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Texans New 2024 Defense

steelbtexan said:
I thought they were done with the Lonnie Johnson era.
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I remember while him just being just a JAG for us, he was quite vocal on social media about having Derapist’s back when the sexual assault allegations were coming left to right. He criticized the organization on twitter like his opinion meant sausage to anyone else.
 
I like that the Texans added former UDFA success stories in FA this offseason. Looking at Al-Shaiir, Autry, and Myles Bryant.

Coaches can single them out in camp as guys who earned their spots ahead of highly drafted players. They are high energy, smart players who play with a chip on their shoulders. Good for the SWARM mentality of this defense and the team’s culture as guy’s who play wherever they are asked and put the team goal above individual accolades.

Then you have the opposite side of the coin:

Okudah/Henderson and to a lesser extent Lonnie Johnson and Derek Barnett/Mario Edwards. Guys who were highly drafted and did not live up to their draft status with their original team. In the case of Barnett/Edwards, they have found their niche to stick around in the league as quality rotational depth. Johnson is finding a role in the NFL as a ST player.

Okudah/Henderson are at a crossroads. Are they going to embrace the change of scenery and resurrect their careers? Or will they wash out like so many highly drafted players do? Tune in at training camp to find out!
 
TheRealJoker said:
I like that the Texans added former UDFA success stories in FA this offseason. Looking at Al-Shaiir, Autry, and Myles Bryant.

Coaches can single them out in camp as guys who earned their spots ahead of highly drafted players. They are high energy, smart players who play with a chip on their shoulders. Good for the SWARM mentality of this defense and the team’s culture as guy’s who play wherever they are asked and put the team goal above individual accolades.

Then you have the opposite side of the coin:

Okudah/Henderson and to a lesser extent Lonnie Johnson and Derek Barnett/Mario Edwards. Guys who were highly drafted and did not live up to their draft status with their original team. In the case of Barnett/Edwards, they have found their niche to stick around in the league as quality rotational depth. Johnson is finding a role in the NFL as a ST player.

Okudah/Henderson are at a crossroads. Are they going to embrace the change of scenery and resurrect their careers? Or will they wash out like so many highly drafted players do? Tune in at training camp to find out!
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That is the way I see it.
All these guys have an opportunity here - not just to resurrect their careers, but a chance to contend for the big dance on an ascending team.
 
TheRealJoker said:
That thumper type is pretty rare these days when teams play more nickel than base D.
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It'll be interesting to see if Azeez Al-Shaair plays in the nickel, as his pass coverage is reported as suspect. If not it'll be interesting to see who the other coverage linebacker is who will play next to Christian Harris.

PS. I expect Harris to take a big step this year. It looked like it was all coming together for him at the end of last year.
 
cland said:
It'll be interesting to see if Azeez Al-Shaair plays in the nickel, as his pass coverage is reported as suspect. If not it'll be interesting to see who the other coverage linebacker is who will play next to Christian Harris.

PS. I expect Harris to take a big step this year. It looked like it was all coming together for him at the end of last year.
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I'd like to see them draft Cole Bishop and play him as a 3rd safety/Nickel LB

Also, Jamal Hill LB from Oregon said he's met with the Texans multiple times and they told him they see him in the mold of Christian Harris.

He's played corner, safety and most recently LB.
 
cland said:
It'll be interesting to see if Azeez Al-Shaair plays in the nickel, as his pass coverage is reported as suspect. If not it'll be interesting to see who the other coverage linebacker is who will play next to Christian Harris.

PS. I expect Harris to take a big step this year. It looked like it was all coming together for him at the end of last year.
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I don’t think the Texans gave Al-Shaair that size of contract and not be a 3 down player. He will have to play himself out of that role.
 
badboy said:
www.sportingnews.com

Key Texans position battle should come down to these two players | Sporting News

The Texans don't have clear-cut backup linebackers in their secondary defensive scheme. These two players should assume those roles this years.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
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Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?

That Nickel position is very varied and could see a number of different players utilised, we have thumping safeties, undersized LBers and inside/outside tweener CBs who could all bring different traits to it, whilst also able to disguise a lot of what we are doing pre snap.

