Mario Williams for Asante Samuel?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

Whether it was the plan before or after Aldon Smith got drafted I have no idea. I do know Mario asked/demanded OLB well before the draft because DE in the 34 is not known as a playmaking role. Wade tagged him an OLB after that. Then they drafted accordingly. They sure didn't take Watt to make him the 3rd DE. And if they had preliminary discussions about trading him (was that allowed in the lockout?), then it still means the plan was no Mario at DE.

The point of my earlier post was to say Mario is not going back to DE now and it is naive to think he could adjust to that new position with no training camp after he couldn't adjust to this new position with a training camp. Mario Williams is our OLB. Smith and Watt are our DEs. I seriously cannot see any way that changes.

Everything you say may be true, but I wonder what happens if Wade decides that the Texans would have a more effective defense with Barwin & Reed as the starting OLBs and a frontline of Mario & Antonio at DE with JJ at nose ? Since some of us already have reached that conclusion, maybe Phillips has to but that certainly dosen't make it any easier for him & Kubiak to explain and convince Mario about that ? In other words would the big guy take one for the team ?
But I defintely disagree with you about there being a big difference between the 4-3 & 3-4 DE positions, because they are both based upon one-gap schemes as opposed to the traditional 2-gap, containment type of DE most people (including Mario) associate with the 3-4.
And I would hope the Texans just kinda winked at that no-contact-or-discussion-with-other-teams rule supposedly was in place during the Lockout like say the Eagles almost certainly did when it came to discussions about trading QB Kolb ?

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Everything you say may be true, but I wonder what happens if Wade decides that the Texans would have a more effective defense with Barwin & Reed as the starting OLBs and a frontline of Mario & Antonio at DE with JJ at nose ? Since some of us already have reached that conclusion, maybe Phillips has to but that certainly dosen't make it any easier for him & Kubiak to explain and convince Mario about that ? In other words would the big guy take one for the team ?
But I defintely disagree with you about there being a big difference between the 4-3 & 3-4 DE positions, because they are both based upon one-gap schemes as opposed to the traditional 2-gap, containment type of DE most people (including Mario) associate with the 3-4.
And I would hope the Texans just kinda winked at that no-contact-or-discussion-with-other-teams rule supposedly was in place during the Lockout like say the Eagles almost certainly did when it came to discussions about trading QB Kolb ?

You really think that there is no difference between 34 DE and 43 DE? No matter the 34 scheme it is different. Ours may be a one gap scheme with more penetration than most 34s, but it is still a whole different position. 34 DE is as close to 43 DT as it is to DE.

And no way do I move a guy who is playing great (Watt), in order to put a guy who is struggling in another new postition. I rotate and play all of the guys I have in the exact way I have been and I hope mario gets more comfortable as he goes.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

You really think that there is no difference between 34 DE and 43 DE? No matter the 34 scheme it is different. Ours may be a one gap scheme with more penetration than most 34s, but it is still a whole different position. 34 DE is as close to 43 DT as it is to DE.

There's a difference between 3-4 DE & 4-3 DE, but it's not that dramatic when both are one-gap assignment-positions. Certainly not like going from DE with hand on the ground to OLB, which is a giant adjustment.

And no way do I move a guy who is playing great (Watt), in order to put a guy who is struggling in another new postition. I rotate and play all of the guys I have in the exact way I have been and I hope mario gets more comfortable as he goes.

Yes perhaps Mario is struggling at OLB, but we need to get our best players on the field and he's a Pro-Bowl DE while it appears our best edge-rushers from the OLB positions are Barwin & Reed, while the move of Watt to NT is intriguing and this gets all of our best frontend playmakers on the field at once.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Yes perhaps Mario is struggling at OLB, but we need to get our best players on the field and he's a Pro-Bowl DE while it appears our best edge-rushers from the OLB positions are Barwin & Reed, while the move of Watt to NT is intriguing and this gets all of our best frontend playmakers on the field at once.

I get that concept, get the playmakers on the field and tell them to make plays. Watts makes plays where ever he is, well at least that is what he did at Wisconsin. So the premise is not far fetched.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

There's a difference between 3-4 DE & 4-3 DE, but it's not that dramatic when both are one-gap assignment-positions. Certainly not like going from DE with hand on the ground to OLB, which is a giant adjustment.


Yes perhaps Mario is struggling at OLB, but we need to get our best players on the field and he's a Pro-Bowl DE while it appears our best edge-rushers from the OLB positions are Barwin & Reed, while the move of Watt to NT is intriguing and this gets all of our best frontend playmakers on the field at once.

It is a big difference. Why do you think the DL in a 34 is sometimes referred to as LT, NG, RT. They are as much like a DT in a 50 front as they are like a DE. They line up inside and face different types of blockers. They play in traffic and get cut way more. The physical toll is greater. Athleticism is not as valuable and hand fighting is more valuable. None of this has to do with one gap vs 2 gap, it is about playing inside vs outside. It is a big adjustment and a guy who has never done it cannot be reasonably expected to make the switch with a week of preseason practice and no game time.

As for the playmakers on the field, you are operating on the theory that 7 guys play in front 7. That is not the case. Guys rotate on all downs, and on 3rd down, Mario is likely to be lined up with a hand on the ground like a 43 DE anyways. Watt and Smith are as likely to be lined up inside in a 4 man front or an unbalanced 3 man front with a standing LB/DE.

On first and second down we do not need to get smaller and get more playmakers on the field. We need to keep doing what we are doing and hope Mario gets more and more comfortable.

[nunusguy]

What may be surprising to some fans, if they didn't watch closely, is that Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed were the outside linebackers on seven snaps in the first half. A foreshadowing, possibly? http://www.examiner.com/houston-texa...alerts_article
*************
It would seem that Texans observer/writer Alan Burge is himself also already ahead of the curve on what the composition of the Texans' 3-4 lineup will be ?

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

What may be surprising to some fans, if they didn't watch closely, is that Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed were the outside linebackers on seven snaps in the first half. A foreshadowing, possibly? http://www.examiner.com/houston-texa...alerts_article
*************
It would seem that Texans observer/writer Alan Burge is himself also already ahead of the curve on what the composition of the Texans' 3-4 lineup will be ?

Pretty good read. I guess I'm still taking a wait-and-see approach on Mario, although I do find all this "he's learning a new position" talk somewhat misplaced. Isn't Barwin learning a new position (for the second time in about 3 years) and coming off a major injury? Isn't Reed being asked to make essentially the same transition as Mario (as well as a being a rookie)?

The article raises an interesting issue about Reed and Barwin and this bears watching as the season progresses. While it's still early, it's not inconceivable that the 2 best OLBs on this team will be Barwin and Reed. However, I would be shocked if Mario was demoted, even if these 2 were outplaying him. This will put Kubiak and Wade in a tough situation if Mario is not outplaying one of them. If it plays out this way, it will be very interesting to see how the coaching staff handles it. And I don't see him moving back to DE, as Antonio Smith and Watt are both playing great right now. No way he takes one of their spots either.