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Texan Defense is DAMN Good!

dalemurphy

dalemurphy

Hall of Fame
I'm incredibly frustrated with the result. I thought Schaub, the Oline, the playcalling were all bad. I thought the referees were ridiculous. All of that has been and will be talked about. However.........

Man, the defense was awesome!! You wouldn't know they were playing well listenning to Solomon Wilcox but they were excellent. Manning was frustrated. The WRs were sore. They had no running game. NObody can convert on these guys when it's short yardage. I just couldn't be happier with the play of the defense. By the way, Dallas Clark is a pansy! He slid down in the middle of the field to avoid contact at least 5 times... pretty embarrassing for a 250 lb TE!
 
Our defense was the only reason this wasn't one of those 42-10 beat downs from years past. They come to play (I exempt Dunta Robinson from any compliment I give this team. He's stealing 9 million dollars while trying not to get hurt out there and it's starting to show).
 
dalemurphy said:
Man, the defense was awesome!! You wouldn't know they were playing well listenning to Solomon Wilcox but they were excellent. Manning was frustrated. The WRs were sore. They had no running game. NObody can convert on these guys when it's short yardage. I just couldn't be happier with the play of the defense.
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But but but.......they're the "same ole texans" :rolleyes:

Sorry, but a young defense will take you places....we're building a squad that's starting to have a nasty streak and a swagger and Cushing has ALOT to do with that (this kid better be DROY).

Lock up DeMeco, sign Pollard, and let these young corners (Quinn) grow.......however give Dunta his walking papers and tell him to take his broken ass game down the road. He is not a good starting corner anymore.

This team just needs a center and a power running game to compliment their clutch receiving weapons and then all these close losses will start going our way.
 
Antonio Smith is really starting to impress. He collapsed the pocket a few times and had a strip sack. The guy is making the plays to earn that big payday he got.
 
Wolf said:
it was a bend but don't break today
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(While I don't agree it was just "bend, but don't break") against INDY, that's damn good defense... How many defenses do you see "manhandle" them? You hold them to 20 points and force timely T.O.'s (especially when your offense keeps you on the field the entire 1st half) and you did a hell of a job.
 
It was very impressive once we got our bearings, those first couple drives they really had an element of surprise that had us back on our heels.

I have an absolute man crush on this defense, we just crunch people all over the field, it is spectacular.

Even Wilson was getting in the act, it was a penalty but whatever, and Pollard was just laying the wood all over the field.

I think I am going to change Pollard's name from bone crusher to captain crunch
 
Carr Bombed said:
But but but.......they're the "same ole texans" :rolleyes:

Sorry, but a young defense will take you places....we're building a squad that's starting to have a nasty streak and a swagger and Cushing has ALOT to do with that (this kid better be DROY).

Lock up DeMeco, sign Pollard, and let these young corners (Quinn) grow.......however give Dunta his walking papers and tell him to take his broken ass game down the road. He is not a good starting corner anymore.

This team just needs a center and a power running game to compliment their clutch receiving weapons and then all these close losses will start going our way.
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At Indy is probably the toughest place in the NFL to play football because of their offense and the speed of the defense, especially those two DEs. I thought we'd have to win the turnover battle, dominate on special teams, and run the ball well to have a decent shot at the game. I didn't realize how good this defense has become. We lost the turnover battle, played poorly on special teams, were handcuffed by horrible officiating and some bad luck, and still should've been in OT.

The reality is that the organization has spent the past 3 seasons trying to upgrade the defensive talent and athleticism. Much fewer draft picks and dollars have been spent on offense. It's a good offense but is missing some pieces to be great. More energy will be put into upgrading the offense this off-season. Cheer up. No team in the NFL goes into Indy with a good chance to win. Since the defense got healthy and got on the same page, we've lost two heartbreakers at Arizona and at Indy... I think we'll take care of business versus Tennessee and I think they will steamroll Indy the week after.
 
Might not belong in here per se, but here's an interesting tidbit from the ESPN recap on the Indy-Houston game:

Then after forcing a rare three-and-out, Matt Schaub moved Houston into scoring position again only to see Brown push his field goal attempt to the left, leaving some teammates sprawled on the field in disbelief.
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Don't we lead the league or something in forcing three-and-outs???
 
For the first time in franchise history i'm confident this defense is a genuinely GOOD defense. We've still got our warts sure, but we can actually stop the run (who would've thought we could say this after the first 3 games?), we can pressure the QB, and every so often we can defend the pass AND force turnovers!!!

I cant wait for the day when I can say that "insert unit here" plays at a high level for the whole game much less our whole team. When we can say that, AJ will be lifting the Lombardi trophy over his head.
 
