Controversy At LT?

by Tim on May 10, 2008 10:50 AM CDT in News Comment 14 comments

First day of mini-camp is over, and Megan Manfull reports that it's not all sunshine and lollipops at Reliant Park. Seems master thespian and incumbent LT Ephraim Salaam was none too pleased to learn that some dude who's been a Texan for less than a month was getting all the reps with the first team:

Salaam refused to talk to the media after either of the practices. That is unusual for the media-savvy 10-year-veteran. He is clearly unhappy with the decision by Gary Kubiak to put him on the second team.

On one hand, I think I'd be bent if I was Salaam too. Brown has done nothing to earn the job besides being drafted in the first round. You'd think that Brown would have to show he could beat Salaam out on the field before being handed a promotion. On the other hand, Salaam may be getting bent out of shape over nothing. It's the first mini-camp. Brown is raw, and he's going to get beat early and often. The coaching staff will see that, and the guy who's better situated to protect The Schaub come September 7, 2008 will be the guy who gets the starting nod, first-round draft pick or not. On yet another hand (yes, I realize that's three (3) hands; bear with me here), it makes all the sense in the world to get Brown as many reps with the first team as humanly possible. As Matt observed, the relative inexperience possessed by Brown, the relatively short-term presence of Alex Gibbs, and the indisputable fact that D. Brown was drafted to protect the QB's blind side for the next ten (10) years practically demands that Brown take his share of lumps as rapidly as is necessary to get him entrenched and comfortable on the OL.

Kubes' actions thus far aside, I do not think we can pencil D. Brown in to start come Week One just yet. He's going to have to convince the coaches that he's less likely to get The Schaub killed than Salaam is over the next three (3) months to earn the gig. The good news for Brown (and the bad news for Salaam) is that it looks like the coaches are going to give him every opportunity to do it.

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I think you're seeing great coaching here!

Make the kid step up and get beat up by Mario. If he gets to where he can protect Schaub from that beast, he’ll be good to go. Also with this new system, why not start the new guy immediately. Make him earn his stripes early, the coaches have confidence in their pick. That’s a good thing. I like the bold new, athletic look of the Texans myself.

by 1Texan on May 10, 2008 11:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Much Ado About Nothing

Does any one here really believe Ephraim Salaam needs mini camp reps? How long has he been in the league? He was brought to the Texans to be a back up that could back up either tackle position. If you have a backup lineman that can back up multiple positions, then that leaves more roster spots for other players, like running backs receivers etc. You shouldn’t have to keep planning to lose all 5 starting offensive linemen during the course of the year.

Which begs an answer to, exactly how is Ephraim Salaam expected to answer the question when a reporter shoves a mic in his face and asks “So how does it feel not having Mario Williams knock you on your butt this mini camp?” Sometimes the best answer is none at all.

Even though some of the veterans didn’t end the season on the injured list, they’re still healing from last winter, and don’t really need to do much except pay attention to the coaches and stay in shape until the real training camp starts.

Texans don't just love football, when a son is born in the state of Texas, before he gets home from the hospital, there's a footbal waiting in his crib.

Football in Texas, not just a state of mind but a whole religion.

by Tomriffic on May 10, 2008 11:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Much Ado

Points taken on the lack of reps a veteran like Salaam needs in mini-camp and the no-win situation surrounding him talking to the media about the situation after practice; both are solid observations. I read Manfull’s article to mean that not only was Brown going to get the majority of snaps in mini-camp, but that he’s also the favorite to win the starting gig at LT, and that was why Salaam was hacked off. Regardless, I think you’re right—we shouldn’t read too much into it just yet.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 10, 2008 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mesquitte or Hickory

To me mini camp is a like a corporate barbque for helmet heads, cause that’s all they’re wearing helmets. They’re not in full dress uniform. They might as well be wearing name tags. If Duane Brown shows enough progress and is ready by the start of the season he’ll probably start. They didn’t draft him to polish pine with his back side. But, as all us knowledgeable fans know left tackle is the most technically challenging line position in the NFL, unless your QB is a southpaw. I read the article to mean that as the Texans first pick in the draft he is being treated as just another offensive lineman on the Texans but he has no experience working with the first team, and if he should not be quite ready to start on opening day, there’s nothing stopping some Titan defensive lineman from throwing his whole body on Ephrain Salaam’s calves just below the knee, and forcing Duane Brown in as a starter any way. I’m not an Ephraim Salaam fan, but I do appreciate his workmanlike production. Ephraim Sallam wasn’t the starter until Charles Spencer got the cartilage in his knee destroyed. I do wonder about the place of Brandon Frye, as he’s pretty athletic too, but also needs to be coached up on technique. As one poster pointed out, maybe he didn’t talk to the press because that’s an Alex Gibbs lineman thing. Come to think of it, with the way the Texans line has been racked with injury, being the starter might be more of a curse than an endorsement. From the photos at the chron, it’s obvious some of the younger players are taking mini camp more seriously than the vets, but you know, 10 photo’s isn’t sufficient proof to start a war. Given the situation that Duane Brown could be suddenly marched on to the field with an important game on the line, to me, it’s just simple common sense to have him as prepared as possible. I don’t know what else there really is to say except they’ve been running around in their shorts with helmets on their heads for 2 days, though I sure said a lot of other stuff gettin to the obvious.

