With roster cuts now complete, the Texans are looking quite different and young in the 'back end' of the defense.
Based on the official cut list, the Texans secondary currently looks like this: (NFL starts in parenthesis)
Cornerbacks - Glover Quin (12) , Kareem Jackson (0), Brice McCain (1), Antwaun Molden (0), Sherrick McManis (0)
Safeties - Bernard Pollard (44), Eugene Wilson (73), Dom Barber (6), Troy Nolan (0)
Gone from the group that lined up against the Jets on opening day 2009 are cornerbacks Fred Bennett, Dunta Robinson and Jacques Reeves, and safeties Nick Ferguson and John Busing.
Of course that's not all bad news.
But even more dramatic is the comparison of the Texans current secondary group to the group that lined up against the Patriots on January 3, 2010.
The Texans return only three DBs from their 34-27 win over the Pats in Week 17: Quin, McCain and Pollard. Wilson and Molden were on IR.
I bet you don't remember that Busing started at free safety in that game and Brian Russell and Mark Parson were on the 53.
Yeah. Yikes.
So when you hear the media honks talk about how young and inexperienced the secondary is this year, call in and throw out names like Russell, Busing, Ferguson and Parson.
Let them know that was 4/9ths of the secondary the last time the Texans suited up for a real game.
Feel better?
Expect roster moves Sunday
The Texans roster is currently two under the league mandated 53 so expect two players to be added Sunday or Monday to fill out the squad. The Texans could be looking for backups at several positions including running back, quarterback, offensive tackle, cornerback and defensive tackle.
The Texans will also begin to fill their 8-man practice squad as more than 700 players begin to clear waivers.
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Comments
"Feel better?"
Yes, yes I do. Thanks!
I wouldn't be nearly as concerned as I am now if I saw some encouraging signs in the pre season. Unfortunately for me I saw more concern with the CBs than I saw anywhere else on this team and there is an alarm with the play of DTs .
This was an exercise in self-therapy. I was trying to convince myself that everything will be all right. I have big concerns at corner...
Once again, comments are messed up and I have no idea when it's going to be fixed. In the meantime go ahead and leave your comment. I can see it in my pubs tool. It's just not appearing here but I'm sure it will as soon as the site manager works out all the bugs....
Young doesn't necessarily mean bad but the lack of experience does raise concerns about the potential for breakdowns, not only in coverage but also in run support.
However the experience issue isn't what worries me the most. The issue that really concerns me with this group is the overall lack of speed. McCain is fast and Molden ran in the high 4.3's at the combine but the rest of the group is pretty slow. Unless they plan to play zone most of the time the potential for giving up big plays when the corners have to play man is very high.
I guess time will tell but I have a sinking feeling that unless the Texans pass rush is much improved from 2009 this secondary is going to be victimized by teams that can throw long.
I've never been impressed with Quin's deep speed. KJ had a nice deep cover @ NO but we haven't seen him tested like he will be in a week. I don't see what everyone sees in McManis. He may be smart but I haven't seen the physicality and he was a step and a half behind every Buc receiver last Thurs except for the good play he made in front of the Texans bench.
This is a statistically odd situation coming up next week: The most inexperienced backfield in the league opening their season against the most prolific passer in the league. It's like an experiment. I'd be more comfortable with McCain starting. He has experience against the Colts, he has make up speed, and he has already intercepted Manning before.
I'm with you on McManis. I haven't seen every play but from what I have seen he let's receivers get behind him and then he can't locate the ball when it's in the air. If the Texans thought that they had a problem with Jacques Reeves then they can look for more of the same with this guy.
Hopefully he doesn't get on the field too often until he can tighten up his coverage, if in fact he can.
Not to mention he looked horrible on the TD he gave up in the corner of the north endzone. Had no clue where the ball was...
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