MIZZOU-RAH! MIZZOU-RAH! MIZZOU-RAH, TIGERS!
Dec 1, 2007 2008 Draft, Blasphemy, Boobies, Drunky Drunkerton, Inanity, Non-Texan stuff, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Predictions Guaranteed To Go Wrong, Sandy Vag, Teams that aren't the Texans, The Schaub Experiment
So, let me get this straight. The University of Missouri, the same institution where I spent my freshman year of college, is playing the Oklahoma Land-Thieving Criminals for both the Big XII title and the opportunity to play for the National Championship. Even more importantly for my purposes, however, a win by both MU and WVU means that the necropedophiles of Ohio State will be shut out of the title game.
Yeah, you could say I am interested. (As I wrote that sentence, OU took a 7-3 lead. Jerks.)
But, push coming to shove, I would take an MU loss and an OSU national title (ugh) if the Texans could go into Nashville and beat the holy living shit out of Vince Young. I’m not talking about a win–I want a win, but that would not be enough to offset Lucifer in a Sweater Vest winning a title. Rather, I am talking about Mario Williams separating one or more of Vince’s joints on a hit that makes my television rattle as time expires on a 27-3 JUGGERNAUT victory.
In Schaub’s name, I pray.
Last week: 4-9 (yikes)
Season: 103-69
Week 13 Picks
San Francisco @ Carolina. When Zoolander was signed by Carolina, a number of non-Texans fans told me “you’ll see…he’ll catch on somewhere else and be really good; it was all the Texans fault.” In recent weeks, no fewer than four of them have since retracted that position and admitted that, yes, David Carr does suck immeasurably. Then again, the 49ers are poster children for sucking. I haven’t seen this much sucking in one place since I let my subscription to SugarDVD lapse. Pick: San Francisco
Buffalo @ Washington. I would like to think that the Redskins are going to come out and lay a royal smackdown in memory of Sean Taylor. Unfortunately, they have played like ass when Taylor has not been there. Something has to give, I guess. On the other hand, Buffalo shat upon me last week, so I won’t pick them on the road in a game like this. Pick: Washington
JUGGERNAUT @ Tennessee. Prior to heading off to Nashville, where it is likely he will be arrested after shanking Bud Adams, Tim was stuck in meetings for two days. Because I am a nice person who has absolutely nothing to do at work most of the time, I sent emails to distract him. At one point, I was bitching about certain aspects of my job–talking to rapists, looking at pictures of dead babies, etc.–when I mentioned that two months ago, I was forced to take pictures of a prisoner’s dick. Yep. As if that’s not bad enough, it actually happened twice; first I took pictures in the “natural” state and then I was sent back two days later where I had to wait for him to get “ready” in a bathroom so that I could photograph it that way. Now, I work about twenty minutes per week, rarely get to work before 9 or leave after 4, and somehow I still feel like I am losing in this bargain. Pick: Houston
Atlanta @ St. Louis. ATL to STL / on them things and crunk as hell / Your system blast, then let it bump / Spark the L and raise it up. Pick: Atlanta
Seattle @ Philadelphia. The next person who says that the Eagles showed a “blueprint” for beating the Pats gets a mouthful of basset hound shit. I’m not even playing–I have the hound and I’m not afraid to use him. Pick: Seattle
Detroit @ Minnesota. I might have overreached last week when I said that there was no way the Vikings would shut down the Giants’ passing game. (Current game score: OU 7, MU 6.) So, we have a Vikings team that may have AP back against a Detroit Christketeers team that seems in a freefall. Seems too obvious. Pick: Detroit
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis. From Big Cat Country’s “Fyodor Dostoevsky’s guide to the AFC South: Absurd Metaphors for everyone!“: “Dimitri is a character obsessed with obtaining redemption, obsessed with rising above his background and overcoming the burden of sin in his heart. Jacksonville is at team obsessed with overcoming the Colts, of overcoming their reputation as an inconsistent and emotional team, and finally finding their Grushenka. The obsession only enhances their emotional intensity, and it’s not until they overcome that intensity and play with focus that they’ll find themselves at the top of the AFC South.” Umm, yeah. That’s what I was going to say. Copy cat. Pick: Indianapolis
San Diego @ Kansas City. New rule: You lose to the Raiders one week, I pick against you the next. Pick: San Diego.
