DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

This is awesome:

(Hat tip TexansTalk.com)

So, I get back from lunch to find an email from Shake regarding Stockdale high school’s most famous alum, Darcy Maeda.

I can’t confirm anything. All I know is that while distracting myself during lunch, I decided to Google search Darcy to see if there is anything new……maybe even a quote about her ex. I found no quotes, but I believe I may have found a recent picture.

Follow the breadcrumbs:

http://thevisualrevolution.org/?m=200602

“Twenty-six-year-old Darcy Maeda’s ex, Josh, “tested their relationship,” with another girl. He flunked, and got the pointy end of her shoe.”

- Link at the bottom of that article: www.conceptentertainmentgroup.com

- Click “Photo Gallery”

- Click “Barracuda” (place mentioned in 1st link)

- Pic #2 (that’s right, one of the only close-ups in the whole collection….it’s fate)

Well done, sir. Well done.

Morlon Greenwood is divisive. I happen to think he’s slightly underrated, but many Texans fans seem to think he is some combination of “crap,” “suck,” and “utterly expendable.” The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Last season, however, one could argue that Greenwood was the second-best player on our defense, as he posted career best numbers in tackles (84 solo), INTs (1), forced fumbles (2), and recovered fumbles (3). Not bad for a guy who, over the course of the last three seasons, has been sent from a very good defensive unit in Miami to a not-so-good unit in Houston, switched from strongside LB to weakside LB, and switched from 3-4/4-3 hybrid to a straight 3-4 to a 4-3 (with 3-4 personnel).

Well, according to Megan Manfull, part of the reason that Greenwood and this blog’s namesake were so successful last season was because they spent hours together going over game tape. According to Greenwood,

I would be like, ‘DeMeco, what do you think about that play?’ [...] Then, he’d say, ‘Yeah, I think I’d play it like this.’ And then I’d say, ‘That’s the way we’re going to play it then.’ Other times, there would be a play that may put me in a bind, and I would say, ‘I think we should play the play like this.’ And he’d say, ‘Cool.’ It would just go back and forth like that.

I know exactly what he means. There are times when I am trying to think of something to blog and I email Tim and he’s like “I’d blog that like this.” And then I’m all like “Cool. That’s how I am going to blog it.”

Kidding aside, though, this article is a good sign. If you look back at Morlon’s season, he was markedly better in the second half, posting 66 of his 110 tackles, all of his FFs and PDs, and his lone INT. This suggests that he was becoming comfortable in the new defense and possibly that the tape study was allowing him to better see how he needed to play the WLB. If he can come in and pick up where he left off, my claim that he might be supplanted by Clark or Barber might be way off. If both he and DeMeco can come in and improve on last year, our linebacking corps might just suprise some people. Right now, they appear to be taking the steps to do just that.

Just when I think I am relegated to writing second-hand stories about training camp, I get an email from a reader asking me if I had seen a certain article in last September’s SportingNews by Brian Baldinger regarding Mario Williams. (Side note: People still get the print version of the SportingNews?)

Because this is a year old, it really has no bearing on much of anything. But I am starved for something to complain about and, anyway, the reader went to the trouble of typing out the entire (I assume) article for me. As it is so far beyond dumb, I feel the need to post it here, for your enjoyment.

Lack of a fast twitch will slow Williams’ impact as a rush end.

When the Texans made defensive end Mario Williams the No. 1 pick of the 2006 draft, they said, in essence, this iwas a guy who would dominate as a pass rusher. He’d make offenses change their protection schemes. He’d demand double-teams.

Not gonna happen.

At 6-7, 291, Williams has amazing size for an end. He’s smart, and he’s hungry. He wants to live up to his draft status. But he’ll have a hard time doing so because he isn’t a fast-twitch guy.

Muscle fibers are different. Some are slow twitch, sort of like they’re built for a marathon. Others are a fast twitch. They have a suddenness to them, like a cobra striking. All the good pass-rushing ends - Dwight Freeney, Jason Taylor, Michael Strahan, John Abraham, and a few others - are fast-twitch guys. You either have it or you don’t, and Williams doesn’t.

An example from Houston’s season-opening loss to Philadelphia: Donovan McNabb faked a handoff going right, then turned and flipped the ball to Brian Westbrook going left. Williams, the right end, wasn’t even blocked. He went with the fake then turned to chase Westbrook. In that situation, Williams has to put his foot in the ground and change direction instantly to make the play. But he didn’t have the muscle fiber to do that. Westbrook ran for 17 yards.

