Tag: Bradley Roby

CB Bradley Roby is surprised the Texans are 1-5

Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby is surprised the team is 1-5, but understands that teams have to come together first.

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Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby is rather surprised that his team is 1-5 heading into his second season with the AFC South club.

The Texans were purported to have talent. Should they be 5-1 instead? Maybe not, but the one win over the first six weeks has come as a shocker to stakeholders and spectators in Houston.

“You have to look at, there’s a lot of things you have to look at,” Roby said. “A majority of teams in the NFL have talented teams, talented rosters. So, it’s all about how those teams come together. It’s a lot of things that make teams win. A lot of things happen throughout the game that allow the team to win or lose.”

The Texans are the worst team in the NFL defending the run with 177.5 rushing yards given up per game and 5.4 yards per carry surrendered. The passing defense is also bleeding out with opposing quarterbacks compiling a 111.5 passer rating, the second-highest in the league.

Even though the metrics show the Texans defense could be a unit of a bad team, Roby believes Houston can compete with every team on their schedule, including the Green Bay Packers, who visit NRG Stadium in Week 7.

“One thing I do know is we can play with anyone,” Roby said. “I think every game we’ve been in other than the first game, first two games.”

Part of the reason the Texans got off to a disjointed start, according to Roby, was because of how COVID-19 impacted the offseason and disallowed the Texans, along with the rest of the NFL, to have offseason workouts, which is what the Texans needed with defensive line coach Anthony Weaver taking over as defensive coordinator.

“We’ve had new coaches,” said Roby. “You have no offseason and new coaches. You kind of have to understand that — me being in the league for a long time, I understand that it’s not going to just be perfect just because it looks good on paper. You have to communicate and talk and fix your mistakes, and everyone has to be on the same page. That comes with time.

“Rome wasn’t built in one day. You can’t expect things to just be perfect just because the X’s and O’s look good because it’s never like that.”

Texans DB Bradley Roby discusses Gardner Minshew’s struggles Sunday

The Jacksonville Jaguars had yet another forgettable performance on Sunday, acquiring their fourth consecutive loss of 2020 courtesy of the Houston Texans. Coming into the game most didn’t have high expectations for the defense which was without …

The Jacksonville Jaguars had yet another forgettable performance on Sunday, acquiring their fourth consecutive loss of 2020 courtesy of the Houston Texans. Coming into the game most didn’t have high expectations for the defense which was without three starters, but the offense was equally disappointing.

When looking back at the game, the unit missed out on three opportunities inside the Texans’ 22-yard line to come away with points. A huge reason for that seemed to be play-calling as the team didn’t run the ball as much as one would expect going against the worst rushing defense in the league. It also didn’t help that Jaguars kicker Stephen Hauschka wasn’t able to minimize the missed opportunities by the offense in the red-zone, which would’ve gave the Jags a 13-10 lead heading into half-time at the least.

Another issue that seemed to somewhat hinder the Jags was Gardner Minshew’s struggles in the pocket. While he ultimately finished the game 31-of-49 for 301 yards and two touchdowns, his success in the pocket was iffy, and as a result, the Jags only left the game with 14 points.

The issue was such a factor in the game that Texans veteran cornerback Bradley Roby also mentioned it in his post-game presser when explaining what led to the defense’s solid day.

“Yeah, we just wanted to pressure them and not let them just get comfortable back there, and we did a great job,” Roby said. “We were back there, and I could tell from the secondary that he was kind of unsettled early. We got some sacks and some pressure, and I think he had some trouble with that, and he was kind of panicking back there. Any time you can get the offense unsettled and the quarterback rushing his throws and things like that, you’re going to be successful, and that was our plan today.”

As of the last few weeks, Minshew has had plays where he’s jumped out of the pocket a little early, which has resulted in missed opportunities. This was something he even commented on after the Jags’ game against the the Cincinnati Bengals, which also resulted in a loss.

“If you’re skipping reads and getting out early, that’s an issue,” Minshew said. “It’s a process we’re working on week by week. Everyone looks back and takes accountability, and that’s a good thing. We all wish we had things we could do better and addressing moving forward will make us better.”

Jags legend Tony Boselli also noticed Minshew’s struggles in the pocket Sunday, too, and commented on them on the local airwaves. In a nutshell, Boselli echoed something a lot of fans have been saying — and that’s the fact he can’t solely rely on extended plays and rollouts.

Minshew will be playing a respectable Detroit Lions passing defense this Sunday that is currently ranked No. 11 in the category, though they have issues against the run (No. 30). That said, his play in the pocket will be important if the team wants to make an attempt at a decent season.

Opening night of the NFL highlights Ohio State as DBU

Fifty-four former Buckeyes take the field this weekend in the NFL and twenty-four percent are defensive backs, making Ohio State DBU or BIA.

Ask college football fans from around the nation who DBU (Defensive Back University) is and you will hear a mix of answers. Usually, Ohio State is one of the most prominent in the conversation. We won’t bring up those other schools, but there is a fight among the faithful who is DBU. But remember, OSU likes to tout itself as BIA (Best in America) to distinguish itself.

To each his own.

As the season for the NFL kicks off, one of the Buckeyes’ former corners takes the field against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bradley Roby was drafted by the Broncos, however, now plays for Houston. This season there are eleven defensive backs active for week one from Ohio State and two others on injured reserve for the next three weeks.

As a whole, the Buckeyes have 54 players on the NFL roster to start this season. Twenty-five percent of the Ohio State players on a roster (including the injured players) are defensive backs. Not bad for a school dubbed to be the real DBU by ESPN.

Two defensive back rookies figure to play large roles for their teams this season as well. Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette will suit up week one for the Lions and Raiders, respectively. There are a total of seven OSU rookies expected to play this weekend with another six on rosters in some fashion.

While all eyes will be on Chase Young this season, the Buckeyes will have plenty of players playing and many are defensive backs. When someone asks you who DBU is, the only correct answer is THE Ohio State Buckeyes, and opening weekend only strengthens that claim. Okay, we’ll let you get away with BIA, but still, you get the point.

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Bradley Roby says Texans defense to play with ‘that fire’ under Anthony Weaver

Houston Texans CB Bradley Roby looks forward to the renewed energy the defense will play with under first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.

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The Houston Texans will be debuting a new defensive coordinator Thursday night when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Cornerback Bradley Roby, who is entering his second season with the Texans, believes the defense will feed off of the passion and enthusiasm Weaver brings to the defensive coordinator job.

“I like his energy,” Roby said. “I like his attitude. I think as a defense we’re going to adapt to his attitude and just the way and the fire that he has. I look forward to us playing with that fire.”

Weaver comes from a background with Rex Ryan’s defenses that feature creative and unique ways to generate a pass rush. If the pressure is able to get home to opposing quarterbacks, it could spell trouble.

“We definitely have some things that are different than last year when it comes to the D-line and things like that,” said Roby. “Like we said, it’s a new year, so we’ve got to go out there and compete and see what it looks like.”

The Texans’ secondary features familiar faces such as Roby and third-year safety Justin Reid. There are also midseason additions who were able to undergo their first training camp with the Texans, such as cornerbacks Gareon Conley, Keion Crossen, and Vernon Hargreaves. Houston also signed safeties Michael Thomas and Eric Murray in the offseason to provide veteran support on the back end.

During the month of August when the NFL did away with preseason games in favor of an extended training camp, Roby says the Texans secondary came together.

“Personally, the secondary, I think we’re coming together a little bit more,” Roby said. “We’re starting to really create a bond. I know that for secondaries, that bond y’all share and how close you guys are on and off the field dictates how successful you are on the field. So, I think we’ve gotten a little bit more cohesion than last year. I’m looking forward to see what progress we’ve made.”

The Texans get to test that progress against the Super Bowl champion Chiefs and their dangerous passing attack led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

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All eyes are on the Houston Texans, the first NFL team to travel in COVID-19 era

The Houston Texans will be the first NFL team to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sports world is waiting for the aftermath, if any.

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The sports world will rejoice Thursday night as the NFL returns. True to the league’s intentions during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season will kickoff on time. The NFL has not had to endure any delays as have all of the other major professional sports.

Fans and media will also be waiting for the other cleat to drop Friday morning. The NFL has done a fabulous job of forming 32 bubbles to keep COVID-19 out, but the Texans clashing with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night presents an opportunity for transmissibility.

What will happen next?

According to Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, the NFL has produced copious protocols to create a bubble around the visiting team as it travels to another team’s bubble.

“It’s got to be 40 pages worth of protocols on traveling,” said O’Brien. “Basically what the NFL up to this point has done, and all the teams have done, is you’ve created a bubble within your own facility as long as your players, which our players have done a great job, and your staff, staff has done a great job of just going from your stadium or where your facility is to home. You’ve created that bubble. Now with the travel protocols, you’re creating another bubble basically relative to your facility, the busses, the planes and then the hotel and then the stadium with which you play.”

Texans cornerback Bradley Roby is too focused on the Chiefs’ dangerous passing attack led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and featuring receiver Tyreek Hill to even have anxiety over the novel coronavirus.

