DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Petey Faggins inspires much electronic correspondence

Jun 5, 2007 Demarcus Faggins sucks, Dunta Robinson, Gary Kubiak might be high, KC Joyner, Secondary issues are primary, Vacation-related posts

109°. That’s the high today. While it is technically a “dry heat,” a lack of humidity can only do so much to make the temperature bearable. Still, I was in the pool by 7AM, so this place really beats going to work.

Vacationing from work, however, does not seem to equal vacationing from the Petey Faggins Affair. Some responsibilities are shirk-proof.

Uber-fan Steph emailed me last night with the following:

Because you can’t get enough Petey Faggins news.

Just trying to torment you a little:

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=3377

Great. The part of the article about Petey says P-Fag¹ is the “frontrunner to play opposite of Dunta Robinson.” Now, I suppose that “frontrunner” is not the same as “guaranteed starter,” but it sure seems close in coach-speak.

If Faggins were good enough to be a starting CB2 in the NFL, such a proclamation would be ok. Unfortunately, Petey is not and, so, the statement is not.

Now, every single time I deride Demarcus, I get an email or a comment or whatever sticking up for him. Usually, buried in the defense is something to the effect of “but… he has so much HEART” or “he was injured last year.” Both of these things are true. You know what else is true? THEY DON’T MATTER. Faggins is not talented enough to play CB2.

Round and round we go. I keep saying the same thing; people keep replying the same way. So, I decided there was need to bring in some outside help. Because Friend of DGDB&D KC Joyner is the only national writer who will reply to me with any sort of substance, I went to the well one more time.

I asked KC just for his general thoughts on Petey. His response:

I don’t have Faggins YPA right in front of me but I know he has been mediocre the past couple of years. I had him at one point as one of the better nickel CBs in the league, and he still might be qualified for that, but I don’t think he can handle a starting role.

Two things are interesting here: First, KC agrees with me. Boo yah. Second, though, is the comment that Faggins is “one of the better nickel CBs.” Isn’t this what we have been hearing about him for a while–that he would be much better suited in this role? Answer: Yes, it is. See, e.g., this post from Battle Red Blog, where Tim states, “It’s clearly Petey Faggins’ gig to lose, but we hear and read all too often that Faggins would be best utilized as a nickel back.”

Now, I am one of the first people to point out that just because something is said over and over does not necessarily mean it is true. Hell, I’ve made roughly 2342719286 posts about the offensive line based on that premise. Still, in the case of the offensive line, there is/was statistical proof backing up my assertions. Here, in the case of Petey, the only argument in his favor is that he was gimpy last season. Problem is, the claims that he would be better at nickelback were made well before the foot injury. Additional problem is, all of the measurables seem to point to the conclusion that he will never be an NFL-quality CB2.

All that being said, why in the world is the coaching staff so reticent to put Faggins in a position where he could actually be “one of the better” players in the NFL? What would it hurt to give Bennett or Fletcher or Horton or Hutchins or Joe The Peanut Vendor a real shot at CB2 to see if one of them could actually do it better? I can’t come up with a rational answer for any of these questions. And, to be honest, thinking about irrational answers for them is giving me a headache and making me irritated, which is not what I need on my vacation. So, for now at least, I will leave the issue alone.

I guarantee this isn’t the last of it, though, either on my part or on that of the Texans.

¹ This is probably not the best nickname.