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AFC South Fillability Index
Cold, Hard Football Facts for May 9, 2007
AFC SOUTH:
HOUSTON (last year's record: 6-10)
How they ranked in 2006
|
Total O |
Score O |
Rush O |
Pass O |
Total D |
Score D |
Rush D |
Pass D |
|
28 |
28 |
21 |
27 |
24 |
26 |
20 |
22 |
Additions:
QB Matt Schaub (Atlanta)
RB Ahman Green (Green Bay)
WR Andre Davis (Buffalo)
T Jordan Black (Kansas City)
LB Danny Clark (New Orleans)
LB Shawn Barber (Philadelphia)
DT Jeff Zgonina (Miami)
CB Jamar Fletcher (Detroit)
Subtractions:
CB Lewis Sanders (Atlanta)
DE Antwan Peek (Cleveland)
QB David Carr (Carolina)
LB Troy Evans (New Orleans)
S Michael Stone (NY Giants)
Draft choices:
1 (10) Amobi Okoye, dt, Louisville
3 (73) Jacoby Jones, wr, Lane
4 (123) Fred Bennett, db, South Carolina
5 (144) Brandon Harrison, db, Stanford
5 (163) Brandon Frye, ot, Virginia Tech
6 (183) Kasey Studdard, g, Texas
7 (218) Zach Diles, lb, Kansas St.
 The Texans were bad in just about every area in 2006. When your "best" individual stat is 20th overall in rushing yards allowed (122.2 YPG), there are problems to fix. Houston finished no better than 23rd in our Quality Stats. Looking at all these numbers, it's a miracle The Texans won six games.
So, have they fixed their problems here in the off-season? Well, they've tried.
- Passing game: The Texans feel like they upgraded from David Carr to Matt Schaub.
- Running game: Added RB Ahman Green (he of the impressive career average of 4.5 YPA) and in-demand T Jordan Black.
- Run defense: Drafted DT boy-wonder Amobi Okoye with the No. 10 overall pick and added fringe LBs Danny Clark and Shawn Barber.
- Pass defense: No real upgrades.
Give the Texans a solid B for effort. They added some veterans who can still play, and made a bold move to try and make their passing game relevant. Whether Ahman Green still has gas in the tank at 30 remains to be seen, but the addition of T Black could be of the best pickups in free agency.
But their insistence on drafting toward the defensive line is puzzling. As Luke Wilson said after getting his good arm ripped off by a bear in "Anchorman," it's getting a little re-goddam-diculous.
Houston has now drafted defensive linemen in the first round for FOUR STRAIGHT SEASONS. In other words, if they're not the next coming of the Purple People Eaters, the Texans are going to be totally screwed. And since DT Travis Johnson and DE Jason Babin are already busts, we'd say they're screwed anyway.
Basically, they mortgaged some of their draft for an unproven QB, went for the DL yet again, and didn't add any star power to a team without stars.
Not so great. But that's Texans football for you.
Fillability grade: C-plus
INDIANAPOLIS (12-4)
Where they ranked in 2006
|
Total O |
Score O |
Rush O |
Pass O |
Total D |
Score D |
Rush D |
Pass D |
|
3 |
t2 |
18 |
2 |
12 |
23 |
32 |
2 |
Additions:
G Rick DeMulling (Detroit)
QB John Navarre (Arizona)
Subtractions:
RB Dominic Rhodes (Oakland)
WR Brandon Stokley (Denver)
DT Montae Raegor (Philadelphia)
LB Cato June (Tampa Bay)
CB Nick Harper (Tennessee)
CB Jason David (New Orleans)
S Mike Doss (Minnesota)
Draft choices:
1 (32) Anthony Gonzalez, wr, Ohio St.
2 (42) Tony Ugoh, ot, Arkansas
3 (95) Daymeion Hughes, db, California
3 (98) Quinn Pitcock, dt, Ohio St.
