Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

Defense

Joe Texan

Inducted 04
It seems to me that a defense that blitzes all the time gets significant pressure on the QB and we do not seem to blitze very much and we hardley ever get significant pressure on the QB. Would it be possible that if we called more Blitzes then we might be able to get pressure on the QB thus helping the secondary from getting lit up. I am not sure how many times we blitz but wityh the lack fo pressure I think it is not that much, Correct me if I am wrong cause I am trying to figure out how we can be so good in the end of the season and come out so Like a strainer to water to start the next season.
 

TheCD

Rookie
It seems to me that a defense that blitzes all the time gets significant pressure on the QB and we do not seem to blitze very much and we hardley ever get significant pressure on the QB. Would it be possible that if we called more Blitzes then we might be able to get pressure on the QB thus helping the secondary from getting lit up. I am not sure how many times we blitz but wityh the lack fo pressure I think it is not that much, Correct me if I am wrong cause I am trying to figure out how we can be so good in the end of the season and come out so Like a strainer to water to start the next season.
I never go back and watch game film, but I have noticed that when we try and blitz the middle of the line the LB's tend to run into brick walls and make no progress.
 

Rey

Guest
I never go back and watch game film, but I have noticed that when we try and blitz the middle of the line the LB's tend to run into brick walls and make no progress.

I hate to be the one pointing out the obvious, but Demeco's play has steadily gotten worse since his rookie year.

He doesn't do a lot of things nearly as well that he did back then, and blitzing seems to be one of his diminishing skills.

He rarely beats his man on the blitz. If he's not coming free, it's like he has no chance of getting there.
 

Blake

MMQB
A defense that blitz a significant amount of time must have quality corners. And quality cover linebackers if they are dropping into coverage.

A 3-4 defense can blitz effectivly more often since you dont know where the pass rushers are coming from. With a 4-3 the offense know where at LEAST 4 of the pass rushers are coming from 99% of the time. And only have to account for a blitzing linebacker or cornerback off the edge.

Yes, blitzing adds pressure on the QB, but unless your corners can cover up those wide outs the QB can get rid of the ball on a hot read.
 

Rey

Guest
A defense that blitz a significant amount of time must have quality corners. And quality cover linebackers if they are dropping into coverage.
Lots of defenses blitz to get pressure on the QB and force him to make bad decisions which helps out their corners.

I don't agree that their is a right or wrong philosophy..I just think you have to pick and choose your spots...Know when it's a good time to bring heat, and know when to drop 7 or eight...


A 3-4 defense can blitz effectively more often since you dont know where the pass rushers are coming from. With a 4-3 the offense know where at LEAST 4 of the pass rushers are coming from 99% of the time. And only have to account for a blitzing linebacker or cornerback off the edge.
We drop Mario into coverage quite a bit. When Barwin was here, we played him in a stand up role quite a bit.

Under Bush we haven't really been a team that constantly rushes 4 down linemen and only blitz a LB or corner...

Yes, blitzing adds pressure on the QB, but unless your corners can cover up those wide outs the QB can get rid of the ball on a hot read.
That's the point of the zone blitz...QB makes his hot read and some defender is creeping in that zone...You drop your DE back and QB thinks that short slant is available but it's not...

It's all about the effectiveness of your schemes and personnel...

Yeah, if you just blitz your mike up the A gap that is nothing special. Get more creative. Get smarter.
 

Texan_Bill

Hall of Fame
"We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking."


***********************************

What do you think about your team's execution:

"I'm all for it!" ...


~Coach John McKay
 

HJam72

Hall of Fame
I hate to be the one pointing out the obvious, but Demeco's play has steadily gotten worse since his rookie year.

He doesn't do a lot of things nearly as well that he did back then, and blitzing seems to be one of his diminishing skills.

He rarely beats his man on the blitz. If he's not coming free, it's like he has no chance of getting there.
I agree, but I don't know why.
 

Rey

Guest
I agree, but I don't know why.
I don't either...He still gets his fair share of tackles, but it seems like he used to get more tackles for loss than he does now...

He used to be a more up the field type player...

May have something to do with the smaller DT's playing the penetrating style which leaves the LB's vulnerable, but I don't think that is the only reason....

