The 61-yd. MJD run

[eriadoc]

Maybe someone that has it recorded can answer this question:

I keep hearing how Busing did a terrible job on that play, and he did, but what if he had filled the gap he was supposed to fill? He'd be there one on one vs. MJD in an alley big enough to drive a truck through. OK, so it probably wouldn't have been a TD, as Busing would most likely be a decent speed bump anyway, but why is no one talking about the other ten players on that play? If the design of that play is to put Busing in position to make a solo tackle, then that's a crappy defensive alignment anyway.

 

[TheRealJoker]

Its just an example of our coaches outsmarting the other team. Put our worst starters in a position to make plays! Use Mario, DeMeco, and Cushing to block the OL and let our DTs and Safeties go nuts!!!

 

[silvrhand]

Maybe someone that has it recorded can answer this question:

I keep hearing how Busing did a terrible job on that play, and he did, but what if he had filled the gap he was supposed to fill? He'd be there one on one vs. MJD in an alley big enough to drive a truck through. OK, so it probably wouldn't have been a TD, as Busing would most likely be a decent speed bump anyway, but why is no one talking about the other ten players on that play? If the design of that play is to put Busing in position to make a solo tackle, then that's a crappy defensive alignment anyway.

A good safety makes that play but also our corner jumped way outside and upfield which was a bit suprising, he should of followed the TE blocking down and given himself a chance to make the tackle.

#93 got sealed off by the TE, #66 got blasted as well, they are at least 3 yards downfield when MJD hits the LOS.

#56 fills what I believe is the original gap, and tries to circle around behind him, but can't quite get there, not going to happen often if at all on good backs.

#40 starts to fill in about 7 yards behind #56 but doesnt' see MJD on the cutback, which ultimately is the last chance at making the tackle.

IMHO, #93, and the CB made bad moves, and Busing didn't see the cutback which is score 6 for the jaguars.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/houston-texans/09000d5d812faa57/NFL-GameDay-Jaguars-vs-Texans-highlights

 

[silvrhand]

Double post fail..

 

[76Texan]

A good safety makes that play but also our corner jumped way outside and upfield which was a bit suprising, he should of followed the TE blocking down and given himself a chance to make the tackle.

#93 got sealed off by the TE, #66 got blasted as well, they are at least 3 yards downfield when MJD hits the LOS.

#56 fills what I believe is the original gap, and tries to circle around behind him, but can't quite get there, not going to happen often if at all on good backs.

#40 starts to fill in about 7 yards behind #56 but doesnt' see MJD on the cutback, which ultimately is the last chance at making the tackle.

IMHO, #93, and the CB made bad moves, and Busing didn't see the cutback which is score 6 for the jaguars.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/houston-texans/09000d5d812faa57/NFL-GameDay-Jaguars-vs-Texans-highlights

I would say it's on Bulman and Busing.
Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

 

[silvrhand]

I would say it's on Bulman and Busing.
Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

The reverse is pretty obvious when it's coming from that side of the view, You can see it coming a mile away from the position he was in. The CB is just way out of position to make a play on anything but the reverse which makes it one less person for anyone to attack, and makes the cutback much easier for MJD.

If he slides down at the TE blocks down he's in a better position to force a decision for MJD, do I cut up, or do I try to bounce it outside, and with this the CB has a chance to make a tackle.

Either way it's a pretty good cutback by MJD, and he's hard to spot, but ultimately 2 and IMHO 3 players were at fault.

 

[Goldensilence]

Quite frankly if the entire Texans defense didn't start out with the entire game plan to stop MJD and make Garrard try and win the game. They rightfully lost.

 

[HOU-TEX]

You know the thing that pisses me off most? A majority of these long runs have come off of zone blocking. I mean, WTF? Does our D not see the ZBS every darn day at practice?! Crazy, I tell ya

 

[dalemurphy]

Quite frankly if the entire Texans defense didn't start out with the entire game plan to stop MJD and make Garrard try and win the game. They rightfully lost.

