Tag: Christian Kirksey

Texans LB Christian Kirksey says 5-game losing streak doesn’t impact ability to bounce back

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey says that being on a five-game losing streak doesn’t make it harder to bounce back.

The Houston Texans are on a five-game losing streak, matching their longest such streak, which they carried from Weeks 13-17 of the 2020 season.

The losses have been devastating along the way, such as the Week 4 shutout 40-0 at the Buffalo Bills. Houston suffered a similar defeat in Week 6 as the Indianapolis Colts demolished them 31-3 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

According to linebacker Christian Kirksey, taking five losses in a row doesn’t make it any harder to bounce back.

“Losing one in a row, losing five in a row, a loss is a loss,” said Kirksey. “But that’s the beauty of the NFL. You’ve always got another game, another opportunity to go out there and show what you’re capable of doing. It wouldn’t be a 17-game season if you just say, ‘Hey, we’ve got five losses and that’s the end of the world,’ You always got a chance to get better.”

Kirksey says the Texans are taking a deeper look at themselves and attempting to ascertain what their identity is and how to reach those objectives.

Said Kirksey: “Our mindset is basically, like I said, looking ourselves in the mirror and seeing what’s our identity, who we want to be. We’ve got to play good football, and right now we’re not playing good football, we’re not playing complementary football. We’re kind of all over the place, in my opinion.”

The Texans have switched from a 3-4 defense to a Tampa 2 scheme in the offseason, but Kirksey doesn’t believe the change in scheme is the reason why they are on a losing streak.

“Has nothing to do with scheme, coaching or anything like that,” Kirksey said. :It’s just us coming together and being a disciplined team, and we’ve got to find a way to do that.”

Houston goes on the road in Week 7 as they face the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at 3:25 p.m. Central Time at State Farm Stadium.

Texans still searching for answers following players only meeting

The Houston Texans are still searching for answers after the 31-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

HOUSTON — After blowing a 16-point lead to the New England Patriots, the Houston Texans held a players-only meeting to right the ship. The goal of the meeting was to admonish the undisciplined and mistakes that led the Texans to lose four out of their previous five games.

But Sunday afternoon, everything that was discussed behind closed doors resulted in a 31-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

After the humiliating loss, the Texans embarked on a quiet plane ride back to Houston, feeling at their lowest point amid a five-game losing streak. And as they prepare for their Week 7 match against the 6-0 Arizona Cardinals, the Texans could fall deeper into a snafu state.

“We were just talking about how we’ve got to get this thing going, and how we’ve got to hold each other accountable,” wide receiver Chris Moore said during his media availability on Monday. “That’s something we’re all talking about. Coach [David] Culley, that’s what he preaches every day, that we need to be a more disciplined team.

“We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers. It starts in practice. Every day, we go out there and we’re just working on it.”

Linebacker Christian Kirksey, who spoke to the team as a whole before departing the plane following their Week 6 loss to the Colts, said every player on the team must look themselves in the mirror and ask if they are doing their job to the best of their abilities.

Kirksey said improving the team’s play has nothing to do with their scheme or coaching. It’s about coming together and being a disciplined team. It’s an objective Culley has made his personal agenda.

“It starts with me — we’ve got to do a better job as coaches in practice of making sure that we’re focusing more, that our concentration is at a higher level,” Culley said. “It’s not at that level that it needs to be right now, but we’re going to emphasize it more as a staff. And again, to change things, you’ve got to change.”

Among a streak that may not cease until their Week 12 match against the 1-4 New York Jets, the continuous losing is starting to take a toll on a Texans’ locker room that once appeared to be in conjunction during training camp in early August.

“For me, it sucks because I’m a very competitive person and I hate losing — I’m pretty sure everybody in the locker room feels the same way,” Moore said.

“We’re not coming out at practice lackadaisical or just not giving effort. We’re actually coming out to practice harder and harder every week. Eventually, this thing is going to get right. The way we’re working and the guys we have on this team, we’ll get this thing right.”

LB Christian Kirksey told Texans now is not the time to panic

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey says that at 1-2 it is no time to start panicking about the team’s prognosis.

The Houston Texans dropped their Week 3 encounter with the Carolina Panthers 24-9 Thursday night at NRG Stadium.

The Texans fall to 1-2 on the season, and it appears the rest of the NFL is leaving them behind.

However, the Texans still have 14 games to go, and no one is running away with the AFC South just yet.

The way linebacker Christian Kirksey sees it, the Texans have the talent and the ability to compete for greater things other than higher positioning in the 2022 NFL draft.

