Jaques Reeves

[papabear]

I don't know how many of you ever read any of KC Joyner's stuff, but it relies heavily on stats and the metrics he's come up with. I like the idea of looking deeper into the stats to get something more meaningful, like OBPS in baseball vs. just batting average. The way most of his stuff is done leaves some room for subjectivity, but he tries to outline how he breaks down each category.

Anyway I just found an old article from him where he talks about underrated players and one of them was Reeves. I thought it was interesting if for no other reason than the only people who seem to agree with him are the Texans staff.

KC Joyner

Jacques Reeves, CB, Texans: Reeves, formerly of the Cowboys, had a 7.9 YPA in 2007. That number alone says he is average, but it is skewed somewhat by three of his games. Reeves struggled in Week 2 at Miami, got beat for a 69-yard touchdown by Donte' Stallworth in Week 6 against New England and had a subpar showing in Week 11 against Washington.

Take those three tilts out of his numbers, and Reeves' YPA drops to 7.0, which is a starting-cornerback level YPA. He might not be a shutdown cornerback, but he certainly is an upgrade for a weak Houston secondary that can use all the help it can get.

I disagree with taking out his "bad days", but according to him we shouldn't be as worried about who will play corner opposite Bennet until Dunta comes back. If you look earlier in the article he slams Drayton Florence's 10.8 ypa, and claims that numbers like those usually get a player benched or released.

I'm really not sure how much stock to put into all this, but I thought it was interesting.

[HPF Bob]

Yeah, and if you take Adam Everett's bad plate appearances out, he's a .300 hitter.

[Keith]

Yeah, it's kinda tough to ignore those plays. Probably something similar could be said about Petey, like take away those two 83-yd TD passes he gave up and he actually played a good game.

That's just the life of a corner.

Hopefully these guys, will all get better help in deep coverage from the safeties, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

[dadmg]

After reading the Football Outsiders early free agency review, I felt a bit better about the Reeves signing and since then I've heard more positive than negative so I guess I'll just wait and see.

[TheMatrix31]

Originally Posted by Keith

Yeah, it's kinda tough to ignore those plays. Probably something similar could be said about Petey, like take away those two 83-yd TD passes he gave up and he actually played a good game.

Lee Evans tore us a new one that day.

[papabear]

The taking out the bad plays is ridiculous, but even with those in he still rates his as average.....which is 100x better than what most people have said about him.

[NickO]

At least the Reeves acquisition doesn't carry the sting of the 2nd and 3rd given up for P-Buch the tackling machine. I think the Reeves bonus money is reasonable for a guy with starting experience and at worst he's DEPTH. This franchise is finally coming around to the point where they have to start making tough decisions for roster spots because of the depth Smith/Kubiak have brought in.

[jppaul]

I am just hoping that he is not Faggins kind of crispy. See Lee Evans lighting him up like a christmas tree.

[Vinny]

Joyner was one of the guys who rated Carr so highly a few years ago. He seems to look at a lot of film but I'm not big on stats to define or grade players. Personally, I think that you can use formulas in statistically driven sports like baseball because of the 1 on 1 matchup the pitcher has with the hitters. I know there are other defenders in play but the crucial element in baseball is the hitter vs the pitcher. In football there are just too many variables, techniques and strategies that impact any given play.....football is just a sport you gotta eyeball. If not you end up lovin' guys like Carr for no good reason other than because he grades out with high 'metrics'.

[HPF Bob]

I totally agree, Vinny. Baseball is a series of one-on-one matchups while football is far more of a team-vs-team sport for the stats to be analyzed as thoroughly as they are in baseball.

[NBT]

I have to hand it to Vinny on this one. I stayed with Carr entirely too long. Now I see the error of my ways. So my hat is off to ya Vinny.

I agree that in Football, you have to see the game and the games within the game, to really judge a player. So I think I will reserve judgment until I see Reeves in a few games.

[Bigtinylittle]

When Dunte and Faggins were in together at the beginning of last year, what I saw was that the QB rarely threw at Dunte and when he did, Dunte usually made the play. The QB threw at Faggins way more often and Petey looked terrible. He either got beat or he played so far off his man that the reception was a forgone conclusion.

That's why I wasn't surprised when our defense didn't really seem to miss the loss of Dunte very much. It was almost like his talent was being wasted. In my opinion, having a very weak corner is one of the very worst problems a defense can have. It gives the offense a play they can go back to over and over. An automatic.

