Our CB's

[dattexboy]

It's no big secret that it needs to be upgraded. I don't think most of thought that J. Reeves was the answer when he was signed last offseason either. A lot of us said that if GM R. Smith signed him then we'll take a wait and see approach. Bottom line he was not a difference maker. Was he better than Peetey? Who knows! I'm not hating on the dude but the int's he made this year was not due to his "great coverage" as it was a bad pass by the opposing quarterback.

What I do know is that after watching every team that played us target him on all the pass plays and unless he improves by leaps and bounds and he's still over there next year...I don't care what safety we draft or sign or what DL we draft or sign we will be exploited with his bad technique. I'm sorry but if you are in the NFL and don't know how to read a WR's eyes (o) (o) when the ball is near...why are you starting? I don't know if Fred Bennett got into Kubiak's doghouse or what but his natural instinct far exceeds Reeves'

I was hoping to see more of Antwan Molden because I thought he had great feet and speed and height. I haven't seen him tackle so I wonder if that was an issue. He was on special teams though so what's going on.

Eugene Wilson brought the hat this year and I think made our secondary a lot better than it could have been without him. Will Demps? Where are you? Is he still a Texan?

Dunta will get paid. Maybe even overpaid but because of his intagibles I don't mind giving him his due and then some. He's done more for us than Anthony Weaver! I think unless we draft or develop current players or get lucky with a free agent that wants to come here for other than $$$ our secondary will always be suspect.

I grade them a "C" for the year which is actually not bad considering it could have been a lot worse.

The Safety for Ohio State last night was a menace and a solid tackler I think his name was Rose. Wonder if he is available in the 2nd or 3rd Round

[AirForce1]

While I do agree about Reeves technique at times he did have some great plays later on in the season. A couple of those interceptions were just simply good playing. I also like having him on the field because he's often the fastest one on the field. Adrian Peterson blew by everyone else but Reeves was able to catch him and bring him down. I believe he will improve more over the offseason and be a solid #2 corner for us with Dunta being #1. Bennet is our nickel and Moulden our dime. Eugene Wilson needs to stay at FS as he was very good this year and is great at disguising coverages. Drafting a physical SS like Mays or Moore would solve our secondary problems I believe. And again get a solid DE in FA like Peppers of Suggs then there will be more errant throws I gurantee it. Errant throws = Interceptions.

[worldbfree]

Two Words for our problems:

Namdi Asomugha

[Se7en]

Reeves was an upgrade to our current CB crew and he is actually a very good corner in man coverage. Reeves big upside is his speed and breaking ability. The problem is that his weakness was exposed early and taken advantage of through the entire season. Reeves is so good at containing WR and breaking on the ball that teams will focus on throwing over him for the bomb. Early in the season we saw him get snake bit with the long bombs and then teams started showing long routes and then dumped short timing routes on him.

Reeves will work on his ball skills when chasing WRs and I expect that he will look pretty good next season based off of how he was looking late this season.

[TEXANBRONCO]

in all honesty...i read the boards all season ....and about every1 dogged REEVES to death. i watched him play and wondered.....wtf are these guys talkin about? he was makin plays ALL THE TIME. sure he gets beat.....its hard not to get beat.....ASK CHAMP if he ever got beat.....he would say HELL YA. and isnt he 1 of the best? so give REEVES his due man....alot of people couldnt take down AP:D but our TEXAN did:D....i say keep him:D

[zanth91]

Reeves was an upgrade to our current CB crew and he is actually a very good corner in man coverage. Reeves big upside is his speed and breaking ability. The problem is that his weakness was exposed early and taken advantage of through the entire season. Reeves is so good at containing WR and breaking on the ball that teams will focus on throwing over him for the bomb. Early in the season we saw him get snake bit with the long bombs and then teams started showing long routes and then dumped short timing routes on him.

Reeves will work on his ball skills when chasing WRs and I expect that he will look pretty good next season based off of how he was looking late this season.

Reeves can't tackle as well.

[GoldenHolden]

Two Words for our problems:

Namdi Asomugha

When will people learn that this guy is not leaving the Raiders. At the very least the Raiders will slap the franchise tag on him and force him to stay.

[musicman8251]

When will people learn that this guy is not leaving the Raiders. At the very least the Raiders will slap the franchise tag on him and force him to stay.

they slapped it on him last year. and he may very well leave the raiders. its all about money in this league. the fact that it's the raiders helps. :cool:

[worldbfree]

he can still talk to other teams.......but we would have to forfeit two first round picks if we signed him after they franchised him

[Texan Naija]

If we can't keep Dunta, we will have to draft another CB probably before the 5th round or find a cheaper FA. But I expect either Fred Bennett or Antwan Molden to start if D. Rob leaves us, even if we draft a CB because given our needs, we will probably draft a CB after another DE or S.

Keeping Dunta, I'd not expect us to touch a CB until maybe the fifth round. We already have young talent with Bennett and Molden, Reeves and hopefully Robinson will be locked up for a while, which leaves our drafting concerns centered around the Defensive line (specifically in a DE) and the safety pool which unfortunately has 80% of the experienced talent up for FA this off season.

[AirForce1]

I am unsure if Asomugh was franchised last year but if he was you cannot be franchised two times in a row. They do that to give the team another year to figure out a long term deal or to keep the player another year. So if the Raiders did franchise him last year then he will be an UFA this offseason. I expect us to pay Dunta what he's worth and lock him down and we will not draft another corner this offseason but a solid SS will be a top priority. Depending on the flow of the draft we will probably go SS in the 1st and DE in the 2nd unless the top SS talent is taken early. If that's the case we go DE 1st and SS 2nd because of the deep Safety class this year.

[TMac48]

they slapped it on him last year. and he may very well leave the raiders. its all about money in this league. the fact that it's the raiders helps. :cool:

You're right about him getting the franchise tag last year, but we probably won't be able to afford both him and D-Rob and I would assume D-Rob would come cheaper. Who would you rather have?

[hpflfan]

I am unsure if Asomugh was franchised last year but if he was you cannot be franchised two times in a row...

Teams absolutely CAN franchise a player 2 years in a row. If i'm not mistaken, the $$ figure goes up each successive year, but it can be done.

The only exception is if a player writes it into the contract that he can't be franchised again if he meets certain criteria...see Albert Haynesworth.

[worldbfree]

That is right....they can be franchised for consecutive years but, with the team's permission they are allowed to talk to other teams. Like I said, if he is franchised and we signed him we would have to give up 2 first round picks.

I don't think D. Rob will be as expensive as everyone else simply because of the injury and the time it has taken him to come back. He cannot justify asking for as much as he could have if he had been healthy.

There are still other UFA CB's out there that I think would be worth looking at to really solidify that situation. Plus, for the right price what is wrong with signing an UFA CB to create even more competition at that position and raise everyone's level of play.

[Se7en]

Reeves can't tackle as well.

Base don what criteria? I have seen him blast some people when sealing off the outside on a run.

[infantrycak]

Teams absolutely CAN franchise a player 2 years in a row. If i'm not mistaken, the $$ figure goes up each successive year, but it can be done.

The only exception is if a player writes it into the contract that he can't be franchised again if he meets certain criteria...see Albert Haynesworth.

That is correct, players can be franchised multiple times--unless they do a deal like Haynesworth. The limiting factor is they get either the average of the top 5 at their position or a 20% increase on the last year.

[houstonbola]

I dont believe Reeves was that bad this year. Sure he was picked on alot but he was hardly ever out of position. The funny thing was that he was there alot to make the play but it seems his biggest problem is locating the ball in the air. If he could workout some way to improve on that I think we will be alright at CB (especially if we resign Dunta). I do think we should go after some good FAs this year to put us over the hump and finally get into to the playoffs. Rick is smart and wont put us in Cap salary hell like Casserly.

[TxState_Texan]

Agreed, I don't think Reeve's was as bad as everyone says he was. Bennett was far worse and with one year in our system Reeve's will be even better and compete for if not lead the team in interceptions, even with a healthy Dunta playing the whole season.

[blake1776]

I think Reeves would be a good FS. It would be odd to have a FS that has CB speed covering people, might lead to some picks.

Reeves isn't a starting corner yet, but with work he could be, if he doesn't develop, he has a good jump on the ball when it comes his way and he can see the QB.

[South Texan]

I strongly suspect we will get 2 new CB's next year, a FA and draft one in the 3'rd to 5'th round. Reeves did a good job at times, but seemed to me to be a little inconsistant. I just don't see them letting Dunta get away, so you can be pretty sure that whoever is on the other side will get thrown at much more often. With apologies to Micheal Vick, I think that CB spot turns into a dog fight in camp, and will be very interesting to watch.

[HJam72]

I think Reeves would be a good FS. It would be odd to have a FS that has CB speed covering people, might lead to some picks.

Reeves isn't a starting corner yet, but with work he could be, if he doesn't develop, he has a good jump on the ball when it comes his way and he can see the QB.

I have no idea if that would work out, but I think it's a really interesting idea.

[InterestedJeff]

Two Words for our problems:

Namdi Asomugha

I completley agree! I'd love to have him opposite Dunta. I'm betting Oakland franchises him though.

[Texan Naija]

I think Reeves would be a good FS. It would be odd to have a FS that has CB speed covering people, might lead to some picks.


Nah, Reeves works better from the line and on man to man coverage. The reason he was drummed out of Dallas was because their zone coverage wasn't the right fit leading him to give up big plays.

He works better being able to run with the receivers and possibly jam them up at the line.

[blake1776]

He is blazing fast, I agree there completely. Maybe he has just turned at the right time.

I think we should play a lot more man coverage, and he is a good fit.

[kevin]

i agree reeves just needs to learn the receivers eyes to tell him even to turn around. does anyone know when the texans can start talking to FA and RFA

[blake1776]

I don't think it is until after the superbowl. In early march right?

[kevin]

i know it after the superbowl but i was just wondering how long after that.

[TexasToro]

Two Words for our problems:

Namdi Asomugha

It never ceases to amaze me how this member can spell Namdi Asoumugha, but other members can't spell lose (it's always loose). Good job worldbfree!

[greedimidi]

It never ceases to amaze me how this member can spell Namdi Asoumugha, but other members can't spell lose (it's always loose). Good job worldbfree

its "NNAMDI" NOT "NAMDI"

[zanth91]

its "NNAMDI" NOT "NAMDI"

No, NNAAMUDI

[TEXANBRONCO]

SHHHHHHHHHHHH dont even talk about DUNTA leavin:D