AP will join the Texans

VY is not our guy

Ouch.


Yesterday was a bad day. That really couldn't have been a worse finish, unless Mario Williams held out a battle red cape and yelled "Ole!" as VY ran by.

All the Texan haters are having a field day after being proven "right" that Vince Young will be a special talent in the NFL. It is too bad that he isn't playing for his hometown team, it would have made a nice story. But it wouldn't have been the right pick.

The Texans front office, and namely Kubiak, understand that games are rarely won by a quarterback alone. It takes every player on the field performing their assignment, minimizing mistakes, and winning the third down battle.

A player like VY is dynamic, fun to watch, and "a proven winner", but he would not have won 6 of his last 8 if he was wearing the Steel Blue. His offensive line consists of LT M. Roos (6-7, 315lbs, Draft 05 R2), LG J. Bell (6-4, 306lbs, Draft 04 R5), C K. Mawae ( 6-4, 289lbs, FA 06, Draft 94 R2), RG B. Olsen (6-4, 320lbs, Draft 98 R5), RT D. Stewart (6-7, 318lbs, Draft 05 R4) and his offensive coordinator is Norm Chow. His running backs are T. Henry (ProBowl 02, Draft 01 R2), C. Brown (Draft 03 R3), and L. White (Draft 06 R2).

The only area the Texans have superior talent is at starting WR, and after Johnson and Moulds they have Kevin Walter.

Facts are facts, and the Texans talent at the key positions isn't very good. Kubiak has been around winning teams long enough to know that. David Carr won't ever win an MVP, or likely even a playoff game, but that isn't the point.

Without a solid foundation for the team, it doesn't matter who the quarterback is. Do you think that Peyton Manning would take the Texans to the playoffs this year? Tom Brady? Joe Montana?

If you can't control the third down distance for your team and our opponent, you will lose most of your games with David Carr or with Vince Young.

Kubiak looked at his new team and decided there were bigger holes to fill than QB. Simple as that. He didn't think that VY wasn't smart enough to comprehend his offense, or that he could turn Carr into a Superbowl MVP. Anyone who watched the Rose Bowl knew that VY would be a star in the NFL. Kubiak just understood that you don't go from the first pick in the draft to playoff team overnight, with a star rookie QB or with a 5th year middle of the road QB.

And hence he and his management team made the hard decision to pass on the easy, sexy draft choices of Bush and VY and begin to build the foundation of a playoff team. Mario Williams is a beautiful DE, a foundation player and will be harassing Peyton, VY, and Garrard/Leftwhich for a long time. Demeco is a foundation player and will be in the ProBowl next year and captain of the defense for a decade. Spencer and Winston are raw, talented linemen and will likely be the starting RT and LG for the Texans' first playoff game. Owen Williams has been the most productive rookie TE in the league this year.

It would be great to have VY or Bush, but at draft time, Kubiak and his team decided that QB and RB were not their most pressing issues. Carr will be replaced in due time, when he becomes the weak link on the offense. DDavis was healthy and looking like a franchise back on draft day. It is too easy, and incorrect, to state that the Texans made a mistake drafting Mario Williams over VY or Bush.

If the Texans were loaded at the key positions, or had no one servicable at QB or RB, then it would be a no brainer. But they had adequate talent at those positions.

Before you write off the Texans as idiots for not drafting VY or Bush, remember that you are not a football expert. You have never evaluated a team's talent and had to rank areas of most need. You have never done anything other than watch pro football. Take a deep breath, slow down, and realize that you are a fan.

This loss hurts, but no one can deny the team is improved this year and will continue to improve with Kubiak. They will need at least 2 more years of draft and free agency to build a solid team, and are doing so in a disciplined manner. They fill the biggest holes first.