Kevin Walter

backrow

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well, i expect Walter to play more in the last preseason game and showcase his abilities. i have no big worries here, since i am pretty sure that he will be one of Schaub's favourite targets and Texans will use 3 WRs this year a lot.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Just wanted to clear things up on my stance on Walter. I agree with fellow posters, If Walter were black as a Texan veteran he would probably have at least half of this season as a starter before getting demoted. If Jacoby Jones were white he never would have been drafted as a Tulane player (1AA?).

Having said that I do not think Walter is that great of a player. If he were black on the Texans, he would be where he is now a second WR who could be upgraded. However, if he were black he would have a much longer leash and would not be being bashed by the media and fans. I read a fantasy annalist take a jab at Walter saying something like "Kevin Who? When Kevin Walter is your second WR, you know there is a problem with your receiving corps."

I hope I am wrong about Walter and he has a big season. I remember when the Giants drafted Walter in the 7th round in '02? he wasn't all that impressive in the preseason (he didn't seem to have any special skill; hands, speed route running etc.) he outplayed Willie Ponder though who made the team instead. Maybe those were just rookie blues...but anyways good luck to Walter this season...hopefully I am wrong.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins
 
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I sort of agree about Walter. He's just an average talent with good size. Ball and Kircus are better and they were released.

"Kevin Who? When Kevin Walter is your second WR, you know there is a problem with your receiving corps."
Ya. People were saying the same thing about Mike Furrey and Wes Welker because they're white. THing is, Welker and Furrey are unbelievably talented.
 

devans

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TJR. I was thinking the same thing. Of all the white receivers trying to win starting jobs Kevin Walter would not have been one of the first 4 or 5 I would have guessed at winning a starting job last Spring. I have not seen that much of him - but from what I've seen he has not particularly impressed me compared with the likes of Curtis, Kirkus, Welker, Bennett, Furrey, Urban etc. Having said that I hope he has a great season and completely changes my view of his abilities.
 

White Shogun

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"Kevin Who? When Kevin Walter is your second WR, you know there is a problem with your receiving corps."

Guess this guy hasn't taken a look at the Vikings receiving corp. I'm not sure there is a less talented bunch in the NFL.
 

Thrashen

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"Guess this guy hasn't taken a look at the Vikings receiving corp. I'm not sure there is a less talented bunch in the NFL."

Oh, I beg to differ! Granted, the Viking have a godawful receiving corp, but there are teams with equally pathetic talent....the Chiefs, Titans, Bucs, Bills, Radiers, and Dolphins come to mind just as quickly as the Vikings.

Hmm, I guess this league is just FULL of teams with terrible, overrated WR's, I wonder why?
 

Gi-15

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BTW Riggo, Jones was drafted out of Lane college, Division 2.

Walter was great on special teams with the bengals, and was showing promise as a WR, that why the texans forfeited a 7th round pick to sign him as a RFA.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Tulane is Division 1A..boy was that a blooper. I did mean Lane. But that withstanding, I almost wish the Texans would replace Walter next season with a more talented white like Kircus. Replacing a white with a white may not cause a backlash. I hope you are right GI about him though. Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins
 

Don Wassall

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Walter had another quiet game yesterday even with Andre Johnson out,however Jacoby Jones separated his shoulder returning a punt and will be out for 2-3 weeks. So Walter should continue to start. I don't know if Schaub just doesn't look his way much or ifWalter is having trouble getting open.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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i finally got the chance to watch Walter play at wide receiver yesterday. it was the first time i had seen him when he wasn't a gunner on special teams.


the handful of people here who say he doesn't have the physical skills necessary to beabig time performerin this league have evidently not been watching all the black suck-ass receivers that i have.


Walter is very fluid and explosive and it wouldn't surprise me if he were the fastest receiver on the Texans. i mean, it's easy tosee how smooth he is. he flows, much like Matt Jones, rather than running all herky jerky like so many of the black boys. he is also very physical for a wide-out. not only is he very muscular, he is a willing and impressive blocker.


as a pass catcher, i think the main reason he doesn't get more balls thrown his way is because of the game plan of the Texans. in the game against the Colts,if you watchedwhere Schaub was looking, it was apparent thatWalter was never the primary receiver on passing plays. the three catches he had were all underneath routes as Schaub's checkdown receiver.


why this is, i don't know...
 

Don Wassall

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When Walter saw the field as a receiver for the Bengals, which wasn't often, Carson Palmer often looked his way and he made some nice runs after the catch.