Even though neither Reeves or Bennett are as good as Dunte, as a duo I would rate them ahead of the Dunte/Faggins duo. And when we get Dunte back, things should be even better.

Now if we can just get a decent pass rush out of our front four, we could be pretty salty against the pass.

[NBT]

I just want us to have good enough talent so we can mix up our coverages more. Because of the injuries last year we seemed to be limited to only a couple of schemes.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

In my opinion, having a very weak corner is one of the very worst problems a defense can have. It gives the offense a play they can go back to over and over. An automatic.

Now if we can just get a decent pass rush out of our front four, we could be pretty salty against the pass.

I was watching the 2003 Colts vs. Bucs game on NFL Network and the Bucs had a hell of a defense. They should have won that game pretty easiliy. However, Brian Kelly was out with an injury so the CB duo was Ronde Barber and some guy named Wansley.

To make a long story short, Peyton and the colts scored 4 touchdowns in 4 minutes left in the game because the weak link in the secondary was exposed and exploited.

This was my reasoning behind wanting CB Antoine Cason in the 1st round during the draft. Hopefully, Bennett and Molden can hold their own this season and Reeves can help out too. None of us know when/if Dunta is coming back. I'm optimistic that he'll be up to speed around week 10. By that time, we could be out of the playoffs.

[NBT]

There were a lot of CB's available (and taken) in the first round. My opinion was if we couldn't get McKelvin or DRC, then the next bet was OLT. When all of the "glitter" OLT's were gone at #18, I kinda thought, well it is a tossup between the kid from S. Fla. (Jenkins?), and Duane Brown. The CowCrooks traded back up to get the CB, so to me the choice of Duane Brown at #26 was somewhat of a no-brainer. I feel he will do us proud. The two extra picks didn't hurt any either.

[NBT]

..........And besides, it was coach Hokes who scouted Fred Bennet back in 2006, and look what he has done after being given the chance. Coach Hoke also worked out Molden just before the 2008 Draft. I feel good about our secondary, given the fact that Hokes will do the honors for the CBs, and Rhoades will do the same for the safeties. I will just flat disagree with RP, and say we will still be in it for the playoffs at week 10, if the injury bug doesn't strike us down like it has for the past two years. Okam could be the key. If he stops the run on first and second, then it will make it a lot easier to defend the pass on 3rd, or 4th down.

[Arky]

I get the impression from what I see and hear on the internet that Dunta wants and feels he'll be ready for opening day. I think the team may not let him, though and make him take the safe, cautionary road to returning....

He's (Dunta) at a point in his career, I believe, where he doesn't need that many reps so it is good for the new guys (Molden, Reeves) to get the majority of the reps in practice...

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Arky

I get the impression from what I see and hear on the internet that Dunta wants and feels he'll be ready for opening day. .

That may be what he wants, but I would be absolutely shocked if it's even considered. IMO best case is that he comes off of the PUP list midseason, and slowly works himself back into the action. I would not be surprised one little bit if he didn't play a down this year. That's probably more likely than him being ready opening day.

Don't get me wrong I want him back ASAP, but I'm just being realistic. Once the Doctor OK's him it still will take some time for him to get anywhere close to top form.

[KJ3]

i don't think the texans would allow him out to play on opening day. unless a magical hand of healing has passed over him and he is actually and truly 100% it would be dumb to send him out to battle.

hell, if he's that close to being ready on opening day i don't see the PUP list as necessity. don't they have to wait until week 7 to return? if he's feeling good and is only 2 or 3 more weeks away i say screw the PUP list and just play him when everyone is comfortable.

for the record though, i think he does hit the PUP list. like it or lump it we don't need half of dunta robinson. we need the man himself, as himself. i'm alright with however bennett/reeves/molden play to begin the year.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by papabear

That may be what he wants, but I would be absolutely shocked if it's even considered. IMO best case is that he comes off of the PUP list midseason, and slowly works himself back into the action. I would not be surprised one little bit if he didn't play a down this year. That's probably more likely than him being ready opening day.

Don't get me wrong I want him back ASAP, but I'm just being realistic. Once the Doctor OK's him it still will take some time for him to get anywhere close to top form.

Uhh, yeah. I also said:

I think the team may not let him, though and make him take the safe, cautionary road to returning....

and you pretty much said the same thing. At some point, it won't matter what the MRI's or the doctor says they will have to go with what Dunta says. If he says he's ready, they'll have to trust him..... IMO, he's going to play this year - maybe not opening day, but sometime during the year.....