Houston Texans

[Gary]

Dayne is an excellent North/South runner, I believe he actually likes it here in Houston, just give the man the pigskin and let him go to work.

I would love to see him for a full season with an O-line. My bet is that come midway through the 3rd quarter, the boy's on the other side of the ball would get real tired of tackling him.

By the way, he also seems to have good vision and timing.

[houstonfella]

My prediction at the beginning of the year was Eagles beating the Colts in the Super Bowl, and I'm sticking to it.

DJ V: you think Indy can get there? I mean, the Texans beat 'em. Can the Colts make it through a playoff run? Philly, I think, has a good chance as the NFC is weak and weaker. But the AFC has some teams that can kick ass.... the Texans are not one of them.

But if Indy vs. Philly happens, I'll root for Indy.

[hokieone]

Colts will not make it to the super bowl. that run defense is horrific - yes ron dayne looked good yesterday, but also against a team that has been getting drilled by the run. the jags went for i think 400 yards on the ground a few weeks ago. if the colts run into a team with even a decent running game, its over. the nfc is unpredictable - dallas looks like world beaters, gets smacked by new orleans and philly. new orleans got beat by the redskins a week ago. philly is playing with jeff garcia. bears have a great record, but who knows what grossman is ever going to do. i would think this is a year that the AFC should have a significant edge.

[Gary]

Colts will not make it to the super bowl. that run defense is horrific - yes ron dayne looked good yesterday, but also against a team that has been getting drilled by the run. the jags went for i think 400 yards on the ground a few weeks ago. if the colts run into a team with even a decent running game, its over. the nfc is unpredictable - dallas looks like world beaters, gets smacked by new orleans and philly. new orleans got beat by the redskins a week ago. philly is playing with jeff garcia. bears have a great record, but who knows what grossman is ever going to do. i would think this is a year that the AFC should have a significant edge.

Dayne has looked good for several weeks, so the Colts lack of defense is not the culprit.

My prediction is Pats vs Bears.

[houstonfella]

Da Bears. Da Pats. Hey, that would be a very cool Super Bowl. Could happen. Yeah, it could happen. But let's not leave New Orleans out of the picture. Now that would be cool. Happy Holidays HAIFers!

[TJones]

Dayne has looked good for several weeks, so the Colts lack of defense is not the culprit.

My prediction is Pats vs Bears.

OOOOOOOOOOOO, a Pats / Bears reunion would be sweet. I was there in New Orleans in '85 for SuperBowl XX. Stood outside the Superdome for 4 hours holding up 2 fingers, looking for tickets with my Pop. Finally scored and got decent tickets on the 30 yd line. Then enjoyed watching Chicago break the Pats collective back.

I am thinking San Diego and New Orleans.

Edited December 26, 2006 by TJones

[Trae]

The Saints and Chargers.

[TJones]

The Saints and Chargers.

Great minds think alike Trae !

Edited December 26, 2006 by TJones

[Gary]

OOOOOOOOOOOO, a Pats / Bears reunion would be sweet. I was there in New Orleans in '85 for SuperBowl XX. Stood outside the Superdome for 4 hours holding up 2 fingers, looking for tickets with my Pop. Finally scored and got decent tickets on the 30 yd line. Then enjoyed watching Chicago break the Pats collective back.

I am thinking San Diego and New Orleans.

The Chargers do look very good, but I'm not so sure about the Saints. They seem to waver from week to week. I do love Breeze though.

[houstonsemipro]

Why get another vertern quarterback and they still got Sage? That would be a waste of money.

But, I do agree with you on the Texans need to draft OL and DL. In addition, they also need another RB and a CB, cause every game Faggins get's Burnt!

I've realize what I said before, and got me thinking. The Texans already drafted 2 OL's, so what they need now is more vertern leadership on the offense line.

Now, they could draft a rookie wide receiver, because I do think they need another addition at wide out.

If they do draft a RB. I would cut Wali Lundy, and Samkon Gado. But, the big question is will Davis be back? If he do make a comeback, Davis and Dayne will be the top RB's follow by another good rookie RB, or a vertern, or then too Texans could make Dayne a 3rd down back.

In addition, the Texans needs another right tackle (vertern tackle). An outside linebacker, another pass rusher and a CB.

My picks are...

