DMN: Cowboy blog: Houston vs. Bowe/Meachem/Jarrett/Rice

[Cbz40]

April 16, 2007


Houston vs. Bowe/Meachem/Jarrett/Rice


Some of you are lobbying for the Cowboys to take Arkansas CB Chris Houston in the first round. (Goose has him going to Philadelphia at No. 26.)
Houston happened to face three WRs last season who are being mentioned as possibilities for the Cowboys' first-round pick. Here's their stats against Houston:


USC's Dwayne Jarrett -- five catches, 35 yards in a 50-14 USC win.
Tennessee's Robert Meachem -- four catches, 65 yards and a TD in a 31-14 Arkansas win.


LSU's Dwayne Bowe -- five catches, 68 yards in a 31-26 LSU win.
UPDATE: Patrick in Austin makes a good point about South Carolina's Sydney Rice. He had seven catches for 126 yards and a TD in a 26-20 loss to Arkansas. Rice, ranked by Goose as the No. 7 WR, could fall to the Cowboys in the second round.




Posted by Tim MacMahon http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 11:24 AM (E-mail this entry)

 

[RealCowboyfan]

April 16, 2007


Houston vs. Bowe/Meachem/Jarrett/Rice


Some of you are lobbying for the Cowboys to take Arkansas CB Chris Houston in the first round. (Goose has him going to Philadelphia at No. 26.)
Houston happened to face three WRs last season who are being mentioned as possibilities for the Cowboys' first-round pick. Here's their stats against Houston:


USC's Dwayne Jarrett -- five catches, 35 yards in a 50-14 USC win.
Tennessee's Robert Meachem -- four catches, 65 yards and a TD in a 31-14 Arkansas win.


LSU's Dwayne Bowe -- five catches, 68 yards in a 31-26 LSU win.
UPDATE: Patrick in Austin makes a good point about South Carolina's Sydney Rice. He had seven catches for 126 yards and a TD in a 26-20 loss to Arkansas. Rice, ranked by Goose as the No. 7 WR, could fall to the Cowboys in the second round.




Posted by Tim MacMahon http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 11:24 AM (E-mail this entry)

Interesting. I would like to have houston in the first and Rice in the second. but if Dwayne Jarrett is there I say take em.

 

[Bizwah]

Interesting. I would like to have houston in the first and Rice in the second. but if Dwayne Jarrett is there I say take em.

I'm not a big Houston fan. But I could live with taking him. There are many worse picks that can be made.

I'd love for your draft to come true.

 

[theogt]

Thanks McMahon for the attempt at talking intelligent football, but these stats tell us nothing. Was Houston on each receiver? How many time was each receiver targeted? The numbers as given don't really tell you a damn thing. Take that extra effort and give us something that we couldn't have looked up in under 60 seconds on ESPN.com

 

[masomenos]

Houston had 8 PI penalties last seas and allowed 6TDs and 14.6 yards per completion. Why not go for a guy like Johnathan Wade from Tennessee in the second round who allowed 2 TDs and 12.1 yards per completion? He held Sidney Rice to 3 catches for 52 yards for what it's worth.

 

[theogt]

Houston had 8 PI penalties last seas and allowed 6TDs and 14.6 yards per completion. Why not go for a guy like Johnathan Wade from Tennessee in the second round who allowed 2 TDs and 12.1 yards per completion? He held Sidney Rice to 3 catches for 52 yards for what it's worth.

Well, you'd have to see how they fared against common opponents. They both played LSU and South Carolina, so that'd be a great way to compare.

Edit: In the LSU game Wade's main coverage assignment was Early Doucet. They both covered Sidney Rice and Wade performed better, but a single game isn't much of a comparison.

 

[Bizwah]

Houston had 8 PI penalties last seas and allowed 6TDs and 14.6 yards per completion. Why not go for a guy like Johnathan Wade from Tennessee in the second round who allowed 2 TDs and 12.1 yards per completion? He held Sidney Rice to 3 catches for 52 yards for what it's worth.

I like Wade too. I think he can really develop.

He and Josh Wilson will both likely be there in round 2.

