Houston, We Don't Have Many Problems
- Jun 2, 2018
- 9 min read
The Houston’s Texans season ended in heartbreak when Deshaun Watson tore his ACL during training before a week 9 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to the injury the Texans sat one game behind the Jaguars and the Titans with a record of 3-4.
Houston also lost superstar Defensive End JJ Watt in week 5. Few players have impacted the game on the defensive side the way JJ Watt has in his career so far. With returning players such as Watt and Watson entering his sophomore year as well as a big defensive pick up in Tyrann Mathieu, should the rest of the league be worried about the Houston Texans in the coming season?
We can expect JJ Watt to come back with a vengeance after missing most of last season. He also missed most of the prior season and has totalled to play only 25% of the last two regular seasons, and as Watt tweeted himself, he was devastated. After missing so many games, people are quick to forget just how good Watt is. Watt is the only player in history to have two 20+ sack, seasons and on his way to that accomplishment, he has taken home the defensive player of the year award three times. Despite missing so much of his career, now, at 28, Watt already holds the franchise record for sacks and forced fumbles. Stats only say so much though, you have to watch JJ Watt to appreciate the impact he has on the field. He forces the opposing offensive line to change their whole scheme, two or three players have to block him in the end, opening gaps for other stars like Whitney Mercilus or Jadeveon Clowney, who, by themselves are also, almost unstoppable.
If his rushing and tackling wasn’t enough, Watt has demonstrated his ability to keep his eyes up, read the pass and intercept it from a right end position. His experience as a tight end also proves to be impressive when the Texans need a big option in the red zone. Of course, you can’t underestimate the leadership ability of Watt, even if he is just getting the crowd and team mates on their feet. The impact of JJ Watt can’t be put into words and if he comes back half as good as he was from 2011 to 2015, the Houston defensive line will be sitting pretty.
The rest of the Houston line, coupled with JJ Watt, is about as scary as it gets. If you need an example, look at the Outback Bowl in 2013. That is who the Texans have on the opposite side to Watt. Jadeveon was described as an unstoppable force and un-blockable by his peers in the league. He doesn’t quite have the hands that Watt has, but he is another end who can read the play, and get his hands up, or drop back if he sees the flat route going out. With bBoth the end’s’ shut down via Watt and Clowney, opposing lineman are going to have a tough time if both of them can stay healthy. Clowney’s ability to drop back to an Outside Line-backer also proves valuable for the Houston D.
Also returning from injury for the 2017-2018 season is Outside Line-backer Whitney Mercilus after missing 11 games in the past season. In 2015, Mercilus recorded 12 sacks for the season and the following year he tallied 7.5. Despite his numbers not being the most impressive compared to other outside line-backers, the size and speed of Mercilus creates another presence on the Houston defence, particularly in the pass rush game, that the opposition will have to deal with.
The pass rush of Houston will be arguably the toughest in the league, providing they can all stay healthy. However, the Inside line-backer situation is one with a few gaps after the Texans chose not to re-sign Brian Cushing. Along with this, there is still work to be done in finding solid cornerbacks who can cover one on one. Houston signed slot corner Aaron Colvin after his contract ended with the Jaguars. However, Colvin is yet to prove himself as a top cornerback. Last season he ranked 47th in cornerbacks, better than anyone on the Houston Roster, however, Colvin had the help of former Texan A.J Bouye and a young star Jalen Ramsey. Whether Colvin can be a corner-piece cornerback remains to be seen. Houston have also re-signed Jonathan Joseph, however, this year he turns 34 and is no longer able to hold down the back-field the way he once did.
The Houston back-field is not without help though. Perhaps the biggest move of the off-season was the signing of all-pro Safety Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu has played the last five years in Arizona and has proven himself to be a dominate force in the safety position. Entering his 6th season, ‘The Honey Badger’ has tallied a total 11 interceptions and a combined 307 tackles. The big hitter was ranked the 28th best player in the league by his peers. Although listed as a safety, Mathieu has tremendous ball skills and can double as a corner. However, his ability to blitz the quarterback proves valuable from the outside. Like Houston needed another blitz threat. However, Mathieu brings more than playing ability, his heart and toughness earnt him the nickname of ‘the Honey Badger’ and heart and toughness is exactly what he will add to the backfield of the Texans D. Llisted at only 5’9, Mathieu plays a lot bigger and doesn’t back down from a tackle and provides a spark when he lays the hammer.
Thanks to a solid draft by Houston, Mathieu will have some assistance at the other safety position. Justin Reid, a potential first round pick in the 2018 NFL draft fell to the third round where the Texans were able to pick him up. Although unproven in the league, the Stanford safety is a versatile player. Reid proved his ball skills with five interceptions in the 2017 season and demonstrated an ability to cover man to man with good lateral quickness and ability to recognise plays. This will prove vital given the lack of depth at the cornerback position in Houston.
