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2021 Houston Texans - (1 Viewer)

Obviously, I am not convinced the Texans can win in the playoffs against Good QB's. However the difference between being a #2 seed and a #3 seed is huge. At number 2 they get a bye, most likely host the Patriots or Steelers, and then probably go on the road to the Chiefs or Chargers to get to the Super Bowl. At 3 they would mostly likely host the Ravens in the WC, then have to win Road games at NE and KC/LA.

I didn't think the Eagles would beat the Rams last night, but they play the games for a reason. If the Texans can keep the #2 seed they definitely have a shot to get to the Super Bowl.

 
Yeah, crazy to think they could have a BYE. Gotta take care of business against PHI & JAX who will be no pushovers. JAX would love to play the spoiler on a possible BYE for us if it's in play.

None of the top seeds or wildcard contenders look totally unbeatable (ourselves included.) If we could get a BYE and win, you might even be looking at hosting a home conference title game which would be insane. Not trying to put the cart before the horse, but it is fun to dream.

 
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Eagles are one of the two teams we've never beat.  Vikings being the other.  Let's get it done!

 
Sunday's game should be a good barometer as to where the Texans are right now. They play a team with playoff experience who is basically playing a playoff game as they are fighting for their lives for the second straight week. If the Texans can beat the Eagles on the road, I think that will go along way towards convincing people that the Texans can beat a good team, that they are not just feasting on a weak schedule.

 
@dhockster my friend, I hope you are able to enjoy the ride we've been on.  Sometimes I worry you're too focused on where they are as a team to enjoy the good parts.  I want a championship and want them to replace the Pats as the eminent team.  But however the playoffs go and the season, it has been a great ride with close wins and I've had a lot of up weeks riding on the high of a Texans win.  I hope you're not so focused on the playoffs you're not letting yourself enjoy a 10+ win season fully after how many downs we've had over the franchise's history.  Especially last year.

 
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In another thread I think it was an ESPN link to odds on the current field of playoff bound and on the cusp teams for making the playoffs, winning the division, winning the SuperBowl, etc. we were pretty far down there at 4% odds on the SB win. I don't think anyone except for the most delusion fans think we are solid lock to make noise in the playoffs.

But that is why we play the games, someone posted in the Gurley thread "they may as well sit him this week since the Rams won't need him to win." Nevermind that the Rams have lost 2 in a row and are in danger of having their BYE slip away as they don't have the tiebreaker against Chicago.

 
GregR said:
@dhockster my friend, I hope you are able to enjoy the ride we've been on.  Sometimes I worry you're too focused on where they are as a team to enjoy the good parts.  I want a championship and want them to replace the Pats as the eminent team.  But however the playoffs go and the season, it has been a great ride with close wins and I've had a lot of up weeks riding on the high of a Texans win.  I hope you're not so focused on the playoffs you're not letting yourself enjoy a 10+ win season fully after how many downs we've had over the franchise's history.  Especially last year.
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You have to remember that I am a native Philadelphian who has lived in Houston since 1992 so I root for both the Eagles and the Texans. Being an Eagles' fan first has probably made me somewhat cynical. I have seen plenty of teams have really good regular seasons only to fall short in the playoffs. Up until last year I was convinced the Eagles would never win the Super Bowl. I was so happy to be wrong.

With the Texans, I think my cynicism is mostly directed at Bill O'Brien. As a whole the team has come together and played well together and I think the offensive line has played really well with the amount of talent they actually have. I just can't get over the feeling that in the playoffs when talent levels are pretty equal and coaching makes a big difference, that O'Brien will make some of the bonehead decisions he made early in the season.

The Texans have benefited from a favorable schedule in that one of the weak areas of their team, cornerbacks, has not been exploited due to them playing a lot of middle of the road, back-up, or rookie QB's. Plus they have benefited from bad coaching by opposing coaches (Reich, Garrett, Joseph). That's not the Texans fault, but it does give me pause because they will be playing good QB's and mostly good coaches in the playoffs.