Chris Brown, or Micheal Turner(rb)

Dwight Feeney(pass rusher)

Nate Clements(cb)

Leonard Davis, or Mike Gandy(right tackle)

Lance Briggs, Na'il Diggs or Cato June (outside linebacker)

Edited December 26, 2006 by houstonsemipro

[TJones]

No semi, what you do is hope that Davis comes back and trade him off to free up some moolah. His knee is done, get some money for him while we can. Dayne can hold the number one spot. Dayne is doing just fine being the fulltime back now. I can't believe I am saying this, but YES get a nice WR in the draft, so I agree with (gasp!) semipro on that, or take either Troy Smith or Brady Quinn as your first rounder, and then concentrate on a couple of O-linemen then another outstanding D-Lineman. I amnot worried at all about our Linebackers, DBs though, Faggins is weak, he needs to be traded, his nickname should be "Toast" because he always gets burnt at least ONCE in a game.

Edited December 26, 2006 by TJones

[DJ V Lawrence]

DJ V: you think Indy can get there? I mean, the Texans beat 'em. Can the Colts make it through a playoff run? Philly, I think, has a good chance as the NFC is weak and weaker. But the AFC has some teams that can kick ass.... the Texans are not one of them.

But if Indy vs. Philly happens, I'll root for Indy.

The Texans beat 'em for a reason. Colts were playing for a high playoff spot against a team they've never lost to, and quite frankly, they underestimated how Houston would come out. The Texans, however, were playing for their jobs. They HAD to prove they had the personel to beat a quality playoff contender. Prior to the Colts, we beat the Jags twice, the Dolphins, and the Raiders. That was it. And we supposedly drafted Williams because we wanted to be "capable" of beating Manning and the Colts.

I think Indy's defense wa exposed, and they have no choice but to improve it. They know Dayne exposed their weakness. But I think Peyton and the Colts are hungrier than any other team in the playoff because everyone's already ridden them out of considering them to be able to win in the post-season, the same way people never thought the Texans would be able to beat the Colts this season. I think Manning's offense will be high-scoring, and the defense will do everything they can to keep opponents within field-goal range, but that's it. Dungy's gonna find a way to win with what he has against the AFC teams this post-season. Like I said, Indy was exposed this past week, but at least they know their weakness. Some of these other teams may not have an off-playing day until playoff time when it's too late.

The Eagles are a well oiled machine, and I thought they would win the Super Bowl when I saw HOW they beat the Texans on opening day. No one on the Eagles took the Texans for granted. McNabb was healthy and the team was just loose. Now, Garcia's sitting in for McNabb, but the team is still loose and not taking anything for granted. And their DL is just ridiculous. y'all saw when the Cowboys were on the 1-2 yard line, and how the Eagles were able to collapse them for 4 straight downs? That wasn't a fluke team they beat like that; the Cowboys can play.

I think the Bears are the best team in football this season, but the Eagles have the best style of play when it comes to taking nothing for granted and being a blue-collar winner.

No semi, what you do is hope that Davis comes back and trade him off to free up some moolah. His knee is done, get some money for him while we can. Dayne can hold the number one spot. Dayne is doing just fine being the fulltime back now. I can't believe I am saying this, but YES get a nice WR in the draft, so I agree with (gasp!) semipro on that, or take either Troy Smith or Brady Quinn as your first rounder, and then concentrate on a couple of O-linemen then another outstanding D-Lineman. I amnot worried at all about our Linebackers, DBs though, Faggins is weak, he needs to be traded, his nickname should be "Toast" because he always gets burnt at least ONCE in a game.

I don't know Davis' future, but the Texans have a decent group of WR. Anyone in mind you're talking about in terms of another WR we should draft?

[TJones]

I don't know Davis' future, but the Texans have a decent group of WR. Anyone in mind you're talking about in terms of another WR we should draft?

How about Ohio State's , Ted Ginn or Georgia Tech's, Calvin Johnson ? Andre Caldwell from Florida ? OH YEAH! and Drew Bennet is a Free Agent, so maybe we court him, and leave the draft for something else we need.

Edited December 26, 2006 by TJones

[Trae]

I've realize what I said before, and got me thinking. The Texans already drafted 2 OL's, so what they need now is more vertern leadership on the offense line.

