Houston Texans
Texans Working To Free Up Money To Re-Sign DE Mario Williams
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle mentions that Texans GM Rick Smith and VP of football administration Chris Olsen are currently trying to create some extra cap space in an attempt to offer DE Mario Williams a better deal. Houston has already said that Williams remains their top priority but considering their depth on defense, it was assumed that they would be unable to allocate even more money to a position of strength. Williams has said that he would consider offering Houston a discount and mentioned that landing a record contract is not one of his priorities. McClain mentions that the team will have to ”knock his socks off” if they plan to get his attention and freeing up cap space really the only way to make that happen. Source: NFL Trade Rumors Attached Thumbnails
Texans working on making Mario Williams an offer
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle indicated during a live chat on Monday that the Houston Texans are currently working on freeing up as much cap space as they can in order to make a strong offer to Mario Williams.
McClain said that he believes the Texans know they have to try and “knock Williams’ socks off” in order to have a shot at re-signing him.
In the end, McClain doesn’t believe Williams will be back with the Texans and I can’t argue with him.
SOTT Draft Profile: Brian Quick
The next few weeks here on State of the Texans we will be doing some draft profiles of some particular players who could possibly fit into the Texans plans. We are not going to try to piece together scouting reports, but we enlist help of bloggers who actually cover the respective player and their school.
In this draft profile we look at potentially the best small school draft prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft, the big wide receiver from Appalachian State, Brian Quick. At 6’3″ 222 lbs. and a 81 inch wingspan Quick has all the makings for a top flight wide receiver at the next level. Questions will arise if he is more than just a two route wide receiver and if his competition level will hurt his stock.
We get the help of our good friend, Shane Hallam from the NFL Draft Countdown, and he helps us find out more about Brian Quick.
Can you give us a little background on Brian Quick?
Quick was a basketball standout in high school who didn’t actually play any major organized f…
Former Oakland Cornerback Stanford Routt Making His Decision Soon
Former Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt visited with the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday, more than a week after he was released from Oakland. Routt, who signed a three-year deal worth $31.5 million with $20 million guaranteed in 2011, was due $10 million in guaranteed money which was reportedly due to kick in this year.
According to Mike Florio with Pro Football Talk, the decision is coming soon. Known teams to have shown interest in Routt includes the Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. However other “teams reportedly were interested.”
Cincinnati has roughly $60 million available in cap space and a need to improve their cornerback depth. Though Nate Clements will most likely start in 2012, there’s obvious concern that Leon Hall may miss part of the regular season depending on his rehabilitation after suffering an Achilles injury that ended his season last year.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: AFC South
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: AFC South
Houston Texans
The Good: The 2011-12 season was the best in the history of the Houston Texans. They made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, grabbed a win over the Bengals in the first round, and put up a fight against the Ravens in the second round – all while doing so with not a backup QB, but the backup’s backup – Granted, they did have their starter for the first half of the season, but Matt Schaub went down with a foot injury at the midpoint and was done for the year. Enter Matt Leinart. Matt was ready to prove that he was a legit NFL starter, he had matured tremendously since his days in Arizona and he fit what they needed in a backup. In his first start Leinart went down with a shoulder injury that had him out for the season as well and then the Texans had to turn to a fifth round rookie QB out of North Carolina in TJ Yates. Yates panned out fairly well for the Texans in the final half of the season. There was a lot of good for the Texans this year, but the defensive turnaround for them this year had to be one of the best. Wade Phillips helped turn that 31st ranked defense into the second overall defense in the league – all without Mario Williams – Good things will continue to build for the Texans and I see them controlling this division for the years to come.
The Bad: The bad from the Texans wasn’t really a part of their game, but more from the training staff. I recently heard an interview with Connor Barwin of the Texans and he was asked what the number one thing is that the Texans needed to work on during the offseason was, he came out and quite frankly said that the training staff was sub-par and it was a burden on them all year with multiple injuries. Those injuries varied from week-to-week to season ending ones for guys like Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams, Matt Leinart and Ben Tate. All key components to that team. A better training staff would hopefully bring fewer injuries to a team that has a very bright future ahead.
