What Should Be Done with Dunta Robinson in the Offseason? [F-Tagged on 2/19!]

[nunusguy]

LZ on local radio station 1560 said in the last couple days that the Texans should not make an effort to resign D-Rob. He thinks he will demand top dollar in free-agency this offseason even if there's still some uncertainty about his full recover ? Instead LZ believes the Texans should let D-Rob
walk and concentrate on drafting Malcolm Jenkins if they have a high enough pick.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

LZ on local radio station 1560 said in the last couple days that the Texans should not make an effort to resign D-Rob. He thinks he will demand top dollar in free-agency this offseason even if there's still some uncertainty about his full recover ? Instead LZ believes the Texans should let D-Rob
walk and concentrate on drafting Malcolm Jenkins if they have a high enough pick.

I'm not convinced that he will definitely want to stay here. While nothing he has said has been to harsh, he has been the most outspoken player on the team.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by papabear

I'm not convinced that he will definitely want to stay here. While nothing he has said has been to harsh, he has been the most outspoken player on the team.

And he's been particularly outspoken about his desire to win.
So there's bound to be one or more of those 31 other teams besides the Texans that's a contender and interested in D-Rob, notwithstanding some
residual concerns about his injuries. Good corners are just too hard to come by, especially if it is also a player with such a high work-ethic & competitive intensity & solid team guy as D-Rob is. And if he goes elsewhere I certainly won't blame him a bit and I'll wish nothing but the best.

[Keith]

mod note - split this into a new thread from the other one discussing Dunta's return as a starter vs. the Browns.


Letting Dunta go for nothing would be a freaking huge mistake. If the Texans are concerned that the market will be Nate Clements-like for him, then franchise him. That way the Texans make just a one-year investment to see if he is the Dunta of old, which I think he might be.

Dunta is a team leader on the defense, as much or more so than Mario and DeMeco. For a young defense like this, letting him walk and getting a rookie, even a damn fine one, to replace him, would be a step backward.

Hell, draft a CB in the first anyway to pair with Dunta. That's not the point. The point is guys like Dunta are not a dime a dozen. F-tag him if you can't find a middle ground negotiating, and let's talk again about this in another year.

[Mike]

I agree with Keith 100%. I think Dunta would like to stay, but there has to be the committment to winning. He speaks well of Kubes and that is a huge plus. If Kubes brings in a Crennel, Johnson, Bates -- a coordinator with a proven record of success that will go a long way.

You absolutely franchise him for one year if you cannot come to an agreement. What you hope for, is that the offense can get stabilized and then you make changes to the defensive staff, scheme and players in the offseason. If the team starts winning in 2009, during the season when things are going good, you start negotiation the long term deal.

Guys with the heart, passion and desire are hard to come by, and he is a building block on that unit. #23's heart and desire is evident by the way he came back from that horrific injury.

[papabear]

I'm all for keeping him around. If he wants to go somewhere else and you have to franchise him, do it. We've never had that kind of problem before. I think the F-Tag is a smart move. He'll be well payed (even though the players all seem to hate it) and it gives us a year to see if he is truly recovered.

I'm not one who thinks Dunta is an elite corner, although he is very good. I'm sure his agent will want elite money though, so it could get interesting.

[cadams]

Originally Posted by Keith

mod note - split this into a new thread from the other one discussing Dunta's return as a starter vs. the Browns.


Letting Dunta go for nothing would be a freaking huge mistake. If the Texans are concerned that the market will be Nate Clements-like for him, then franchise him. That way the Texans make just a one-year investment to see if he is the Dunta of old, which I think he might be.

Dunta is a team leader on the defense, as much or more so than Mario and DeMeco. For a young defense like this, letting him walk and getting a rookie, even a damn fine one, to replace him, would be a step backward.

Hell, draft a CB in the first anyway to pair with Dunta. That's not the point. The point is guys like Dunta are not a dime a dozen. F-tag him if you can't find a middle ground negotiating, and let's talk again about this in another year.

I agree with you 100% Keith. If they let him walk that would be the most boneheaded decision ever (even more that the Buchanon deal). Even if they decided it may be best to get rid of him, they MUST get something in return. You franchise him and then have the option to keep him or trade him for value. The only way you get rid of him would be for at least a 1st round pick in return, and I don't know that I would be happy with that either.

[cadams]

Originally Posted by papabear

I'm all for keeping him around. If he wants to go somewhere else and you have to franchise him, do it. We've never had that kind of problem before. I think the F-Tag is a smart move. He'll be well payed (even though the players all seem to hate it) and it gives us a year to see if he is truly recovered.

I'm not one who thinks Dunta is an elite corner, although he is very good. I'm sure his agent will want elite money though, so it could get interesting.

You are probably right on him not being an elite corner based on his skills alone, but he is definitely a solid, every down corner, and those kinds of guys are hard to come by in the league. If, when drafting a corner, you could be guarenteed that he would have the kind of production that dunta has had, there would be no hesitation with spending a #1 on him, and we all know that every #1 doesn't pan out like dunta has.

[Keith]

In a column discussin Reeves, McClain added this little bit about Dunta at the end:

When the season ends, Smith will focus on the draft as well as free agency. He’ll have more cap dollars available than anytime in recent years. He plans to use a big portion of that cap space to re-sign some of his best players, beginning with cornerback Dunta Robinson.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6132948.html

No quote to back it up, but at least it sounds like the Texans have Robinson in their long-term plans.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Keith

In a column discussin Reeves, McClain added this little bit about Dunta at the end:


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6132948.html

No quote to back it up, but at least it sounds like the Texans have Robinson in their long-term plans.

I'm sure they do. I would consider Daniels to be 1A on the priority list right now though.

