2019 Houston Texans Offseason

[eagle eye]

The Houston Texans had a good year, didn’t they? They went 11-5 on the season but they fell to the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The game ended up 21-7 but it wasn’t really that close as Houston’s offense was stale as week old bread and the Colts were unstoppable in the first half which was all they needed to win. Now, we know that Kansas City smoked Indy a week later in the snow in KC but by then the Texans were long gone from the NRG practice facility, their offseason already begun.

Houston did have a good year which included an NFL best 11 game winning streak that went from Week 2 to Week 13 (including the bye week). The Texans fell to the resurgent Colts in Week 14, who made a miraculous comeback from an early hole to challenge Houston right down to Week 17 for the division championship. The Texans could have clinched the AFC South in Week 16, but they lost a heartbreaker to Philly in Philly 32-30 on a late field goal by the Eagles. It’s one time the Texans defense let the team down with the game on the line.

What will the Texans need to do to get better? The Texans need to bolster the D-line and linebackers. The Texans were 11th in total defense in 2018 but on the flip side they were tied for 4 in the NFL in points allowed. The Texans only gave up 21 points to Indy in the playoff loss but they couldn’t seem to get off the field in the first half. Defensive line and linebacker is a good place to start. Injuries killed the Texans defensive backfield so getting that group healthy will help and a corner or two and maybe a safety in the draft wouldn’t hurt. Tyrann Matthew may not be back in 2019 and if he’s gone safety will definitely be a priority.

On offense, Houston is still in the process of building an offensive line that can protect DeSean Watson and open holes for Lamar Miller and company. Getting a healthy D’onte Foreman back will help the run game but what will really help will be a healthy and effective O-line. The Texans have a heckuva receiving corps but in 2018 they were mostly on IR. Will Fuller was lost in Week 8 to a torn ACL, Keke Coutee was in and out of the lineup all season with a hamstring, Demaryius Thomas, whom Houston got in a trade with Denver at midseason after Fuller tore his ACL, played 3 games when, in the third game, he tore his Achilles and was done. Houston did get some help in the receiving corps when they traded for WR Deandre Carter. They had to give up RB Tyler Ervin but Houston needed a true WR and a someone who could return kicks. Carter was the answer to both questions. Young Vyncent Smith made a bit of a splash too. This leads me to my final point. Brian Gaine.

Gaine replaced Rick Smith as the Texans GM prior to last offseason because Smith’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and he wanted to be there for her. Good for Rick Smith, that sort of dedication is to be admired and we all hope his wife makes a full recovery. It was also good for the Texans because, in truth, Smith wasn’t a very good GM in my opinion. Smith did draft some great players but it was the middle and late rounds of the draft where Houston suffered. Smith also allowed good players to leave via free agency. Guys like Connor Barwin, AJ Bouye and Quentin Demps come to mind. Gaine’s first draft has to be considered pretty good especially considering the Texans didn’t have a 1st round pick. S Justin Reid was a hit in the 2nd, Keke Coutee was a hit in the 4th and Duke Ejiofor was another hit in the 6th. Houston had 3 picks in the 3rd, 1 in the fourth, 3 in the 6th and one in the 7th and every one of the draft picks made the final 53 except for 7th round pick CB Jermaine Kelly who was placed on IR just before the season began. Houston also hit on both TE’s picked in the draft. Jordan Aikens from UCF (3rd Rd) and Jordan Thomas from Miss St (6th Rd). Both guys came up and played well this season and they should be even better in 2019. Houston ended up with 4 DB’s on IR in 2018. Kevin Johnson, Kelly, S Mike Tyson (who was signed after Kelly went down) and Kayvon Webster. Houston could go after a CB in the first round (yes Houston has a first round pick this year!) or an O-lineman. It will be fun to see who Houston drafts. I am happy Houston has Brian Gaine and I’m seriously interested in this draft because Houston has 4 picks in the top 86 which could make this team a true powerhouse going for forward. Where’s my shades because the Texans future sure looks bright and I'm going to need them!