The Ugly: All around, Houston is a fairly solid team but the production or lack thereof on third downs this season put them in a few holes throughout the season. The Texans converted only 35.8% of their third down attempts placing them in the lower half of the league in conversion percentage, and kept them out of a few games. The lack of production when it came to staying on the field rather than punting it away hurt them a bit more than they would have liked heading into the post-season. In the Divisional round of the playoffs against the Ravens, they could only convert 33% of them, giving the Ravens eight more possessions than in a close game which the Texans only fell short by a touchdown. A few more chances and conversions on offense, and we could have been talking about the Texans in the AFC Championship game with a rookie fifth round QB. The production on third downs has to improve next season.
Tennessee Titans
The Good: A surprising season for the Titans as a rookie Head Coach to came in and turned things around after the departure of long-time Head Coach Jeff Fisher. The Titans had a season that made them a playoff contender going into the last game of the year. Matt Hasselbeck didn’t have a phenomenal season, but he did get things going for them coming into his first season as a Titan. The offensive line played very well despite the lack of run stats that Chris Johnson provided the team, ranking third overall as an offensive line. They allowed only 24 sacks and gave up 55 hits – only ten more hits than the Steelers O-Line gave up sacks.
The Bad: The fact that no one could really figure this team out makes me place their inconsistency in this category. The Titans entered the season with a loss to the Luke McCown led Jaguars and had Titans fans expecting a long season. The following week they came in and beat the Ravens solidly, came back the next few weeks with wins over the Broncos and Browns, followed by an embarrassing loss to the Steelers. I’m not going to go on and on with this, but as you can see the Titans really never played as a solid football and you couldn’t tell which Titans team would show up to play. The inconsistency was crazy throughout the season and it’s something that needs to be taken care of if they want to be considered true contenders under the direction of Head Coach Mike Munchack.
The Ugly: CJ-barely 1K! Titans “star” Running Back Chris Johnson was a joke of a football player this year. He was a cocky holdout until he got his six year, 56 Million dollar contract and was then a late participant to an already short training camp. He took his playbook home over the weekend and claimed to have it down in three days. C’MON MAN! The Titans had the second-to-last worst rushing game in the league, only the Giants had a worse rushing attack this season- but at least they had an excuse. For the Titans, there was no excuse. They had a Top-3 Offensive Line, and a 56 million dollar RB, or so they thought. CJ finished the season with 1,047 rushing yards, and got paid 23.4 Million in 2011 (13.4 M Salary and 10 M Signing bonus). CJ is a classic example of the modern day player that plays the game for his money, and not the team. Several times throughout the year you’d see a game where he didn’t care, he’d fall short of the sticks, he wouldn’t try to pop through a hole with his elusive speed and he wasn’t worth the 23.4 million he was paid. If he was the guy that they thought they were paying and played to his potential, the Titans could have made the playoffs, and probably could have been a legit contender. If CJ doesn’t get his act together and play like he did in the past, he’ll be an Ex-Titan sooner rather than later.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Good: I think when you talk about the Jaguars season, you have to start and stop at the league’s leading rusher in Maurice Jones-Drew. He led the league in rushing with 1,606 yards and added eight touchdowns on top of that. With the Jaguars having a very bad offensive line, what MJD did week after week was amazing for the Jaguars, and really the only thing that kept fans watching the team. Their defense did improve quite a bit over the year, but they were fairly inconsistent: a lot of it being the fact that the coaching was horrendous. There are good things to come for the future of this team, but at the end of the day the only real crutch they had to lean on all year was MJD.
The Bad: There was a lot going on in the season for the team with the firing of Jack Del Rio and the transfer of ownership from Wayne Weaver to Shahid Khan. There were distractions throughout the year that made it hard for the Jaguars to really show their true colors. The bad for the team began at the very beginning of the season with the release of QB David Garrard that took the league by surprise, but the whole season was filled with bad coaching and off the field distractions so they could never really get the ball rolling.
The Ugly: Blaine Gabbert was horrible this year, granted it was his first season in the league. But he was one of the highly coveted QB’s coming out of the draft and he definitely didn’t show that at all this year. Be it his inability to move around in the pocket, hisline that couldn’t stop anything to save their lives or the fact that they had zero weapons on offense besides MJD to help the young QB out. It seemed like nothing worked in their favor. The season was filled with ups and downs all the way around and all the distractions didn’t help them one bit. Hopefully things get better for them in the near future with new ownership and a coaching staff to pave the way.
Indianapolis Colts
The Good: Many would argue that there was no “Good” for the Colts this season, however there was a few bright spots on a team that finished with the worst record in the league. Pat Angerer never gave up, he produced well for the Colts by finishing top-5 in tackles to go along with two forced fumbles, a sack and an interception. He’s a guy that played all year with a high motor and did his fair share of the work on defense. Special teams was another bright spot for the Colts with Adam Vinatieri and Pat McAfee; a duo that could put the ball where they needed it all year.
