HPF:Breaking Down the Offseason-Defense

didn't see this posted but here is a review (little old on the date) but with good info IMO

As with the offense (reviewed last month), three new starters may join the Texans defense that were not with the ballclub last year, however none is assured of being a starter when the season begins. Other than Seth Payne, no key members of last year's defense are gone, though some may see challenges to their starting jobs from the draft or free agent acquisitions.

"Starter" is not even an important term with the defensive line. The new trend is to find eight linemen who can rotate in and out based on situations. The thinking is that rotated defensive linemen can be fresher at the end of the game than their offensive counterparts when a key stop could become critical. In addition, it allows for specialists who can either clog the running lanes or rush the passer but are not well-suited for every down.

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So, depending on how you arrange the Rubik's cube, you could put Williams or Weaver at strongside end, Williams, Babin or Kalu at weakside end and Weaver, Okoye or Johnson at weakside tackle. No matter how you configure it, somebody is stuck on the bench wasting money.

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http://www.houstonprofootball.com/review/review70.html

I don't think T. Johnson will make the final team.

I don't think so either

Before I leave the Millionaires Club, let me make one more point. When Mario Williams was selected, there were comparisons to Hall of Fame defensive ends Bruce Smith and Reggie White. But when Okoye was drafted, one of the reasons given for his selection was that he was expected to help Williams get to the quarterback by drawing attention from Mario. You know, I don't recall Smith or White needing a defensive tackle to help make them great. Yes, White benefitted from the late Jerome Brown's presence in Philadelphia, but White was just as great after moving to Green Bay as he was with the Eagles. I don't want to dump on Williams because he struggled with foot problems last year and obviously needed better coaching than he received in college about how to play the line, but I hope drafting Okoye wasn't the first clue that Williams is not the player sold to the fan base when he was drafted.

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Someone needs to tell this ***** that Bruce Smith had help from unsung NT Jeff Wright as well as the more widely known OLB's Cornelius Bennett and Darryl Talley while Reggie White had help from NT Gilbert Brown and DE Sean Jones when he played with Green Bay.

WOW!!! Can't ya just feel the negative vibes?? I kinda like the fact that we have so many quality Dlinemen to rotate in and out, as long as the rotating in and out doesn't wear them out.
There are plusses and minusesto everything and Kubes and Co. seem to think that by increasing our playmaking ability with the front 5 ( including Ryans on this), we can make the weaknesses of the secondary minimal. I tend to agree with this approach. It's easier to expect 4 or 5 guys to stop a run or get to the QB in a hurry rather than expect 4 guys in coverage to not get burned while waiting for "spare parts" on the Dline to get to the QB. It's a pricey way to do business right now, but once you solidify one section of the D, maybe we could trade our way into a solid #2 CB or FS with one of these guys (not MW or AO) or just continue to build from within with the draft. Gonna beinteresting to see how the cap will work out once some of these young studs reach the end of their 1st contract!! I'm betting we don't see anymore HUGE wastes of money- DC's contract extension not withstanding.