We had the Killer B’s with the Astros back in the day. Now we have the Killer D’s with the Texans...I like it.
Well the best Smith has done as GM is put a mediocre product on the field. Gaine has already clean up a bunch of Ricky's mess. How you liking the ST's this yr?
LOL. Maybe the coaching (not GM) has something to do with an improved special teams. Trindon and Jacoby were probowlers after they left Houston. There are still a lot of Rick Smith guys on this team including the main return guy, Tyler Ervin.
Excited about seeing D Thomas! We don't need for him to light it up. I'll gladly take 50-60 yards a game.
Coaching definitely makes a difference but they have always brought players who excelled in special teams. For Bademosi there is Brian Peter's, for Reid there is Cunningham, Lechler was not the problem. Kurtis Drummond and Ben Heeney were brought in just for special teams. They also brought in O'Brien's buddy Larry Izo who was s special teams standout as a player. They have always been trying to fix special teams and a lot of those players there now have been here.
Rick's "mess"? Gaine was handed a loaded roster with ample cap space. How hard is it to build a team around Watson, Hopkins, Fuller, Watt, Clowney...? It never ceases to amaze me how often fans create/buy-into a narrative and then *refuse* to ever evolve. Worse, fans are so myopic they let a marginally average trade completely rewire their thinking. THIS IS HOW YOU GM! Look, the Texans needed to do *something* - and maybe Thomas will spark and have a nice season. But the most likely outcome is he'll continue to be mediocre, drop passes, etc., and have minimal impact while fans forget they ever championed the move and go right back to *exactly* where they were: RICK SMITH SUCKS!
This move will make more of an impact next season once Fuller is back if DT still has something left in the tank. Having Fuller, Hopkins and DT along with a decent slot and potentially Foreman or a drafted RB and an improved OL should make our offense into a top 5 offense consistently as long as the coaching staff doesn't hold it back.
Like BOB is for the other half of the fanbase? No one on this site is ever fully happy. And literally the only thing we can compare the two GMs on is their picks in rounds 3-7. I think they both have the same amount of "hits" but one has been here one year, and one was here for more than 10. Other than that, yea, Rick Smith has done more.
BOB is actually incompetent though and he shows it every single game. The entire core of this team was built by Rick Smith, he catches way too much undeserved ****.
I don't think fans are saying "this is how you GM". But seriously, did Rick Smith ever make a midseason trade? I'm trying to compare apples to apples, and people keep saying "he got Watson, he got Watt"... Cool, Gaine hasn't had a pick in the first 2 rounds yet, but he's making moves to better us instead of promoting from within and waiting until the offseason which is something Rick did a lot.
I agree, he needs help, definitely an OC. But its bull**** that posters like you can blame everything on BOB then jump on people who blame Rick Smith. Especially the poster who called dogging on Rick Smith "pushing a narrative" because its the same thing with the attacks on BOB. No one's mind is changing, everyone thinks their narratives are right. Lets just let ppl be excited for the trade and see how it pans out. EDIT: For instance, I agree with you that BOB needs help, but every game? No, the Miami game looked great, there is no need to dig until you find some tiny thing to complain about on BOB there.
Why is *a* trade - any trade - such a significant standard for you? Also, yes - Rick Smith traded Duane Brown just last year and received a pick Gaine used on Rankin as well as a 2nd in '19 that made giving up a 4th for Thomas a lot easier to swallow.
I blame BOB's utter incompetence when coaching offense on BOB, not "everything", when the defense struggles I call them on it too. BOB has directly cost the Texans at least 2 games this season, can you say the same for Rick Smith? When it comes to the Miami game, Miami has one of the worst defenses in the NFL and Brock Osweiler at QB. If you can't look good in that game, you can't look good ever.
Rick Smith was an average to slightly-above-average GM; even GM rankings support this. He took a big dip for the Osweiller deal but then got bumped back up for the 2017 draft. Still about average. Average means you can do better but it also means you can do worse. I'm okay with replacing Rick Smith, average for so many years is not good enough, as long as his replacement does better. Gaine has not done better yet. 90% of the star players that are making this team successful were brought in by Rick Smith. But Gaine has not done worse because some players he brought in are contributing like Justin and Tyrann. If you want to judge Gaine now (way too early) you have to include some of the players who aren't doing much yet (Colvin, Rankin, Akins, Henderson). I know people love dumping on Rick and that's fine but it's just not factual that Gaine has done better already.
To get back on topic: Another reason I'm not in love with this trade is the contract situation. Thomas is owed 14 mil next year. He could be the 3rd or even 4th receiver. Every game Keke has played he has more targets than Fuller. Coutee could be the #2 receiver next season. Then it'd be Fuller and Demaryius battling out for WR3. 14 million is a lot for a 3rd receiver. If DT is getting the 3rd or 4th most targets, will he be happy with that?