I will get much more excited for the Texans chances if they win out and get the #2 seed. Having to win only 2 games to get to the Superbowl when at most one is on the road is so much easier than having to win 3 games when probably 2 of them will be on the road. 

I do appreciate that you are concerned that I am enjoying the season. It's always nice when someone cares about how you're feeling even if it is someone you just know over the internet. Happy Holidays to you, my friend.

 
dhockster said:
 I do appreciate that you are concerned that I am enjoying the season. It's always nice when someone cares about how you're feeling even if it is someone you just know over the internet. Happy Holidays to you, my friend.
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And Happy Holidays to you GB.  🎅   If you had some good karma that helped the Eagles to their win last year, hopefully there's some left for the Texans this year.  Be sure to help any nuns across the street if the chance presents itself. :)

 
GregR said:
And Happy Holidays to you GB.  🎅   If you had some good karma that helped the Eagles to their win last year, hopefully there's some left for the Texans this year.  Be sure to help any nuns across the street if the chance presents itself. :)
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Will do!

 
So looks like we're locked into either the #3 or #6 seed.

Beat the Jags /  Colts-Titans ends in a tie:   #3 seed and home for winner of Colts-Titans, or possibly another team (like Steelers) if they tied

Lose to Jags:   #6 seed and go on road to winner of Colts-Titans

 
Sure would have liked to have a bye this weekend, but at least it was a second solid win against Jacksonville.

I think it's about a coin flip this week.  As long as we have Deshaun I think we're in most every game and a shot to win at the end usually even if trailing.  Despite some of the areas that still need to be addressed, I'm optimistic about the future however these playoffs go.

 
Yeah, they really shouldn't have blown the BYE. It would have made a huge difference as I think the Colts would have had a good shot against NE to knock them out early.

Seems like the Colts got healthier and we have just gotten more and more banged up. I don't expect them to win this weekend as Indy is the hot team right now, but who knows.

 
Watt & Hopkins made 1st team ALL-Pro. 5th time for Watt, 2nd in a row for Hopkins who led all offensive players in votes.

 
I guess this is the result I expected but the margin of defeat was surprising at home.   Really uninspired play on both sides of the ball.  Seems like O'Brien always gets outcoached in important games.   Unfortunately, we're stuck with him and a first place schedule in 2019   :kicksrock:

 
Maybe Cal wants to put his own stamp on the organization and find his own coach? He has to see the evidence is in, especially after seeing that uninspired performance at home (again). Wishful thinking, I know. 

Draft focus clearly needs to be OL and CB.

I’d like to see the Texans in the mix for Bell too. Lamar is solid, but we’re missing another playmaker beyond Hopkins for Watson. Our WRs can’t seem to stay healthy and Bell would seem to fit in as a great pass catcher as well. 

 
Last night was the first Texan game I watched all year.   Does Watson jump when he throws all the time?  Seems liked he missed many easy completions as he was jumping needlessly.

 
Da Guru said:
Last night was the first Texan game I watched all year.   Does Watson jump when he throws all the time?  Seems liked he missed many easy completions as he was jumping needlessly.
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Still one of the worst O’line’s in the league. 62 sacks, 126 QB hits, a collapsed lung. Watson holds the ball too long at times, but they were starting street FA’s at WR and the TE’s are nearly zero’s in the passing game.

 
Jayded said:
Draft focus clearly needs to be OL and CB.
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Yes indeed, the two biggest weaknesses on full display yesterday. Kareem needs to not be resigned, he looked comically outmatched yesterday constantly getting burned and having to PI. We need a decent FA corner and help at tackle. The 1st and at least one 2nd spent on those same positions. A good WR that can stay healthy would be nice, Hopkins can’t do it all himself.

I’m not much of a fan of signing Bell, expensive combined with poop O’line, I doubt he’ll have much success running behind it. If they go that route, I hope I am wrong.

