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.
Loading ...
Feb 13, 2010 at 19:45:38
The debate for the third best DT is prettywide open. I’m not a fan of price but have heard some good things. Williams looks like the real deal. I rather go oline or RB though if I had the choice
Feb 14, 2010 at 13:10:34
I really think the Amobi-haters need to lay off of him. It’s obvious as pie that we need a DT. Amobi is NOT going to be what we thought he might become. That is irrelevant now. Is he a decent DT in terms of play? Is he serviceable? Would another team pick him up in 2 seconds if we cut him? The answer is yes.
As a #1 pick (10 overall), he is a bust. But now you evaluate him based on his production vs. his salary. You have already paid him the signing bonus – that’s gone and not coming back. They guy will make $765K next year, far less that other guys that our backups, like Kevin Bentley.
He is not THE answer, but he is not fodder for the waiver-wire, either. He is an OK DT, even in a backup role, so they’re not going to cut him.
They will still be looking for another one. I don’t know that much about the guys out there this year, but since they are obviously not going to draft McCoy and Suh, and Terrence Cody is a fat bag of slop who doesn’t fit what the Texans do AT ALL, I don’t believe they will draft him, either. I am not high on Brian Price, but am intrigued by Dan Williams.
The real choice will be this: Do they think there is a 3rd or 4th round guy who is almost as good or has almost as much upside as a Brian Price/Dan Williams? If so, they will use their first rounder to either trade down/meet another need and take a Marvin Austin or Vince Oghobasse or whomever later in the draft.
I still think trade down is what they lean towards doing. The Patriots mold is the best – stock 2nd round picks. That is where the true value is for talent vs. salary.
Feb 14, 2010 at 17:40:58
My plan to move Amobi is based largely on the idea that, if he was projected on the 1 as a draft prospect, maybe that’s where he belongs.
Call me Kubiak Jr., but I’m not one to jump off of the Slaton bandwagon just yet, so I agree with a complimentary back. Slaton was excellent in his rookie year and, if he meets in the middle of his first and second seasons, I am happy with that.
That said, I think if we get a guy who is EXCELLENT in short yardage instead of good in both short and long yardage, we’ll be better off, but that’s just me.
as for T-Cody, you hit the nail on the head. If he shows up at the Combine at 370, he goes to the Chiefs at #37. Every pound he sheds at the Combine is a spot higher he goes. If he arrives around 340, I will immediately re-ignite talks of the Chiefs getting him at #5. The bottom line is that he was indeed a dominant nose tackle, but he has to prove that he can play for more than half of the defensive snaps if he’s going to get paid on Draft night.
Feb 14, 2010 at 21:48:36
Well Chris, I couldn’t disagree with you more about Toby Gerhart. This guy packs a punch, and would be a great addition to our team, especially in the red zone. This guy is a big one cut, low pad level, hard hitting runner, and is never hardly ever stopped by the first or second defender. As for Cody, that is a bit of a reach…I would like him to live up to his potential…but I could say the same for Okam. We need a couple of guys that produce NOW, and that would be Earl Thomas, and in my estimation Toby Gehart. I’m sure who ever, Kubiak will make a well informed decision. Oh, and get that center from Baylor in the third. But we have time and see how this plays out.
Feb 14, 2010 at 22:01:03
Just to be clear, I’m not down on Gerhart. I think he can be a good player, absolutely… I just am very hesitant to assume Slaton returns to his rookie form. That injury he had is no small deal, and it makes me worry about his durability in the future.
I think Gerhart could be a very, very effective role-player… I just don’t see him as being THE guy.
Then again, that’s what everyone said about Slaton – and that turned out great until he got hurt and got the fumbling bug.
Feb 15, 2010 at 11:52:26
The issue at hand with our runningback situation is we do not have somebody to take the ball 20 to 25 times. The Texans need to have a more even split with the carries. It increases the longevity of our runningbacks and the trend is to have more even carries as oppose to somebody taking it 25 times. We will be fine if Slaton takes it 10-15 and the other back(Foster, Gerhart, or Dixon) takes it 5-10. I just feel like the Texans are adament on having somebody carry it 25 times which is wrong. We are not going to be a team that runs it 35 plus times, so the 15/10 split is accurate. We are one of the best passing teams in the league still.
Feb 15, 2010 at 21:30:01
@Chris
Another thing that supports what I think you are getting at is that we would probably have to get him in the 2nd round if we really want him. He’s supposed to do very well at the combine, and that could cause his stock to rise.
There are just better options in the second round, and even other backs with more potential to be a feature guy (Matthews, Dwyer). Part of the value in selecting Toby in the 4th or 3rd is that we would be getting a steal. Not so in the second, at least in my opinion. And I’m a Gerhart fan
Feb 16, 2010 at 16:38:48
@Chris
Well, if the team evaluate Slaton and determines that he can’t get back to rookie form and be a Lightning component to a 2-back system, then, yes, Gerhart may not be the best fit. I still would be happy to take him but, if the team is looking for a workhorse to carry 25 times a game, with Slaton as a Reggie Bush-like backfield receiver (notice how Slaton went #87 overall and Bush went #2 and they are equally talented and effective), then you have to give Ryan Mathews a good hard look in the 2nd.
@Pat
I actually expect Gerhart to have a terrible Combine that makes some teams think he’s more of a Mike Alstott FB kind of player, which would fall right into our hands.
I’m also hoping that Donovan Warren has a mediocre Combine because his game film is excellent and, if we can get him in the second round because he runs 0.05 seconds slower than the other CBs, we’ll get a steal-and-a-half