Texans 2009 Draft - live blog

The Texans have a lot of holes, especially on defense. NONE of the player the Texans were supposedly looking at have been picked yet now that the Texans are up at 15. I'd love to see them trade this and drop back a few spots. Maybe they could find someone to jump up for Maclin. Chris Wells, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews are all still available. I'd see them going for one of the OLB. They may have thought Cushing would have been gone by now.


Rd 1 Pick 15 - Brian Cushing OLB USC


The Texans were likely willing to settle with Clay Matthews. Cushing was regarded as a slightly better prospect than Matthews. They may have taken Malcolm Jenkins if he hadn't been picked by the Saints with the 14 pick. Cushing looks effective against the run and getting into the backfield.

--- Rd 2 ---

Looking forward, I'd like to see the Texans pick a hard hitting CB that would be an option to use at safety, unfortunately, it doesn't look like one will be available at 46 unless a couple players slide a bit. Maybe Rashad Johnson, a safety from Alabama or there are a couple DE options around there.

Rd2 Pick 14 (46) Connor Barwin DE Cincy

Rashad Johnson was still available but they went with a DE here. Maybe they felt they ended up with a run stopper at OLB and needed a little more help with the pass rush. Raw player, only played DE for one year. Graded as a better pass rusher than run stopper.

--- Rd3 ---

Still looking for someone to play safety. Rashad Johnson is still available, as well as DJ Moore, a CB out of Vandy. Players ranked in the 70's where the Texans next pick will be Andre Brown, a RB out of N.C. State, and a big CB out of OSU.

Rd3 Pick 13 (77 Overall) - Antoine Caldwell OC Alabama

The Texans passed up quite a few CB, a couple S and another center with a better grade. Caldwell has good size at 6'3", has played center, guard and tackle. Looks to be more of a pass protector than run blocker, the ability to play center and guard gives the Texans some versatility.

--- Rd4 ---

Still no CB, still no S, no RB. A little concerning is the run on CB that occurred from the middle through the end of the third round. Also Johnson, rated 43rd overall and 2nd safety got picked. Texans have two picks in the fourth. Maybe we'll see a RB picked with one of them. There are four RB in the vicinity of their picks. Most of them are smaller, like Javon Ringer out of MSU, who is only 5'9". The Texans should be looking for a bruiser for short yardage situations. Rashad Jennings out of Liberty fits the size requirement at 6'1", 231 lbs but apparently doesn't play that big.

Rd4 Pick 12 (112 Overall) Glover Quin S

Quin played CB in college but doesn't appear to have any shot of playing CB in the NFL. Would be big for a CB, small for a S. This pick seems to be a stretch, there were pure safeties available and some CB. Not a run stopper. David Bruton out of ND picked two spots later, has better size (6'2") and looks to be an elite run stopper.

I'm a little worried that the Texans will throw away these last 4 picks. The last pick seems like a 'tweener that won't fit in anywhere. They either need CB or safety help over the top and they didn't get either with Quin.

Rd4 Pick 22 (122 Overall) Anthony Hill TE

Not sure what the deal with this one is. Hill is a big dude at 6'5", Daniels is having contract issues, maybe they want to try to move him to T? Really not sure.

--- Rd5 ---

Rd5 Pick 16 (152 Overall) James Casey TE

Another TE?!? This kid is from Rice, he's ranked high enough that he probably should have gone in the third. Catches the ball, blocks, he played all over the field in college. Maybe the Texans bring him in and use him for short distance back? This pick was great, if only they hadn't picked Hill in the fourth.

Rd6 Pick 15 (188 Overall) Brice McCain CB

Not sure about this guy, graded a 30 overall, no information on him much at all. Rashad Jennings from Liberty is still available. They passed up all the CB on the Scouts.com ranked players list. Small at 5'9", probably tough for him to make an impact.