Without that quick twitch, Williams will have a hard time making offensive linemen miss him. He invites contact. He may someday have the strength and savvy to deal with contact to some degree, but the ends who dominate are the ones who avoid contact by flashing past blockers before they can react. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Willims to do that. In fact, the Texans are moving Williams inside to tackle on obvious passing downs and bringing in a couple of fast twitch guys - Jason Babin and Antwaan Peek - to rush from the outside. Teams don’t move elite pass rushers to tackle. What does that tell you ?

The Texans switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this year and are rebuilding their defense around Williams. That’s what you do with a player taken first overall in the draft. But I don’t see him having the impact they envision. He wasn’t noticeable on his NFL debut, and he won’t be noticeable most Sundays.

“Paging Dr. Baldinger. Dr. Baldinger please report to Shut The Fuck Up.”

Not to burst Brian’s obviously learned bubble, but this is ridiculous. First of all, the discussion of “fast-” v “slow-twitch” muscle fibers is flawed beyond comprehension. Everyone–including Mario Williams–has both fast- and slow-twitch fibers. While percentages may vary slightly, we all–yes, including Mario–generally have an equal mix of both. Sure, some athletes (most notably world-class sprinters) have a slightly higher percentage of fast-twitch, but even they have slow-twitch as well. Thus, Brian’s entire underlying premise is, well, retarded. (It’s even more egregious when you realize that he could have googled “fast twitch muscle fibers” and avoided this whole thing. Asshat.)

Second, Dr. Brian is basing this diagnosis on one play in Mario’s first professional game. In the play in question, Mario bit on a fake and then tried to run down an NFL running back from behind. I don’t know that there are any defensive linemen in the league who can bite on the fake, change direction, and still catch up with a running back who already has a four or five yard cushion on them. Maybe Julius Peppers, but he is a mutant of the highest order. He’s also not a rookie playing in his first NFL game.

Even if his reasoning is ridiculous, I suppose Baldinger’s underlying point is that, while Mario is straight-line fast and very strong, he lacks the agility to make blockers miss. I’m not sure I agree with that at all. What he lacked last year, especially in the early games, was technique. Mario had spent his entire life being bigger, faster, and stronger than the players on the other side of the line. He never had to learn swim moves and the like because, when push came to shove, he could just push and shove the other players out of his way.

Mario knows this, too, which is why he spent the entire offseason working on technique.

Looking ahead, the 6-7, 291-pounder is eager to improve multiple facets of his game. He credits his physical presence as his greatest asset, but realizes he still has a long way to go to be dominant in the NFL.

“I want to take it to the next level and gain the knowledge I need to make playing easy for me and get things done,” Williams said. “Basically I need to work on my technique as far as leverage. I’ll also work on adding a couple of moves and get those working 100 percent and I’ll take it from there.”

I realize that I praised Baldinger once before, following his NFL TV assessment of Schaub v. Zoolander. But that is exactly my point, in a way. Baldinger is qualified to view tape and compare two QBs in terms of the skills an NFL QB needs. He is not qualified to watch one game and then make a determination about Mario Williams’ biological makeup and how it will relate to Mario’s future. (This is doubly true when said determination is wrong, top to bottom.)

It’s pretty simple in the end. If you want to say that, as of kickoff of his first NFL game, Mario had zero finesse moves, you are basically correct. If you want to say that he lacks a biological component necessary to develop those moves, you are basically an idiot. An idiot with a really weird pinkie.

Perhaps signaling that the team is not completely convinced by at least one part of the Black Salaami, the Texans signed G/T Kevin Barry on Saturday. As discussed a few days ago, Barry has pretty good size and some success in a small sample size of games.

My guess is that the team realizes that Jordan Black is just not going to cut it at left tackle and that Ephraim Salaam was good only by stop-gap standards last year. Of course, there is no guarantee that Barry will be better than either of those guys. So, at this point, it almost seems as if Smithiak are hedging their bets when it comes to protecting the Schaub.

In other O-line news, the team released Tavo Tupola. Tupola was part of the gaggle of undrafted free agents we brought in back in May. His release means that my fodder for Mormon jokes has just been reduced considerably.

Chris Taylor’s knee hates him. EDIT: Taylor underwent surgery for a torn meniscus on Sunday and he was placed on the IR, meaning he is lost for the season.