 

[gimmesix]

April 16, 2007


Houston vs. Bowe/Meachem/Jarrett/Rice


Some of you are lobbying for the Cowboys to take Arkansas CB Chris Houston in the first round. (Goose has him going to Philadelphia at No. 26.)
Houston happened to face three WRs last season who are being mentioned as possibilities for the Cowboys' first-round pick. Here's their stats against Houston:


USC's Dwayne Jarrett -- five catches, 35 yards in a 50-14 USC win.
Tennessee's Robert Meachem -- four catches, 65 yards and a TD in a 31-14 Arkansas win.


LSU's Dwayne Bowe -- five catches, 68 yards in a 31-26 LSU win.
UPDATE: Patrick in Austin makes a good point about South Carolina's Sydney Rice. He had seven catches for 126 yards and a TD in a 26-20 loss to Arkansas. Rice, ranked by Goose as the No. 7 WR, could fall to the Cowboys in the second round.




Posted by Tim MacMahon http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 11:24 AM (E-mail this entry)

I think Houston's success against these receivers gets blown out of proportion. Some media guys who have not watched him see these numbers and conclude that Houston is better than he is.

Having watched him, I don't believe he's that good.

PFW does a good job of summing up what I saw ... a defensive back who has to have his hands on the receiver because he struggles in off coverage, is not fluid and doesn't transition well.

Houston matches up well with bigger receivers (despite his height) because he can be physical with them, but has trouble with receivers who can use their speed or quickness to get free from him and shake him with good cuts on their routes or double-moves.

PFW says: "Some team will get infatuated with his speed, likely draft him too early and find out it should have put more emphasis on his position skills than his pure speed."

I'm not quite as low on him as PFW, because I think he might develop out of some of his problems, but I'm very wary of drafting him in the first.

 

[Chuck 54]

I have read nothing that even surmises that Houston is worth the #22 pick...I'd be very upset if we drafted him there. IF we actually want him, we need to move down towards the bottom of round 1 imo.

 

[theogt]

I think Houston's success against these receivers gets blown out of proportion. Some media guys who have not watched him see these numbers and conclude that Houston is better than he is.

Having watched him, I don't believe he's that good.

PFW does a good job of summing up what I saw ... a defensive back who has to have his hands on the receiver because he struggles in off coverage, is not fluid and doesn't transition well.

Houston matches up well with bigger receivers (despite his height) because he can be physical with them, but has trouble with receivers who can use their speed or quickness to get free from him and shake him with good cuts on their routes or double-moves.

PFW says: "Some team will get infatuated with his speed, likely draft him too early and find out it should have put more emphasis on his position skills than his pure speed."

I'm not quite as low on him as PFW, because I think he might develop out of some of his problems, but I'm very wary of drafting him in the first.

Well, NFLDraftScout (who puts out Lindy's Draft Guide) had this to say: "[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]...Smooth, fluid mover with loose hips, quick foot speed, good hand/eye coordination and the second gear to close on the ball in a hurry.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]..Shows smooth hip turn in transition and times his leaps well to compete for the ball at its high point...Comes out of his breaks cleanly and shows the functional strength to get off some blocks to make the tackle in the open area..."

Then this:

"[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]...When he stays disciplined, he sticks to receivers well on double moves and has the hand strength to reroute and press...Can latch and trail, showing the ability to cover the receiver when he doesn't come out of his pedal too early..."

Just the opposite, really. When I watch him I just like how he blankets receivers. Reminds me of Terence. He'll need a lot of work to get to Terence's level, but he's got the foot speed and fluid hips to get there. Much more so than most of the other CBs in my opinion. I dont' think those coaches in Arkansas know how to teach any of their players much, so I think what he's going on is pure talent and could be coached up considerably.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[Bizwah]

The more I think about our draft needs, I think CB is near the top of the list. Now, I don't feel you draft for need, but if you have a WR, CB, and S all together on your board, I think we need to go CB.

Newman is our stud. That much is clear. But he'll be 29 (I think). Henry can be inconsistent. I like how he makes plays on the ball, but he really got beat a lot last year. Glenn has really impressed me and exceeded my expectations. But, he'll likely not be back next season.....he's a little old too.

If a guy like Revis was available at 22, I think we'd need to seriously consider him. I've been outspoken against Houston too.....but we're in a crappy draft slot. No matter what player we take, we're likely to draft them ahead of their actual value. I don't really see what the difference is in drafting Houston or Griffin.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

there's such a thing called pro potential, and Houston has alot of it

 

[Teague31]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Chris Houston= Ahmad Carroll.