“Like I was telling my guys in the locker room, it’s not time to panic,” Kirksey said. “It’s not time to worry about anything. We’re sitting here at 1-2. We still got a lot of football left in front of us. We still got all our goals right in front of us, and it’s very reachable. So, we’re going to take this time where we got a couple days where we can get our bodies back, reflect on where we at right now, and then see what we can do to correct our mistakes or get better as a team and just take it one day at a time.”

Kirksey finished with 10 combined tackles against the Panthers, who were able to generate 407 yards of total offense led by quarterback Sam Darnold completing 23-of-34 for 304 yards.

“That’s the fine line between losing and winning, getting over that hump and in close situations coming out on the other side,” said Kirksey. “That’s the league. But it’s definitely on the bright side showing that we have the talent. We have the guys in the room to go out there and compete, and now we just got to figure out how to get over to the other side.”

The Texans will get a chance to get back on track against the Buffalo Bills Oct. 3 at Highmark Stadium.

Texans vs. Browns first quarter recap: Houston gets takeaways

The Houston Texans were able to procure takeaways as they evened the score 7-7 with the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Browns 1st drive (4 plays, 3:02, -2 yards) — The Browns were doing a decent job moving the football, but DE Jacob Martin recorded a big third down sack. WR Andre Roberts muffed the ensuing punt.

Browns 2nd drive (4 plays, 2:02, 35 yards) — Cleveland was able to cash in with a 1-yard FB Andy Janovich touchdown. Browns, 7-0

Texans 1st drive (8 plays, 84 yards, 4:38) — Houston didn’t waver despite the negative momentum to start the game. QB Tyrod Taylor went 6-of-6 for 84 yards and a touchdown. Houston converted on their only third down — a third-and-9 — and RB Phillip Lindsay capped it off with a 22-yard touchdown pass on a screen play. 7-7

Browns 3rd drive (6 plays, 43 yards, 3:05) — WR Donovan Peoples-Jones gets rocked by S Justin Reid and coughs it up with LB Christian Kirksey recovering at the Houston 27-yard line.

Texans 2nd drive — Houston got it out to their own 46-yard line before the end of the quarter.

Texans do what many thought impossible: Win in 2021

The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-21 in Week 1, a feat many thought impossible in 2021.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans at the bottom of virtually every power rankin, and 0-17 wasn’t out of the question for some pundits. Coming off a 4-12 season the year before, a win in 2021 seemed improbable due to the loss of J.J. Watt and the suspended animation of Deshaun Watson.

But Sunday afternoon, the Texans achieved what many deemed impossible by taking a 37-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.

With the win, the Texans are the only team in the AFC South who won their season opener — standing in first place with a 1-0 record. Houston also recorded their first season opener win since 2016 and extended their winning streak over the Jags to seven.

“We don’t care about them people,” running back Mark Ingram said during his media availability following the game. “We all believe in each other. We all have faith in each other. We all hold each other accountable. And we believe we have what we need in order to have success.”

The Texans played a near-complete game on both sides of the field but received a significant boost from their defense. Houston’s play on the defensive side of the ball made the debut of Trevor Lawrence a subpar performance, as the rookie quarterback from Clemson threw three interceptions in the loss for Jacksonville.

Defensive end Whitney Mercilus recorded Lawerence’s lone sack of the game. 

“Whenever you got a young quarterback and it’s his first game in the NFL, you want to make it as hard as possible for him,” linebacker Christain Kirksey said. “As a veteran defense, it is our job to create takeaways like we did today. Now it is time for us to look forward to Week 2.”

During his official debut with the Texans, Tyrod Taylor threw for over 200 yards for the first time since 2018 with the Cleveland Browns. He went 21-for-33 for 291 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Brandin Cooks put together one of his best games since his arrival to Houston last summer, recording 132 yards on five catches. Cooks’ longest was a 52-yard reception that set up a touchdown from Dany Amendola for the Texans to take a 27-7 led into the halftime break.

“The only noise that matters to this team is the noise that is inside of this build,” coach David Culley said. “When we went out and played this game, [I said] if we go out and play this game the right way, we will have a chance to win this game. We did that today, and we won.”

After the win over their AFC South counterparts, the Texans’ schedule will get a bit more challenging, beginning with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. It could be a while before Houston records another victory this season — but at least they have one victory next to their name. 

Texans LB Christian Kirksey says new defense fits his skillset

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey says the new Tampa 2 scheme fits his skillset.

