This forum is so funny sometimes. If Solder was here, there would 100% be a huge backlash on how bad the FO was for paying that much. Nothing will every make you guys happy. For not having a pick in the first 2 rounds, I think this offseason was pretty good. And if Watson was the cost of both those 1 two rounds picks.... I'd pay it again.
Good darn grief man, can we not wait and see if the new addition will improve that atrocious line play of yesteryear. Some Twitter dude writes something you agree with now we have to listen to you like you're some type of expert. Man stop it. Don't none of us know how this line will perform this season. It's a wait and see thing because we will see a totally different offensive line.
Man thank you. Solders is average at best. And he didn't come here because of his wife's condition. Some people just doesn't listen to or read all the facts.
I bet you if Gaine had offered more $$$$ and the Texans had the cap space Solder would be a Texxan today. The same money doesn't equal more money. It's like when the Astros offered Abreu the same money as the White Sox, Abreu went where he thought he had a better chance to win and whre his family would be most comfortable. He was wrong on that though. If Luhnow would've offered the most $$$$ Abreu probably would be an Astro today. You know why Yuli is an Astro today? Luhnow offered him the most money. This isn't always true but in most cases it's true. Solder decided to leave New England for the money and the Texans once again came up the bridesmaids again. They certainly had the cap space to get a deal done. If you think that that would be a misuse of cap space then that's a a different discussion we can have. But Gaine didn't do everything possible to protect DW4 this offseason.
When you factor in taxes in Houston compared to New York, the same money is considerably more money. On top of that, how much money were you going to throw at a mediocre left tackle? You realize there's a hard cap in the NFL right? You can talk about what a GM would have done in a leauge with no salary cap all you want, but that would have been completely irresponsible in the NFL with a hard cap. When a team offers the most money and a player decides to go elsewhere for non money, non football reasons, what can you do?
Well I did call last years OL disaster last offseason. I think they will be better this year because they cant be worse. However signing a bunch of backup OL in FA doesn't exactly inspire confidence and the lack of depth on this team should be concerning to you. But it wont be, because you've bought into what Gaine/BOB are selling. I'm not and hope I'm wrong. What I really hope is DW4 can stay healthy this year and Gaine addresses the OL in both FA and the draft next offseason. It doesn't take an expert to see what The Texans have done this offseason and predict what's likely to happen next season. Particularly if the injury bug even slightly bites again.
Solder himself said the money was equal and I'm assuming that's taking taxes into account. How much is doing everything possible to protect your franchise QB worth? BTW, I'm not saying passing on Solder was the wrong thing to do. I'm saying if Gaine wanted Solder they had the cap room to get a deal done and they passed. A common occurrence with the Texans org since long before Gaine became GM.
Your assumption is not likely accurate. The money was likely the same number, which means the NY offer was actually less. In his current deal his cap hit next season is 17 million dollars....so to "blow him away" and get him to not care about his family, how much more would that cost? 5 mil? 8 mil? Is a mediocre tackle worth years of salary cap hell?
Neither of us know it, that was my point. What we know is that he got laughably overpaid as it was and you wanted the Texans to throw even more money at a mediocre tackle.
I said that I wasn't sure that I would've gave the money it would've taken to sign Solder. But if Watson gets hurt again next year I bet people will be wishing Gaine would've given Solder a couple of extra mil of unused cap space.
After trading Duane Brown it was gonna be hard. I wouldn't have dismantled the OL that Kubiak (and Rick and McNair) built in the first place, but Obrien seemed too eager to bring in his guys and system, and it's been terrible except for the 4 games he scrapped his system for Watson.
There may have been a backlash by some, but ultimately get judged on results on the field. For example there wasn't much backlash for letting Duane and Brooks go until it became a disaster on the field.
I'm sure that'll be the reaction from the casuals, but you can't concern yourself with what people like that think. They were the same people who boo'd the JJ Watt pick.
Now you know that would be silly. I mean these players are getting injured without being hit. A LB could come up the middle or a player could accidentally roll up on his ankles. So many variables. What if they did pay Solders that amount and a DE or LB beat him bad, then blows up Watson. What will those people, including yourself say? That's right, we over paid for that. Fans can be so fickle.
The OL is not going to be the worst by seasons end. Maybe top 15. Right now it is a bunch of unproven guys. Fulton has the most experience and he was a backup and is expected to play guard. He played better at center. I really would have preferred some experience especially on the outside. Austin Howard was available for a while and was cheap. But either way, the kids will be alright.
How many QB have you seen get injured from a LB/DE coming off the edge? I've seen Watt come off the edge beat his guy and still didn't injure any QB. We can do this all day. Injuries happens, you can't predict when or how. So let's please put that nonsense to rest now.
