BrianS

The only way he accrues seasons is if he shows up to play the games. I'm not sure what the exact obligations are in the contract, but there are a certain number of games you have to be eligible to play in order to get the year qualified as a "season" for the purposes of fulfilling the contract. Obviously, injuries are another thing. So sure, Deshaun could come back, get "injured" in the first game and sit out. Then it would REALLY get ugly. But the bottom line is that he needs to be eligible to play a certain number of games to get that counted as one of his seasons.

This is exactly how I see it. People who are high on Jones haven't watched the tape enough. Show me Mac Jones consistently fitting balls into tight windows with placement, timing and velocity. Show me Mac Jones bringing his team back. Show me Mac Jones lifting his team despite the quality of the players around him not being up to the standard. Go ahead. I'll wait. Yes, Mac's numbers looked fantastic. But they are front runner numbers. His line kept him clean, his receivers were wide open. He had all the time in the world to get thru his progressions. That ain't the NFL.

You clearly don't understand. Watson has a LIMITED lifespan. If he gives up a year (or more) to be dumb that's on him. He signed a contract, he either has to fulfill that contract or sit out in protest. That sitting out yields him zero dollars, and it doesn't count toward any of his years. The longer he drags his feet, the less money he makes. The Texans only have to pay him while he's fulfilling the terms. He's stuck. He signed. He can stomp his feet and act like a child about it all he wants. Everyone works for a living, he's no different. The people who pay him hold all the cards. For him, it's even worse. If I have a large enough disagreement with my boss, I can walk. I don't have a contract. Anyone who can't see that is blind, engaging in wishful thinking or fishing for clicks. Choose one.

You're missing the point. NOTHING has happened. Deshaun has *said* he's unhappy. He's *said* he wants out. That's all. None of those things are meaningful. Deshaun has zero leverage here. He signed a contract! The no trade clause doesn't represent leverage to get him out, it represents leverage to keep him in Houston. His leverage to leave doesn't start until he holds out! Even then, it's still not really up to him. If Houston digs in they can force him to play or sit out. If he plays, Houston wins. If he sits out, Deshaun loses a year of his career. Heads Houston wins, tails Deshaun loses. Remind me again who has the leverage here?

Whatever. He's just a fan.

This is the thing I've never understood about all the Watson hype. Watson doesn't hold a any good cards here. Not one. The Texans hold them all. The only card he *does* hold is if the Texans try to send him somewhere he doesn't want to go and he says "Nope. No trade clause." That's his card. Obviously, he can hold out . . . but he can't even do that until training camp starts. He can SAY he's going to hold out. But that doesn't officially become a thing until summer. Sometimes our desperation for change as fans gets in the way of seeing the truth. Or seeing what is best.

You know what I see? A bunch of teams who didn't protect their franchise QB. Bradford, Newton, Luck, Griffin, Bridgewater, Wentz all have had injuries threaten or derail their career. This is a cautionary tale.

Mac Jones is fools gold I suspect. He looks good because of the talent around him. Has Mac Jones ever brought his team back in the fourth? Has he ever LOST? I could be wrong, but he hasn't shown any of the things you like to see in a college prospect. He's a front runner. I know I keep on about it, but if we're looking at that level of QB, I would much rather us take Trask than Jones if we assume the top four are off the table. At least Trask has shown some of those things. He's had adversity. He's fought.

This trade (Stafford / Goff) does NOT move the Lions out of the QB conversation in the draft. I'd say it puts them in it more strongly. In fact, it seems much more likely they'd be willing to pick Lance. He's the guy who most evaluators think needs time. Which is exactly what the Lions have with Goff. Yea, his contract is kinda toxic the next couple years, but after 2022, there is a CLEAN out for the Lions. Four QB's before pick eight is an even stronger possibility with this trade done.

Good luck Riverboat.

I dunno man. I don't know if it's a question of his WR talent or what, but his air yards have been dropping like a rock the last three years. Scares me a lot. I don't think I can take another Teddy.

Six QB's. Round one. Change my mind.

If I had a dime for everyone time someone reversed those letters Tepper wouldn't be the owner . . .