Loving the additions of A. Smith, Cushing, Quin, and particularly Pollard. Those guys don't mess around.
 
I was following the Colts board as the game was going on, and one guy
said this is the most "PHYSICAL" Texans team he's ever seen. Our defense
figures an offense out in 2 or 3 series, and our offense struggles for an
entire half. The offense is the achilles heel of this team now, whereas last
year, it was the Defense.
 
Dale, glad you are looking at positive side of the Texans while dealing difficult and frustrated time with the result. I too liked what I saw from our D. Without our D, we could easily blown out from the game.

I am very dispointed and frustrated like many of guys here. Since we are already frustrated from the game, I do not wish to bring too much of negative feeling to this board. So, I am glad to see a thread that is looking at positive side of the Texans. Thank you.

Go Texans!!!
 
Did you guys hear Demeco taunting Peyton at the line of scrimmage on
the 3rd and a Million play? I like that from our defense. The Texans will
be fine.
 
let check the archives and count the idiots who wanted to break out the pink soap avatars over Frank Bush.

I think double digits is a fair bet.
 
Demeco was screamin before the snap on 3rd and a million:

"GET IT RIGHT, PEYTON!! GET IT RIGHT, PEYTON!!
 
Didi you guys notice Pollard laying the lumber today? He really brings a hard hitting style of play that has ignited Cushing to do the same. The first few games Cushing looked hesitant, now he is an aggresive beast. I really think he is following Pollard's lead. It's kid of funny, we were looking at the article and comments on Pollard before the game, KC fans say he has no cover skills. Then today he gets 2 picks. Sweet.
 
Pollardized said:
Didi you guys notice Pollard laying the lumber today? He really brings a hard hitting style of play that has ignited Cushing to do the same. The first few games Cushing looked hesitant, now he is an aggresive beast. I really think he is following Pollard's lead. It's kid of funny, we were looking at the article and comments on Pollard before the game, KC fans say he has no cover skills. Then today he gets 2 picks. Sweet.
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And those were "ballhawk-like" picks. No tipped balls.
 
What if we run the table: 12-4!

for the first time ever, that is a silly thought only because of statistical probability. The reality is, from this point on, this team will have to underperform to lose a game before January of 2010. WOW!
 
I agree that our defense is finally good. It is good enough to keep us in games and hold good teams to < 100 yards rushing. I worry though that without a good pass rush we won't become an elite defense like the Steelers or the Ravens of yore. I really hope that Barwin comes into the player he is supposed to be and that Okoye can start pulling more of his weight (although I feel like he has improved from last year). I think we are getting to be dangerous as a defense though. 2 INTs is nothing to sneeze at in Indy. If we could only lay Manning on his ass like the Steelers seem to do so easily, we would really shutdown the Colts D.
 
dalemurphy said:
What if we run the table: 12-4!

for the first time ever, that is a silly thought only because of statistical probability. The reality is, from this point on, this team will have to underperform to lose a game before January of 2010. WOW!
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I can't believe it, but that thought actually occurred to me today.

I remember when the Oilers started the season 1-4 and wound up 12-4.

The Texans are now 5-4, but they could put a string together.

They could beat the Titans, Colts, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Dolphins, and Patriots to finish the season 12-4.

I'm not betting on it, but 10-6 or 11-5 looks very doable right now.
 
dalemurphy said:
I'm incredibly frustrated with the result. I thought Schaub, the Oline, the playcalling were all bad. I thought the referees were ridiculous. All of that has been and will be talked about. However.........

Man, the defense was awesome!! You wouldn't know they were playing well listenning to Solomon Wilcox but they were excellent. Manning was frustrated. The WRs were sore. They had no running game. NObody can convert on these guys when it's short yardage. I just couldn't be happier with the play of the defense. By the way, Dallas Clark is a pansy! He slid down in the middle of the field to avoid contact at least 5 times... pretty embarrassing for a 250 lb TE!
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I keep getting blasted for saying this. The defense played their a$$es off today. The offense put them out on the field for most of the 1st half and they still kept us in the game. Coaching and Schaub blew this one.

And Dale. I was telling my son throughout the game that Clark, Addai and Wayne all slide to the ground to avoid getting hit. It is more than obvious.
 
bckey said:
I keep getting blasted for saying this. The defense played their a$$es off today. The offense put them out on the field for most of the 1st half and they still kept us in the game. Coaching and Schaub blew this one.

And Dale. I was telling my son throughout the game that Clark, Addai and Wayne all slide to the ground to avoid getting hit. It is more than obvious.
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I get Reggie Wayne doing it. But, for a TE to constantly do it... sometimes to avoid being hit by a CB, is obnoxious. I guess it impacts the officials, though, since they see a need to protect him against big, bad Eugene Wilson and his shoulder of death!

