What are the Texans need on defense?

[76Texan]

So we've heard Kubiak saying that Wade Phillips will have pretty much full authority to choose defensive players and shall have enough ammunitions to make the defense work.

I'm going to assume no FA and no trade up or trade back at the moment.

My guess is we will draft defense something like:
1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th
1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th

Which scenario do you like, or do you propose a different one?

At any rate, I'd like to hear everybody take about our positions of needs.

[Wolf6151]

We've got needs at NT, OLB, CB, FS, SS, and ILB depth. I'm thinking we'll go very heavy on defense in the draft and take defensive players in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and then some depth in the 6th and 7th.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Wolf6151

We've got needs at NT, OLB, CB, FS, SS, and ILB depth. I'm thinking we'll go very heavy on defense in the draft and take defensive players in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and then some depth in the 6th and 7th.

Any priority of preference in your view? And possible reasons?

[thunderkyss]

Last year, we went defense 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th


2009, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7

2008, 3, 4, 5, 6

2007, 1, 4, 5, 7

[76Texan]

A lot us want a rush OLB (the WILL in the 3-4) and I'm not opposed to it; however, don't we think that's Barwin's role?

What about Mark Anderson?
Can he play that role (situationally)?
What is his contract situation anyway?

Sharpton, I think can play SAM (strong against the run) and is at least adequate to drop back to follow the TE from what we can see so far.
It's likely in zone coverage.
I don't think we're gonna see many LBs running with the likes of Antonio Gates or Vernon Davis one-on-one maybe but once in a very long while anyway.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Last year, we went defense 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th


2009, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7

2008, 3, 4, 5, 6

2007, 1, 4, 5, 7

Adding Mario, Demeco and FAs like Antonio Smith, Shaun Cody, Pollard, Anderson, Allen... you would think that should be at least a mediocre defense (after taking into account missed games for any reason.)

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

A lot us want a rush OLB (the WILL in the 3-4) and I'm not opposed to it; however, don't we think that's Barwin's role?

What about Mark Anderson?
Can he play that role (situationally)?
What is his contract situation anyway?

Sharpton, I think can play SAM (strong against the run) and is at least adequate to drop back to follow the TE from what we can see so far.
It's likely in zone coverage.
I don't think we're gonna see many LBs running with the likes of Antonio Gates or Vernon Davis one-on-one maybe but once in a very long while anyway.

I think we have to pencil Anderson in as the rush OLB...... Barwin his back-up.. at least until we see Barwin at camp. With Anderson as our Rush OLB.... do we need to draft that guy at #1?

With Sharpton inside, Cushing at SAM..... I like that much better. It also leaves Bentley free to fill until Demeco is 100%.

Depth would be Barwin, Adibi, Bing, Bentley..... 'meh...

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

Adding Mario, Demeco and FAs like Antonio Smith, Shaun Cody, Pollard, Anderson, Allen... you would think that should be at least a mediocre defense (after taking into account missed games for any reason.)

If the LB issue is a coaching issue (which I believe it has to be).. I think we'll be ok.

In my mind, with Quin at safety, we're not as bad off as we want to believe.

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

So we've heard Kubiak saying that Wade Phillips will have pretty much full authority to choose defensive players and shall have enough ammunitions to make the defense work.

I'm going to assume no FA and no trade up or trade back at the moment.

My guess is we will draft defense something like:
1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th
1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th

Which scenario do you like, or do you propose a different one?

At any rate, I'd like to hear everybody take about our positions of needs.

I would be happy if the Texans drafted 2nd,3rd,4th,5th. If Jones happens fall to #11.

A draft that looked like this would be great.

Rd.1 Jones
Rd.2 Ellis
Rd.3 Reed
Rd.4 Tarrant
Rd.5 Friday

This defense would be much improved if a CB and NT were added in FA. Young and much faster. Improved pass rush,a Developmental NT with great potential. A really fast and talented S in Tarrant and 2 LB's if Barwin and ryans dont make it back.

Drafting Jones would really open up the offense. AJ and Julio Jones would be lethal. The offense would really be able to help the defense.

Yeah, this draft would be the best the Texans have had since 2006.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

I think we have to pencil Anderson in as the rush OLB...... Barwin his back-up.. at least until we see Barwin at camp. With Anderson as our Rush OLB.... do we need to draft that guy at #1?

With Sharpton inside, Cushing at SAM..... I like that much better. It also leaves Bentley free to fill until Demeco is 100%.

Depth would be Barwin, Adibi, Bing, Bentley..... 'meh...

I like Cushing as a downhill-type of player.
It looks to me like the MIKE in Phillips' scheme can make a lot of plays in the running game and he can rush the QB in passing situation as well.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

I like Cushing as a downhill-type of player.
It looks to me like the MIKE in Phillips' scheme can make a lot of plays in the running game and he can rush the QB in passing situation as well.

