Right; and those cheap, good players tend to be found in rounds 3+, and from that perspective, the Texans are OK (draft capital-wise; less so execution-wise, obviously). Where you really miss those high picks, IMO, is when you have to go and replace a... JJ Watt or Deandre Hopkins. Hopefully, both players stay healthy/productive the next 2-3 years. And there's a difference between having 4-5 good players, and having 4-5 good players, one of which is one of the best young QBs in the league. Watson makes this a dream job for any coach. There will be a long line of great candidates trying to kick down McNair's door if this job becomes available. This isn't Detroit, for god's sake. Well, not surprisingly, I disagree. I'm far less knee-jerk than the vast majority of fans - I'll give you that. Do you remember how upset everybody was in 2011 when they didn't fire Kubiak, and I supported the decision to instead hire a defensive coordinator because it was very obviously their Achilles heel? I'm not suggesting I'm right often, or anything - but I'm certainly content not being a pitchfork-carrying member of the angry mob that engulfs nearly every decision the franchise makes. I mean, what's the point of evaluating a trade that's barely 48 hours old?... The best I can offer - right now - is that they DESPERATELY needed to improve their OL and Tunsil does, on paper, at least - do just that. I mean... does that seem irrational? Putting aside costs momentarily, I'd rather have Tunsil than Soldier, Brown, Williams, Penn - or the countless other available players that orbited the franchise in one way or another. Putting the cost back in, it's undeniably exorbitant - but I'd like to see how it works out first. If this team makes a Super Bowl run these next 2-3 years, no one is going to miss those first round picks. And if it fails, yep - we'll look back and be rightfully upset. But... that's 2-3 years from now. Why wallow in that when we just added a premier left tackle to a team that went 11-5 last year and has Watson throwing to Hopkins?
I'm going to be honest... that's 2-3 years from now, and so I don't really care. I'd rather enjoy the team and let it play out. If the Texans make legitimate Super Bowl runs the next 2-3 years.......
O'Brien should not be allowed to trade any picks beyond the next 2 years. That will just hamper the next regime.
BOB won a power struggle with Smith. BOB was able to pick Smith’s replacement. BOB was able to get Esterby over from the Pats after Kraft paid a woman for sex (ohh the horror). The draft did not go as well as expected and lots of negative press. BOB doesn’t what he has always done, threw someone else under the bus. Gaine was in the cross hairs. Gaine is fires with 4 years on his contract. Reports that Gaine disrespected McNair come out. The Texans attempt to hire one of BOB’s closest friends as GM. The Texans fail to get their GM for embarrassing reasons (which at this point is irrelevant) The Texans decide they will not get a GM and reports surface that BOB is running the ship. With limited success in free agency and the draft, the Texans deal multiple high picks for a LT (a position of need), a #3 receiver (a position of need) and dump the player the coach doesn’t like personally (Clowney). I think the the moves they made probably win them an extra game and possibly a playoff win.... however over the next 3-5 years we are really going to miss those draft picks and mismanagement of the Clowney trade. In order to over come that, we will have to draft extremely well in rounds 3-6, which we haven’t done. This team has a lot of depth issues and holes at spots. I don’t see it as a SB contender the next couple years.
Sure. But let's take a step back... other than the Osweiler deal (which, to be fair, was executed by Rick Smith), BO'B has not been.... irresponsible with picks. Now, I realize that's a ridiculous thing to type 48 hours after they sent 384 picks to Miami for Tunsil... But at least Tunsil fills not just a need but a GLARING need. And he's not only young but they theoretically have him under control for four years even without an extension. Irresponsible would be wasting picks on.... Melvin Gordon. While he'd make this team incredibly more interesting, that's a poor allocation of assets. So, too, is Trent Williams, who'd be a nice get - but is older and will, in the short-term, be much more expensive. Dealing premium picks is tough - but it's OK-ish if your returns is a really good, young, cheaper player..... Let's call it.... responsible irresponsibility.....
Wish this were true, but I think they fired Gaine because they incorrectly assumed that they were going to get Caserio. Of course, like so many other things, they managed to screw that up too and here we are. I’d like to believe Cal will be an improvement over his father, but in my gut it just feels like more of the same.
