2011?

[painekiller]

post senior bowl mock

11 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
42 Quinton Carter S Oklahoma 6' 1" 195
73 Lawrence Guy* DT Arizona State 6' 5" 300
104 Johnny Patrick CB Louisville 5' 11" 190
135 Brian Rolle ILB Ohio State 5' 11" 220
173 Niles Paul WR Nebraska 6' 1" 215
203 Greg McElroy QB Alabama 6' 3" 220


I could be happy if this were the actual draft.

My attempt

11 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
42 Quinton Carter S Oklahoma 6' 1" 195
73 Stefen Wisniewski OG Penn State 6' 3" 297
104 Sione Fua DT Stanford 6' 2" 307
135 Shiloh Keo S Idaho 5' 11" 210
173 Ricky Stanzi QB Iowa 6' 4" 218
203 Roy Helu Jr. RB Nebraska 6' 0" 215

1st a pure pass rusher that is better than we have had to team with Barwin, two solid safeties to groom, a solid middle of the offensive line type, a solid force in the middle of the DL (not a push the pocket type but a plugger), a good developmental backup type QB, and a very nice 3rd RB option.

[Blitzwood]

If we sign Nnamdi Asomugha(I can dream), we're gonna break the bank and therefore not be able to resign a few notable FA this offseason, mainly Pollard and Jacoby Jones, who'll be looking to get paid.
So now we have new holes to fill.

11. Justin Houston* DE Georgia 6' 3" 259
42. Quinton Carter S Oklahoma 6' 1" 195 (Pollards replacement)
73. Casey Matthews ILB Oregon 6' 2" 235
104. Danny Watkins OT Baylor 6' 4" 310
135. Greg Little WR UNC 6' 3" 220 (JJ replacement)
173. Mike Blanc DE3-4 Auburn 6' 4" 290
203. Dane Sanzenbacher WR Ohio State 5' 11" 185

[painekiller]

11 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
42 Drake Nevis DT LSU 6' 1" 300
73 Tyler Sash* S Iowa 6' 1" 210
104 Darvin Adams* WR Auburn 6' 3" 185
135 Caleb Schlauderaff OG Utah 6' 4" 300
173 Chris White ILB Mississippi State 6' 4" 245
203 Andrew Rich CB BYU 6' 3" 215

My cherry pick:

11 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
42 Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 6' 2" 205
73 Stefen Wisniewski OG Penn State 6' 3" 297
104 Sione Fua DT Stanford 6' 2" 307
135 Jerrell Powe DT Mississippi 6' 2" 330
173 Roy Helu Jr. RB Nebraska 6' 0" 215
203 Brooks Reed DE Arizona 6' 3" 255

A fun trade down that will never happen

11 traded to NE for #28 and #33

28 Rahim Moore* S UCLA 6' 1" 195
33 Phil Taylor DT Baylor 6' 4" 355
42 DeAndre McDaniel S Clemson 6' 1" 190

Of course the later picks would change, but this would give you some safety talent to develop and a NT with size and wiggle.

[painekiller]

11 Aldon Smith Missouri OLB34

A top-flite conversion project for Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme, Smith played DE for Mizzou -- at 6'5" and 260 lbs, if he displays the ability to play on 2 feet and cover the flanks, the Texans' defense will have made great strides (because we already know he can rush the passer). This is the first step in rebuilding Houston's front seven, because if you don't have OLB's, you don't have a 3-4. - Long Ball

42 Christian Ballard Iowa DE34

Ballard was the 2nd best pass-rusher in the Senior Bowl to Cameron Jordan and plays the game with a tenacity and passion not often seen today. After Smith (OLB34) in the 1st round, this is the next building block in Houston's conversion to a 3-4 defense. The Texans' current roster only has 2 candidates to play DE in a 3-4: Mario Williams and Antonio Smith. Ballard compliments this duo nicely and provides an excellent rotation pattern for the 3-man line. - Long Ball

73 Robert Sands West Virginia FS 6-4 215
104 Wayne Daniels TCU OLB34
141 Clint Boling Georgia OG
172 Mario Butler Georgia Tech CB
202 Deunta Williams North Carolina SS

Williams in the 7th? not sure about that.

My cherry pick:

11 Aldon Smith Missouri OLB34
42 Phil Taylor Baylor DT34
73 Tyler Sash Iowa SS
104 Rahim Moore UCLA FS
141 Jalil Brown Colorado CB
172 Anthony Gray Southern Miss DT34
202 Deunta Williams North Carolina SS

Don't think it will go down this way, but a guy can dream about some heavy beef for the NT position.

[Nconroe]

right today, I like your last cherry pick.

[NBT]

PK, Drake Nevis would have to put a piece of lead in his shorts to get to 300 lbs., I think. Last I read he was about 287.