The Texans defence has the potential to be a dominant force that can win games by itself providing the stars stay healthy. With the return of JJ Watt and Mercilus and the addition of Mathieu, there is plenty of room for interceptions, big hits and plenty of scoring on the defensive side of the ball. However, if teams can expose the lack of one on one coverage at the cornerback position, the Texans might find themselves back in the 24th spot for pass defence. Rushing yards should be held in reasonable stead, but it will be up to Colvin and Reid to prove themselves in the league, whether it be as a rookie or stepping up to a bigger role. If everything goes relatively smoothly for the Texans defence, this is a defence that could carry the offence to the Super Bowl by itself like we have seen Baltimore and Denver do in previous years.
The scary part for the rest of the league is that Houston’s offense isn’t one that needs to be carried by a defence. The Texans have found a young core on the offensive side of the ball that they will look to develop over the coming years. With Deshaun Watson entering his sophomore year after his rookie year wasbeing cut short, many people are excited to see what he is capable of. In the seven games he did play, Watson lead the Texans to a 3-4 record, impressive for a rookie. There is no doubt that Watson’s performance has left people of all fanbases excited to see what he can do. A young quarterback with an accurate arm and a speedy run game. This was on full display when Watson tied the rookie record for touchdowns in a game with five against the Tennessee Titans, a game in which he led the way to a franchise record 57 points for the Texans in the 57-14 win. In only week four of his rookie season, Watson broke records as he threw for 283 yards on 25-of-34 passing and one interception. In his seven games Watson had 19 passing touchdowns (Most by any player in their first seven games) and 8 interceptions. The interception numbers can be improved, and with half a season on the sideline studying the game that number is likely to drop. Watson’s ability to get outside of the pocket and throw on the move, or while being tackled is a a phenomenon and very hard to stop. This was on full display in the incredible performance in his last game before injury. Watson tallied another 4 touchdowns and attacked one of the best defences of the last decade like he had been playing in the NFL his whole life. Watson threw 19-of-30 for 402 yards, unleashing deep pass after deep pass. Watson also had the teams most rushing yards with 67 in 8 carries. In his first year, Watson became the first player in the Super Bowl era to record over 400 passing yards, 4 or more passing touchdowns and 50 rushing yards in a game. This guy is a rookie and is likely to come back even better in the coming season. Scary for opposing defences.
The weapons that Watson has at his disposal continue to get better too. Young receiver Deandre Hopkins is now entering his 6th year and will look to improve even further. Hopkins has an incredible ability to attack the ball in the air and go over the top of some of the best corners in the game. Hopkins is yet to have a solid or consistent quarterback in his career and once he builds chemistry with a young talent like Watson, Hopkin’s numbers are likely to go up and he will become more of a threat as the connection continues to grow. In the 2017 season Hopkins finished 4th in receiving yards with 1378, despite only having Watson for half of the season. In 2015 Hopkins finished 3rd with 1521, despite having four different quarterbacks. Hopkins ability to become a target for quarterbacks he hasn’t built chemistry with is proof of his ability to get open, become a target and catch the ball while being covered. Hopkins will be a valuable player for the Houston offence, and when being paired with Watson, he will create plenty of opportunities all over the field.
Opposite to Hopkins, Will Fuller and Sammie Coates will fill the other receiver spots. While these two aren’t at the level of Hopkins, they aren’t bad enough that teams can afford to take your attention away from them. They both need to be covered and will allow Hopkins to do his thing and get open against his man.
Lamar Miller provides another pass threat for the Texans, this time out of the backfield. Miller’s rushing game is unreliable and is subject to outburst games, but consistency is a problem for Miller. In the in seven seasons, Miller has only gone for over 1000 yards twice. The potential is there, and now with a pass threat, it is likely that more holes will open up for Miller, especially with the rushing threat of Watson. Defences facing the Houston offence now have more to worry about than an outbreak game from Miller and he will no longer be their main focus. If Miller can take advantage of this opportunity then he has the potential to have a be a big impact for the Houston offence.
Houston’s offence has definitely improved with Watson turning out to be one of the most composed and best rookies we have seen in a long time. As his chemistry with Hopkins grows the Texans attack becomes more of a problem for the league. However, as there is in most sides, the Houston offence has a big hole, and in their case it’s the offensive line. It lacks elite ability in a very drastic measure and this is going to mean a lot of work for Watson and Miller. It will also mean relying heavily on Watson’s ability to get outside the pocket and pass on the run or create his own rushing space when the line breaks down. Houston are likely to struggle against teams like the Rams or the Jaguars who have strong defensive lines. If teams can expose the lack of strength in the Texan’s’ line it could prove to be the downfall of this young but talented offence.
Houston have the potential to compete for or even take home the Lombardi trophy at the end of the season. If their defence can mesh together and cover the holes at the inside line-backer spots with the playing ability of their defensive line and outside line-backers and give enough help to their corners with Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid at the safety spots the Texans dDefence will prove to be virtually unstoppable. However, given the recent run of injuries for Watt and other defensive players on the Houston team, health may prove to be an issue for the team. Hopefully, with a new and improved offence, the Houston defence won’t be on the field quite so much and this will limit the number of injuries this side of the ball will face. Health and chemistry provided, the Houston defence and an offence led by Deshaun Watson can definitely threaten to take home the Lombardi trophy next February.
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