this perspective is so removed from reality... schaub is 4th in the NFL is YPA, as is slaton in YPC; johnson is 3rd in YPG and walter is 19th. you're correct: turnovers are the offense's primary undoing. but any suggestion that this isn't a top flight offense, regardless of circumstances, is flat silly. not to mention: they've been blown out of, and thus faced prevent defenses, in exactly two games this year. 2 of 12, DD.
I agree entirely. DD, I'm not sure how many games you've watched...but this team moves the ball really well. Like the run n shoot Oilers, they have red zone difficulties...but they move the ball up and down the field.
Orakpo most likely will be a Top 10 selection. Most of the preliminary mock drafts I've seen say so, and a lot of them have him being the first defensive player off the board.
The point is that yes they can move the ball, but that they turn it over so often the Defense does not get a chance to rest. I actually do not think Houston is that far away from a playoff team, and when it switches it usually does so dramatically. To me, it is ALL about the turnovers on offense, you get rid of those, or limit them and everyone looks better including the defense. I will say this though, the defensive coordinator's game plans for the Texan's suck...they rely far too much on the D-line getting pressure on their own, sometimes you need to mix it up a bit and put some blitzes in there, or at least pretend like you are going to blitz to free up Mario.... DD
i think everyone currently breathing oxygen would agree about the offense. but from a defensive perspective, that's only a very small part of it - look at the jacksonville game as proof: no TOs but the defense still collapsed. it needs better players; it needs a better scheme; it needs better tacklers... the GB game was the first i can remember in a looooong time where the defense actually stepped up and made plays that secured a victory.
Not to further derail this thread, but I've never understood the prevailing theory that we need to get MLB so we can move Demeco back to OLB. Sure, the guy was drafted as a OLB, but he really didn't play that well as an OLB in his rookie season. It wasn't until they started playing him at MLB that he really blossomed. Then our MLB that year got hurt (can't remember his name...Sam Cowart?) and Demeco never looked back. Sure he's learned and improved since then, but why does everyone think that he will suddenly be as dominant at OLB as he has been at MLB (sans this year when he is apparently playing injured)? Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd prefer not fix what ain't broke, as someone else mentioned. If we need to draft a LB, draft one for a position that is currently filled by someone that isn't performing. Although, personally, I think Adibi has shown enough promise that I am okay with this group of LBs going into next season (save for maybe some lower end FA grabs for depth, or a 5th-7th round rookie to develop). I want DBs and DE/DTs...and maybe a guard and/or center.
Demeco is having his worse season as a pro. I think he's a little more hurt than in the past probably due to the amount of blocks he must shed to make plays. He's a little on the light side for a MLB. Imagine Patrick Willis(who we could have drafted instead of amobi) at MLB and demeco and adibi at the olb spots. Ray Maualuga could be that big mlb that makes big hits and makes Demeco more effective on the blitz and keeps him healthy.
A little on the light side? DeMeco is the exact same size as Willis and is actually 5 lbs. heavier. Look at the other elite MLBs in the NFL, DeMeco is pretty much the prototypical MLB in terms of size. That's the least of my issues IMO. You're right in that DeMeco is having his worse season as a pro but that's not really saying a whole lot since he's slated to still get 110-120 tackles before the end of the season. But also look at the team's total tackles, it's way less than the previous 2 years, a lot of that can be contributed to the improvement on offense and being able to keep the defense off the field. As I've stated, Maualuga is a good prospect. But DeMeco was the defensive ROY, a pro-bowler, and the undisputed leader of the defense.
demeco doesn't seem to be around the ball as much as in year's part - last year, it seemed he was at the bottom of every single pile. he's also missing a lot of tackles this year, too. like others, i sense he's playing hurt.
Well, in Demeco's first game (regular season game) his rookie year he recorded 13 tackles. I'm pretty sure that was at MLB. I may be remembering this wrong, but I thought during training camp that season he wasn't looking good and wasn't picking up the defense as an OLB. When the coaches tried him at MLB he did much better. Then sometime before the season (maybe before the preseason, can't remember) our starting MLB got hurt and Demeco took over the role. Damnit I wish I could remember who that was. I remember them being not very good and pleasantly surprised when Demeco filled in so admirably.
