JJ Watt is probably the best defensive player in the league, but what has the impact been in losing him? Total Yards: 310 vs 316 They are giving up 6 more yards a game which is pretty negligible. Pts/G: 19.6 vs 21.4 They are giving up up 2 more points which is about a 10 percent increase. Which is a pretty big number. However the offense last year was 19th in yards, 21st in points, and 11th in giveaways. This year they are 28th in yards, 28th in points, and 25th in giveaways. Basically the offense is putting them is super crappy situations either via TOs or crappy field position. The one place we are hurt greatly is sacks where we are near the bottom of the league whereas we were tops last year. Basically despite missing JJ Watt our defense is still pretty good.
They don't get any sort of consistent pressure on the QB. Also, not putting all the blame on where the offense puts them. This defense consistently gives up long scoring drives nearly every game. Opposing offenses often beat themselves more than this year's Texans defense forces them to make mistakes.
Short answer... 1 point. Watt is about the only defensive player that moves Vegas lines and it's only 1-2 points. Surprisingly, QBs only do about 3-5 points IIRC. This year, Clowney's improvement helps and perhaps an added year with RAC's system helps.
I think they are getting pressure, the problem is they're not turning those pressures into sacks. And the secondary plays very well but they seem to give up a big play or two every game.
They got very little pressure during the Raiders and Chargers games. It's why both teams sustained long drives.
I dont think Denver wins the Super Bowl without Von Miller. So I guess depends on what margin. Over a full season maybe just a couple wins, but could be the difference between a contender and a 1st round exit. I think with Watt, instead of a top 10ish defense we'd be top 5
We have continuity on defense this year and Clowney/Mercilus have progressed nicely to fill the gap left by JJ. Two years ago I'd say he was responsible for 3-4 wins -- the year he was an MVP candidate that we went 9-7. But in most cases I think it's better to have quality starters all around on defense as opposed to a couple of standouts + glaring holes at other positions, as opposed to offense where a superstar QB can cover up many holes.
if you have Watt and Kevin Johnson....u dont lose that 4th quarter lead to the Raiders. If you have Kevin Johnson, Charles James is not covering Jordy Nelson. If you have Kevin Johnson and Watt against the Chargers, Rivers doesnt have the day he has.
Depends on the defensive player. If it's someone like Watt or Clowney it matters a lot, if it's someone like Charles James, it doesn't matter at all. Give the Texans back Watt and Kevin Johnson and they might be the best defense in the NFL, without them, they are middle of the pack. That's a HUGE difference.
Yeah I hate that excuse. We don't excuse a bad offensive drive due to being pinned back deep, yet every time the defensive gives up an easy 60 yard drive for a TD we hear people going out of their way to blame everyone other than the defense for the defense screwing up. I feel like the awful lazy analysis has been worse this year than in previous years and it's so bad that a lot of the time I don't even feel like talking about the Texans because it's so difficult to have an intelligent conversation about the team
The Texans aren't even top 10 right now though. They're like top 13. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef
And even that's friendly, FO has the Texans as the 17th defense in their weighted metric. Add Watt to that and that one player likely pushes the team's defense into the top 5.
If he was healthy this year, how many more wins would he have now, do you think? I'm also assuming he gets replaced by an average player
Watt alone would be 16-0, but since he would have to carry Brock, I'm thinking 9-7 or 10-6 if he's healthy.