[Mike]

I would add Demeco as another priority. I think he has outplayed his rookie deal as well. Smart move to have locked up Eric early in the year and escalating some of the bonus to this years cap.

[dadmg]

Originally Posted by Keith

mod note - split this into a new thread from the other one discussing Dunta's return as a starter vs. the Browns.


Letting Dunta go for nothing would be a freaking huge mistake. If the Texans are concerned that the market will be Nate Clements-like for him, then franchise him. That way the Texans make just a one-year investment to see if he is the Dunta of old, which I think he might be.

Dunta is a team leader on the defense, as much or more so than Mario and DeMeco. For a young defense like this, letting him walk and getting a rookie, even a damn fine one, to replace him, would be a step backward.

Hell, draft a CB in the first anyway to pair with Dunta. That's not the point. The point is guys like Dunta are not a dime a dozen. F-tag him if you can't find a middle ground negotiating, and let's talk again about this in another year.

My sentiments exactly on every point.

[popanot]

This may gives us an idea of what Dunta may be seeking. Perhaps a little less, but I doubt by much in today's market.

PANTHERS, GAMBLE AGREE TO SIX-YEAR DEAL
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 28, 2008, 4:34 p.m.
While millions of Americans were doing their holiday shopping today, the Carolina Panthers were spending millions.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Panthers have signed cornerback Chris Gamble to a six-year, $53 million contract that includes $23 million worth of guaranteed bonuses. The deal makes Gamble one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history.

For the Panthers, re-signing Gamble takes him off the free agent market heading into the 2009 off-season. It also gives them a little more flexibility with their two other high-profile players whose contracts expire after this season, defensive end Julius Peppers and offensive tackle Jordan Gross. The Panthers would like to get a deal done with either Peppers or Gross and could then slap the franchise tag on whoever is left.

Gamble was the Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2004 and has been a starter since the first game of his rookie year.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by popanot

This may gives us an idea of what Dunta may be seeking. Perhaps a little less, but I doubt by much in today's market.

With a relatively young (2004 Draft like D-Rob) starting CB who was going to be a FA in 2009 already going off the market, this is certainly good news for D-Rob as the supply for corners like him has already contracted but the demand remains strong & constant. And not such good news for the Texans.
I dunno, how far back is D-Rob to his pre 2007 injury status and skills ? Is his maneuvrability, back-peddle skills, pure foot speed, etc. back or nearly back where it was ?

[NBT]

It woud be pure dumb to let Dunta walk without even trying to get him to reup. And then drafting a rookie who hasn't done squat to replace him. Just don't do it! Conserve what we have and try to build on it for next year for goodness sake.

[Nconroe]

I agree, do our best to re-up D-Rob, with new deal or franchise tag. He seems to be a great vocal, fiery, team leader.

I think he's recovering well, not yet his old self, but getting there.

I think still keep getting Dline and LBs stronger should be draft priority, for today, DB's are still young and may develop pretty good, well, maybe draft a safety pretty high.

[popanot]

There's no way McNair lets DRob walk. McNair's proven over the years, regretfully in some cases (*ahem* Carr, DDavis...), that he'll take care of the guys who he feels are good for the franchise. I will not be surprised to see them make a deal without having to use the F-Tag.

[superbowlbound]

Dunta has been coming into my restaurant semi-regularly since the summer, and i've had the privilege of talking with him a couple times. Nice guy, solid tipper. He loves this city, and he really likes his head coach. Richard Smith is a different matter entirely. I think, if we get ourselves even a decent D-coordinator, he sticks around. I've heard a lot of talk about the franchise tag, which i'm all for if we can't lock him up long-term. The guy brings fire, which is something this D absolutely needs, especially since mario and demeco are pretty soft-spoken guys to begin with.

I'm with most of you that don't think Dunta is an elite, as in top 5, corner in this league, but he is solid in coverage, and is one of the best in the league in run support among corners. Letting him walk with zero compensation would be a titanic blunder. F-tag him if we have to, for sure.

[jppaul]

He is a great zone coverage corner, a good man coverage corner. As much as they are paying corners these days he might be hard to keep, but he is definitely one of my favorite players. I love the way that guy lays the wood on 230 pounders.

He is also a leader and I think our team would take a big step back if we lost him.

[Keith]

I usually despise bumping up an old thread, but it probably makes sense to revisit this conversation.

Steph did a Q&A with KC Joyner on her Chron blog, and talk of Dunta surfaced.

Me: The Texans are going to have to make a decision with Dunta Robinson who is a unrestricted free agent going into this offseason. They have the option to franchise him for a year if they want more time to assess how his damaged hamstring/knee heals up more this offseason. When Robinson was in the lineup in 2008, the Texans were 7-4 and with him in the starting lineup, they were 5-1. Any thoughts about Robinson's play?

KC: "I've had good and bad things to say about Robinson over the years but in the case of a franchise tag, all I can say is look at his YPA metrics over the past five seasons:

2008 - 7.5
2007 - 8.0
2006 - 7.4
2005 - 9.3
2004 - 6.6

To put these into perspective, consider that a YPA of 7.5 or better will typically rank a cornerback in the upper half of the league. Robinson's YPA has been at or near the 7.5 mark twice, has been below it once and has been above it twice. If that's a franchise level cornerback, I'm a Pulitzer prize winner. He's worth re-signing at the right price but I wouldn't break the bank on him."

There's plenty of other discussable topics in that link (like Joyner's thoughts on Fred Bennett and Jacques Reeves), so click it if you haven't read it already.

Anyhoo, my comment was that stats are awesome, but YPA alone (including in combo with other stats) fails to account for Dunta's intangibles. I'm sure Joyner realizes this, but he's been rough on Dunta in the past, too. Good read (thanks again, Steph) and interesting info nonetheless.