[eagle eye]

The Texans have shaken up their assistant coaching staff. Most of those changes are on the offensive side of the ball and really seem geared to helping Deshaun Watson get better. For the first time since Bill O’Brien fired George Godsey 3 years ago the Texans have a new offensive coordinator. That would be former tight ends coach Tim Kelly. It’s a move that many speculate is an administrative move designed to take some of the load off O’Brien but it doesn’t necessarily mean Kelly will take over as the primary play caller during games. This means that everyone who hates O’Brien as a play caller will have to suck it up and bear it. Kelly is 32 years old and has been with Bill O’Brien since he coached at Penn State. O’Brien has been personally grooming Kelly as he progressed up the Texans coaching ladder. Kelly has never been an OC at any level prior to this promotion but O’Brien is confident Kelly will do a good job. Who knows, O’Brien may let Kelly call plays, relying on a young offensive wunderkind is the latest fad in the NFL.

The Texans hired a very experienced guy in Carl Smith. Smith has been coaching for 32 years but the notable thing about this hire is he comes from Seattle where he worked hand in hand with Russell Wilson since Wilson was drafted. Wilson is one of the top QB’s in the NFL and Carl Smith might be a big reason why he’s been so successful. Smith’s influence on Deshaun Watson could help Watson elevate his game to that elite level the Texans were hoping for when they traded up in the 2017 draft to get him.

Houston has hired 3 former players to join their coaching staff. QB TJ Yates played for Houston in the early 2010’s and he has the distinction of being the QB who clinched the Texans first AFC South division title and won the first ever playoff victory in Texans history back in 2011. Yates joins the staff as an offensive assistant. This is Yates’ first coaching job.

The Texans have hired form Pro-Bowl linebacker Brian Cushing to the staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. I can hear the jokes now about Cushing helping the Texans by offering the players steroids since he was suspended twice in his career for PED use. I think we need to be above that sort of thing because Cushing was a good player for the Texans and he does bring some gravitas to the table.

The third former Texans is LB Akeem Dent who was originally drafted by Atlanta in 2011 but he traded to the Texans, ironically enough, for QB TJ Yates. Both Dent and Yates are now co-workers on the Texans staff. Dent will be a defensive assistant. Along with Yates, Cushing and Dent are both first time coaches.

Many of the spots that had openings because of promotions or retirement have been filled from within. The new tight ends coach replacing Tim Kelly is Will Lawling who has been with O’Brien since he was a graduate assistant at Penn State.

Wes Welker has moved on from his duties as assistant wide receivers coach as he is expected to be named the WR coach in San Francisco.

[Skinny1]

The Texans have shaken up their assistant coaching staff. Most of those changes are on the offensive side of the ball and really seem geared to helping Deshaun Watson get better. For the first time since Bill O’Brien fired George Godsey 3 years ago the Texans have a new offensive coordinator. That would be former tight ends coach Tim Kelly. It’s a move that many speculate is an administrative move designed to take some of the load off O’Brien but it doesn’t necessarily mean Kelly will take over as the primary play caller during games. This means that everyone who hates O’Brien as a play caller will have to suck it up and bear it. Kelly is 32 years old and has been with Bill O’Brien since he coached at Penn State. O’Brien has been personally grooming Kelly as he progressed up the Texans coaching ladder. Kelly has never been an OC at any level prior to this promotion but O’Brien is confident Kelly will do a good job. Who knows, O’Brien may let Kelly call plays, relying on a young offensive wunderkind is the latest fad in the NFL.

The Texans hired a very experienced guy in Carl Smith. Smith has been coaching for 32 years but the notable thing about this hire is he comes from Seattle where he worked hand in hand with Russell Wilson since Wilson was drafted. Wilson is one of the top QB’s in the NFL and Carl Smith might be a big reason why he’s been so successful. Smith’s influence on Deshaun Watson could help Watson elevate his game to that elite level the Texans were hoping for when they traded up in the 2017 draft to get him.

Houston has hired 3 former players to join their coaching staff. QB TJ Yates played for Houston in the early 2010’s and he has the distinction of being the QB who clinched the Texans first AFC South division title and won the first ever playoff victory in Texans history back in 2011. Yates joins the staff as an offensive assistant. This is Yates’ first coaching job.

The Texans have hired form Pro-Bowl linebacker Brian Cushing to the staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. I can hear the jokes now about Cushing helping the Texans by offering the players steroids since he was suspended twice in his career for PED use. I think we need to be above that sort of thing because Cushing was a good player for the Texans and he does bring some gravitas to the table.

The third former Texans is LB Akeem Dent who was originally drafted by Atlanta in 2011 but he traded to the Texans, ironically enough, for QB TJ Yates. Both Dent and Yates are now co-workers on the Texans staff. Dent will be a defensive assistant. Along with Yates, Cushing and Dent are both first time coaches.

