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LB John Simon impresses JJ Watt

Marcus

Marcus

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http://www.houstonchronicle.com/spo...ker-John-Simon-impresses-J-J-Watt-6342566.php

If outside linebacker John Simon impresses his coaches as much as he has impressed J.J. Watt, he will be difficult to remove from the starting lineup when the Texans return for training camp Aug. 1.

The return of Jadeveon Clowney to play opposite Whitney Mercilus will require some shuffling at their position, but until that happens, Simon won't easily relinquish the spot he occupied in the offseason program in place of Brooks Reed.

"He's a high-motor guy and a student of the game - the first one in and the last one out," Watt said about Simon. "He's a weight-room warrior. The guy works his butt off.

"I know he's going to do his job. If I'm running a stunt with John, or if I'm on the same side in the run game, I know he's going to set the edge. I know I can count on him to be where he needs to be. For a teammate, that's all you can really ask for."

Simon (24) will be entering his third season in the NFL, including his second with the Texans.

The Texans signed Simon off Baltimore's practice squad in October because linebackers coach Mike Vrabel coached him at Ohio State, where he was the defensive coordinator.
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Good to know because I'm not a passenger on the "Clowney will be back" train.
 
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Improvements worth the weight for Texans LB Simon

The customary walk down the aisle was just hours away when Texans outside linebacker John Simon maintained a longtime personal tradition the day of his July wedding.

Rather than take the day off prior to marrying his longtime girlfriend, Brittany, Simon hit the weights that morning with his buddies.

"John had the guys over, and they got in a lift, which isn't a surprise," said John Simon III, Simon's father and a former bodybuilder who lifts weights every day at 5 a.m. "The guy is absolutely dedicated, and it's paid off."

Hoisting heavy metal is something the younger Simon discovered at an early age growing up in blue-collar Youngstown, Ohio, the same hometown of University of Oklahoma coach and fellow former Cardinal Mooney standout Bob Stoops.

Simon tagged along with his father to a public gym, building a passion for lifting weights and football - one that lives strong to this day in the Texans' starting outside linebacker. Before he was old enough to lift weights as an elementary school student, Simon launched a daily training regimen of pushups, situps and pullups.

Prior to attending Ohio State, where he developed into the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team All-American, Simon could already bench-press 450 pounds and squat 700 pounds. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 31 times when he was 16. The 6-1, 252-pounder later benched 225 pounds a staggering 48 times in a row.

No days off ... ever

"Football is a game of physicality," Simon said Thursday night after practice. "Being able to transition what I do in the weight room onto the field helps me. Lifting the day of the wedding - yeah, I can't afford to take a day off. I'm always trying to get better."

Playing for coach P.J. Fecko at Cardinal Mooney, Simon was a prep All-American with 148 tackles and 11 sacks as a high school senior and was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Simon, who had nine tackles and 1½ sacks in11 games for the Texans last year after being signed off the Ravens' practice squad, is a legend in Ohio for his feats of strength. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer respects Simon so muchhe compared him to former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow as one of thefavorite players he's coached.

The well-stocked weight room the elder Simon built at his house became a place for father and son to bond over a shared work ethic.

"I always enjoyed lifting and following him around," Simon said. "When he finally started letting me delve into it, it was something I really enjoyed doing."

After he was drafted in the fourth round in 2013, Simon celebrated signing his first NFL contract with the Ravens - a four-year, $2.545 million deal - by working out for several hours before a rookie minicamp.

"Lifting was something we could do together, just me and him," said Simon III, 53, who works in hydraulic parts sales. "It's special for me. He loved lifting weights, but he also was able to take that strength to the football field.

"I'm a gym-rat kind of guy. I played offensive tackle in high school at about 200 pounds. I wasn't bad, but I wasn't the kind of athlete my son is."

Simon overtook his father in the strength department early in high school. It was a moment of pride for both.

"I'm proud he's that strong," Simon III said. "I didn't have to push him at all. He loves it."

Beyond the point of bulking up, there's a functional aspect to what Simon is doing in the weight room. With each bench press, squat and power clean, Simon is building his body to become a stouter run stopper and a more explosive pass rusher.

"Probably one of his best strengths is his playing strength, his ability to take his weight room strength out to the field," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "I think he's a better pass rusher now than he was."

Reunited with Vrabel

With ex-NFL linebacker Mike Vrabel as his Ohio State position coach, Simon piled up 154 career tackles, 20½ sacks and 43 tackles for losses with the Buckeyes. Now, he's continuing to learn from Vrabel, the Texans' linebackers coach.

"He plays his tail off," Vrabel said. "He plays hard in that mold that he's continuing to get better, working on pass rush, continuing to work pass rush, work on his coverage, set the edge, and try to be physical for us."

Not surprisingly, Simon works out with linebacker Brian Cushing, one of the Texans' strongest players.

"We like to get after it in there," Simon said. "We have different ideas on what to do. We might butt heads at times on what we should be doing, but it gives us a different way to train that we haven't thought of before because we come from different cultures."​
 
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Not a big loss IMO. Simon didn't set the edge as strong as I would've liked and didn't bring much as a pass rusher. Between Watt, Clowney and Mercilus we are heavy at DE/Edge/OLB. Another OLB would certainly be nice, but I have a lot of faith in Vrabel's ability to build a better player than Simon.
 
Scooter said:
Not a big loss IMO. Simon didn't set the edge as strong as I would've liked and didn't bring much as a pass rusher. Between Watt, Clowney and Mercilus we are heavy at DE/Edge/OLB. Another OLB would certainly be nice, but I have a lot of faith in Vrabel's ability to build a better player than Simon.
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Not sure how much time Vrabel will have to develop the linebackers now that he is the DC. Who did they get to be the LBer's coach anyway?
 
Insideop said:
Not sure how much time Vrabel will have to develop the linebackers now that he is the DC. Who did they get to be the LBer's coach anyway?
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Moving up doesn't mean he stops teaching what he's best at. Ask Demarcus Ware about playing with the ancient Wade Phillips, teachers teach. Kubiak's nobodies are still in the league not because of him as a head coach, but because of Kubiak as a QB coach. The Broncos DB's don't need any help, but they may (impossibly) get better with Vance Joseph on the practice field.

This is the fail we have on offense. O'Brien has no specialty (scheme, personnel, position). He has noone under him with more knowledge. He has noone under him with a specialty. But, because he's got ties to Kraft who is McNair's current love interest, we're stuck the idiot.
 
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