Here's where I think this narrative falls apart. If BO'B does indeed have all this power and control... why was he acting so nakedly desperate this weekend? Good or bad, these trades are not the mark of someone who thinks he'll be here long-term; they are win-yesterday kind of moves. So why is a seemingly made man, who hires/fires GMs and has presumably has nothing to worry about, seemingly overnight VERY concerned about this year?... I keep going back to what BO'B said in his post-Gaine press conference - that Cal made his expectations clear. I thought then, moreso now that that was not coach speak but a loaded response. Gaine/BO'B were passive in free agency; passive in the draft, and they collectively did not do enough to address the obvious hole on the offensive line. So Cal fires the easier of the two to either replace or do without and then puts the other one on notice. To me, that's a fairly plausible explanation for why BO'B would be so willing to deal premium picks for a LT + versatile WR, as well as turning a young, raw OL into a low-ceiling veteran RB: he is suddenly DESPERATE to win... Assuming Watson's health, I don't think BO'B is surviving an underwhelming season.
Landing an elite, 25-year old left tackle is certainly OK-ish. But, by all means, pout and be upset about your 2022 draft night plans, I guess...
But they didn't have to. They could have waited. I think Gaine was fired because of O'Brien. We have seen a few instances of people not getting along with O'Brien and him not being able to work with them. Brandon Brooks, Ryan Mallet, Brock Osweiler, Rick Smith, Clowney, I think in this case O'Brien's issues with Clowney caused the dissolution of the alignment.
Quite possible... But throwing Matt Kalil, Tytus Howard and Max Schrapling at this wreck of an offensive line is......... I mean, people have been fired for far less, right?...
Then I'll ask you the same question I asked @Nook - why would a seemingly made man act so nakedly desperate this weekend?... I mean, BO'B's actions are not those of a guy who's future is secure...
Apologies for answering a question directed at someone else. I go back to when BOB wanted to cut Mallet when he was late, even though it would have left him with no backup QB and was basically overruled by his GM. BOB is an old-timey football coach and like the coaches of yesteryear he is wildly capricious, arbitrary and decisive. Once a switch flips in his head and he decides he's done with you, he's done with you, consequences-be-damned. The doghouse is a deep, deep pit of no return, and you'll never know exactly what you did to earn admission, or why the guy next to you who did exactly what you did had his house passed over by the Spirit of BOB.
Because it is consistent with a number of his decisions... from signing Brock Osweiler without having ever met him, to raving about Savage being his starter all pre season and giving him first team reps, to only replace him with Watson very early in the first game of the season.... to spearheading the effort to get a GM under contract and not available. Also if BOB is on the hot seat, I don’t think he would have so much say in who the Texans would pursue after Gaine. Could BOB suddenly be under pressure? Sure it is plausible but I don’t think that is the case at all. Time will tell.
Actions? You talk like there are a bunch of these. The reality is that only one trade looks like a big overpay, and it was in a position of great need for a player who may be a great fit. The other trade was making the best of a bad situation caused by a petulant player. There were two other trades and well and neither fits your description. In the balance there's little evidence of desperation.
No, no... by all means..... Yeah; this all sounds highly probable... but doesn't really answer the question... why did BO'B not have this urgency in March? APril? Why did he not wield this power over his flaccid GM then?...... *Something* changed.....
The first two instances were prior to any power play victory over Rick Smith... No, no - if BO'B wields so much power and control, why did he nakedly act so incredibly desperate *this weekend*? If he's under no threat to win or else............. Unless the embarrassing manner in which they failed to land Casserio was the last straw....? I just can't wrap my head around two things: 1) why all powerful BO'B would cede control to his GM during free agency and the draft; 2) act like a desperate man when there's seemingly no pressure to win this year? And further... why didn't they interview, let alone higher, another GM? Maybe BO'B and Easterby really, truly did talk McNair into this flat organization idea. At the same time, it'll be much easier to only fire BO'B than BO'B + your 2nd GM in 12 months.......
LOL No, the Texans completely mangled the Clowney situation just about as bad as possible. They could have dealt him earlier for a large return if they were not going to extend him. Instead they held onto him, didn’t extend him and tried to trade him. Clowney was going to play for the franchise tag until roughly 10 days ago... when the Texans were again trying to trade him, and it became clear if he signed the franchise tag, the Texans would trade him. As a result the Texans got a third round (which they would have gotten anyway) and lost out on a year of Pro Bowl production from Clowney. Also giving up two #1 picks and a #2 for a LT that isn’t an All Pro or Pro Bowler is a massive over pay. At this point everyone can only look at the positives and hope that Tunsil suddenly becomes a top 5 LT.