He had 58 rushing yards on 22 carries if you take away the 61 yd TD. I mention that not to excuse the run defense but to point out that the yards weren't a result of not focusing on him. They certainly did... that's why the QB run and reverse was so effective off the fake to MJD.

 

[76Texan]

The reverse is pretty obvious when it's coming from that side of the view, You can see it coming a mile away from the position he was in. The CB is just way out of position to make a play on anything but the reverse which makes it one less person for anyone to attack, and makes the cutback much easier for MJD.

If he slides down at the TE blocks down he's in a better position to force a decision for MJD, do I cut up, or do I try to bounce it outside, and with this the CB has a chance to make a tackle.

Either way it's a pretty good cutback by MJD, and he's hard to spot, but ultimately 2 and IMHO 3 players were at fault.

We're talking about game speed here, come on!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he still has to watch for it. That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league, IMO.

 

[Goldensilence]

He had 58 rushing yards on 22 carries if you take away the 61 yd TD. I mention that not to excuse the run defense but to point out that the yards weren't a result of not focusing on him. They certainly did... that's why the QB run and reverse was so effective off the fake to MJD.

Yeah you left out two touchdowns as well when you didn't include the 61 yarder.

Same thing I've heard two weeks prior, well if you don't count X big play the defense did fine. Problem is in reality the big gains DO count.

 

[silvrhand]

We're talking about game speed here, come on!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he still has to watch for it. That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league, IMO.

We played a horrible 4-2-5 SAM defense in high school I got stuck almost in the same position that this guy was. &ou can easily see the receiver swinging around. You can easily slide down on the line while keeping your eyes in the backfield to look what's coming and clearly cover the reverse.

You DE getting blown down the field by the TE doesn't help, god he got pushed 3-4 yards off the line.

 

[76Texan]

We're talking about game speed here, come on!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he still has to watch for it. That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league, IMO.

And remember, it was a well-design play by the Jags.
Garrard made his turn to the other side to hide the ball from the defenders.

Furthermore, I have to wonder about communications in the defense back end.

Even if Busing can't see the receiver clearly, either Wilson or Dunta should have signaled to him in some form.
I think Wilson should also take a step further inside as the receiver went into motion to the slot.
Both he and Dunta did not react very well to the play either.

There are too many signs of a poorly coached football team.
Not just in this particular play.
The players are not prepared for all the different things the opponent may do in certain situation.

 

[Shaft75]

Well, I told him what I thought about it...

 

[thunderkyss]

Quite frankly if the entire Texans defense didn't start out with the entire game plan to stop MJD and make Garrard try and win the game. They rightfully lost.

I think that was the plan. Mario is usually pretty good about his responsiblity, but he ran afte MJD, and Garard ran for 30 because Mario didn't do his job.

We play with Blinders on.

Just like 2006, when everybody was talking about Mario not getting sacks & the pressure was on him to get sacks, and he seemingly didn't care about anything other than getting a sack.... screens, reverses, bootlegs...... all went right by him. Up until yesterday, that hadn't happened since his rookie season. Well, not as often. Last year, it didn't happen.

 

[Texan_Bill]

Well, I told him what I thought about it...

LMAO!!! Shaft, I didn't catch the finger gesture until now.. Good stuff!!!

 

[76Texan]

LMAO!!! Shaft, I didn't catch the finger gesture until now.. Good stuff!!!

You still not quite sober, TB? LOL!

 

[Wolf]

I have had deja vu 4 times now with basically that play and the defense getting blown apart... I imagine all offensive coordinators are making sure a run play like that is added to the audibles when a team plays us

 

[Texan_Bill]

You still not quite sober, TB? LOL!

The vision is still a little blury....... or was that MJD flashing by??

 

[thunderkyss]

I would say it's on Bulman and Busing.
Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

I agree. Bennett had to watch the reverse. Not that he would have done anything anyway, but that was definitely his responsibility.

I'm not blaming Busing.. he probably couldn't see MJD (all 5' 6" of him). Bullman's job is to force the run in.... he didn't do it, against a Tight end at that..... shouldn't happen.

The rookie also hesitated. He should have been, and he's often been in the backfield on that play.

