Panic attacks, anxiety, worries, bed wetting and chronic masturbation. I have issues. That's besides the point. My bed wetting and masturbation were cruelly interrupted by lack of Texans movement on the free agency market. Call it masturbari interruptus.
Setting my issues aside, I worried (see the theme here?) about the Texans issues. I won't rehash my thoughts on Arian Foster and the other moves. At this point the losses and lack of re-signings were beat more than a red headed step rented mule child.
Mario Williams signed with Buffalo. Mike Brisiel signed with Oakland. Joel Dreessen is still out there. Lawrence Vickers signed with Dallas.
So what? My panic was at rebuilding 60% of the offensive line. The alleged best line in football. Uh oh.
Football is a team sport. A team definitely needs players at the so called skills positions to be successful. QB, WR and RB are the perceived skill positions. In my opinion, the maulers and protectors upfront are just as skilled and important.
An offensive line needs time to jell and grow together. Many teams build from the outside in and make the left tackle a priority. While protecting the quarterback's blindside is crucial, protecting his field of vision is just as important. The hit from the blindside can kill him...the potential hit he sees barreling down on him is just as nasty. He can see that and panic. A quarterback needs a line he can trust from left to right.
Just as important, the center is the captain of the line. He calls out the blocking assignments. The quarterback and coaches call the plays. The center looks the defense over and tells his line mates what to do. All these calls happen in under the time allotted on the play clock. It's not easy.
So I was panicked when center Chris Myers hit the open market. A couple of years ago, most fans were critical of Myers' play. He had trouble handling big 3-4 nose tackles. I was among those critics. Two years later, he played well enough to earn a Pro Bowl berth. In my book, he went from a must replace to a must keep.
At one point, I resigned to the fact that Myers was gone to the Packers or Titans. With a collective sigh of relief in Texans fandom,. Myers agreed to a new contract with the Texans.
From left to right the new line is Duane Brown, Wade Smith, Myers, Caldwell and Rashad Butler. Butler filled in for during Brown's suspension in 2010 adequately. I trust him more on the right than the left. I have zero confidence in Caldwell. I was scratching my head when the Texans drafted him out of Alabama. I was even less impressed with his scouting reports that said he had no lateral movement...which is critical in the zone blocking scheme. After watching him start ten games, I don't believe he is starter material. A couple of years ago, the Texans brain trust handed him the starting job in camp. He couldn't win it...enough said.
I'm not sure what's left out there in terms of guards. The position might have to be addressed in the draft.
So have the dynamics of the Texans draft changed? That's a post for another day.
Setting my issues aside, I worried (see the theme here?) about the Texans issues. I won't rehash my thoughts on Arian Foster and the other moves. At this point the losses and lack of re-signings were beat more than a red headed step rented mule child.
Mario Williams signed with Buffalo. Mike Brisiel signed with Oakland. Joel Dreessen is still out there. Lawrence Vickers signed with Dallas.
So what? My panic was at rebuilding 60% of the offensive line. The alleged best line in football. Uh oh.
Football is a team sport. A team definitely needs players at the so called skills positions to be successful. QB, WR and RB are the perceived skill positions. In my opinion, the maulers and protectors upfront are just as skilled and important.
An offensive line needs time to jell and grow together. Many teams build from the outside in and make the left tackle a priority. While protecting the quarterback's blindside is crucial, protecting his field of vision is just as important. The hit from the blindside can kill him...the potential hit he sees barreling down on him is just as nasty. He can see that and panic. A quarterback needs a line he can trust from left to right.
Just as important, the center is the captain of the line. He calls out the blocking assignments. The quarterback and coaches call the plays. The center looks the defense over and tells his line mates what to do. All these calls happen in under the time allotted on the play clock. It's not easy.
So I was panicked when center Chris Myers hit the open market. A couple of years ago, most fans were critical of Myers' play. He had trouble handling big 3-4 nose tackles. I was among those critics. Two years later, he played well enough to earn a Pro Bowl berth. In my book, he went from a must replace to a must keep.
At one point, I resigned to the fact that Myers was gone to the Packers or Titans. With a collective sigh of relief in Texans fandom,. Myers agreed to a new contract with the Texans.
From left to right the new line is Duane Brown, Wade Smith, Myers, Caldwell and Rashad Butler. Butler filled in for during Brown's suspension in 2010 adequately. I trust him more on the right than the left. I have zero confidence in Caldwell. I was scratching my head when the Texans drafted him out of Alabama. I was even less impressed with his scouting reports that said he had no lateral movement...which is critical in the zone blocking scheme. After watching him start ten games, I don't believe he is starter material. A couple of years ago, the Texans brain trust handed him the starting job in camp. He couldn't win it...enough said.
I'm not sure what's left out there in terms of guards. The position might have to be addressed in the draft.
So have the dynamics of the Texans draft changed? That's a post for another day.
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