Many of the spots that had openings because of promotions or retirement have been filled from within. The new tight ends coach replacing Tim Kelly is Will Lawling who has been with O’Brien since he was a graduate assistant at Penn State.

Wes Welker has moved on from his duties as assistant wide receivers coach as he is expected to be named the WR coach in San Francisco.

 

Interesting to see Carl Smith still coaching. He was Lamar's Offensive Coordinator from '79 thru '81.

[eagle eye]

The Texans began the new NFL year by hanging the franchise tag on Jadeveon Clowney. He'll make around $17 MM if he signs the tender offer but it gives the Texans and Clowney time to negotiate a long term deal. The thing is, Clowney will be a Texan in 2019 because nobody in their right mind turns down a guaranteed deal for that kind of money. You might say, 'what about Le'Veon Bell last season', and I would remind you I said, '...in their right mind.' Bell may not be crazy but there is definitely a huge disconnect in Pittsburgh to make arguably the two best players at their position turn down crazy big money to go to much worse teams. The Jets have a chance to be better given the coaching change to Adam Gase but he is no guarantee New York's 'other' team will be appreciably better.

 

So far in free agency this is what we know;

 

Who the Texans lost:

WR Demaryius Thomas give an outright release.

DE Christian Covington signed a one year deal with Dallas.

CB/S Kareem Jackson signed a multi year deal with Denver.

CB Kevin Johnson signed with Buffalo.

S Tyrann Matthew signed a 3 year deal with Kansas City.

 

Who the Texans keep:

DE Joel Heath signed a 1 year deal.

DE Angelo Blackson signed a 3 year deal.

WR DeAndre Carter

Restricted free agents receiving tender offers;

K Ka'imi Fairbairn - 2nd round tender

LB Brennan Scarlett - $2 MM tender

DT Brandon Dunn

 

Newly signed players;

S Tashon Gipson - signed a 3-year $22 MM deal.

CB Bradley Roby - signed a 1-year $10 MM deal.

 

Losing Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Matthew are big losses that Houston seems to have filled with Gipson and Roby. The Texans will likely draft CB and S help in April but the position looks to be solid as long as nobody gets hurt. That's a big 'if' considering how much Houston's secondary was hit last season. The other signings were their own players. Fairbairn and Scarlett were big difference makers last season so it's good to have them back. Signing Clowney to a long term deal will be a big deal but it's not an a real issue until next season when he will be looking at free agency again. It just depends on how much he likes, or doesn't like, being franchised. It's all up to GM Brian Gaine and his staff to see if they can back up a nice 2018 draft with a good 2019 draft.

[eagle eye]

I’m sitting here at my desk eating lunch and I was thinking about the Texans in general. I think they are a quality team but, they have holes to fill. DB, OL and LB seem to be the big needs with O-line at the top of the list. Deshaun Watson was sacked a league high 62 times in 2018. That ain’t gonna cut the mustard. I don’t care how athletic he is, Watson can’t take a beating like that and last in the NFL for long. He came back last season after tearing his ACL in 2017 and he will be in for more serious injuries if Houston doesn’t improve the line, both at guard and tackle. The Texans have made a couple of deals to improve their stock at safety and cornerback.

Bradley Roby is a quality CB and at 27 you’d have to consider him in the prime of his career. You wish that Houston could have signed him for more than one year but if he works out the way you’d think a long term deal might coming in 2020. Tashaun Gipson is a safety that is coming to Houston via Cleveland and Jacksonville. At 28 he still has a lot of football left in him and he’s adding experience and smarts to the Texans defensive backfield. They will replace Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Matthew who departed for Denver and Kansas City respectively. Gipson is signed to a 3 year deal which is a good thing. Just the other day Houston got some more CB help in former Cleveland and Jacksonville DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Calhoun signed a one-year deal for a very team friendly $900 K contract. None of these signings preclude Houston from drafting a DB and it’s effectively plugged a couple of holes in the Texans secondary.

Houston lost T Kendall Lamm in free agency but was he all that great? Maybe he was, enough so that Cleveland gave Lamm a 2-year deal to come play for the Browns. The draft pundits are convinced Houston will go O-line heavy in this draft which includes a host of quality tackle prospects. Houston has a pick in the 1st round, 2 picks in the 2nd and a pick in the 3rd. Houston will need to make the most of those picks since they don’t have a 4th rounder. Four picks in the top 100 isn’t bad though and what I’ve seen of new GM Brian Gaine beginning with last season’s draft up to now he has done an outstanding job, in conjunction with Bill O’Brien, to put Houston in a good place talent-wise and cap-wise.

