Time to revisit this.....

Throughout my life, there have been three athletes that were basically capable of walking on water and incapable of doing no wrong:

Hakeem Olajuwon
Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio

As time has progressed, there is a fourth pro athlete who has reached the annals of untouchableness in our beloved city.

Andre Johnson

 

 

As you may well know, Dre has been locked into some sort of dispute with the Houston Texans' front office, which I talked about here. Though it has been reported that the stand-off is over a million dollar workout bonus that Johnson forfeited by not showing up to said workouts, I personally believe that there is something else in play here. After this season, Dre's contract is no longer guaranteed and can be released with minimal cap damage to the Texans. Dre wants his money guaranteed; the Texans aren't willing to go there. For this, it is hard to disagree with the best player in franchise history and a pretty sure bet to go into the hall of fame. What I do disagree with, is how Mr. Johnson is currently conducting himself.

It is hard for me to come on here and say that Dre should just cut his losses and eat that lost bonus, but he basically needs to cut his losses and eat that lost bonus. He did not fulfill his contractual obligations, so he shouldn't be paid like he did. Is it admirable that Johnson has cooled down and is willing to work to get paid? Very much so... but, the Texans allowing that to happen opens up that damned Pandora's box for guys like JJ Watt and Kareem Jackson, who are both nearing the end of their rookie deals. Who's to say that they wouldn't pull the same stunt if they were to be locked into a dispute. You don't want to be THAT organization who allows the inmates to run the asylum.
All that said, the reason why I am posting this on a Sunday afternoon, is due to this article written by Jerome Solomon of the beleagured Houston Chronicle. Like I said, Andre Johnson is a God around here. He is the mighty human that mystified the spectators in the bloodthirsty arena we like to call NRG Stadium (now). He deserves all of the praise that has been heaped on him by the masses for all of his previous years of miraculous catches and false hope.

But that is it.

I don't think I am breaking any news to anyone that Rick Smith is not a liked man around these parts. He has been called every name in the book and been criticized for basically everything under the sun. He undoubtedly deserves a good part of this criticism. For years, we haven't known who was really running the show down on Kirby, and that is HIS bad. But... for this to be blamed on him and to basically take the opportunity to bash his entire career as the GM of the Texans is just allowing his personal feelings to take control of his common sense. This is borderline childish to me. I understand that he is entitled to his opinion as much as I am, but he, like a lot of you out there, need to get your feelings out of this.

We need to realize, that athletes are here for mainly one reason... and that is to get paid. And once that well runs dry, it's time to move on to the next one. This is a business to everyone involved except for the fan. It was painfully obvious when Chandler Parsons signed his max deal in a nightclub that there is rarely an exception to the rule. You think that JJ Watt might consider a hometown discount to stay with the team that drafted him? You must be out your rabid-ass mind. It is not going to happen. These guys want the most they can get and there is nothing wrong with that.

What is wrong? Trying to make your employer your bitch. I think that Andre is using his leverage to force the Texans' hand and that is dead wrong. If he were a free agent looking for a new deal? No problem there. But, he is under contract and he has to remember that this is something that he agreed to. Yes, he did restructure his deal a couple of times, but he is not taking any less money to be here. Andre Johnson is a rich man. A man. The man. He needs to behave like one.

All the greats go. Some return. Remember Hakeem Olajuwon in a Raptors uniform? He wanted a ton of money from the Rockets to keep a declining player. As much as we love him, he is no different. He tried to force a trade before the championship years. He is no different.

Everyone is hip to the game. It is time for us fans to catch on now.

Until next time, cabrones.

Juan