DT Development

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by dadmg

Just having fun digging ourselves out of blizzard after blizzard. We're coming off three blizzards in an 18 day period. The shitty apartment I share with my brother has a tendency to flood after blizzards due to foundational issues so right now spring is associated with the smell of damp carpet. But, otherwise, good

I had no idea the Texans had a fan in SD ?
I don't mean to be nosy, but what the hell are you and your brother doing up there ? Surely you're not from up that way because if you were you'd almost certainly be a Broncos fan. You guys must be up there temporarily for employment purposes ?

[Bigtinylittle]

I really don't know who to lay the blame on, but to me the whole Okoye situation has been a big screwup. This is how I believe he was rated by the draft experts:

1. Core strength- average to below average.
2. Pursuit ability- below average
3. Ability to use his good first step and good leverage to shoot gaps- exceptional.

My question is, why in the world do you draft a player like that and then tell him you don't want to use his main talent?

I'm cautiously optimistic that we will see a big step up from Okoye this year just based on how he is used.

[dadmg]

Originally Posted by da Bull

dadmg,

Thanks for the effort. Even if you just applied your best guess to the data base it would be interesting to see how it falls out.

I have to agree with you that "shooting the gaps" is easier for the younger players and "holding a gap" effectively comes with experience. But it helps to have three or four cheese burgers under your belt.

I might try running through somethings based on sacks because I'm still interested myself. But lately that homework I mentioned has been an absolute bitch. I'm pretty much scheduling my weeks at this point on which nights are work nights and which ones are homework nights.

Homework.......Black Hills State Teachers College?

Bingo. Finishing my last two classes for English Education right now, with student teaching in the fall. And am quite glad that the way things worked out I'm only on a part-time load because these two classes alone are kicking my ass quite handily.

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I had no idea the Texans had a fan in SD ?
I don't mean to be nosy, but what the hell are you and your brother doing up there ? Surely you're not from up that way because if you were you'd almost certainly be a Broncos fan. You guys must be up there temporarily for employment purposes ?

Yep, I'm guessing I'm the only Texans fan in South Dakota, but, believe it or not, I'm not even a Texas transplant. I was born 90 miles west of here in Wyoming and have spent all twenty-seven years of my life living in Wyoming and South Dakota.

Ironically enough, it was growing up around here that both drove me to hate the Broncos and, for the same reason, to become a Texans fan. I remember when Elway was taking the Broncos to Super Bowls and losing during my elementary school years and how there would be a sea of blue and orange garb at school around Super Bowl time. And then when the Broncos would get blown out, all the fair weather Bronco fans would disappear. This formative experience taught me to loathe fair weather fans and Broncos fans in particular. Over the years, it also made me think of why people pick their teams. For the most part, its either regional or for the same reason many people are the same political party as their parents, good old indoctrination.

For some reason, I've always like young teams or rebuilding teams. I find them fascinating. Maybe its the Madden GM in me, although I remember it going back long before that. When I first became an NFL fan I was a fan of the Bengals and Bucs in the mid-90s because they were a pair of hapless rebuilding teams and I thought both were doing a really good job of building an interesting future. Apparently interesting meant different things for those two franchises Then I drifted away for a few years. When I came back it was around 2000-2001-ish and the Bucs were an elite team but I didn't feel like a fan because I hadn't been with them on their journey. And by then I knew about Mike Brown and had no interest in rooting for the Bengals any longer. So I needed a new team. And what's a better fit for someone who likes young rebuilding teams than a team building from the foundation up? And I could get in on the ground floor of the experience, which means I'll never be accused of being one of those fair weather fans.

So that's how someone whose never stepped foot in the state of Texas becomes a die-hard Houston Texans fan. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by dadmg

Yep, I'm guessing I'm the only Texans fan in South Dakota, but, believe it or not, I'm not even a Texas transplant. I was born 90 miles west of here in Wyoming and have spent all twenty-seven years of my life living in Wyoming and South Dakota.

Ironically enough, it was growing up around here that both drove me to hate the Broncos and, for the same reason, to become a Texans fan. I remember when Elway was taking the Broncos to Super Bowls and losing during my elementary school years and how there would be a sea of blue and orange garb at school around Super Bowl time. And then when the Broncos would get blown out, all the fair weather Bronco fans would disappear. This formative experience taught me to loathe fair weather fans and Broncos fans in particular. Over the years, it also made me think of why people pick their teams. For the most part, its either regional or for the same reason many people are the same political party as their parents, good old indoctrination.

For some reason, I've always like young teams or rebuilding teams. I find them fascinating. Maybe its the Madden GM in me, although I remember it going back long before that. When I first became an NFL fan I was a fan of the Bengals and Bucs in the mid-90s because they were a pair of hapless rebuilding teams and I thought both were doing a really good job of building an interesting future. Apparently interesting meant different things for those two franchises Then I drifted away for a few years. When I came back it was around 2000-2001-ish and the Bucs were an elite team but I didn't feel like a fan because I hadn't been with them on their journey. And by then I knew about Mike Brown and had no interest in rooting for the Bengals any longer. So I needed a new team. And what's a better fit for someone who likes young rebuilding teams than a team building from the foundation up? And I could get in on the ground floor of the experience, which means I'll never be accused of being one of those fair weather fans.

So that's how someone whose never stepped foot in the state of Texas becomes a die-hard Houston Texans fan. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Great story Dadmg ! And thanks for the response.
"90 miles west of here" looks like it puts you around Sundance/Gillete, WY - that's definitely out there in the middle of nowhere, but I'm sure its gorgeous country (or maybe you'd have a ways to go on west before you got into the Rockies from there ?). I've spent a little bit of time in Laramie, but even that's a long ways from NE WY.
Yea you're definitely breaking in virgin territory up that way as you establish a "local fan base". When you started your explanation re the origion of your interest in the Texans I figured Kubiak (because of his time in Denver) was gonna be a factor, but guess not.
Anyway welcome aboard and we'll all enjoy this ride together as the plot thickens on the Texans journey to the playoffs (soon we hope !).