--- Rd7 ---

Maybe the Texans think they will only get backups at this point. I'd like to see them try to hit some home runs. I don't mind going back to back at the same position, as long as it wasn't TE. Maybe they are going to let Owen Daniels walk. It's hard to tell what they'll do with the last pick. It's probably not worth even guessing about.

Rd7 Pick 14 (223 Overall) Troy Nolan S

At least this player had something written up about him. Like most of the picks, passed up on higher rated players at the position. Looks to be average to below average.

--- end of draft ---

There will be a more comprehensive recap later incorporating some comments and thoughts from elsewhere. The Texans, at first glance, have addressed their holes - OLB, CB, S. I like the first couple of picks, and even the third round pick of a center. After that, they lost me. Two tight ends doesn't make sense, two safeties that won't start doesn't make sense. No big RB to pair with Slaton.

My Grade: C-

I gave last year's (2008) draft a B and the average pundit grade was a C. This year's draft is at least a full grade lower. They lose because of all the players they passed over with their picks. They didn't go for players who've shown the ability to play, or players who have unique abilities or size. If the Texans say they couldn't find players that would compete against the players on their sub-par defense, they weren't looking hard enough.

Texans Draft 2009 Preview

The Texans had a good draft in 2008, trading down and still got their guy in Duane Brown. He started all 16 games at LT as a rookie, and I didn't notice him getting worked over. The other obvious home run was 3rd round pick Steve Slaton who finished with 1282 yards rushing and 377 receiving.

2009 Needs
CB, OLB, RB

CB - Dunta Robinson came back from major injury and wasn't the same as he had been. Jacques Reeves and Fred Bennett are serviceable backups but can't match up with the premier WR in the league, especially if the front seven isn't getting pressure on the QB.

OLB - The Texans could use a pass-rush OLB to compliment Mario Williams. They could put them on different sides or they could overload and bring them both from one side. It would be nice if their pick could stuff the run as well. The Jags have a good running game and the Titans will be leaning heavily on their two back system as well.

RB - The Texans DO NOT need a running back in the first round. I'd like to see them get a goal-line bruiser type latter in the rounds. Rd3 worked well for them last year, maybe they could get lucky there again.

Other needs - anything on defense. The offense is pretty set and I wouldn't be surprised to see them go defense with all 7 picks. In addition to OLB and CB, they might be looking for a DT, FS, SS. If they could find a CB with some size maybe they could try them at CB and move them to safety. For offense, they could be looking for another WR, third string QB, OL help.

Houston Texans 2007 Season Wrap-Up

By almost any account, last year was the best season ever for the Texans. They finished with their best record ever, 8-8. After fourteen different weeks last year, they had their best ever record at that point in the season. (That might not make sense, take a look at the records spreadsheet.) Four weeks were spent over .500 in 2007, after only three weeks over .500 in the previous five years of Texans football. They spent 11 weeks at or above .500, after only 9 weeks at or above .500 in 2002-2006.

It was a banner year for the QBs as well. They set records in yardage, touchdowns, and rating. Individually, both QBs were at the top of Texans' records. Rosenfels threw the second most touchdowns in a season, despite only playing in nine games and throwing 240 attempts. He managed this by throwing at least one touchdown in every game in which he appeared. Schaub, was consistent, if not spectacular. His 87.2 passer rating set a record for Texans QBs, however, he only threw nine touchdowns in 289 attempts, a TD% of less than half of Rosenfels' record 6.3%. Schaub's Texans record 7.75 yards/attempt proved he was trying to move the ball vertically, which is a good sign.

The rushing "attack" was feeble last year, even by Texans standards. They managed only 12 touchdowns and 1586 yards on 3.8 yards/carry. Not very good at all.

The record last year was something to be proud of, especially since they played playoff teams nine times. I don't see Schaub's TD% exploding this year, but if he stays healthy, he should get more attempts. 500 attempts at 3.2% would be 16 TD passes. That's ok, but not spectacular. 7.75 yards per attempt times 500 attempts would equal an impressive 3875 yards.

