It’s a little late because of all the things going on with me lately, but I’ve finally got Offseason Central 2010 up and running above. Please do check it out. It’s pretty self-explanatory. If you find any Texans free agent visit rumors online, shoot them to me via email or in the comments section of the Free Agent Visits & Rumors page. As always I will take any suggestions, criticisms, etc., that you have. It doesn’t even have to be constructive criticism.

I have made a few quiet additions to the Texans on the Web page over the last few weeks. New to the page since the last update include Chris Myers, Amobi Okoye (thanks Socctty), Rashad Butler, Chester Pitts, and Jacoby Jones.

Check out the Mock Draft Tracker for the latest update. Dan Williams is shooting up the board all of a sudden. I believe he was only on the board once on the last update, but now he trails only Earl Thomas. CJ Spiller has also shown up, which I’m happy to see - and Ryan Mathews (yes, that’s Mathews with one “t”) is also on the board.

Also making a surprise appearance on the tracker - Joe Haden. Big overreaction, there. No way Haden lasts to 20. When he has his Pro Day, I’m sure he’ll get right back in everyone’s good graces.

Tomorrow I’m going to launch “2010 Offseason Central”. For those of you who weren’t around last offseason, it’s basically a one-stop shop for all the collected offseason transactions for the Texans. Trades, FA signings, FA visits, etc. I will even post rumored free agent visits - as long as I can find a link online somewhere.

If you have some other mock drafts you think should be included on the Tracker, please shoot me a link in the comments and I will consider it.

[UPDATE] It’s KILLING me to not be able to blog at this time of the season. I just need another day to finish up the move, and I will then have a BIG update on Tuesday, complete with a big Mock Draft Tracker update, and the launch of Offseason Central 2010. It won’t be long until things are back to normal around here. I appreciate everyone’s patience, and I’m loving the great comments and discussion. Keep it up.

***

I’d love to go wall-to-wall on free agency, but now that I’m back from the short hiatus - I’m in the middle of moving. Sigh. Bad timing.

So, I turn it over to you guys for a day or two. As soon as I get a minute, I will be all over it.

According to John McClain via his Twitter account, and the Chron.com article:

DeMeco Ryans - 1st and 3rd round picks.
Owen Daniels - 1st and 3rd round picks.
Bernard Pollard - 1st round pick.
Rashad Butler - Right of first refusal, plus original tender (3rd round pick).
Ryan Moats - Right of first refusal, plus original tender (3rd round pick).
Chris White - Right of first refusal, no compensation.
Tim Bulman - Right of first refusal, no compensation.
John Busing - Not tendered.

No surprises there. I was a little surprised that Pollard was tendered as a 1st rounder, but hey - that just further ensures that he’s not going anywhere. I don’t think anyone will touch Owen Daniels at that level, but DeMeco Ryans might be worth it to a team on the verge. As Matt Jackson said on his Twitter account: “You’re Minnesota with one more year of Favre…Surely you give up a #30 pick and 3rd rounder for Demeco Ryans to replace EJ?”

Definitely something to think about. Something to worry about? Probably not, but DeMeco is in the prime of his career and you know what you’re going to get with him. It wouldn’t shock me if someone made a serious run at him.

Thanks for all the well-wishes and kind words, everyone. I suppose I should get this up before the start of the free agency period, right? Here’s part one if you missed it.

S Brian Russell
No.
Prediction - No.

T Ephraim Salaam
In 2008 Salaam was publicly upset that Duane Brown was handed his job, but - how can I put this gently? When you get cut by the Lions, pride tends to take a back seat, so Salaam ended up back in Houston at the end of the season.
Prediction - Last year I would have said he’d be a solid backup option, but it’s a year later, and he’s a year older. Good guy, but I can’t imagine him having a spot on this team. Rashad Butler is looking good as the swing tackle, and with all the talk about the Texans drafting for the interior O-line, I won’t be surprised at all if they pick up another tackle as well.

QB Matt Schaub (technically still a FA until they officially pick up his option).
This has probably already happened, but there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, other than the announcement that they would definitely pick up the option. Just a technicality, of course.

LB Chaun Thompson
This guy seems like he could be a decent special teams contributor and a solid bench player, but in two seasons with the team - he can’t stay on the field.
Prediction - He’s done with the Texans. They just can’t wait on him any longer.

P Matt Turk
I’ve been wanting the Texans to go in a different direction at punter for a couple of years now, but Turk has been pretty good at times. In 2009, he was around the middle of the pack as far as net yardage and pinning opponents inside their 20, but he was actually second in forcing fair catches. Or - I’m just misinterpreting the statistics since I don’t actually care about punting numbers.
Prediction - He’ll be back, but I hope he has some serious competition with a yet-to-be-signed undrafted rookie free agent.