Taylor’s value to the team was two-fold. One, he showed some flashes of talent as a starting RB (99 yds, 1 TD v. Cleveland). Two, he can also play FB, meaning your lead-blocker is about as fast as your RB in those packages. That’s a nice weapon to have. At least it would have been a nice weapon to have.

In place of Taylor (and the PUPed Jameel Cook), the team brought in Quentin Griffin and Patrick Pass for workouts, signing Pass. They also re-signed the recently cut Darius Walker.

Signing Pass makes sense to me; he’s a versatile back (RB and FB, like Taylor), he’s a solid receiver out of the backfield, and he’s played on a winner before. (That last fact is always a plus on any roster.) Re-signing Walker, however, confounds the hell out of me. We let him go (or he asked to be released) because the odds were not good that he would make the team and because, at least according to one source, he’s not very good. Even if the loss of Taylor slightly improves Walker’s odds, I don’t think it will suddenly also make him an NFL-quality back.

In other injury news, Roc Alexander cracked his kneecap and was placed on IR. This isn’t overly important.

Well, that didn’t exactly pan out like it was supposed to.¹

I was supposed to spend all day Saturday at the Methodist Training Center; instead, I spent all day at Methodist hospital. I was supposed to see at least three (possibly four) practices; instead, I saw not a second. I was supposed to eat my body weight twice over in Mexican food and brisket; instead, I managed only a trip to Ninfa’s yesterday afternoon before I left Houston.

Which is not to say the weekend was all bad. The First Annual Texans Blogger Symposium and Drinkathon went off swimmingly. Tim and I (later joined by reader Will and his girlfriend²) solved a number of the Texans’ problems.

• We decided that (a) someone should run over Travis Johnson as he crossed the street, even if that means we can only afford to pay league minimum for a third string DT.
• We opined that Jacoby Jones is totally deserving of the mancrush all of us seem to be saddling him with, as we are pretty sure Kevin Walter will never be a viable #2.
• There was much discussion about blogging in general–a topic that I’m sure you can never hear enough about–and how Will Leitch changed everything (and is likely underpaid).
• Of course, there was discussion about the drafting of Mario Williams and, tangentially, the degree to which we love (Tim) or loathe (Me) a certain Titans’ QB.
• Sandwiched between jokes about my feelings re: Petey Faggins, we agreed that our best hope is that Fred Bennett can play CB2 and that, were we in charge, we’d put him there with instructions not to worry about play action–just stay with your WR, son.
• I believe there were at least three T-shirt ideas thrown out, which I am totally going to use. As soon as I remember what they were. They were funny, though. I think.

Other, non-Friday night stuff. I chose Ninfa’s yesterday for three reasons. First, it was the only place that received more than one vote, with Stacy and Tim both chiming in on it. Second, it was a ten-minute drive from the hotel. Third, when a place is described as “legendary,” I almost feel obliged to try it first. Anyway, I ordered the two beef tacos a la Ninfa and Stacy was right–those were the best tacos I have ever had. The salsa verde was awesome. The sopaipilla was excellent. And so on, and so forth.

Three other random tidbits about the weekend before I quit with the self-referential crap and turn to actual developments with the team.

• For lack of a better category, file this following under “Weird Shit. On the first leg of my flight (LR-DAL), seated a mere six rows ahead of me was one Barry Switzer. I still can’t figure out what the hell a former pro coach (who should still have millions in illegal booster money from his college coaching days hidden away in the Caymans) would be doing flying Southwest Airlines. Tim’s suggestion was “probably because they have a lax firearm-screening policy,” which is slightly more likely than my theory of him acting as Michael Irvin’s coke mule.
• Since moving to Little Rock, I have labored under the assumption that no sports radio could be worse than what we have here. Well 610 certainly gave that theory a run for its money. I was listening to drivetime on Friday and was shocked at how little grasp the two dudes had on NFL contracts, money, and suspensions. An entire discussion of Tank Johnson and who might sign him without a single mention of how he had to be signed BEFORE the suspension would take place. Dumb.
• So, that Galleria Mall of yours? Jesus.

¹ Note my finely-honed gift of understatement.
² I am completely blanking on her name, for which I apologize. I do remember, however, that she invented a drink that we named the “David Carr.” It is a not-so-potent concoction of Sprite, grenadine, and gin. It is pink. You can also turn it into the “Sandy Vag” by serving it in a salt- or sugar-rimmed glass.