Of course the other upside is that those types are great for special teams, whilst the only worry is that there’s a lot of very young players amongst that group who may take time to find their feet at the pro level.
 
welsh texan said:
Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?
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I think every defense spends the majority of snaps in nickel. As far as base, if teams come out in 11 or 10 personnel, the defense will go nickel or even dime. If the offense comes out in 12 or 21, you see the 4-3-4 "base" defense.

Edit: This article from NFL.com from 2022 states that more than 60% of offensive snaps are from 11personnel and almost 65% of defensive snaps are from the nickel.
 
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Lucky said:
I think every defense spends the majority of snaps in nickel. As far as base, if teams come out in 11 or 10 personnel, the defense will go nickel or even dime. If the offense comes out in 12 or 21, you see the 4-3-4 "base" defense.

Edit: This article from NFL.com from 2022 states that more than 60% of offensive snaps are from 11personnel and almost 65% of defensive snaps are from the nickel.
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Nickle is the new base defense.
 
welsh texan said:
Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?

That Nickel position is very varied and could see a number of different players utilised, we have thumping safeties, undersized LBers and inside/outside tweener CBs who could all bring different traits to it, whilst also able to disguise a lot of what we are doing pre snap.

Of course the other upside is that those types are great for special teams, whilst the only worry is that there’s a lot of very young players amongst that group who may take time to find their feet at the pro level.
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This is my understanding and why I was a proponent of fewer linebackers as more of the safeties will be in the Box type. Developing great outside cornerbacks [Singletary made an improvement and hopefully someone else will step up on the other side] will be awesome for this defense. I don't think our main two inside linebackers will focus on much other than the run. Tight ends will mostly be covered by box type safeties.

Don't be surprised to see even more five people on the defensive line when the ball is snapped.
 
CB rankings for the NFL. My take on the ranking. As a whole i’d say 18 is fair to begin the year. However, I feel like they can be much better than that. I don’t know if there’s a CB I want on my team more than healthy Stingley.

And if we get healthy Stingley then that just opens up the possibilities of making life easier on the other CBs that much more. Not to mention the elite level pass rush the team should have with Hunter, Anderson and Autry.



texanswire.usatoday.com

All 32 NFL teams (including Texans) ranked by their cornerbacks

Entering 2024, where do the Houston Texans rank among the top cornerback units in the league?
texanswire.usatoday.com texanswire.usatoday.com
 
DBCooper said:
Jamal Hill fits this hybrid description.

@badboy
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His senior 5th year at Oregon, he had some very impressive stats when he was moved to linebacker. We might not see him much in 2024, but going forward he could be a key player if he translates to the NFL. Ryans Revenge seems to be perfect defense for him.
 
Thinking of the DL rotation this morning.


My projected DL roster.


4 DE: Anderson, Hunter, Barnett, Edwards
5 DT: Fatukasi, Autry, Settle, Davis, Hinish

Now who gets the snaps and how many? We know DeMeco wants to rotate his DL so the 89% snap share Danielle Hunter had last season is probably a thing of the past.

Will Anderson had 63% snaps in games played last season. Now, I think that will increase because he had a limited snap count in games played end of last season due to his ankle injury that brought the season total down. Greenard had 62% snaps, same issue playing on a snap count late in year.

Using Nick Bosa as a guide, he had 78% and 74% of snaps respectively when DeMeco was his DC 21/22 seasons.

So I am earmarking around 70-75% snap count to both Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. They are premiere players and will get the lion’s share of snaps on the DL. We’ll say they are at 70%.

The next highest snap share goes to Denico Autry. Most of his career he has gotten around 65-70% snap count. That is about in line with Maliek Collins (64%) and Sheldon Rankins (59%). I am going to say he gets a lower share so he can split time at both DT/DE effectively. He gets 60% of snaps roughly split between both spots 20 DE/40 DT.

Next up I am going to give Foley/Settle 45% snap share each at DT. They are the base run stopping DTs. Foley got 40% last season and Settle got 35% last season. I predict Settle has a career year in this system rotating with Foley essentially as the run stopping NT.

So now we’re down to the reserves. We still have roughly 40% snaps 1 DE and 70% snaps 1 DT position to account for…

Barnett sucks up almost all the remaining reps at DE 25-30% snaps. Maybe upside for more if they play Autry inside more often. I’ll go 30% here and give Mario Edwards 10% for goal line run stop specific packages.