The Texans look like they will try running the ball more this year. More attempts, but I'm not sure where the yds/carry will end up. They should be on track for at least 1700 yards rushing. Rushing TDs are tougher to predict, but anything less than 13 would be an absolute dissapointment.

NFL News - sad state of affairs

When I use the term "affairs" I mean just that. Take a look at this list of NFL local news stories. As of 5/16/08 the breakdown was such:

2 - injury updates
8 - legal/offense issues
9 - depth chart/signings
6 - contract disputes
4 - spygate
1 - steroids

There were some other stories assorted in there. It's sad that at a time of the year that teams should be focusing on fielding a competitve team in the fall, there is so much about contracts and legal issues, spygate and steroids. The NFL may have cleaned up its act, but it still has a ways to go.

I'm proud to say the Texans had no news stories concerning any problems on this page, just one about a position coach pushing his young players.

Houston 2008 Draft Rating - the Pundits

(B) AOL Sports Blog by Stephanie Stradley: NFL Draft Grades: Houston Texans

(C) USAToday by Larry Weisman: Draft grades: Which team scored the best?

(B-) Bleacher Report by Peter Bukowski: NFL Draft 2008: Report Card

(F) Viking Report by John Holler: Draft’s Winners and Losers

(C-) KFFL by Cory J. Bonini: NFL Draft Grapevine: 2008 Losers

(B) NFL Draft University by Greg Trippiedi: NFL Draft Recap and Grades

(C-) MertleBeachOnline.com by Rick Gosselin: Making the Grade?

(C-) SignonSanDiego.com by Jerry Magee: Handing out the grades

(C) CBSSports Community by Billdawg12185: NFL Draft Grades

(C-) Star-Telegram.com by Charean Williams: Grading the Draft

These are the first ten grades I found. What does this mean? Probably not much, but you get an idea that people weren't terribly impressed with the Texans' draft. The pick of Duane Brown was widely slammed, most people thought he was anywhere from a second round to a third round pick. As the Texans didn't have a second round pick, they probably felt they needed to take a tackle with this pick. They gambled once by moving down, and the Chargers were apparently looking for a tackle as well. Not much was said about the other picks, which I think were decent.

Average grade: C

Like I said, no one was too impressed.

The Texans' 2008 Draft

The draft went fairly well for the Texans. They moved down in the first to acquire more picks later, a strategy that many successful teams employ. The Texans filled their stated needs (OT, CB, RB) in order, and used later picks on some lesser needs (OLB, DT). Overall, I gave it a B.


They've shown the ability to find good players (DeMeco Ryans 2nd rd, Owen Daniels 4th rd, Fred Bennett 4th rd, Jacoby Jones 6th rd) which makes me think that one of the later picks will make an impact.


The Texans have spent a lot of high draft picks (2002 - 3rd, 6th, 7th, 7th; 2003 - 3rd, 6th; 2004 - 1st, 7th; 2005 - 1st; 2006 - 1st; 2007 - 1st; 2008 - 5th) and a lot of money on the defensive line, so I was happy that they didn't go there again. They haven't spent high picks on offensive line players. The OL picks by round (2002 - 2nd, 3rd; 2003 - 3rd, 7th; 2004 - NONE; 2005 - 5th; 2006 - 3rd, 3rd; 2007 - 2nd, 5th; 2008 - 1st). The Texans haven't even tried an OL in the first, so there isn't much track record there.


It does feel like the Texans kinda got burnt by the Dallas Cowboys. They got both Felix Jones, a coveted RB and Mike Jenkins, a CB who was probably on the Texans' draft board. When Jenkins came off the board right in front of the Texans' pick, it sure didn't look to me like there was anyone there for them to pick. I was rooting for another trade, letting the Texans slip lower (where they probably still could have picked Duane Brown) and pick up another 3rd round pick. Jerry Jones didn't think there was anyone good enough to pick in the 3rd, but Dallas is a lot better team than the Texans.