I didn’t make it to either of the practices today. Not because it rained. Not because I was hungover. But because I spent the entire friggin’ day in the emergency room at Methodist.

The good news is that I do not have Super Aids. The bad news is that I have a horrible sinus infection. Which, according to the doctor, was why I woke up at 5AM feeling like someone was beating the inside of my skull with a nine iron. And, apparently, why I threw up 11 times today. Somehow, this is Petey’s fault; I am sure of it.

While I still hope to go to one or both practices tomorrow, you could say that this trip is not working out like it was planned.

I’m just going to come out and say it: Simeon Rice is better than Anthony Weaver. No offense to Weavs, but Rice–released yesterday by Tampa Bay–is just one season removed from a 14 sack campaign. The 33-year-old has posted sack totals of 15.5, 15, 12, 14, and 2 in the last five seasons.

Yes, he had a bad–even by our d-line–season last year, posting only 2 sacks and 18 tackles in 8 games. Rice was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury last November, but, prior to that, had missed only two total games in his other 10 NFL seasons. Which is to say, if the shoulder is healed, there is no reason to think that he will play an abbreviated schedule this season.

Of course, that’s a big “if.” Apparently, Rice failed a physical yesterday, which may have been part of the reason he was let go.

But, assuming that “if,” can you imagine what an upgrade Simeon would be? We’ve talked most of the post-draft offseason about how Amobi should remove a little of the pressure from Super Mario. Well, put Amobi and Simeon Rice on the left side (and assume that Anthony Maddox plays like he did over the last few weeks of last year), and Mario will face one blocker almost all the time. One. Instead of 2+.

Now, I will grant you that Simeon was due to receive $7.5MM this season (which also probably figured into his release), so this isn’t going to be a Keenan McCardell no one else wants me hometown sweetheart deal. However, even with all of our dead money and the money we just paid McCardell, we should still have around $6.5MM to play with. And I am reasonably sure that a healthy Rice would sign for the something in the $3.5-4MM range.

SO… yes, I am just rambling. And, yes, this is most likely a bigger pipe-dream than my crush on Sam Adams was. And, true, there is very little to indicate that Smithiak will even pursue something like this. STILL (or “THAT SAID” if you prefer), I claim that I am right about this.

(By the way, and before you ask, I am at the airport and, yes, I have been drinking. Stop looking at me like that. I hate it when you judge me.)

In addition to being 20 years old, Amobi Okoye is now a Houston Texan. (Hat tip to Mark, who continues to make my job easy.) Late last night, Okoye signed a 6-year (voidable to five) deal with $12.785MM in guaranteed money (out of a total $17.6MM).

With that move, everyone who is supposed to be at camp will be at camp, where Kubiak can begin the process of crushing dreams and releasing underperforming players. (Travis Johnson, I am looking at you.)

If you are like me, you don’t really need an excuse to drink. Much like breathing, sleeping, and making jokes about Peyton Manning and Kenny Chesney, it’s just something that you do with surprising regularity.

However, when you do have an excuse, it makes it all the mo’ better. On that note, the world-famous¹ Tim from the universally-known² Battle Red Blog and I are using the simple fact that I will be in Houston as a reason to liberate as much beer from the crush of oppressive containerism as is humanly possible in one night. The details:

What: Drinking.
Where: Char Bar, 305 Travis St.
When: Friday, July 27 @ 8PM
Why: Um… DRINKING.
Who: Anyone who enjoys beer and football³

¹ Relatively speaking.
² In the universe of Houston Texans fans who spend too much time on the interwebs.
³ As an aside, if you don’t like beer and football, you should probably stop reading this and go back to your WNBA highlights and Tina and the B-Side Movement CDs.

Random updates, player notes, and assorted detritus.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that I completely forgot about Jameel Cook’s injury when we were discussing moving Jon Abbate to FB in these comments. Now, I will grant you that Cook is not that good and that he made some really, REALLY stupid plays last year, but I did think that–if healthy–he would beat out a guy who hasn’t played FB since high school. Now, of course, we learn that not only is Cook not healthy, but that he will join Charles Spencer on the PUP list to start the season. So, it appears that Abbate is FB2, barring something strange happening. At 5′10″/230, he certainly has the build for it. (Click here for the video that will make you like Abbate unless you are a heartless turd.)

Still no word on Manchild. He wants to sign. The team wants to sign him. Kubiak is optimistic that he will get signed. Yet… nothing. Prediction: He signs some time late (like after 5) this afternoon. Alternate prediction: He doesn’t sign and I develop chronic heartburn.

