The fact is that last year's decision to draft Mario Williams forever branded Texans management as completely inept.  No matter what they do, the media is going to criticize them.  

Sign Ahman Green?  He's over the hill.  Trade for Matt Schaub?  They paid too much.  Cut David Carr?  They were morons not to get something in trade for him.  Or they ruined him, never gave him a chance, etc.

I for one can't wait until the Texans win a Super Bowl with Mario at DE.  That should shut some of the haters up.

Shoe, I hadn't thought of the possibility of another QB pulling an Eli and refusing to play for an expansion team because of Carr, but that makes sense.  I think it's a completely bush league move to make (free agents get to choose where they play, not draftees), but I remember hearing that a big reason Vick reneged on his decision to stay in school in 2001 was that he didn't want to play for an expansion team.  Had he stayed in school (like he initially said he would), he certainly would have been the first pick in 2002 and become a Texan.

I'll say this--Carr gets too much of the blame for the Texans' failures, but he certainly is not free of blame.  Word is that he never put in the time necessary to be a starting QB, preferring to head home early most days.  I'm not criticizing the guy for wanting to see his family, but it bears mention that folks in the Houston organization didn't think he was doing everything he could to be successful.  For crying out loud, the decision to cut his mane in 2004 made for more positive coverage than anything he ever did on the field!

And while he got the crap beat out of him because of a bad OL for years, many of the sacks he took were the result of him running out of bounds unnecessarily when the slightest bit of pressure appeared.  Really, it's a chicken/egg argument, but I truly thought things were in place for Carr to succeed last season (QB guru in Gary Kubiak, better line, legit No. 2 WR in Eric Moulds, legit TE in Jeb Putzier/Owen Daniels, etc.).  Sadly, it didn't happen, and now we're back to square one at the QB position.  Well, maybe slightly better than square one, given that Schaub has some NFL experience.  I'd say we're at Square Two.

No doubt, BTBD.  He showed such promise early, and then the wheels just fell off.  I think his ticket was punched when he opted to sit out last season instead of even attempting to play through the knee pain, which I seem to recall doctors telling him would always be there.

Sad to see him go so unceremoniously, but the future is bright with Green, Dayne, Lundy, and Taylor.  Best of luck to Domanick.