Tag: NFL 2024

Texans training camp: LB Henry To’oTo’o making most of reps with Christian Harris out

Henry To’oTo’o has held his own through three weeks with starters in training camp as the Houston Texans prepare for the start of the regular season.

It’s the next-man-up mentality for the Houston Texans on defense and second-year linebacker Henry To’oTo’o has handled the challenge with grace.

To’oTo’o, a former fifth-round pick out of Alabama, has stepped up in the place of the injured Christian Harris since the start of training camp. As last season’s No. 3 linebacker, To’oTo’o had to play in coverage and defend the run.

Now, he’s mostly playing in space while newcomer Azeez Al-Shaair takes the downfield approach. With a new running mate, To’oTo’o is trying to keep pace and catch the coach’s attention.
So far, he’s excelled in both spots.

“Henry has been a guy that our defense can rely on,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He is going to be in the proper position and be where he’s supposed to be. He does a great job with Azeez when it comes to communicating and that’s a huge thing in our defense of communicating and Henry does a really awesome job with that.”

As a rookie, To’oTo’o tried to stand out in any possible way by working in rep between Blake Cashman and Denzel Perryman. He wound up playing in 14 games, totaling 61 tackles, a fumble recovery, and two tackles for loss while helping Houston secure a division title for the first time in four years.

Entering Year 2, he plays a similar role to Al-Shaair’s time with the 49ers.  To’oTo’o is the first call when someone needs a breather.

The Texans often run a two-backer tandem, meaning whoever is waiting behind to fill in for a base three-man set must learn both roles.

Before becoming a fixture last season in Tennessee, that was Al-Shaair was out West. He saw reps at both spots, which made him a more fluid athlete and a better communicator. It also helped him become more consistent, an area To’oTo’o is trying to master heading into Year 2.

“I try to come with confidence every single day,” To’oTo’o said. “I got Azeez to lean upon and ask for advice and he has been huge for me on that part.”

Since his arrival, Al-Shaair has been the mouthpiece of the defense. He’s also taken the “coach” approach on the field, getting down on players and holding them accountable for a mistake.

Multiple Texans players have mentioned Al-Shaair’s “in-your-face” approach and respect. Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson remembers when the former Titans starter told him to stop pouting after jumping offsides.

Third-year safety Jalen Pitre remembers getting called out once for making the wrong check down. Some players wouldn’t care for a newcomer to enter and bark orders, but To’oTo’o appreciates it since Al-Shaair serves as the voice away from the sidelines.

“He knows exactly how DeMeco wants it,” To’oTo’o said. “He is a respected player around the league. So having him add to our locker room is huge and we have nothing but the utmost respect for him.”

While still growing, the respect is mutual from one who once stood where To’oTo’o is now.

“He made some really good plays,” Al-Shaair said Thursday. “So, I think for me now being around him, I think it is more like validating what he did that was good.”

To’oTo’o will start on Saturday when the Texans play host to the New York Giants in the team’s preseason home opener.

49ers overrated per same writer who believes they lost offseason

The Athletic writer who said the 49ers lost the offseason also called them overrated. Is he right?

There’s a particular writer at the Athletic who isn’t a believer in the 2024 San Francisco 49ers.

After naming the 49ers an offseason loser because they lost Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, and hired a new defensive coordinator, Mike Jones of the Athletic listed San Francisco among the overrated teams heading into this NFL season.

Again, Jones focuses heavily on the losses on the defensive line:

Kyle Shanahan always gives them a chance, and Brock Purdy again has a talented supporting cast, although Brandon Aiyuk faces an uncertain future. Questions loom over the defense, however, with first-year coordinator Nick Sorensen directing a unit that lost Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw to free agency and must deal with the extended absence of Dre Greenlaw, who is recovering from Achilles surgery. The 49ers hope to put another heartbreaking Super Bowl defeat in the past and make another run at a ring, but doing so could prove more challenging than many expect.

It’s worth noting the 49ers replaced Armstead and Kinlaw with Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott. The fixation on Kinlaw is interesting given the defensive tackle’s general lack of effectiveness last season, but it wouldn’t be Earth-shattering if Elliott was a better rotational DT option for San Francisco this season. Whether Collins and others can replace Armstead in the aggregate remains to be seen and is certainly a sizable question mark for the 49ers to answer this year.

The Greenlaw absence is also a pretty significant blow. San Francisco signed former All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell to replace him. Second-year LBs Dee Winters and Jalen Graham could also be in the mix to start at Will LB, but none of those three are liable to be as effective as Greenlaw is.

Alas, calling the 49ers ‘overrated’ when they were a couple plays from winning the Super Bowl last year seems like a stretch based on the reasoning listed. After all, both Pro Football Focus and ESPN agree San Francisco has the best roster in the NFL.

A better argument would focus more heavily on the 49ers’ offensive line which they made only marginal moves to improve this offseason. There’s a case to be made they could conceivably be worse on the offensive front which would certainly have an impact on Purdy. Last year in his first full season as a starter Purdy had pretty good turnover luck which could wind up coming back to bite him and the 49ers this season.

There are also some questions in the secondary with uncertainty about who will start in nickel packages with cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward. Strong safety Talanoa Hufanga is coming back from an ACL tear which leaves a question mark about whether he’ll return to All-Pro form, and second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown is an unproven commodity who figures to start alongside Hufanga.

Those are a lot of hurdles for Sorensen to clear in his first season as a defensive coordinator, which are much bigger reasons to have concerns than just the losses of Armstead and Kinlaw.

Injury luck was also, for the most part, on the 49ers’ side last season. They had the injuries to Hufanga in Week 11 and to Greenlaw during the Super Bowl, but outside of that they avoided major injuries and were relatively healthy going into the final game of the season. It wouldn’t be irrational if a person wanted to bet against injury luck for them again in 2024.

For now though on paper the 49ers figure to field one of the best teams in the NFL. Whether they can be just the second team since the turn of the century to return to the Super Bowl after losing it remains to be seen, but saying they’re ‘overrated’ for the reasons listed in the Athletic feels a tad off base.

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