() FA Rank
QB Matt Leinart
RB Arian Foster (exclusive rights)- tendered
RB Derrick Ward- resigned
FB Vonta Leach (#33)
The best fullback in the league and a huge part of Arian Foster’s success. The Texans can’t let him go. He also had 76 career catches.
FB Justin Griffith
WR Jacoby Jones
WR Andre Davis
TE Owen Daniels (#32)- 4 years 22 million 6 million guaranteed
When healthy he’s one of the best tight ends in the league, but he keeps tearing his ACL. One more could end his career.
OT Rashad Butler
G Mike Brisiel
G Kasey Studdard
DT Shaun Cody- resigned
DT Jarvis Green
DT DeMario Pressley- signed with Colts
DE Mark Anderson
DE Tim Bulman
OLB Zac Diles
OLB Darnell Bing
MLB Kevin Bentley
CB Jason Allen
S Bernard Pollard
S Eugene Wilson
P Matt Turk
Offseason moves:
Resigned Shaun Cody
Resigned Derrick Ward
Tendered Arian Foster
Cut Eugene Wilson
Cut Andre Davis
Cut DeMario Pressley
Cut Darnell Bing
Texans Draft Visits
G Brandon Brooks (Miami-OH)
CB Ron Brooks (LSU)
K Randy Bullock (Texas A&M)
3-4 DE Ronnie Cameron (Old Dominion)
MLB Lavonte David (Nebraska)
S Brandon Hardin (Oregon State)
S George Iloka (Boise State)
MLB Mychal Kendricks (California)
CB Jeremy Lane (Northwestern State)
WR Mario Louis (Grambling
S Kelcie McCray (Arkansas State)
CB Lionel Smith (Texas A&M)
S Tavon Wilson (Illinois)
Texans Draft Grades
11. 3-4 DE JJ Watt B
Again, I would have gone Amukamara and if I were to go with a 3-4 end, I had Cameron Jordan rated higher on my board. However, I don’t mind this pick. Watt fills a need opposite Mario Williams and is one of the best available.
42. RLB Brooks Reed A
Rush linebacker was, believe it or not, a bigger need for them than cornerback. Their only real rush linebacker was Connor Barwin, a 2009 2nd round pick who missed all of the 2010 season with an injury. Brooks Reed fits the range well and fills a giant need.
60. CB Brandon Harris A
This could be the steal of the first two rounds. Harris may be short and lack ball skills, but everyone said the same thing about Devin McCourty and a year later McCourty is a Pro Bowler as a rookie. Harris is going to be a great cornerback at the next level. He was a shutdown cornerback all last year until one bad game against Michael Floyd and Notre Dame in their bowl game. He is going to have some trouble with bigger receivers like Floyd was at the next level, but at the same time he held first round pick Jonathan Baldwin to 3 catches for 21 yards and he’s 6-4. Harris lacks athleticism and ball skills, but he makes up for that with hustle and instincts.
127. CB Rashard Carmichael A
Two cornerbacks were needed and Carmichael is a great value in the late 4th. They may have needed something like a safety or a nose tackle before a 2nd cornerback, but there’s no denying Carmichael’s value in the late 4th. I had a 2nd round grade on him.
144. S Shiloh Keo A-
Keo fits the range decently and fills a huge need at safety. He may lack athleticism and that may limit him from being a starter at safety, but there’s no denying his hustle and heart. He’ll be a great special teamer, worst case scenario.
152. QB TJ Yates B-
Backup quarterback wasn’t a huge need, but they don’t really have a solid backup and Matt Schaub has had injury problems in the past so this makes some sense. It was a little bit of a reach though, but I do like Yates as a backup long term.
214. OT Derek Newton B
They don’t really have a swing tackle behind their starters and Newton is a good value in the 7th round. A nose tackle and maybe another safety or wide receiver were needed above a backup swing tackle, but no major argument from me here given his value.
254. RLB Cheta Ozougwu A-
They need to get two rush linebackers in this draft given how thin they were at the position. There were better rush linebackers available, but it’s not a huge reach.
Overall:
This was one of my favorite drafts. Their first 4 picks all filled needs and only Watt, in my mind, was even a minor reach. I also like the selection of Keo in the 5th round and overall I didn’t hate any of their picks. All of them made sense. I think next year is the year that Houston finally breaks out and makes the playoffs. There’s no questions about their offense, with Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, and Andre Johnson. Their defense has always been the problem. In this draft, they spent their first 5 picks on defense and all 5 of them fit the range and made sense. They’ve also added defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, a member of the THCEC club (Terrible Head Coach Excellent Coordinator, including Mike Nolan and Josh McDaniels, among others). I think their defense will be a lot better next year and I think they’re a potential Super Bowl team next year.
