Defense continues to improve. Texans blitz a lot and don't get many sacks, but at least the QB is thinking he may get hit, maybe. Congrats to Barwin for his first sack. It doesn't seem like the RBs are getting through the line without at least changing direction or being slowed by a Dlinemen's arm. I didn't notice who was in there all the time, but I did see Mario flip sides mid-audible. Texans may not be the best at forcing fumbles, but they do get the hungry hippo award for being tied for the league lead in recoveries. Interceptions are down, but the Texans are doing great at the passes defensed stat. Cushing is tied for the team lead and is also tied for most passes defensed among linebackers. Cushing has become the playmaker for the Texans defense. I'm not saying he's as steady as Mario and Demeco, but he's out there making big plays and the Texans aren't giving up nearly as many as they were.
So what is that? Three straight opponents the Texans D has held to 0 offensive pts? BTW...nothing to do with this thread, but our Offense is just amazing. Defense seems to be catching up too.
I would add between the 20's. It is almost like the Texans need goalline offensive linemen specialists.
He meant third straight second half. The only score the Texans have allowed in the second half in the past three games was Cromartie's pick-6 in the Cards game. The second half adjustments have been absolutely stellar (I believe the Bengals had about 45 yards total yesterday, averaging less than a yard per play).
All 3 starting LB's have been playing great. Even Diles stopped Benson COLD on that one play yesterday. You could just hear the hitting going on yesterday. There were some serious pops happening out there. And the gang tackling has been something to behold the last 6 quarters. Also, I don't think Mario gets enough credit for how he plays the run. It's not just about sacks.
Early in the season he was getting caught out of the play in the offensive backfield quite often on delayed handoffs and screen passes that turned into long gaines, but he has definitely looked better in that regard the last couple of games.
28 yards on 21 attempts inside the redzone for our RBs with 1 rushing TD. Our passing offense should be great in red zone with our receiving weapons, but LBs and secondaries don't respect our run game.
It is a testament to our D-Coordinator, I think, that his halftime adjustments have been so effective. Our pregame preparation seems to need some improvement since we seem to rarely be prepared for whatever it is the opposition is going to do, offensively, but they have come out ready to go in the 2nd half of the last 3 games. Yesterday was positively impressive how well they played. I am really loving Brian Cushing.
The 50 Boys are really playing well and I think they could be an elite LB core. We all know about DeMeco, Cushing has been everywhere making plays, and while we don't talk too much about Diles, he's quietly having a very good season as well. The D-Line has played better as of late, while we're still not getting to the QB, the running lanes have closed up and we haven't given up big runs like we did the first couple games. The secondary is also much improved. We still seem to have lapses but I think a lot of that can be attributed to lack of pass rush. Reeves has made a quiet comeback and has played very well, McCain also seems like a player.
I would suggest that Bernard Pollard has made a big difference with regard to run defense. He's not knocking guys down for a loss in the backfield, but for the three weeks he's been starting, he's put up some impressive tackle numbers, and the run defense has been night and day better. Rushing yards allowed for the first three games: Jets- 190 Titans- 240 Jaguars- 185 Last three games with Pollard starting: Raiders - 45 (5 tackles) Cardinals - 44 (8 tackles) Bengals- 46 (6 tackles) Admittedly the first three opponents are better rushing teams than the Cards or the Raiders, but the Bengals are in the same league with those first three. This isn't saying that Pollard is all world, or anything. Rather, having a competent/mediocre run stopping strong safety makes a world of difference compared to the junk they were sending out there before.
I felt like the dline didn't play particularly well. Not sure if Mario's shoulder is still bothering him some. The secondary played their best game this season and the linebackers were solid as usual.
I think I saw a stat from a few weeks ago that if you take away the 60+ yard plays the texans defense was actually pretty average. It's the homeruns that were killing them. Heck, many times they would stuff the run on first down for a 2 yard loss, force an incomplete pass, and then give up a long run on a draw play.