Houston is pretty good at tight end but, what if this draft’s top TE, TJ Hockenson, should be there in the 1st round? It’s not likely he’ll be there in the 2nd so what if Houston says eff it and goes for a top tier TE? They could devote both 2nd round picks on the O-line and there should be quality left when they pick. Most of use die-hard football fans have entirely too much time to speculate between the combine and the draft.

Last but not least, in thinking about what going on in Houston sports in general it’s pretty freaking cool! The Texans won the AFC South and got to the divisional round of the playoffs. The Rockets got to the Conference finals before losing to Golden State. If you remember, Chris Paul got hurt in that series and considering the run Houston was on they would have beaten the Dubs. Hardin might be the best player on the Rockets team but CP3 is the heart of the team. Houston has beaten the Warriors 3 of 4 times this season and they just had an 8 game win streak snapped. If the team can stay healthy they have a good shot at making it to the finals. Finally, the baseball season is about to kick off. It is exactly 10 days until opening day. Get this, Houston was the WS champ in 2017, they got to the ALCS before injuries caught up with them in 2018 and this year they’re one of the favorites to win it all again. If you’re a Houston sports fan this has to be a golden age for you with the 3 major sports being represented at the highest levels by the Rockets, Texans and Astros. As they say, we’re livin’ the dream!!!

[eagle eye]

The Texans have added a couple of pieces to their 2019 puzzle. There is a new backup QB in town. Brandon Weeden is gone and Houston signed T Matt Kalil last Friday. Prior to that Houston signed former Bengals backup QB AJ McCarron on March 20 and before that the Texans signed CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun on March 15. All three players signed one year deals, normally these deal with veteran players are referred to as "prove it" deals. Meaning the player is coming off an injury or a down year and the team, needing depth, fills a need and it things work out a longer term deal can be worked out.

 

Kalil is a 6 year veteran. He was the 4th overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He was in Minnesota from 2012 thru 2016 when, as a free agent, he signed a 5 year deal with Carolina. The signing reunited Matt with his brother Ryan who became the first brothers to play on the same offensive line in 24 years. He played all of 2017 but in 2018 he missed all of the season from September 21st because he needed knee surgery. Kalil was released on March 19th by the Panthers and Houston subsequently picked him up. This is an attempt to improve the Texans O-line so the Texans don't have to watch Deshaun Watson get sacked 62 times like he did in 2018.

 

McCarron was drafted in 2014 by Cincinnati in the 5th round. He spent from 2014 thru 2017 with the Bengals making several starts in relief of an injured Andy Dalton. In 2018 McCarron signed a two year deal with Buffalo and he was supposed to compete for a starting job with Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman. On September 1st McCarron was traded to Oakland where he backed up Derek Carr. On March 14th McCarron was released by the Raiders making him available to the Texans.

 

Boddy-Calhoun went undrafted in 2016 but he was signed by Jacksonville but he was among the final cuts that season. The day after he was cut Cleveland signed him and he stayed with the Browns for the past 3 seasons. He was a free agent when he was signed by Houston.

 

With these signings and the previous signings of Tashon Gipson, Bradley Roby and the addition of TE Daniel Fells the Texans have set themselves up for another successful draft. GM Brian Gaine had a nice draft last year and he has made several cap-friendly moves to get into position for the draft. Houston won 11 games in 2018 but they will find it much harder this season give the upgrades already made by division rivals Jacksonville, Tennessee and Indianapolis.

[eagle eye]

The Texans have been quiet for the past couple of weeks. No free agent signings since they picked up QB AJ McCarron.

Houston has lost some familiar names to free agency.

CB Kareem Jackson

S Tyrann Matthew

DT Christian Covington

RT Kendall Lamm

RB Alfred Blue

As you know by now Houston has taken steps to replace those who have moved on.

There are still free agents that Houston may or may not sign those being:

CB Kayvon Webster

CB Shareece Wright

LB Brian Peters

QB Brandon Weeden

ILB Josh Keyes

The only player we know that won’t be back is Weeden. The signing of AJ McCarron made Weeden expendable.

There is some news to talk about so let’s get to it!

Andre Johnson was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Congrats to Dre!

