Yikes (re: Keith's new article)

[Bigtinylittle]

This is exactly why I don't want to pay Owen Daniels what he is asking. A tight end is just not worth that kind of money unless he is a great blocker and is a go-to guy on third down and in the red zone. Money is going to be very tight next year and overpaying OD will just make it tighter. Overpaying one player eventually means letting another one go. Like it or not, it's a zero-sum game.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

This is exactly why I don't want to pay Owen Daniels what he is asking. A tight end is just not worth that kind of money unless he is a great blocker and is a go-to guy on third down and in the red zone. Money is going to be very tight next year and overpaying OD will just make it tighter. Overpaying one player eventually means letting another one go. Like it or not, it's a zero-sum game.

I agree we are going to have make some decisions on who gets paid and who we have to let go in the next year or two, and Owen might be the best one to make walk. I don't really disagree with that. I do see a flaw in the logic that Owen will be so easily replaced. We have enough weapons to get by without a top flight TE. Owen is not a great blocker, but he has gotten much better since he came here. I think a lot of the replace Owen talk comes from the fact that we drafted Casey, at least indirectly. Even in the unlikely event that Casey comes in and is as successful as Owen in the passing game as a rookie it's going to take several years for him to catch up to even Owen's sub-par blocking skills.

Owen is also a decent target on third down...if you want to complain about Owen for his production in the red zone then you have to complain about Andre Johnson too...his TD numbers have been low compared to other top WR's too.

[Keith]

Another article expanding on the topic a bit... I purposely left Pitts and Walter out of this one since they'll be UFAs and aren't quite as tied down by the CBA expiration like Daniels, Ryans, Slaton, and (to a possibly lesser extent) Robinson.

...While there has been mounting evidence that the NFL’s version of Armageddon is on its way, one doesn’t need to look much beyond Reliant Park and the troubles of four star players here, what with their sad eyes and upward palms, to know that the Texans who wear suits instead of jerseys think a lockout is imminent.

Because if you had these inclinations as the Texans’ front office surely must, then why in the world would anyone think they would have much motivation to dish out phat contracts to this, the CBA’s lost generation? ...

http://www.inthebullseye.com/archive/2009/20090711.html