New York Jets @ Miami. If you are the Dolphins, in addition to being ungodly inept at pretty much everything, you have to consider this game your last, best chance to actually win a game this year. Which you probably won’t. Assuming the Dolphins get the first overall pick, who do you think they take? If they assume Ronnie Brown will recover, they probably don’t take Darren McFadden. They just drafted John Beck, so it’s unlikely they’d take Brian Brohm or Matt Ryan. The defense is getting kind of old, so a pick like Glenn Dorsey makes sense, but do they take him #1 overall? In the end, they’ll find some way to screw this thing up. Go ‘Phins. Pick: New York Jets
Denver @ Oakland. Oh, Mike Shannahan, you wily genius. People say you can’t kick to Devin Hester, you show them by kicking to Devin Hester. Common sense can’t hold YOU down, Mike. No way, no how. Thankfully, you get a game this week against a team that is lucky to beat their scout team in a given practice. Pick: Denver
(OU 14, MU 6. Fuck.)
Cleveland @ Arizona. I was going to write something about John McClain right here, but I am going to rant instead. Why the fuck can NO ONE get the reverse/double reverse thing down? Missouri just got a two-point conversion on a reverse option, yet Kirk “I want to have sex with Darren McFadden” Herbstreit said “double reverse” no fewer than six times. Is this so hard? Hell, it wasn’t even an end around that started the play–it was an inside handoff to the RB, who handed to the WR on the reverse. This is pretty much the classic reverse, aside from Chase Daniel starting the play in the shotgun. Sweet Christ. (OU 14, MU 14. Halftime.) Pick: Cleveland.
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans. NFC South–catch the thrill! If you were building a team right now, would you rather have Earnest Graham or Reggie Bush? Yeah, me too. Pick: Tampa Bay
New York Giants @ Chicago Bears. If this isn’t the greatest picture ever, it is certainly on the short list. Ah, alcohol…the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems. Pick: New York Giants
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh. I am generally a contrarian bastard when it comes to pretty much everything sport-related. The world hates Barry Bonds? I love the guy. The world wants the Pats to lose? 19-0, baby. I don’t do this on purpose, but it is an incredibly consistent part of my personality. Strangely, however, my feelings on Chad Johnson have mirrored the public sentiment; he’s gone from being outlandish and hilarious to annoying and contrived in a pretty short span of time. I sort of miss the Barry Sanders approach to being in the endzone–act like you’ve been there before and you plan to be there again soon. Pick: Pittsburgh
New England @ Baltimore. Correct me if I am wrong, but you do have to score at least two points to win a football game, right? Sucks for Baltimore. Pick: New England
UPDATE: Fuckin’ Mizzou. Well, at least WVU lost as well, so there is still hope that someone who can beat OSU will get in the game with them.
Tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREE SAFETY!
Sep 11, 2007 2007 Season, Free Agency, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Secondary issues are primary, Von
Maybe I am just going overboard with the glass-half-full approach, but it looks like our fuzzy math, addition-by-subtraction method of creating a secondary continues.
We have talked repeatedly about how C.C. Brown is really a Strong Safety forced to play Free either because (if you are a Brown fan) he was slightly better at that position than Glenn Earl or (if you are not a Brown fan) because he was not good enough to beat out Earl for SS. Either way, he was playing out of position.
