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Planning ahead Expansion draft gives Texans a soild foundationPosted: Wednesday February 20, 2002 1:44 PM
After spending the early part of this week with the Texans' staff, I'm here to tell you that the landscape has changed in Houston. There is no doubt in my mind that expectations for the franchise have gone way up since the Senior Bowl a month ago. That's to be expected now that the coaching staff has been hired, the stadium is near completion and real players are now on board. But let's just say that the team's original four-year development plan has been reduced to a three-year blueprint. As owner Bob McNair said to me Monday, "We have just secured the nucleus for our franchise." I have to agree with him. Just look at how the Texans are building a team to compete in their own division. Let's start with first pick Tony Boselli. Houston steals the best left tackle in football from division rival Jacksonville and instantly neutralizes the AFC South's three premier pass rushers, Jevon Kearse, Tony Brackens and Chad Bratzke. The Colts have the best passing attack in the division; former Jets corners Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman have been covering Marvin Harrison and Jerome Pathon for years. The top running back in the division, Tennessee's Eddie George, will find himself fending off Jamie Sharper, Gary Walker and Seth Payne. Houston will be competitive on the field with the players added Monday, but it might have an even bigger advantage in the front office. No division in the NFL is in worse shape from a salary-cap standpoint. Jacksonville stood defenseless and lost three starters to its new rival and is still going to be $13 million over the cap with unrestricted free agents to sign on its own roster. Tennessee didn't lose a player in the expansion draft but is over the cap limit by $22 million. There will be some significant attrition in the Titans' personnel this offseason. While the Colts are only $1 million over the cap, they have three offensive linemen -- inclduing LT Tarik Glenn -- up for free agency, and a porous defense that needs to be rebuilt. They're not creating enough space between themselves and the expansion team. Not one team in the division has the cap space to be aggressive or, at the very least, defend all of its personnel. This alone is reason to reduce the wait time for success in Houston. From McNair to general manager Charley Casserly down to the personnel people, no one in the front office seemed to think they would be serious players in the free-agent market after all the money they spent in the expansion draft. But if the Texans were to target three or four prime players like Jason Gildon, Shawn Barber or Kevin Hardy, they could land some big fish. I spoke to Pro Bowl return man Jermaine Lewis and he seemed ready to go door-to-door recruiting players. Any veteran who visits during free agency, takes a look at the new stadium and goes out to dinner with the "nucleus" and the owner will be coming to Houston. Then people may start whispering about a two-year plan. Personnel directors Chuck Banker and Mike McCaggnin hoped to come away from this building phase with eight to 10 starters and they did. If they turn around and pick up three or four more in free agency, they can aim at the draft knowing exactly what they have to do to put a representative football team on the field this fall. I will dig deeper into the Texans’ draft plans at a later date but their college draft will look to concentrate on four critical areas: a franchise quarterback (either David Carr or Joey Harrington), a quality wide receiver, a workhorse running back and a tight end. Cooler heads must prevail, but with six picks in the top 100, some in Houston might dream about a one-year plan. Watch out everyone, here come the Texans. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.
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