S Andre Hal announced his retirement from the NFL yesterday after 5 years with Houston. Hal was a 7th round draft pick out of Vanderbilt in 2014 and he was drafted as a CB. In 2015 he made a successful transition to S as he was backup to Quinton Demps. He was a valuable part of the Texans secondary until May of 2018. During OTA’s Hal complained of blurry vision after a practice. A medical exam revealed that he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and he immediately began treatment at MD Anderson in Houston. Hal refused chemo therapy instead opting for IV treatments once a week for one month. He also had vitamin C infusions. By September 6th of last year his cancer was officially declared in remission and he was activated from the NFI list and he played his first game of the 2018 season on October 21st in Week 7 against Jacksonville. In 2018 Hal played in 8 games starting 2. He recorded 3 INT’s and 13 tackles. For his career he played in 69 games starting 40. Hal’s return last year was inspirational seeing how he overcame a serious cancer threat and it was timely as well as injuries had taken a toll on the Texans defensive backfield. Hal’s retirement comes as a total shock given his age (26) and his value to the team. Hal insists that his health was not a factor in his decision to retire. All we can say is, “So long, Andre. Good luck in your future endeavors.”

[eagle eye]

The NFL draft finally arrived and after watching for a couple of hours it was time for the Texans to be on the clock. Two of my least favorite teams, the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles made trade. Baltimore traded their 22 pick of the 1st round to knuckle dragging Eagles. Pick 22 was the pick right before Houston's pick at #23. The problem is, the dung heap Eagles picked OT Andre Dillard from the University of Washington. The problem is Dillard was who I was hoping Houston was going to select with the next pick but they never got the chance.

 

That was the first disappointment. The next one was when Houston made their pick right after Philly yanked the best O-line prospect right out from under the Texans nose. There were several top notch tackles available like Oklahoma's Cody Ford, Greg Little from Mississippi State, Dalton Reisner from Kansas State or Yodny Cajuste from West Virginia. The Texans opted not to take experienced quality linemen from Power 5 schools and instead opted for Tytus Howard from Alabama State. Howard was considered a big reach by the Texans because he is a relatively inexperienced small school player who has a lot of potential but needs a lot of work to be an NFL caliber player. Jawaan Taylor from Florida was available but I didn't really want to see Houston choose him because in CBS Sports evaluation of him they said he was a franchise right tackle. I'm sorry but, I don't want my team to waste their first round pick on a right tackle when left tackle is such a need. I am not saying Tytus Howard was a bad pick, I'm saying he was a bad pick in the 1st round. If Houston picked him in the 3rd round AFTER getting their left tackle in the 1st round he would have been a nice pick. Until last night I was happy with what Houston GM Brian Gaine had been doing since he became GM last spring but this is a total head scratcher.

 

The one thing I am happy about is the fact the Texans did address their need to upgrade their O-line. The drafting of Howard is still puzzling even though the Texans did sign LT Matt Kalil to a one year deal. Howard can learn from Kalil and that's all well and good but there were better prospects to choose from. Hopefully, the Texans will use their 3 picks tonight to address needs a cornerback, safety and more help for the O-line. Texans QB Deshaun Watson was sacked an NFL worst 62 times in 2018 and that can't continue to happen.

[eagle eye]

I was looking at my last post and it was after the 1st round of the draft. I could have sworn I had posted since then but facts are facts as they say. The Texans did address the O-line and CB with their 2nd day picks. The whole draft was kind of a Who 'Dat? draft as the picks were not exactly mainstream players most of us had not heard of prior to the draft. Unlike the Sportswriters and sportscasters whose job it is to score the draft immediately after it is over I am going to wait to pass judgement. Bill Parcells rule of thumb was to give a player 3 years and if he didn't show his worth by then it was time to move on. Based on that, it's pretty much conventional wisdom to wait 4 years to grade a draft. I feel Brian Gaine had a good draft last year and his free agent acquisitions have been very solid. That said, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until I see otherwise. Gaine, of course, is the Texans GM as he took over for Rick Smith last offseason. There seems to be less friction between Bill O'Brien and Gaine than there seemed to be between O'Brien and Smith. The fact the Texans won 11 games last season could be a testament to that harmony. They will be sorely tested as everyone else in the AFC South got better this offseason. The Colts are back to being the pain-in-ass Colts as they beat Houston during the regular season and they also took Houston out of the playoffs. Tennessee and Jacksonville both improved a lot so 11-5 is going to hard for whoever wins the division in 2019.

