Earlier this week, ESPN.com AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky continued his "One Honest Answer" series by opening the doors to questions about your Houston Texans.
Kuharsky ultimately asked a question related to Brian Cushing and performance enhancing drugs, but that is not the question I would have asked anyone on the Texans staff if given the chance and the guarantee that they would answer honestly.
As a fan, there are a ton of questions I could ask regarding their stance on free agency, how owner Bob McNair can be so patient with the slow progress of his franchise, or even why they don’t ever take advantage of their home field heat and humidity with their retractable roof stadium. However, there is one question that has gone unanswered for nearly a decade. As a true master of the cliffhanger, I'll leave that question on the other side of the jump.
Why have the Houston Texan never properly invested in a safety (free or strong)?
Houstonians know the drill on this. There has been one mere safety drafted before the 5th round in the NFL Draft (2004 4th rounder Glenn Earl), the best safeties the team has ever seen were a one-year wonder street free agent (Bernard Pollard) and an aging veteran who was converted from cornerback to safety during the last two seasons of his career (Marcus Coleman...who would still be the best safety on the roster if he were still playing).
Outside of that, fans have been treated to the likes of: Matt Stevens, Eric Brown, Marlon McCree, Ramon Walker, Curry Burns, Jammal Lord, Glenn Earl, C.C. Brown, Von Hutchins, Nick Ferguson, Brandon Harrison, Dominique Barber, Troy Nolan, and Eugene Wilson. Allow me to take a moment and apologize if that list made you drink.
Truly, that list of names should have inspired someone somewhere to put some emphasis on getting a proper free agent or spending a higher draft pick on someone with potential for the defense’s backend. Yet, it hasn’t. At all.
Currently, Houston's starting safety duo consists of a converted cornerback (Glover Quin - whom many believe is better suited for the safety role) and either the guy who couldn’t outright replace the horrid Wilson (Nolan) or an unproven rookie (Shiloh Keo). Their task? Provide over the top assistance for Kareem Jackson and Houston's incredibly inexperienced crop of cornerbacks. Needless to say, a lot will be asked of those safeties.
Hopefully, the Texans will finally see the hole in the back and grab a starting-caliber free agent that isn’t in decline like (Weddle? Sensenbaugh? Anyone who can actually move?) to pair with Quin in a true attempt to finally quiet this long-asked question from fans. Until then, I will continue to wonder why a former safety (general manager Rick Smith) seems to have more of a fascination with tight ends than safeties.