Comcast Presents: A Look Back At Houston's 2009 First-Round Draft Pick

by Tim on Apr 21, 2010 7:00 AM CDT in Comcast Sponsored Posts

As announced previously in this space, Comcast has generously agreed to support the best NFL community around--us. As part of that effort, between now and the end of the 2010 NFL season, Comcast will be sponsoring a variety of special editorial and interactive features on our site. They begin today with the launch of the Comcast HD War Room, your weekly destination for key draft insight and opinion. Welcome!

Remember April 2009? Remember April 25, 2009? Remember April 25, 2009 on BRB? Let's take a quick stroll down memory lane after the jump, shall we?

In the days leading up to the 2009 NFL Draft, the prevailing opinion, at least around these parts, was that your Houston Texans could go in any number of directions with their first-round draft pick (No. 15 overall) without much of a revolt from the fan base. As long as the direction they went was not Brian Cushing, all would be fine. Considerable space was devoted to the myriad reasons why Cushing would be a terrible selection; I have neither the time nor the inclination to review all of it, so I'll simply link to this post by Jake (a/k/a/ "Scott II") to give you a taste of how many of us felt.

And what happened? Brian Cushing became a Texan. At the time, I, in my predictably even-keeled, understated manner, wrote as follows:

Well, I hate this pick more than any other pick Smithiak has ever made. I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. I hate life.

Vent as you see fit. I'm going to be catatonic until the second round.

News flash: I was wrong. Horribly, terribly, unabashedly, 100% wrong. So wrong that I should not opine on anything draft-related ever again.

So...I'm going to do my best to remember last year when your Houston Texans make their first-round pick tomorrow night. I'm going to remember last year after every pick, for that matter.

Unless the Texans take Ryan Mathews. If that happens, I WILL LOSE IT. WHEN WILL YOU REALIZE I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR THE TEXANS, SMITHIAK?

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Ryan Mathews

if hes picked ill be Disappointed but i wont hate it, i mean he could be great right?

living the Texas dream

by Joe25 on Apr 21, 2010 7:14 AM CDT reply actions

last year

i hated the pick but was ok with it the next day bcz it still filled a great need and he was a good player even tho i wanted matthews….THIS Year i will hate it if we take Matthews. I dont think RB is a need that we need to fill b4 round 3 (tho I have softened up to the idea of taking Tate in round 2!)

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Apr 21, 2010 7:21 AM CDT reply actions

Isn't it interesting that Last Year

We all Wanted MATTHEWS but this year we don’t

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Apr 21, 2010 7:21 AM CDT reply actions

I think it's funny...

that I somehow managed to trump even your overreaction.

" If CB is a big hole, Dunta was the shovel."
- Rivers McCown

by MDC on Apr 21, 2010 8:15 AM CDT reply actions

And Jake...

I remember him calling me immediately after the pick, drunk and totally despondent. He was supposed to do the write-up but was so depressed with the pick that he told me he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

And now he’s vanished. Maybe Cushing winning DROY broke him.

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

by Tim on Apr 21, 2010 8:39 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

1st post in that thread...

I laid 100% of the blame on Jake for the pick.

And then MDC goes on such a rant that he blamed Richard Smith for it.

Good times…..good times.

If the Treasury Secretary doesn't have to pay taxes, then why do I?

by Shake on Apr 21, 2010 9:02 AM CDT up reply actions

Has MDC

Promoted him back to Rick Smith yet?

by Jordann on Apr 21, 2010 10:15 AM CDT up reply actions

I still blame Richard...

for pretty much everything that ever goes wrong. I hate that guy.

" If CB is a big hole, Dunta was the shovel."
- Rivers McCown

by MDC on Apr 21, 2010 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions

Rec'd

for insinuating that Cush winning DROY is the reason for Jake’s disappearance.

by Jordann on Apr 21, 2010 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions

I wasn't yet a BRB'er at this point last year

so I had no idea there was such an anti-Cushing sentiment around here. Mocks had us taking him, Matthews, or Malcom Jenkins so I wasn’t really against any of those and after doing some research on Cushing, I figured he’d be a physical presence at LB that we needed (which is exactly what he is).

Was it the injury history or just bad scouting that led to this large BRB misconception?

by leacheatsbabies on Apr 21, 2010 8:26 AM CDT reply actions

Injuries plus

his inability to cover plus his lack of heads-up tackles.

" If CB is a big hole, Dunta was the shovel."
- Rivers McCown

by MDC on Apr 21, 2010 8:29 AM CDT up reply actions

Shame that DGDB&D post about his film career isn't around anymore.