 

The Texans have gone through their rookie mini-camp and their first week of OTA's and everything is looking pretty routine. The Texans have made a few roster moves since the draft adding S Jahleel Addae earlier this month, they signed RB Taiwan Jones waiving ILB Dexter Wright, signing WR Floyd Allen and releasing TE Ryan Griffin and signing ILB Xavier Woodson-Luster and waiving ILB Chase Middleton. The release of Griffin was a bit of a surprise because he had been a good player but injuries, concussions mostly, kept him off the field way too much. The drafting of Kahale Warring in the 3rd round likely was a signal that the tight end room was going to change. Or maybe it was the offseason signing of veteran TE Darren Fells, either way Griffin seemed to be the odd man out given his injury history. We are just a shade over 2 months from training camp. It's always a long summer until football begins again.

[eagle eye]

I haven’t discussed the firing of Texans GM Brian Gaine at all other than to mention it mainly because there is so much mystery surrounding what may be the most shocking story of the whole NFL offseason. We’re all used to mega dramas surrounding their intra state rival Cowboys. There is always drama in Cowboys corner. Heck, even this year Ezekiel Elliott was detained but not charged with a crime or arrested in an incident at a concert in Las Vegas in May. Earlier in the offseason, in March, DL Tyrone Crawford was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for a shoving match Crawford had with all the bouncers at a nightclub in Florida that carried over even after the cops arrived on the scene. Now, Roger Goodell suspended Elliott six game in 2017 despite the fact that Elliott had never been arrested or charged with any crime. He did it, basically, because he could. The ongoing feud between Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones probably had something to do with the harsh punishment for Elliott. The Crawford incident is something else. Crawford was at a bar with a group and an altercation erupted and Crawford was caught on video pushing and shoving and generally getting the best of a whole crew of bouncer at the club. It was all caught on video and it’s obvious Crawford was guilty. It doesn’t matter what started the altercation, all that matters is an NFL player was caught on video making the NFL look bad. If Goodell doesn’t suspend Crawford there is definitely something fishy going on. But, that’s in Dallas and as any loyal Texans fan would say, “Who gives a F*** about the Cowboys.”

This Brian Gaine thing is just crazy. Who fires their GM just weeks after the NFL draft? Apparently, only the Texans would pull something that crazy. I have searched the internet and all I can find is speculation. BTW, this move is very un-Bob McNair like. Bob McNair stuck by former head coach Gary Kubiak when everyone wanted his head on a pike. He stuck with GM Rick Smith when everyone wanted Smith pants-ed and run out of town. No, Bob would not have fired Gaine certainly not in June with so much GM work left to do before training camp. This in on his boy Cal, who assumed the title of COO of football operations in 2012 but his dad still ran the show until his death last November. Apparently, Cal WOULD do something like fire a GM at the 2nd most awkward time of the year for a GM.

The question of “why” still has not been answered to anyone’s satisfaction. Was it because Cal and Bill O’Brien were mad about the recent, “who the f*** is that?” draft? Or the fact that Gaine held pat in the draft order and let the Eagle trade one spot ahead of Houston to pick arguably the best OT in the draft, Andre Dillard and in a lot of people’s minds the draft went downhill for Houston after that. Some speculate that Bill O’Brien was pissed because the Texans didn’t make a bigger splash in free agency like the other 3 teams in the division did. Maybe the Texans didn’t sign the biggest names in free agency but they certainly filled almost all the holes that needed filling with quality players. The Texans just said there was a difference in philosophy and the Texans would be better moving forward letting Gaine kick cans down the dirt road. I really think the Texans messed up and if it was because of Bill O’Brien whining about the draft or free agency shame on Cal for being such a wussie. Things did go downhill after Gaine left. The Texans had tampering charges filed on them by the Patriots because they tried to sign Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio without permission from the Patriots organization. All that went away when Houston cow towed to the Patriots and vociferously apologized swearing no disrespect was intended. After all, doesn’t everyone want to be like the Patriots? The Texans, more than anybody, considering Bill O’Brien was the Pats former OC, Romeo Crennel was the Pats former DC and ST coach Brad Seely held the same post in New England. It stands to reason Houston would want a front office guy from Boston. After all, according to the old saying, “Imitation is greatest form of flattery.”, Houston is trying their best to imitate the Patriots success. Too bad Bill O’Brien is no Bill Belichick.

