Bye week assessment

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Big Texas

Offense: held back by limitations of Fitz. Oline was built to run kubiaks system. They need to be replaced. Even Duane Brown was making critical mistakes.

Defense: Classic bend but don't break philosophy. Near the bottom of all defensive statistics except number one in turnovers. The turnovers have kept us from being blown out each game. It's time to let the young corners play. At least there's potential to get better with experience.

Coaching: I am ok with the system. A better QB would make this system look a whole lot better.

Side note: Clowney better come back better an ever because Merciless is making a case for himself...

Cushing better come back better than ever, otherwise he's about to get the Demeco Ryan's treatment.

As I understand it, releasing Cushing after this season would really make for a big cap hit that would be extremely challenging for the Texans to absorb/manage, and the same goes for Andre Johnson ? Isn't there general agreement on that ?

[WMH]

My bye week assessment -

Overall, they're not very good at football.

O
QB - Fitz is what he is, and regardless of who they go to next, its unlikely to get any better for the next couple of years.
RB - We're going to really suck if Arian is down for any period of time. Blue flashes in the run game, but can't protect very well yet.
OL - They're not the group they once were.
WR - Dre is old but can still ball, Hopkins is good, and a guy off the waiver wire is your starting slot. Probably the best unit on the roster.
TE - Do we still have any of these guys on the roster?
K - Mr. Inconsistency
P - OK, he's good.

D
DL - JJ's not too shabby. Pickett has been a welcome addition. Crick is a sub.
ILB - Reminds me of that scene from Major League - Who the F are these guys?
OLB's - Having your #1 pick on the field would help. Reed is a B/U, but Mercilous plays well in spurts.
CB - Despite a couple of gift INT's, they're not good, starters or reserves.
S - Decent at the run, can't cover anyone.

Coaching - He's a rook, and I like his style. Hopefully he'll get it sooner rather than later.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

As I understand it, releasing Cushing after this season would really make for a big cap hit that would be extremely challenging for the Texans to absorb/manage, and the same goes for Andre Johnson ? Isn't there general agreement on that ?

It would be cheaper to keep Cushing than it would be to cut him until after the 2015 season.

Andre would be significantly cheaper to cut than to keep. The twist is that when he was out of camp this summer McNair assured Andre that he wouldn’t be cut after the season. It's possible that at this point Andre would let that slide if it meant he could catch on with a team that has a better chance of winning.

[chuck]

The Colts' complete dismantling of the Giants in New Jersey shows just how far the Texans have to go to be a respectable team. This will never happen, of course, because the owner is a clown and the GM is a fool. And whoever is next up at either position is sure to be even worse than the idiot who currently occupies that spot. If you don't believe me refer to the Astros. Yes, it can get worse.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

The Colts' complete dismantling of the Giants in New Jersey shows just how far the Texans have to go to be a respectable team. This will never happen, of course, because the owner is a clown and the GM is a fool. And whoever is next up at either position is sure to be even worse than the idiot who currently occupies that spot. If you don't believe me refer to the Astros. Yes, it can get worse.

We get it Chuck. Owner's a thief, palm lickers and Mouth breathers and such...

You are like a broken record on this stuff. The team is in a transition year with a new coach and has exceeded expectations, but you wallow in negativity like a pig in slop. You act like McNair is some terrible owner that will prevent them from winning when there is nothing to indicate that. He spends money and mostly lets people do their job. That means everything depends on if those people do their job, not whether the guy signing the checks is good enough at signing them.

Is Tom Benson a good owner? Steve Bisciotti? Is John Mara a good owner because a guy he'd never heard of caught a ball on his helmet? Owners don't matter unless they meddle or refuse to spend. If they are rich over in the corner then they have no impact on the team.

This team will win or lose based on O'Brien and the players he coaches.

[chuck]

That's a nice narrative but it's not true. McNair has inserted himself again and again into the football side of things invariably with disastrous consequences.

I'll choose one instance for your enjoyment. He extended David Carr (never mind drafted him...) in 2005 and insisted that any new head coach accept Carr as the starter. As a result we were a) stuck with Carr for one more pointless year b) stuck with the dead money after the team inevitably released him c) limited in head coaching candidates to people who would accept a job knowing i) the owner would force his will onto football operations ii) David Carr would be his starting quarterback.

So we end up with palm licker and eight more years of beautiful futility.

[popanot]

Any owner that refuses to change the lockset on Rick Smith's office is inserting himself into the football operations, IMO.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by popanot

Any owner that refuses to change the lockset on Rick Smith's office is inserting himself into the football operations, IMO.

But isn't the GM the owners, any owners ultimate proxy, the person that the owner hires to run his team ? Certainly fine to criticize McNair for retaining this GM if you think he's failing the team and his boss/owner, but I don't think it makes an owner overly intrusive to do what all 32 owners do (hire/fire/retain their GM).

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

That's a nice narrative but it's not true. McNair has inserted himself again and again into the football side of things invariably with disastrous consequences.

I'll choose one instance for your enjoyment. He extended David Carr (never mind drafted him...) in 2005 and insisted that any new head coach accept Carr as the starter. As a result we were a) stuck with Carr for one more pointless year b) stuck with the dead money after the team inevitably released him c) limited in head coaching candidates to people who would accept a job knowing i) the owner would force his will onto football operations ii) David Carr would be his starting quarterback.

So we end up with palm licker and eight more years of beautiful futility.

Standard Operating Procedure in the NFL. Same thing happened with Locker last year and many others. When a 1st round QB is hanging around it is normal for the new coach to take his shot at him for a year.

But you mistake my post. I don't think McNair is a good owner. I think he is useless like about 25 other NFL owners. They don't help or hurt to any real degree. There are a few meddlers who screw things up, a few great owners who add something culture wise, and a whole bunch of rich idiots who get to print money because they joined the right rich toy club (and the government enables them by paying for stadiums and offering tax exemptions).

The Ravens owner mishandled the Ray Rice thing as bad as he could and he's got a super bowl. Stupid owners win championships all the time as long as they get lucky once and make the right hire. The 49ers ownership group has been trying to get rid of Jim Harbaugh since they stumbled onto him because he doesn't kiss up right, and they've been rewarded with a great 3 year run for their arrogance. Owners are pointless when it comes to the NFL. The business runs itself and the football has nothing to do with the business.

Nothing McNair has done has scared candidates away. O'Brien was amongst the top coaching targets of the last 3 years (up there with Kelly). McNair got him to sign and ponied up to buy him out of PSU. Now Bob will sit in an office and employ 29 executives (friends and kids mostly) who do nothing. If O'Brien can coach then they all get to pat themselves on the back. If O'Brien can't, then they still get richer and get to play BMOC while hosting super bowls. I don't think Bob McNair really cares that much either way. But I also don't think he influences the outcome on the field by even 1%.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Warren

It would be cheaper to keep Cushing than it would be to cut him until after the 2015 season.

Andre would be significantly cheaper to cut than to keep. The twist is that when he was out of camp this summer McNair assured Andre that he wouldn’t be cut after the season. It's possible that at this point Andre would let that slide if it meant he could catch on with a team that has a better chance of winning.

Warren - far and away the best link I've seen on team/individual player data on cap info, and I especially like the bar graphs, great feature - thanks man.