No longer. It appears, according to a commenter at BRB, that Von Hutchins will take Jason Simmons spot as a starter, but will play Free Safety. I like this move. I like it a lot, actually. I still say Hutchins was the only starting safety candidate who showed a nose for the ball. Plus, being a converted corner, he shouldn’t struggle when asked to cover WRs. (Something that Brown continues to struggle with.) That gives us Hutchins and a free-agent-signing-to-be-named-later on the FS depth chart, along with Brown and Michael Boulware at SS. (According to the link, if Boulware starts, Brown will stay at Free Safety. Odd. I imagine that arrangement would be short-lived if Brown continues to play the pass as poorly as he has.)
Depth, obviously, is a problem. Right now, we have exactly three healthy safeties, all listed above. Current free agent Free Safeties include Indrees Bashir and Jerome Woods. (There are also a couple slightly older CBs who might be able to convert, but I doubt that you want your team with two conversion projects getting serious playing time.) On the practice squad, we have Brandon Mitchell. Of those three, I suppose I would most prefer to bring the Buckeye (*spit*) over, but the other two guys at least have experience as starting FS. That might count for something, especially in the “help Von Hutchins come along” department.
OH… speaking of free agent defensive backs. According to NFL Network, New England Patriot CB Assante Samuel can become an unrestricted free agent if (a) the Pats win 12 games or (b) he plays 60% of the defensive snaps. File that under “intriguing.”
UPDATE: Via tyler, we signed Will Demps. This Will Demps. I guess every team needs a guy who doesn’t like easy, large-breasted women. In this way, he will be our Jeff Garcia or Tony Romo.
Roughly 75 hours until kickoff
Sep 6, 2007 Chad Stanley, Dunta Robinson, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Please let the season start soon, Preseason 2007, Preview, Secondary issues are primary, Self-Referential Stuff
Contrary to popular belief (hope? expectation?), I did not end it all after Saturday’s Michigan loss. However, with the younger brother in town until 4AM today, I was otherwise occupied with non-blog-related stuff. Shocking, I know.
Stories I missed between Sunday and today:
- TEP was granted a stay of execution and was placed on IR. He’s like herpes… always lurking, ready to flare up, but currently invisible. Eww.
- Dunta Robinson’s house was robbed.
- The practice squad was finalized. Jared Zabransky (QB), Darius Walker (RB), Harry Williams (WR), Brandon Frye (OT), Mike Brisiel (OG), Deljuan Robinson (DT), Tim Bulman (DT), Brandon Mitchell (S), and imported LB Eduardo Castaneda.
- Scott Jackson made the team and then didn’t make the team. He was released when we brought in Carolina-cast-off Rashad Butler. Given that Jackson was doing his best Jimmy Herndon impression in his extended reps, this can only be viewed as a positive.
- Stephanie ran some Q-and-A with me, Tim, and other people whose
cursehobby it is to write about the Texans.
And, just like that, we are up to speed. Awesome.
So I says to Mabel, I says…
Aug 30, 2007 Chad Stanley, Jacoby Jones is slighty less unheralded, Matt Turk rules, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Preseason 2007, Preview, Secondary issues are primary
Three player-related notes on the eve of the 53-man roster.
I wonder if Chad Stanley1 woke up this morning with a Jack-Bauer-esque countdown clock in his head. Considering it’s 83.2% certain that Stanley will get the axe2 at some point between now and Saturday afternoon, it’s kind of fun to picture him racing around town today, trying to save his job. It’s even more fun, however, picturing him getting a pink slip on Saturday morning. Lord knows he deserves it.
Jacoby Jones continues to show that he is a pass-catching, punt-returning, country-music-listening3 super ninja bent on total NFL domination. He ended the preseason with 11 catches for two TDs to go along with his two punt return TDs. Which, of course, means that Kevin Walter is still the second WR. Because, you know, those two catches and two drops he had over the past four games were simply dominant.
I have a love-hate relationship with Brandon Mitchell. On the one hand, he worships at the altar of Woody Hayes and, thus, is a soulless puppy-eating incubus. On the other, though, he’s played well enough this preseason that I would actually feel better about our safety depth if he made the roster. Honestly, I would rather have him on the active roster than Brandon Harrison, whom Mitchell has outplayed in three of the four games.
