Tag: offensive line

Bill O’Brien: Texans right tackle position is ‘week-to-week’

Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien says the team’s right tackle position is “week-to-week” with Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark.

Without rookie tackle Tytus Howard (injured reserve – MCL), the Houston Texans are taking a new approach to their right tackle position: rotating between their two backups.

Chris Clark, 34, and Roderick Johnson, 24, have each started two games at right tackle. In Week 13’s win over the New England Patriots, Clark played 61% of right tackle snaps, while starting, and Johnson played 39%.

In Week 9, an international win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Clark and Johnson evenly split snaps at left tackle.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien isn’t sure who will start at right tackle in Week 14’s tilt with the Denver Broncos.

“I think it’s more week-to-week. I think we thought that that was decent the way that it went last week, but this week’s a whole different ball game,” O’Brien told the Denver media in a conference call Tuesday. “I think there’s always competition on our roster at certain spots. I think it’s a lot about practicing and competition and things like that.”

Whoever does play may have to block against pass-rusher Von Miller, who isn’t a sure thing to play on Sunday (knee). Whether it’s Clark or Johnson, they will undoubtedly have a tough task at NRG Stadium on Dec. 8.

Texans believe rotating right tackles is in the team’s best interest

The Houston Texans aren’t approaching right tackle normally, as they rotate between Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark. They say it’s for the better.

The Houston Texans have taken an unorthodox approach to replace rookie starting right tackle Tytus Howard, who is on injured reserve for a partially torn MCL.

Rather than stick with one player, the Texans have rotated Chris Clark and Roderick Johnson at the right tackle position. In Week 13’s win over the New England Patriots, Clark started and playing 61% of snaps (34) while Johnson played 39% (22).

The Texans allowed three sacks in the 28-22 win over the Patriots.

Coach Bill O’Brien says rotating between the two offensive tackles is in the best interest of the team.

“I think that was just something we felt, again, was in the best interest of the team. We felt like both of those guys had earned the right to play and we felt that that was a good way to do it,” Bill O’Brien told reporters Monday.

Johnson, 24, has two starts at right tackle. Clark, 34, can say the same, while also picking up a start at left tackle in a Week 9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Similar to the Texans’ current plan at the right-side, Clark and Johnson each played 50% of snaps in that Week 9 win.

According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson has one sack allowed in 222 snaps, grading in at 64.6. Meanwhile, Clark has one in 146 snaps while measuring in at a 50.6 grade.

Texans-Patriots Friday injury report: Tytus Howard doubtful

The Houston Texans released their injury report ahead of their Week 13 matchup with the New England Patriots, and RT Tytus Howard is doubtful.

The Houston Texans released their final injury report of Week 13 as they prepare for the New England Patriots Sunday night at 7:20 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium.

Houston may have to find other solutions at right tackle as rookie Tytus Howard is listed as doubtful with a knee injury.

The Texans had more participation from receiver Will Fuller (hamstring), cornerback Lonnie Johnson (ankle), and cornerback Bradley Roby (hamstring).

Full participant

DE Carlos Watkins (hamstring) ⁠— OUT

Limited participant
DE Angelo Blackson Shoulder QUESTIONABLE
CB Gareon Conley Hip QUESTIONABLE
G/T Tytus Howard Knee DOUBTFUL
OLB Brennan Scarlett Shoulder QUESTIONABLE
Full participant
S Mike Adams Concussion
S Justin Reid Concussion
CB Bradley Roby Hamstring
CB Lonnie Johnson Ankle
WR Will Fuller Hamstring

For the Patriots, TE Ryan Izzo is out with an illness, and he did not participate in Friday’s practice. LB Kyle Van Noy was listed as questionable, and he also did not participate in Friday’s practice.

New England had 16 players listed as questionable.

Quarterback Tom Brady was upgraded to a full participant with an elbow injury, and he does not have a designation for Sunday night.

