I think Texans fans have been fed the "pass rush" excuse to explain away bad defenses for so long that they've overhyped the pass rush. Last year for example, when many on this site defended Kareem with the "not enough pass rush" excuse, the Texans finished ahead of Baltimore in sack totals. Linebacker and safety play is so important in today's NFL because of the advancing pass systems and how they have changed offenses, including the running game.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Mario and Reed are/where playing entirely different positions. Barwin was moved to the weak side to replace Mario and Reed was bumped up to replace Barwin on the strong side. Two totally different positions with different responsibilities and roles. Correct?
I do agree about the Texans putting a priority on adding another quality receiver and corner, but not at the cost of losing Mario.
Everything has gone into it: Watt has been an incredible force on the line, teaming up with Smith and helping Cody get some push. Those guys are churning the line play after play and making things happen. The secondary is giving the rushing front 5 time. J-Joe has his side on lock, and Kareem is at least treading water. All the time last season guys would get to the QB but come up dry because he'd get the ball out. I won't say we're seeing coverage sacks...but QBs aren't being bailed out with open receivers like before. The scheme is huge, too. Bush was nutless and kept the team in "read" schemes until he finally realized an axe was about to fall. Wade is blitz-happy. Guys get into a zone, hone their rushing technique, and get plenty of opportunities to notch a kill. Reed is very good, and if the preseason was open competition, he would have beaten out Mario hands down. Mario, to his credit, got used to the new spot and was coming into his own before the injury. Still....Reed may have better instincts and a better feel for the position. Mario's a pure rusher and Reed has room for improvement in that area. I hope we can get one more year with Mario to see how things go.....but I'll be honest and say I don't know if OLB Mario is $13M better than OLB Reed. If we franchised Mario and let him go elsewhere for two #1 picks....I'm not sure that isn't best for everyone.
you are correct. They moved Barwin to Mario's spot for the most part. I love Brooks and he's been playing very well. He is certainly starter quality in the NFL. It's going to be fun to see how he develops over the next couple of years. That being said, i'm not willing to write off Mario because of him just yet. It would be a great luxury to have Barwin, Brooks and Mario in at any one time on the field.
Right now , he just uses speed... Once he learns to use his hands better, he'll average 10-15 sacks... He's a legit pass rusher.. I'd like to see Mario and him starting together next season... Barwin is no slouch... But the thought of those 2 seems Steeler-esque
I don't have the Football knowledge as you do, but I wanted your opinion about this. Where our defense is today, is it our soft schedule the reason why they're looking this great or is this team finally starting to come together on the defensive end? I love what I'm seeing this year because I can remember in year's past where RB's would just go crazy on us. That's why it's hard for me to have a clear opinion about this defense.
I think it's a little of everything. Offenses that are not that good, combined with the guys buying into Wade, rookies playing out of their minds, safety play has also been solid. It's just an all around improvement how the players are playing and the system they are playing in. They have played bad offensive teams but like i said, a good defense makes those bad offensive teams look bad and that's exactly what they've done.
Here's a crazy idea, since Wade's 3/4 is a hybrid anyway and plays a lot like a 4/3, if you have the personnel to play 4/3, to keep Reed and Mario on field together, maybe you do that. And, I'd Franchise Mario in a heartbeat and not care if he was pissed. It's legal like chop block.
The 2 previous pec tears among defensive de/lb's that I know of took at least 9 months to come back from.