Chester Pitts, in addition to going to Dubai and taking the time to tell us about it, has also pledged to be more energy efficient. I really have nothing to add to this.

Steph has a good piece at Fanhouse re: the battle at Center. In 20 words or fewer, I would sum up the situation thusly: Mike Flanagan good, Steve McKinney versatile but not as good, Drew Hodgdon mercifully moved to guard. Steph’s take differs ever-so-slightly. Read it.

So, in the wake of Charles Spencer’s PUPpy love comes news that the team worked out former Green Bay Packer Kevin Barry. (Hat tip to reader Mark. Again. Because he rules.)

Barry has pretty good measurables (6′4″, 332), which is always nice. I suppose the two most intriguing things about him are, first, that he can play left tackle and, second, that in limited action (8 starts over 4 years) he didn’t allow a sack.

This move makes me think that the team is either adding depth–always a good idea–or is having second thoughts about Jordan Black. (That would be the Jordan Black of 13 sacks allowed last year fame.) I am fine with either of those reasons, though I find myself leaning more and more to the “wait… you mean that Jordan Black?!” side of things.

In the end, I think this team can function with Salaam as our LT for as long as it takes Spencer to heal. That said, I also prefer seeing the team explore other possibilities. Standing pat is for suckers.

Well, it’s official. Charles Spencer will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he will miss (at minimum) the first six games of the 2007 campaign.

Damn. Double damn, even.

Now, I’ve spent the last 3 months harping on how our line was not that bad last year, despite not having Barbaro, as well as Mike Flanagan and the since-departed Zack Weigert. And, it’s true, many of the sacks of David Carr were created by none other than David Carr–a problem that we won’t face this year. And it’s fair to say that Salaam did a decent job filling in last year, though allowing 7.5 sacks is not exactly what I would call All-Pro caliber.

So, no, all is not lost.

Still, I was hoping Spencer would be ready to go if for no other reason than I wanted the full varsity line intact when Schaub slides under Flanagan’s butt for the first time against the Chiefs. Then again, by having basically the same line that Carr ended last season with, maybe fate has lined up so Schaub will still succeed and we can say “See?! I told you Carr was responsible!” That would be nice.

On the flip side, going against Julius Peppers with Ephraim Salaam scares me. A lot.

Anyway, I’m just rambling at this point. Spencer on PUP list. Matt not happy about it. The circle of life is complete.

What in the world??? Fear not… just read here for an explanation.

Win #6–Week 12 @ Cleveland.

During warmups for this game last season, Ron Dayne passed out after eating a whole tub of Crisco¹ and Jeb Putzier fractured his foot. Even worse, Zoolander went 9/15 for 86 yards and a red zone INT. Still, when the shooting stopped the Texans were on top 14-6. (Thanks, in part, to Anthony Maddox getting a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and 47-yard TD all on the same play.)

So, what has happened in the days between Dec. 31, 2006, and right now? Dayne has been replaced by Batman. Carr has been replaced by Matt Schaub. The offensive line (save for Chester Pitts) is healthy.

In Cleveland, however, they drafted a whiny crotch grabber (who might hold out), then decided that they would stick (at least initially) with the QB who lost to Houston last year. Jamal Lewis takes the place of Reuben Droughns, which is what the guys in Vegas call a “push.” They did improve the O-line by drafting Thomas and getting Bentley back, but even the mid-90s Cowboys’ line couldn’t make Charlie Frye into an NFL QB.

Here’s how I see it playing out. Quinn will have gotten the nod about two weeks before this game. However, since he missed some of camp and because he is a complete ninny, he will still be somewhere near the bottom of his learning curve. Joe Thomas, as good as he might be, will struggle with Mario. Our running game will chug along, but probably not crack 100 yards. This won’t matter, though, because Schaub and Co. will pick on Eric Wright, et al, to the tune of 250 and 3 TDs. Good times.

¹ Or, if you want to believe the media, he aggravated an existing ankle injury. Either way, he didn’t play.

While in Houston over the upcoming weekend, I have three goals.
1. See at least three practices.
2. Eat Mexican food.
3. Eat brisket.

Now, as for number 1, that shouldn’t be a problem, seeing as how I have tickets to three practices. (You hear me talking, Mother Nature?!? If it rains, I will cut you. So help me God, I will cut you.)