Texans don't just love football, when a son is born in the state of Texas, before he gets home from the hospital, there's a footbal waiting in his crib.

Football in Texas, not just a state of mind but a whole religion.

by Tomriffic on May 10, 2008 9:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kubiak knows what he's doing

As Tomirrific has astutely noted “Does any one here really believe Ephraim Salaam needs mini camp reps? How long has he been in the league?”

D. Brown is the future at LT and the only way to find out how far he has to go & what he has to learn is to throw him in there vs Mario et. al. If half of what has been said about his tremendous agility & athletic abilities is true, then he should be starting very soon, maybe even by opening day.

I am really stoked about the way Smith and Kubiak are upgrading the roster through free agnecy and the draft. Going into the draft popular opinion was that the defense could use a corner, an edge rusher and an impact safety. We got a good corner in Molden, who will compete with Bennett and Reeves for a starting position. Xavier Adibi may provide the pass rushing speed we seek, and don’t yet rule out Dominique Barber contributing at safety. I really love the 5th round pick, Frank Okam. If the coaches can get him to get his motor revved up consistently then he should immediately step into the rotation. Mario, Amobi and Okam (with either Weaver or Cochran) looks like a nice combo up front.

Don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but this year’s model already looks to be a significant upgrade vs ‘07, and that team ended the season playing pretty well.

by oiler-texan diehard on May 10, 2008 12:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't Jinx It

But yeah…the improvements made by Smithiak this offseason have me more optimistic about playing into January than ever before.

On a personal note, OTD—glad to have you aboard. Hope to read more from you soon.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 10, 2008 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Tim

I have been enjoying your posts for a while, so it was time to put my 2 cents worth in.

I read you post about projected starters on offense. Nice work. How about the D?

All of the added LB’s and DB’s should make for some interesting competition for the 3rd LB and safety positions. Megan Manfull (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5770410.html) projects the starters as Bennett, Reeves, Demps & CC. That certainly is the way it stands now. Bennett was the best CB on the team at the end of the last season and we have too much invested in Reeves to not let him start. I expect Molden to earn the nickel position and hopefully push both starters to get better, and there’s the return of Daunte to look forward to at some point. We need to get better/faster at the safety positions. I am interested to see how Dominique Barber and Nick Ferguson will fit in. I like Demps’, CC’s and Earl’s hitting ability, but we need to get faster. That may have to wait until the next offseason. Here’s hoping that the front four can provide just enough pressure to not expose our weakness at the safety posiitons.

Pour me another glass of the Koolaid. Go Texans!!!!!!!!!!!

by oiler-texan diehard on May 11, 2008 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Defensive Starters

My best guess at projecting the defensive starters will be coming in the next day or so. I think Manfull’s right about the likely starting secondary though, and I believe you’re spot-on with your takes on Bennett, Reeves, and Molden.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on May 11, 2008 8:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Regardless of how he pass-blocks...

I think that Brown aught to be so great for the running game that Schaub will wind up dropping back and throwing the ball at least five times less per game. The running game is what’s going to end up saving Schaub’s life. Once opposing LBs and DEs realize that they have to respect the run, he won’t get mauled on play-actions quite as much.

So thank you Salaam for a pretty solid season considering what we expected (and considering the alternative). But I think I’m ready to move on and see our team be able to run the ball to both sides of the field.

by Nashmeister on May 10, 2008 5:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It's not about reps.

I fully agree with anyone who says that Salaam doesn’t need a lot of mini-camp reps. We know what we have in him-a C LT. Whatever. The surprising part and the part that is getting people’s attention is that Kubiak is already basically calling the kid the starter by saying that he is #1 on the depth chart at LT.

Just like how, for example, Diles and Adibi might get more reps than DeMeco through the preseason, one can usually assume that the new guys will get more burn than the starters because there is no need to beat up the starters. But no one in his right mind would think Adibi was suddenly the starter at MLB just because he was getting reps. Kubiak has said as much for Brown, though. THAT is the surprise.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on May 12, 2008 7:16 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Stunned

Truely stunned. I’m not even talking about the squabble at LT either…

Got Texans? Visit BattleRedBlog.com for the latest news and views of your Houston Texans!

by SOLIS on May 12, 2008 10:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm...

did you find nude pics of me on the internet?

Yay, sports.

by MDC on May 13, 2008 10:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nothing Shocking

Standing in the shower thinking
About a man I know don’t like me
He don’t like the place I’m headed
Same place he’s headed…
I know he’d beat me to it
If he could but he won’t do it
But he would man
If he could…
And the water is piping hot..
The water is piping hot
It beats upon my neck
And I’m pissing on myself…

Pig’s in Zen and Idiot’s Rule homeboy…

Got Texans? Visit BattleRedBlog.com for the latest on your Houston Texans!

by SOLIS on May 14, 2008 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs