The Houston Texans have found a place for Eric Murray.
Murray, who was one of the free agent signings from 2020, the first free agency of the Bill O’Brien era as general manager, was safety Justin Reid’s sidekick on the backend, but the Texans decided to try something new in the offseason by moving Lonnie Johnson to safety to pair up with Reid.
Over the course of 10 games, five of which Murray has started, the Texans under new coach David Culley have turned to the former Kansas City Chief and Cleveland Brown to provide stability on the backend, and he has given them 40 combined tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception in return.
According to Culley, the defense hasn’t changed, just the execution.
“We haven’t changed our defense from day one to now, we’re playing it better,” said Culley. “We’ve got the combination back there of guys that understand each other, that are playing together. The big thing that I’ve seen with them is eliminating the big play. We gave up a couple yesterday, and basically, it happened because of a miscommunication.
That’s been the biggest thing with us moving forward, especially coming off the bye. The big thing was communicating. Basically, when you’ve played with each other together, it’s no different than when you’re playing in the offensive line. Eventually, your same guys playing together, you have some continuity.”
The defense is doing a better job fo communicating, which is what is helping the Texans’ defense.
“That’s the big thing, and Eric’s been a part of that,” said Culley. “Eric’s a veteran player, he’s been around too. Those guys understand and there’s a communication thing there that they’re getting done that keeps us from giving up those big plays.”
The Texans get back in action Sunday against the New York Jets at NRG Stadium, and Murray figures to be a part in stopping New York’s offense.