Grade: A
Texans Draft 2012
26. RLB Whitney Mercilus A
I actually had Whitney Mercilus as my 6th rated prospect. I think he’s the best pass rusher in this draft class. He’s got a great motor and worked himself up the draft chart to have 22.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, and 9 forced fumbles last season. He’s a refined pass rusher and a great athlete. He could have an Aldon Smith type impact right away. He’s a one year wonder, but that’s not his fault. Every chance he had to play, he dominated and if he had returned to school and had another strong year, he could have been a top 5-10 pick next year.
I didn’t have rush linebacker as a big need for the Texans even after losing Mario Williams because they managed 44 sacks last year even with Williams missing 11 games. However, they could always use another pass rusher to go with Brooks Reed and Connor Barwin and Mercilus was the biggest steal of the first round according to my board. The Texans could have a scary pass rush for years to come.
68. WR DeVier Posey C
Heh? I had a 5th round grade on Posey and thought he might not even get drafted. In fact, I don’t think I had him in my final mock draft at all because he didn’t have a single private workout with a team and I didn’t think anyone would take a chance on this guy sight unseen. He’s a good player, but he’s still really raw and he had a terrible Senior Bowl. Then, of course, there was the Ohio State scandal, which kept him out of action for most of this season. This was a reach, but at least it filled a need. There were much better receivers available.
76. G Brandon Brooks A-
The Texans needed a guard, but this is a bit early for Brooks and I don’t know how well he fits their scheme. He’s much bigger than the offensive linemen they normally have, but he had a great 40 time and moved pretty well on tape for someone his size. They could fit him into their scheme and he could be a starting guard for them long term.
99. C Ben Jones B
They just resigned Chris Myers, but Jones can provide depth at guard as well, and competition for Brooks, just a 3rd rounder, and Wade Smith, who was Houston’s worst offensive lineman last season.
121. WR Keshawn Martin C-
Another receiver, another reach. I didn’t have Martin in my top 250 at all. That might be fine if it was the 6th or 7th round. This is the 4th and they did have other needs.
126. 3-4 DE Jared Crick A
Crick is an excellent value here. I had a 3rd round grade on him and he could have gone in the 2nd had he stayed healthy this year. He’ll provide needed depth on the defensive line, though I’m not sure what they’re planning on doing at nose tackle.
161. K Randy Bullock B-
They needed a kicker, but this is too early for Bullock. You can always get a kicker in the 7th round. There’s not much difference between them. He was a draftable kicker on my board, however.
195. OT Nick Mondek B-
They needed a right tackle, but I don’t know if Mondek counts. He was on my top 250 board. In fact, this was the first I had heard of him, one of only 10 or so such prospects. In the 6th round so it’s not too bad.
There was a lot of good and a lot of bad for the Texans in this draft. They got an amazing steal in Whitney Mercilus at 26 and, while he doesn’t fill a huge need, he’ll help add to an already good pass rush. However, DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin were reaches at receiver, a position they really needed to hit on. They had Rueben Randle in the late 2nd. Why did they trade down? Jared Crick was a great value and Ben Jones provides depth at 3 positions. Brandon Brooks could be a long term starter for them as well. However, Randy Bullock was drafted a couple rounds two early and Nick Mondek came out of nowhere.
They didn’t fill a need at nose tackle and they should have addressed the right tackle position earlier. The receivers they got were not very good and I’m surprised they didn’t grab another tight end given how much they rely on them. Garrett Graham was a 4th round pick in 2010 who is set to play a lot of snaps in 2012. Maybe he’ll be good, but I don’t know why they didn’t take at least one developmental one to start as a #3 tight end and work his way up the depth chart.
Grade: B-
Texans Cowboys Preview
By Jim Keller
Should they run more? Should they throw the ball down the field more? How about blitzing? Yes? No? How about a new coach, offensive coordinator or both?
Those are the questions being asked in Cowboys Nation this week after the Dallas Cowboys started the season 0-2. And the Dallas braintrust – owner Jerry Jones & Co. – better find the answers soon because only three teams since who lost their first three games of the season since 1990 have advanced to the playoffs.
It won’t be easy this week against the rejuvenated Houston Texans, who have won six straight games dating to last season and have the No.1 scoring and yardage offense in the NFL.
But let’s get back to the Cowboys’ offense for now because that seems to be the overwhelming topic these first few weeks. … Let me throw out some numbers.
