jch1911 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I think we will be in the discussion on EJ Gaines by just connecting the dots (GM Gaine comes straight from BUF where they traded for him, BUF signed Vontae Davis knowing he is out the door) http://billswire.usatoday.com/2018/02/02/bills-dbs-respond-angrily-to-pending-fa-cornerback-e-j-gaines-after-cryptic-instagram-post/ Gaines is a little slow to me, but maybe he plays better in pads. I would prefer going after Fuller, but not my call... plus maybe our Gaine sees Gaines as a gain (you're welcome) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 1 hour ago, jch1911 said: I think we will be in the discussion on EJ Gaines by just connecting the dots (GM Gaine comes straight from BUF where they traded for him, BUF signed Vontae Davis knowing he is out the door) http://billswire.usatoday.com/2018/02/02/bills-dbs-respond-angrily-to-pending-fa-cornerback-e-j-gaines-after-cryptic-instagram-post/ Gaines is a little slow to me, but maybe he plays better in pads. I would prefer going after Fuller, but not my call... plus maybe our Gaine sees Gaines as a gain (you're welcome) I'd be all over Gaines - guy was top 20 CB per PFF (I like PFF for grades on CBs and OL) and is still pretty young. He's going to be very well compensated by someone, but he's not breaking Trumaine Johnson type of money. Gaines and Joyner as FA adds would have me giddy for our secondary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Stallion Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 3 hours ago, EliteTexan80 said: I'd be all over Gaines - guy was top 20 CB per PFF (I like PFF for grades on CBs and OL) and is still pretty young. He's going to be very well compensated by someone, but he's not breaking Trumaine Johnson type of money. Gaines and Joyner as FA adds would have me giddy for our secondary. Vontae Davis for $3.5 million is exactly what I was talking about yesterday with bargain short-term deals as pre-fill before draft and big-time long-term deals. Davis would be turning the clock back to Joseph when he was 29 for 1/3 the salary of Kareem Jackson. Dude was a Pro Bowler in 2014-15 and his "dropoff" looked to me just like the times in 2012 and 2015 when Joseph was playing thru groin issues and after having surgery he was back to Pro Bowl form. I don't see fixing this secondary as a 1 year enterprise and I'd rather have options in the building who CAN be #1 options if we fail to land a long-term solution and frankly, I've got serious doubts about all of the high priced top CB candidates, none of whom who have had season's as good as Davis' 2014-15, but will be going for 5 year / $67m Bouye money. Clearly, the Rams have had serious doubts about giving T. Johnson long-term money, the Pats questions about Butler are clear, the Bears didn't want to give Fuller a 5th year, and so on. Gaines might be the guy, but the dude has Kevin Johnson durability although has shown way more when healthy. Again, we don't need 1 CB, we need at least 3 if not 4 if Kareem finally gets moved to S and that's even giving the worst CB in football last year (Kevin Johnson) his roster spot back basically just because he was a first rounder. If Joseph isn't brought back, there is also a massive leadership void that has to be replaced unless you think our secondary is ok being lead by the mediocrity of Andre Hal. I know it's early, but as I see discount parts like Davis, Amerson, and Peters moving to replace parts in secondaries that were actually good last year, I'm hopeful that Gaine understands better than Rick that the advantages of a top 5 front 7 can be completely lost with 32nd ranked garbage behind it that provides easy outlets short to avoid the rush and gets burned deep on 3rd and long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Dillon Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 ESPN is saying we need to go after Eric Reid at this point, I just want us to address our needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 45 minutes ago, Pastor Dillon said: ESPN is saying we need to go after Eric Reid at this point, I just want us to address our needs Bob McNair would never approve Eric Reid as a Texan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texansfan713 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 In a pretty deep secondary class I'd much rather address it in the draft. They should be no reason we cant get at least 2 contributors in the secondary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingandre Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 4 hours ago, Texansfan713 said: In a pretty deep secondary class I'd much rather address it in the draft. They should be no reason we cant get at least 2 contributors in the secondary. No way. I want proven legit secondary and OL in free agency. No time for young guys to learn on the fly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texansfan713 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 8 minutes ago, amazingandre said: No way. I want proven legit secondary and OL in free agency. No time for young guys to learn on the fly. can we afford ALL of that though? We have to