Final roster decisions made today (trimming from 75 to 53) and most likely announced tomorrow. I’ll have my last set of projections up sometime today. Because I’m sure Kubiak is waiting for my input.
1 The turd-eating pederast.
2 Only figuratively, damn it.
3 Huh?
Remember kids: Don’t be safety blinded; be safety minded!
Aug 28, 2007 2008 Draft, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Free Agency, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Secondary issues are primary, Teams that aren't the Texans
I hate the be the bearer of bad news. Actually, wait… that’s not true. I generally LOVE to be the bearer of bad news, so long as I am not impacted by it. I have a well developed sense of schadenfreude. Unfortunately, this news does impact me (and most of you) as a Texans fan.
Here’s the deal: Barring a whole lot of unforeseen disasters or player developments, it is pretty much a given that we have to address the secondary in the 2008 offseason. Most likely, we will be looking at either or both safety positions, but that supposition hinges on Faggins or Bennett or Fletcher (or whomever) turning in at least an average performance at CB2.
The bad news, though, is that it looks right now like the pickings at safety are going to be extremely thin, both in terms of draft and free agents. On the college front, there appear to be no safeties in the top 40 overall prospects. The highest ranked safety (according to ESPN) checks in at number 42, is 5′8″/180, and inspires such comments as, “he’s a safety prospect that actually lacks ideal size for a cornerback” and, “not afraid to mix it up but he gets lost in a crowd too often when filling versus the run.” Awesome. And it does downhill from there. Only two of the players are currently graded by Scouts, Inc., as at least an 80. More than a few are slow. Many have horrible footwork, hips, or both. Be still, my beating heart.
On the potential free agent front, only one name jumps out–Mike Doss. He’s not exactly durable and he did go to Ohio State (which means that he hates all that is good in the world), but he’s a playmaker and a big hitter. Unfortunately, like I said, he’s the only guy out there that a Texans fan could actively covet, as other names include Jordan Babineaux and William Bartee.
I am fully aware that a lot can change between now and the end of the season. One of the Brandons could develop into a good safety. One or more of the college players could have worked hard this summer to develop into the next LaRon Landry. Nuclear apocalypse could render this whole discussion rather trivial. Etc. Assuming none of that happens, though, the odds are looking fairly good that we are going to have to find our starting 2008 secondary from within the organization. I think we’ve heard that song before.
Projected Roster as of 8/27/07
Aug 27, 2007 Athletes who don't stab people, Batman, Chocodiles, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Dunta Robinson, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Posts that list too many players, Preseason 2007, Preview, Teams that aren't the Texans, The Fred
Another week, another demonstration by Jacoby Jones as to why he should be the starting WR2. Which, of course, means that he’s not. That’s life, I guess. Like last week, * denotes a player is a lock to make the team. All numbers are based upon last year’s opening day roster.
QB (2)- Matt Schaub*, Sage Rosenfels* (Jared Zabransky should make the practice squad.) Changes since last week: Quinton Porter and Bradlee Van Pelt were cut. So, far, I am 2/2.
RB/FB (5)- Ahman Green*, Ron Dayne*, Vonta Leach*, Sam Gado*, Jon Abbate, (Wali Lundy and Patrick Pass just miss the cut. Darius Walker continues to not be good. Jameel Cook not invited back after last season’s debacles.) Changes since last week: Gado bumped up to lock status. Abbate is hanging on by a thread and I could see Pass or Cook (NO!) supplanting him.
WR (5)- Andre Johnson*, Jacoby Jones*, Kevin Walter*, Jerome Mathis, Andre Davis. (Charlie Adams is the sixth WR if we really keep six like Kubiak is saying. [Ed: Nevermind.] Keenan McCardell looks to be getting every benefit of every doubt in order to keep him on this team. Bethel Johnson was given a temporary stay of execution, as poor Charlie Adams was killed instead. David Anderson reminded me that he is, in fact, still on the roster.) Changes since last week: Adams and Harry Williams were cut. I am 3/4.