Draft Pick #1 - Duane Brown, Virginia Tech, OT


The Good - "I think I can fit in great with what (Alex Gibbs, a new assistant head coach) does," Brown said about the zone blocking system. "His zone scheme fits athletic tackles and guards. My athleticism is my biggest asset, being able to move, get on the second level and cut (block) down." That's the hope anyway.

- Brown was the fastest player at his position at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in 5 seconds.


The Bad - "Brown was a former tight end like Texans right tackle Eric Winston." Winston is just that, a right tackle. Hopefully Brown can stay at the left tackle position and doesn't need to get hidden at G.


The Ugly - "The Texans will ask Brown, who allowed 8 1/2 sacks as a senior, to make the field a safer place for Matt Schaub" 8 1/2 sacks as a senior?!? That's not very good. Jake Long hasn't given up a sack in like two years. The NFL will be harder than college, and if he allowed that many sacks in college...


Draft Pick #2 - Antwaun Molden, Eastern Kentucky, CB


"Molden will compete for the nickel job." Ouch. Hopefully that's meant for just this year. In the third round, you'd like to get a guy who could compete for the #2 CB spot, especially with Dunta Robinson down through half the season. Not a glowing endorsement.


Draft Pick #3 - Steve Slaton, West Virginia, RB

"Slaton should become the third-down back with speed that's been missing." - He's projected to play in certain situations, a reasonable expectation for the first year of a third round pick. That means the Texans will be looking again next year for a #1 RB. That said, I've always liked Slaton. The WVU offense that they ran with Pat White was one of the most fun to watch over the last three years.


"Slaton (5'9/197) might get run over in pass pro. Chris Brown is a pretty good third-down back already and Darius Walker can work those downs too. The Texans have a whole lot of competition at tailback with nothing set in stone. " - good thoughts, but the Texans haven't been afraid to cut RBs loose. They might see Chris Brown as a #1a RB (which I'd be ok with) and Slaton as the 3rd down back. Walker is probably back to the practice squad.


Draft Pick #4 - Xavier Adibi, Virginia Tech, OLB

Technically, Adibi was listed as an inside linebacker at Virginia Tech, but he said he played more like an outside backer. - That's convienent, considering the Texans really need an OLB. If nothing else, they could use him as a PR person next year. 'Technically, we were a 6-10 team, but we played more like a 10-6 team'

Draft Pick #5 - Frank Okam, Texas, DT

"The fact Okam lasted as long as he did speaks volumes about how many teams question his desire. " - Uh oh. His redeeming quality is his sheer size - 328 lbs. That type of huge DT seems better suited for a 3-4 type defense (think Wilfork) but the Texans have the luxury of experimenting with one of the DT spots already filled for the forseeable future.


Draft Pick #6 - Dominique Barber, Minnesota, S

"Barber is the younger brother of Cowboys running back Marion Barber III and the son of former Jets running back Marion Barber Jr." - Not good if that's the only thing they had to say.


Draft Pick #7 - Alex Brink, Washington State, QB

"Brink started for 3 years for the Cougars in the pass-happy Pac-10. He set the school's career passing records of 76 touchdowns and 10,913 yards. Kubiak likes the fact that Brink has been chased by some very good players and knows how to get rid of the ball. " - Well, I suppose Kubiak is only being practical (in that Texans' QBs usually get hammered)

Rockets - 22 straight!

In addition to seeing history, I'm excited about this team's chances in this year's playoffs and going forward. No team has done this in 30 some years, and I can say I was there. People want to discredit their streak, but the fact is, this is the most competitive the west has been in a while. The Rockets were 10th in their conference and under .500 well into the season, and now they're in sole possession of first place.