 

[BLT]

the more i hear that sidney rice will be available in the 2nd the more i want us to get a CB in the 1st... Revis/ross/houston in the 1st and rice in the 2nd is a great draft

 

[gimmesix]

Well, NFLDraftScout (who puts out Lindy's Draft Guide) had this to say: "[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]...Smooth, fluid mover with loose hips, quick foot speed, good hand/eye coordination and the second gear to close on the ball in a hurry.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]..Shows smooth hip turn in transition and times his leaps well to compete for the ball at its high point...Comes out of his breaks cleanly and shows the functional strength to get off some blocks to make the tackle in the open area..."

Then this:

"[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]...When he stays disciplined, he sticks to receivers well on double moves and has the hand strength to reroute and press...Can latch and trail, showing the ability to cover the receiver when he doesn't come out of his pedal too early..."

Just the opposite, really. When I watch him I just like how he blankets receivers. Reminds me of Terence. He'll need a lot of work to get to Terence's level, but he's got the foot speed and fluid hips to get there. Much more so than most of the other CBs in my opinion.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

I didn't see that in him ... double-moves gave him problems, which is one of the reasons he struggled with Rice.

Maybe it's the "when he stays disciplined" part, because he wasn't always getting beat, but he did get beat more often than those numbers show. There were times that either the pass rush or a bad throw by the quarterback kept teams from taking advantage of Houston's cover errors.

In his defense, he was stuck man-to-man and Arkansas did use him against the other teams' best receivers, but I just didn't see a "blanket" corner, except when he was able to get physical with receivers. If he could hold them up and keep his hands on them, then he blanketed them. If they got him in space, they could exploit him.

 

[gimmesix]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Chris Houston= Ahmad Carroll.

I do think he's better than Carroll, but will get overdrafted for his speed like Carroll did.

 

[THUMPER]

Thanks McMahon for the attempt at talking intelligent football, but these stats tell us nothing. Was Houston on each receiver? How many time was each receiver targeted? The numbers as given don't really tell you a damn thing. Take that extra effort and give us something that we couldn't have looked up in under 60 seconds on ESPN.com

Regarding Jarrett vs Houston: USC didn't need to throw the ball deep much as they stomped a mudhole in Arkansas 50-14. They took a lot of underneath stuff to Jarrett & Steve Smith running crossing patterns or to the TE Fred Davis. Booty spread the ball around a lot that day hitting 8 different receivers. By the end of the 3rd quarter the game was over with USC up 30-7. The Trojans outscored the Razorbacks 20-7 in the 4th quarter without even trying.

I also don't remember Houston covering Jarrett much in that game and believe he was on Steve Smith for most of the time.

The other 3 WRs mentioned were in close games against Arkansas and needed to pass to win or try to catch up.

Against Nebraska, Stanford, Noter Dame, and Michigan (Rose Bowl) Jarrett came up big each time. He also came up big in the championship game in 2005 vs Texas.

I'm not worried about any DB shutting him down because when he needs to play big he does.

 

[RealCowboyfan]

I think Houston's success against these receivers gets blown out of proportion. Some media guys who have not watched him see these numbers and conclude that Houston is better than he is.

Having watched him, I don't believe he's that good.

PFW does a good job of summing up what I saw ... a defensive back who has to have his hands on the receiver because he struggles in off coverage, is not fluid and doesn't transition well.

Houston matches up well with bigger receivers (despite his height) because he can be physical with them, but has trouble with receivers who can use their speed or quickness to get free from him and shake him with good cuts on their routes or double-moves.

PFW says: "Some team will get infatuated with his speed, likely draft him too early and find out it should have put more emphasis on his position skills than his pure speed."

I'm not quite as low on him as PFW, because I think he might develop out of some of his problems, but I'm very wary of drafting him in the first.

Wow! From what you saying I have seen him do this in his highlights but I really never seen a wide receiver get the best of him.

Which wide receiver got the best of him?

 

[masomenos]

Wow! From what you saying I have seen him do this in his highlights but I really never seen a wide receiver get the best of him.

Which wide receiver got the best of him?

Sidney Rice got the best of him, something like 126 yards and 1 TD.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Sidney Rice got the best of him, something like 126 yards and 1 TD.

to be fair, in 14 games, Houston only allowed 2, 100 yard receivers

forget who the other guy is