That's not a Zone play, but the job the LT & guard did on DelJuan is text book double team. The guard takes him straight on, and the LT pops him for 3 yards. There's nothing DelJuan can do there.

But being that Cush got through that gap clean, in actuallity, DelJuan did "good enough" If Bullman holds his end, MJD would be running right at Busing.

As it is, Busing is too far inside to be effective if MJD takes it outside, which he did.

 

[Shaft75]

The vision is still a little blury....... or was that MJD flashing by??

What sucks is after a home loss I tend to drink waaaaayyyyy more. I only pull out the number 1 on those rare occasions...

 

[Norg]

What i wanna know is was Jones drew blowing kisses to the crowd how Lame

 

[leebigeztx]

There is a reason why the call him a safety. He is the last line of defense. There is also a reason why troy p,sanders, nor reed started or played alot as safeties. Thatsis probably the hardest position to play when everything happens in front of you. Busing did a terrible job in gap control, didn't read his keys and the player got out the gate. The left side of the d line is killing the texans. All the big runs on cut back are coming opposite of mario.

 

[silvrhand]

There is a reason why the call him a safety. He is the last line of defense. There is also a reason why troy p,sanders, nor reed started or played alot as safeties. Thatsis probably the hardest position to play when everything happens in front of you. Busing did a terrible job in gap control, didn't read his keys and the player got out the gate. The left side of the d line is killing the texans. All the big runs on cut back are coming opposite of mario.

He did read his keys, if you watch him flow to the hole that was originally there that Cushing fills, there was just a huge cutback lane cause the DE got crushed and the CB flowed way too far upfield which gave MJD a truck size hole to burn through.

The safety is the last line of defense no doubt, but that is a tough one to completely lay on the safety.

 

[Blake]

Not to pile on the guys, but Tim Bullman getting pushed back and twisted to the inside, and Busing not being aware of where the runner is and running into a pile while MJD scampers around the side, are the reasons the play happened. I am really disapointed in Bullman. That was horrible to watch.

 

[Mr teX]

As i've been saying all along...8 in the box is 8 in the box & if you can't stop the run with that, then you're losing battles and/or guys are not taking care of their responsibilities.

reading through this thread pretty much confirmed what i already observed.

Bullman/Deljaun getting blasted out of the play...

Busing caught looking inside & not taking care of his running lane...

Bennett coming too far up field trying to set the edge...


We just don't have the personnel to overcome mistakes like that. Some of it's coaching, but the overwhelming majority of it is our guys getting their asses kicked at the LOS & having mental lapses.

 

[Blake]

Bennett coming too far up field trying to set the edge...

Personally I think Bennett was doing a good job attacking the QB and RB or WR that was running to the sideline with Garrard.

It is always better to force the run inside than give them the edge.

 

[Mr teX]

Personally I think Bennett was doing a good job attacking the QB and RB or WR that was running to the sideline with Garrard.

It is always better to force the run inside than give them the edge.

no i'm not saying he did a terrible job at forcing the run inside, he ultimately did what he was supposed to do in that regard, but he put himself out of the play essentially by coming too far up field.

 

[silvrhand]

Personally I think Bennett was doing a good job attacking the QB and RB or WR that was running to the sideline with Garrard.

It is always better to force the run inside than give them the edge.

He put himself completely out of play for anything other than a reverse, what's he going to do blitz the QB on a bootleg while they dump it on the TE in the flat?

The DE getting blown up is the main issue, the corner coming upfield entirely too far is another, and the Busing not see'ing the cutback is the final blow to this run. 3 players, 3 mistakes, game over.

 

[76Texan]

Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

We're talking about game speed here!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he has to watch for it.
That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league.

And remember, it was a well-design play by the Jags.
Garrard made his turn to the other side to hide the ball from the defenders.

Bennett was only about a yard to a yard and a half in the backfield
when he saw the receiver coming for the fake reverse.
The only logical thing for him to do is to take a couple more steps toward the mesh point.
He was less than 3 yds behind the LOS.
His pivot foot was only 2 yd from the LOS.
He didn't go too far, IMO.