Regarding Schaub and the offense, I thought the offensive game plan was poor... or, the playcalling was. The stage may have been to big for baby Shanny. I think you gotta start that game pounding power running plays at the edges. Freeney and Mathis need to eat turf and get leaned and landed on early. Instead, there were too many dropbacks and unimaginative zone runs, with only that one misdirection reverse.

I'll say this, though. The defensive coaching staff came to win. And, I don't think I've seen Kubiak as intense and determined on the sideline... ever! Unfortunately, his intensity didn't sway the officials or shock Schaub into a good game. Oh well, I guess 10 or 11 wins and the wild card will have to do this season. January Road Trip!!!
 
TexansFanatic said:
I can't believe it, but that thought actually occurred to me today.

I remember when the Oilers started the season 1-4 and wound up 12-4.

The Texans are now 5-4, but they could put a string together.

They could beat the Titans, Colts, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Dolphins, and Patriots to finish the season 12-4.

I'm not betting on it, but 10-6 or 11-5 looks very doable right now.
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I'm with you. As badly as I wanted us to win this one, I'm not doom & gloom. Unless Schaub goes on one of his turnover streaks we can have a double-digit win (and maybe a playoff) season.

Schaub has thrown two picks in each of the last two games and yet the defense has kept those T/Os from blossoming into mucho pts for the other guys.

Yes, the defense is doing their job. Think about how good they could be if the offense kept the ball and let them rest on the sidelines.
 
I agree that they're light years ahead of where they were when the season started. Night and day. Love to see them play with intensity.

The only problem was that they shot themselves in the foot with all the penalties this game.
 
How about Peyton Manning seeking out the Cush after the game to shake his hand?

Even for a stud like the Cush, that has to feel nice.
 
Mr. White said:
I agree that they're light years ahead of where they were when the season started. Night and day. Love to see them play with intensity.

The only problem was that they shot themselves in the foot with all the penalties this game.
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I would argue that the Texan defense wasn't the one holding the gun !
I'm going to go through the game on DVR today. I think all 3 offsides were bogus, the Cushing personal foul was a joke as well.
 
dalemurphy said:
I would argue that the Texan defense wasn't the one holding the gun !
I'm going to go through the game on DVR today. I think all 3 offsides were bogus, the Cushing personal foul was a joke as well.
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It was one of two things...actually I think it was a combination of both.

1. The Texans D was psyched out and acted like a bunch of spazzes.

2. The referee crew had a different interpretation of neutral zone infractions, unnecessary roughness, etc. than other ref crews and were going out of their way to impose their will.

I won't argue that the game was over-officiated, but I hate blaming the refs for a loss. I'll be interested to see what your thoughts are after you watch the film.
 
Mr. White said:
It was one of two things...actually I think it was a combination of both.

1. The Texans D was psyched out and acted like a bunch of spazzes.

2. The referee crew had a different interpretation of neutral zone infractions, unnecessary roughness, etc. than other ref crews and were going out of their way to impose their will.

I won't argue that the game was over-officiated, but I hate blaming the refs for a loss. I'll be interested to see what your thoughts are after you watch the film.
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The Barwin offsides was a phantom call. Two other offsides were Antonio Smith coming off the ball well and getting called for the penalty after he beats the lineman. Mathis and Freeney did the same thing all day and never were called for it. Those are reputation flags and someone needs to explain to that moronic officiating crew that this isn't the NBA.
 
Mr. White said:
It was one of two things...actually I think it was a combination of both.

1. The Texans D was psyched out and acted like a bunch of spazzes.

2. The referee crew had a different interpretation of neutral zone infractions, unnecessary roughness, etc. than other ref crews and were going out of their way to impose their will.

I won't argue that the game was over-officiated, but I hate blaming the refs for a loss. I'll be interested to see what your thoughts are after you watch the film.
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I don't blame the refs, but boy did they miss a few calls. I saw a few times when they went helmet to helmet and no wistle. On the last drive, they were laying on people to waste more clock. Just very tight on us, and loose on Indy. We lost the game, but they didn't help, IMO.
 
At least one of those offsides penalties was legitimate, and in the others, we did have someone moving (though I don't know for sure if they were across the line before the snap). The refs did call the game tight, but most of those penalties were still our fault.

I agree the defense played really well later in the game, but I don't give them a complete pass. Those first few drives of the Colts were horrendous performances by our defense. I know the offense did not do much in the mean time, and was a contributor to the overall bad performance, but you've got to lay some of the blame there on our defense. The Colts had scored half of their points for the game by the time our defense seemed to finally wake up. It's as though we traded our "play poor defense the first few games of the year, then play well for the remainder" for the same thing in an individual game.
 
keyser said:
At least one of those offsides penalties was legitimate, and in the others, we did have someone moving (though I don't know for sure if they were across the line before the snap). The refs did call the game tight, but most of those penalties were still our fault.

