Some of you may have heard a local radio talk show host rant for the past 24-36 hours about how the Texans defensive woes are due to 'no talent' and as a result he's giving Texans defensive coordinator Frank Bush 'a pass' for the Texans putrid performance over the first three games.
Something didn't sit right with me the first time I heard that - on the drive home after the game - and while I know some of it is an attempt to generate calls, calls, and more calls (since not surprisingly the co-host disagrees), I usually give these things the benefit of the doubt and entitlement of opinion treatment until I have time to think about it a bit.
The first thing that struck me after hearing that comment was that the Texans had the 22nd ranked defense (in yards per game) last season with no better personnel, and after three games this season, the Texans will most likely be dead last in the league (that would be 32nd) after the completion of tonight's Dallas - Carolina game.
So if the Texans have 'no talent' on defense, is the radio host suggesting the Texans fall from 22 to 32 is due to the loss of Anthony Weaver, Travis Johnson, Morlon Greenwood, Will Demps and C.C. Brown?
I hope not.
When I compare defensive talent this year to last, I see improvement in one area. I think DeMeco Ryans, Zac Diles, and Brian Cushing are a better linebacker corps than Ryans, Diles, and Morlon Greenwood.
The defensive line was supposed to be better this year with the addition of Antonio Smith, Connor Barwin and new line coach Bill Kollar, but so far it's a push when compared to last year.
Antonio Smith hasn't made the impact as hoped so far, but when you think about it, he's not a downgrade from Anthony Weaver. Barwin is still learning.
As far as the rest of the line, it's the same guys except for Shaun Cody, but does he represent a dropoff in talent from Travis Johnson? I don't think so.
In the secondary, the corners are essentially the same. At the start of the 2008 season it was Jacques Reeves and Fred Bennett. This year it's Dunta Robinson and Bennett, although Reeves could be getting a start in place of Bennett against Oakland. Rookie draft picks Glover Quin and Brice McCain have seen significant action.
The safeties have turned over, but you won't find too many people who will argue that C.C. Brown and Will Demps were measurably better than John Busing/Dom Barber and Eugene Wilson.
I'm not saying the Texans have great or even good talent on defense. They have obvious needs at defensive tackle and at safety.
I'm saying the Texans talent on defense this year is no worse than it was last year when they managed that #22 ranking - which at this point looks like the '85 Bears compared to Frank Bush's crew.
I took a look at the rushing yards allowed by the Texans in their first three games this season compared to last season. Both are bleak and one is downright hideous, but the difference this year is one run by Chris Johnson and another by Maurice Jones-Drew.
| Rushing yards allowed by Texans First three games of season |
||
| 2008 | 2009 | |
| Pittsburgh 183 | New York Jets 190 | |
| Tennessee 158 | Tennessee 240 | |
| Jacksonville 139 | Jacksonville 184 | |
| Total: 480 | Total: 614 | |
On that thought, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak mentioned today during his weekly presser that the 61 yard TD run by Jones-Drew was the exact same play the Jags had run earlier in the game - and the Texans defensed it properly and stopped it for a one yard gain.
"The first play of the game, they ran the exact same play and we were in the exact same defense," Kubiak said. "Then 24 or 25 plays later, they run the exact same play. We were in the exact same defense. We decided to do something different. That's what's hurting our football team. That is what is confusing: why we shouldn't have the consistency. They get one yard on the first play of the game. They got 61 ... the next (time they run it)." (from houstontexans.com)
I'm not sure about anyone else, but to me that sounds like technical issues vs. talent. If the team has the talent to stop that play for one yard the first time, they have the talent to stop them for one yard the next time too. So if you're arguing talent, it would seem that the problem, in that case at least, is more mental talent than physical talent.
Having watched the Jets and Titans games in detail, I tend to lean toward the missed assignment/scheme hypothesis - and that's a shared coaching/learning issue.
While the overall talent on the defense could be improved, what Frank Bush has available to him this year is certainly no worse than what Richard Smith had to work with last season.
How's that for a silver lining?
Roster moves coming?
In his press conference today, Coach Kubiak announced that Chaun Thompson's injury could be serious and may require a roster move. If Thompson goes down for the season, that will leave the Texans with only 5 linebackers on the squad - and down a critical special teamer.