Forty two runs (22 in Week 1 and 20 in Week 2) and 98 passes in two games! No run longer than 12 yards, no pass completion longer than 30 yards. Twelve of the 42 runs have been for two yards or less. Since 2007, teams that ran the ball more than 22 times have won 92 percent of the games.
Therefore, the percentages seem to favor more running, and even though the offensive line is banged up, Dallas did average 4.8 yards per carry last season, second highest in the NFL, and was seventh in yards rushing.
Five of the 22 runs last week in the 27-20 loss to Chicago went for negative yards, eight for two yards or less. And that was after Marion Barber rushed for 22 yards on the first three plays for Dallas. Interesting note from ESPNDallas.com: On first downs, Dallas is running 31 percent of the time, 31st in the NFL.
Because of the No. 2 passing rank in the NFL after two weeks, the Cowboys rank fourth in total offense, yet Romo & Co. have engineered just two touchdowns despite 27 first downs and 16 minutes more time of possession
Of Romo’s 98 passes, only 13 have been thrown 15 yards down the field – just over 13 percent.. Houston QB Matt Schaub has thrown 25 percent of his passes at least 15 yards down the field, and despite 29 fewer throws than Romo, he has just 52 fewer yards.
Romo is second in passing yards (656) and has been sacked just once but his adjusted yards per attempt is 5.7 which ranks 10th and his win probability of -.44 is 30th. Now I’m not sure how all that is calculated, but it doesn’t bode well for the Dallas offense. He ranked sixth and ninth, respectively, in these categories a season ago.
Romo is the eighth player since 1920 to throw 98 passes in the first two games and first since Tom Brady. These QBs combined to go 5-11. And Romo had the highest completion percentage and second-highest passer rating (83.5) but still lost twice.
All of these numbers indicate that Dallas needs to run a little more, pass a little less, and challenge vertically if for nothing else other than to open up a little room for the running game and underneath stuff.
Despite all the big-play targets, this Cowboys’ offense reminds me most of the early-80s when Danny White took over for Roger Staubach.
White had some weapons around him and put up some pretty good numbers, but Dallas always fell short because they couldn’t convert enough with its ball-control offense. White or somebody else always seemed to make a negative play at the worst time. This is sort of reminiscent of Romo and this cast of characters. They have committed 18 penalties, trail 4-0 in the turnover battle and make costly mistakes or bad throws on key downs.
Dallas should get something done on offense if it can neutralize NFL sack leader Mario Williams (4) on Sunday. Houston has surrendered 422 yards per game – most in the NFL – and Donovan McNabb threw for over 400 yards last week for Washington, more than double what McNabb threw for against the Cowboys in Week 1.
While the Dallas defense held Washington to two field goals in a 13-7 loss on Week 1, Chicago’s Jay Cutler dissected the Dallas blitz for 277 yards and three TDs. After Cutler was sacked once and repeatedly dropped to the turf in the Bears’ first three possessions, Cutler started dumping passes into the vacated blitzing linebackers territories and Chicago engineered three scoring drives and 157 yards on its last three possessions of the half. Dallas, which has relied on pressuring QBs with linebacker and safety blitzes, curiously dialed down the pressure but to no avail.
Cutler, who is known for going down the field, was 18 of 21 with three touchdowns for a 143 passer rating on throws of 10 yards or less.
While holding both Washington and Chicago under 100 yards rushing, Dallas will need to improve upon its totals of two sacks and zero turnovers forced to keep the Texans at bay.
Last week Schaub rallied Houston from a 27-10 deficit with 332 yards passing after intermission, and his 497 total was a franchise record. He threw a TD pass to Kevin Walter on the last play of the third quarter and hooked up with Andre Johnson on a 34-yard TD on a fourth down Hail Mary with 2:03 remaining to force overtime. Neil Rackers’ 35-yard field goal with 3:04 left in the extra session gave Houston its first win in seven OT contests.
Schaub completed 38 of 52 balls for three touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked five times. Johnson and Walter combined for 23 catches and 302 yards, creating a big challenge Sunday for Dallas corners Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter last week with a bruised knee but is expected to play.
Houston is also dangerous on the ground with Arian Foster, who rushed for a franchise-record 231 yards in a Week 1 win over Indianapolis and added 69 rushing and passing last week.
The Houston offense will be without left tackle Duane Brown, a 2008 first-round draft pick suspended this week for four games for violating the league’s performing enhancing drug policy.
The clubs have split two previous games. Houston won 19-10 here in 2002 for a franchise-first victory and Dallas picked up a 34-6 win four years later, but the Texans thoroughly handled the Cowboys 23-7 in a preseason contest when both teams played their regulars for most of the contest.