 
So what are BOB's signature wins in his 5 years? Year 1 at home against a 10-6 Ravens team? Year 2 on the road against a 12-4 Bengals team? Year 3 at home against a 12-4 Kansas City team? That's about it. I don't really count the playoff win against the Raiders because they were at home against Connor Cook. The raiders were not good without Carr. This year they beat the Colts early with a new coach who made a questionable call to go for the win which helped the Texans win, and then they beat the Cowboys before they had Cooper, and Garrett helped them out by punting on 4th and 1 at midfield in OT.

If Gaines can bring in some more talent this off season then the Texans can get better, but I believe BOB will always hold them back in big games and playoff games. I also think Romeo Crennel is highly overrated. The defense was 28th in yards passing against and really didn't face a lot of top level QB's (Brady, Luck twice). Next year their schedule looks a lot harder in terms of the quality of QB's they face.

 
I saw a stat that really made me scratch my head yesterday. Saturday was the first time a Deshaun Watson-led team has lost by more than one score since he was in high school.  That's amazing.

 
With a day of separation now...

You know, really to me this loss is on Deshaun.  He played bad.  Possibly the worst collection of passes he's thrown that I'm remembering. A lot of balls that were short of the mark.  Deep passes where he threw it to the side the DB was on rather than throwing it to the other side where the WR could open up space.

The defense was bad in the first half... but net sum here if anyone had offered us, "We'll let you hold the Colts to 21, or else take your luck with a random result", I think every single one of us would have chosen 21.  Doesn't excuse how bad they looked in the first half... but the game was still there to be won if the offense had done much of anything.

As much as I have criticized BOB's play calling at points earlier in the season, I was fairly happy with what he did this game. Had some deep passes which could have opened up the run (but they ended up not being the best of throws by Watson).   

They definitely need to focus on cornerback and offensive line.  Too many receivers running open with DBs trailing them.  Watson looked gunshy at points though I thought the line protected him pretty well until later in the game when the Colts went more blitz heavy.  

 
GregR said:
With a day of separation now...

You know, really to me this loss is on Deshaun.  He played bad.  Possibly the worst collection of passes he's thrown that I'm remembering. A lot of balls that were short of the mark.  Deep passes where he threw it to the side the DB was on rather than throwing it to the other side where the WR could open up space.

The defense was bad in the first half... but net sum here if anyone had offered us, "We'll let you hold the Colts to 21, or else take your luck with a random result", I think every single one of us would have chosen 21.  Doesn't excuse how bad they looked in the first half... but the game was still there to be won if the offense had done much of anything.

As much as I have criticized BOB's play calling at points earlier in the season, I was fairly happy with what he did this game. Had some deep passes which could have opened up the run (but they ended up not being the best of throws by Watson).   

They definitely need to focus on cornerback and offensive line.  Too many receivers running open with DBs trailing them.  Watson looked gunshy at points though I thought the line protected him pretty well until later in the game when the Colts went more blitz heavy.  
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Good analysis. I do think the Colts obviously went conservative in the second half as they were up by 21 and their running game was effective. Luck had 191 passing at half. If the game had gotten close, I think the Colts would have been able to pass more and score on the Texans. But I agree with your assessment about Watson. He has always showed up on the big stage, but he didn't look as comfortable on Saturday like he did when he was at Clemson.

 
Yes, agree that Colts likely could have scored more than they did if it had been more needed.

 
2019 opponents.

Home games: 

Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Colts
Jaguars
Titans

Road games:

Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Baltimore Ravens
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Colts
Jaguars
Titans

There might only be one or two weak opponents in that whole schedule.

 
GregR said:
2019 opponents.

Home games: 

Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Colts
Jaguars
Titans

Road games:

Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Baltimore Ravens
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Colts
Jaguars
Titans

There might only be one or two weak opponents in that whole schedule.
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Their road schedule is brutal. Unless Brian Gaine kills it in the draft and free agency, I think they take a step back, which ultimately will be good because I think they need to move on from Bill O'Brien and Romeo Crennel. I think come playoff time those two will always leave the Texans on the short end of the stick, especially with Marvin Lewis gone now.

