So we just finished the 2011 season with the Giants beating the Patriots… again. The Texans are coming off the best season in franchise history with their first division title, first playoff appearance, and first playoff win. Here comes the offseason and with it a lot of questions about what’s next, who stays, who goes, and how do we build on it for a deeper run next year.
The biggest question for the Texans in the offseason is what to do with Mario Williams. On hand I say, you have to let him go. Brooks Reed obviously showed he can play the position at a high level and the defense looked spectacular after Mario left. But if you really start to look at it, the Texans started their season against some of the best offenses in the league, playing New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Oakland (Oakland was a top 5 offense when we played them). After Mario got hurt the schedule turned easier and we played teams like Jacksonville, Cleveland, and Tampa. It was in this stretch that the defense became one of the best in the league. Now that stood up later against playoff teams Atlanta, Cincy, and Baltimore. But the fact is the defense was at its best without Mario.
Another school of thought, is that anyone can run behind our offensive line. We almost had 2 thousand yard backs this year, and Derrick Ward looked dynamite behind this line in 2010. It has been suggested that maybe they pay Mario and let Foster go. This team has often been called Denver South as its coaching crew and offensive philosophy have been taken from the late 90’s early 2000’s Denver Broncos. Denver NEVER held onto great backs. Clinton Portis had back to back 1500 yard seasons in 02-03 and after 2 years it was obvious he was up for a big contract and the Broncos shipped him out. He hasn’t touched that same level of success since. The Broncos though continued to be a powerhouse rushing team until 2008 which was the first time in a decade they hadn’t been in the top 10 in rushing. The Shanahan/Kubiak philosophy is that a great running game is born out of a great blocking scheme, not great runners.
If it were up to me, and thank goodness it’s not, I would probably say pass rush is harder to duplicate than a running game. That said, I worry that Mario only plays half speed sometimes, and he’s ALWAYS hurt. He’s a warrior and plays through injury almost always, but his effectiveness suffers tremendously. But when he gets that next big deal, will he still take some plays off or will he be the monster we know he can be? Conversely, I think Arian is replaceable. I think had Ben Tate had the lion share of the carries he would have broken 1200 yds. Now he’s not the receiver out of the backfield that Arian is but Arian is going to command max type money next year and we still have Tate on his rookie deal for 2 more years.
To tell you the truth… the player they need to lock up the most this offseason is Chris Myers. He is the anchor of the best O line in football and is key to making this zone blocking scheme effective. He played in the Pro Bowl this year and should have been an All-Pro so he’s not going to be cheap, but at minimum they should franchise him if not locking him up in a long term deal.
I’m glad I’m not Rick Smith or Bob McNair (well I guess I wouldn’t mind being Bob McNair). These are hard decision and will undoubtedly affect the future of this franchise. I’d hate to let Mario go and see him in Tennessee or Jacksonville. Or imagine the Colts with Andrew Luck, Arian Foster, and Reggie Wayne!! What needs will we address in the draft? How many more years can we expect to keep Wade Phillips? The future of the Texans may be one of the brightest in the NFL but there is a lot of uncertainty right now.
