While the trade of Ryans is unpopular and highly questionable, Houston Texans General Manager Rick Smith more than likely knows what he is doing, and Texans fans should stand beside him in his moves, one sour note is the Texans did not get very much in return for Ryans, but faith must be held at least until the season arrives. Texans should believe in Smith solely for the reason that he is going into his sixth year on the job in Houston and seems to be more than knowledgeable when it comes to players being on the job this long, handling the “next man up” year of last season, alongside coaches Gary Kubiak, and Wade Phillips, and has been steadily on the rise in the last six years.
If the move proves to be one of the most bone-headed moves in the NFL, then fans can call for the head or Smith, or who ever they please, but the fact remains that DeMeco Ryans had struggled with health and possibly was on the decline of his career. The injuries sustained over time is the down fall in the professional sport of football, players do not maintain their prime for very long as the game wears down their bodies and takes it toll every day. This gives the Texans to bring in a new, younger, explosive talent, and with most of their coaching staff still intact, the system seems ready to take in players and breed athletic titans.
Unfortunately, while the players in the league are human beings with emotions, feelings, and families, but the NFL is a business, and like many businesses, players have stock, a stock that is always changing, rising and falling. Veterans who are dinged up, and have taken their beatings do not yield much as far as a return goes, and the Texans probably dumped Ryans at the appropriate time, freeing up vital cap space, and giving them the ability to pay those who deserve it, thanks to the rookie pay cap put into affect in the newly redesigned collective bargaining agreement, the Texans have more to spend of younger, veteran talent.
The draft choices have yet to been seen nor have they even been decided on, so the most Texans fans can do at this point is sit back, and watch as more players are resigned or new players are brought in from this free agency pool.
The reason the Texans were so successful was seventy percent playing talent, including coaching and other variables, and at least thirty percent of the Texans’ success from fan support. The fans who were out in the parking lot of Reliant Stadium at 7 AM barbecuing, tailgating, and mingling with other Texans fans, every Sunday for a game that kicked off at noon. The fans who flooded the Houston Texans’ Grille upon its’ opening, the fans who sold out and packed Reliant Stadium as the Texans made their postseason début.
Indeed, the support the Texans received from their fans this past year was unparallelled in Texans history. Texans fans are some of the most dedicated in the NFL, and are truly the power behind the Texans as they move forward and prosper as time goes on. Texans fans should not see the departure of Ryans as a negative, but rather a positive, and get an exciting, tingling feeling as there will be a new bull to run in the parade! Whoever this bull may be, Texans fans will undoubtedly welcome him in with open arms, and give him the same adoration and respect they gave to Ryans.
– Richard Perez