He just hasn't played as well...:shrug:
 

HJam72

Hall of Fame
I hate smaller DTs! I'm so sick of that! Hey, lets switch to a 3-4 and get a tiny, little quick NT....sheeeesh!

While we're at it, let's replace KJ with Okoye and have him back off the WR 15 or 20 yards. That'll stop 'em!
 

silvrhand

All Pro
I agree, but I don't know why.
Inside LB's are not consistently going to beat inner OL for sacks, they are just at a severe disadvantage. I can't remember the last time I saw a premier ILB with lots of sacks in the 4-3 alignment.

As for why his diminishing play it's probably the fact that he runs into Amobi being drove 3-4 yards down the field not allowing him to flow and hit the gap. How did Amobi do this game before I was really able to get past the excitement and watch the game I saw Mitchel in more than Amobi, he seems a bit more effective against the pass at least.
 

The1ApplePie

Hall of Fame
I don't either...He still gets his fair share of tackles, but it seems like he used to get more tackles for loss than he does now...

He used to be a more up the field type player...

May have something to do with the smaller DT's playing the penetrating style which leaves the LB's vulnerable, but I don't think that is the only reason....
He just hasn't played as well...:shrug:
Hate to sound like a broken record, but I would say this is why.

Most interior linemen seem to get a free release more-often then not.
 

Rey

Guest
Hate to sound like a broken record, but I would say this is why.

Most interior linemen seem to get a free release more-often then not.
The things is we play a different kind of defense than we used to.

We used to play a defense where the D linemen held up the O-line at the LOS...They would read and react...In that kind of defense you rely a lot more on your LB's to shoot gaps and make the plays...

Now we play a defense where we want our D-line to penetrate off the snap and then re-direct to where the ball is going...

That in itself means that Demceo will be taking on more O-linemen...

But the off-set should be more broken plays in the backfield because our D-line is penetrating breaking stuff up...

The run defense hasn't been all that bad this year so I can't say I have a problem with that philosophy...

The LB's need to be able to fight off blocks or avoid them completely...Too often I've seen Demeco do neither...If he can only make plays when he is untouched or when the D-Line completely eats up the blockers then he's not that good...

He's better than that...I've seen it with my own eyes...Just wondering where it's gone..
 

drewmar74

disgruntled
Inside LB's are not consistently going to beat inner OL for sacks, they are just at a severe disadvantage. I can't remember the last time I saw a premier ILB with lots of sacks in the 4-3 alignment.

As for why his diminishing play it's probably the fact that he runs into Amobi being drove 3-4 yards down the field not allowing him to flow and hit the gap. How did Amobi do this game before I was really able to get past the excitement and watch the game I saw Mitchel in more than Amobi, he seems a bit more effective against the pass at least.
Sad but true.

Three questions come immediately to mind.

1) Was Demeco always playing the Mike in his career with us? I'm thinking yes, but my memory gets hazy at times.

2) Who was at DT during his Pro Bowl seasons?

3) He appears heavier now. I wonder if he's bulked up to gain longevity but lost mobility to do so.....

Just thinking out loud on number 3. I have no empirical data for that particular thought.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
I hate to be the one pointing out the obvious, but Demeco's play has steadily gotten worse since his rookie year.

He doesn't do a lot of things nearly as well that he did back then, and blitzing seems to be one of his diminishing skills.

He rarely beats his man on the blitz. If he's not coming free, it's like he has no chance of getting there.
And with Darryl Sharpton here, this is pretty much his last year.
 

fiasco west

All Pro
Team needs to change how they scout for DTs and CBs.

Enough with the 'Small quick mobile' DTs
Enough with the 'Physical, and play against the run' CBs

It ain't working. We get no push inside. Oh if we had a big space eating DT it would do WONDERS for Mario and the LBs.

Our corners hardly EVER play the ball. It's almost like they think the objective of playing CB is to rack up tackles. Sometimes they are right there to make the play but look completely confused as to where the ball is.
 

hradhak

Veteran
I agree that our blitz packages are unintersting. We just don't have the secondary to play man coverage when we do blitz.
Even so, we are getting burned by not blitzing and letting the opposing QB pick us apart, so why not blitz with different schemes to at least try and rattle the QB.
 

