training camp. That is why I think you can't term him a project.

As for the idea that Smith likes players with high risk/reward (more accurate than "project" with the guys you named), I agree somewhat. Amobi and JJ fit this mold (and even though you didn't name him so does Duane Brown).

But then in the first round this year we went with a very safe and plain pick of Cushing over a number of players who appeared to have a higher ceiling. I think every team balances these things and I don't see the Texans doing it any more often than the rest of the league. So I agree we are likely to see a risky/project type pick somewhere in each draft, but I think you see those in most team's drafts most years.

Kubiaks (like Denvers' Shannahan-Gibbs system) downfall is never drafting a running back early (1st or 2nd round)

These systems rely on being lucky with picks (Slaton- Terrell Davis).

If the system is so good wouldn't it be reasonable to expect a talented, good vision 1st or 2nd rounder to get 2000 yards.

If that's true, explain Kubiak's attempt to trade into the first round in 2006 for DeAngelo Williams.

I hear you, but I think what I'm trying to say is that we now expect him to be productive based up his college performance as a pass-rusher while still having serious upside out there. Barret & others probably put it better than me.
Now regarding his play on other downs in a series, yea he's a project there for sure. I'd guess the Texans aren't even totally for sure if they play him as an OLB or DE in those situations ?

Can you explain how that is the downfall of these teams. With Denver it seems to have worked very well. And with the Texans it resulted in Slaton. You can call it lucky, but if you do, how about an explanation for how this is the "downfall" of a team that ran the ball as well as anyone for over a decade.

Not sure why you were not a fan of Cushing. He wasn't my first choice either until I sat down and thought about just what did we need at OLB. No it wasn't the WILL, it was the SAM, thus the Cushings pick was a natural. Mathews could have played SAM, but his best position, IMOG is the WILL.

As for why draft two TE's in this Draft? I think as much as anything else, it was to send a plain message to OD that he is not the only TE out there. I think the NFL is going to tighten up in general on a team's FA's. This means OD and Mr. Robinson, who just may end up in another neighborhood. JMO, of course.

If I recall, Clinton Portis was drafted in the 2nd round, after William Green and T.J. Duckett were selected in the 1st round. A 2nd round pick isn't exactly waiting until the 2nd day of the draft and calling UDFAs. Also, it would appear that it was a 2nd round pick well spent and not the "downfall" of the Denver system. It is more a product of finding the right player for the system.

By downfall, I mean where is Shanahan now (out of work)?. Could he have won more than 2 championships? Isn't that the ultimate goal?

Ran the ball "well", but couldn't it have been even better?

Are you serious? They were the top offense and top running team over his tenure in Denver that included 2 superbowl wins. And you are going to sit with a straight face and say that their system is a failure because Shanahan only lasted 3 times as long as the average NFL coach. And only won 2 superbowls (which is 2nd best in the NFL over his tenure I believe). Genius.

I for one would love for the Texans to have the kind of "downfall" that results in a decade of high powered offense, winning, and multiple superbowls.