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Originally Posted by BigLouie
Great thoughts there Boardman. From what BoB has been saying lately it seems that Louis Nix is about to be another bust. That would be another third round bust from Rich Smith. As Lance was explaining last week what will kill the Texans is wiffing on all the rounds past the first as Rick has. Then you have nothing but first rounders on the team and the rest are free agent signings which kills your cap and causes you to release people before you would like. The Texans absolutely cannot have another draft like 2013 and 2014 where very few other than the first round stay on the team. In a few years they will be faced with the prospect of releasing JJWatt because of no cap space if this continues.
Speaking of Lance Z the difference between him explaining about college players and guys on 610 explaining about college players is HUGE.
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Actually the terms of Watt's contract are very conducive to keeping him through it. His highest cap hit will take place in either 2017 or 2018. The last year of his current contract will only cost the Texans around 8 Million in cap space I believe. It's a contract that is about as close to a win-win as you can get.
Anyone that thinks the Texans are not committed to winning needs to look at the Watt restructuring. If they were really considering this a rebuilding year they would have taken the full hit on that $10 million bonus this year and rode it out. Instead they freed up more cap space by restructuring that bonus and spreading it out 2 million/ year for the next five thus freeing up the additional 8 million this year. Sure it adds a little to the cap over the remainder of the contract but 2 million is nothing to overcome as we've seen this year.
Yes, the Texans need to do better in the draft. With BoB's input I think that will drastically improve. Not only because he might be better at evaluating talent but also because they've put themselves in a position, and give Rick Smith some credit too, to be able to approach this draft differently than they have any other since Smith has been here. We don't have to draft any particular position which means we can draft the best possible player regardless of position. There are a few positions we aren't going to take in the 1st because there is no room for a first round pick say at OT. Those guys are signed. We obviously won't be drafting a QB and probably not a Safety or Running back. That leaves CB, LB, WR and interior line as the four positions that we can expect to see drafted early but not necessarily a must. If a Leonard Williams or a Landon Collins were to fall into their laps you damn sure take him.
It's too early to label Nix or Clowney a bust. What BoB said about Nix was in one statement he said he didn't know anything about what Nix was doing or how he was doing. He thought he was working out in Florida and he wasn't doing anything wrong by not reporting in. That's his prerogative according to his contract. The next statement was, when asked what he expected of Nix in training camp was for him to be able to make it through an entire practice. Combined, those two statements were definitely a shot across Nix's bow but I didn't hear that as BoB saying he was a bust.
Now the fact that BoB is having to communicate that through a press conference is a little concerning. Considering his track record Nix should be taking it upon himself to let the team know what's going on, but again he's not required to. I like that BoB sent the message. The signing of Wilfork sent a bigger message though. Hopefully Nix gets it loud and clear. If not they now have time to cut him and maybe draft a guy next year.
The other thing that is impressive is that we've retained some key FA's this year that we wouldn't have previously. They went ahead and resigned here instead of getting more money elsewhere. KJ, Newton and definitely Mallet could have gotten more elsewhere. That tells me there is a winning attitude and they want to be a part of it. The talk coming out is that these guys really like BoB and think they can win. Ted Johnson keeps comparing the things that BoB does to those of Belichick. Not that he learned it from him but that they are very much the same type of coach.
Really the only FA we've lost was Brooks Reed. I don't think he got enough credit for the position he played but I also don't think he was worth the deal he got in Atlanta so I get why they let him go. He chased the money. Atlanta isn't going to do anything.
A couple holes need to be filled. They now have the money, thus the option of doing waiting to see what they get in the draft and spend that money on some journeymen veterans. One place that second line of players will show significant progress will be in special teams. When special teams are top 10 in the league you know you have some solid football talent depth.
I got tired of Lance a few years back, glad he moved from 610. He has a unique perspective because of his background but he isn't a coach, his dad is. Most of the time Lance comes across as having more knowledge than he really has. Ted Johnson is my go to guy when it comes to hearing someone's opinion on talent and coaches because he's been there and understands a locker room. He's also personally bottomed out and come back which I respect tremendously. Sure, he's raw on the air but he's getting better.
With the resigning of Akheem Dent they likely won't be entertaining any other offers to LB's, including Brandon Spikes. What that means is the with the exception of Reed, the LB corps looks very much like it did last year. Cushing, Mohamed, Tarpinian, Dent, Clowney, Mercilus. Tuggle and Ankrah.