“I don’t think that much of it,” Roby said. “We’re going to get ready. Thankfully, we’re going to play with some people in the stands. I think that’s going to be a little better than having that first game and just having no one out there. I think it’ll kind of let us transition into having no fans at other places, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Staying at a hotel is one of the aspects of road games that could compromise the traveling bubble. Some players have preferred to go out the night before away games. However, for older veterans who have seen it all, such as tight end Darren Fells, going straight to the hotel from the airport and calling it a night is nothing new.

“That’s normal for me,” Fells said. “The biggest thing is really just having to go to another team’s facilities and play against them not knowing how they’ve been keeping the virus out of their building and what their protocols are. That’s the only thing that really worries me but I’m more focused on getting the W as of right now when it comes to football.”

Houston is intent on getting the W to start the season on the right track during a three-week murder’s row that features the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers. However, no matter the score, if they can come away from Kansas City with no positive COVID tests, it will be a win for the entire league.

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Safety Justin Reid says continuity in Texans’ secondary is ‘huge’

The Houston Texans have continuity in their secondary, and it is a valuable part of the defense, according to safety Justin Reid.

Much has been made about the Houston Texans’ offensive line carrying continuity from last year into 2020. However, the offensive line isn’t the only unit to benefit from the same faces returning from a year ago.

The Texans’ secondary is returning cornerbacks Bradley Roby, Gareon Conley, Lonnie Johnson, Keion Crossen, Vernon Hargreaves, and Phillip Gaines along with safeties Justin Reid and A.J. Moore.

Reid described the continuity as “huge” when speaking with reporters Thursday.

“Because now it’s not a whole bunch of new faces,” Reid explained.

The Texans do have newcomers in safeties Eric Murray, Michael Thomas, and Jaylen Watkins, but the majority of the secondary is comprised of players who were consistent starters and contributors for Houston last season.

“We already know that camaraderie, that chemistry with each other, the matchups that we’re going to be looking for,” Reid said. “The communication is probably the biggest thing in the sense that we already know those trigger terms that we use with each other communicating in the backfield whenever we work together. Just that veteran presence that you feel in the defense and the secondary.”

Reid is one of the veteran presences in the secondary, even though he is entering his third season in the league. However, Reid has played 31 games for Houston in the defensive backfield. Only Moore can boast more games played among Houston’s safeties, but Reid’s 1,823 defensive snaps to Moore’s 20 bring much more seniority to the secondary.

“We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of ball and bring a lot of different experiences and we’re able to feed off each other with that and really grow,” said Reid. “The backfield has been really strong. The communication has been good and it’s just exciting just to bring all the experience into one room.”

The Texans have a new secondary coach in D’Anton Lynn and a new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver, and both will benefit from coaching a group that has played so many games together.

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Texans CB Bradley Roby likes teaming up with Ohio State ‘little brother’ Gareon Conley

Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby is pleased to team up with fellow Ohio State Buckeye Gareon Conley in the defensive backfield.

Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby knows Gareon Conley all too well.

The former Ohio State Buckeye had Conley as his “little brother” in 2013, his final year with the program.

“It’s super cool for me because when I was at Ohio State, he was my little brother,” Roby said. “In your last year at Ohio State you have to get a rookie or a freshman and he has to be your little brother. He goes around with you and stays in the same hotel as you on road games. He was my little brother.”

The Denver Broncos selected Roby in Round 1 of the 2014 NFL Draft. After three seasons following in Roby’s footsteps, Conley also went in the first round to an AFC West club when the Oakland Raiders drafted him in 2017.

Roby was a free agent after 2018, and he signed a one-year deal with Houston. In 2019, the Raiders traded Conley seven weeks in, and the Texans desperately needed cornerback help as injuries ravaged the group, including Roby.

“Fast forward six or seven years, for us to be on the same team is pretty special,” said Roby. “Like I said, secondary is all about that connection you guys have and we have that.”

The Texans are hopeful the Ohio State connection proves to be successful in 2020 with Roby playing the role of a playmaking cornerback while Conley locks down the other side.

“He looks up to me and it’s fun to play with him,” Roby said.”It’s just fun to play with guys that you’re friends with. It doesn’t seem like a job then. It seems like you’re a group that’s out to accomplish big things.”

Roby signed a three-year contract with the Texans in the offseason while Houston declined to pick up Conley’s fifth-year option. Nevertheless, the Texans have big plans for the tandem in 2020.

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Texans’ Bradley Roby would have preferred Big Ten not postpone fall sports first for bragging rights

Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby would have preferred the Big Ten not lead the way in fall sports postponements for bragging rights.

Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby is still a Big Ten guy.