Now we have 70% DT snaps. I am giving Mario Edwards 15% that puts us around 55% left to go. Edwards gets 25% total snaps as the “diet Autry” inside/out versatility DL. This is a step down for him from 37% last year and 51% year before but he is on a better roster now.

Khalil Davis gets 50% snaps. He had a career year last season with 41% snap share. I am hoping he builds off of that. I see him and Autry rotating as the 3 tech DT.

5% snaps left… we’ll give them to Hinish in case of injury to the DTs. But more likely they go to a guy like Anderson/Hunter for matchup specific purposes at random points in the season.

TLDR: It’s June and I am way too excited about Texans football to get here!

Anderson 70%
Hunter 70%
Autry 60%
Davis 50%
Foley 45%
Settle 45%
Barnett 30%
Edwards 25%
Hinish/MISC 5%

Starting base DL:

DE Anderson
DT Autry
DT Foley
DE Hunter

Depth chart:

DE Anderson/Barnett
DT Autry/Davis
DT Foley/Settle/Hinish
DE Hunter/Edwards
 
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TheRealJoker V2 said:
Thinking of the DL rotation this morning.


My projected DL roster.


4 DE: Anderson, Hunter, Barnett, Edwards
5 DT: Fatukasi, Autry, Settle, Davis, Hinish

Now who gets the snaps and how many? We know DeMeco wants to rotate his DL so the 89% snap share Danielle Hunter had last season is probably a thing of the past.

Will Anderson had 63% snaps in games played last season. Now, I think that will increase because he had a limited snap count in games played end of last season due to his ankle injury that brought the season total down. Greenard had 62% snaps, same issue playing on a snap count late in year.

Using Nick Bosa as a guide, he had 78% and 74% of snaps respectively when DeMeco was his DC 21/22 seasons.

So I am earmarking around 70-75% snap count to both Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. They are premiere players and will get the lion’s share of snaps on the DL. We’ll say they are at 70%.

The next highest snap share goes to Denico Autry. Most of his career he has gotten around 65-70% snap count. That is about in line with Maliek Collins (64%) and Sheldon Rankins (59%). I am going to say he gets a lower share so he can split time at both DT/DE effectively. He gets 60% of snaps roughly split between both spots 20 DE/40 DT.

Next up I am going to give Foley/Settle 45% snap share each at DT. They are the base run stopping DTs. Foley got 40% last season and Settle got 35% last season. I predict Settle has a career year in this system rotating with Foley essentially as the run stopping NT.

So now we’re down to the reserves. We still have roughly 40% snaps 1 DE and 70% snaps 1 DT position to account for…

Barnett sucks up almost all the remaining reps at DE 25-30% snaps. Maybe upside for more if they play Autry inside more often. I’ll go 30% here and give Mario Edwards 10% for goal line run stop specific packages.

Now we have 70% DT snaps. I am giving Mario Edwards 15% that puts us around 55% left to go. Edwards gets 25% total snaps as the “diet Autry” inside/out versatility DL. This is a step down for him from 37% last year and 51% year before but he is on a better roster now.

Khalil Davis gets 50% snaps. He had a career year last season with 41% snap share. I am hoping he builds off of that. I see him and Autry rotating as the 3 tech DT.

5% snaps left… we’ll give them to Hinish in case of injury to the DTs. But more likely they go to a guy like Anderson/Hunter for matchup specific purposes at random points in the season.

TLDR: It’s June and I am way too excited about Texans football to get here!

Anderson 70%
Hunter 70%
Autry 60%
Davis 50%
Foley 45%
Settle 45%
Barnett 30%
Edwards 25%
Hinish/MISC 5%

Starting base DL:

DE Anderson
DT Autry
DT Foley
DE Hunter

Depth chart:

DE Anderson/Barnett
DT Autry/Davis
DT Foley/Settle/Hinish
DE Hunter/Edwards
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I want Hunter and Anderson on the field as much as they physically can be if this is a push for the super bowl.
 
badboy said:
I want Hunter and Anderson on the field as much as they physically can be if this is a push for the super bowl.
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This is counter to DeMeco's rotational scheme. He wants the Dline to be rested throughout the game so they can give 100% for each snap. Obviously the starters will get the most snaps, but putting in the next group to give the starters a breather (ideally on non-critical plays) allows Hunter and Anderson to play like their hair is on fire.
 
badboy said:
I want Hunter and Anderson on the field as much as they physically can be if this is a push for the super bowl.
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DeMeco rotates his DL specifically because he is playing for a Super Bowl push.