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey likes the new defense the team is deploying under new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.

Although Kirksey played for the Green Bay Packers last season and for the Cleveland Browns from 2014-19, and thus has no experience with the Texans’ 3-4 defense form 2011-20, the free agent linebacker nevertheless is enthused about the new 4-3 front Houston will use in 2021.

“When you play linebacker you want to have all the weight on your shoulders, all three linebacker positions,” Kirksey told HoustonTexans.com’s Deepi Sidhu. “You want to make it as easy as possible for the DBs and the linemen to line up and play ball, and we just take the weight from a mental standpoint and moving around.”

Kirksey also mentioned that in order to be effective in Smith’s defense, a linebacker has to be athletic and have great endurance.

Said Kirksey: “So, playing in this defense, you got to be athletic, you got to be fast, and you got to run — all those things. You got to have a stamina with it that’s out of this world. So, playing in this defense really fits my type of skill in the locker room, the linebacker room, that have similar skillsets that we go out there and make plays and just run around and have fun. Being a linebacker playing in this defense, you can’t ask for much more than that. So, just go run, hit, and cover.”

Kirksey signed a one-year contract worth $4.5 million to play for the Texans.

Texans LB Christian Kirksey looking forward to the Packers after ‘long training camp’

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey says he looking forward to playing the Green Bay Packers, his old team, just to play actual competition.

Christian Kirksey is entering his eighth NFL season and his seventh preseason when the Houston Texans take on the Green Bay Packers Saturday night at Lambeau Field.

For the former Cleveland Brown and Packer, Kirksey still relishes getting preseason snaps, even if they are limited and the outcome of the game doesn’t count.

“When you have a long training camp, going up against the same guys, especially the teammates, you want to go out and compete with other guys around the league,” Kirksey said. “Keeping score, whenever you’re keeping score, it’s always going out to try to win. It’s always exciting for the preseason.”

Kirksey collected 77 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, and four pass breakups through 11 games, all of which he started in his lone season in Green Bay last year.

Preseason affords veterans, including Kirksey, the chance to prepare for an actual game, which is beneficial because success at the pro level is in the preparation.

“\You’re sharpening up your tools and seeing what you got and putting everything together and actually going out and showcasing it and seeing where you are as a team,” said Kirksey.

The last time Kirksey played in the preseason was in 2019 when there were four games. The NFL reduced the number to just three for 2021, but the number of contests isn’t as significant to Kirksey as it is the quality of work on the field.

Said Kirksey: “Me personally, I look at it the same way, whether it’s three or four. It’s all the same approach. I don’t think it’s more valuable or less valuable. It’s just another game to go out there and fine tune everything and get ready for the regular season.”

The Texans will also see the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this year’s three-game preseason slate.

Texans LB Christian Kirksey gives a scouting report on rookie QB Davis Mills

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey has seen quarterback Davis Mills up close, and was able to provide a scouting report on the rookie.

Linebacker Christian Kirksey had one of the best seats in the house Saturday during the fourth training camp practice for the Houston Texans.

The 28-year-old, who spent last year with the Green Bay Packers prior to six seasons with the Cleveland Browns, saw rookie quarterback Davis Mills take extensive first-team snaps in the red zone as Tyrod Taylor missed practice due to personal reasons. Mills took it on the chin as the former Stanford Cardinal signal caller threw interceptions in the red zone.

“It’s good to show them how tough it is to play in the NFL,” Kirksey said. “We have all the confidence in him, and you know, it’s training camp. Everybody is trying to get better. Everybody is learning new things.”

Kirksey still has belief that Mills can be an effective field general in the NFL, even though he had a rude introduction in Saturday’s practice.

“I think that he is going to be a great quarterback,” Kirksey said. “You can just tell by his mechanics, how sharp he is, and it’s good for us on defense to understand that, you know, we’re getting him better and he’s getting us better, as well.”

The former Browns 2014 third-round pick from Iowa says that part of the defense’s job is to make is difficult on the offense in camp, as it also provides an opportunity for the defense to gauge where they are at as a unit.

Said Kirksey: “It’s a good chance to see where we are as a unit ask also see where he is. That’s our job to make it as hard as possible for him and his job is to try to beat us in practice and that’s how you keep elevating our team is we’re competing. We’re getting everybody better. We’re going out there and we’re practicing hard.”

If Mills can take his lumps and learn from them, the Texans should be able to eventually have a stable starting quarterback.