[Blitzwood]

My takes:
**- pick in exchange for cash

11 Justin Houston* OLB Georgia 6' 3" 259
42 Jurrell Casey* DT/NT USC 6' 1" 295
73 Christian Ballard 3-4DE Iowa 6' 5" 297
104 Nate Irving ILB North Carolina State 6' 1" 235
**117** Jerrard Tarrant* FS/RS Georgia Tech 6' 0" 204
141 Dwayne Harris WR East Carolina 6' 0" 205
172 Alex Henery K Nebraska 6' 2" 175
202 Eddie Jones DE Texas 6' 3" 260

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by NBT

PK, Drake Nevis would have to put a piece of lead in his shorts to get to 300 lbs., I think. Last I read he was about 287.

You do realize the first Mock is the websites own mock, not me picking a player, and second they are the ones who list the players weights, and draftsite.com is guessing at the weight of most of these guys early in the season, also they have not updated these know weights ie Senior Bowl and Shrine Game.

[painekiller]

here is the latest

11 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
43 Drake Nevis DT LSU 6' 1" 300
73 Tyler Sash* S Iowa 6' 1" 210
104 Darvin Adams* WR Auburn 6' 3" 185
135 Caleb Schlauderaff OG Utah 6' 4" 300
173 Chris White ILB Mississippi State 6' 4" 245
203 Andrew Rich CB BYU 6' 3" 215

another view

17 Justin Houston* OLB Georgia 6' 3" 259
43 Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 6' 2" 205
60 Stefen Wisniewski OG Penn State 6' 3" 297
73 Tyler Sash* S Iowa 6' 1" 210
104 Jerrell Powe DT Mississippi 6' 2" 330
135 Niles Paul WR Nebraska 6' 1" 215
173 Jeron Johnson S Boise State 5' 11" 194
203 Wayne Daniels OLB TCU 6' 2" 250

[Blitzwood]

I see us drafting Cam Newton for the Dolphins at 11, which gets us 15 and 79, and 143.

15. J.J. Watt* 3-4DE Wisconsin 6' 6" 285
43. Sam Acho DE Texas 6' 3" 258
73. Curtis Brown CB/FS Texas 6' 1" 185
79. Bruce Carter OLB UNC 6' 3" 230
104. Nate Irving ILB North Carolina State 6' 1" 235
135. Terrance Toliver WR LSU 6' 5" 206
143. Terrell McClain DT South Florida 6' 2" 302
173. Alex Henery K Nebraska 6' 2" 175
203. Derrick Locke RB Kentucky 5' 9" 190

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Blitzwood

I see us drafting Cam Newton for the Dolphins at 11, which gets us 15 and 79, and 143.

15. J.J. Watt* 3-4DE Wisconsin 6' 6" 285
43. Sam Acho DE Texas 6' 3" 258
73. Curtis Brown CB/FS Texas 6' 1" 185
79. Bruce Carter OLB UNC 6' 3" 230
104. Nate Irving ILB North Carolina State 6' 1" 235
135. Terrance Toliver WR LSU 6' 5" 206
143. Terrell McClain DT South Florida 6' 2" 302
173. Alex Henery K Nebraska 6' 2" 175
203. Derrick Locke RB Kentucky 5' 9" 190

Like the trade, like Watts, but he is not a starter on this team unless they move Mario or Antonio, IMO.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Like the trade, like Watts, but he is not a starter on this team unless they move Mario or Antonio, IMO.

Thanks, I based it on the Joe Flacco trade we did a while back. I like Watts opposite Mario, but with Antonio(or whomever) coming off the bench to keep the pass rush fresh and the corners bottled up. I'm pretty high on Watts as a 3-4 DE in this draft, as well as Drake Nevis. I love the high motor these guys displayed every game. I'm not that high on Antonio Smith, I thought he played very undisciplined last year, caused alot of unnecessary penalties , the injury to Barwin, the hot and cold play, and then the spat with Cushing on the field left me thinking we could do better. I know he came here because of Frank Bush, maybe he might want to follow him wherever he ends up, IMO.
This draft is loaded with DE's and OLB's.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Blitzwood

Thanks, I based it on the Joe Flacco trade we did a while back. I like Watts opposite Mario, but with Antonio(or whomever) coming off the bench to keep the pass rush fresh and the corners bottled up. I'm pretty high on Watts as a 3-4 DE in this draft, as well as Drake Nevis. I love the high motor these guys displayed every game. I'm not that high on Antonio Smith, I thought he played very undisciplined last year, caused alot of unnecessary penalties , the injury to Barwin, the hot and cold play, and then the spat with Cushing on the field left me thinking we could do better. I know he came here because of Frank Bush, maybe he might want to follow him wherever he ends up, IMO.
This draft is loaded with DE's and OLB's.

FYI, Bush just ended up in Tennessee as a the LB coach.

As for Smith, and he was also our most consistent pass rusher all season.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by painekiller

FYI, Bush just ended up in Tennessee as a the LB coach.

As for Smith, and he was also our most consistent pass rusher all season.