I agree the defense played really well later in the game, but I don't give them a complete pass. Those first few drives of the Colts were horrendous performances by our defense. I know the offense did not do much in the mean time, and was a contributor to the overall bad performance, but you've got to lay some of the blame there on our defense. The Colts had scored half of their points for the game by the time our defense seemed to finally wake up. It's as though we traded our "play poor defense the first few games of the year, then play well for the remainder" for the same thing in an individual game.
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You're nuts! That is a great offense playing at home. And, nothing for Indy was easy the entire game.
 
dalemurphy said:
You're nuts! That is a great offense playing at home. And, nothing for Indy was easy the entire game.
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Absolutely. I think we're now a FA and a coach away from being uttered in the same breath as Pittsburg and Indianapolis. We have built our team. The draft should now work to supplement our team. The coach... We need a new RB coach who teaches ball protection a bit better. I'm excited and overjoyed with our progress. Tough loss but I think we're going to be playing football in January, Houston!
 
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dalemurphy said:
You're nuts! That is a great offense playing at home. And, nothing for Indy was easy the entire game.
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Really? I agree the Colts have a great offense, but you can't tell me the Texans' D was playing well at the beginning; there was almost no pass rush, receivers (i.e. Clark) were consistently open, etc. I really don't know how you could watch those first two drives and think the Texans were playing well. I looked it up: first drive had plays going for 3, 11, 5, 10, 10, 4 yards before the incomplete passes (and yes, I know you have to give the defense some credit on those passes). Next drive had plays for 4, 7, 11, 0, 7(penalty), 18, 2, 7, 7, 0, 7 yards. The Texans were barely speed bumps on that drive; I would say those drives were easy for Indy.

In the third drive, the defense seemed to wake up, and played well the rest of the game. But, they were fortunate to not be in a deeper hole than they were at this point.
 
Carr Bombed said:
But but but.......they're the "same ole texans" :rolleyes:

Sorry, but a young defense will take you places....we're building a squad that's starting to have a nasty streak and a swagger and Cushing has ALOT to do with that (this kid better be DROY).

Lock up DeMeco, sign Pollard, and let these young corners (Quinn) grow.......however give Dunta his walking papers and tell him to take his broken ass game down the road. He is not a good starting corner anymore.

This team just needs a center and a power running game to compliment their clutch receiving weapons and then all these close losses will start going our way.
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Is Caldwell going to be the center or will he be locked in at guard? I was hoping Myers would be moved to right guard a more natural position. I am just concerned that Caldwell is getting the reps at guard and few at center.
 
Such a good defensive effort. Only a few dumb penalties and a huge missed tackle(Cody on the go ahead TD) are my only real gripes. By the end of the game, their skill position players were a little timid after the catch. Most impressive was the lack of Yards after Catch. It was mostly catch, tackle.
 
I really like our defense, but I liked it better when Shaun Cody was hurt and not playing. I think Bulman will emerge even more soon. I love our LB core, Ryans has always been a beast, Cushing is a great rookie, and Diles is very underrated. Our DBs are pretty good, although Dunta isn't what he once was, Pollard has brought a huge presence to this team, Wilson is a great veteran FS, our young CBs are good and will improve. Probably the most solid defense the Texans have had as a unit.
 
AndreRulz said:
I really like our defense, but I liked it better when Shaun Cody was hurt and not playing. I think Bulman will emerge even more soon. I love our LB core, Ryans has always been a beast, Cushing is a great rookie, and Diles is very underrated. Our DBs are pretty good, although Dunta isn't what he once was, Pollard has brought a huge presence to this team, Wilson is a great veteran FS, our young CBs are good and will improve. Probably the most solid defense the Texans have had as a unit.
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you are master of the understatement!
 
dalemurphy said:
you are master of the understatement!
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I don't know about that. The original 2002 squad had a pretty damn good defense. If that defense had been paired with an offense of the calibur we have now it might surpass this one, but you are right in that this is a good D.

However the comment "whole game" is incorrect. The Colts were moving the ball at will in the 1st qtr, and Clark was eating us alive. We still had a spotty pass rush at best. It looked like we made some adjustments and started jamming the receivers and they mentioned that on the broadcast as well. Not sure what other adjustments were made, but it really made a difference. In Houston we need to be playing press coverage from the start.
 
Peyton had a QB rating of 83.6, his lowest of the season and 20 points lower than his season average.

Addai had 60 yards rushing.

Not a bad effort
 
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