[Chron] Mario Williams making move to outside linebacker

Nah.

I'm optimistic, mostly because I believe in Wade, but I'm *not* optimistic enough to think this defense is loaded, or that our number of high draft picks (and other individual accolades) is something to hang our hat on.

The improvements on the offense side of the ball have been world-class. Schaub's 3-year ascent to top 10 status, the running-game's incredible 1-year turnaround. All stuff that any other team would kill to have.

As much as I like Wade, we gotta get some secondary help before I hop on Uncle Bob's "Right Track" Hope Train.

 

low 20s is probably where i'd put them right now with their personnel. Obviously FA coul change that but we will have to wait to see what happens there.

 

The defense really isnt that bad looking on "paper"...4 first round picks and 3 2nd rounders isnt a bad place to start...But doesnt all teams get 1st and 2nd round picks??? EVEN THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS????..... But the difference is .....well....... they win!!!

 

The biggest concern has to be Mario in coverage. Hopefully, this all works out.

 

When you're counting busts like Okoye among the first rounders suiting up on D, it takes a little of the fizz out of the argument. But hey! He's only 23! He was a top 10 selection! Don't think about the fact that 3 of the 4 guys taken after him were Pro Bowlers! Look away from the man behind the curtain!

The defense is going to be a lot better. Maybe not good, but better.

Having a real coordinator and scheme will be a big step forward.

Having a real secondary coach will be a big step forward.

Replacing Wilson with a safety that can get to and make plays on the ball will be a big step forward.

Replacing Pollard with a safety that can contribute in coverage will be a big step forward.

Watt and Smith securing the ends will be HUGE.

This scheme, even if it is high risk, is guaranteed to increase our takeaways. Our 18 last year was the lowest in the NFL, and anyone can tell you that creating TOs is the second most important thing a defense can do. This system should generate backfield fumbles and bad, hurried, passes it least a couple times a game.

The difference between our fielding an improved but still bad defense versus fielding an improved and pretty good defense will be the secondary. They are going to be exposed with this 5-man rush scheme, and if McNair keeps the budget tight and declines to bring in real FA help (S, CB), they're still going to bleed yards and be especially vulnerable to teams playing more of a West Coast attack.

I still see the Texans as a 9-win team, barring major changes.

 

See post quoting Peter King on previous page-

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I don't think it will be a huge issue ... it's up to Mario to be great (just like in previous years), not the position he's playing. If he plays full speed the whole game, he can wreak havoc. He'll be upright a little more at OLB, but he's still going to be coming off the edge a lot too. And in the nickel, which is when we need the pass rush to be at its best, he's going to be at DE where he is comfortable.

 

Not at all - he won't be in coverage. Think of him as a stand up DE. The question is, can he be comfortable standing up? It seems like such a little thing, but often is a big deal.

Biggest concerns are:
Who will be the #1 CB
Who will be the other S
Can Mitchell hold serve at nose
Can Ryans bounce back from a major injury
Can Jackson handle his job at all

 

Good to hear. Although, I don't really like what I've seen from Mario standing up on the defensive line.

The secondary has to be addressed or some heads are gonna roll. The draft was a good start.

 

i don't know how to guess at whether we've improved or not. that's the problem. i thought we improved over every offseason of the last few seasons....clearly i was wrong. i had no idea that kareem jackson couldn't stand up. i had no idea we'd field the worst defense i've ever seen last season. i did question not getting a veteran defensive back, but i was super optimistic about last season...super optimistic.

i don't know if i'd say i'm jaded...i'm certainly skeptical. i'll believe it's improvement when i see it improve. but i think they're making incremental decisions here, and i don't believe those were the right decisions to make

 

Somewhere in this thread there is an article comparing Mario to another converted defensive end (a less agile one) who rarely dropped into coverage and was rarely thrown at. Stats were provided. Go look for it. It'll help you worry about it less.

 

yeah, i've read a lot about that since i posted it. doesn't sound like it's nearly the concern i thought it would be initially.

 

I remember hearing Wade say in an interview after he signed on that he had reviewed tape of Mario on plays where he was standing before the snap.

He said he noticed that Mario consistently took a false step before fully beginning his pass rush and that that was something that a little coaching up could fix.

 

Why is that funny? Is it not true? Those 1s and 2s have been under the tutelage of 2 consecutive failed defensive coordinators who were in over their heads and proved remarkably incompetent.

If Wade Phillips represents a significant upgrade from a coaching standpoint, then having a roster full of conceivably talented players with potential upside is certainly a better alternative to him taking over, say, the defense we had in 2005, which was bereft of talent at nearly every position. I don't see how that's hilarious or naive or any other negative.

That doesn’t suggest the team is “loaded,” it’s no guarantee everyone will reach their potential… but it’s a nice starting point.

 

Please explain how Frank Bush to Wade Phillips is "incremental." That's like arguing a small African village has a comparable population to China. It's a GIANT leap forward. I'm telling you - if they added no personnel whatsoever, Wade Phillips alone would still improve this defense to something in the neighborhood of semi-competent.

 

*edit: nevermind. Of course you don't find it funny. And nothing I say will change that for you, so why bother.

 

I definitely think our defense will be much improved over last season. Thats not homerism.

Last season, we lost Cushing for the first 4 games of the season...then experimented with him at MLB...and he just never got into the groove.

We lost Demeco, our leader on defense, for the majority of the season.

We had a total of 5 plays from Barwin, someone who I thought was primed for a nice season.

We had a rookie CB that was easily the worst CB in the NFL last season.

We also had a terrrrrible defensive coordinator.