Nick Bosa said as much when talking to Brian Baldinger during his DPOY 2022 season. At midseason, Baldinger had Maxx Crosby as the top defensive player.

www.audacy.com

Nick Bosa isn't worried about DPOY: 'I'm getting ready to go win a Super Bowl'

NFL insiders Brian Baldinger and Carl Dukes of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about Nick Bosa’s mentality and shared a story about running into the 49ers defensive end in early December.
www.audacy.com www.audacy.com

“I was doing the Tampa - San Francisco game (in Week 14) and I saw Nick Bosa on the field. He kind of walks by and he nudges me and he goes ‘So you think Maxx Crosby is the defensive player of the year?’ So he heard what I had said at that time,” Baldinger said (11:12 in player above). “I go ‘Nick, look, you’re right in the conversation. I’m not excluding you but Maxx plays every play.’ He goes ‘Yeah, he does, except I’m getting ready to go win a Super Bowl.’”
 
TheRealJoker V2 said:
DeMeco rotates his DL specifically because he is playing for a Super Bowl push.

Nick Bosa said as much when talking to Brian Baldinger during his DPOY 2022 season. At midseason, Baldinger had Maxx Crosby as the top defensive player.

www.audacy.com

Nick Bosa isn't worried about DPOY: 'I'm getting ready to go win a Super Bowl'

NFL insiders Brian Baldinger and Carl Dukes of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about Nick Bosa’s mentality and shared a story about running into the 49ers defensive end in early December.
www.audacy.com www.audacy.com

“I was doing the Tampa - San Francisco game (in Week 14) and I saw Nick Bosa on the field. He kind of walks by and he nudges me and he goes ‘So you think Maxx Crosby is the defensive player of the year?’ So he heard what I had said at that time,” Baldinger said (11:12 in player above). “I go ‘Nick, look, you’re right in the conversation. I’m not excluding you but Maxx plays every play.’ He goes ‘Yeah, he does, except I’m getting ready to go win a Super Bowl.’”
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Silly to compare Raiders and SF.
 
steelbtexan said:
I want them to be fresh in the 4th qtr and late in the season/playoffs.
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Wins in September/October count just as much as ones in December/January. 70% seems pretty reasonable for a star DE. Injuries can't be predicted. Wear and tear can be mitigated to a degree, hence the 70% threshold. No player, outside of PK & P are "fresh" late in the season. Never play or bet "scared".
 
TheRealJoker V2 said:
So… what exactly are you arguing about? :confused:
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I don't think I'm arguing. I think you don't rest players with the idea of getting into the Super bowl. You can rest them a play here or play there during a game or if you're significantly ahead. We have not had that luxury with the Texans. Play your best players to win each individual game. It's like the old cliche... one game at a time.

Hopefully our roster is beginning to develop so our starters on defense can have a few plays off. How many plays do you want Stingley to be off the field?
 
steelbtexan said:
Their goal is the same.

Look at Bosa for what the top end percentage of plays WA and Hunter play. I bet they play less, as well as Autry.
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Oh, I agree and never said they won't rotate. I said what I would do. And no, it doesn't have to be pointed out that I am not the coach. Defense can rest when offense has ball and during the numerous commercial breaks and defensive time outs.
 
badboy said:
I want the Brian Cushing attitude of I ain't coming off the field.
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Cushing was roided out of his mind and didn't know any better. But even still, since they started recording snap count in 2012 Cushing only played an average of 75% of the snaps he was available for.

JJ Watt played a ton of snaps his first 5 years in the league. And then proceeded to only play over 8 games 3 times out of his last 7.

While Aaron Donald had a modest number of snaps in his career and only missed like 7 games over 10 years.

Just a quick browse of the top dlinemen/edge players from last season and most play around 80% or lower of their teams defensive snaps.
 
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