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DEFENSE wins championships

BuffSoldier

BuffSoldier

Veteran
The more I think about what Houston did in the draft, the more excited I get about next season. Last season the weakest part of the Texans game was our defense. Not as much due to lack of talent as to the injuries suffered at every position on our D. Our 2 best DL got hurt, our LBs missed a few game and our pro-bowl DB was out most of the season.

But when you go back to the Texans 1st season, our D was the strength and when all our defensive players were healthy, we werent bad last year. But then you look at the additions.

CB: Dunta Robinson
This was the hardest hitting CB in the draft and he was the 2nd fastest. He was also considered by alot to be the best cover corner in the draft. Line him up opposite Glenn and we have a better CB combination then Glenn and Coleman, IMO.


Jason Babin:
Part of the reason our pass defense was so bad last year was the lack of QB pressure, and the main source of pressure in a 3-4 defense is the OLB. This guy runs a 4.6 40 and he is 260 lb. He has the speed to beat people of the edge and the size and experience at DE to be able to fight of blocks.


Glen Earl:
A PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN and IMO the most impressive draft aquisition this year. He was labeled the hartest hitting safety at the begining of the 2004 season. If he is as good as he was expected to be then he will be a big upgrade over the safeties from last year I expect him to make a big impact on defense when he recovers from his injury.



With these additions to the defense and the progresion and maturity on offense I think we will shock the NFL even more than expected. We should make the playoffs and we even have a chance to win our division.
 
I like the defensive additions too, they all will make our pass defense a whole lot better, and that is so important in the AFC South. The only question mark for me is the D-line.
 
Depth frightens the hell out me. We can easily lose 2/3rds of our line again and have Deloach/Iaone/Smith as our DL. A little better than last year but really pale in comparison to DL in our division. Our linbackers will be deep this year however. Our safeties should be pretty good in the depth department, but the CB's looks to have about the same as last year. This and DL area concern me because this is where we had the most problems last year. Any word on K. Wrights progress with his injury?
 
Just to point out some similarities between Babin and another well known pass rusher taken in last year's draft:

Terrell Suggs:
HT: 6'4
WT: 257
40 yd time: 4.6

Jason Babin
HT: 6'2
Wt: 260
40 yd time: 4.6

If Babin can be half as productive sack-wise as Suggs was last year for the Ravens (12 sacks), I'd say he was a worthy pick up. C&C said they didn't see everything they wanted in Suggs last year, so if they saw it in Babin, he should be a pretty incredible pass rusher.
 
Not to take anything away from Suggs last year, but he also had Peter Boulware on the other side and Ray Lewis in the middle. None the less, I think Babin can put up 10 sacks if is the 3 down player that Capers talks about.
 
the only position we have a lack at depth at now is DL and OL...if you look at our DB's we have pretty good depth at it now...and LB's is the same...DL depth is a little discouraging...wish we could have re-signed steve martin...i would be more comfortable with him as a back up NT than Ioane...but who knows...UDFA isn't over yet
 
SESupergenius said:
Depth frightens the hell out me. We can easily lose 2/3rds of our line again and have Deloach/Iaone/Smith as our DL. A little better than last year but really pale in comparison to DL in our division.
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Really? I agree that the Texans can't afford to lose Walker & Payne for the majority of the season again. But wouldn't the Titans be in the same boat if they lost Carter & Haynesworth? The Jags without Stroud & Henderson? The Colts without Freeney and...well just Freeney?

I think DeLoach & Sears are fine in reserve roles playing 15-20 snaps/game. It's when the snaps get extended is where their warts (and lack of conditioning) show.
 
The D-line is my biggerst concern on defense. But maybe this year we wont have any major D-Line injuries? Hopefuly the addition of Smith helps our D-line out.
 
I still think the Texans should have gone with Vince Wilfolk or Kenechi Udeze with the 10th pick! Without pressure on the QB, Dunta Robinson will have a tuff hill to climb. 3-4 starts with the D-Line. I saw some clips on NFL Network on Kenechi Udeze in the Rose Bowl against Michigan wow very impressive size and speed to get to the QB and running backs. He was throwing 300 lb tackles like little kids or just ran past them. Looks like a bigger Jevon Kearse! He is only 21 too. The only knock is his shoulder. But Payne and Walker have their injuries too. Robaire Smith helps but you can never have enough D-line men. You can rotate them out the whole game. By the time 4th quarter comes around the D-line will have fresh legs. O-Line will be tired. Remember if Texans have same injuries to D-Line again it will be the same results. Hope Aaron Glenn injury is healed all the way. That type of injury takes a long time to heal. :-(
 
i think we'll be alright...i think everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised with renteria...i think he'll make the squad and might even push for one of the second string spots...i think you move deloach to the back up NT and sears behind walker then renteria behind smith...from what i've read he has more promise than martin and definately more than davis, slechta, and ioane...but that's just me
 
Fiddy said:
Not to take anything away from Suggs last year, but he also had Peter Boulware on the other side and Ray Lewis in the middle. None the less, I think Babin can put up 10 sacks if is the 3 down player that Capers talks about.
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Well we have Sharper, and Walker. They are great players when they get things going. My only question is people getting hurt. If we can avoid excess or lengthy injuries we should be looking great come playoff time.
 
But wouldn't the Titans be in the same boat if they lost Carter & Haynesworth? The Jags without Stroud & Henderson? The Colts without Freeney and...well just Freeney?
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No, because the use the 4-3, we use the 3-4. When 2 of our guys go down thats a bigger impact on the line than if 2 of theirs does.
 