Pro Football Focus credits Saints pass rush with 41 QB pressures vs. Falcons

The New Orleans Saints defense started and ended their game with the Atlanta Falcons by sacking Matt Ryan, but the story is larger than that

The Atlanta Falcons did everything they could to take the New Orleans Saints defense out of the game on Thursday night. They forced the Saints defenders to remain on the field for a season-high 93 plays, expecting the heightened workload to tire them out down the stretch.

It didn’t happen. If anything, the prolonged playing-time hurt Atlanta’s own blockers. The Falcons allowed 5 sacks in their last 15 snaps (one of which was wiped out by a Saints defensive penalty) and 9 on the day as a whole, leading coach Dan Quinn to take aim at specific players for mistakes in his postgame media availability — a rarity in their troubled season. Quinn has largely avoided singling out struggling players, but he was left with no choice after the beatdown they suffered on Thanksgiving in front of a national audience.

Quinn told Falcons team reporter Kelsey Conway that two of the sacks were at fault of starting left tackle Jake Matthews, the team’s first-round pick back in 2014. Two more sacks were put on rookie first-rounder Kaleb McGary at right tackle, while big free agent signing Jamon Brown and star running back Devonta Freeman each allowed a sack of their own. Quinn chalked up three other sacks to lockdown coverage by New Orleans.

However, there was more to the Saints’ success than just their takedowns. They pressured Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan relentlessly, as seen in their game grades from the analysts at Pro Football Focus. The Saints pass rush was credited with 41 total quarterback pressures on the day, including all of those sacks, often moving Ryan off of his spot and hurrying him through his reads. Three different Saints defensive linemen received grades above 90 (defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport, and rookie nose tackle Shy Tuttle) as did rookie slot defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

When the Saints are getting after quarterbacks this well, there aren’t many passers who can hold up to such repeated pressure. The Saints played one of them already this season in Seattle Seahawks MVP candidate Russell Wilson; if things keep going the way they have so far, New Orleans might not see the other one until Super Bowl LIV, if Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens can go the distance.

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Broncos guard Dalton Risner seen wearing boot, says he’s ‘good’

Broncos rookie guard Dalton Risner was seen wearing a boot in the team’s locker room.

Denver Broncos offensive guard Dalton Risner briefly left Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with an ankle injury before later returning to the contest (a game the Broncos lost 27-23).

Risner was seen wearing a boot on his foot in the team’s locker room Tuesday but the rookie told The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala, “I’m always good,” which seems like a positive sign that it might not be a serious injury.

Risner (6-5, 312 pounds) was selected by Denver in the second round of this year’s draft out of Kansas State. He has had a brilliant rookie season so far, allowing just one sack in 10 games, according to STATS LLC.

If Risner does have to miss any games with his ankle injury, the Broncos might move Elijah Wilkinson back to guard (if Ja’Wuan James is healthy enough to play right tackle). Austin Schlottmann is another option.

Denver will release an updated injury report after practice Wednesday.

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Ryan Ramczyk praises Nick Easton in first start, stresses need for consistency

New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk talked up the impact of backup left guard Nick Easton, and the importance of consistency.

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The New Orleans Saints bounced back in a big way against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rebounding from its worst performance in recent years a week earlier to move the Buccaneers defensive line at will. And much of that success came up front, off of the efforts of blockers like right tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

A surprise boost came from backup left guard Nick Easton, who filled in for injured starter Andrus Peat and ended up earning New Orleans’ highest grade on offense from Pro Football Focus. When asked whether he could sense Easton’s eagerness to get back on the field, Ramczyk confirmed it.

“Yes, definitely,” Ramczyk said during a conference call with New Orleans media. “When we’re out there he’s encouraging and you could tell he was excited and ready to go. He definitely had a good mentality about getting the start and I think he did a great job. Whenever you can have a guy like that who is vocal and trying to get the team going, it amps us up too. Definitely a positive.”