[eagle eye]

Can you believe it? Texans training camp is only ten days away! That’s right, next Thursday July 25 the Texans will hold their first training camp practice in preparation for the 2019 season. Unlike the previous two years, Houston will not be travelling to The Greenbriar in the mountains of West Virginia. Houston will be staying right in Houston holding training camp at the Methodist Training Center right across Kirby Drive from NRG Stadium. The lads will make a road trip up to Wisconsin to practice with the Packers on Monday and Tuesday August 5th and 6th in prep for their first preseason game on Thursday August 8.

Practices open to the public in Houston are on the following dates:

 Thursday August 1

 Saturday August 3

 Saturday August 10 and Sunday August 11

 Wednesday August 14 and Thursday August 15 (Joint practices with Detroit Lions

All practices begin about 9:10 AM

[eagle eye]

The Texans are in their 2nd week of training camp and it took a while to figure it out I have turned to the Houston Chronicle for my Texans news. To be honest I have been disappointed in the Texans website because this site has very few articles. Some by Marc Vandermeer, some frivolous articles by Drew Dougherty and observations by John Harris. Vandermeer and Harris do the best job of analyzing the team but Dougherty is more involved with broadcast media, radio and tv, than day to day written media. It's a whole lot different than the Cowboys website. They have a staff of writers who regularly contribute. They have podcasts and videos as well as some team related shows like Live From Training Camp every day on FoxSportsSouthwest and the Jason Garrett show and Cowboys Special Edition on Fox. Trouble with that is, Fox and Directv are at an impasse and DTV doesn't show the Fox Network which really sucks. The Texans website is all about their TV and social media experience which, frankly, I couldn't care less about. I want Texans news not tweets or Facebook posts. Even when there are moves made the Texans website just states the deal with no back story. It's frustrating especially when the Cowboys website writers break down all the moves made by the team. The nuts and bolts of why the moves were made. The Cowboys website does a lot better job updating injury news.

 

One piece of news isn't even on the Texans website. RB D'onte Foreman was waived this past week by the Texans. Why? After missing all the 2018 season with a torn Achilles tendon Bill O'Brien wasn't happy with Foreman's progress in his rehab and he wasn't happy with Foreman always being late or missing meetings. Foreman's rookie season in 2017 was good as he performed beyond expectations but since then he's fallen off the table. Hey, Texans.com, don't you think that would be a good news item for the site?

[eagle eye]

Here are the highlights from the Texans 34-0 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday. .......................................................No highlights, none.

 

The news from Saturday is all bad. Lamar Miller is done the season with a torn ACL No iteration of the Texans offensive line was able to keep any iteration of the Cowboys defensive line out of their backfield. The O-line came in with questions and after Saturday night's loss it's clear none of those questions were answered in the offseason. That is probably the ultimate reason GM Brian Gaine was fired after the draft. He failed to address the line in free agency and he sat back and waited while the Eagles traded up to take arguably the best tackle in the draft in Andre Dillard one pick ahead of the Texans. It was the sort of frustrating thing that actually made me (and many others I'll bet) sort of miss Rick Smith!

 

The AFC South power rankings changed dramatically on Saturday night. First, Lamar Miller was lost for the season and later, during the Colts game, Adam Schefter reported that Andrew Luck was going to retire on Sunday. Word got around social media and Luck was actually booed by Colts fans during the game and Luck had an impromptu presser after the game to announce his retirement. The latest AFC South power rankings have the Jacksonville Jaguars at the top of the heap, Nick Foles and all. The Texans are No.2 followed by a strong Colts team suddenly depending on Jacoby Brissett to be THAT GUY with the Titans a poor 4th.

 

With Jadeveon Clowney holding out don't think he is trade bait for a RB will Miller's ACL mucking up the Texans backfield. First, don't forget the Texans have Duke Johnson now who is fully capable or being the bell cow for this Texans offense. That if fact #1. Fact #2 is Clowney can hold out but Houston will not trade him. He can sign his franchise tender and make a lot of money this year and I'll bet that is just what he does. _{Fact #3 is the Texans can sign somebody after final cuts next weekend and it doesn't take long for a RB to fit into an offense. Heck, the Cowboys will likely have 3 good backs available come Sunday. Draft picks Darius Jackson and Mike Weber plus Alfred Morris will likely be available just to name 3 prospects.}

[eagle eye]