He looks great, so far outside. IMO, he's second best at setting the edge. Mario & Cushing stunting on the edge may be the dangerous duo we've been looking for. With Anderson/Barwin/Von Miller on the week side......


Music man, sweet music

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by steelbtexan

I would be happy if the Texans drafted 2nd,3rd,4th,5th. If Jones happens fall to #11.

A draft that looked like this would be great.

Rd.1 Jones
Rd.2 Ellis
Rd.3 Reed
Rd.4 Tarrant
Rd.5 Friday

This defense would be much improved if a CB and NT were added in FA. Young and much faster. Improved pass rush,a Developmental NT with great potential. A really fast and talented S in Tarrant and 2 LB's if Barwin and ryans dont make it back.

Drafting Jones would really open up the offense. AJ and Julio Jones would be lethal. The offense would really be able to help the defense.

Yeah, this draft would be the best the Texans have had since 2006.

I haven't watched Tarrant play yet.
Can he start right away?

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

He looks great, so far outside. IMO, he's second best at setting the edge. Mario & Cushing stunting on the edge may be the dangerous duo we've been looking for. With Anderson/Barwin/Von Miller on the week side......


Music man, sweet music

Honestly, I don't have any problem with Cushing on the edge, I just think that he will have more opportunities to make plays at MIKE, that's all.

[Wolf6151]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

Any priority of preference in your view? And possible reasons?

JMO, priority preference:
1. CB
2. FS or NT, depending on who's available.
3. NT or FS, depending on who's available.
4. WR, JJ's replacement, I like Terrance Toliver from LSU.
5. OT, possibly to replace Butler if we lose him in FA.
6 and 7. defensive depth depending on player availability. LB, SS, NT, CB, etc.
We may not have the perfect LB's for a 3-4 system but we've got good ones on the inside, Cushing and Ryans, and players with the athleticism to play the OLB positions, Barwin and Anderson. They're at least worth giving a try. Thus I see CB, FS, and NT as bigger needs because we don't have the right players in those positions and I don't see anyone on the roster to fill those spots. Quin could possibly fill the FS spot but then we'd be just that much weaker at CB.

Reasons:
That's easy, LOL, because the current players at CB, NT, and FS suck.

[kiwitexansfan]

I think S is our #1 need, given there is no first round safety out there we might go offense first round.

I think LB is next on the list, probably an edge guy as I like Cushing at MLB with Ryans next to him. Barwin and Anderson and Sharpton can be ok at the OLB but I would like a more experienced OLB to be there too.

Depth on the DL comes next, probably at DT first then DE.

I think CB is less of a need than S but a talented ball hawk at CB wouldn't go amiss either.

That is my thoughts but that goes out the window if a GREAT talent is there at any stage, I am much more about BPA than needs.

[Ole Miss Texan]

I think we could use a franchise type NT like you see the dominant playoff teams having - hard to find though.

As far as the draft goes I think Defensive position is wide open: DE, NT, OLB, ILB, CB, S. Any facet of our defense could and probably should be addressed. OLB, as well all feel, is a huge key in the success of the 3-4. That one really good player like Clay Matthews or James Harrison that is a sack artist and can knock the crud out of TEs and RBs.

I think it's highly probable that we address the D early and often with the draft. That has our most needs, there's tons of good players on that side early in the draft, and we won't have the luxury of FA to fill any holes before the draft. So in a way it works in our favor.

I don't really care when/where/how they address the defense. As far as who to select in each round, I want them to take the hands down best prospect for our team. If that's Julio Jones at #11 that they have rated as the 5th best player in the draft... do it! I just want us to get as many playmakers as possible and if they stack up on some really good DL guys instead of CB/S, I won't mind. As long as that DE or NT is rated higher than the other guys available.

I just don't want to reach for a a CB or OLB or S because we feel like we need one. If there's a 3-4 DE that they think could be a franchise type of guy (Cameron Jordan?) I hope we take him instead of a "need" at OLB that isn't rated as highly.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by kiwitexansfan

I think S is our #1 need, given there is no first round safety out there we might go offense first round.

I think LB is next on the list, probably an edge guy as I like Cushing at MLB with Ryans next to him. Barwin and Anderson and Sharpton can be ok at the OLB but I would like a more experienced OLB to be there too.

Depth on the DL comes next, probably at DT first then DE.

I think CB is less of a need than S but a talented ball hawk at CB wouldn't go amiss either.

That is my thoughts but that goes out the window if a GREAT talent is there at any stage, I am much more about BPA than needs.