Blake

MMQB
We drop Mario into coverage quite a bit. When Barwin was here, we played him in a stand up role quite a bit.

Under Bush we haven't really been a team that constantly rushes 4 down linemen and only blitz a LB or corner...
What is quite a bit to you? Ive only noticed Mario in coverage on 2 or 3 plays a game. Out of 60 or more defensive snaps, that is miniscule.

And I disagree. Under Bush we constantly rush 4 down lineman and a couple of linebackers, or the occasional corner.

That's the point of the zone blitz...QB makes his hot read and some defender is creeping in that zone...You drop your DE back and QB thinks that short slant is available but it's not...

It's all about the effectiveness of your schemes and personnel...

Yeah, if you just blitz your mike up the A gap that is nothing special. Get more creative. Get smarter.
I understand the point of the zone blitz. I am not saying we shouldnt blitz. I am saying that blitzing creates certain risk. And if we dont have the proper insurce then we are going to get burned. Now if we are talking about the Texans what so far makes you think we can come up with more creative, smarter blitzes?
 
I think how they set themselves makes a difference. The CB cushion has gotten better but it seems like the Safties are always too far back to make a play. The LBer are never really bouncing around, judging whether they are blitzing or not is easy for me (not a professional football player in any regard) why wouldn't it be easy for lil' Manning? The DL is Mario or nothing so it's not like they have the means to line up in obvious formations and execute regardless. QBs know exactly what they are doing and pick 'em apart. We basically need the opposition to make a mistake 3 times in a row because this D is the softest butt tissue around. Funny though, when they try something aggressive it works. When they resort to a little trickery and bounce around presnap they get pressure across the line.
 

Texan4Ever

All Pro
Sad but true.

Three questions come immediately to mind.

1) Was Demeco always playing the Mike in his career with us? I'm thinking yes, but my memory gets hazy at times.

I think he's always been our Mike backer. Never seen him play any other position.

2) Who was at DT during his Pro Bowl seasons?

We had Tarvis Johnson as a starter (I think) and maybe Seth Payne however I doubt he played. Jeff Zgonia and DelJuan Robinson I believe also came in on plays.

3) He appears heavier now. I wonder if he's bulked up to gain longevity but lost mobility to do so.....

Maybe. On NFL.com it says he's around 248-lbs but to me he looks a lot bigger then his rookie season. I think he was more around 235-lbs back then.

Just thinking out loud on number 3. I have no empirical data for that particular thought.
I answered your questions above...
 

vtech9

All Pro
At what point do the Texans consider firing the DC?

The Texans have the worst passing defense in the league, and instead of trying to do something about it, the DC continuously calls a zone defense which the opposing team simply picks apart. With no pressure on the QB from the front four, even an average QB can pick apart the Texans zone defense. The few times that the Texans had man coverage, and actually put pressure on Eli, they were able to either force an incomplete pass or intercept the ball. After those positive plays, it just doesn't make sense to me that the DC would revert to calling plays that have proven ineffective

Something needs to change.
 

silvrhand

All Pro
DeMeco's last year here? I doubt it. Just gave him a 6 yr extension
I hate to state the obvious but I don't think Demeco is the problem with our defense there are a lot more glaring problems than Demeco. We are pretty set at LB, if we can get some DT experience in here and a DE that actually *WANTS* to play in the NFL, and then fire the horrible DC Frank "NO Pressure" Bush. Give me someone with some balls and send jailbreak blitzes until you can't stand it..

I'd rather go down swinging instead of standing there getting punched in the face.
 
I like your theory, but the Giants did most of their damage with 4 guys rushing and the rest in coverage. They are getting to the QB by scheme and skills of their guys upfront.
 

The1ApplePie

Hall of Fame
I like your theory, but the Giants did most of their damage with 4 guys rushing and the rest in coverage. They are getting to the QB by scheme and skills of their guys upfront.
Their entire d-line is made of pass rushers. They can line up DEs at DT and even NT and great a rush from stunts. That's how they killed Brady and Cutler.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
A defense that blitz a significant amount of time must have quality corners. And quality cover linebackers if they are dropping into coverage.

