Legacy

[painekiller]

Kris Brown
Chester Pitts
Andre Johnson
Dunta Robinson
Travis Johnson

What do these 5 guys have in common? They are all that is left of the roster that Gary Kubiak inherited from Dom Capers. Talk about a whole lot of nothing.

Yes the NFL is about turnover of rosters, but you will be hard pressed to find a team that has had this much turnover in less than 3 years.

Why an I pointing this out? A few reasons come to mind. One is the people who are saying Kubiak is on a hot seat. Look what he had to work with, one superstar and few solid players. Look at the roaster today and you see a core of solid players on the verge of their NFL prime.

Established NFL teams usually maintain a core of 10 to 15 player that have been with the team for some time. I am not talking about bad organizations like the 49ers and Rams, but about the Eagles and Pats. Kubiak had to create that group of guys and grow them up.

2nd Wolf a regular poster on the TT.com found this article from the Bleacher Report

Are the Houston Texans on the verge of becoming pro football’s next great dynasty?

Give owner Bob McNair’s management team credit: GM Rick Smith and head coach Gary Kubiak have assembled a lot of the right elements. The trick will be bringing those elements together to translate to success on the field.

When you compare what the Texans will be fielding in 2009 with some of the great NFL dynasties of the past, the parallels are there.

In this article it talks about the coaches the QB, and the new defense. Giving what little talent Kubiak was handed, and the salary cap issues (dead weight player that had to be cut) for this team to be considered a team on the verge is simply amazing.

I predict that the next draft might only find one player capable of starting his rookie year. BTW that is a good thing. I predict depth will still hurt us this season. But next year and the year after will see us as a top AFC contender.

[HPF Bob]

Well, let's see them win a playoff game before we get carried away with the d-word.

As for roster turnover, Kubiak inherited a 2-14 team that ran a 3-4 defense and ran an offense similar to but not entirely like Denver's. It really shouldn't be surprising that so few players from the old regime are left.

[NBT]

Casserly did well in helping McNair set up this team, but as a talent evaluater he stunk. McNair had some hard decisions to make 3+ years ago and he made the right ones. This team is finally on the right track.

[Nconroe]

I think we have pretty good depth at all positions now, although still very young. We'll be winning more and more games for next several years, and the defense will be better than most expect right now. It is surprizing to see how few we have left from previous management legacy view.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Well, let's see them win a playoff game before we get carried away with the d-word.

As for roster turnover, Kubiak inherited a 2-14 team that ran a 3-4 defense and ran an offense similar to but not entirely like Denver's. It really shouldn't be surprising that so few players from the old regime are left.

Only one offensive lineman, for a young team that is ridiculous. Only one DB, again for a young team that is ridiculous. Not a single TE, no RB or QB survive. I am sorry, in my sleep I would have had more guys still here.

How many 1st day picks of Casserly are already out of the league? Forget the late picks, just look at Weary, Hill, Joppru, Peek, Wand, Ragone, Babin, Morency, and Hollings. Only 6 guys Casserly/Capers drafted on the 1st day are still in the league (not counting Kubiaks 1st year).

Bob, the numbers say more to me than just a change in style.

Kubiak has done a heck of job of picking guys they can make football players out of.

And Bob can't an Aggie and long time Houston sports fan hope for a "d" word team sometime in my life? Heck my San Fran brother in law and nephew love to point out the rings they have.

[HPF Bob]

The NFL is a high-turnover "what have you done for me lately" type of league and it is even moreso with the salary cap. If you're a veteran, you are less appealing to most teams than a rookie or a practice squad guy because you cost more due to the vet minimum so, unless you're a player who produces well in your first 1-2 years, you're yesterday's news and nobody wants to pay to find out what you have left.

I'm not saying that to defend Casserly who obviously made bad choices but just to say I'm not shocked at the turnover rate three years into a new regime. Go look at the Saints and find out how many players are still heldover from before Sean Payton was hired.

As for dreaming of dynasties, knock yourself out. But reality tells me otherwise.

[NBT]

Bob, what is wrong with dreaming of a Texan dynasty? I, for one, would love to see the Cowgirls record diminished. And who better to do it than the Texans?

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

The NFL is a high-turnover "what have you done for me lately" type of league and it is even moreso with the salary cap. If you're a veteran, you are less appealing to most teams than a rookie or a practice squad guy because you cost more due to the vet minimum so, unless you're a player who produces well in your first 1-2 years, you're yesterday's news and nobody wants to pay to find out what you have left.

I'm not saying that to defend Casserly who obviously made bad choices but just to say I'm not shocked at the turnover rate three years into a new regime. Go look at the Saints and find out how many players are still heldover from before Sean Payton was hired.

As for dreaming of dynasties, knock yourself out. But reality tells me otherwise.

Bob I would rather look at the Steelers, they are closer to what a team should be. Give me a little time and I will report back to you on there turnover.

I get your point Bob, we changed styles and thus type of players needed, but to be an elite team you have to be consistent and that is where we should strive to be, A team like the Colts, Titans or Steelers, not a team like the Raiders.

[HPF Bob]

I picked the Saints specifically because they had the second-worst record the same year we had the worst. They changed coaches. We changed coaches. They drafted Reggie Bush. We drafted Mario Williams. So they make a very good comparison. They hit bottom the same time we did and changed coaches the same time we did (there was even yammering the next year that the Texans screwed up and named the wrong coach).

So if the Saints have twice the holdovers after three years of Payton than the Texans have after three years of Kubiak then it supports your point that Kubiak cleaned out an empty cupboard. If they didn't, then it supports my theory that new regimes taking over bad teams get rid of all the holdovers as part of their mission to remake the ballclub in their own image plus the natural turnover that happens on a modern NFL roster.

Heck, I'm watching Josh McDaniels do that now in Denver and he took over an 8-8 team. My guess is that, by 2012, you can count on one hand the remaining Broncos who played under Shanahan.