[Chron] Mario Williams making move to outside linebacker

I agree, and I've been openly concerned about that. This scheme is very vulnerable to teams that can work a nice West Coast type offense and kill you with little cuts in the flats. Peyton may slice us apart week one.

This is where I have to agree with those saying we can't judge them harshly until FA has happened.

And even if I judge them today, I don't necessarily agree that they are worse at safety. I'd have more confidence in Quin/Nolan as our back coverage than Pollard/Wilson.

I think Sensabaugh will join and play opposite Quin, with Nolan rotating in. Not spectacular, but should be tolerable. I only wish they'd pay for a guy like Huff.

Not really. Wade's system is very different from a classic 3-4. Very different. His philosophy is to overwhelm the line every down and disrupt the pocket...shortening the time for plays to develop and making things easier for the secondary. I personally look at it as a kid blitzing every down on Madden (high risk).

It's still a leap of faith that Mario will do well standing up. I think odds of it working out are around 60%.

With Mario and Reed going forward nearly every down, Ryans and Cushing are going to both be weird half-middle half-outside LBs. They'll both be asked to blitz on occasion, they'll both likely pick up TE routes, they'll both have at least limited coverage responsibilities out towards the flats. A huge amount of pressure is on them to make this system work.

The biggest weakness in this system, IMO, is the amount of grass you'll see between the ILBs and CBs each down as the two OLBs shoot forward. We saw how pitiful Jackson was staying tight and his need to give an 8 yd cushion. That can't happen next year, or else guys like Brees and Manning will roast us all day hitting wideouts on hard slants, TEs on quick outs, and HB screens to guys like Chris Johnson.

 

of course he is. Thing is, I was discussing the Texans, and the fans of those Texans. We're not "starting". We're smart enough to understand that it's the new DC's first year. We're also smart enough to understand that Kubiak inherited a pile of poo for a roster and, well for one side of the ball, made a remarkable overhaul in a short period of time. But we're also smart enough to realize we've heard this before. More than once.

I wasn't commenting on Kubiak. But I'll address your further commentary below anyway.

The majority of Kubiak's tenure has been flatlined, Ric. Three consecutive years of 8-8 followed by 9-7? Forgive us if we're not giddy. Can he make it great? We all hope so, because we appear to be stuck with him.

Sure it is. I wonder if you missed my point, though? Many Texans fans are tired of rhetoric, potential, steps in the right direction, blah, blah, blah, and are ready to see the only tangible thing we actually haven't had: W's. Like ten of them in a single season, and *not* "well, they're 10-6 in their last 16 games going back to their 'strong finish' during garbage time last season." With this team, there's always an excuse. Always a logical reason why they underwhelmed. And *always* a reason to look forward to greater things that never seem to come.

You tell me: twelve months from now, will we be chasing another disappointing season with another set of reasons why the Texans are "finally getting it right(er)?"

Wade Phillips is a geriatric has-been DC who got the job without even a pretense of a candidate search. Here's hoping he does well: but the days of his great Buffalo defenses are long, long gone.

Yes, Phillips is an improvement. But I'm not ready to act like we hired him in his coaching prime.

Next year, the Texans will look more like, well, the *Texans* than the 2001 Ravens or Phillips's Bills defenses even. And, the excuses are already polished and ready to go: "We didn't get a good preseason because of the labor issues." "We didn't have time to sign good FA". Blah, blah, blah.

This team is one ten-year-long excuse.

 

Flatlined, as in dead? Or simply flat? Either is wrong, IMO, as are your numbers: 6-10, 8-8, 8-8 (a 2-year stretch where Schaub missed a combined 10 games), 9-7. I would categorize that, given where they were when he started, "positive" and, prior to last year, moving in the right direction. A tad slower than I would have liked - but losing Schaub, in '08 especially, killed them. And then, of course, he had the Brown twins to deal with in '09. Had they fired him this offseason, his replacement would have assumed a team with a lot of talent and potential.

Then come back in September. Not only is it May, but we're in the middle of a lockout. I'm not sure how, looking ahead to the 2011 season, we can talk about anything but rhetoric, potential and/or steps in the right direction at this point.

Who knows? We don't even know when the season's going to start.

Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator of one of the NFL's best defenses *two years ago*. One bad year and he's a has-been geriatric (who's younger than Dick Labeau, btw) DC?

 

My point was specific to Mario Williams - this is exactly why you're considered a Texans apologist. A year ago, you were absolutely certain that there's no way Mario Williams should play in a 3-4, they'd be wasting their best player, etc. Even when you were OK with starting over and making the change, you still didn't know what to do with Mario Williams or think he'd work out in a 3-4. Now that they switched, you're totally on board and think it could work and that they've built a really flexible front 7.

Similarly, when Wade Phillips was hired, you argued that you'd have preferrred a new head coach, but it wasn't a bad move. Now, it's become not only a decent move, but a giant step in the right direction. Whatever the Texans do, you seem to get on board and think it's a great decision fairly quickly.

 

But last year has already happened. Soooo we've gone from 6-10 to: 6-10. With the remarkable upword slope of 8, 8, and 9 wins in between. Over-freaking-whelming. Or, more accurately, FLAT.

Cue up the excuse train...

An offense with a lot of talent and potential, anyway.

Thanks, but I'm not going anywhere. We in fact do have more than rhetoric to talk about, by the way: I was talking about the last ten years. Folks are allowed to express frustration, disappointment, annoyance, or whatever about the fact that ten years in the Texans are nothing but a big fat excuse. Is that a predictor of what happens in year 11? I'm sure you'd argue not in the least, and I agree. As you have stated, we haven't even had free agency yet.

But surely you'd understand why there are many of us who are bracing ourselves for another letdown and another pile of excuses?

I mean, there are logical reasons to predict things might improve. Might improve a *lot*. But with this organization, we have a growing history of excuses and not production, and my expectation is more of the same.

I can't argue his pedigree with you. We'll see how he does here.

 

A year ago? As in prior to the team turning in an all-time wretched defensive performance? *That* year ago? When discussion was led by some anonymous guy on a message forum talking about a hypothetical hiring of Bill Cowher as opposed to tangible changes and improvements suggested by an actual DC? That's what we're dragging from the depths of the attic?

Good lord...

I gotta say: By any measure, the "Let's see you defend year-old opinions" as a "gotcha!" gambit is flaccid and senseless. But here, it borders on asinine and/or desperate. Especially considering....

Search any and every post of mine, Major - I implore you to find anything that suggests I'm "totally on board" with anything beyond trusting Wade Phillips. Not only have I not championed the Mario move specifically, I don't believe I've even mentioned it beyond jumping on people for assuming that whatever Wade says in May - in the middle of a lockout - is how things will wind up in September.

I have zeropointzero idea if Mario can work in a 3-4. But after watching them crumble last year, and thinking back over the mistakes this regime has made on that side of the ball - I started focusing on the tremendous need to build a strong, successful defensive infrastructure, individual players like Mario Williams be damned.

Wrong. Again. I was championing this kind of move *before* they made any decision on Kubiak. Again, go through my posts the final weeks of the season - the running theme was, "If they're not going to fire Kubiak, they better at least bring in a big-time, highly-decorated DC." "(And fire Rick Smith.)" My choice was Marv Lewis - might ring a bell. I've long-thought that was a beyond preferable plan B, well before their exhaustive search led them to Phillips.

 

man, that would have been nice. almost as nice as Cowher.