I suspect the actual story with Bieniemy is . . . what has he actually done? He was an OC in college for two years. He's never called plays at an NFL level. He's been the CLEAR beneficiary of Andy Reid's system. Look at Nagy. OC in KC under Reid, head coach of the Bears. STRUGGLING head coach of the Bears. His QB is getting mixed reviews. His offense since 2018 has done nothing but struggle. The entire Andy Reid coaching tree on the offensive side has been . . . bad. Real bad. Maybe people have finally caught on. The magic is Andy Reid, and so far he hasn't been able to instill that in his disciples.

It's exactly this sort of thinking that led this franchise down the road we're currently on. Stop it. I've had enough. There is no "fast" way to build a championship organization. Instead, we should be discussing the RIGHT way to get back to 2015 levels. That way is actually quite simple. Draft well. Develop your players. Sign / Re-sign players only when it makes sense and only with responsible contracts. No organization worth it's salt will ever believe "We're one player away!". It's just not true. "BUT TAMPA!!?!" I hear you say. Not even close. Yes, they added Tom Brady, the GOAT at the most important position on the field. Oh, and a veteran clutch TE in Gronkowski. Oh, and a legit WEAPON in Antonio Brown. Oh, and a very much not washed up Leonard Fournette. We as a fan base have to learn how to support our team as they build, and not just when they are 2015 good.

The one good thing I can say about Watson's contract is that it actually gets better toward the end instead of worse. 2022 and 2023 are rough. After 2023 however, it becomes a manageable number, and very easy to simply cut if needed.

I don't think it's fair to say a portion of the fan base was upset. I think it's fair to say a portion of the fan base was dubious. And that's probably a valid sentiment given his experience at the time, and the staff he put together. In hindsight, I think it worked out well. There were some bumps in the road and lessons learned, but you can't avoid those. That's how you become experienced, working through those things. Matt Rhule has a chance to be a great coach. That much he has demonstrated. We won't know for a few years yet whether he reaches that potential.

No. Too many picks surrendered. That much draft capital would almost get us up to #1 this year. Teddy and Deshaun swapping places is a given, as the caps won't work for either team without that. #8 overall this year, ok. It's a given. I'd give up a 1st and third next year and a second the year after.

Paradis was ok last year. Not great, not terrible. His contract is on the high end of average, but that isn't his fault. Similar to the situation with Shaq. The contract is the problem, not the player. Unfortunately, for both of those players, we're stuck. Cutting Paradis won't yield enough relief to bring in an equal replacement. We'll get a lesser player. Likewise Shaq. The focus should be 2022 for us. We actually are in a REALLY good spot for 2022. Let's not screw that up by rushing some sort of "win now" team out the door in 2021. Keep building. Let's shoot for 7 - 8 wins next year, and keep putting pieces in place for 2022.

The biggest hurdle here is that Teddy has to be part of the transaction. We can't keep him and make the cap work. Texans cap is already a mess, and taking Teddy actually makes their cap situation worse if you can believe that.

We can't afford to trade CMC. His entire $21 million signing bonus would get pushed forward into our cap.

The lesson he has to learn is that willingness to move on from a player isn't the same as ability to move on from a player in the NFL. Guaranteed money in contracts can tie your hands.

Go watch some tape. I've watched him fit balls into tight windows all season. It's on tape, you just gotta watch it. Trask and Jones will be gone on day one. Denver will jump on Trask in a heartbeat, and the New England Bellichecks will grab Jones . . . unless he's already gone.

If I'm Deshaun, I would 100% ask to go to the Colts. The team was 11-5 last year, have no veteran QB's under contract and get to play the Texans twice a year. Does it get any better than that? Again, it will never happen as the Texans would never agree to him moving within the division, just saying that if I was Deshaun that would be my choice. He's not stupid. He won't go Jets. Nobody with half a brain goes there and Deshaun seems pretty smart.

To be completely fair to Cam, when we got a lead under Rivera, we had absolutely ZERO killer instinct. We just shut it down and tried to kill the clock. I don't think we can blame Cam entirely for some of that type behavior when it was fairly clear that it was cultivated by the coach.