My Lessons for next year

[painekiller]

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...

[nero THE zero]

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.

[Nconroe]

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.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

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.

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.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

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?

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

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.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by barrett

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

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

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.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

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...

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.