Besides Watt, D-line simply just not getting done this year

[Ranger Tom]

Originally Posted by PandapuffTexan

idk they looked pretty good agaisnt the ravens..

Heck yeah they did; really came alive today. I wonder if the defense' new nickname should be "The SWAT Team" because of how many passes they knocked down.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by stingray

Amazing what a pass rush does for your team. This team is almost unbeatable when they have their pass rush going.

It's the lead.

We managed the clock very well in the first half, had twice the T.O.P. than the Ravens. Our O stayed on the field, our D kept them off the field. Second half, could have gone either way. We got the defensive stop, then the offensive score... & it was ovah... They abandoned the run, started looking for big plays & our defense fed off of it.

[Rey]

Merci looked a lot more comfortable today. Definitely more burst off the snap than what's been out there previously.

Wade deserves a lot of this credit. Not sure what happned last week, but we had better match ups and more free guys coming this week than we had previously.

Both barwin and merciless had a few free runs at the qb. Whatever happened today needs to keep happening.

[Brisco_County]

I think a couple of factors made the difference. First, our defense had an extra game to adjust to life without Cushing. That's a huge factor, since it includes a week of self-diagnosis from film study that they didn't have before the Green Bay game. Secondly, the Ravens thought that double teaming Watt was a solution. It may have created more problems for them, since it concealed the point of attack by the opportunistic pass rusher.

[hradhak]

Originally Posted by Brisco_County

... Secondly, the Ravens thought that double teaming Watt was a solution. It may have created more problems for them, since it concealed the point of attack by the opportunistic pass rusher.

Did they actually double up on Watt? I didn't watch closely enough, but if so that is very good to hear. If you try and shutdown Watt, you have the rest of the line to deal with. I personally thought Barwin has been having a few good games, just wasn't getting on the stat board. And even with a double team, Watt had a tipped pass that ended up being a pick 6.

Just goes to show you that our 5 pass rushers > 5 o lineman. I like that math.

[Brisco_County]

Originally Posted by hradhak

Did they actually double up on Watt? I didn't watch closely enough, but if so that is very good to hear. If you try and shutdown Watt, you have the rest of the line to deal with. I personally thought Barwin has been having a few good games, just wasn't getting on the stat board. And even with a double team, Watt had a tipped pass that ended up being a pick 6.

Just goes to show you that our 5 pass rushers > 5 o lineman. I like that math.

I saw plays where he was double teamed, and others where they threw to the opposite side of Watt. And if every Texans lineman is getting to Flacco except Watt, it's obvious. Watt's presence is hugely influential.

[Mr. Texan]

[wolf123]

Our OLB pass rush is not getting it done...

[corytx8]

Originally Posted by wolf123

Our OLB pass rush is not getting it done...

Don't freak out, they were running mainly out of the power formation most of the game, the same thing Chicago did too.

[dream_team]

I was just about to post a new thread on this. Our front 4 has been getting no pressure on the QB for a while now, because Watt is continuously getting doubled. This forced Wade to call a lot of blitzes, leaving too much single coverage in the secondary. Reed & Barwin have been huge disappointments this season.

[amazing80]

Originally Posted by corytx8

Don't freak out, they were running mainly out of the power formation most of the game, the same thing Chicago did too.

They dropped back 35 total times to pass and allowed only 2 sacks. They are the 26th ranked offense in sacks given up with almost 30 on the season. They are terrible and we managed 2 sacks....the pressure is not there often enough. We only seem to get pressure when we load on and playing good passing teams, this won't work. We NEED to figure it out NOW. Like before Thursday

[stingray]

I just dont see the same pass rush as last year. I havent looked up the srats...but just by the eyeball test, i see a weaker pass rush from last year. Reed and barwin are not getting to the qb.

[Scooter]

i'm still baffled by the amount of dancing i see from the OLB's and DB's when rushing - head fakes and stutter steps. that and what seems like an unnecessary amount of stunts really seem to be slowing our pass rush. watt and smith have been solid, two guys going straight ahead, but there's too much indecision on the outside.

[wolf123]

Reed has been very disappointing and Barwin hasn't had the impact of last year. Mercilous needs to be taking way more reps away from Reed.

[SW H-TOWN]

Connor Barwin (2) and Brooks Reed (2.5). Mercilus has 3 sacks and also has more forced fumbles than both Barwin and Reed combined

[Wolf]

All day long, I have caught myself wondering how the Texans can get barwin and reed going. Wondering why they are not getting the sacks. Was it the presence of Ryans patroling the middle along with Cushings blitzing?

[klockWork]

No sack against the worst pass-protect oline in Chi.
Jax hung 37 points on Texans D.
That is a disturbing trend.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

[TheIronDuke]

Originally Posted by klockWork

No sack against the worst pass-protect oline in Chi.
Jax hung 37 points on Texans D.
That is a disturbing trend.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

I gave the lack of pass rush a break against Chicago because of the weather and field conditions and the fact that Chicago had a hard time getting to Schaub for the most part.

After yesterday though I don't know what's going on. Seems like Wade's gotta send a safety in to get a sack opportunity.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by TheIronDuke

I gave the lack of pass rush a break against Chicago because of the weather and field conditions and the fact that Chicago had a hard time getting to Schaub for the most part.

So did I. (Very astute analysis) But after watching what the 49ers did to them last night... & taking into consideration what other teams had done against the Bears, now, I'm wondering.

Yeah, the weather was probably a factor. But Campbell looked competent against us & totally out of place against the 49ers.

I'm not saying our pass rush is pathetic, but I think there is more of a concern than I originally thought.

[Rey]

Barwin and reed just aren't great pass rushers. The end. They get their sacks when they are unblocked or when the qb starts to move out of the pocket and they just chase them down and get the sack.

They don't consistently beat one on one match ups. Merci, to my surprise, looks more explosive than both those guys. My guess is that merci will be the starting wolb next year and barwin either won't be back or he'll be battling reed for the solb position which they are both better suited for...

I said this way earlier in the season, but this defense looks a lot better with a true pass rushing threat on the outside. The defense would go from really good to f'n scary. Wouldn't have to blitz as much which would allow more people in coverage. When we did send blitzes they'd be more effective.