Texans 2011 Needs
Free Agency Priorities
Safety
Eugene Wilson can’t stay healthy and he’s at the point where even when he can get on the field, he’s not very good because injuries have sapped his athleticism. Glover Quin might be moving to free safety, but I have my doubts about his abilities as well. Bernard Pollard is the other safety and he’s a free agent and I don’t think 5th round pick Shiloh Keo can step up right away.
Nose Tackle
Wade Phillips thinks that the 291 pound Earl Mitchell is the perfect fit for his scheme at nose tackle. He may be right, but I’d still like to see them add a bigger nose tackle for depth purposes.
Cornerback
Kareem Jackson, Brandon Harris, Glover Quin, Rashard Carmichael, not a lot of experience in that secondary. They should sign a veteran cornerback to be in the mix and then they can try Quin at free safety if they feel that’s his best position.
Draft Needs
Cornerback
The Houston Texans ranked 31st in the league in YPA allowed, 2nd worst only to Jacksonville. They also ranked dead last in total passing yards allowed (almost 100 more than next worst Washington). They went with two young cornerbacks almost all year as their starters, Kareem Jackson and Glover Quin. Jackson was a 2010 1st round pick and cornerbacks tend to take awhile to develop so they have to be patient with him, but Quin is a 2009 4th round pick and has only had one good game in 2 years (against Rusty Smith and the Titans). After that, they lack depth. They could go corner in the first for the 2nd straight year and even if they don’t, expect them to go corner relatively early to eventually push Quin to nickel.
Drafted Brandon Harris (#60), Drafted Rashad Carmichael (#127)
Rush Linebacker
With only 30 sacks, it’s tough to blame everything on the corners and other defensive backs. The Texans pass rush sucked. Now they move to a 3-4 under Wade Phillips, which means Mario Williams and his 8.5 sacks will be moving to a 3-4 defensive end position that doesn’t rush the passer as much. On top of that, their only legitimate rush linebacker option is Connor Barwin. Barwin is a 2009 2nd round pick who hurt his ankle in the 2010 opener and missed the whole season. If they don’t go corner at #11, rush linebacker makes sense with the large array of options they will have (Aldon Smith, Ryan Kerrigan, Von Miller, and maybe Robert Quinn). They might double dip at the position in the draft.
Drafted Brooks Reed (#42), Drafted Cheta Ozougwu (#254)
Safety
Going back to that miserable secondary, Bernard Pollard does enough things well against the run to make up for his struggles in coverage, but Eugene Wilson has crossed the line from, if he ever stays healthy he can be great to injuries have sapped his athleticism so much that he’s not worth it anymore.
Drafted Shiloh Keo (#144)
Nose Tackle
All good 3-4 defenses need a good nose tackle. They may try 6-2 315 Amobi Okoye here if they don’t think he fits at 3-4 defensive end, but either way they do need some depth on the line and a true nose tackle wouldn’t hurt.
Offensive Tackle
It can be argued that Duane Brown is no longer qualified to protect Matt Schaub’s blindside. The former 1st round pick was marginal this year and with the passing game being such a huge part of their offense, they can’t afford a struggling player at left tackle.
Drafted Derek Newton (#214)
Wide Receiver
Neither Kevin Walter nor Jacoby Jones are explosive players across from Andre Johnson. They may take a flier on a raw, athletic, explosive receiver late.
Texans 2010 Recap
The Houston Texans were finally supposed to make the playoffs this year, for the first time in their history. They finished last season winning their last 4, including one against a good Patriots team, and everyone and their dog noticed how much better this team’s record could have been if they had a kicker who didn’t choke in the clutch and a true goal line back. They started 2-0 this season, with a win over the hated Indianapolis Colts, for just the 2nd time in 17 games, and an improbable comeback win over the Washington Redskins that made you say “they just couldn’t have won that type of game last year.” Everyone had them as their “sleeper.”
So how did they finish 6-10, despite a breakout year by former undrafted running back and J.A. Adande look alike Arian Foster (327/1616/16, 66/604/2)? Well, a pass defense that gave up the most points in the league didn’t help. However, 4 losses in which they trailed by 14, game back to take the lead, and still lost were the killer. Combine this with at least 4 losses last season that they could have easily won and a history of blowing big leads against the Colts (up 17, 4 minutes to go, in the Sage Chokensfels game in 2008), they just lost confidence. They didn’t feel like winners.