OL (9)- Eric Winston*, Chester Pitts*, Fred Weary*, Ephraim Salaam*, Mike Flanagan*, Steve McKinney*, Kasey Studdard, Drew Hodgdon, Jordan Black. (Just missing the cut: Scott Jackson, Kevin Barry, and Brandon Frye. There is still no indication that Kubiak is as unhappy with Turnstile Black as fans are, so I am guessing that he’ll be around come the end of the preseason. Chris White and Mike Brisiel get sent packing.) Changes since last week: NONE.
TE (4)- Owen Daniels*, Jeb Putzier*, and Mark Bruener*. (I think this is why we’ll be carrying 6 WRs, which is good news for Charlie Adams someone other than Charlie Adams.) Changes since last week: NONE
K (1)- Kris Brown*. Changes since last week: Impossible.
P (1)- Matt Turk. (Chad Stanley is gone. Praise Jesus.) Changes since last week: NONE, technically, but Kubiak’s statement that they “could have” made a decision yesterday but decided not to suggests to me that Stanley is 99% out the door. I mean, I see no way that they could have decided “you know… I am really sick of getting good punts and winning the field position battle. Turk’s gone!”
DL (9)- Mario Williams*, Amobi Okoye*, Anthony Weaver*, Anthony Maddox*, Jason Babin*, ND Kalu*, Travis Johnson*, Jeff Zgonina, and Shantee Orr. (Just missing the cut: Earl Cochran and Victor DeGrate. Also not making the roster, though by a wider margin, DelJuan Robinson, Cedric Killings, Alfred Malone, and Tim Bulman.) Changes since last week: Thomas Johnson released, a week after I had moved him UP on this thing. I am 3/5. Orr was moved from LB to RDE and seemed to play extremely well.
LB (6)- DeMeco Ryans*, Morlon Greenwood*, Charlie Anderson*, Shawn Barber*, Danny Clark*, Zac Diles. (Getting cut: Trent Bray. Theoretically, Orr might make the team as an LB who just plays DE, kind of like DeMarcus Ware, with Diles going to the practice squad, which would allow for Earl Cochran to make the team as a DL.) Changes since last week: NONE (though it looks and sounds like Clark is back to being the bona fide starter at SLB).
CB (6)- Dunta Robinson*, Demarcus Faggins*, Fred Bennett*, Jamar Fletcher*, Von Hutchins, Dexter Wynn and Tyrone Poole. (Not making the cut: Dexter McCleon and Roc Alexander. The last four guys on this list were more or less invisible Saturday, so I am not sure if there was any real shake-up here.) Changes since last week: I moved Hutchins back to CB because I think there was some movement at safety.
S (4)- C.C. Brown*, Jason Simmons*, Brandon Harrison, Brandon Mitchell (John Walker gets cut. I moved Hutchins back to CB, as I think Mitchell strong showing Saturday has him back on the good list. Also, there is a possibility that we will carry only 5 WRs/3 TEs so that we can use the extra roster spot for a 5th safety along with our 6 CBs.) Changes since last week: Mitchell up, Hutchins moved.
Long Snapper (1)- Bryan Pittman*. (I just want to mention AGAIN that Zgonina can long snap, which would allow us to carry 6 CBs and 5 Safeties?) Changes since last week: NONE.
Lisfranc? Is that French? We call it "Freedom foot."
Aug 13, 2007 2007 Draft, Injury bug, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Preseason 2007, Secondary issues are primary, Van Crap, Von
By now, you’ve no doubt heard that starting strong safety Glenn Earl is lost for the season (at minimum–Lisfranc injuries can be exceedingly hard to come back from). Now, while the secondary was thin to begin with, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this injury was a good thing for the team. Addition by subtraction, if you will.
It’s not that Earl was bad. He is passably decent against the run and can deliver a big hit from time to time.1 Of course, he also got destroyed Saturday night by a truck called Cedric Benson, so he’s not exactly Ronnie Lott.
