Houston Texans: Debating the Team Mt. Rushmore
Houston Texans: Debating the Team Mt. Rushmore
Each year, Mike Florio releases his "Mt. Rushmore" for each NFL team and it generates a lot of debate and disagreement. In Houston, this is no different, as fans have been arguing this one for a couple of weeks now.
For those who may not know the concept by this point, the whole idea is if each city was going to sculpt a Mt. Rushmore of the four greatest players in the history of their NFL franchise, who would they be?
Florio released his Houston Texans version two weeks ago and it consisted of Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, Arian Foster and Bob McNair. While I can agree with some of it, only two of those made my version, which I plan to share with you now.
Mike Kerns is a Houston Texans writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also subscribe to his Texans podcast on iTunes.
Andre Johnson
This one should be a no brainer for any variation of this list. Not only is he the best player in Texans history, he'll be the first of them to ever be enshrined into Canton one day. On the field, Johnson is still considered in the top three of receivers in the league even into his thirties. Off the field, he is a kind and compassionate family man who is a big player in the Houston community. Johnson is probably the most humble and soft-spoken superstar in the league.
Arian Foster
Not only is he a unique and quirky individual, Foster has a story that is straight out of a Hollywood film script. Born into poverty and undrafted, cut and sent to the Texans practice squad before his leap to superstardom. In his still short NFL career, Foster is already the Texans all-time rushing leader and second in touchdowns. His reputation in the fantasy-sports game has made him a household name.
Duane Brown
Here is where my list begins to differ from most others. It's difficult for some folks to look at an offensive lineman and consider him one of the four best players in team history. But thinking back to where this team was in regards to run blocking and pass protection before Brown was drafted makes it an easy pick in my mind. With the scheme Houston runs, having a franchise left tackle is imperative and Brown is one of the three best in the league at keeping his quarterback upright.
Matt Schaub
Before you roll your eyes and close the page, hear me out. I know that Schaub is the new whipping boy of the fanbase since they can't come down on Kareem Jackson anymore. But prior to the last quarter of the 2013 season, Schaub wasn't even a blip on the radar of fan vitriol. The fact of the matter is that the franchise was a train wreck before he became the signal caller and he holds almost every offensive record in team history. Like him or not, he's better than you want to give him credit for based off of recent events.
Final Thoughts
For the record, no disrespect intended towards team owner Bob McNair. Lord knows we may not even have football in Houston right now if not for him. I just prefer to keep my list to players only.
The glaring omission from this list is J.J. Watt, clearly. My reasoning for not putting him on the mountain is because of sample size. Yes, he had one of the most amazing seasons ever for a defensive player, but I need to see that kind of consistency for more than two seasons before immortalizing a player. He may not have made it on this list, but I have few doubts he won't be on the mountain for many years from now; perhaps permanently.
Truthfully, I wanted to put Brian Cushing up there before Watt, but he just barely missed it. Like Watt, I believe he'll be on the next one. However, there are a lot hinges on his recovery from ACL surgery.