The Bad: The bad for the Coltswas the fact that they didn’t have Peyton Manning. There was concern he might have missed the first game of the year, or even the first quarter of the season. They anticipated him missing a few games, not the whole season. The fact that the Colts didn’t have a plan in place just in case he did miss significant time was absurd. They brought in Kerry Collins who later ended up missing the better part of the year and they had to turn to Curtis Painter, then subsequently Dan Orvlosky. The plan in place at QB can’t even be called a plan, and even though they didn’t expect Manning to miss the entire season, they should have gone into the season with a better idea of what they would do in that nightmare scenario. The lack of preparation led to the Colts finishing the season with only two wins, and now they are in a perfect place to select their QB of the future in Andrew Luck.
The Ugly: This season was a mess for the Colts, but the worst thing that came out of it from my point of view was the lack of emotion from former Head Coach Jim Caldwell. When his team was losing, he never showed emotion, never showed that he cared. When they were getting blown out he looked like a sad little puppy with his tail between his legs. He didn’t motivate or even try to light a fire under the team to keep them going. It was kind of sad to see a team with such pride that led the league in winning for the better part of a decade to see them lie down and take it like it was nothing. It was inevitable to see Jim Caldwell fired as the Head Coach, but maybe if he tried to get his team ready he could have had a chance to keep his job. It’s a new day for this club, and I think they’ll pick it up and be able to get back to the level of play that they were at before. But this season was abysmal and they can only go up from here. It can’t get any worse than it was in Indianapolis in 2011.
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Chris Myers pulled from NASCAR coverage after son passes
Some sad news to report throughout our mix of snark, cynicism, and all-around critical posts here at Awful Announcing. Fox’s Chris Myers has been pulled from coverage of the Daytona 500, scheduled to take place on February 26th, after Myers’ son Christopher was killed in a car accident in California. Myers was just 19 years old.
Myers will be replaced in the FOX studio by John Roberts of the Speed Network. Roberts will be the studio host for next Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout, next Sunday’s qualifying races, as well as the pre-race coverage at Daytona for the Daytona 500. Speedweeks at Daytona is Fox’s marquee NASCAR event at the beginning of the season with coverage spanning two weeks. Fox is understandably giving Myers as much time as he needs following this unspeakable tragedy.
Here at Awful Announcing and the rest of the Bloguin network, all of our thoughts and prayers are with Myers and his family.
[h/t: USA Today]
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Son of Fox Sports Host Myers Killed in Crash
The teenage son of Fox Sports anchor Chris Myers has been killed in a car accident. The Associated Press reported Saturday that Christopher Myers, 19, died in Southern California, where the Myers family lives. Fox Sports told the AP that the elder Myers will “be given as much time off as he needs” (AP, 2/17). Perhaps best known as a sideline reporter for the NFL on FOX, Myers serves the studio host for NASCAR coverage on the network. During his [...]
CUP: Myers To Miss Daytona After Son’s Death
FOX sideline reporter Chris Myers son died in a fatal car accident…
Myers to miss Daytona after son’s death
FOX Sports NASCAR studio host and NFL on FOX sideline reporter Chris Myers will miss Daytona Speedweeks broadcasts due to the death of his son, Christopher.
“It is with tremendous sadness that the FOX Sports family acknowledges the passing of Christopher Myers, 19, son of NASCAR on FOX studio host Chris Myers,” said Eddie Motl, Manager of FOX Sports Media Relations.
Myers’ son was involved in a fatal car accident in Southern California on Thursday.
John Roberts, Speed studio host, will fill in as the NASCAR on FOX studio host for the Budweiser Shootout, Daytona 500 Qualifying and the Daytona 500 and will be available until Myers’ return.
Son of Fox studio host killed in car accident
The 19-year-old son of NASCAR on Fox studio host Chris Myers has been killed in a car accident.
The network says Myers will not be part of Fox’s coverage of the season-opening Daytona 500. Christopher Myers was killed Thursday in Southern California, where the family resides.
SPEED studio host John Roberts will replace Myers at Daytona International Speedway.
Roberts will assume Myers’ responsibilities as host of Saturday night’s studio show before the Budweiser Shootout, during Sunday’s qualifying, and the pre-race show for the Feb. 26 season-opening Daytona 500.