 
JuniorNB said:
I saw a stat that really made me scratch my head yesterday. Saturday was the first time a Deshaun Watson-led team has lost by more than one score since he was in high school.  That's amazing.
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It's not that surprising when you dissect it.  Impressive that he has pulled that off in the NFL, although that was 7 games last year and one was an 8 point loss which is technically two scores.  But beyond that he played for Clemson.  He played in two big losses on 2014 but either didn't start or was splitting time at QB.  Clemson is a dominant team in a basketball conference.  Only two losses in his last two college seasons.  Jalen hurts is 4 points away from having the same accomplishment in college.

Great player but he has played on some excellent teams.

 
dhockster said:
Their road schedule is brutal. Unless Brian Gaine kills it in the draft and free agency, I think they take a step back, which ultimately will be good because I think they need to move on from Bill O'Brien and Romeo Crennel. I think come playoff time those two will always leave the Texans on the short end of the stick, especially with Marvin Lewis gone now.
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After the 0-3 start, I felt the only good thing that might have come out of 2018 was a clean house on the coaches. Instead we got a weak playoff exit. I see maybe a 6~8 win season at best with that schedule unless some of those teams take major steps back. Hopefully that means a new coaching regime, unfortunately IDK who’s worth hiring. Some of these new head coach hirings  this week would have me pretty disappointed if I was a fan of some other teams.

 
BassNBrew said:
It's not that surprising when you dissect it.  Impressive that he has pulled that off in the NFL, although that was 7 games last year and one was an 8 point loss which is technically two scores.  But beyond that he played for Clemson.  He played in two big losses on 2014 but either didn't start or was splitting time at QB.  Clemson is a dominant team in a basketball conference.  Only two losses in his last two college seasons.  Jalen hurts is 4 points away from having the same accomplishment in college.

Great player but he has played on some excellent teams.
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The college thing is understandable. The fact that it's also true if his NFL career is what blew my mind. That's impressive. 

 
Watson is a special talent and a winner.  Get him some protection and a WR or two that can stay on the field with Hopkins and I have no doubt that he will lead them to a title at some point.  The defensive window with Watt may be closing, though.  So there are other needs, of course, but the O-line is one of them.  I'd like to see him work behind, say, the Colts' O-line.  

 
So hopes for the offseason? Or at least, realistic hopes? They aren't firing their O'line coach as he is butt buddies with BOB so it comes down to hopefully player upgrades. An actual OC would be nice, but I can't see BOB bringing in an outsider that would challenge the conservative game-planning we hate. I think Gaine did ok for his 1st offseason with the biggest feather in his cap being nailing the Justin Reid pick and turning around one of the most dreadful special teams units for the better part of two decades. How he does this offseason will be critical if we are to have any hope against that schedule next year.

-Starting with the defense as I think most of this get addressed prior to FA, I don't want them to but seems almost certain Kareem will be resigned. If it's for something less than starting corner money I guess I can swallow it given the state of our corners. Say $8~9M per year? Cut Kevin Johnson to save $9M. I think Honey Badger resigns for reasonable stud starting safety money (it's a crowded FA class at safety which would motivate him to extend early) say $9~11M per year? I think Clowney gets franchised, he's not worth Donald or Mack money at this point and I read his franchise number is only like $15M. Outside of that, I wanted them to sign another corner last year and they didn't, it seems obvious they must this year and we've got the cash. Maybe Bradley Roby on a 1 year prove it deal? Ronald Darby will likely be expensive and is coming off a torn ACL, I am hesitant on Pats guys so not real interested in McCourty. I'd spend one of the 2nd's on a corner (it's a deep class so should be good ones available later) and the other on an OLB'er as Mercilus play really fell off and his contract is up after 2019. Resign Chris Covington.

