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Brian Gaine’s terribly managed offseason Arian Foster Jersey White , especially related to the offensive line, led to his firing today," Real, Actual, Thought-Provoking Texans Analysis2019 NFL Draft2019 Houston Texans OffseasonBrian Gaine and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad OffseasonNew,283commentsBrian Gaine’s terribly managed offseason, especially related to the offensive line, led to his firing today, CDTI think it’s fair to say that expectations for Brian Gaine heading into the 2019 offseason were fairly high. His 2018 offseason and draft were solid, especially with the resources he had. Heck, even signing Tyrann Mathieu to a one year “show me” deal was a mighty fine move, especially at the price.With a metric kitten-ton of both draft and salary cap capital, the Houston Texans had the resources to be a much improved team in 2019. Instead, it went south pretty quickly, starting with free agency.When the Texans signed Brandon Dunn, I mean Christian Covington, I mean Angelo Blackson to a three-year, $12MM contract, it was a serious head-scratcher. He’s just a body who does nothing to improve the Texans. Sure, this is an “on the edges” kind of signing, not really a team-killer, but to give such a fungible player a contract like this is questionable.Then, we got lucky! Gaine’s apparent free agency strategy seemed to be that he draws a line in the sand for salary; if that line gets crossed, he’s out. This worked out swimmingly for the Texans when the Kansas City Chiefs backed the Brinks truck up for Mathieu, who wasn’t worth the $7MM we paid him in 2018. Despite of himself, Gaine got lucky when Mathieu signed with the Chiefs.March 12th started out well enough. After losing out on Mathieu, Gaine picked up Tashaun Gipson, probably a better player at this stage of their careers, for far less than what Mathieu received.Gipson’s three-year deal was a good move.For me, losing Rodger Saffold to the despised BE-SFs of Methoptamia was the beginning of the end. Saffold’s four-year, $44MM deal would have easily fit within our cap constraints, and as one of the best guards in the NFL, he would have quickly upgraded the offense line AND given a rookie left tackle a great veteran presence. Alas Brandon Dunn Jersey White , it seems that Saffold’s salary number crossed Gaine’s line in the sand, so shrug emoji.Signing both Bradley Roby and Briean Boddy-Calhoun to one-year contracts means you really don’t care, just like you really didn’t care with Mathieu. There were several other CBs to chase, but we settled for a guy who can’t play against WR1s or WR2s and a guy who has been terrible in the slot the past two seasons. If they play well? They’ll chase the money like Mathieu did. I would have taken a shot at Steven Nelson or Jason Verrett to multi-year deals. You gotta take risks to be successful, and neither player would have hamstrung our salary cap.Speaking of, Morris Claiborne is still without a team.Gaine then signed AJ McCarron to back up Deshaun Watson. That’s akin to an Indy driver’s back-up car being a Yugo.All throughout the offseason, Gaine failed to find help for the interior pass rush, probably feeling pretty proud of himself for that sweet Blackson signing. We could have handled Malik Jackson’s (three years, $30MM from the Eagles) or Sheldon Richardon’s (three years, $36MM from the Browns) contracts easily. Or Gerald McCoy’s deal with the Panthers, which broke a particular writer. Ndamukong Suh and Muhammad Wilkerson are both still free agents, at least.We also signed the worst OT in football, Matt Kalil, to a contract.Then, of course, there was the 2019 NFL Draft. In retrospect, it seems like the only film Gaine watched was from the Senior Bowl, as the first three picks—Tytus Howard, Lonnie Johnson, and Max Scharping—all participated. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that Gaine watched any other game tape.The Iggles, of course, jumped ahead of us to grab Andre Dillard. Passing on Jawaan Taylor is also terribly confusing. If you believe that Howard was our first choice all along, I have mountain property to sell you in Conroe. As of now, Howard seems to be a less athletic version of Julie’n Davenport. At best, he’s a major project.Continuing the theme of passivity in the second round, we didn’t move up to take a pro-ready CB (who is apparently already running with the 1s) in Greedy Williams. Instead, we passively waited for Lonnie Johnson, whose tape is simply awful. Look, maybe Williams can’t tackle. Fine. Johnson can apparently neither tackle NOR cover.Max Scharping seems like a fine right tackle prospect, but he’s still another project. So, if you’re counting along, the Texans’ offensive line projects include Howard, Davenport, Scharping, and Martinas Rankin. Do you really think Mike Devlin and Bill O’Brien are the best candidates to coach up those guys?To be fair Womens Whitney Mercilus Jersey , Kahale Warring looks like a fabulous pick. But taking a fullback who doesn’t know how to play his position in the seventh round is next level stupid. The Texans should have been far more aggressive in moving up to help the team in 2019.Instead, our first three picks in the first two rounds are serious projects. Sure, this might turn out to be the best draft in NFL history EVAR, but all signs currently point to no.Because of the timing of Gaine’s firing, I believe the Texans coaches got together, looked at what they had after OTAs, and panicked. Placing Gaine’s termination on Jadeveon Clowney’s contract situation makes no sense because it’s been like that for a while now. No, this is about the offensive line.Ultimately, Brian Gaine had one job during the 2019 offseason: improve the offensive line and better protect your wunderkind QB. Gaine failed miserably.Instead of signing Saffold (or any other real offensive lineman in free agency), Gaine passed. Instead of being aggressive in the draft to grab Dillard, he got jumped. He panicked by taking Howard. Scharping’s ceiling is pretty middling.Gaine overly focused on offensive line versatility. Look, if you want to have a guy who’s comfortable playing both OT spots and another guy or two who can play all three interior positions, great.However, your starting offensive linemen should not be mixed and matched. This same strategy killed the offensive line early last season, and it’s going to kill us again this year. Versatility does not create cohesion and continuity, two things that greatly helped the offensive lines during the Gary Kubiak years. We still do not have adequate talent on the offensive line to mitigate the risk to Watson, and the risk is amplified by the “versatility” we keep hearing is so prized.In today’s NFL, you win by getting the other team’s QB dirty while keeping your QB clean. This afternoon, Brian Gaine was fired for not doing nearly enough, or really much at all, to better protect Deshaun Watson in 2019. It was undoubtedly the correct move to ax Gaine. The Texans need to make one more change to get this franchise back on track. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski sent New England fans into a panic this offseason when they hinted at retiring rather than returning to the Patriots in 2018.On Sunday, it was the rest of the NFL watching in fear.Brady threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Gronkowski for 123 yards and a score to lead the defending AFC champions to a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans. The reigning NFL MVP found Gronkowski seven times, including a 21-yard touchdown three plays after Deshaun Watson fumbled a handoff at the Texans 19 on Houston’s first offensive play .“It’s very important that they came out and played the way they did.They’re our leaders,” said Phillip Dorsett, who had seven catches, including a touchdown. “When they play well, they give an adrenaline boost to the rest of the team.”Brady, 41, clashed with the team he’s led to five Super Bowl titles in the past year over the treatment of his personal fitness guru and the plans to elevate backup Jimmy Garoppolo to starter. In February, after throwing for 500 yards in a Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Brady was coy about returning this season.The Patriots dangled Gronkowski as trade bait this summer before agreeing instead to sweeten his contract with $4.3 million in reachable incentives. Gronkowski reportedly threatened to retire if traded.“I’m just glad to be here, glad to be part of this team, glad to be part of this organization,” he said. “All that talk Tyler Ervin Jersey White , all that stuff, I would love to put it in the past.”Brady also found James White for a touchdown, completing 26 of 39 passes in all; he also had an interception on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. It was Gronkowski’s 31st career regular-season or playoff game of 100 yards or more, tying Tony Gonzalez’s NFL record.“We’ve been playing together for a long time,” Brady said. “I know his body language. I know his ability to run and what routes. He can do it. He can do really all the routes. It’s just a matter of giving him a chance, and it came with a big touchdown today.”Watson, who missed the final nine games last season with a torn right ACL, completed 17 of 35 passes for 176 yards, one score and one interception. He struggled to move the team in the first 40 minutes, managing just a pair of field-goal drives before Alfred Blue ran it in from 1 yard to make it 24-13 in the last two minutes of the third period.A muffed punt by New England’s Riley McCarron with under five minutes left set up Watson’s 5-yard TD pass to Bruce Ellington and cut the deficit to 27-20. But after getting the ball back at their 1 with 43 seconds left, the Texans failed to reach midfield.“I think it was terrible, on my part,” Watson said. “I just feel like you can put the ‘L’ on me.”With Julian Edelman serving a four-game suspension, Dorsett caught seven passes for 66 yards, including a 4-yard TD pass in the closing seconds of the first half to make it 21-6. White had four receptions for 38 yards, including a 12-yard score.Lamar Miller ran 20 times for 98 yards for Houston, which welcomed Watson, defensive lineman J.J. Watt and linebacker Whitney Mercilus back from injuries. Watt had two quarterback hurries, but D.J. Reader had the only two sacks of Brady, both late.“It’s good to play a full game to know it lasts, to know it holds up,” said Watt, a three-time defensive player of the year. “I didn’t think about it once. So, that’s all you can ask for.”It was Watson who felt the pressure the rest of the game.The second-year quarterback, who threw for 301 yards in a 36-33 loss to New England last year in his second NFL start, botched a handoff with Miller in the first quarter, setting up the Patriots up for their first touchdown. In the second quarter, Watson inexplicably chucked the ball into the end zone for a double-covered Vyncint Smith on a second-and-3 from the New England 42.Stephon Gilmore brought it down for the interception.BALL CONTROLThe Patriots also had trouble with turnovers.Brady had an interception in the first quarter on a throw tipped by defensive lineman Angelo Blackson and brought in by Tyrann Mathieu at the Patriots 17. The Texans went backward 7 yards before Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 42-yard field goal made it 7-3.Gronkowski also fumbled in the third quarter after a 25-yard reception across the middle. Mathieu recovered, but after advancing to the New England 17, the Texans gave the ball back on downs. The muffed punt by McCarron gave the Texans one last chance.INJURIESTexans: DE Christian Covington injured his thigh in the first quarter. T Seantrel Henderson left after getting his left ankle rolled a few plays later. Kevin Johnson left with what the team said was a concussion and did not return.Patriots: RB Jeremy Hill left with a right knee injury on the Gronkowski fumble in the third quarter.LATE SERIESAfter the Texans forced New England to punt in the final minute, Ryan Allen landed the ball inside the 5-yard line and Jonathan Jones downed it at the 1. Houston advanced to the 16 on a penalty for leading with the helmet and Watson found DeAndre Hopkins for 14 yards before scrambling for 13 more.From his 43 with 5 seconds left, Watson chucked the ball as far as the 10 but it was knocked away.UP NEXTTexans: visit Tennessee Sunday for an early AFC South showdown.Patriots: visit Jacksonville Sunday in a rematch of the Jan. 21 AFC championship game New England won 24-20 to reach the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.