The announcers went into full Caste mode describing Walter during yesterday's game. After saying how Kubiak compares him to "Ed McCaffrey" (hey, what about Ricky Proehl?), theyspewed forthone of the most rapid streams of caste cliches I've ever heard,describing Walter as a great worker and team player, etc., etc.
 

backrow

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well, for some strange reason, Texans use Walter almost exclusively as a blocker on their downfield plays... and even though he does excel at this, just throw him a damn ball Schaub!!!
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Don Wassall said:
When Walter saw the field as a receiver for the Bengals, which wasn't often, Carson Palmer often looked his way and he made some nice runs after the catch.


The announcers went into full Caste mode describing Walter during yesterday's game. After saying how Kubiak compares him to "Ed McCaffrey" (hey, what about Ricky Proehl?), they spewed forth one of the most rapid streams of caste cliches I've ever heard,describing Walter as a great worker and team player, etc., etc.

Kubiak has got to be way off on that, there is no way Walter is as fast as McCaffrey, nor does he run as good routes. McCaffrey could have been an all time great if he started more games in his career. He didn't get to start until he was over 30 years old and only b/c of injury to the real athletes. Then he retired a little early b/c of a badly broken leg.
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I heard somewhere that McCaffrey was hand timed in the 40 yard at 4.38, which would probably equate to a 4.40-4.45 at the NFL Combine.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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TJR, who else would Kubiak compare Walter to? McCaffrey is the last great white receiver that actually got credit (sort of) for being good. EVERY white receiver is compared to him. or Ricky Proehl.


i don't know who would win in a foot race between he and Easy Ed, but Walter looks pretty damn fast to me. it wouldn't surprise me if Walter is the fastest receiver on the Texans.


as for his route running... whenWalter spends 3/4 of the game blocking, how can you tell if he runs good routes or not? for now, i'll give him a whole lot more credit than you are giving him, because physically he is is strong, big, and fast.


i might be wrong about his ability as a wideout, but then again you might be wrong.
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backrow

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Walter is a great athlete he just needs one thing, and one thing only to prove all the doubters wrong: passes thrown to him!
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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JC, You're definitely right about all white WRs being compared to McCaffrey or Ricky Proehl. Just like all big white RBs are compared to Alstott. I can't see how they'll compare McGuffie to Alstott "when" he makes the NFL (I'm already predicting Sam becoming an NFL starting HB) as Sam certainly isn't a FB.

I don't know who I would compare Walter to, maybe Reggie Brown. From what I saw of Walter on the Giants in pre-season before he was cut a few years back he didn't look like a speedster and his route running was only solid. I hope I'm wrong about Walter and that those were just rookie blues.

I just happen to think a huge amount of Ed McCaffrey. To me Ed is an absolutely amazing receiver with a big frame in the mold of Terrell Owens or Randy Moss. With of course a much better head on his shoulders than those two. Ed could have been a a "top 5 all time WR" in my opinion if he had a long career as a starter. At least Ed got to shine much longer than Patrick Jeffers.
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Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins
 

backrow

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Texans | A. Johnson out Week 5, will likely miss more
Mon, 1 Oct 2007 17:06:39 -0700

Megan Manfull, of the Houston Chronicle, reports Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson (knee) is out for Week 5. His rehabilitation will step up this week, but he will likely be out for at least two more games.

this gives Walter several more weeks to prove all the doubters wrong!
 

Colonel_Reb

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Great news! Maybe he'll get a 100 yard game or more this week.
 

Rise

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Kevin finally gets some recognition:

When coach Gary Kubiak was asked about Kevin Walter in May and said Houston would have won more games last season if he'd given the wide receiver more opportunities to make plays, it seemed kind of odd.

This was a receiver who had cracked 200 yards receiving for a season just once in his career. Five months later, Kubiak's remarks seem more on target after Walter's 160-yard performance on Sunday.

"I always believe in hard work -- hard work pays off," Walter said. "You have to work hard and opportunities like that will come."

It was the second-best receiving day in Texans history and equaled Walter's total receiving yards from last season. He spent his first three seasons in Cincinnati, where his best season before this year was 19 catches for 211 yards in 2005.

But Kubiak didn't need to see the big numbers to have confidence in the 26-year-old.

"He was ready for his opportunity, got a chance to play ... and here's a kid who's taken full advantage," Kubiak said.

Kubiak has always liked Walter's work ethic and his unselfishness.

"He's one of the first guys here and last guys to leave type of player," Kubiak said. "That's the way he goes about his business. He's an overachiever in this business. Guys like that last a long time."

The Texans have needed new faces to carry the load at receiver this season since Pro Bowler Andre Johnson has missed the last four games with a knee sprain. The emergence of Walter is encouraging considering Wednesday's news that Johnson will likely be out two more weeks.