Kubiak mentioned Tim Jamison and Jesse Nading today as players who have done well on the practice squad and who (my words) could be in the mix for a promotion to the 53 man roster. Jamison can play both defensive end and linebacker and would seem like the top replacement candidate for Thompson, although Kubiak likes Nading (he is from Colorado St. after all). Nading is more of a defensive end/pass rushing specialist who could also fill the special teams role.
Speaking of defensive line, Frank Okam was not active for the Jaguars game on Sunday which isn't a good sign for his progress.
Comments
All things considered, I would rather have Weaver & Johnson vs Smith. That's a no brainer. Take Smith's signing money and sign Demeco or Daniels. $35 mil will go along ways towards both. Weaver & Johnson both could've possibly qualified the Texans for compensatory picks next year, not now. Texans could possibly sign Gerald McCoy in 2010 draft. That's unlikely with money Texans now have tied up in DTs with Smith & Okoye. Makes one wonder why people think Rick Smith is doing a good job.
@Larry, Not saying that Smith was a good signing but Weaver is out of football and Travis Johnson hasn't been active for the last two weeks for SD (groin issues again).
How could Weaver and Johnson have qualified for compensatory picks given their status this year? You have to lose a player to free agency to qualify for compensatory picks and neither player was entering free agency. In fact, TJ's contract doesn't expire until March of 2012 so he's still a long ways away from free agency. The 6th rounder the Texans got from SD for Travis will look pretty good if SD ends up having to IR him this year.
If there's no CBA resolution by March (doesn't look like there will be) DeMeco and Owen are still RFAs and are not going anywhere for at least another year
I like Larrys observations about Rick Smith - Smith has maybe a couple singles in FA, but really no Xtra-base hits let alone a HR. And Antonio Smith is just the latest of Smiths whiffs on DLinemen. I actually think AS was the Texans version of some kind of an attempt at an offseason PR move to excite the fan-base. But really they are better off sticking with inexpensive FAs like Bulman & DelJuan than blowing large wads of McNairs money on the Weavers & Antonio Smiths when it comes to ideas to fixing the DLine, easily our biggest issue IMO.
On the other hand in fairness to Smith-Kubiak, Cushing is impressive so far (though top half of first-round is way too much to pay for SAMs), and Duane Brown is also impressive at the start of his second-NFL season. So if Okoye is the only bust of 3
top picks, that's a lot better than some organizations I suppose.
And if they are gonna bring Jamison or Nading in from the PS, hopefully that means AS plays more DT while Okoye just plays less.
Sorry aj you are wrong about Weaver & Johnson, both were/are in their contract years. Both would be FA in 2010 and would have counted as FA lost for the Texans. At this point it is obvious that Weaver & Johnson are better at stopping the run than Smith.
Check rotoworld to see Johnson is a FA in 2010 and Weaver is $5.4 million in in dead money against the salary cap after being waived..
Random question here. If Frank Bush is calling the defensive plays, and Kyle Shanahan is calling the offensive plays, what does Kubiak do? (this may be wrong, but that's how I understand it)
@Larry,
Travis Johnson is under contract through the 2011 season. He won't be a free agent until March 2012 unless SD cuts him loose before then which is entirely possible if he can't stay healthy. Since compensatory picks are not awarded until the year following the player's loss to free agency, the earliest the Texans would have realized a compensatory pick for TJ is the 2013 draft - and that's if he played out the remaining 3 years of his contract here and he met the play time/quality thresholds for compensatory picks.
You may want to check the NFLPA site for active contract info on players. They are the authoritative site for contract term and yearly base salary amounts. However, they don't show total contract value, i.e., amounts that include incentives and bonuses.
I've learned over the years that sites like rotoworld are not always reliable on contract info.
Same with Weaver. He signed a 5 year deal in March 2006 and wasn't going to be a FA until March '11.
ps. @Larry,
Weaver's dead money is two years of guaranteed money (mainly signing bonus) proration for '09 and '10.
@Chris B. From what I've heard Kubiak say, he's active and in the loop on offensive play calls. I would expect that he also listens in to the Bush to DeMeco communication.
The book of theory says a head coach should be focused more on situational management than he is actual play calling but there's a lot of variation in that across the league.
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