replace 4 starters on the OL. OL is more important than secondary. Secondary is easier to adjust to in the nfl than OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingandre Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 1 minute ago, Texansfan713 said: can we afford ALL of that though? We have to replace 4 starters on the OL. OL is more important than secondary. Secondary is easier to adjust to in the nfl than OL. Honestly, I think we can. Then build depth through the draft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Stallion Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 10 hours ago, EliteTexan80 said: Bob McNair would never approve Eric Reid as a Texan. I sincerely hope that is not true as it would send us further down the road where, Mr. McNair's right-wing personal politics are damaging this franchise. I don't want to debate the Kaep thing too deeply, but I simply have never been enamored with his on-field play which if you eliminate the post-protest revisionist history is Mark Sanchez-esque as a guy in the right-place right-time out of the gate that was exposed when the talent around him wasn't good enough to make up for boneheaded mistakes, poor accuracy, absurd sack %, and completing 15 passes for 175 yards wasn't going to win football games anymore (and didn't 11--24). Yes, the protest thing absolutely impacted his ability to get a job, but to me it's closer to Tebow's inability to stick despite a decent playoff run and Manziel never getting another shot as it comes down to not being good enough to warrant the distraction. Backup QB is a very unique position that requires a certain ability to NOT be the focus of attention with most coaches being of the Kubiak mentality where you prefer quiet team-first humility with your backup and avoid "QB controversy" like the plague (Keenum and Foles kinda proves they're not wrong). McNair's reprehensible "inmate's" comment, Duane Brown's assertions, and financial support of homophobic legislation and right wing politicians already has the Texans in an uncomfortable position in attracting free agents, but the line crosses over to the field when you throw in the "optics" of a seeming double standard when it comes to supporting and continuing to overpay a player like Cushing who's PED issues and slipping performance seemed to be overlooked because he checked organizational "good guy" boxes including active support of pro-military causes. Personally, I have never had a problem with the Texans seeking "high character" guys and holding its players off-field activities to a high standard, not because of some moral imperative, but because I am thoroughly convinced that over the long-haul it makes solid football and business sense. Particularly when it comes to free agency, where you are dealing with players with a professional track record that you are going to have to trust investing big dollars in, I want players who have exhibited a tireless work ethic, positive leadership, and team-first performance that shines in good times and bad. I'd rather risk missing out on some good players by keeping a high standard rather than risk a Bengals-esque playoff implosion with Burflict-type leadership, season-killers like Zeke Elliott, or multi-season killers like Haynesworth. Sure, Marcus Peters talent is off the charts, but I'd have a hard time investing $80 million in a guy who is so volatile that he's choking out coaches, throwing flags into the stands and leaving games, and had college and pro teams deem his behavior so problematic they wanted their best player out of the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Stallion Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 That gets us to Eric Reid. He should check EVERY box the Texans need in a player this offseason. Along with tackle and guard, the Texans play at strong safety was amongst the worst in the league last year and Reid has been a consistently solid performer both on good teams and bad since the day he stepped on the field as a rookie Pro Bowler. He has track-star speed, superior coverage skill for the position, and last year showed he could be a thumper even pitching in at LB in a pinch. The guy has been an amazing team player in an extremely difficult environment for a team in top-to-bottom chaos, a mentor to the equally talented Jaquiski Tartt who he moved positions for without complaint and relatively durable. The dude seems to be a perfect scheme fit, which unfortunately has devolved from cover 1 to cover 4 because our corners can't cover man to man and Hal provides no safety net. As for the politics, if McNair is obtuse enough to refuse to employ any players who have or may have political opinions different than his, he might as well just make Battle Red State and Military Heroes Camo our permanent colors and treat ticket sales as political donations, because we aren't winning on draft picks alone. Not only do we need to be able to attract players to come here, we can't be holding fire sales for every player that burns a bridge with ownership and I might remind you that our QB is black and our only Pro Bowler (Nuk) led a near mutiny last year in skipping practice after the