The former Denver Broncos 2014 first-round pick from the Ohio State grew up in Suwanee, Georgia, the heart of Southeastern Conference country. He has been fighting a bragging rights war with his family and friends back home ever since, and the postponement of fall sports by the Big Ten and Pac-12 was just part of that skirmish.

“I was kind of upset, especially with the Big Ten doing it first,” Roby said. “I would’ve rather seen one of the other conferences do it first. I like to talk trash about the Big Ten. I’m from the south so, everyone I know always talks about the SEC, so it would’ve been good to see them kind of give it up first.”

However, the Super Bowl 50 champion isn’t going to begrudge the Big Ten for their decision. After all, the conference is deciphering how to best proceed with extracurricular activities in the midst of a pandemic. There seems to be more lose-lose scenarios than win-wins.

“To me, I understand it. I think that college athletes will be surrounded by a student body of 40,000 to 50,000 people at some schools,” said Roby. “It might not be easier to control them, I guess you would say, control their distancing.”

Ultimately, college football players are student-athletes. They have other interests and obligations that come into play. For Roby and the rest of the NFL, the nature of pro football lends itself to being more disciplined.

“We’re professionals and we get tested every day and things like that,” said Roby. “I think as a professional it might be easier to have that discipline off the field compared to an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old. I understand it.

“It’s unfortunate. I love to see Ohio State whoop ass every year, but we’ll take a year off.”

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Bradley Roby is the OG in the Texans’ secondary with Johnathan Joseph gone

Houston Texans CB Bradley Roby has become the OG in the locker room as far as the secondary is concerned with Johnathan Joseph now in Tennessee.

Johnathan Joseph had earned his two career Pro Bowl selections in his tenure with the Houston Texans from 2011-19. Joseph also left the franchise this offseason as the all-time interceptions leader with 17 and was tied for third-most games played with 133.

With Joseph departed and now with the Tennessee Titans, a Houston media member asked an apt question of Bradley Roby: are you the OG now?

“Yeah, definitely,” Roby told reporters on Aug. 11. “I feel like I’m definitely the oldest guy and most experienced. I definitely feel like it’s my job to lead the guys and lead us to be better than we have been in the past.”

Roby, a former 2014 first-round pick, played 79 games with the Denver Broncos, helping the club win a Super Bowl at the end of 2015. The former Ohio State Buckeye wants to bring that level of success to the Texans.

“My goal is to be a whole lot better than we’ve been over the past couple of years,” said Roby. “That’s my plan and I’m doing everything I can to help everyone, including the safeties as well.”

With just 10 games in Houston under his belt, safety Justin Reid might actually be more of an OG than Roby. The former 2018 third-round pick from Stanford has played 31 games for Houston, over three times as many as Roby. With so much experience on the back end, Roby knows he has to be in sync with the talented younger brother of Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid.

Said Roby: “Trying to get on the same page as J-Reid, working out with him this offseason and just getting that bond together. One thing I know about the secondary is you have to be a tight-knit group on and off the field. I think I’m trying to build that as much as possible.”

The Texans’ defense seeks to return to its formidable form in the first year of defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Part of achieving those goals will be having Roby play like an OG.

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Gareon Conley could be the Texans’ lock down cornerback in 2020

The Houston Texans could have their lock down cornerback on the roster in Gareon Conley.

The Houston Texans are bringing back Bradley Roby on a three-year contract, which may give them a playmaking cornerback. The former 2014 Denver Broncos first-round pick collected two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, forced a fumble, and produced 1.0 sack with two tackles for loss.

Opposite of Roby, the Texans may have their lock down cornerback in Gareon Conley. According to Pro Football Focus, the former 2017 Oakland Raiders first-round pick had a forced incompletion percentage of 20%, tied with the Green Bay Packers’ Jaire Alexander for the second-best in the NFL.

Alexander played in all 16 games for Green Bay. Conley played in a total of 14 with six in Oakland and then eight in Houston. Nevertheless, the results from Conley were telling.

Even though the 6-0, 190-pound cornerback was only with the Texans for half the season, he still finished second on the team with 11 pass breakups. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph, now with the Tennessee Titans, produced the most pass breakups with 13. When including Conley’s Raiders totals, he also had 13.

“Gareon Conley, making plays on the ball, really graded highly in his games with us this year,” coach Bill O’Brien told reporters on April 16.

If the Texans can field a cornerback tandem that forces quarterbacks to choose their own adventure, whether they want to test a playmaker in Roby or a sure incomplete pass in Conley, it could help the pass rush generate more coverage sacks. In any event, it provides the Texans with the confidence to face any receiving corps when they know Conley can produce incomplete passes at such a high percentage.