Texans Top 2 Picks... I like!

Texans select: Brian Cushing, OLB, USC

I love it. He's a tough dude, can rush the passer and is very athletic. A perfect outside linebacker to put behind Mario Williams and next to pro bowl Middle Backer Demeco Ryans. We had the 3rd ranked offense in the NFL last season. But the D was 22nd. The Texans were 8-8 for a second straight year. This makes our team much better. I'm very excited about Cushing. Playoffs? We better be in the playoffs next year.

Cushing was also one of the focal stories of the NFL Network's pre-Draft coverage. It was obvious from watching it that this kid loves football. To me that's a key. NFL players all have talent, but do they have a desire and love of the game.

From the Houston Chronicle: Cushing presents above average skills in the tools department and, combined with elite defensive instincts, Cushing is a solid option for a team looking to build its defensive unit. He does a good job of playing downhill and is a force to reckon with in the passing game. Cushing makes great instinctual decisions around the football. His most notable downside has been his battles with injuries in his career. Cushing missed significant periods of time during two seasons of his college career. When on the field, Cushing displays great tackling skills along with above average run stopping abilities. If he can overcome the questions of durability, he could make a solid Linebacker at the next level.

In the second round (which the Texans have had huge success with in the past few years - see Demeco Ryans) Houston took Conner Barwin from Cincinnati As a former linebacker, I am smiling ear to ear. :) Barwin is very versatile. He started his career at tight end, moved to defense his senior year and had 11 sacks. He also has blocked 4 punts. He plays with a motor and is very quick. I love how low he plays. This is another great pick. The new defensive co-ordinator must be super excited today!

From the Houston Chronicle Site: A stout linebacker with impressive athletic prowess and naturally gifted physical tools, Barwin is a relatively inexperienced player with a lot of room for development and maturation at the next level. He was once a tight end and also played basketball at Cincinnati, experiences that give one insight into the nature of this kid's athleticism. He maintains good balance and agility on his lower half while establishing good push from his upper half, traits that enhance his talents off the edge. Barwin showed the most comfort down in his stance as a down lineman in the 3-4 scheme, but with experience, his natural quickness and dexterity could be utilized at the outside linebacker spot. The main knock on Barwin is that he's still very raw and didn't get many repetitions at Cincinnati, so his coverage skills and consistency, among other things, are somewhat undiscovered. His physical abilities alone make him a project worth investing in.

Texans addressing needs

The Texans had a nice weekend. Pulled in two players that are need positions - DE and Backup QB. After trading away Sage Rosenfels for a 4th rounder to the Vikes, the Texans signed Dan Orlovsky from Detroit today. He is 6'5" 230 lbs and played a lot last year for the crappy Lions. I'd have rather seen them bring in a kid with upside than some vet with no legs left.

But, the big news of the weekend is Antonio Smith. The defensive end from the Super Bowl Cards is quite a player. It's going to be great seeing him come off the edge opposite Mario Williams.

I've read two draft experts claim that the Texans would draft a DE or a QB in the first round this year. Obviously that has changed. I would love to see them get a great corner or safety. We'll see. The draft is only a month and a 1/2 away.

Texans get help on the line

Duane Brown is a former tight end and has played right and then left tackle. He is the fastest tackle in the draft and many on his college team thought he was the best 'athlete' on the team. He even blocked a field goal during his career.

The Texans run the old Broncos and Falcons running game that was engineered by Alex Gibbs. He is now the Texans offensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach. He likes mean, fast and agile linemen. He likes his linemen to cut block and treat defenders like they are pieces of meat. According to the Texans coaches Brown is one tough dude.

The Texans did trade down to get him which netted them another 3rd and a 6th round pick. So that is nice. They got the player that they say they wanted. And a couple of extra picks. There is no doubting we need additional help on the line. And I was either hoping for a tackle or a corner. Maybe we get a corner tomorrow in round 3?

Texans Land a "Phe"

1st Round Pick, Amobi Okoye is nicknamed "Phe" - short for Phenom. It's no wonder:

But most 19-year-olds haven't latched onto a Latin word he says speaks to his essence: invictus, or unconquered. Most aren't nicknamed Phe, short for phenom. And most don't have the chutzpah to put their career on par with that of their generation's premier prodigy. "LeBron was the old phenom, maybe I'm the new one," Okoye says. "We're going to go from King James to Phe." [quotes from this story in ESPNtheMag Huge for his Age]

His story is really something. He is now the youngest player ever to be drafted in the NFL. He was a high school freshman at age 12.

OKOYE WAS born in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. His mother, Edna, brought him to the school she worked at as a principal because she couldn't find a reliable baby-sitter. At 2, Okoye sat in a first-grade classroom, learning how to read. He picked up math and sciences quickly, too, and years later, he tested out of sixth grade. In 1999, Edna, Amobi and two older siblings immigrated to Huntsville, Ala., where his father, Augustine, had been living for two years. When Amobi was assigned to the eighth grade, he protested and, with his parents' support, argued that he had already completed all of his junior high requirements in Nigeria and therefore belonged in high school. After 12-year-old Okoye passed an aptitude test, he was given two weeks at Lee High to prove himself. Amobi interrupted one algebra class to show the teacher an easier way to solve an equation. He was allowed to stay.

Amazing. At Louisville he was indeed "Invictus"-like. He is a super pass rusher with a non-stop motor. As a "3" technique or inside defensive tackle, having the ability to get after the QB is a great bonus. He is very young and will grow a lot more. The Texans did a great job in landing him and they were shocked he was still there. They said that Amobi was their #1 player on the board on the defensive side of the ball and that they could not pass him up. I am glad they didn't! Great pick!

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