-Offense: Obviously focus on O'line, I am hoping we open our wallets for one of Daryl Williams or Ja'Wuan James. Solidify the right tackle spot, and let revolving door Lamm walk. The resigning of Henderson though may mean they aren't looking to spend for a RT. 1st rounder obviously on a LT, maybe Rankin could grow into an upgrade at guard or a swing tackle then. Sucks with the injury, but cut DT due to his $14M salary. Maybe you can work something out with an incentive laden reduced extension, but I think it's more likely they will cut and then wait for him to rehab and keep the door open if he can come back. Resign DeAndre Carter for punt and kickoff returns. I'd spend our 3rd on either another o'linemen (especially if no big FA signings) or on a RB since Miller is in the last year of his contract, Blue sucks, and Foreman I doubt will ever be the same. Spend a late pick on a backup QB.

-Wishlist: Obviously open their wallets for multiple O'line signings. Sign not 1 but 2 corners. I'd love to grab an expensive FA pass rusher like a Dee Ford if he makes it to FA to go with Watt & Clowney, you could spend that extra 2nd rounder somewhere else to fill a hole or build depth.

-As for Salary cap, they are at a projected $67M in space. Cut DT, KevJ, and franchise Clowney puts you at $75M. Subtract out Honey Badger & Kareem, Covington and other depth guys probably leaves you with $50M still to spend. You could easily throw $10M per year each at a top RT and cornerback and still be left with $30M. That's enough to frontload someone's extension/contract or extend Clowney if it makes sense, or spend on another lineman, corner or splurge on a guy like LeVeon Bell or Dee Ford, etc. Or they could roll that over (2018's roll over is only $18M) and have a boatload of cap space for FA's or a Clowney extension in 2020.

 
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As expected, but made official: Clowney tagged at the outside linebacker position (so probably some sort of arbitration on the DE amount if they can't reach a long-term deal by July 15th.) Also official is bust Kevin Johnson being cut saving $9M in salary.

About 5 days left to negotiate extensions with Honey Badger and/or Kareem Jackson. Kareem supposedly has posted on social media that he won't be back, that's fine with me but I'm not sure I'd prefer us breaking the bank for Honey Badger in his place. We're in the neighborhood of about $61M available once you account for draft picks according to SportTrac who has a much lower number available than OverTheCap. Probably need to reserve a few million more for that Clowney arbitration just in case.

Fingers crossed for at least one addition on O'line and at CB next week.

 
I think they need to sign a CB, Olineman, and safety. Then based on how the draft plays out fill in holes appropriately and not reach for need positions.

 
S Tashaun Gipson for 3 years, $22M. Texans value shopping once again.

I am okay with it considering Washington paid silly money to Collins and blew up the safety market. Honey Badger wasn't worth $14M per year and Kareem wasn't worth $11M per as both were liabilities in coverage IMO. I would have preferred someone like Adrian Amos, I don't like that we are going after more Jaguars cast-offs (Colvin, Cecil Shorts.) I guess they love guys that blow up playing against us.

Don't like nothing at O'line or corner yet. Denver paid ridic money to Ja'Wuan James, but I think its beyond foolish for Gain to be saying at the combine that Seantral Henderson is our starting RT given his injury history. I had hoped that was a smokescreen.

Corner was pretty quiet yesterday, so maybe we'll see some moves today.

 
Ex-Broncos CB Roby to sign deal with Texans

Former Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby told 9News in Denver that he intends to sign a one-year, $10 million contract with the Houston Texans.

He told 9News that he turned down a three-year offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers and a one-year offer with the San Francisco 49ers.

 
I really want to try to understand this team's strategy when it comes to FA and it seems every year it's grab bag. A few years ago they finally swung and got Osweiler and Miller. Most of us were at least happy they finally took a swing instead of staring at strike three with the bat on shoulders like most years.

Last year they at least got Mathieu and I figured maybe they were beyond "going for it" like they seemed to be under Smith. Then this year it's crickets again with some glaring needs across the team and plenty of cap space.

If they don't intend to sign any more free agents, what is the hold up at all for extending some of the stars currently on the roster that they should extend?

I would like them to at least to kick a few tires: Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Jordy Nelson. Each could bring an additional veteran presence and/or plays in a position of needed upgrade. It seems like OL is a lost cause in the free agent market and will need to be addressed in the draft, so why not attempt to plug other holes since you know you must go heavy there and address it?