That was golden.

I'll eliminate you like I eliminate gluten from my diet.

by tehGrindCrusher on Apr 21, 2010 8:31 AM CDT up reply actions

Revised

Shame that DGDB&D ~~post about his film career~~ isn’t around anymore.

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

by Tim on Apr 21, 2010 8:39 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

Yeah

I miss that place.

by Vega on Apr 21, 2010 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions

Whoa!

Back from the deepest, darkest corners of Bleacher report?

by Jordann on Apr 21, 2010 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions

Nah, I bailed on that place already.

I just write dumb shit on the bathroom wall at work these days. It’s like being at DGDB&D again.

by Vega on Apr 21, 2010 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs

As Long as your not writing on the bathroom walls with Shit

Everything’s cool.

"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair

by papabear on Apr 21, 2010 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Awesome.

That’s an epitaph for the old blog if I’ve ever seen one.

" If CB is a big hole, Dunta was the shovel."
- Rivers McCown

by MDC on Apr 21, 2010 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions

That explains

why I saw BFD’s digits next to the word “pandasex” at work.

by Jordann on Apr 21, 2010 6:10 PM CDT up reply actions

Rec'd

If the Treasury Secretary doesn't have to pay taxes, then why do I?

by Shake on Apr 21, 2010 9:48 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah he still may not be a good covering LB

neither is Demeco though (Vernon Davis eating him alive last year). I think it was a good situation for both to play next to eachother because Demeco was coming off a subpar year and Cushing was a rookie with question marks and they both raised their game to another level playing alongside eachother.

by leacheatsbabies on Apr 21, 2010 8:40 AM CDT up reply actions

in other words

maybe Cush wouldn’t of been as good on another team?

by leacheatsbabies on Apr 21, 2010 8:41 AM CDT up reply actions

I wont be mad

if they pick someone like Mathews. I will be disappointed, but seriously Smithiak has picked some nice gems over the years so I will default to the fact they know a fuck ton more about football players than I do and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Be judgmental about the actions of the past, be hopeful about the actions of the future. -The Homers Creed

by DaGoaT on Apr 21, 2010 8:58 AM CDT reply actions

I think the last

First round pick the Texans made I agreed with completely was Amobi Okoye, and that’s really worked out well…

by JimboTexan on Apr 21, 2010 8:59 AM CDT reply actions

Yes, perhaps we should draft this rule

Bylaw 3; Ordinance 302: All draft players overwhelmingly supported by BRB should NOT be drafted, and accordingly, all draft players overwhelmingly disdained and shunned by BRB MUST be drafted, on account of said players’ common propensity to become ROY candidates.

by leacheatsbabies on Apr 21, 2010 9:25 AM CDT up reply actions

Wait

…Then we might end up with guys like Tebow.

"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair

by papabear on Apr 21, 2010 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions

hmmm

It’s almost too bad that BRB wasnt’ around for the Travis Johnson pick. That could have led to some epic ranting.

I can only hope to be good and drunk by the time the Texans trade down tomorrow night.

by grungedave on Apr 21, 2010 9:33 AM CDT reply actions

I was in a Philly bar

And I was furious. Yelling at the TV and shit. The people there loved me, BTW. Told me I was just like a real Eagles fan. In retrospect, I think it was a back-handed compliment.

A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com

by bigfatdrunk on Apr 21, 2010 9:52 AM CDT up reply actions

Based on the schedule

The Texans need to go strong on the O-line in this draft!!!

Can anyone with a sane mind think otherwise?

I suppose if all of the stars, moons and planets align it could be possible, but what are the chances of that?

by Rip Jersey on Apr 21, 2010 9:41 AM CDT reply actions

I feel you

This season is going to be the mother of all grinds…WE NEED TO GET MORE PHYSICAL.

Dan Williams if he’s there at 20..CB/S in 2nd…OG 3rd..THEN RB in the 4th

by leacheatsbabies on Apr 21, 2010 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions

Ah, good ole days.

I remember Brian Crushing registering for an account and kept posting “BRAIN CRUSHING” everywhere in the site hoping that it would stick.

But it didn’t.

by Jordann on Apr 21, 2010 10:18 AM CDT reply actions

by TexansDC on Apr 21, 2010 3:43 PM CDT up reply actions

The awesome part...

Was 6-8 games into the season when he was playing great, and people were still throwing ridiculous arguments out there to avoid giving him any sort of credit.

by Nashmeister on Apr 21, 2010 11:47 PM CDT reply actions