I'm definitely not in the "sky is falling" crowd but I remember hearing something about Wade Phillip's defenses having a drop-off in his second year. I'm not sure where I hear/read it but someone said there's always been a great improvement in son-of-bum's 1st year but then a drop-off in year 2. Perhaps that's what the Texans are experiencing now. The team is still pretty good but the defense is struggling compared to last year. Hope they can get it together. AFC Championship game or bust!
Teams are getting more tape on Wade's defense and they even pointed it out last night - teams are forcing the Texans to play nickel and Glover Quin is getting picked on. They are constantly running towards him and he looks just lost. Also, the pass rush isn't getting to the QB like it was last year either. Joseph has to be hurt - there's no other way to explain him always getting burned now. The biggest part of the problem is the pass rush. The pass rush protects the secondary. I don't think Wade's defense will hold up against teams that play 5wr sets aka New Orleans, Green Bay, and New England.
when you're hired to take over bad defenses, there's only room for improvement. when the defense improves it leads to more wins. those wins mean you play a tougher schedule the following year. well, when you play the better teams the defense is likely to take "a step back". anytime you play a quality opponent your defensive stats are going to suffer. it doesn't mean you're no longer a good DC though.
The schedule only has 1 game on it now (or is it 2) that is based on your record from the previous season and it has been that way for awhile.
i think it's 2 games and save for last night's game, the defense has been spectacular. they literally began the season where they left off.
Brees put up a ton of yards on his defense last year. Rodgers did it again last night. Aside from those two guys he hasn't encountered an elite passing offense. Aside from a lack of OLB sacks that's about the only difference I've seen - but that difference is actually just the same thing happening again.
Well, until last night, the defense has been playing just as good if not better than last year. But I do agree with your statement above. The way to beat a Wade Phillips defense seems to be to line up 4 or 5 WRs, throw on every down and keep the foot on the gas. Pass-happy, quick-hitting offense + above average QB = trouble for the Texans Lucky for us, the Ravens don't fit that profile. The Pats, on the other hand....let's just say I'm glad they're 3-3 right now.
Look at his stats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rodgers His team might be struggling, but the dude can get positively medieval when necessary. I'm not too worried. Yet.
I don't think the defence played as well against the jets last week either. Especially the secondary. And they let Chris Johnson gain 140 yards (25 carries) on them. I wouldn't say spectacular but they have been good enough.
That's a lot for a team that scored 0 TDs and 0 FGs the previous week and was missing all their receivers with absolutely no running game. Not saying they played horribly but definitely not as well as expected.
Teams get scouted and counter- gameplanned all the time. It's the good defensive units that can still do what they want to do even when their opponents know what to prepare for. Watt was a big factor early in the game, and then he started seeing more double and triple teams. It's up to the no-shows on the rest of the line to do something, and they didn't. I don't think it's as simple as lining up with 4WRs to take Wade out of his game. We've seen teams generate QB pressure only rushing 3 and dropping everyone back. If JJ Watt is one of those guys it shouldn't be too much to ask for Smith or Cody to do something.
I think by far the biggest kryptonite to Wade's super defense is a good, mobile QB. If there's a statue back there in the pocket, the edge rushers have a field day and force turnovers. But even when we did manage pressure on Rodgers, he is so good at getting away from it that it just killed us. Our secondary is generally pretty good but no secondary can hold up for that long. Then when you keep drives alive for them with penalties on top of that, it spells disaster.
Their TD came after an INT. When forced to drive the field, they repeatedly proved incapable of scoring points. It was a standard performance from a Phillips D: they forced turnovers, got sacks and made stops on third down. The KR4TD and NY having it late made the game seem closer than it really was.
That's kryptonite to *any* defense. Several times last night, the Texans flushed Rodgers from the pocket and he made a maddeningly awesome play on too many third downs to count. Those are such back-breakers; to be thatclose to getting off the field... I looked it up - he threw for 45 TDs and had a 122 QBR rating last year and never threw 6 TD passes in a game. Guy was playing out of his mind last night. They won't face a better QB... well, ever. He was unreal.
All true. Rodgers looked unbelievably relaxed and focus in the 'gun. He was definitely in a zone. But I feel that Wade's defenses don't contain the QB within the pocket as well as some teams with his 'pin the ears back and go' mentality on the edges. So it's especially susceptible to mobile QBs. We don't have a lot of evidence in his time here, but the Panthers beating us last year comes to mind too.
I saw a ton of holding that wasn't called but plenty of ticky tack calls being called... dunno.. maybe ghost of al davis, art modell, steve mcnair, or someone else was still in the building.
