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Texans Pick LT Duane Brown; Would Have Missed Him With Another Trade Down

Posted: Apr 30th 2008 5:05 PM ET by Stephanie Stradley (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, Texans, AFC South, NFL Draft, Virginia Tech Football, Houston

3 COMMENTS

A number of talking heads believe that the Texans picked Virginia Tech left tackle Duane Brown too early. They believe the Texans could have traded down again and still got their target. Those people would be wrong.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Chargers wanted Brown with the 27th pick:

"Funny that the Chargers finally got a tackle with their final pick. They had been stymied from starting off the draft with one when an unprecedented eight tackles were selected before they picked at No. 27.

'We came up one pick short,' said [Norv] Turner, who along with the rest of the Chargers brass watched Houston trade into the 26th spot and take tackle Duane Brown of Virginia Tech."

At the Texans draft party, someone told me shortly after the trade down from 18 that Brown was going to be the pick. I didn't believe it until I heard the pick later. If Brown was the target, then trying to trade down again was going to get too cute.

If the Texans only have offensive line guru Alex Gibbs for a short period of time, you should probably get him the tackle he wants pronto.

Houston Texans Coach Loves Steve Slaton; Calls Reggie Bush 'Third Down Type Player'

Posted: Apr 28th 2008 3:15 PM ET by Stephanie Stradley (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Saints, Texans, AFC South, NFL Draft, West Virginia Football, Houston, New Orleans

5 COMMENTS

It's not a big secret that the Texans were looking for a running back in the draft. They acquired West Virginia standout Steve Slaton in the third round as a change of pace back.

While discussing the NFL trend toward having at least one receiving-type playmaking RB, Texans offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan gave Reggie Bush a left handed compliment in the process (video above):

"I think Steve Slaton pretty much fits any offense to tell you the truth. The reason I think that is because he's a good runner, and a good enough runner can fit into any scheme. What we like most about Slaton, is I think he's got a chance to be a special-type player. You look at guys around the league like Kevin Faulk, a guy like Reggie Bush; guys who come in and fill a specific role on third downs.
...
I think when a guy is 197 pounds and if you look at the history throughout the NFL there are not too many guys that are first and second down player for long periods of time. When you look at a guy that people are projecting as a third down type guy or a change of pace guy I believe a lot of teams have more important needs that go early in the draft. One exception is Reggie Bush; he is the highest guy that I've seen go that is a third down type player. The third round is when these guys start popping out."

That's about as direct as the Texans have come to talking about why they didn't pick The! Best! Running Back! Evaaaar! that a lot of people thought was a no brainer pick in the 2006 draft.

Video of Steve Beuerlein's 'USC Thugs' On Air Comment

Posted: Nov 25th 2007 7:58 PM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Bengals, Titans, AFC North, AFC South, USC Football, NFL Media Watch

130 COMMENTS

I earlier told you about CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein saying "USC thugs, man" over live air during the Bengals-Titans game today. Here is the video accompanying it.

Like I said before, who knows what Beuerlein was saying right before that comment. Maybe he said "I will take on anyone who says that those are a bunch of USC thugs, man." Maybe not. Either way, Beuerlein got caught breaking the #1 rule in TV work: if you've got nothing nice to say, make sure no one can hear you.

As Bill Macatee says when the broadcast came back, "LenDale White wishes he had that brief emotional explosion back." Maybe ol' Steve wishes he had that comment back.

Hat tip to Trojan Wire for finding the video.
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