I'm glad Bush is in Tennessee, maybe he'll screw up their defense like he did ours...we can only hope. The Titans should give us 2 easy wins with a rookie head coach and most likely a rookie QB next year, but these are the Texans we're talking about,(see Sanchez and Ryan in their debut) let's just wait and see.

As for Smith being the most consistent pass rusher all season, whatever that means, doesn't really hold water.

A. Smith- 38 TKL 4 SK
M.Williams- 28 TKL 8.5 SK
M.Anderson- 21 TKL 4 SK
A. Okoye- 44 TKL 4 SK

Mario still had twice as many as any other pass rusher on the team, and he missed a game and a half, and Anderson only played 11 games for us and still equaled Smith's season total of 4, an average of 1 sack every 4 games...

With such a deep DE and OLB class this year, we really have a golden opportunity to solidify those position(s) for the next decade or so.


In other news, the Texans released 5 players 2/18 including Eugene Wilson FS, and Andre Davis WR.

from houstontexans.com site

Texans Release 5
Posted by drewdougherty on February 18, 2011 – 3:50 pm

The Texans have released the following players: FS Eugene Wilson, WR André Davis, LB Isaiah Greenhouse, LB Darnell Bing and DT DeMario Pressley.
Wilson started 13 games at free safety in 2010, finishing with 56 tackles. He joined the club before the 2008 season, after playing the first five years of his career with the Patriots.

Tags: Andre Davis, Darnell Bing, DeMario Pressley, Eugene Wilson, Isaiah Greenhouse
Posted in Drew Dougherty | 3 Comments »

[painekiller]

Wasn't a complete season, but here is an article thru week 10 in Football Outsiders

In week 10 Mario (22.5) was 3rd in Hurries, and Smith (21) was 9th.
As for QB hits Smith (11) was tied for 5th, Mario had 10 and was tied for 7th.

I know I've seen the final number on another web site, but can not find them right now, iirc Smith ended up leading the team in hurries and hits. These things can be as frustrating to a QB as a sack, if your name is not Brady.

[Nconroe]

I agree slightly that Antonio Smith had some very costly negative plays, penalties, for us, so he needs to play a little smarter.

But, he did seem to play with more fire and emotion than a lot of guys on the plus side. Hopefully he can be more consistent and play well for us in future.

[painekiller]

11 Aldon Smith Missouri OLB34 6-5 260

Aldon Smith has been moving up the Big Board and the athletic pass-rusher from Mizzou has to prove he can make the conversion to an all-around OLB in Wade Phillips 3-4 alignment. He did play on two feet for the Tigers, most often rushing the passer. Training in coverage responsibilities will be the next step in his progression. At 6'5" and 260 lbs, he immediately adds a presence to the flanks. If a team doesn't have OLB's, there is no point in running a 3-4! - Long Ball

42 Christian Ballard Iowa DE34 6-4 288

The front 7 conversion project of Wade's 3-4 continues - Ballard was the 2nd best pass-rusher in the Senior Bowl to Cameron Jordan and plays the game with a tenacity and passion not often seen today. After Smith (OLB34) in the 1st round, this is the next building block in Houston's conversion to a 3-4 defense. The Texans' current roster only has 2 candidates to play DE in a 3-4: Mario Williams and Antonio Smith. Ballard compliments this duo nicely and provides an excellent rotation pattern for the 3-man line. - Long Ball

73 Robert Sands West Virginia FS
104 Cliff Matthews South Carolina OLB34
141 Will Rackley Lehigh OG
172 Justin Rogers Richmond CB
202 Harold Ayodele Emporia State DT34

I don't see this as a Texans draft, especially towards the end.

[painekiller]

11 Robert Quinn* DE UNC 6' 5" 260
42 Drake Nevis DT LSU 6' 1" 300
73 Tyler Sash* S Iowa 6' 1" 210
104 Darvin Adams* WR Auburn 6' 3" 185
135 Caleb Schlauderaff OG Utah 6' 4" 300
173 Chris White ILB Mississippi State 6' 4" 245
202 Henry Hynoski* FB Pittsburgh 6' 2" 260

only two changes were made, the top pick and the last pick. I don't think FB is on our radar with a probowl FB on the roster. Also I do not see McNair giving a huge contract to a guy with this many question marks.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by painekiller

11 Robert Quinn* DE UNC 6' 5" 260
42 Drake Nevis DT LSU 6' 1" 300

Those two players are my ideal selections at their respected draft positions.

Drafttek has Marcell Dareus still available on their mock when we select Aldon Smith, but I don't think there's any chance that he gets by us if he's still there...

[Nconroe]

Are ya'll watching the combine some on NFL network.

The next few days should be defense turn.

This articles covers some pass rushers Texans might target, DE or OLB
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/ar...c-6483ea6968ca

and a nice interview with Tim Bulman on his anticipated role as DE in new 3-4
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/ar...9-635329eef817