Why the Texans Should Not Draft a QB First Overall

If you listen to all the "experts" on the NFL, it's a quarterback league. You cannot win it all without an elite quarterback.

If you look at recent history, not so much.

I believe it's all fantasy driven and because the marquee QB's are the ones who put up the best fantasy stats. The reality of the last ten years spells out a different narrative.

Let's take a look, shall we?

The quarterbacks for the Super Bowl winning teams for the past 10 years are:
Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson.

Arguably, the best two quarterbacks of this generation (Brady and P. Manning) have won a combined two Super Bowls in the past ten years. A step below, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have one each.

The two QB's with multiple championships in the past ten years (Roethlisberger and E. Manning) along with the other two, Flacco and Wilson, are not elite.

But what do every single one of those QB's have in common? Their counterparts on defense were excellent. The old adage that defense wins championships has seemed to fall on deaf ears in the media. It's a quarterback league. We hear that all the time. But look at the last two Super Bowls.

The only "elite" quarterback among the four teams was Peyton Manning. Denver's defense was suspect. The Broncos got blown out.

Does Houston need a QB? Yep. Should they draft one with the first overall pick? Nope. Get one the elite defensive guys to pair with JJ Watt. Seattle and San Francisco have shown you can win with a middling QB if your defense is great. So did the Bears, Ravens and  Buccaneers of years past.

Chicks That Rock: Lizzy Hale, Halestorm

With "Chicks That Rock" we've covered old school with Heart, middle school with Grace Pottter, so now it's time to go new school.

I present Lizzy Hale and Halestorm.  Along with brother Arejay Hale on drums, Joe Hottinger on guitar and Josh Smith on bass, Halestorm's 2nd full length album The Strange Case of..... is probably the most listenable hard rock albums from start to finish since Appetite for Destruction.

It runs the gamut form full throttle rockers like "Freak Like Me" to tender ballads like "Break In". But throughout it all, Lzzy Hale's voice shines.

Interesting Cover Songs: Gabbie Rae and Patrick Kennison

I had a conversation with a friend not too awful long ago regarding cover songs. We fairly well agreed that, with exceptions of course, most covers are not better than the original. Very few are even as good.

That being said, different and interesting covers get my attention. Not that they are better, just different. And interesting.

I stumbled upon 15-year old Gabbie Rae on YouTube doing some very interesting covers along with Patrick Kennison accompanying on guitar and backing vocals.  I don't know much about either other than they make some interesting music together, taking songs of different genres and putting their own spin on them.

Here is a very stripped down acoustic version of Ronnie James Dio's "Rainbow in the Dark":





And here is a cool version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean":


They have also done covers ranging from Iron Maiden to Stevie Nicks to Curtis Mayfield

Chicks That Rock: Grace Potter

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been around for a decade. But I just recently found them, so I'm a little late to the game.

A bit eclectic in the catalog, but the rockers are there and they so do rock.

And, she's an accomplished guitarist and keyboard player as well.

Enjoy.

The Texas Rangers, Ian Kinsler and Laundry

A lot of people are up in arms over the comments of Ian Kinsler in a recent edition of ESPN the Magazine. He called Rangers general manager a sleazeball and said he hopes the Rangers go 0-162 for the season.

Kinsler later backtracked a bit and said the comments were taken out of context, etc., etc.  Whatever.

There was much consternation over Josh Hamilton's parting comments a couple of years ago saying Arlington was not a baseball town.

Here's the deal. Kinsler and Hamilton are no longer Texas Rangers. They don't wear the laundry of my favorite team.

Baseball is a business. Don't get too attached to the players. In this day and age of free agency, chances are your favorite player is going to change teams. Get over it.

Whatever roving band of bat-wielding mercenaries is currently wearing my favorite team's laundry, that's who I'm rooting for.

We welcomed back a Nelson Cruz after his suspension. No longer wearing the home team's colors? Goodbye and good riddance or good luck, depending on your perspective.

The way things are today, I root for laundry. For better, or for worse, that's the way it is. And it's a lot less messy that way.

Good Stuff Found: Houndmouth

Sometimes you stumble upon things that are good. That's what I did recently with Houndmouth.

Houndmouth is an Americana-type band out of Indiana right across the river from Louisville, KY. Other than that, I don't know much about them besides the fact that they play some good music.

Their debut album is "From the Hills Below" and has quite a few good tunes. Hope you enjoy.