I agree. The line played well on Sunday, but another veteran through free-agency would be nice. It is hard to find good O-Lineman in free agency because most teams keep their O-Lineman for many years, and like to groom them.

Now, they could draft a rookie wide receiver, because I do think they need another addition at wide out.

We already have AJ and Moulds, and I think another young talent reciever would be good for the team. We could put him in the slot a lot (so we would need a speedy guy).

If they do draft a RB. I would cut Wali Lundy, and Samkon Gado. But, the big question is will Davis be back? If he do make a comeback, Davis and Dayne will be the top RB's follow by another good rookie RB, or a vertern, or then too Texans could make Dayne a 3rd down back.

We don't need another running back in the draft. We have Dayne, who can pound at the defenses for the first half. Then we have Chris Taylor, who has a lot of speed to him. I think he have found our Jerome Bettis (Ron Dayne), Willie Parker (Chris Taylor or Wali Lundy), and Duce Staley (Samkon Gado). I wouldn't mind keeping Gado, though.

In addition, the Texans needs another right tackle (vertern tackle). An outside linebacker, another pass rusher and a CB.

We don't need a right tackle, but a good OLB to back up DeMeco Ryans, and a pass rusher to help out Mario and Peek would be good. We need a speedy safety and a CB. Faggins keeps getting burned.

My picks are...

Chris Brown, or Micheal Turner(rb)

I am not giving away a first rounder, or second rounder for Michael Turner from San Diego. He is a restricted free agent. Chris Brown is way too injury prone. It would be like signing an injured Dominic Davis.

Dwight Feeney(pass rusher)

Would like him. We could trade Babin away for a pick in the draft (he might be worth at least a third rounder).

Nate Clements(cb)

I would like this guy here. He is kind of small (six foot and 205 pounds), but he is fast.

Leonard Davis, or Mike Gandy(right tackle)

Don't know these people.

Lance Briggs, Na'il Diggs or Cato June (outside linebacker)

Cato June is too soft. I would like Lance Briggs from Chicago.

Edited December 26, 2006 by Trae

[DJ V Lawrence]

I say draft the highest DE or OL in the first round again. With all the standout QBs more than likely being the first 3 or 4 drafted, and quite a few WR available, I think the Texans will be left with the highest DEs in the draft. If there's a standout WR available, yeah, get'em. I'm not sure if that guy will be available though. We'll probably be #8, possibly double-digits in the draft depending on if we beat the Browns and how other teams fare this last weekend.

The Texans are going to need a LOT of pass and rush protection next season to accomodate Carr, our current WRs, and RBs. We also need much more improvement on defense. Talent and skill seem to be there now for the Texans, but their protection needs improvement, and pass coverage looked non-existant 50% of the time. When it was there, it was impressive. That needs to be much more consistant.

[TJones]

I think we'll be number 4 or 5 in the draft, IF we go with another DE again, I think Kubiak will be receiving letter bombs ! I wouldn't mind who they go with, Kubiak and his bunch of Goons get paid big bucks to know more about football than me, so if they think going another way is a better choice I just have to assume that they know what they are doing. I trust Kubiak to do what is right for the Texan's franchise.

[houstonsemipro]

No semi, what you do is hope that Davis comes back and trade him off to free up some moolah. His knee is done, get some money for him while we can. Dayne can hold the number one spot. Dayne is doing just fine being the fulltime back now. I can't believe I am saying this, but YES get a nice WR in the draft, so I agree with (gasp!) semipro on that, or take either Troy Smith or Brady Quinn as your first rounder, and then concentrate on a couple of O-linemen then another outstanding D-Lineman. I amnot worried at all about our Linebackers, DBs though, Faggins is weak, he needs to be traded, his nickname should be "Toast" because he always gets burnt at least ONCE in a game.

No, TJones. Kubiak will not draft a rookie quarterback to teach all over again (like Carr). He will get a vertern quarterback like Jake Plummer, or Jeff Garcia to take lend of this team.

I was reading a statement on NFL.com mentioning Jeff Gracia will be a good candidate for the Texans, cause he fit right in the system.

Gracia will be UFA after this season.

Edited December 27, 2006 by houstonsemipro

[Trae]

Jeff Garcia chose not to come to Houston, and with the way he is playing, do you think he would want to leave Philly? He is already 36 years old, so I think Philly is his last team.

