BOB: Texans won't build through FA but the draft

Every team including the Texans builds through the draft, always have.

Even for the Texans this is some stupid eye roll worthy s**t. "Well, free agency didn't go like we wanted but, but...we weren't really trying. Yeah that's it, we build through the draft not free agency". Now that they are serious about drafting, I'm sure we're gonna see a turnaround in that regard.

I'm honestly surprised this organization manages to win as many games as it does.

 

Watt, Reader, Clowney, Mercilus, Cunningham, McKinney, (Kevin Johnson), (Kareem Jackson), Hal, Reid, Watson, Hopkins, Fuller, Griffin, Foreman, Coutee, Martin, Davenport, Scarlett, Rankin, etc.

Most of their starters and contributors are draftees (or UDFAs). They have been building through the draft for many years. This is no new revolutionary thought. What they need is to complement the drafted players with some more FAs and draft better.

 

He means exactly what the Texans are doing

 

Five years for this mediocre coach to come to this simple conclusion? Was GM Smith the problem or was it this bumbling coach who can't coach jack sht?

Is he trying to buy more time with this statement cause it's unnecessary. He will b here much longer as long as he gets 8-8 record in the AFC south and limps into playoffs like he always does.

 

No he doesn't.


He means that you don't want to use free agency to put band aids all over your holes in hopes of making them better. It doesn't work usually.


I didn't read the article, so I could be wrong, but I used the inference from the frugal part.

 

And what I’m saying is Texans have been bringing in a bunch of backups and making them starters instead of finding actual starters. Band aids!

 

And Orlando Brown Jr was still on the board...

 

When you have franchise qb with a small contract you try to surround him with as much talent as possible.

 

Free agency saved this team when they brought in JJo and Manning. If they didn't go to the "free agent" coaching pool, we would have missed on the Wade Phillips era of defense, and kept on with in-house inbred failures like Frank Bush and David Gibbs.

If they only build through the draft then all there will be to brag about is cap savings and the potential of a bunch of unproven guys.

 

Ironically, BOB's old boss who is fairly good at this winning thing has done it through FA and trades these past few years. To cut yourself off from any avenue of talent acquisition is stupid strategy. And the only reason not to pursue FAs is either to save money or because you're too stupid to know how to identify NFL talent.

 

We need to make a very subtle but important distinction between the Browns/Jags & the Texans... those two teams have yet to cycle through their own free agents. They haven't had to re-sign a Watt or a Hopkins or a Clowney yet. *That* is why they have significant free agent money. They tore their teams down (especially the Browns) and built *everything* through the draft.

Myles Garrett is Cleveland's highest-paid *in-house* player; he has a cap hit of $8MM this year. Assuming Clowney plays on the FT, Watt + Hopkins + Clowney = $45MM.

The Texans have never torn their team down; they are very much like the Rockets in that regard - they've reloaded rather than rebuilt. That gets expensive if you want to keep key parts around.

Once the Garrets and Chubbs, etc., come due, you'll see Cleveland make tougher choices (not to mention Mayfield). We're already starting to see Jacksonville do it (and their bloodshed likely commences next offseason...)

*THAT* is why the Texans build through the draft - to keep their stars and provide enough cap flexibility to make moves during the season (like DT this past year). They are not 1:1 with Cleveland, Jacksonville, etc.

 

They really haven't, though. They signed Gilmore and traded for Cooks. Other than Bell, what free agents available this offseason do you think were as good as Gilmore/Cooks? (Also, the Texans could still make trades... it's, you know, one of the benefits of having cap flexibility.....)

May I offer a third?... Free agents tend to get paid for past performance, rarely live up to their contracts, and can hamper your ability to retain key pieces of your nucleus moving forward....

 

I said these past years, not this particular offseason. It's impossible to tell just current offseason anyways since it's not over yet.

If you don't believe me look at the Patriots roster and how many are "homegrown" and then look at past years where they've absolutely spent tons on FA. Spending on FAs and spending stupidly on FAs are two different concepts.

I am surprised to read this as a Texans fan. Because the Texans entire MO is retaining their own "key" pieces at the expense of all else in the first place, and look how successful they've been!! They give big money to all their own guys even while the most successful teams cut bait and sell high all the time.

For instance if the Texans had Alex Smith these past few years do you think they'd have drafted Watson or Mahomes or would they have given Alex Smith a $100mil extension to retire a Texan?

 

What free agents have they spent "tons" on? They've built their team from mid-round + draft prospects, cast-offs from other teams, and low-level, bargain-basement free agents.

There's really not a "ton" of high-priced free agents on the team.

I have no idea and neither do you. I will point out, however, that Alex Smith-led teams are 56-30 since 2013, which translates to 10.5 wins/year. I would certainly sign-up for 10.5 wins/year - wouldn't you?

 

Being that it is better than 9-7, yes.