Per SportsRadio 610, after practice today, Dom Barber told the media he was named the starter at free safety for this weekends game @ Oakland. This was not due to demotion of Wilson. Apparently, he got nicked up in the Cowboys game Ugh... I was really hoping for Nolan here. Now we have 2 smallish linebackers playing safety. I wish Jamarcus was still their starting QB.
Doesn't make sense the coaches were gushing about Nolan in camp and he made a lot of plays in preseason. You know what you (don't) get from Barber. What can it hurt to throw Nolan out there, what are we going to do fall out of last place against the pass?
Nolan looked EXCELLENT in preseason, Barber looked like his usual crap self. Hopefully the Texans win but Barber is exposed and Nolan gets the next start
Yeah, I dont get how its Barber taking that spot instead of Nolan. All the coaches rave about Nolan...and Nolan backs it up during the preseason games. The guy makes plays and thats exactly what you need from a defense that is capable of giving up lots of yards. We cant possibly be worse against the pass, may as well see how the kid can perform when it really counts. Dammit, Im pissed now.
I had the same reaction when I heard it. Props to poster emjohn, who said in another Texans thread that if Nolan were to get into the lineup, it would be due to injury rather than a promotion, and even then Kubiak would most likely start Barber. Side note: emjohn, you've been killing it lately holmes. There are few other posters that have been bringing it Bo Jackson-style (two sports), the way you have. I thoroughly enjoy reading your analysis on both Texans football and Rockets basketball... you called this move from way out. If Dampier is our starting center (assuming we sign him) by mid-season, I will dub thee "Nostrademjohn."
Like I said in the other thread, Barber was bad at the beginning of last season (save for his pick six against the Jets...which Wilson can't do). But, once he started again towards the end of the season, he wasn't bad at all. I'm not mad with the decision. Nolan will get his chance, even if Barber starts, too.
That's kind of you, but I'm absolutely not some sage.* This just fits Kubiak's M.O. He has shown that he is very slow to ride the hot hand, he sticks to the guys that won his trust in the preseason or the season before, results be damned. The running back position is a fantastic example of that. It could also be that he's aware that if he throws Nolan out there and the secondary gets roasted, then he'd be raked over the coals for using so many inexperienced guys. IMO, it's the wrong move. Barber's proven that he's not sharp enough to play deep safety, too easily fooled by misdirection (sometimes unintentionally). Maybe we luck out and Kubiak rotates Nolan in. But I doubt it. * no rosencopter here.
Unfortunately, Nolan and Barber are both hitters and not cover guys. Especially Nolan. But hey, we're going to absolutely brutalize opponents who try to run the ball.
Well, everyone has been asking for a ballhawk and that is what Nolan is known for. That is why I don't know why he is not in there. In college, Nolan was not known as much for being a big hitter, but was more of a true FS, at least from the scouting reports I have read.
I've read the opposite. Everything I've seen about Troy Nolan paints him as a dude who blows people up on a regular basis, but can't really cover that well. He can, however, make picks, which is something Eugene Wilson is known for utterly failboating at.
Making picks is being a ballhawk...thats what Nolan does. 10 ints and 5 TDs in 25 college games. And he's shown he has the same capabilities in the preseason games he's played in. The guy hits hard, but he is a ballhawk.
This stat is amazing, he returned HALF of his ints for Touchdowns. It would be amazing if he could replicate that
Making picks isn't synonymous with being good in coverage. It's part of coverage, yes, but a lot of times an interception isn't forced by the DB but happens because of a deflected ball, QB hit as he's throwing, etc. Coverage is a lot more than that and I don't think you can really tell how good a guy is at it just by looking at how many interceptions he has.
That isn't the point. The Texans have nothing but crap at FS. They are also a team that creates almost no turnovers. It only makes sense to put the one guy out there that can make something happen
This is how I feel too. How often do you hear about awesome cover DBs having high INT numbers? Charles Woodson, in his best years with the Raiders, averaged like 2-3 picks a year. Same with Namdi Awesome-o, Champ Bailey, Chris McAlister, and Revis. Those dudes are or were the best of the best, and their INT numbers were pretty low. Nolan may be a "ballhawk", but he's not going to help us cover anybody.
It's different with safeties...you can't look at CBs and make the same comparison to a player like Nolan. For one, the free safety spends plenty of time in help coverage. You don't need to have a safety that is incredible in one on one situations. Also, having a safety that makes plays is just as important as anything else. Getting sacks, knocking balls loose, getting interceptions...those are all things that Nolan has shown he can do. Also, your example of naming CBs who are good in coverage but lack interception numbers...I present to you Ed Reed. Two totally different positions, that's why you can't compare the two.
Shutdown corners aren't the same as ballhawking safeties. Generally, your all-pro deep safeties do rack up the INTs in a big way. They're facing the ball, CBs are facing the receiver. Polamalu, Collins, Reed, etc. You want your safety making a play on the ball. [Edit: rezdawg beat me to it] What Barber does is get confused and repeatedly allow players to get behind him before the pass is thrown. I'd like to see what Nolan can do back there.
Those guys are also corners, they are in one on one coverage far more often, covering their man is the most important thing. At free safety, the best guys almost always have big int numbers. Ed Reed, Darren Sharper, Jairus Byrd, etc.