I tend to agree with Kiwi more.
We have to do something at safety.
Wilson, after all those injuries, showed that he doesn't have the range any longer. Can we expect him to return to his best form (which was merely above average at best)?
Nolan has some range, but not exceptional. We can hope that he will get better in his reads, and with some coaching, maybe a light will come on in his head. But as his collegiate and pro tapes demonstrated, he's inconsistent in that are as well. You want your safety to either play smart or to have exceptional skills (a combination would be best), but Nolan has neither (even though he still has some potential).
Pollard may not even get resigned. He shows a lack in coverage skill anyway and can be best trusted to play downhill and not defending the redzone or deep. As with Nolan, we can hope that coaching will make him a better coverage guy.

None of them are great tacklers in open space either.
So why should we endure all the anguishes hoping for a light to come on in their head?

Quintin Demps showed me that he has some potential as well in the 3 games I saw him play with the Eagles (but he wasn't on the field much, so it's hard to gauge.) And why did he get cut in favor of two rookies (Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman) to start with.

If we move one guy (Allen who may have signed with us for only one year, Quin, or Jackson) to safety, we will have to draft another CB and play a rookie there (along with an inexperience safety.) That doesn't sound like a good recipe for the short term.

I'm assuming that we can't sign a good quality veteran at either CB or safety, in which case, I think drafting a safety in the first 3 rounds is the sensible way to go.

I'm also assuming that Jason Allen is back.
Allen and Jackson with Quin as the nickel (each of them having another year of experience) should be better than last year.
We can still play Nolan, Wilson (and perhaps even Pollard if he comes back) while giving the rookie some time to develop (how much time depending upon his ability; obviously, the higher he's drafted, the better we expect his ability to be.)

It's not that I'm against drafting a CB early, I'm only concerned that we will have too much inexperience at more than one position in the secondary to deal with early on, that's all.

[bah007]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

I think we could use a franchise type NT like you see the dominant playoff teams having - hard to find though.

As far as the draft goes I think Defensive position is wide open: DE, NT, OLB, ILB, CB, S. Any facet of our defense could and probably should be addressed. OLB, as well all feel, is a huge key in the success of the 3-4. That one really good player like Clay Matthews or James Harrison that is a sack artist and can knock the crud out of TEs and RBs.

I think it's highly probable that we address the D early and often with the draft. That has our most needs, there's tons of good players on that side early in the draft, and we won't have the luxury of FA to fill any holes before the draft. So in a way it works in our favor.

I don't really care when/where/how they address the defense. As far as who to select in each round, I want them to take the hands down best prospect for our team. If that's Julio Jones at #11 that they have rated as the 5th best player in the draft... do it! I just want us to get as many playmakers as possible and if they stack up on some really good DL guys instead of CB/S, I won't mind. As long as that DE or NT is rated higher than the other guys available.

I just don't want to reach for a a CB or OLB or S because we feel like we need one. If there's a 3-4 DE that they think could be a franchise type of guy (Cameron Jordan?) I hope we take him instead of a "need" at OLB that isn't rated as highly.

What's with all the love for Cameron Jordan recently?

I did my first mock weeks ago and I had him as our first round pick and got blasted pretty heavily for it.

Now everyone seems to be okay with him for some reason.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

I think we could use a franchise type NT like you see the dominant playoff teams having - hard to find though.

As far as the draft goes I think Defensive position is wide open: DE, NT, OLB, ILB, CB, S. Any facet of our defense could and probably should be addressed. OLB, as well all feel, is a huge key in the success of the 3-4. That one really good player like Clay Matthews or James Harrison that is a sack artist and can knock the crud out of TEs and RBs.

I think it's highly probable that we address the D early and often with the draft. That has our most needs, there's tons of good players on that side early in the draft, and we won't have the luxury of FA to fill any holes before the draft. So in a way it works in our favor.

I don't really care when/where/how they address the defense. As far as who to select in each round, I want them to take the hands down best prospect for our team. If that's Julio Jones at #11 that they have rated as the 5th best player in the draft... do it! I just want us to get as many playmakers as possible and if they stack up on some really good DL guys instead of CB/S, I won't mind. As long as that DE or NT is rated higher than the other guys available.

I just don't want to reach for a a CB or OLB or S because we feel like we need one. If there's a 3-4 DE that they think could be a franchise type of guy (Cameron Jordan?) I hope we take him instead of a "need" at OLB that isn't rated as highly.

Would you want the highest rated TE as BPA?

It's kinda difficult to envision the Texans taking a DE unless they can move one of their own.

I can see a NT, 'cause IMO, Mitchell can play DE in this scheme (but I don't see one at #11)
And of course, we can use an OLB with maddening skill to rush the QB.
(This one has a lot of possibilties, I think.)

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by bah007

What's with all the love for Cameron Jordan recently?

I did my first mock weeks ago and I had him as our first round pick and got blasted pretty heavily for it.

Now everyone seems to be okay with him for some reason.

I haven't seen enough of Jordan to say anything.