Still, Ramczyk had to double back to his unit’s poor performance against the Atlanta Falcons. Painful as that game was — the Saints ran for a season-low 52 yards, and allowed a season-high six sacks — it provided plenty of teaching moments for the Saints offensive line. And it also gave them some added motivation to carry into practice down the stretch.

“That Atlanta game was not what we’re about and something we weren’t proud of at all,” Ramczyk said. “There’s a lot of bad stuff that happened in that game and we looked at that film and corrected it. As an offensive line, like I said, we want to be able to run the ball. We want to be able to pass the ball.”

And the Saints accomplished both of those goals against Tampa Bay, despite the Buccaneers’ ranking as one of the NFL’s best run defenses (just 81 yards allowed per game). New Orleans racked up 109 rushing yards as a team and controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 37 minutes. While the Saints passing attack didn’t put up eye-popping numbers, that efficiency was what they wanted to see.

Ramczyk continued: “Two of the most important things is keeping Drew [Brees] protected, keeping him clean, and then being able to open up the run game. Week to week, that’s something we take a lot of pride in and we try to hold ourselves to a really high standard in those two aspects. Like you said, it was uncharacteristic against Atlanta, but we’re going to get on this roll and keep going and playing our game, playing our football.”

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Russell Wilson continues to excel when facing pressure

Despite facing pressure at the third highest rate in the NFL, Russell Wilson has the league’s second best passer rating against pressure.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has always handled being under pressure well, and the 2019 season is no different.

So far this season, Wilson has a passer rating of 108.7 when under pressure, which ranks second in the NFL behind Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders (109.2).

The key difference, however, is that Wilson has still seen the third highest rate of pressure (41.8 percent of dropbacks) this season – despite clear evidence that he succeeds when faced with it.

Of course, Wilson’s passer rating without pressure is still much better, so teams may just be taking the lesser of two evils by applying pressure. Wilson does end up getting sacked quite a bit, as a veteran offensive line has battled injuries and ineffectiveness for much of the season, which has forced Wilson to use his legs more than in years past.

The Seahawks are 8-2 thanks almost exclusively to Wilson’s heroics throughout the season, and the MVP candidate will take a much deserved break this weekend before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in Week 12.

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Baltimore coach John Harbaugh raves about the Texans offensive line

The Houston Texans have built themselves an offensive line. Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is all too aware of that.

The Houston Texans offensive line used to be the butt of jokes. Key words: used to be.

After investing three first-round and two second-round selections to acquire blockers in the offseason, the Texans built Deshaun Watson and the run game an offensive line they can rely on. The league is taking notice, particularly their next opponent, the Baltimore Ravens.

“I think they’re playing really well,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh on a conference call on Wednesday. “Obviously they’re doing great. They’re running the ball at a very high level, they’re also protecting the quarterback.”

Houston’s 13th-worst 25 sacks don’t do the new-look offensive line —  LT Laremy Tunsil, LG Max Scharping, C Nick Martin, RG Zach Fulton and RT Tytus Howard — justice. In their 176 snaps played together as a unit, they have allowed just two sacks.

The Texans’ offensive line rising from the dwellers to respectability lie within the additions of Tunsil, Scharping, and Howard. Tunsil being a 25-year-old franchise left tackle; Scharping being his trusty sidekick; Howard being the first-round right-side centerpiece.

“They’ve got a first-round pick at right tackle, a top-10 or 12 pick or whatever he was at left tackle — did a great job of getting him in there. I think their guard, they’ve got a rookie guard from Northern Illinois, Scharping, we liked, a big, physical guy,” Harbaugh continued.

The two remaining starters from last year, Martin and Fulton, have played to stay. “Got one of the top centers in the league (Nick Martin), Notre Dame guy, and one of the most physical right guards (Zach Fulton) in football,” said Harbaugh.

Houston, after much-maligning, has their five-man offensive line. Harbaugh won’t doubt that; he knows what he will see on Sunday.

Said Harbaugh: “I just think they’ve done a great job putting that line together and they’re very well coached and they’re playing at a high level.”