In fact, the way he shuffled his feet before making the move further downfield, it sure looks like his main assignment is just that.

 

[bigbrewster2000]

Yeah you left out two touchdowns as well when you didn't include the 61 yarder.

Same thing I've heard two weeks prior, well if you don't count X big play the defense did fine. Problem is in reality the big gains DO count.

Actually what he said was he wasnt excusing the 61 yard run but showed the stats without the run to state that they were paying attention to him the entire game. What that does is make it worse. We keyed in on the guy and he still torched us for 100 yards and 3 scores. Man our defense is sooooo bad.

 

[76Texan]

Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

We're talking about game speed here!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he has to watch for it.
That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league.

And remember, it was a well-design play by the Jags.
Garrard made his turn to the other side to hide the ball from the defenders.

Bennett was only about a yard to a yard and a half in the backfield
when he saw the receiver coming for the fake reverse.
The only logical thing for him to do is to take a couple more steps toward the mesh point.
He was less than 3 yds behind the LOS.
His pivot foot was only 2 yd from the LOS.
He didn't go too far, IMO.

In fact, the way he shuffled his feet before making the move further downfield, it sure looks like his main assignment is just that.

In fact, if Bulman was able just to hold off the TE, Bennett still could have come back and make the tackle (or at least attempting the tackle) on MJD.

And if Bulman was able to win the battle over the TE (which he should have), Bennett would most surely make that tackle.

 

[Mr teX]

Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

We're talking about game speed here!

When Bennett saw the receiver coming from the other side, he has to watch for it.
That fake is good enough to freeze the best CB in the league.

And remember, it was a well-design play by the Jags.
Garrard made his turn to the other side to hide the ball from the defenders.

Bennett was only about a yard to a yard and a half in the backfield
when he saw the receiver coming for the fake reverse.
The only logical thing for him to do is to take a couple more steps toward the mesh point.
He was less than 3 yds behind the LOS.
His pivot foot was only 2 yd from the LOS.
He didn't go too far, IMO.

In fact, the way he shuffled his feet before making the move further downfield, it sure looks like his main assignment is just that.

Yeah but a yard & a half is all it takes to be out of position in the NFL, you know that. A cb beaten by a yard and a half is WIDE open; especially if you're like him & don't have the make up speed. Yeah, you're right we're talking about game speed, & Busing just taking a step over inside put him out of position. All he really had to do to protect against the reverse is basically just look out for it for a split second while he was coming up to set the edge against the run. Even if they wound up giving it to the WR, he would've been able to recover in time to stop it for a minimal gain (assuming he makes the tackle) b/c reverses happen well behind the LOS.

But his situation was made worse & he was put in a bad situation b/c Busing got sucked in & Bulman got beat.

 

[Vinny]

In the preseason I said that we would see more big plays against this style of defense with our personnel. I'm not even sleeping at a Holiday Inn.

 

[76Texan]

Yeah but a yard & a half is all it takes to be out of position in the NFL, you know that. A cb beaten by a yard and a half is WIDE open; especially if you're like him & don't have the make up speed. Yeah, you're right we're talking about game speed, & Busing just taking a step over inside put him out of position. All he really had to do to protect against the reverse is basically just look out for it for a split second while he was coming up to set the edge against the run. Even if they wound up giving it to the WR, he would've been able to recover in time to stop it for a minimal gain (assuming he makes the tackle) b/c reverses happen well behind the LOS.

But his situation was made worse & he was put in a bad situation b/c Busing got sucked in & Bulman got beat.

But he's not beaten by a yard and a half.
Bulman allowed that gap.

If you draw a straight line between him and MJD at the start of the play, the mid-point would be on the 36 yd line, between the numbers and the hash marks. He did not go beyond that.

I do not agree with the notion that he overran the play.
He was right where he's supposed to be as long as Bulman can maintain his gap assignment.

 

[nunusguy]

I dunno how come the Denver Broncos, with all of their problems they had with the transition to a new HC and all which included the loss of the best and MVP on their team, are now 3-0 and they are in the transition of a 4-3 D to a 3-4 D, something that's much more involved and complicated than what we are doing with our D ?