4 (131) Brannon Condren, db, Troy
4 (136) Clint Session, lb, Pittsburgh
5 (169) Roy Hall, wr, Ohio St.
5 (173) Michael Coe, db, Alabama St.
7 (242) Keyunta Dawson, de, Texas Tech
Except for the continuing Super Bowl euphoria, it hasn't been a particularly good offseason for the Colts. They lost five contributors and added none from a defense that was a regular-season disaster (32nd in run defense, one of the worst of all time after allowing 5.33 YPA) but then turned into postseason savior (allowed 16.5 PPG during Super Bowl run).
Oddly, they went offense with their two top draft picks, adding WR Anthony Gonzalez with the No. 32 pick and trading next year's No. 1 to get T Tony Ugoh. Gonzalez is a player who seems tailor-made for Indy's system, and Ugoh should get a chance to start on the no-name Colts line. DId the moves fill a pressing need? No. Were they good picks? Well, GM Bill Polian has kept the Colt offense intact and running smoothly at the expense of the D for the entire Peyton Manning Era, and it's paid off to the tune of seven 10-plus wins in eight seasons and 60 regular-season wins over the last five years.
And Polian did spend three picks on DBs to replace the three veterans that left – and when you factor in the 13 DBs he picked from 2002-06, there should be enough bodies. The most important body, S Bob Sanders, is back.
However, if the secondary holes are filled, the problems on the defensive line haven't been. Their postseason success notwithstanding, the Colts had the No. 29 ranked Defensive Hogs last year. A third-round DT (Quinn Pitcock) and 4th-round LB (Clint Sessions) are not going to turn things around on the run defense.
Polian and the Colts get the benefit of the doubt thanks to their track record, but on paper it's tough to see how they addressed their most obvious need: stopping the run.
The Colts defense certainly struck lightning in the playoffs last year. But as every child in the pigskin playground knows, lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
Fillability grade: C
Where they ranked in 2006
|
Total O |
Score O |
Rush O |
Pass O |
Total D |
Score D |
Rush D |
Pass D |
|
11 |
9 |
3 |
24 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
Additions:
WR Dennis Northcutt (Cleveland)
TE Jermaine Wiggins (Minnesota)
T Tony Pashos (Baltimore)
S Kevin McCadam (Carolina)
Subtractions:
TE Kyle Brady (New England)
WR Cortez Hankton (Minnesota)
S Deon Grant (Seattle)
Draft choices:
1 (21) Reggie Nelson, db, Florida
2 (48) Justin Durant, lb, Hampton
3 (79) Mike Walker, wr, Central Florida
4 (101) Adam Podlesh, p, Maryland
4 (113) Brian Smith, de, Missouri
5 (149) Uche Nwaneri, g, Purdue
5 (150) Josh Gattis, db, Wake Forest
5 (166) Derek Landri, dt, Notre Dame
7 (229) John Broussard, wr, San Jose St.
7 (251) Chad Nkang, lb, Elon
7 (252) Andrew Carnahan, ot, Arizona St.
 It's been a stand-pat type of offseason for the Jaguars, and this is probably a good thing. Jacksonville was good at everything except winning football games in 2006, and instead of overreacting they kept the core together and tinkered around the edges, perhaps hoping for the magic formula that will get them over the edge in close games (7 of 8 losses last year were by a TD or less).
The one area where the Jags were fairly weak was in the passing game (they ranked in the top 10 in almost every other category, on both sides of the ball). Despite picking receivers or tight ends in the first round from 2004-06 (and picking Byron Leftwich in 2003), the Jags were just 15th in passing yards per attempt last season (6.05).
They added two unique pieces to that puzzle, going against their "bigger is better" credo and adding two undersized playmakers: 6-foot, 2-inch TE Jermaine Wiggins (averaged 62 catches for the Vikings the last three seasons) and 170-pound WR Dennis Northcutt (4th in the NFL with 11.1 yards per punt return in 2006, 3 punt return TDs in his career). Also, third-round pick Mike Walker of Central Florida had 90 catches last season as a senior.