A 3-4 defense can blitz effectivly more often since you dont know where the pass rushers are coming from. With a 4-3 the offense know where at LEAST 4 of the pass rushers are coming from 99% of the time. And only have to account for a blitzing linebacker or cornerback off the edge.

Yes, blitzing adds pressure on the QB, but unless your corners can cover up those wide outs the QB can get rid of the ball on a hot read.
Have you seen Mario in coverage?

He dropped back several times against the Giants. He was all over whoever he was covering like a blanket, & when he's in zone, he's very aware of people coming in and out of his zone.

I thought Mario would suck as an OLB, but in the last three games, he's shown the ability to do it, and do it well.

Why in the hell can't our "real" LBs cover & play zones like Mario??

It's pathetic...

Cushings a good zone backer, but he's not that great in man coverage. JMO. Diles, Ryans, Adibi..... not even close.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I think how they set themselves makes a difference. The CB cushion has gotten better but it seems like the Safties are always too far back to make a play. The LBer are never really bouncing around, judging whether they are blitzing or not is easy for me (not a professional football player in any regard) why wouldn't it be easy for lil' Manning? The DL is Mario or nothing so it's not like they have the means to line up in obvious formations and execute regardless. QBs know exactly what they are doing and pick 'em apart. We basically need the opposition to make a mistake 3 times in a row because this D is the softest butt tissue around. Funny though, when they try something aggressive it works. When they resort to a little trickery and bounce around presnap they get pressure across the line.
Truth be told, anytime our offense stayed on the field for four minutes or more, our defense doesn't give up more than 3 points.
 

Ryan

THIS YEAR
I'm just really curious to know when this Amobi Okoye experiment is finally gonna end. I can't recall him ever making a play this season and anytime i see Earl Mitchell on the field i at least see him giving a stern effort. Amobi is our worst first round pick of all time and makes even the Travis Johnson pick seem like a wise one.

I mean, we have much bigger issues to deal with in our secondary, but our defensive line play has also been atrocious, and something has to be done. Really has me wondering why we got rid of DelJuan Robinson. He was an effort guy that always made the most of his oppurtunities, even with a limited skill set. Hell, why not even put in Frank "the Tank" Okam.
 

Rey

Guest
What is quite a bit to you? Ive only noticed Mario in coverage on 2 or 3 plays a game. Out of 60 or more defensive snaps, that is miniscule.
That is quite a bit...

Rarely would be once every other game or every three games.

Dropping a DE into coverage 2 or 3 times a game is quite a bit.

The cowboys probably don't drop Ware into coverage that much.

And I disagree. Under Bush we constantly rush 4 down lineman and a couple of linebackers, or the occasional corner.
No, Bush often only brings 3 Down linemen.


I understand the point of the zone blitz. I am not saying we shouldnt blitz. I am saying that blitzing creates certain risk. And if we dont have the proper insurce then we are going to get burned. Now if we are talking about the Texans what so far makes you think we can come up with more creative, smarter blitzes?
Yes anybody blitzing can get burned. Doesn't matter if you have the best corners in the world ever. If you blitz, you are more likely to get burned.

My point was that effective blitzing will make your secondary less vulnerable as opposed to more vulnerable.

That's also what I mean by smarter blitzing. Where and who you blitz, when you blitz. The coverage on the back end of a blitz. All those things go into play.

If you know a QB has a tendency to go to a certain hot route or receiver when he gets extra pressure then you may want to slide someone into a short zone to take away that passing lane.

Blitzing Demeco up the middle to get stonewalled by the interior O-line is neither smart, nor effective. First of all, he rarely fakes like he's coming and then backs out.

Knowing when to blitz. Catch teams off guard. Down and distance. If a team has a lot of yards to cover on third down, blitz them and make them get the ball out quick so the routes past the stick don't have time to develop.

I would not be surprised if opposing offenses can look at us on film and pretty much figure out what we're doing defensively. There is very little creativity. I think a lot of people were so used to Richard Smith that they think a stand up athletic DE dropping into coverage or sometimes going to a faux 3-4 is creative.

There's a lot more to it than that.
 
Top