I know this may sound like 'I told you so' (which I didn't), but I've always been kind of wary of Jermaine Lewis. I never saw why an expansion team would worry about having a one-dimensional, over-paid, under-sized, unproven WR\KR with all the holes the Texans had. Even if he returns a kick back for a TD in every game for the rest of the season, I'll still be skeptical about Lewis. (OK, maybe not if its every game... )
honestly...it would have taken nothing less than a return for a TD for Lewis to redeem himself in my eyes yesterday...but this has been a long time coming for me...we saw his butterfingers all through the preseason, as well.
Wasn't there speculation that there was something of an "agreement" between the Texans and whoever didn't protect Lewis? Something along the lines of, if you promise us you will take this guy, we will leave this other quality player unprotected? Perhaps I am thinking of someone else.
I heard that too Raven, the other player was Jamie Sharper and if taking Lewis meant getting Sharper then it was worth it. Right now Lewis needs to man up and show the skills that made him a pro bowl returner. I also wouldn't mind some slant routes and receiver screens to utilize his explosivness.
Maybe you're right, Raven & SSG, Lewis & Sharper may have been a 'package deal.' If so, it was worth it, Sharper is a player.
It reminds me of the Mel Gray situation. Mel would return almost every kickoff and punt return for TDs in Detroit and then the Oilers get him and he is an entirely different ball player.
I think it's a bit much to expect a return man on the worst team to get some quality returns. Think about who is blocking for him. The worst of the worst. He is expensive tho', so I say dump him if it doesn't get any better next year.
I think that touchdown pass he dropped vs Dallas messed his mind up. After that play he didn't seem like the same player. 1 decent return may get him back on track. He had 2 great returns vs San Diego and both were called back.
And Seth Payne? With Jax. But I've heard the same things said about Baltimore, too. It's not inconceivable that two teams in need of cap space would make similar deals with the Texans.
There were 2 deals that were basically well known. We had to take Coleman and Glenn to get Young, and we had to take Boselli to get Walker and Payne. I bet that we also had to take Lewis to get Sharper though. Highly worth it though. Sharper is just entering his prime and is a complete player who has made a seamless transition to the 3-4 defense. He also only counts like 2.5 million towards the cap an that contract is good for another 2 years. Lewis on the other hand counts like 4.5 million and I think, (at least I hope), this is last year. Young did start but had almost immediate tightness in the groin area. They took him out at halftime and he did not return. Hopefully it wasn't too serious, he should be able to play next week versus Jacksonville.
I've been saying all along we should have drafted McKinnie, and gone after Leftwich or Eli this year.
taking lewis got us sharper; taking glenn/coleman got us young; taking boselli and/or walker got us boselli and/or walker and payne. (based on the medical history, i'm assuming boselli netted us walker and payne). it's the exact same thing, only it wasn't gray's fault and it's not lewis' fault. lewis is a competent return man, but in baltimore, he was 1 of 11 people returning punts and kicks. to expect him to duplicate that same success in houston is asking too much -- it's not that simple an equation. lewis had a rough day sunday; it happens. the wind was apparently swirling yesterday, so it might've just been a case of lewis misjudging a punt that fluttered. his fumble aside, i've been pleasantly surprised by how effective he is, how fearless he is and how relaible he is (again, yesterday's two drops aside). he's worthless as a WR, but we knew that coming in, or, at least, you should've.
a) eli's a junior; b) neither will be as good as carr; c) mckinnie and/or his agent is apparently brain dead. yeah, uh-huh, that would've been a fab-u-lous way to kick things off: drafting a fat, lazy, inexperienced offensive lineman who doesn't even have enough to sense to understand the rookie cap. you'd think someone like mckinnie could relate to the idea of "first come, first serve." carr's a legitimate franchise QB and i'd wager no less than 16 GMs would stand in line for a shot at him. you don't pass that up for a OL. never, ever, never. ever.
I don't care how our OL looks now... there are good linemen available every year. Boselli will be back. Any second guessing on Carr, right now, is silly. Carr is the best rookie quarterback I've seen in years in the NFL. He's playing with a bad offensive line, several rookies that the skill positions, and he's been nothing short of brilliant. He struggled the second and third games, like the rest of the team, but starting with that Philly game the offense has turned a full 180 degrees. We are moving the ball, Carr is hitting receivers in stride, and he's not making mistakes. He's hit Bradford 45 to 50 yards down the field in stride repeatedly. He's running out of bounds and throwing it away, instead of trying to force it in a small hole. He's making good audibles at the line of scrimmage, and overall I get the feel that he's a terrific leader when I watch him out there. He really shows a lot of poise. He would've had 350 yards against Cleveland if not for the two Bradford drops. Carr has looked absolutely terrific, and while there's some good potential quarterbacks next year, it's never worth giving up the sure thing for the risk. As a rookie quarterback on an expansion team, he's already looked more impressive than a lot of starting quarterbacks on established NFL teams.
Young was on the Steve McKinney show on 610 this morning (great show, btw, it's on 8-8:30 or 9 on Tuesdays). He said the groin felt good for a few plays, but then the muscle got fatigued & he was worried about re-injuring it. Nothing serious, more of a precautionary measure. It's going to take time for this to heal completely, groin injuries are a beyotch to recover from.
posted by Cat Finally!! I've been reading this thread and just been disgusted. Anybody who knows anything about football knows that Carr was a steal. The only thing I don't like about the Texans this year is that they should put in a backup QB sometimes when the sacks pile up. I was one of the people that said I would be happy going 1-15 if we beat the Cowboys. But the Texans are more fun to watch then I ever hoped! This thread should be called> HOUSTON- Home of the Fair Weather Fan
hey, now...ease up...the posts here on this thread alone should indicate this guy is in the significant minority...I've yet to hear people voicing this opinion on sports radio...I've yet to see hear this criticism from the local media.