WR Kevin Walter
With the Dunta Robinson situation now resolved (by the way, let me remind you again that I predicted he would be an Atlanta Falcon), Walter becomes the biggest question mark of the Texans’ unrestricted free agents. I know the Texans have placed a great value on him for his blocking, route-running, work ethic, consistency, etc. I would like him to come back. The thought of Jacoby Jones as the starter scares me, because as we all know, talent is just a little part of what makes a good pro. I think this team needs Kevin Walter.
Prediction - Someone is going to throw some serious money at Walter. Probably not crazy money, but enough that I don’t see him back in Houston unless he’s willing to take a bit less to finish what the team has started. I hate to say it - but I think he’s gone. If I’m the Texans, I ask Walter to at least give them a chance to match any offer he receives.

DT Jeff Zgonina
No way am I going to bet against this guy again. Some have said he was the Texans’ most consistent defensive lineman in 2009. That’s of course more of a reflection of the defensive line than it is of Zgonina himself. Until the Texans have an influx of talent at the position, I see no reason why Zgonina doesn’t stick, as he doesn’t seem to age at all.
Prediction - Zgonina makes the team once again, much to the dismay of BigFatDrunk. Sorry, BFD.

My friends, I’m going to be gone for a little while. I have a family emergency going on, and we all need each other very badly right now.

I’m going to leave the site up of course, and I might pop in here and there for a distraction but as far as new content, please enjoy all the other great Texans sites as you and I always do.

Here’s the entry on the Texans’ restricted free agents if you missed it. Now let’s move on to the unrestricted guys. Once again, this is all assuming that the league does not work out some sort of last-second miracle deal before the start of the new NFL year on March 5.

Unrestricted Free Agents

RB Chris Brown
Brown wasn’t effective - at all - as a short-yardage back. He was miscast from the start. He’s a big guy, but for a big guy he doesn’t run with much power, and worst of all, he takes forever to get up to his top speed. How that translates into a short-yardage back I have no idea. The worst part of this is that I really did think he would be a decent compliment to Steve Slaton. Sigh. On the plus side - he did show some heretofore unknown prowess as a quarterback.
Prediction - he goes to Oakland to compete at QB with JaMarcus Russell.

LB Khary Campbell
Campbell is a strong special-teamer, but he barely made it out of October before he landed on the Injured Reserve list with a knee injury.
Prediction - The Texans don’t offer him a contract, but he’s on the list to get a call if there’s an injury or change of plans/shuffling of the linebacker depth chart during the season.

S Nick Ferguson
Ferguson came to town in 2008 and made a difference. In 2009, it didn’t go so well. At 35, Ferguson is a great veteran presence to have in the secondary, but the good that his experience brings is far, far offset by what seemed like a pretty significant drop-off in ability in 2009.
Prediction - With Troy Nolan healthy and a new safety sure to be drafted, Ferguson is going to have a hard time making the 53-man roster if they do sign him. That said, there are two guys at the position who I don’t think will be back in John Busing and Brian Russell. At the end of the day, though - I think the Texans opt for a younger option.

QB Rex Grossman
Rex came to Houston and wasted no time in ganking backup Dan Orlovsky’s job. It was more a case of Orlovsky being really bad than it was of Grossman being good. He saw some brief action when Matt Schaub got hurt against Jacksonville, but other than that he looked like he was adept at wearing a backward baseball cap and sniffing around a clipboard.
Prediction - He’s absolutely gone. The Texans already signed John David Booty knowing that they are going to need a different #3 QB to come in and take the #2 QB job away from Orlovsky.

LS Bryan Pittman
Pittman’s services weren’t needed until the Texans thought his presence would help out Kris Brown’s atrocious kicking. That and previous long snapper Joel Dreessen was pushed to the top of the TE depth chart when Owen Daniels went down. Pittman came in and did a fine job, but Dreessen was doing a fine job before he returned to the team.
Prediction - I see no reason that the Texans should offer him a contract. As long as Daniels is back and Dreessen hasn’t lost his ability to long snap, Dreessen should be the long-snapper. When Pittman came back to the team, it certainly didn’t improve Kris Brown’s kicking, so it’s not like he’s got that going for him either. Plus, of course - he uses up an entire roster spot. No contract for you!

G Chester Pitts
Pitts was arguably the best offensive lineman on the team before he got hurt. That said, the running game was bad before and after his injury… though he went out so early that it’s hard to say if it would have gotten on track had he not been hurt. I’m guessing it wouldn’t have made a difference at all.
Prediction - Tough one. All signs point to him signing elsewhere. He’ll be 31 in June, but tons of O-linemen do just fine past 30. He’s going to want one last big contract, and I just don’t see Rick Smith giving it to him coming off such a significant injury. That, plus he might be a prime candidate to join Alex Gibbs in Seattle or Kyle Shanahan and his da-da in Washington. If everything was the same minus the injury, I would be screaming for them to bring him back, but as much as I WANT him back, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. Pitts, sadly, moves on and doesn’t finish his career as a Texan.

