Texans "Mr. Fix it"

[Rey]

When the game was over, I'd be mentally drained with some of the things Wade was doing with the Falcons," Miller said. "I also know guys love playing for him."

In the last two decades, NFL defenses have matched their offenses in terms of creativity. Dom Capers revolutionized the game with his zone blitz in Pittsburgh, and men such as Rex Bryan, Dick LeBeau and the late Jim Johnson kept coming up with wrinkles.

These days, quarterbacks are blitzed from every angle and every position. With rules giving offensive players so many advantages, defensive coordinators have been forced to gamble.

Mixing up the blitzes

And gamble they do with six, seven and eight men blitzing, with cornerbacks coming from the backside and defensive ends dropping back in coverage. All of it is designed to either hit the quarterback or make him unsure where to go with the ball.

"(Phillips) mixes up his coverages, zone blitzes, everything," Miller said. "It was very challenging."

How bad were the Texans last season? Opposing quarterbacks had a 100.5 passer rating against them. By comparison, only four quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick — had ratings of 100 or better for the season.

That number should improve dramatically next season for the Texans. In San Diego, opposing passer ratings went from 94.3 the year before Phillips arrived to 71.6 after. In his first year in Atlanta, it dropped from 94.3 to 71.6.

One disadvantage in installing his 3-4 scheme is that he won't be allowed to meet with his veterans until after there's a new labor deal in place, and that could be just days before the regular season begins.

But the Texans won't be worse. They just about can't be. They were 29th among 32 teams in points, 30th in yards, 30th in takeaways and 23rd in sacks.

Phillips has referred to himself as "Mr. Fix-It," and in his new job there's plenty to fix. But he has taken over other tough assignments during his 29 years as a coordinator or head coach.

"He has shown he can create some tough matchups, and when you do that, you free the secondary to jump routes," Schaub said. "It's a chess match where the pressure is coming from. You start thinking, 'OK, what is he trying to do?' "

Final piece to puzzle?

As for Phillips, he has buried himself in a study of his personnel. How many places can he line up Mario Williams? Can he get Brian Cushing to be the weapon he was as a rookie? Should Glover Quin be a safety or a cornerback?

Regardless, for the first time in the history of the franchise, the Texans have someone running their defense with a long, distinguished track record. Maybe, just maybe, Phillips will be the final piece to this long, tortured puzzle.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7454322.html

[Malloy]

Nice read, thanks for pasting it!

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by Rey

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7454322.html

He states that Dom Capers "revolutionized the game with zone blitzes" then says later, Texans finally have someome with a long distinquised defensive career. Help me here but Dom Capers was Texans first head coach?

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by beerlover

He states that Dom Capers "revolutionized the game with zone blitzes" then says later, Texans finally have someome with a long distinquised defensive career. Help me here but Dom Capers was Texans first head coach?

Capers didn't call our defense.

I'm no football historian by any means, but I'd never heard that Capers "revolutionized the game with zone blitzes." I'd always thought that was LeBeau, who preceded Capers in Pittsburgh.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

Capers didn't call our defense.

I'm no football historian by any means, but I'd never heard that Capers "revolutionized the game with zone blitzes." I'd always thought that was LeBeau, who preceded Capers in Pittsburgh.

Me too, and I'm pretty sure we are right.

[76Texan]

A good article about the origin of the zone blitz here:

Bill Arnsparger

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

A good article about the origin of the zone blitz here:

Bill Arnsparger

You entered "Bill Arnsparger" in lieu of an actual link.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

Me too, and I'm pretty sure we are right.

Bill Arnsparger developed it.

Dick LeBeau refined it with the Bengals and then made it popular with the Steelers.

Dom Capers was one of the first adopters and used it a lot when he was with the Steelers and then took it with him to the Panthers.

[jaayteetx]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

You entered "Bill Arnsparger" in lieu of an actual link.

click on the name

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by jaayteetx

click on the name

cant - instead of his name, you need the "http://websiteaddress" you want linked inside the URL tags.

[brakos82]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

A good article about the origin of the zone blitz here:

Bill Arnsparger

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

You entered "Bill Arnsparger" in lieu of an actual link.

Oops here it is:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...tml?xid=si_nfl

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

Oops here it is:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...tml?xid=si_nfl

Thanks