[DJ V Lawrence]

Jeff Garcia chose not to come to Houston, and with the way he is playing, do you think he would want to leave Philly? He is already 36 years old, so I think Philly is his last team.

I think if Garcia were guaranteed a starting spot at his age, he'd take it. He won't be on the field when McNabb's healthy. Or perhaps he could become a mentor to Carr as both battled out for the QB spot week after week. There would probably be no QB excuses for loss if McNair offered a lum sum for him.

[ProHouston]

The last two weeks in the NFL:

Texans 27 Colts 24

Texans 14 Browns 6

Eagles 23 Cowboys 7

Lions 39 Cowboys 31

I'll take that rematch with the Cowboys now. Things are looking up in Texas!

[houstonfella]

We won't get a "rematch" .... and that's good because as a Texans' fan, I believe Dallas (as bad as they have been of late) would put it on us. Gotta concentrate on 2007. Whew. A new QB? How about that fella that plays for UH who can run, throw and git 'r dun??? At any rate, the Texans are 6-10 as compared to 2-14. The Pokes are just another wild card in the weak NFC. One day Houston will be in the Super Bowl. One day .... I hope I have enough days left in my life.

[DJ V Lawrence]

The last two weeks in the NFL:

Texans 27 Colts 24

Texans 14 Browns 6

Eagles 23 Cowboys 7

Lions 39 Cowboys 31

I'll take that rematch with the Cowboys now. Things are looking up in Texas!

The Cowboys have a chance to redeem themselves in the playoff, but man does that look like a collapse. They should have been division champs this season in my opinion, and it should have been Philly with the wild-card. Congrats to them for making the playoffs, but they've under-achieved so far. Regardless of what happens in the post-season, they need to add a piece or two during the offseason to be Super Bowl contenders. They lost the division title by losing the last two games to their division rival and the worst team in football? I think they'll have a good 2007, but they need to start off the season better than they did this year. I'm curious how Owens will do, but Romo should be the focal point if he's as good as he was prior to the Eagles' game.

Texans, what can I say. Hats off to 'em. They finish the season with their second-best record in franchise history, ended up beating the Colts for the first time ever, end the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2004, and redeemed themselves after their most embarassing loss in their history (Titans). They have a lot to build off of. The defense has a LOT of potential in 2007. Offense also shows a lot of promise, but either the QB or the OL needs more work.

Think about it this way: Last year, the Cowboys were 9-7 and the Texans were 2-14. The Cowboys won seven games more than the Texans in 2005.

This year, the Cowboys still finished 9-7 while the Texans finish at 6-10, meaning the Cowboys finish with three more wins than the Texans this season.

[Spades]

The Cowboys will need coaching changes and it starts from the top. Sorry but Bill Parcells must go. I don't think he's the same coach we seen 10 years ago. There needs to be some people cut too. Such as Terrell Owens. This team is already very talented, but poorly coached. They need to make many moves this offseason and they'll contend for a superbowl.

[Trae]

We don't need Kevin Kolb. We need a JaMarcus Russel from LSU, or Troy Smith from Ohio State. I like JaMarcus Russel better (he's taller and has a much stronger arm).

[DJ V Lawrence]

The Cowboys will need coaching changes and it starts from the top. Sorry but Bill Parcells must go. I don't think he's the same coach we seen 10 years ago. There needs to be some people cut too. Such as Terrell Owens. This team is already very talented, but poorly coached. They need to make many moves this offseason and they'll contend for a superbowl.

I think Parcells has done a good job. He's more of an old-school, experience-over-new blood kinda dude, and I don't think that sat too well for Cowboys fans that wanted Romo to start when Bledsoe started at the beginning of the season. The Owens distraction was over-rated. He didn't keep the 'Boys out the playoffs.

[houstonsemipro]

We don't need Kevin Kolb. We need a JaMarcus Russel from LSU, or Troy Smith from Ohio State. I like JaMarcus Russel better (he's taller and has a much stronger arm).

The Texans won't be drafting a rookie quarterback. Look for one these verterns (Jake Plummer, or Jeff Gracia) to come in this offseason.