Now, looking forward, we have a defensive coordinator that has an exceptional past and will no doubt make many improvements on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully, we can get more field time for Ryans, Cushing, and Barwin. Our rookie CB from a year ago has one year under his belt. Also, you never know...if the Texans do sign a DB...almost any DB, then that will be an improvement right there. This defense has potential...and saying that it doesnt is just a blind assessment of the situation.

Again, Ive never said that we are going to be all world...but there is hope for the defense, and by hope, Im talking about mediocrity for this upcoming season.

 

Who’s spinning, Donny? They were absolutely terrible last year. I’ve yet to see anyone try and spin 2010 otherwise.

That great core *under the tutelage of Frank Bush* put together one of the worst defensive seasons in history last year. Would you even dare suggest they would have been as bad with an even halfway decent defensive coordinator?

And would you feel better about this team if they jettisoned Willaims? Ryans? Cushing? Are you not intrigued by Barwin or Mitchell? Do you think Kareem Jackson is unsalvageable? Did you dislike their draft?

I’m at a loss how anyone could outright dismiss that group as not being a nice starting point. Not great. Or good. Certainly not established and far from predictive of anything successful. Just nice. Speaking of…

Hairsplitting, perhaps – but I never called the core great. Or even good. I (twice) termed it “nice” – on paper. Prior to that, I said it still needed “more work/players (especially in the secondary).” I later suggested it could potentially make the leap to “league average.” Man, am I on a roll spinning!! Look at me go!

Maybe, just maybe, if you didn’t approach every one of my posts with a built-in bias and automatic compunction to confront – or just spent less time Googling animated gifs and more time actually reading my comments – you’d realize I’m not really that close to the version of me you’ve created in your head.

Funny – I said this very thing during the season and was, of course, ripped for it. I would be absolutely shocked if you were among that chorus. Shocked, I tells ya.

Agree completely. The talent is all on paper. It could very easily come to pass that they really were throwing stuff up against the wall and hoping something would stick the past five years. What’s encouraging is that very few of those 1s and 2s were egregious reaches – at the time. Maybe Jackson. And Okoye and Jackson aside, they’ve all at least shown flashes of justification.

I get the "What have you done for me lately" approach - but a core of 9 guys, all 26 or younger, who at one time (within the past 5 years) were considered top prospects isn't the worst place to be, IMO.

 

it's incremental in terms of the bigger picture...that our head coach is the longest tenured coach in NFL history that failed to make the playoffs. changing defensive coordinators is incremental (and, in fact, has been done multiple times in the Kubiak era) in comparison to changing out the GM and the head coach...both of whom need to go, imo.

 

do you have a graphic for this scale? i've heard about people talking of the distinction between good and great....i've never seen where "nice" falls on that scale. is it less than good? if our starting point is less than good, am i to be excited about that? i was pretty excited about it over the last couple of seasons.

we all develop a reputation for our takes on various topics here...from rockets to texans to astros to our president. i can pretty much tell you where most guys here are gonna shake down on most issues and topics before i read their posts. i can pretty much tell you that, no matter what, you'll defend the texans organization, no matter what they do. that's NOT an insult in any way, shape or form. it's not a character flaw. it just is. i'm just not there with you.

It absolutely, positively was the absolute worst place to be last season. They need vets. Defenses need some vets. You can look around at the best defenses in the league and figure that out. They fill holes with rookies instead of addressing needs in free agency. This is a mistake, from my view. I'm ready for new management. I'm not going to get it, but I'm ready for it.

 

I disagree – but why are we not calling out those who gripe and complain about the Texans organization, no matter what they do? (Like, for instance – random example here: griping about them using a 5th round pick on a QB.) Why are they above reproach? Or, more appropriately: why are they right?

As previously stated – I’m not personally invested in the decisions any of these teams make. I don’t get upset if they don’t do what I want them to do. I’ve repeatedly said I would have fired Kubaik and, at the very least, Smith. The team disagreed. As fans, we have essentially three options at that point: 1) end our fanship and move on; 2) continue to b**** about a decision that is not going to change no matter how loud and long we object to it; 3) try and see their point of view and find some silver linings or, at the very least, gray areas.

The whiffed on Kubiak/Smith, yes. But they scored on Bush-for-Phillips. They seemingly had a competent draft that made all kinds of sense. Organizationally, they finally seem committed to fixing a component that was very obviously broken (or simply never built). These are all good things. I’m not arguing they’ll unequivocally work. They may fail even more spectacularly than ever before. But at this point in time, they are making better decisions and heading in a better direction.

If that’s defending the organization, no matter what they do....... I would argue it’s pretty level-headed stuff; nothing egregiously misplaced and certainly not hyperbolic. And here’s the thing – the majority of responses in this thread *agree*. I’ve seen very few – if any – anti-Wade sentiment. Most people seem satisfied with their draft…

Are you suggesting they throw the baby out with the bathwater? You mentioned needing vets, and I would mostly agree – but doesn’t that apply to coaching? Does it make *any* sense to hand a core of youngsters over to two – TWO! – inexperienced defensive coordinators?

With an experienced, previously successful defensive coordinator on board, that core looks a whooooooooooooole lot better to me; it’s a foundation they can build on. There are obviously better alternatives – but there are additionally far worse alternatives. I just… I’m perplexed how a group of young, presumably talented defensive players can be seen as a universally bad thing.

Can we at least agree to give Wade Phillips a free agency period before we condemn them for this again? It has absolutely been an issue the past several years – they seem to take the concept of building through the draft literally. But I think they’ve turned a corner here – handing the defense to Wade is a big step in the right direction. I would guess he’s changed their perspective and at least caused them to reconsider how they do business. And I can’t believe he’s going to sit idly by and allow them to not get him some veterans to sprinkle among his unit.