McNair "prison" comments came out. While Kaep may have become a firebrand, Reid remains relatively anonymous and if McNair needs something to appease his right-wing buddies, Reid did consult with his Green Beret friend and long snapper Nate Boyer on how to protest in a manner that was still respectful to those who served defending that anthem. You might not agree with kneeling, but Reid is eloquent and passionate in his beliefs and doesn't come across as someone trying to relive and brand some 60's flag burning radicalism. For sure, for Reid to come here, I think BOTH sides would have to address the elephant in the room politically and come to some mutual understanding, but I'm hopeful McNair is smart enough to realize that signing Reid could be a huge step both in restoring his credibility with a large portion of the player pool, but also in fixing the on-field product that is what matters most to a fanbase that has witnessed little playoff reward for an endless build/rebuild cycle 17 years into this extended honeymoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 You've had a ton of great posts, @Apollo Stallion, but the last two were your best. Bravo, couldn't have said it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingandre Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 On an off-note, I am glad we snagged our QB last year. I only like Darnold (though he has been beaten up and has happy feet which scare me), Mayfield (he is short and potential to be a loose cannon) and Jackson (his inaccuracy scares me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 hour ago, amazingandre said: On an off-note, I am glad we snagged our QB last year. I only like Darnold (though he has been beaten up and has happy feet which scare me), Mayfield (he is short and potential to be a loose cannon) and Jackson (his inaccuracy scares me). For sure, yes. I'd take Watson over every one of these guys, no questions asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Stallion Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, amazingandre said: On an off-note, I am glad we snagged our QB last year. I only like Darnold (though he has been beaten up and has happy feet which scare me), Mayfield (he is short and potential to be a loose cannon) and Jackson (his inaccuracy scares me). Amen. What I do find interesting is that I think we can all agree that if you redrafted today, Deshaun Watson would be the top QB taken if not #1 overall, yet many of the same arguments are placing Lamar Jackson well behind Darnold, Rosen, Allen, and Mayfield (or changing positions if you listen to a fool like Polian). Something tells me that a team like the Steelers or Pats are going to get the best QB gift-wrapped for them late while teams make the same mistakes fawning over the high school QB academy set in Darnold and Rosen who seem to have been granted top of the draft status by birthright rather than actually playing good football. If I'm the Browns, Barkley 1/Mayfield 4 is the quickest path to the playoffs and akin to an Elliott/Dak redraft as I think it's more important for them not to strike out than to hit a grand slam. Josh Allen is the hardest to peg as he fits the Wentz profile (absent the 5 college championships) as small school guy with an amazing arm, but I see a whole lot of Jake Locker and Paxton Lynch in there too. Funny thing is that the only year this decade I've thought the top QBs were slam dunks was 2012 with Luck/RG3, yet 6 years later Russell Wilson and Nick Foles are the one's with rings and Cousins is about to become the highest paid player in history. It seems to me that Winston/Mariota in 2015 or Newton #1 overall in 2011 just "felt right" with complete packages and in hindsight, it makes absolutely no sense that Watson wasn't as much of a no brainer coming off his championship. I'm sorry but Trubisky and Mahomes is going to be remembered right up there with Newton followed by Locker, Gabbert, and Ponder, except we got Watson at the Ponder slot. I still could be wrong as I hated the Goff/Wentz picks and thought that class would go down with the 2013 EJ Manuel/Geno Smith year as a year there simply wasn't a QB to be had. What is almost assured is that this class is NOT 5 QBs deep and if you go 5 deep into almost every class for the past decade there are going to be 2 happy teams and 3 teams that burned a high first rounder building behind the equivalent of a Davis Webb, Christian Hackenburg, Garrett Grayson, Matt Barkley, or the 2016 Texans featuring Osweiler (5th QB in '12), Weedon (4th in '12). Worse still, someone might build around Matt Schaub (#5 in 04) after Eli, Rivers, Ben or even worse let a team leapfrog them for the mere cost of a middle round pick to Seattle take Teddy Bridgewater, then fumble the next play and take a frigging swinging gate UCLA Guard at #33 instead Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo and settling for the 7th QB overall in Tom Savage. Yep, so nice to have that in the rearview, although it's still going to hurt seeing what's sitting there at #4 and #35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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