RiotCommander said:
Well we have Sharper, and Walker. They are great players when they get things going. My only question is people getting hurt. If we can avoid excess or lengthy injuries we should be looking great come playoff time.
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Boulware was on the opposite side as the other rush 'backer. Babin wont have a pro bowl pass rushing OLB next to him. Walker is a d-lineman. Sharper is good, but Ray Lewis strikes more fear into offense lineman.
 
Fiddy said:
Boulware was on the opposite side as the other rush 'backer. Babin wont have a pro bowl pass rushing OLB next to him. Walker is a d-lineman. Sharper is good, but Ray Lewis strikes more fear into offense lineman.
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Suggs wasnt an every down player. they used him as a situational pass rusher. Babin, as a starter, should be able to put up 12 sacks like Suggs did.
 
STEEL BLUE TEXANS said:
Suggs wasnt an every down player. they used him as a situational pass rusher. Babin, as a starter, should be able to put up 12 sacks like Suggs did.
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Good point Babin should get double digit sacks, but that makes Suggs' sack number even more impressive.
 
SESupergenius said:
No, because the use the 4-3, we use the 3-4. When 2 of our guys go down thats a bigger impact on the line than if 2 of theirs does.
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Yeah, but it's still 2 players that need to be replaced. In both instances reserves will see more action than that team would care for. I think my point was that the other teams in the AFC South, heck just about any NFL team, would have problems when 2 key starters on the defensive front are out for an extended period of time. Let's just hope it doesn't happen to the Texans again next year.
 
Has anyone here ever seen Kevin Greene play?
I was wondering how well he played against the run.
I did look up his numbers and they look like a videogame, especially when you compare him to other top shelf LBs
 
Jason Babin, I hate to tell you, runs in the 4.69/4.7 range, which is not too bad. The thing about him is his quickness around the corner. Needs to get stronger in his hands, and lower body.
 
NoBullTexan said:
Jason Babin, I hate to tell you, runs in the 4.69/4.7 range, which is not too bad. The thing about him is his quickness around the corner. Needs to get stronger in his hands, and lower body.
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Terrell Suggs timed even slower than that i believe. it was the reason he slipped to the Ravens.
 
I like the point that was made earlier about how there were no injuries to our D in the first season and our defense was pretty tough then. I too believe that if we can cut down to half the injuries we had last year, we will see some bigger wins this season. I am looking forward to alot of turnovers caused by our defense this year.
 
I'm a little discouraged with the depth at our D-Line this year also. Payne and Walker aren't a sure thing. I'd go nuts if either one went down again this season....ARRRGGGGG, the agony it would bring! :mad:
 
In reference to the question about Kevin Greene, the guy was good against the run. He pretty much did it all. I still remember when he was with the Steelers and he played against the Oilers. He was always a force.
 
I was a big pre-draft supporter of Udeze but when I learned of his shoulder injury and subsequent surgery, I cooled off to the Udeze idea.
 
I think our depth is going to be good this year... Deloach is a backup this year. We're very deep in solid and/or talented LBs... We've added Robinson and Earl without losing anyone in the secondary. We've added Wade on the OL, Joppru and Bruener at TE, and a healthy Hollings at HB...

Most importantly, many of this year's backups are 2nd and 3rd year players with experience, instead of rookies trying to learn how to play in the NFL:

Faggins, Wand, Weary, Peek, Orr, Ragone, Ramon Walker, Derrick Armstong, Jabar Gaffney, etc... This is the year where we see the fruit of the scouting and coaching labors, or when we see that we're in for a few more difficult seasons. ;)
 
dalemurphy said:
I think our depth is going to be good this year... Deloach is a backup this year. We're very deep in solid and/or talented LBs... We've added Robinson and Earl without losing anyone in the secondary. We've added Wade on the OL, Joppru and Bruener at TE, and a healthy Hollings at HB...

Most importantly, many of this year's backups are 2nd and 3rd year players with experience, instead of rookies trying to learn how to play in the NFL:

Faggins, Wand, Weary, Peek, Orr, Ragone, Ramon Walker, Derrick Armstong, Jabar Gaffney, etc... This is the year where we see the fruit of the scouting and coaching labors, or when we see that we're in for a few more difficult seasons. ;)
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I like your frame of mind. But every other teams rookies from that year are getting alot better. Hopefully asking them to step up and perform for the last 2 years will help them out this year. Kinda give them the edge.
 
DC_ROCK said:
I like your frame of mind. But every other teams rookies from that year are getting alot better. Hopefully asking them to step up and perform for the last 2 years will help them out this year. Kinda give them the edge.
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Sure, but we are now on par with the rest of the league- instead of having a bench made up of almost entirely journeymen and castoffs... Now, it comes down to the quality of our scouting department in selecting these guys and the quality of our coaching staff in aiding their development. Compare our depth and talent to an average to above average team like the Cowboys:

I'd argue we have a better offensive line, better Qbs, better HBs, similar WR talent, similar DL talent, and more talent and depth in the secondary... Also, they don't blow us away anywhere on the field.
 
Alot of experts do not like the picks that we got, after robinson, but I think they are going to work out just fine. We filled some holes and hopefully Coleman can pick up the safety spot really fast. The last thing we need is a Stevens-Type problem back there, due to the guy not being able to make the adjustment! Besides that, Playoffs is not out of the question!
 
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