The smoke is still not really cleared yet on the pitched battle that was the Houston Texans day on Saturday. Not only did the Texans have to trim their roster down from 90 players to 53 for their final roster. Prior to all the cuts the Texans under the leadership of head coach Bill O'Brien went bat-crap crazy making trades. There was so much going on it was hard to keep up with but, what was increasingly clear was that O'Brien is in full on "win now" mode. All preseason he watched his QB's get pummeled by opposing pass rush and it became increasingly clear that the O-line he was left with after Brian Gaine's offseason blundering left the Texans offense at the mercy of opposing pass rushers. Gaine sat on his hands which the Eagles moved up and stole the what was considered the best tackle in this year's draft, Andre Dillard I assume it was because he signed banged up tackle Matt Khalil a month earlier when free agency began. Hindsight allows us to see that Gaines' lack of movement in free and agency and lousy draft strategy cost him his job. The Texans needed help on the O-line and despite making a move for Khalil and drafting Tytus Howard in the 1st round and Max Scharping with the 2nd of their two 2nd round draft picks. Neither of these 3 players distinguished themselves this summer and Bill O'Brien knew he needed to do something or watch his All Everything QB get buried under opposing team's pass rush like he did last season. Deshaun Watson was sacked a league high 62 times in 2018. That's an average of 3.875 sacks per game. Sheesh, it's wonder the poor guy finished the season! It wasn't just his O-line that needed some love, after losing RB Lamar Miller for the year with a torn ACL the RB position needed a shot of talent.

 

So, that gets us to yesterday. The media is crucifying O'Brien for being a bad GM. First, he failed to make an offer for a contract extension to Jadeveon Clowney before the July 15 deadline. What people may not realize is O'Brien is in the Bill Belichick coaching tree and he obviously learned from Belichick that its the system, not the players that rules the roost. The Texans franchised Clowney and he refused to sign the tender up until yesterday when O'Brien made a deal with Seattle that let Clowney go to a contender and it save the Texans $15 MM in salary for 2019. O'Brien is having to make up for a horrendous offseason led by Gaine and he got rid of a problem child in Clowney and got at least a little bit in return along with the salary cap savings. In return the Seahawks are sending DE Barkevious Mingo and DE/OLB Jacob Martin and a 2020 3rd round draft pick. Mingo was the 6th pick in the 2013 draft by Cleveland and he won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2016 and he started for the Seahawks last season. O'Brien is getting ripped for mishandling the Clowney situation but he got rid of a big salary cap hit along with a player who didn't want to be in Houston and got a potential starter at either D-line or LB, a special teams player and backup LB and a 3rd round draft pick. I think O'Brien made the best of a bad situation.

 

Next up was the deal everybody is really talking about that Houston made with the Miami Dolphins. The Texans worked out a deal to get a premier left tackle in Laremy Tunsil and WR Kenny Stills in exchange for Houston's 2020 and 2021 1st round draft picks and the Texans 2021 2nd round draft pick. The Dolphins also get special team John Bademosi and OL Julie'n Davenport. Tunsil is a really good left tackle and he will protect Deshaun Watson's blindside while Stills will be a big upgrade at WR. Will Fuller V and Keke Coutee can't seem to stay healthy. The Texans only kept 4 WR's so the addition of Stills is big. I was surprised the Texans cut Vyncent Smith while keeping no less than 5 TE's. The Texans will be hamstrung over the next 2 years in the draft without a 1st round pick but bringing in Tunsil was a must if the Texans were going to do anything offensively this season and beyond. Tunsil is signed through the 2020 season and he isn't breaking the bank either. The Texans, salary cap wise are getting a bargain but the Texans are going to end up paying him big money eventually.

 

The last big deal of the day was the deal Houston made to fill the void left by Lamar Miller's injury. Houston made a deal with Kansas City to get RB Carlos Hyde and the Chiefs get G Martinis Rankin. Hyde and Duke Johnson were teammates with Cleveland for a time until the emergence of Nick Chubb made Hyde expendable so he was traded to Jacksonville. Hyde was traded to KC for the 2018 season.

 

The Hyde deal was the last big trade but not the last trade made. To round out the day Houston made a deal with the New England Patriots to get CB Keion Crossen. In return Houston will give up a 2020 sixth round draft pick. Crossen was signed as an undrafted free agent last season and he played in 11 games for the Patriots and he brings a Super Bowl ring with him to the team.

 

Whew, I'm tired. I need a nap!!!