G Tutan Reyes
I don’t have a lot to say about Reyes. He joined the team in October and didn’t see the field much if at all.
Prediction - I think the Texans will be loading up on offensive linemen in the draft and with undrafted free agents, and there will simply be younger guys out there. He’s another guy who might get a call during the regular season after an injury or other issue.

CB Dunta Robinson
So much has already been said about Dunta, and frankly I’m kind of sick of talking about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t want him back - it’s just… this has been going on so long now. Dunta was average at his best in 2009 and awful at his worst. The one thing we all thought we could count on - his ability to provide solid run support - seemed to not be quite as strong, but was still there in flashes. Is that acceptable when you’re making 10 million for one season? No. No it’s not.
Prediction - Another tough one. He’s most definitely not worth the money he would make if the Texans franchise tag him again - but with no salary cap likely in 2010, I don’t think it would be complete insanity to overpay him one more year. That way, you don’t have to go CB in the first or second round - though the team still should draft another corner in the front half of the draft even if Robinson does stay. Yes, D-Rob wasn’t great last year, but once the defense as a whole got their act together, they played pretty well as a unit. I don’t know. I’m torn, but right now my gut feeling is that the Texans let Dunta walk. Further prediction - he’s an Atlanta Falcon in 2010.

Okay, I’m up over 1000 words already so I’ll hit the rest of the UFAs in another entry. Still to come:

S Brian Russell
T Ephraim Salaam
QB Matt Schaub (technically still a FA until they officially pick up his option).
LB Chaun Thompson
P Matt Turk
WR Kevin Walter
DT Jeff Zgonina

Here’s the first update of the Mock Draft Tracker since the relaunch. I added six more mocks, which puts us at 38. The biggest risers since the relaunch are Texas S Earl Thomas and UCLA DT Brian Price, at +3 each.

Right now I’m letting a lot of mocks through that haven’t updated in a while - but only because I’m cutting slack at this early stage. Once the Combine has come and gone, I’m going to start cutting mocks that are more than 3-4 weeks old.

MOCK DRAFT TRACKER STATS

2010 TEXANS MOCK DRAFT TRACKER

Lamont (via Facebook) asks: What would it take for the Texans to negotiate with Dr. Death aka Al Davis for Darren McFadden or sign L. Tomlinson or or Chester Taylor?

LaDanian Tomlinson is not a big guy, but he has proven to be a very effective short-yardage back. If he were to come to Houston for a home-state discount - and MOST IMPORTANT, understood his role and didn’t complain about it - I would be open to the idea. But if he wants to be THE guy, NO. If he wants a big contract (which someone will give him), then NO. But again, he was an effective short-yardage back on one of the few teams who was worse at run-blocking last year than the Texans - so it’s at least worth considering.

I know the Texans were burned by Ahman Green, but that’s different. Green was brought in to be THE guy, the every-down back… I would think LT would only come unless he had a defined role.

Chester Taylor will be 31 in September. That said, he hasn’t exactly been run into the ground the last few years… he’s a proven runner, and very dangerous pass-catching back. I just can’t get into the idea of bringing a guy in who is 31. Thomas Jones seems to be the only guy in recent memory who was able to beat the “Rule of 30″ that RBs seem to have. Maybe if Taylor wouldn’t command a ton of guaranteed money (which he absolutely will) I would consider him. Otherwise, meh.

Darren McFadden is a guy I’ve done a complete 180 on. This time last year I was in favor of making some kind of move (though I knew it was complete fantasy) to procure him from the Raiders. Oakland had shown interest in Andre Davis a couple of years ago, so I was thinking Davis and a couple of picks for McFadden.

Now, I’m over the guy. Sure, he’s only been in the league two years, but when I see him, I see a guy who runs kind of soft. On top of that, he’s been injury-prone, and he has actually had a very solid run-blocking O-line in front of him, with disappointing results.

So, my short answer is - I don’t really like any of them. I’d like for us to address the RB issue in the draft, but if I had to pick a free agent - I’d really be interested in Willis McGahee once the Ravens inevitably cut him this offseason. He’s been pretty durable, and he’s an incredibly decisive one-cut runner. The dude gets downhill FAST - but the reality is, once he is cut he will probably be THE most-wanted FA running back in the league. Someone will pay up big time for him, probably with much more than the Texans would bother with.

Carson said, among other things: Unless they find a quality FA, they’re stuck again with hoping Amobi Okoye “blossoms”.