I've said before, and I think it's showing, the Rockets have become better playing without one of TMac or Yao. They are playing both an effective and pleasing style of ball during their streak. Tonight, they scored 58 points in the first half, 0 of which came from Tracy McGrady (or Yao). By playing without them, the 'role' players have been empowered. Playing without Yao, as they have done the past couple of years, they've been able to adapt to playing without a dominant 5 player. Playing without McGrady, as they have done this year, they've adapted to playing without a dominant 2/3 player. The result has been a multi-dimensional offense. Everybody has the green light to take to take the open shot. TMac is still there to run the offense through in the fourth quarter, but the rest of the team can pick up the slack when he's having an off night, like tonight.

Van Gundy's emphasis on defense with Adeleman's offense shouldn't be overlooked, either. The same 'role' players that are capitalizing on the offensive end are winning games on the defensive end. Shane Battier has developed into one of the elite matchup defenders in the NBA. Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola are a couple of the hardest working rebounders in the game. What Houston lacks in physical attributes, the seem to be making up in hustle and general scrappiness.

This could all collapse in a game. Houston could lose to Boston, the Lakers could win and the Rockets could lose all their momentum. However, I don't see that happening. Because they have a team of winners (Battier, Scola, Hayes, Head) I think they can keep this thing rolling. And because they don't have to rely on McGrady to win games, I think they can make a run in the playoffs. And only because I didn't do it for the Texans...

Texans Win!

Texans had a big home win against the playoff bound Bucs. Tampa Bay was without Jeff Garcia, and their best WR, "Old Man" Joey Galloway was probably a step slow coming off an injury; however, Houston wasn't at full strength either. Ahman Green has been placed on IR, and Ron Dayne went down with an injury early in today's game. The Texans were able to manage the clock through short, controlled passes by Sage and a decent running game from rookie Darius Walker. They always seemed to get just enough for a first down. The Texans were effective on third down (10-17, 59%) which allowed them to keep the ball for most of the game.

Sage and Matt Schaub have been around for about the same length of time in the NFL. Sage had a few starts and some relief appearances before this year, whereas Schaub hadn't had much experience at all. Still, Schaub is supposed to be the man. So why do I have more faith in the Texans when Rosenfels is starting? He seems to manage the game a little better, has thrown more TD passes and seems to put up more consistent numbers than Schaub. Joe asked whether anyone was talking about Sage starting instead of Schaub. I haven't heard any talk yet; the Texans believe Schaub is their starting QB of the future, and they will play him when he's healthy. However, it has to be reassuring to the Texans coaching staff and front office that they have a backup QB that can win games both as a starter and in relief.

The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 13 games: 6-7 (.452) 2007
Total team TD passes: 17, 2007

Sage Wins!

This post is about a week late, but with the Texans on a bye, I get one too.



Sage looked pretty good in his first start with the Texans. The Raiders aren't much of a team, but there are not gimme wins for the Texans. Rosenfels did some work with his feet, including a 14 yard scramble on the Texans' first offensive play of the game and a fourth down QB sneak. Kubiak has confidence in Sage and his ability to run the offense, going for it on fourth down from the Oakland 5. That decision was rewarded with a TD, only the second touchdown on an opening drive all season.

The one issue that Rosenfels has is under throwing deep balls. He also has a tendency to lead the receiver into the middle of the field, allowing DBs to make a play on the ball. The second play of the second quarter was a deep pass that was intercepted. Walters, the WR, was uncovered and had a lot of ground. If Sage throws the pass so Walters straightens his route out and puts the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, it goes for a TD, or at the worst, an incompletion, because the DB doesn't have a chance to make a play on it. This quote, about his 4th quarter TD pass, pretty well sums up his hesitancy to air it out.

"Andre' ran a great route," Rosenfels said. "I saw that he had 3 yards on him
and threw it. I thought I overthrew him, but he ran that sucker down."

Overall, Sage had an effective day. The Raiders had been allowing about 175 yards passing, and had allowed 6 TD passes through 7 games. Sage's numbers were 180 yds and 1 TD, which is pretty good for a backup QB making his third career start.

