DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Cold shoulder

Aug 6, 2007 Bad Idea Jeans, Jason Babin, Posts that list too many players, Preview, Super Mario, Training camp 2007

The general consensus is that the starting defensive line is going to be Mario Williams, Amobi Okoye, Anthony Maddox (unless Travis Johnson somehow works his way back in), and Anthony Weaver. Given the players we have to choose from, I suppose I agree with everyone else that this is the best combination for our front four. (Though I still hold out hope for Jason Babin, he continues to be the walking embodiment of “‘tweener.”¹)

Of course, the question mark in this continues to be the health of Weaver’s shoulder². While he has been on the field during practice, Weaver still has not been cleared to participate in contact drills and he certainly won’t be playing this Saturday when the Flying Grossmen come into Reliant.

The thing is, it’s not really surprising that he’s not ready to go. The minimum recuperation time for rotator cuff surgery is 4-6 months. And that’s just when you can begin and kind of strength building exercises. What is surprising is that the team is moving forward as if he will be ready week 1.

What if he’s not? What does the D-line look like then?

N.D. Kalu is behind Weaver on the LDE depth chart, so one could assume that ol’ Ndukwe would get the first crack at it. (Aside: Why do we put two periods in “N.D.” when it’s the shortened version of “Ndukwe?” That would be like me going by M.att.) Kubiak made the comment that, while Kalu doesn’t have the stamina of some of the younger guys, he is one of the better pass rushers on the field in camp. Problem: Kalu is at least four years removed from anything resembling a good season. He also turned 32 a few days ago, so I have my doubts as to any sudden resurgence.

The aforementioned Babin could try the position. Problem: LDE is typically the strong side, meaning Babin would have to deal with the RT and TE. I don’t think I need to explain why this won’t end well.

Mario could move to the RDE spot, with Babin playing LDE. Theoretically, this could work well. I still don’t like it, though, as I think Mario needs to spend all season as the LDE. Plus, Babin has yet to prove that he can beat any OLTs.

There’s always Earl Cochran. He doesn’t have much of a track record, but apparently he’s had a pretty good camp. When asked about players that had impressed him, Kubiak replied, “I think [he] has definitely flashed.” And, we can’t forget about the dark horse, Alfred “Big Pooh” Malone. He’s a big dude (6-5, 308), but I know nothing about him other than there are a couple videos at Chron.com showing him getting reps at LDE.

So what’s the answer? I honestly don’t know. My guess is that Kalu is the starter and Babin or Cochran get snaps there as well. Geez…I never thought I’d be so worried about whether Anthony Weaver was healthy or not.

¹ Other things he seems to be the walking embodiment of: bust, overreaching for a draft pick, and boyband wannabe. Damn it.
² And, to a much lesser extent, his knee.