Because my knowledge of Houston is limited to the inside of Hobby airport, however, goals 2 and 3 require assistance. I have asked some fellow bloggers for input, but I don’t know what to make of the results. They agreed on the best brisket (Goode Co. BBQ), but were incredibly divergent when it came to Mexican food. Like the ones one person liked, the other person apparently thought were crap.

SO… I want some input. Recommend places that will fill my belly with the best Mexican food in Houston. (Also, feel free to offer brisket advice as well.)

You know the off-season has gotten long when the “he is… no, he’s not” regarding Keenan McCardell as a Texan becomes daily discussion.

That said, reader Mark¹ points me to this line in the NFL.com transaction log.

Green Bay Packers	Korey Hall signed/draft choice
Houston Texans	Keenan McCardell signed
Indianapolis Colts	Tarik Glenn retired
New Orleans Saints	Robert Meachem signed/draft choice, Five-year contract

So… um… I am going to say that McCardell is a Texan. Though that is subject to change at any point until I see him in uniform.

By the way, how cool is it (from our perspective) to see Tarik Glenn officially retire? (See Stampede Blue for a full discussion of Glenn’s departure.)

Say what you want about how quickly Manning gets rid of the ball or how well he feels pressure or how good the offensive system is at replacing people, but Texans fans (more than just about anyone, I guess) know the true value of a real left tackle. Maybe Tony Ugoh or Charlie Johnson steps up and plays well… but neither of them is Tarik Glenn. And, for that, Mario Williams is exceedingly happy.

¹ And can I just mention how much I love readers who alert me to stories? They instantly become my favorite people in the whole universe for a solid 15 or 20 minutes.

Just over two months ago, when this blog still had that new car smell, I took a break from defending Mario Williams and the offensive line to post this story about Ahman Green and Jason Simmons’ deal for Simmons’ number.

On Monday, the final piece of that deal was put in place, as Green and Simmons, along with owner Bob McNair, presented a check for $50,000 to Regina Foster of Houston, TX. Foster, a single mother whose son suffers from autism, was understandably emotional.

“This is for Reggie,” Foster said, tears running down her cheeks when she was surprised at work by Green and Simmons. “He needs it. Kids with autism can’t adapt well to change, so it will be wonderful to have something we don’t have to ever leave.”

You know, this story is good enough even without the special needs child. But, you add in Reggie and this story becomes something really, really awesome. Green knew that, too.

Green said part of the reason why Foster was chosen was because he learned through work with Easter Seals the difficulties and expense of caring for a child with special needs.

I don’t have anything to add to this story, other than it still makes me proud to be a Texans fan.

It’s been really nice knowing all of you, even if only electronically. It’s a shame we couldn’t have all met for some beer and brisket before we ran out of time. I say this only because we are apparently approaching the end times. What other explanation could there be for Matt Mosley saying something even slightly positive about the Texans?

Remember way back on July 10th, when the Texans–to much fanfare, I might add–signed LB Zac Woodfin? Nevermind, kid. Woodfin was released Monday along with FB Cory Anderson, G Atlas Herrion, C Enoka Lucas, CB Derrick Roberson, RB Darius Walker, and P Eric Wilbur. (Herrion was also with the team less than two weeks.)

Of these, I suppose the only true surprise is Walker, if only because we kinda sorta actively pursued him. Walker was close to signing with the Bears before, depending on who you ask, he either couldn’t come to terms with the Super Bowl losers or we swooped in and signed him first.

Then again, I don’t know that you can even call his release a surprise. As of right now, you have Batman and Cartman occupying spots one and two. That leaves Lundy, Taylor, and Gado fighting for two spots (assuming we keep 4 RB like last year). Surely Walker–and, more importantly, his agent Drew Rosenhaus–are smart enough to realize he is not likely to supplant TWO guys who have shown flashes of talent in the NFL (a description that applies to all three). It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he asked to be released.

Lucas, Anderson, Roberson, and Wilbur were all part of the herd of undrafted free agents we brought in back in May.

*****
As to news of additions, it seems we brought in P Matt Turk. Which I am sure has the guys at BRB thinking of happy, Stanley-free days.

*****
Amobi Watch: Still no news.

UPDATE: Someone who would have occasion to know such things echoes the sentiment that Walker probably asked to be released, but adds “Walker’s not good, but you’re right [in thinking] he asked to be released. That said, I would be shocked if he made a roster, let alone play a down in the NFL.”

The same person also said that both Manchild and JJ will sign before camp, but “it could be as late as Thursday.”