I get what you’re saying here, Carson. I too am done waiting for Amobi to blossom. I see no reason whatsoever why he will suddenly be the guy we all want him to be. I wouldn’t want to move him around like Kyle has suggested, and I definitely don’t want to wait around hoping he becomes something more. If there’s a guy that plays his position that the Texans think will improve the line - jump on it. If that means cutting Amobi or moving him down the depth chart, fine.

I think Amobi is getting more slack than other players normally would because of how young he was when they drafted him. Well, that’s fine - but to me it’s also a reason not to draft a guy based on how good he is at 18, and how good he MIGHT be at 22. Sure, I think the guy could still turn out to be something special-ish, but I’m ready for the excuses and/or “reasons” for his average play to stop.

Kyle said on the Mock Draft Tracker page: I have been gushing about Toby Gerhart at #80 so often that I’m afraid we as a Texans fan base are showing our hand.

I agreed with a lot of Kyle’s draft prognostications last offseason, but this year he and I aren’t on the same page - now that could change once the Combine is done, but for now, there are two players Kyle is high on that I’m not. One is Stanford RB Toby Gerhart. Yeah, I think he’s a good back and I think he’d be an excellent compliment to Steve Slaton.

My problem is, I don’t want the Texans to draft a complimentary back in this draft. I want them to get a guy who can be an every-down back. I’m going to wait until after the Combine to get into specifics, but I don’t see Gerhart as a guy who could be “Slatonesque” as in they draft him for a certain role and he turns out to be a 20-24 carries per game guy.

Another guy I’m not high on is Brian Price, DT from UCLA. First of all, he’d most likely play Amobi’s position, and like I said I’m not in favor of moving Okoye to a different position. Maybe it’s not so much that I don’t like Price as it is I like other guys more. I’d much rather have Dan Williams at this point, and if the other big-name DTs are off the board, I’d rather go after a guy in the mid-rounds.

The wild card for me in all this DT talk is Terrence Cody. Yeah, he’s a blubbery fat bastard right now at 370 (!!!) but if he shows up lighter at the Combine and has all the measurables, you have to at least consider him. Then again, if he does do well at the Combine and has shed some weight, he probably will shoot back up the draft board and may not be there when the Texans pick. We shall see. It really is just too early for me right now… I generally like to get past the Combine before I start any hard research… and by hard research, I mean collecting other people’s hard research on the Internet.

[EDITOR'S NOTE] As always, I encourage submissions from anyone who wants to make a guest entry. I don’t have to agree with it, I just want it to be topical well thought-out. If anyone else wants to send me a mock (or an entry on anything at all) I’d love to have it. Just shoot me an email on the “About the site/contacts” page or post it in the comments and I’ll take it from there.

Here’s Allen’s first round NFL Mock Draft, including explanation for the Texans’ pick. You have now jumped into the fire, Allen! Prepare for the consequences!

AllenOU’s first round 2010 NFL MOCK DRAFT:

1. RAMS – Ndamukong Suh, DT Nebraska
2. LIONS – Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
3. BUCS – Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida
4. REDSKINS – Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
5. CHEIFS – Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
6. SEAHAWKS – Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State
7. BROWNS – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
8. RAIDERS – Joe Haden, CB, Florida
9. BILLS - Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa
10. JAGUARS – Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
11. BRONCOS – Brian Price, DT, UCLA
12. DOLPHINS – Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama
13. 49ERS – Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers
14. SEAHAWKS – CJ Spiller, RB, Clemson
15. GIANTS – Everson Griffin, DE, USC
16. TITANS – Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee
17. 49ERS - Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
18. STEELERS - Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho
19. FALCONS – Earl Thomas, S, Texas

20. TEXANS – TRENT WILLIAMS, OT, OKLAHOMA
After having the guys they want come off the board and assuming they cannot or will not trade down, I think the Texans will see a top 10 talent at 20 and go with the O-line. They simply go for the best player available and that is Trent Williams. He might run a sub 4.9 at 300+ pounds and can really get down the field and block. He has some work ethic concerns. I saw him play center in the Sun Bowl against Stanford and after that performance I believe he can play all five line positions and play them well. He could start at C next year then move to RT and shift Winston inside in the future.

21. BENGALS – Arrelious Benn, WR, Iowa
22. PATS – Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama
23. PACKERS – Jahvid Best, RB, California
24. EAGLES – Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas
25. RAVENS – Jerry Hughes, OLB, TCU
26. CARDINALS - Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida
27. COWGIRLS – Taylor Mays, S, USC
28. CHARGERS – Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan
29. JETS – Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
30. VIKINGS – Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State
31. COLTS – Sean Weatherspoon, OLB, Missouri
32. SAINTS – Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland

Fire away with your comments and tell me what a moron I am. Im really interested in what you guys agree and disagree with. -AllenOU