News from OTA's.. AJ absent, unhappy with contract

[Mike]

Read all about it at PFT. He should take a lesson from Demeco and go about it the right way. Suspended player, players unhappy with contracts, our first real player leaving (Dunta). We are a grown up team finally.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-his-contract/

[NBT]

Well, it is voluntary, hopefully AJ will get it resolved in time. Besides, some other WRs need the reps more than he does right now.

[HPF Bob]

I think the uncapped year has something to do with this. Watch him get some sort of raise but the majority of that raise will be paid this year so it doesn't affect the cap for coming years.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I think the uncapped year has something to do with this. Watch him get some sort of raise but the majority of that raise will be paid this year so it doesn't affect the cap for coming years.

Isn't there some sort of rule against doing that?

And didn't he get about $15MM or so to sign the last extension, all of 2 years ago?

Don't get me wrong, the dude is a beast, and THE best WR in the league, but 2 years in of an 8 year deal, and he wants to re-up now? I mean geez......

[Keith]

Well, first question has to be whether this is Andre or his uncle talking. For those that don't remember what I am referring to, please review this thread in which Uncle Andre apparently talked out of turn to ESPN Mag:
http://www.inthebullseye.com/forums/...read.php?t=843

As for any grief Angry Dre gets for wanting to renegotiate, the players gotta get what they can when they can. And Andre is missing nothing by sitting out OTAs. He has proven he can take care of his body, and he knows the offense, the QB, etc. The OC is new, but if he's smart, he knows how to draw up plays for #80.

[kravix]

8 years $60M. It was suprising to me then, as I thought it was a bit low. I honestly believe he made the deal in good faith in order to sign Schaub. Dre knew that Houston needed a QB to win. Although he has only played out 3 years now is prime time for him to get paid like the #1 reciever in football.

I do, however, think that some of this is his uncle pressuring him into doing something that he possibly wouldnt do.

At the end of the day this is business, and not in the cliche. We do it everyday at work; hustle for the best deals, pay, etc. It just so happens Dre is a one man company trying to capitalize on the market and product.

[TheMatrix31]

Just get it done, I don't care.

[Bigtinylittle]

[QUOTE=TheMatrix31;20206]Just get it done, I don't care.[/QUOTE

I am waiting for a real sports story.This is just an argument about money. I hate arguments in sports as much as I hate them in the general news. I read the news to find out out about things that actually HAPPENED and it seems that usually the news isn't about things that happened, but instead is just about people arguing.

I feel the same way about sports. One of the reasons I hate the Jim Rome program and never listen to it is there is almost no information on it. It's almost totally BS.

injuries, arrests, player suspensions, trades, free agent signings, new depth charts, new draft picks, coaches being fired, rule changes, player re-signings, Texan players cut. These are some of the things I consider real stories.

If Andre sits out the first game then I'll pay attention. But until then, tune me out. He's a veteran and can affort to miss all he wants. It's interesting that when he has missed games in the past because of injuries he has come back with monster numbers.

PS: Just to pass along some REAL news from OTAs, Steve Slaton has apparently lost 11 pounds and intends to play lighter this year. Good to know.

[kRocket]

This was very predictable based on his last couple of seasons. His uncle said as much during last year. The F.O. is going to have to make up their mind whether to pay him or trade him. Keeping unhappy players around for years is not the best way to win.

Actually I am rather surprised that we didn't pick up a WR earlier in the draft.

[Nconroe]

Yeah, the guarantee part is real low of AJ's current contract compared to Fitzgerald and a few other top receivers. And considering if AJ gets hurt, team can cut him, I think they ought to atleast bump up to match the guaranteed part of similar players and perhaps up the yearly amount as well. get it done so he gets into OTA's with some of new offensive coaches.

I do hope the new coaches, players, experience on line, can help us improve significantly at the running game this year.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by kRocket

Actually I am rather surprised that we didn't pick up a WR earlier in the draft.

Not sure why, especially since Kevin Walter was resigned. Walter, Jones, and Anderson are a decent corps of receivers with different skills to bring to the table. It'd be nice if there was an Anquan Boldin to go with the Larry Fitzgerald here (so to speak), but I think the higher picks were needed elsewhere.

As for Andre, we don't know any specifics of what he is asking for. Given it is an uncapped year and all, the easy fan position to take is for the Texans to just pay him what he wants. But you have to assume optimistically that the order of a CBA will return soon, and you still need to manage your budget prudently.

I hope Andre loves his uncle (and whatever family discounted representation rate he gives him) since it seems, in retrospect at least, that Melton hasn't always offered his nephew the most keen insight to his financial affairs.

[kRocket]

Because the people you named don't play AJ's position.

[nunusguy]

But reporting to organized team activities this week, each of the four starters had shed a significant amount of weight. All told, they lost a whopping 59 pounds. Leading the way was right tackle Amobi Okoye, who lost 32 pounds by conditioning twice a day in Katy with his younger sister during his time off.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7011653.html
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Say what ? Okoye dropped 32 lbs this past offseason. Too much (or too little) of a good thing ?

[Joe Joe]

Okoye needs to play lighter than he did last year. 32 does sound like it may be too much, but I 've heard he has been explosive.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

But reporting to organized team activities this week, each of the four starters had shed a significant amount of weight. All told, they lost a whopping 59 pounds. Leading the way was right tackle Amobi Okoye, who lost 32 pounds by conditioning twice a day in Katy with his younger sister during his time off.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7011653.html
****************************************
Say what ? Okoye dropped 32 lbs this past offseason. Too much (or too little) of a good thing ?

Kubiak said Okoye weighed in at 286, about 15 lbs less than he played last season. They want him to be a little heavier but Kubiak said the hot weather and the hard work that the big guys all where doing had made them shed lbs.

watch the video

[painekiller]

When I watched the Senior Bowl practices and then the game, Dorian Dickerson was a guy I saw as a player with no position. He was to small to play the traditional inline TE, and he did not show the skills of a split out WR.

Now I read Lance Zierlein's blog, and he said this about Dickerson

• Rookie tight end/wide receiver Dorin Dickerson runs more like a TE than a WR over the first 10 yards of his routes, which is something he needs to work on since cornerbacks will jam him at the line and just sit in his pocket after he releases from the line. He's much more high-cut (bigger upper body) than I expected so he might need to drop another six to 10 pounds to get that WR quickness he'll need if he's going to transition from TE.

Is this coaching staff going to be smart enough to find a spot for this talent? Time will tell.

[NBT]

One of the Draft mags had Dorin going at the HBk position, but Casey is already doing that gig. Dorin supposedly has unusual speed for his weight, so I wouldn't bet against him.

[Bigtinylittle]

Well, he IS a late rounder. Sometimes you just take a flyer on a guy like that.

The Texans drafted 9 guys this year. No way they all make the active roster.
If Dickerson shows any promise at all he will probably go on the practice squad. But even that's not guaranteed. I think we have finally reached the point where we will have to cut ties with people we would have kept in past years.

[Nconroe]

Sounds like AJ and Texans are talking and AJ is back at OTA's. Good for them.

I think Kubiak said he hopes to let Dorian line up as WR and learn to be WR from AJ.

[painekiller]

Funny thing is Shannon Sharpe was one of Kubiak's players and Dickerson would appear to fit that mold, but yet they are putting him at WR, a position he so far has shown little skill for.

My eyes are what I am basing that on, the kid was swallowed up at the senior bowl at WR. Showing little skill for the position. Put him inside in the slot like Sharpe and he becomes a mismatch problem, and a possible red zone threat.