 

[Battle Red Flash]

As i've been saying all along...8 in the box is 8 in the box & if you can't stop the run with that, then you're losing battles and/or guys are not taking care of their responsibilities.

True.

 

[Thorn]

I dunno how come the Denver Broncos, with all of their problems they had with the transition to a new HC and all which included the loss of the best and MVP on their team, are now 3-0 and they are in the transition of a 4-3 D to a 3-4 D, something that's much more involved and complicated than what we are doing with our D ?

Because we're Houston and we suck at pro football. After following the Oilers since the early 70s all the way up to now, all I've known is disappointment. But yet I keep coming back.

Makes you wonder who's the more stupid, fans like me, or the coachs, GMs and players?

 

[Runner]

I dunno how come the Denver Broncos, with all of their problems they had with the transition to a new HC and all which included the loss of the best and MVP on their team, are now 3-0 and they are in the transition of a 4-3 D to a 3-4 D, something that's much more involved and complicated than what we are doing with our D ?

The sarcastic answer is because Denver isn't doing it "the right way".

It's becoming more clear every year that the Texans are doing some things "the wrong way".

=========

The normal "reasons" can be applied, although they seem stale this year:

Denver has had success the previous decade and the Texans (pick one: were an expansion team; had Casserly and Capers). I think it's been long enough; the US entered and helped end WWII in less time, albeit before the salary cap era.

The schedule is too hard, the Texans are in a tough division, etc. I agree with this - the NFL has been too hard for the Texans to post a winning record.

(insert one: Fisher; Pittsburgh) had slow builds to success. While that may be true, it doesn't say anything about the Texans future.

In the end, every year teams jump from average or below to the playoffs. Some are one year wonders; some build on the success. Either way, the teams had some real success. The Texans haven't been able to do that and don't appear to be on their way this year. Something isn't working as well for the Texans as it is for other teams. Every year.

 

[Dan B.]

I'm not by any means saying things are perfect in Houston, but Denver has BARELY beaten a decent Cincinnatti team and then danced a jig on the still fresh corpses of Cleveland and Oakland. They are about to play Dallas, New England, @ San Diego, @ Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Let's give them another month to see who they really are.

We'll have a much better idea of where we stand wrt Denver after this weekend when we have an opponent in common.

 

[badboy]

In yesterday's show on sport show 610, Kube's said it was player execution. Well to me that is on the defensive C. If a player is beat such as a CB being in correct position but WR still makes the catch that is one thing. However, if it is poor execution maybe the D coach needs to sit that player for a series and put someone else out there. Something needs to change with this defense NOW. Prior to season most agreed that the D only had to become just a bit better to make Texans a better team. That "bit" hasn't happened.

 

[Mr teX]

I dunno how come the Denver Broncos, with all of their problems they had with the transition to a new HC and all which included the loss of the best and MVP on their team, are now 3-0 and they are in the transition of a 4-3 D to a 3-4 D, something that's much more involved and complicated than what we are doing with our D ?

I'm tired of all this sudden love for Denver's Defense & their "improbable" turnaround....

Denver's schedule up to this point:

Bengals - lucky play puts them past the surprising bengals
Browns - might be the worst team in the NFL
Raiders - Have the worst Qb in the NFL.

Denver's up coming schedule:

Dallas
NE
San Diego
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Washington
San Diego
NY Giants

Yikes!

In other words, they might very well real off 8 straight losses..we'll see how Denver & Nolan's defense look then.

 

[swtbound07]

Its a good thing the Defense held up this week, otherwise i would have had to open this thread and ask "which one?"

 

[DerekLee1]

I would say it's on Bulman and Busing.
Bennett had to watch for the reverse.

Bennett was 3 yards too far to the outside to have any shot at the RB. We had that side of the line stacked, and they ran straight into it. Bulman and Cody get manhandled, and then Busing jumps to the middle when MJD is already running to Busing's left. Busing and Bennett were both out of position, and Cody and Bulman couldn't bust the wall.