Look for Matt Schaub to start next week against the resurgent Saints.

The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 9 games: 4-5 (.444) 2007, 2004

Another Sage Sighting

Sage played again in San Diego, this time because of a Matt Schaub concussion. Unfortunately for Sage, Houston had already spotted the Chargers 32 points by halfway through the 2nd quarter. He still looked effective passing against a talented Chargers defense, even though the play calling was obviously skewed away from the run. It sounds like Rosenfels will get the start this Sunday vs. the Raiders, a winable game for the Texans. Hopefully they let Sage throw the ball around from the beginning.

The Texans Record-Setting Season
I can't think of anything right now.

Sage!!!

I'm officially the only Texans fan still excited. There's the tough matchup against the Chargers this weekend, the tough loss to the Titans last weekend and the embarrassment of the Sunday before that. What was once an over .500 season isn't even an even .500 season anymore. The prospects look grim at best. No playoff hopes. Last in the division, behind by 3.5 games. But I see something through the darkness ... behold ...

SAGE!!!

Sage's four fourth quarter TD passes were impressive, as were his 290 yards passing. Between last weeks heroics and the garbage time he played the week before that, Sage has thrown for 372 yards and 5 TDs. Schaub in those two games? 282 yards and 0 TDs. Here are the season lines for both QBs.

Sage has a slightly higher completion percentage, essentially the same yds per attempt, the same number of TDs (with only a quarter of the attempts), a higher rating, and maybe most impressive of all, he hasn't been sacked. Granted, he played garbage time against Jacksonville and the Titans were playing prevent in the fourth, but this was the same line behind which Carr got sacked 41 times last year. He should be getting sacked on accident!

It isn't set in stone that Sage will start. I hope he does, because I'd like to see him play. Unfortunately, Schaub will start the week after that and all through the rest of the season. Rosenfels probably deserves a chance to start at least part of a season, but he won't get that opportunity in Houston.

The Texans Record Setting Season

Even with the two losses, we're still in the midst of what could be the greatest season of Texans football ever. I'll add some new records every week and link to my ever growing list.

Most touchdown passes in a game: 4, Sage Rosenfels 10/21/07

New Blogger (It looks the same to me) = New Post

It's been a while (again). I've decided that more often I need to write things down when I think them. There's been quite a few times lately that the sports guy has stolen my ideas but I haven't had the hard facts to prove it. That changes now. And, it's hilarious to read past posts and see how prophetic they have become.

On the main page right now, two of my previous posts mentioned Brady Quinn as a possibility for the Texans. How close it came to being true! Only Houston would have been dumb enough to trade for Matt Schaub before the draft. I didn't think about this before, but wouldn't it make sense to see if you could land a QB with the 10th pick? If both Russell (who I would have loved to have had) or Quinn were gone, then start working for a trade for Schaub. Worst case, you end up with hometown boy Kevin Kolb in the 4th round or Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith in the sixth! I might have bought season tickets to watch Sage play for the first half of the season and then Troy Smith for the second half. Schaub doesn't do it for me and it makes Quinn - for half the money - look like a pretty good investment.

Biggest winner? Not Cleveland. ESPN made too much about Quinn playing for his hometown team. He never said anything about it before the draft or after the pick - only when somebody asked him about it. After falling that far, he didn't seem all that grateful that somebody moved up to get him in the first round. Everyone could have let him fall right into the second. The biggest winner, in my opinion, was Troy Smith. He'll play for a pretty decent team and behind a quarterback that was a mentor to (2006 Rookie of the Year) Vince Young. Boller is in the last year of his deal and McNair is getting older. Smith should get a shot, but he'll have a couple years to learn the system with a QB that isn't bitter about training his replacement.

We'll see about all this. At least in a couple years, when I read a Simmons article about how Troy Smith was the steal of the draft, I can say I said it first.