Bryan Braman. This guy is merciless on the field and has a nonstop motor, and with Brooks Reed's injury, he is now the third man on the rotation. Via the Chronicle: http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexan...pected-to-miss-at-least-3-4-weeks/#more-29606 Seeing that the previous rotation of Barwin, Reed, and the Mr. Mercilus had combined for less than 10 sacks for 11 games, I am excited to see if Braman can mix things up. Rushing the passer is the priority for the OLB's, and if JJ Watt was not playing at an All-Universe level, this weakness that did not occur last year would be greatly exposed. Pass-rushing OLB's are not supposed to combine for less than a sack a game. If anything, this can raise up competition from Barwin and Reed (once off injury) to raise their level of play so they can keep their jobs. Speaking of his play-style, there is not much game tape on his OLB skills, but he is about 6-6, 250, and runs a 4.5 IIRC. Combine his non-stop motor with the raw athleticism, he could become a player. In the preseason, he had some good pass rushes and sack numbers, but it has to be taken into account that he was going against backups. Keep in mind he has been our best special teams player this year (blocked a punt in the Packers game) and he a merciless hitter. A tough man: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/C6p-FyBDwWE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Almost blocks a punt and two defenders in one hit: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YM3sO-TB1KE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> A post-game conference after a preseason game when he made the team as an undrafted free agent: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yZRVISkg5VU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
From my understanding, the only reason he hasn't been a real part of the defense is because he has a hard time remembering the playbook and reading defenses. Plays hard but doesn't necessarily play smart
Do you have a source for that? I must of missed that during he tenure here. I understand and agree with you that there is a big difference between playing hard and playing smart: our lack of reading the running back screen proves of this point. I thought Braman did not play because he came two years ago a bit undersized, and did not have a defined pass-rush arsenal of moves.
I heard that from a texans insider that he does infact have a hard time figuring out the playbook. He was constantly being yelled at by wade phillips during training camp.
Yea apprantly he is still learning his techniques and isn't solid on pass coverage. I would presume he'd be in there during a blitz situation or a running down.
Wow, I must of missed that. Thanks for the info. Hopefully all he has to do is get the quarterback :grin:
extra playing time for braman and mercilus is bad for special teams. sigh.., it was just starting to get better...
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Whitney Mercilus had 68 snaps against the Lions. Had zero qb hits and pressures. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Texans">#Texans</a></p>— PDS (@PHABMK6) <a href="https://twitter.com/PHABMK6/status/272803573400731648" data-datetime="2012-11-25T20:46:55+00:00">November 25, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
To be fair, it was tough for anyone to get pressure on Stafford. Of those 68 snaps, how many were passing plays?