The real problem is the current tandem of Earl and C.C. Brown gives the Texans no true free safety. Brown is better served in the strong safety position–he’s a hitter, but he bites on way too many play action passes (you saw it Saturday if you were looking for it), and he tackles better than Earl.
Thankfully, it seems most of the early reactions suggest that Brown will slide over to strong safety. So, who takes the free safety role?
The early leader in the race is Von Hutchins. A converted corner, Hutchins had that nice pick off of Brian Greise Saturday night. I suppose, given the options we have on the table right now, he would be my choice. The downside is that he’s a little small (5′9″) and doesn’t have much of a track record, so he’s an unknown quantity at best.
Another possibility is Brandon Harrison, the rookie out of Stanford. Technically, he is a strong safety, which kind of puts us in the position we were with Earl/Brown out there. He’s a big kid, though (6′2″/227), and if he can show a nose for the ball, he’d be an intriguing prospect. My concern with him, as I’ve said before, is that I really don’t see him being a DB for long. He strikes me as a Cato June type–as in he’s going to fill out a little more and be more of a nickel LB when it’s all said and done–and he has a reputation for being afraid of making the big hit.
For a third choice, Scott broke the news that the team was bringing in Shaun Williams for a workout. Unfortunately, as Scott points out, Williams is better against the run than the pass and has been described as “reckless.” Sure, that would be better than, say, bringing in Matt Stevens–of course, I would be better than Matt Stevens–but it’s not necessarily a panacea.
Other possibilities include Dexter McCleon and Brandon Mitchell2 [edit: and Jason Simmons.] So, yeah, I guess you could say the position is still up for grabs.
One interesting (if slightly tongue-in-cheek) suggestion floating around the message board was moving Bradlee Van Pelt from QB to FS. He’s big enough (6′2″/220), his father was a linebacker, he has some anger management issues (remember him spiking the ball off the face of a Colorado defender?) that suggest he might have the right temperament for defense, and–best of all–he intercepted his own pass the other night. In fact, he originally enrolled at Michigan State, where they converted him to defensive back. Skills, baby! Clearly, this one isn’t going to happen, but I don’t think it’s a horrible suggestion. The kid is not an NFL QB… why not give him a chance to play somewhere else? It’d be like Rick Ankiel, only without Bradlee ever having shown promise at his original position.
My guess, when all is said and done, is that Hutchins wins the job. And if he plays like has so far in camp and preseason, I am fine with that. I just can’t help wondering if we are not overlooking some better possibilities.
1 See, e.g., the lick he put on Jeremy Shockey last year. (That’s a great picture.)
2 I am still high on the Brandon Mitchell bandwagon, despite my hatred for OSU. I have a sneaking feeling he could be the answer, but I also doubt he will be given a real shot to prove it. So is life, I guess.
Author’s note: Sorry for the somewhat disjointed nature of this post. I wrote it in four or five separate sittings because jerks kept expecting me to actually work. At work. Jerks.
Darius Walker is (possibly) dy-no-mite
May 9, 2007 2007 Draft, Batman, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, RB free-for-all, Undrafted Free Agent watch list
The Texans have signed Notre Dame RB Darius Walker. Now, I may have an active dislike for Notre Dame football (not to be confused with my all-consuming hatred for anything even tangentially related to Ohio State), but I like this move. Walker joins the Texans’ logjam at RB (Ahman Green, Samkon Gado, Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy, Chris Taylor), so there is no guarantee that he will even make the team. This is still a nice low-risk/high-reward move.
An undrafted junior (d’oh!), Walker rushed for 1267 yards and 7 TDs last season. He also caught 56 balls for 391 and another TD. Granted, most of his big games came against the service academies, but he did put up 128 against an LSU defense that dominated the Irish. (Happy Author’s Note: Michigan held him to 25 yards while serving a hot plate of ass-kicking to the Domers. Suck it.)