DT and secondary (CB's are only SLIGHTLY better than our safeties) are still our weakest positions, and until they get fixed, we're going to see some points rolled up on us. I had hope going into this season that we could get some players to overachieve, or that Frank Bush would devise some creative schemes to allow his best guys to make plays, but so far, that hasn't happened.

 

[Mr teX]

Good post DL. Bennett was just way out of position period.

 

[Runner]

We'll have a much better idea of where we stand wrt Denver after this weekend when we have an opponent in common.

Be careful what you ask for.

Texans defenses used to be get well pills for quarterbacks.* This year the defense is a tonic for running backs. If there was ever a back who needed an elixir, McFadden is the one.



*I can understand that; as a QB guru Kubiak is supposed to make QBs look good.

 

[Vinny]

Bennett was 3 yards too far to the outside to have any shot at the RB. We had that side of the line stacked, and they ran straight into it. Bulman and Cody get manhandled, and then Busing jumps to the middle when MJD is already running to Busing's left. Busing and Bennett were both out of position, and Cody and Bulman couldn't bust the wall.

DT and secondary (CB's are only SLIGHTLY better than our safeties) are still our weakest positions, and until they get fixed, we're going to see some points rolled up on us. I had hope going into this season that we could get some players to overachieve, or that Frank Bush would devise some creative schemes to allow his best guys to make plays, but so far, that hasn't happened.

my first reaction is where the hell is the OLB? Cushing is in a gap anticipating an inside run. This is a good example of why running so much run blizing, gap control defense doesn't work unless you have a secondary that is instinctive and can make tackles. Cushing didn't look all that great here and he didn't look all that great when he took on Garrard one on one at the goal line (Garrard scored easily on that one).

 

[DerekLee1]

Good post DL. Bennett was just way out of position period.

Thanks. You have to also credit MJD on that play for having great vision. Great back spot the holes and the defensive players out of position. He hit that edge quick and then took off like a lightning bolt. Too bad Slaton doesn't.

And I have no idea what Bennett thought he was going to accomplish from 3 yards to the outside and behind the offensive line. But had he been in position, like Kubiak said, MJD would have been stopped for a loss. Had Busing been in position and had better vision, he would have stopped him for a yard or two gain. Players will make mistakes occasionally, but when two or more guys make mistakes, it's disaster. There's no one there to get your back.

 

[Vinny]

Thanks. You have to also credit MJD on that play for having great vision. Great back spot the holes and the defensive players out of position. He hit that edge quick and then took off like a lightning bolt. Too bad Slaton doesn't.

And I have no idea what Bennett thought he was going to accomplish from 3 yards to the outside and behind the offensive line. But had he been in position, like Kubiak said, MJD would have been stopped for a loss. Had Busing been in position and had better vision, he would have stopped him for a yard or two gain. Players will make mistakes occasionally, but when two or more guys make mistakes, it's disaster. There's no one there to get your back.

He thought the end around was the play. You can tell he took a wide step as the WR came across the back of Garrard. The biggest problems on this play are the front 7 defenders imo. The DE and the OLB are supposed to be the front line defenders on this weak side blast.

 

[Dan B.]

Be careful what you ask for.

Texans defenses used to be get well pills for quarterbacks.* This year the defense is a tonic for running backs. If there was ever a back who needed an elixir, McFadden is the one.



*I can understand that; as a QB guru Kubiak is supposed to make QBs look goo).

Believe me I'm not predicting that we will shut down Russell. I have no idea what will happen. Jamarcus can certainly be forced into making mistakes. Can we force them?

I think you are correct that Darren might have a few nice runs.

I kind of think Denver has a chance to show who they are in their next two games. Romo is vulnerable, and depending on which Orton we see Denver might have a chance in that one. New England hasn't looked unbeatable either. And the Broncs have the luxury of both games at Invesco.

Once we've seen that, we'll have a better chance to compare Denver and Houston. Both will have played some good teams (although IMO the Jets are the best opponent either will face until Denver goes to San Diego). Both will have had some bad opponents. And for all we know both will be 3-2.