He ruled out playing on Sunday and doesn't have a firm date for his return, but said doctors told him when he was injured that it could take up to six weeks to heal.

Walter's 338 yards receiving this season are more than he gained in his first three seasons combined. He appeared in each game last season with two starts and finished with 17 receptions for 160 yards.

He nabbed the starting job opposite Johnson in the offseason after Houston released veteran Eric Moulds and has started each game this year. The Texans have needed a credible receiving threat to take pressure off Johnson and Kubiak has insisted Walter could fill that role.

Johnson agreed with Kubiak and said he knew Walter was capable of playing like he did against Jacksonville.

"He was due for a day like that," Johnson said. "I was just glad to see that happen for him. All the work he's put in, he deserves a day like that."

Though Walter isn't anywhere close to being a household name, he's well known to Houston's division opponents.

"You could kind of see it coming on last year," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "I saw it in games before our second time against them. I saw him make some plays. You could kind of see that he's an emotionally charged, competitive guy that can really catch the ball and knows how to get open."

Walter said he hopes to improve each week and is looking for his next big game to be a win after Houston lost Sunday's game 37-17.

"All that stuff I did catching those balls and making the yards doesn't mean anything since we lost," Walter said. "I'm happy about making plays, but it comes down to winning and losing so it wasn't as exciting."

[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AsD_jE_uFsqfq90sFaPfA7 7.uLYF?slug=ap-texans-walter&prov=ap&type=lgns [/url]
 

Thrashen

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Have you guys ever watched Kevin play? Every time he makes a first down he makes an big, over-exaggerated "first down" with his arm. I love his size, speed, strength, and energy. I really hope the best for this young WR...he represents all the goodness left of the NFL.

I don't care what anybody says, I'm very happy that Johnson was injured. In fact, I wish he were out all season. I'm positive that Walter wouldn't have gotten this many looks (if any) otherwise. I just hope he can continue to make plays all season and become a legitimate number 2 guy.

On another note, "Gary Kaste-biak," normally a black-loving reverse-racist (like almost every coach), now starts Walter at #2, and David Anderson at #3. The last time that happened was with the Titans with Bennett and Eddie Berlin.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Thrashen said:
Have you guys ever watched Kevin play? Every time he makes a first down he makes an big, over-exaggerated "first down" with his arm. I love his size, speed, strength, and energy. I really hope the best for this young WR...he represents all the goodness left of the NFL.

I don't care what anybody says, I'm very happy that Johnson was injured. In fact, I wish he were out all season. I'm positive that Walter wouldn't have gotten this many looks (if any) otherwise. I just hope he can continue to make plays all season and become a legitimate number 2 guy.

On another note, "Gary Kaste-biak," normally a black-loving reverse-racist (like almost every coach), now starts Walter at #2, and David Anderson at #3. The last time that happened was with the Titans with Bennett and Eddie Berlin.

I got to admit Walter is playing well. I think it may have been my Giants that were holding him down that caused my lack of belief in him. I think it was Fossil's last year as head coach when the Giants drafted Walter in the 7th round 2003, but they kept a sparkling start known as Willie Ponder instead.
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The Giants should have found room for Walter on their team.

That year the Giants had Ike Hilliard who's skills were declining and Willie Ponder. The fact that Ponder isn't even in the league anymore proves that this was yet again discrimination.
 

Stonewall

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I first saw Walter play in September 2002 during his college days when his team (was it Central Michigan?) came into Byrd Stadium to play Maryland. It sounds basic, but I was impressed simply with his ability to make catches. He had good speed, very good size, and displayed good leaping ability. I sat at field level and saw him outplay Maryland cornerback Dominque Foxworth, who went on to be a high draft pick of Denver.


At the time, I remember thinking "here's another good white receiver who won't get a chance to play in the NFL". I'm glad Walter proved me wrong.
 

Quiet Speed

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Matt Schaub came out throwing to Kevin early and often in last night's game. Three receptions on the opening drive culminating with a 26 yard TD strike. He finished with six receptions for 100 yds. He performed with such ease and command that he really looks like he is at an elite level and at the top of his game. BTW, Schaub was 14 of 16 for 187 and two TDs.
 

dwid

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people were downplaying what kevin did because jason david was defending him and david is horrible, but walter is a good receiver, david is still horrible though, i guess because cornerbacks can only be one race which limits the talent pool, walter did a good job last night and they are making it seem like it was a nobody just burning jason david
 

celticdb15

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haha nice Ill be drafting Walter this year for my fantasy league.
 
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