Cam Cameron is a savior
May 6, 2007 2007 Draft, Amobi Okoye is 19, Bad Idea Jeans, Gary Kubiak might be high, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Teams that aren't the Texans
From Len Pasquarelli’s latest tip sheet (Insider only):
One slot can mean a significant financial difference in the first round. And from a perception standpoint, it apparently can mean a lot, too. The Miami Dolphins, and in particular first-year coach Cam Cameron, caught incredible grief from their fans and the media when they chose Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth overall pick in the draft. Miami fans, of course, wanted the team to stop the free fall of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn at that point. But had the Dolphins not taken Ginn, who is still recovering from the mid-foot sprain he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl after being mobbed by teammates when he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Houston would have grabbed him with the No. 10 slot. And the guess is that long-suffering Texans fans, tired of seeing the team field a bunch of stiffs at the wide receiver spot opposite Pro Bowl pass catcher Andre Johnson, would have had a much kinder reaction.
Ginn was the guy the Texans wanted, and one look at the wide receiver depth chart after Johnson shows why. As was the case for the departed David Carr, there aren’t a lot of inviting targets for new starting quarterback Matt Schaub. Arguably the most surprising choice in the top 10 of the 2006 draft was another former Ohio State player: safety Donte Whitner, who was chosen by Buffalo with the eighth overall pick and had a marvelous rookie year for the Bills. The Dolphins can only hope their Buckeyes’ surprise in the top 10 this year turns out as well.
I am trying to figure out on just how many levels I would have been pissed had this happened. First, there’s the fact that they would have been passing on Manchild. Second, they would have been passing on him to take the modern incarnation of Jermaine Lewis. Third, they would have been drafting one of the players I absolutely despise. (Again, I realize that my hatred for all things OSU can be irrational at best some times. I do not apologize for this.) So, yeah… three levels. At least.
The irony here is that, while I was giving Kubiak mad props (as the kids say) for drafting Okoye, he really only did it because Ginn (who, I think we can all agree, would not have been a good pick in any sense of the word) was off the board. (I picture Kubiak looking at his assistants the first day of minicamp, saying, “Normally I wear protection, but then I thought, ‘When am I gonna make it back to Haiti?’”) Adding to this stupidity, drafting Ginn would have eliminated the need for Jacoby Jones, who is bigger and actually, you know, plays wide receiver in addition to being fast. So, thank you, Cam Cameron. By taking a player who completely pissed off your fan base, you managed to improve Houston’s first AND third round picks. Nicely done. Your fruit basket is in the mail.
Jared Zabransky’s family crest is a picture of a baracudda eating Neil Armstrong
May 3, 2007 Bill Brasky, Houston Chronicle, Jared Zabransky, Mormons, Ohio State makes baby Jesus cry, Undrafted Free Agent watch list
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Texans have come to terms with or received commitments from the following undrafted free agents:
- QB Jared Zabransky (Boise State)
- LB Jon Abbate (Wake Forest)
- FB Cory Anderson (Tennessee)
- WR Onrea Jones (Hampton)
- CB Derrick Roberson (Rutgers)
- DE Deljuan Robinson (Mississippi State)
- FS Brandon Mitchell (Ohio State)
- TE Luke Smith-Anderson (Idaho)
- DE Victor DeGrate, (Oklahoma State)
- WR Terry Richardson (Arizona State)
- C Enoka Lucas (Oregon State)
- OT Tavo Tupola (Utah)
- P Eric Wilbur (Florida)
Of these (and despite my intense hatred for everything OSU), Brandon Mitchell is the one I am most interested in. A converted corner, Mitchell is 6′3″/205/4.5 and a technically solid tackler. He was also a second-team All-Big Ten selection.
Tavo Tupola is also somewhat interesting. Apparently, Tupola was recruited out of high school as a 186 lb safety. After one year at Utah, he left for two years to serve his mission (which, I suppose, means he’s either Mormon or special forces). When he returned, he weighed somewhere north of 290. “When I went to Tuscon, it affected me a lot. I gained a lot of weight,” says Tavo. Gee, ya think?
