Texans Down 'N Dirty: Dunta's March To The Sea Edition

I started writing for Battle Red Blog about the Houston Texans late in the 2008 season.  That offseason the topic de jour was what should be done about unrestricted free agent Dunta Robinson.  After suffering a horrific injury in 2007, Dunta managed to rehab and return for the end of the next season, although he was obviously not close to 100%.  Some fans were in favor of rewarding Robinson for being the emotional leader of the defense for some time with a long-term deal.  Some were in favor of applying the franchise tag, which would surely anger the former first round pick, while others were in favor of letting him walk all together.

In the end, General Manager Rick Smith opted for the franchise tag, there were barbs thrown out by both sides through the media, and shoes were written on.  Dunta went on to have an underwhelming season to say the least, and was allowed to walk and eventually sign with the Atlanta Falcons the next offseason.  Dunta was not met with rave reviews from his new home in Georgia this year, as by almost all accounts he was regularly exposed by opposing quarterbacks and was outshined by Brent Grimes. 

Some good will come of the Dunta situation though, right?  He left to sign a relatively huge deal and started almost the whole season for the Falcons, which would earn the Texans a high compensatory pick, an unheard of phenomenon in Houston.  Rivers McCown thinks not, and his logic is pretty solid.  Even if he is wrong and the Texans get higher than a seventh round pick, it won't be much higher I'm sure.  For news that won't make you finally throw away your limited edition "Pay Me Rick" kicks in the garbage, follow the jump.

Glover Quin is the only cornerback on the roster that played alongside Dunta in the 2009 season.  It has been widely hypothesized that GQ will be moved to free safety, and in an interview with Drew Dougherty he stated that he was willing to do whatever the coaching staff asked him to in transition to the new 3-4 defense.

If Quin is in fact moved to safety, at least one corner will have to be added to the roster to replace him, but hopefully more than that, given that the secondary was so terrible last season.  Tom Gower broke down the entire AFC South to include the Texans in terms of roster deficiencies and how they might be fixed through the draft and free agency.

One option as a free agent corner is former Washington Redskin Carlos Rogers.  As Diehard Chris points out in his latest free agent file, Rogers is using the deal the Falcons gave Dunta as a measuring stick for what he's looking for.  Yeah.

Daniel Charles took his first stab himself at how the Texans might select players in the draft with his first seven round, Texans mock draft.  I personally like the Sione Fua and Jeron Johnson picks.

While Daniel had the Texans selecting Missouri DE/OLB Aldon Smith in the first round, another possibility is UCLA OLB Akeem Ayers.  Doug Farrar wrote a scouting report on the Bruin linebacker, and for a more Texans-centric look, you can check out Alan Burge's latest draft watch installment on Ayers.  I personally would like the Ayers pick... a lot.  More to follow shortly.

Lastly, Patrick from the Texans Tribune caught up with the Bulls Eye Tailgaters, who recently won the inaugural Bing Tailgating Championship.  Kudos to the BET crew for representing Houston fans so well.