[houstonsemipro]

Texans are looking to free up some salary cap, and the best position to start at is quarterback, David Carr. Projections have the Texans anywhere from $10 million to $13 million under the new cap for the 2007 year. Trade Carr for a vertern quarterback, Jake Plummer and draft a rookie quarterback in the 2nd round. Take a runningback in the 1st round.

Texans needs this offseason...

- quarterback

- left tackle

- runningback

- another play maker linebacker

- cornerback

- pass rusher

- maybe a FS

Moreover, the Texans picks for the draft are as follows...

- 1st round (8th pick)

- 2nd round (7th pick)

- 3rd round (9th pick)

- 4th round (8th pick)

- 5th round (7th pick)

- 6th round (9th pick)

- 7th round (18th pick)

Oh, I almost forgot. Here's the Texans 2007 schedule... This is not the exact order!

colts(2)

jaguars(2)

titans(2)

dolphins

browns

chargers

chiefs

broncos

raiders

saints

panthers

buccaneers

falcons.

Edited January 1, 2007 by houstonsemipro

[DJ V Lawrence]

Texans are looking to free up some salary cap, and the best position to start at is quarterback, David Carr. Projections have the Texans anywhere from $10 million to $13 million under the new cap for the 2007 year. Trade Carr for a vertern quarterback, Jake Plummer and draft a rookie quarterback in the 2nd round. Take a runningback in the 1st round.

Texans needs this offseason...

- quarterback

- left tackle

- runningback

- another play maker linebacker

- cornerback

- pass rusher

- maybe a FS

You really think QB is the priority and should be wasted with the Texans' 1st round pick? If I were the Texans, here's my priority list...

1) Find a new offensive coordinator. The one we have is going to Air Force, and perhaps we could use that spot on another former head coach like we did Mike Sherman as defensive coordinator. We need a coordinator who's capable of taking chances and completing them with his plays. Jim Mora and Dennis Green were both fired today as head coaches; both in my opinion would be much more effective as coordinators than head coaches.

2) In the draft, we need better pass protection, DL, and OL. They've improved a lot from last year, but it still needs a lot of work. Our runningbacks have a lot of potential. If there's no Reggie Bush or Vince Young sure-thing type RBs or QBs available, Beef up the protection and depth.

3) If a QB is a need, get a quality veteran on the bench like Garcia or Plummer. If Carr doesn't have a 1st quarter, get the backup in immediately, and let him stay as the starter until Carr gets his game back at practice. Carr had a decent season. Even when he had a good game and the Texans lost, the Houston media seemed to blame him more than the Texans lack of depth. David Carr in my opinion is only as good as his coordinator, and if he can't start next year, Carr needs to be a backup. The biggest mistake the Texans could do is get rid of Carr without bringing in two quality, proven QBs. I don't think Rosenfels should be the only quality backup available. Have him fight for the backup spot.

The Texans' biggest weakness is lack of depth.

[lockmat]

DJ, he said to take a QB in the second round, not the first.

But the Texans were so inconsistent all season that it's hard to tell what we need more. And of course we had injuries just like any other team, but our O-line wasn't too bad at the beginning of the season.

We as fans tend to think we know more than we actually do, regardless of football knowledge and experience. Even the so called experts don't seem to know what they're talking about sometimes. Football is such a team game and complicated that it's hard to put your finger on problems. One mistake effects the rest of the team. It's not like baseball where you can clearly see if a player gets hits or not, or like basketball players putting the ball in the hoop. Football is not obvious like those sports. Each position affects the rest. They depend on each other like no other sport.

Personally, here's some priorities I think they should take:

Sage Rosenfells (sp) looked more than capable of running a team when he was in there. I watched that game again a couple days ago and he looked very good. He might be able to be our starting QB and if not, for sure our backup. If we go the free agency route for a starting QB, we shouldn't pick one in the draft any earlier than the 5th round.

We need to beef up our O-line not only for a starting position but for 2nd stringers to create competition and a solid backup in case of injury. This I believe should be a first or second round pick.

Our secondary also needs to be addressed. I would say pick up a CB or safety in the second or third rounds.

And although we have Andre and Moulds, we need to get a third WR.

I'm sure we have more needs than we can fill and problems that we can't see and problems that we think we see.

Kubiak had a great draft last year and I believe that whatever they do in the offseason will likely be just as good.

[DJ V Lawrence]

By the way, I called the Texans record after the third game this year (6-10).

Good call