Fox says Myers will be given as much time off as he needs.
Would Losing Mario Williams Really be Devastating for the Houston Texans?
For years, the biggest question in Houston has been “When are we finally going to have a good team?” But after a hugely successful 2011 campaign, the question on all of Texans Nation’s lips is “How do we keep this good team together?”
It’s crazy to look back at the 2006 draft and be dumbfounded at how people thought Mario Williams was the wrong pick for them at number one overall instead of the highly-rated prospect Reggie Bush. Just a half dozen years later, Bush is on his second team and just finally had a season worth bragging about. Meanwhile, Mario is a multi-pro bowler and regarded as one of the top pass rushers in the game. Oh, and for that small percentage of idiots in Texas who still think that the team should have drafted Vince Young; he’s about to be on his third NFL team in as many years. He’s not even a factor in this conversation.
With Mario Williams slated to hit free agency in a month, many are predicting him to become…
Could Mario Williams remain with the Houston Texans?
Expected to be one of the most sought after free agents in this year’s market, OLB/DE Mario Williams told reporters on Thursday that money is not the only thing he’s interested in. Mario Williams could easily become the highest paid defensive player in NFL history next month, but it appears he is sending out signals that he’d like to remain with the Houston Texans. Will the franchise respond?
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Williams said that he’s not so much interested in the money as much as finding the system he likes. “I’m not worried about that. It’s really not that big of a deal to me. I was the first pick and I’ve already had everything I really wanted, so my biggest thing is to be in a good position, a good scheme and continuing my career. Hopefully, it works out,” said Williams. Refreshing.
Williams has played his entire career with the Houston Texans and was available for only five games this season. Williams misse…
Mario Williams Wants To Stay In Houston But More Money Beckons
Mario Williams continues appeasing Houston with his comments as unrestricted free agency approaches but dollar for dollar, the Texans can’t offer him market value.
Were the team to franchise the #1 overall pick from 2006, he would cost $22.9 million against the salary cap. And that would put Houston beyond their threshold. So if Williams is to remain a Texan, he’ll have to accept a team-friendly deal.
Perhaps he’s interested in a pair of longhorns on the front of his burnt orange lamborghini?
Prior to his pectoral injury last season, Super Mario had already racked up five sacks and appeared comfortable in his new role as a pass-rushing outside linebacker.
He adapted to the 3-4 scheme as well as a move from defensive end and had another Pro Bowl selection in his future.
It was Wade Phillips instilling a previously unseen toughness in the Texans defense that propelled them to an AFC South championship and a win in the first playoff game in franchise history.
And whil…
Mario Williams isn’t worried about the money
Houston Texans linebacker Mario Williams will hit the free agent market once March 13th rolls around and isn’t worried about being a free agent.
“I’m not worried about that,” Williams said Thursday. “It’s really not that big of a deal to me.
“I was the first pick (2006), and I’ve already had everything I really wanted, so my biggest thing is to be in a good position, a good scheme, a good system and continuing my career. Hopefully, it works out.
“It’s always important to be in a position to be successful. That comes with teammates around you, coaching, having that winning attitude. You want to (play) where you can thrive no matter where you are.”
Williams loves playing with the Texans, but he understands the NFL is a business.
“I love it here,” Williams said. “We’ve got everything we need here. The team is right where it needs to be. The pieces fit, but it’s part of business. Whatever happens, happens.”
Williams doesn’t know what the Texans are thinking at this point, since he hasn’…
Matt Leinart Beach House Party Update: “He’s A Tool,” Says Hot Chick
The saga surrounding that innocent Matt Leinart beach house party last weekend just got interesting thanks to our source who expanded on what happened last Saturday night in Newport Beach. As you read yesterday, Lynsi London tweeted that Leinart had people over after a night at Sharkeez. She mentioned in the tweet that he’s an #assman. Now we learn, according to London, that there was an old trick played by Leinart that night.
London’s original tweet was…
Met #MattLeinart at #SharkeezNewportBeach After party at his beach house #sexy#footballplayer#assman
Of course we had followup questions – really looking for photos – and Lynsi actually responded.
He invited my two gfs & I to a small after party beach house but when we got there it was only us, they just wanted to hookup we weren’t Down so we left. No pics sorry he’s a tool
Not sure who ‘they’ are. Assumption is Leinart’s boys. So pretty much everything we imagined …
