David Carr had neither a great game or a particularly poor game against the Jets given the circumstances. He completed 39 out of 54, with 1 garbage TD and one INT that eventually led to a NY touchdown.
The Texans running backs, Wali Lundy and Samkon Gado combined for 15 yards with 11 attempts. No really, that isn't a typo. The running game was that horrific today.
To be fair, that stat is not completely on the running backs. The offensive line has a rookie tackle and an oldish tackle that are starting because the players in front of them went down to injury. The center's best days are behind him, and the fullback looks over matched.
Local talk radio and the NFL writers believe that Carr should have been benched during this game. Their argument goes something like well yeah, the running game was sub-atrocious but the Texans need to try something. Maybe some magic pixie dust would help too.
Ultimately, a lot of that talk locally comes from a lot of the local writers and fans' desire for Vince Young to be the first pick of the Texans. Young had a great fourth quarter comeback against the Giants today, and the Texans fourth quarter offense didn't appear to have much urgency.
The above picture is Ray Romano at the game. I guess everyone loves Raymond but Carr not so much.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-27-2006 @ 7:59PM
Kurt said...
As a Texans fan, I have to say I am tired of Carr. Besides the owner, he represents the one constant amidst all this losing. Yet, the Texans gave Carr a 3 year extension, and I think they should play out that hand - as unfortunate as that sounds. Dumping him and taking the salary cap hit is not the answer. Benching him reduces his trade value and eliminates his best contribution going forward: a placeholder. It's best just to play him the next two years and, barring a miracle, replace him.
The Texans have desperate needs in other positions. Right now, they have 6-7 keepable players between the offense and the defense: Dunta, M. Williams, D. Ryans, Greenwood, Babin, Owen Daniels and Andre Johnson. "Big Nasty" Spencer got hurt early on and he may be added to the list because Kubiak swears by him, but other than that there's no one on the Texans roster to write home about. There are other usable players like Weary, Pitts and Moulds, but they'll become expendable in a few years.
The Texans have two years worth of drafting to do before they can expect to be competitive. There's no sense in drafting a QB with the first pick when there are so many holes on offense. A dominating o-lineman and a shutdown corner will be much more effective than another QB.
Just once, it'd be nice if they spent an entire draft on the offense. Then, spend the next year fixing the defense. I know they won't do this because they're the Texans, but here it goes.
The Strategy:
1. Spend the first three picks of the next draft on the two most dominating offensive linemen you can find along with a running back in any order. Then, draft a prospective QB, WR and fullback that won't fumble the football. You want to get the offensive players first because they take longer to develop.
2. Use the following draft to fix the secondary, defensive tackle (Travis Johnson is a bust), and OLB positions. Get a shutdown corner in the first round.
3. After two years of drafting if David Carr hasn't dominated with the new o-line and a good defense, dump him. His contract will over. The other QB will be ready to start. They can then draft a QB in the first round that can come in and compete for the starting job and have talent around him on both offense and defense. You can then use the remaining picks in that third draft to fill any remaining holes.
The pipe dream aspect:
Of course, this all depends on not drafting any more busts. And of course in keeping with traditional Texans fashion, even though the Texans can't put together an offense that can stay on the field against a decent pass rush, the best future draft picks will mostly be used for defensive personnel.
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11-28-2006 @ 11:51AM
Gere Minnick said...
Well first of all, as a 50 yr. old, native, long time Houston NFL football fan, I'd like to know just what the sporting credentials of Stephanie Stradley are? She posts a lot on this blog, but talk is just that, talk.
Secondly , I also believe that this team must totally concentrate on getting some dominating offensive lineman if they are to ever really going to compete in this league.
Thirdly, the three yard per pass attempt offensive strategy is about pathetic as it gets. QB Carr tied the NFL league consecutive completion record recently with three consecutive negative yard completions, which can hardly be considered effective. The type of recievers required for the "run & shoot" are small quick recievers with hands and a burst for getting extra yards after the reception. That is not the type of reciever we have today on the Texans. It would really be nice to see a couple of guys get into a fight or do something extraordinary after a catch every once in a while. Unfortunately Texan recievers prefer to limit the hits they get afterwards and will normally either hit the ground or run on out of bounds.
And finally, I realize that the Texans are thin just about everywhere position wise and that the injury bug has also seriously drained them of some promising rookies talentwise, but, that is the case on all teams every year, so no excuses are really worth listening too about it.
The last draft was better than the past few in my opinion, and maybe Kubiak can work a little majic in succession with next years draft. I believe we should be in a pretty good drafting position considering the record we currently have.
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12-16-2006 @ 9:10PM
Suzy said...
I personaly think David Carr is a great quarterback. The problem with the team is the horrible offensive line. Also go check out the stats for Carr. Not too shabby. While you are looking up the stats on Carr,look at the stats on Andre Johnson (first in the
league for NFL Receptions). Who do you think is throwing Andre Johnson the ball? Find an explanation for that if Carr is so bad. I love Carr and I hope he continues to play in Houston.
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1-10-2007 @ 4:46PM
Val Longoria said...
I agree with Kurt. The offensive line is the key, it all starts there. I myself grew up playing in a 32 5A TX high school football district. In high school I was starting varsity offensive lineman for 2 yrs and for those of you who don't know 32 5A TX football it's not the pee wee league. In the defense of David Carr, just imagine yourself sitting back there with only 3-4 seconds to throw the ball. That is the least amount of time an average offensive line must give an average quarterback to get rid of the ball, productively. Count the amount of seconds David Carr has which is usually 2-3 seconds if he's lucky, then compare that to a wining teams quarterback. Such as Tom Brady, Steve McNair, Peyton Manning, even Vince Young etc... Most winning teams quarterbacks have 3-6 seconds which is an eternity in the offensive back field making it a night mare for the defense and there backs. I'm not saying David Carr hasn't had his share of bad games; however, the reason for the bad season is due to the TEAM playing horribly at most positions, offensive and defensive. Another reason is the teams chemistry, to win you have to play as a team and develop a strong organization from the players to the coaches. Remember the first year the Patriots went to the super bowl, who the heck were they then. They were and are a team that plays together week in and week out. This is football TEAM folks not a golfer, and if you have an opinion please "at least no the game!"
Sincerely
Val Longoria
Houston, TX
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