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S Justin Reid is the Texans’ eye in the sky on defense

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid has made himself known in the secondary during the first four days of training camp.

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid has been impactful in the secondary since the team selected in Round 3 from Stanford in the 2018 NFL draft.

Maybe it was the inculturation from having a Pro Bowl safety as an older brother in Justin Reid. Maybe it was the education he received at Stanford playing for David Shaw. Maybe it was playing alongside Tyrann Mathieu his rookie season.

Whatever the origin, Reid has developed a comprehensive understanding for the game that he is starting to see it all on the backend of the Texans defense.

“Again, he’s a football player,” coach David Culley said. “He flies around out there. He’s back there in that free safety position and the point is he sees everything. He’s back there for a reason. ”

Reid has collected 249 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, 2.0 sacks, five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, 19 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries in 44 games, 40 of which he has started.

Linebacker Christian Kirksey is starting to see how much of a ballhawk Reid can be in the Texans’ new Tampa 2 scheme under new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.

“He’s a good safety,” said Kirksey. “You can tell that he knows where to be. He tunes into his keys. He’s very intelligent. Today as you could see, he had those two interceptions. He’s a ballhawk.

Culley appreciates Reid’s penchant for takeaways and big plays.

“He is a guy that is going to make plays,” said Culley. “He is a guy that is going to be around the ball and it’s good to see.”

When not making plays on the practice field, Reid is in the locker room participating in highly contested chess matches with Kirksey.

Said Kirksey: “We play the game of chess, and you can just see that he’s smart overall. Very good chess player. He beat me twice yesterday, so I got to get back in the locker room and challenge him again.”

The Texans are hopeful Reid can be a key piece on defense that spells checkmate for opposing offenses in 2021.

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Can the Texans’ linebackers save their Tampa-2 defense?

The Houston Texans are running the Tampa 2 defense. Can the Texans’ linebackers play adeptly enough to save the defense?

The Houston Texans have signed a bevy of linebackers in the offseason. Many have gone as far as to say the additions have been comedic in their volume, with Christian Kirksey, Joe Thomas, Neville Hewitt, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Kevin Pierre-Louis and Tae Davis joining the team in free agency. Not to mention sixth-round draft choice Garret Wallow another likely roster lock.

Coach David Culley since his arrival has preached excessively on the notion of “competition” and how the team must push each other to be competitive. No other position looks to embody this as much as how the linebacker room projects.

These additions all come in the midst of a transition to new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s 4-3, Tampa 2 defense. Since 2011, the Texans have been running the 3-4 defense, whether it was Wade Phillips as the defensive coordinator or Romeo Crennel starting in 2014.

With more defensive lineman on the field, the Texans’ linebacking corps will be tasked with more responsibilities than ever in the 2021 season. Kirskey, signed in free agency in March, spoke about the position’s responsibility in Smith’s scheme.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Kirksey told Houston reporters on a Zoom call on May 27. “Coming from Lovie’s experience and his history of football and just his knowledge of football, it’s definitely something that’s good for me to learn from a guy like him. His defense is very linebacker friendly. It gives you a chance to run around, have fun, make plays. He puts a lot on his linebackers and he wants a lot of athletic linebackers. I feel like me personally, being in his system, it’s a lot of fun because it allows you to play ball. I think that every linebacker can speak for himself as far as going out there and making plays and being in this defense.”

Houston will most certainly need this group to “play ball” in 2021. The defensive line is in a state of uncertainty with the departure of J.J. Watt and many are wondering who will provide pressure between Shaq Lawson, Jonathan Greenard, Whitney Mercilus, Jacob Martin and a group that strangely resembles the “Island of Misfit Toys.” Meanwhile, the defensive back group carries question about their ability to excel in zone coverage schemes Smith is notorious for.

As such, it will be up to the linebackers to not only help contribute towards rushing the quarterback but also potentially cover for longer periods of time.  Zach Cunningham returns as the starting inside linebacker after an astonishing 164 tackle campaign in 2020. Outside of that, to borrow Culley’s words, it’ll be a lot of competition.

Kirksey and Thomas are the most tenured of the new additions. Hewitt is coming off the best individual season, having made 134 tackles as a bright spot on a lowly New York Jets’ defense. Grugier-Hill and Pierre-Louis may be the best of the bunch at pass coverage.

For Houston to succeed in 2021, a few individuals will have to emerge from the competition as important contributors to Smith’s defense. Their diversity of experience and talent may be the difference maker of whether this defensive unit rebounds from an atrocious 2020 or remains a basement-dweller defense.