None of the three may amount to anything in Jacksonville, but the thinking is right: add playmakers to an offense that stagnated at times last year.
Jacksonville attempted to fill a need in the first round, tabbing S Reggie Nelson from the explosive national champion Florida defense to replace S Deon Grant. A total of 11 draft picks should add plenty of competition to a team that, a times (such as in the 44-17 win over Indy in December) had the aura of a Super Bowl-caliber club.
Fillability grade: B-plus
TENNESSEE (8-8) Where they ranked in 2006
|
Total O |
Score O |
Rush O |
Pass O |
Total D |
Score D |
Rush D |
Pass D |
|
27 |
16 |
5 |
30 |
32 |
31 |
30 |
27 |
Additions:
WR Justin Gage (Chicago)
CB Nick Harper (Indianapolis)
LB Ryan Fowler (Dallas)
S Bryan Scott (Atlanta)
RB Travis Henry (Denver)
WR Bobby Wade (Minnesota)
WR Drew Bennett (St. Louis)
DT Robaire Smith (Cleveland)
LB Colby Bockwoldt (San Francisco)
1 (19) Michael Griffin, s, Texas
2 (50) Chris Henry, rb, Arizona
3 (80) Paul Williams, wr, Fresno St.
4 (115) Leroy Harris, c, N.C. State
4 (128) Chris Davis, wr, Florida St.
5 (152) Antonio Johnson, dt, Mississippi St.
6 (188) Joel Filani, wr, Texas Tech
6 (204) Jacob Ford, de, Central Arkansas
6 (206) Ryan Smith, db, Florida
7 (223) Mike Otto, ot, Purdue
 A closer look at the Tennessee Titans of 2006 shows them for what they were – a bottom-feeder team with two huge playmakers (Vince Young and Pacman Jones) and a knack for dramatics. They ran the ball well (Young), made SportsCenter a lot (Young) and sucked at everything else.
In fact, it's a tribute to the phenom Young's explosive potential and rare leadership skills that he sparked the Titans to so many victories (8 in 13 games) playing with what was probably the single worst all-around defense in football last year. Just think of what he might do with, you know, a nearly mediocre defense.
Fortunately for the Titans, they didn't buy into all the hype surrounding Young and the 8-8 finish and decide to go for quick fixes here in the off-season. They stayed away from the usually overpriced free-agency market, and added 10 rookies through the draft to go with their young (24 on May 18) QB.
The Titans don't just have holes to fill, they have gaping, Jenna Jameson-sized chasms. Their defense was horrible by any measurement in 2006, with the exception of Jones – who will miss at least half the 2007 season, depending on how the appeal of his yearlong suspension goes. Chances are he'll be allowed to play some, but will it matter?
They did add a former Young teammates, Texas safety Michael Griffin, in the first round. He and free agent CB Nick Harper could help the Titans stay afloat in the secondary ( 25th in defensive passer rating last year, at 86.0). But they used their next four picks on offense.
So what about the defensive line? Tennessee was a well-deserved No. 32 in the Defensive Hog Index in 2006, and they've ignored the position on draft day for three straight seasons now (no Day 1 picks since 2003).
Tennessee also seemed to take a step back in the running game with the release of Travis Henry. The Titans spent a second-round draft pick on Arizona RB Chris Henry, when they had a perfectly good Henry already. Travis averaged 4.5 YPA last year, while LenDale White and Chris Brown combined for a 3.92 YPA on 100 carries.
Despite all the momentum of an 8-8 surprise year, the Titans don't seem to be going in the right direction. They rode Young, Henry and Jones to a magical season. But with Henry and Jones gone, and the defense unimproved, the Titans are going to need Young to beat the "Madden Jinx" and make a huge step forward from a good rookie season.
Fillability grade: C-minus
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