 
Have read that one of the reasons they went with Gipson at Safety is that he does not figure into the comp pick calculations so we will get a 3rd for Honey Badger. So I like the moves from that standpoint. Kicking the tires on a few cast off corners makes sense too. But I too am wondering what they are saving the cap space for? I just read that Indy has only 17 players under contract for 2020 so I get why they aren't spending money, but we have the most players under contract for next year at 40 and still a projected 88M under the cap before rollover.

Supposedly we were in on Saffold and got outbid, why not pony up after you saved money on the two big signings that you did make? Watson doesn't need to be extended for another 2 seasons at least. Are they saving for a big Clowney extension? If you aren't going to address O'line at all, then another decent corner signing would be ideal and at least try to address the lack of inside pass-rusher in some way. Then use the 1st and one of those 2nd's on o'line, maybe the other 2nd on a rookie corner since the DB's we do have are all question-marks.

 
Buckna said:
Have read that one of the reasons they went with Gipson at Safety is that he does not figure into the comp pick calculations so we will get a 3rd for Honey Badger. So I like the moves from that standpoint. Kicking the tires on a few cast off corners makes sense too. But I too am wondering what they are saving the cap space for? I just read that Indy has only 17 players under contract for 2020 so I get why they aren't spending money, but we have the most players under contract for next year at 40 and still a projected 88M under the cap before rollover.

Supposedly we were in on Saffold and got outbid, why not pony up after you saved money on the two big signings that you did make? Watson doesn't need to be extended for another 2 seasons at least. Are they saving for a big Clowney extension? If you aren't going to address O'line at all, then another decent corner signing would be ideal and at least try to address the lack of inside pass-rusher in some way. Then use the 1st and one of those 2nd's on o'line, maybe the other 2nd on a rookie corner since the DB's we do have are all question-marks.
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The thing that frustrates me the most about the Texans is their inattention to the offensive line since BOB has been coach. Now some of that has to fall on Rick Smith, but I have to think some of the decisions they have made have had input from O'Brien. 

First, letting go of starters they drafted for financial reasons. How would the Texans offense have been last year with Duane Brown, Brandon Brooks, and Ben Jones as starters? A lot better, I would think. Yes, they might have had to do some restructuring of contracts to fit the timing of when those linemen's new salaries kicked in, but my guess is they could have kept those guys and remained under the cap. 

Second, they didn't get their franchise QB until year 4 of BOB and yet they did nothing to build an offensive line to be ready to protect a young rookie franchise QB  in BOB's first 3 years. As I mentioned above, they were letting starters go rather than adding pieces.

Third, now they they have their franchise QB, they are getting outbid for viable starters (Solder last year, Safford this year), or not even going after viable starters (Brown this year). With all the extra cap room they have, I agree with your point, what are they waiting to spend it on?

I compare the Texans to my other team the Eagles. The Eagles came into this off season with no real cap space. Yet, through cuts and restructuring they added Malik Jackson, They traded for Desean Jackson, and re-signed FA Ronald Darby. The Eagles did this because they think they have an opportunity to win now so they are doing all they can to make it happen. I don't see the Texans with the same sense of urgency. That's frustrating.

 
I also wonder if some of O'Brien's failure to use resources on the offensive line has to do with the Patriots not using a lot of resources on their offensive line. The difference is Tom Brady gets rid of the ball quickly which helps his line, and the Patriots have probably the best oline coach in the game, so they get the most out of lesser talent. I don't think O'Brien realizes he doesn't have those key components and therefore shouldn't try to do it the Patriots way.

 
dhockster said:
 First, letting go of starters they drafted for financial reasons. How would the Texans offense have been last year with Duane Brown, Brandon Brooks, and Ben Jones as starters?
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To be fair, Duane Brown wanted out of town for two years at least in part because he felt slighted by lack of support for the protests. Brandon Brooks hated the culture under O'Brien and was never going to re-sign. Those weren't really money issues, but culture/locker room clash issues.

Jones I don't know of any issues. Might have been strictly money.

 
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