After they got their testacles ripped out by the Ravens on home on MNF week 14, this team just gave up. In that game, they trailed by 21 on two separate occasions (28-7, 21-0) including with about 22 minutes left in the game. Two field goals, a 99 yard touchdown drive, a 95 touchdown drive capped with seconds remaining by a 2 point conversion sent it to overtime. The Ravens got the ball first, but the Texans stopped them, only to see Matt Schaub throw a game losing pick six on his 60th throw of the night. It would have been the most entertaining game of the season for me if I didn’t pick Houston +3 (couldn’t they have just missed the 2 pointer).
In the next 3 weeks, they looked like they were half asleep when they played and it looked like this team would finally not win enough games late to save Gary Kubiak’s job. Kubiak had to be blamed for this talented team never making the playoffs and all of their heartbreaking losses. Fans even organized a mass rally to go Kubiak fired. Any time that many fans protest the coach, you have to fire him as the owner. There are potential season ticket and even single game ticket purchasers on there. Except Kubiak kept his job. He’ll be back next year.
Texans
2010 Record: 6-10
Draft Position: 11
2010 Season Recap: Click Here
Offseason Needs: Click Here
Free Agents/Team Transactions: Click Here
Draft Grades: Click Here
Key Offseason Moves: Resigned Owen Daniels
2010 Posts
How Losing DeMeco Ryans Won’t Be Bad, A Must Win For The Texans, Quarter Season Texans Pro Bowl Players, Why the Houston Texans Tailgate Rule is a Good Thing
Terrence Cody
Nose Tackle
Alabama
6-4 349
40 time: 5.64
Draft board overall prospect rank: #18
Draft board nose tackle rank: #1
Overall rating: 87*
2/27/10: Cody weighed in at 370 at his Senior Bowl weigh in after promising he’d be at 355 and his stock lowered. Cody weighed in at 354 today at the combine. He still needs to lose some weight, but I think I can move him back up a little after dropping him following the Senior Bowl. If you’ve ever seen this guy play, he might be the most agile 354 pound man you’ve ever seen.
1/26/10: He is a large man. One can only hope he keeps his shirt on when he runs the 40 at the combine.
5/19/09: At 370 pounds, Terrence Cody is an athletic freak of nature deadly against the run. He has been given the nickname Mount Cody because of his size and he eats opposing centers for breakfast. His amazing run stuffing ability doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, or at least his own stat sheet, but he was a huge part of why Alabama was the longest undefeated team in College Football last year, as well as a huge part of their amazing defense. He gets a great push on the offensive line and opposing ball carriers rarely, if ever, break his tackles. He doesn’t have a great reputation for having a great work ethic, especially because of his size and high body fat percent, but when he has needed to lose weight he has. When he was a 410 pound nose tackle in Junior College who couldn’t get a Division 1 job because of his size, he lost 30 pounds and got a scholarship to the University of Alabama. When Coach Nick Saban was taking him out on 3rd and longs because he is not much of a factor against the pass, he lost another 10 and will likely be an every down nose tackle next season. There are questions about his motor and his durability and he occasionally takes a few plays off. He is injury prone, which is typical for someone of his size. There are questions about his experience. He has only played one season at Alabama, 2 in junior college, so I think it was smart for him to return. As long as he doesn’t struggle or get hurt, his decision to return was smart. He is actually very mobile and agile for a 370 pound monster, and has great lateral movement, which helps against some of the quicker running backs, but he doesn’t have good chase speed at all and his footwork as a pass rusher is very subpar, so he won’t get a lot of sacks. Because of that, he can only realistically play one position at the next level, 3-4 nose tackle, which will be part of the reason why he is likely a top 20 pick and a top 10 pick like BJ Raji was in this past draft. Still, all in all, he’s a beast of a nose tackle and with more teams switching to the 3-4, he’ll be highly sought after. There aren’t that many pure run stuffing nose tackles like Cody out there and that is what a lot of 3-4 teams are going to be looking for in the 1st round.
Comparison: Kris Jenkins
*= For a breakdown of what this means, click here
Terrell Thomas Giants
28 million over 4 years with 11 million guaranteed is a pretty good haul for a player for missed all of last season with a torn ACL. He’s fairly young (27) and the Giants would be able to assess his medical condition better than anyone, but at the same time, he wasn’t even that great when he was healthy (60th overall by ProFootballFocus in 2010) and this is his 2nd torn ACL of his pro career. In 2010, he allowed 61.3% completion, 7.7 YPA, and 7 touchdowns to 5 interceptions, though he was above average against the run and as a pass rusher. Essentially, the Giants locked up an injury prone #2 cornerback for high end #2, low end #1 money. I don’t get it.
Grade: D
Football Fan Spot 