Along with release time and movement patterns, scheme and coaching can also help a team overcome a talent deficiency on the offensive line. And for a former quarterback like Orlovsky, that’s been the most frustrating part of the Texans’ first two games: The coaching staff is making the same mistakes that plagued it last season. Houston had significant problems picking up blitzes in 2018, and that’s continued with Tunsil, running back Duke Johnson, and the rest of its new personnel up front. During the Texans’ loss to the Saints, New Orleans consistently sent blitzes on the side opposite the tight end, and the Texans failed to pick up those pressure packages. “They can’t pass it off well,” Orlovsky says. “Part of me was a little bit understanding with the new tailback and the new tackle. But it’s the same story. It has to fall on Bill O’Brien at some point.”
In the meantime, though, there are ways that O’Brien and the Texans can find a balance between giving Watson the freedom to push the ball downfield and doing a better job of protecting him. One method is with more heavy sets and max-protection looks that feature only two or three receivers running routes. Houston tries to create deep play-action shots on early downs, but too often, those designs come out of sets with three receivers and a single tight end. Which leaves the Texans blockers at a disadvantage. Orlovsky says that against the Saints, O’Brien used designs that asked a tight end to block All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan on two separate occasions. “That’s just stupid,” Orlovsky says. “I don’t care who the tight end is.” The Texans have their share of max-protection, play-action shot plays in the playbook. It’s just a matter of leaning on them more than they have in the past.
When the Texans
do choose to put three receivers on the field and spread defenses out, they generally do it in ways that leave them vulnerable. In most situations, an offense’s rules for dealing with the blitz are fairly uniform: Some combination of the quarterback and the offensive line (the roles vary by team) will designate a specific linebacker pre-snap as the “Mike.” That player, along with the front four defenders, becomes the responsibility of the offensive line. If a different defender blitzes after the Mike is assigned, it’s the quarterback’s job to throw the ball “hot” to the receiver in the vacated area.
Experienced lines can skillfully tweak protection schemes and rules each week for specific plays and opponents, a tactic the Packers used regularly as their linemen spent more time together. “We’d used to have little side meetings with Aaron and the offense where we’d sit down on Saturdays and say, the coaches really like this play, but we’re not really digging it that much because we think there’s a weakness here,” Lang says. “We used to not have two different game plans, but have modified game plans as players.” For the new-look Texans, though, that would be like asking junior high students to take a calculus test. At this point, Houston is botching even basic “hot” rules at an alarming rate.
The Texans’ best hopes moving forward involve Watson heaving deep balls and keeping plays alive, but if they keep going about it this way, he won’t be on the field to do it. Houston has to find ways to protect Watson—and ways to protect him from himself.
More here:
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/...s-deshaun-watson-pass-protection-quarterbacks
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