Tag: Texans defense

ILB Tyrell Adams is a ‘fabric guy’ for AFC South champion Texans

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says backup inside linebacker Tyrell Adams “exemplifies what pro football is all about.”

There are household names, and then there are ones who are working to become one. Houston Texans linebacker Tyrell Adams fits in the latter category.

On Saturday, Adams took another step in his quest to fit in the former category.

Adams, 27, has played on more practice squads than a hand has fingers. In 2018, he signed with the Texans after his release from the Indianapolis Colts. He had a brief stint with the San Francisco 49ers before returning to Houston in 2019.

Filling in for starter Benardrick McKinney (concussion), Adams received his first start in a 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While playing his first defensive snaps of the season, he didn’t fail to make an impression.

“I thought he played very well,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said on Monday. “I think Tyrell Adams, over the last two years especially, when we’ve asked him to step up his role — sometimes he’s been inactive and then other times we’ve asked him to come in and play on special teams.”

In the second quarter of the three-point win, Adams popped the ball out of running back Peyton Barber’s hands. It fell into the out-reaching arms of safety Justin Reid. That left an impression on O’Brien, just as his blocked punt in 2018.

“Last year he blocked a punt, this year he comes in, he plays well on special teams then last week he causes a fumble,” O’Brien said.

In the eyes of the head coach, Adams exemplifies what it means to be a professional football player. A selfless character, he does what the Texans ask of him no matter the question.

“The guy’s just, he’s really one of those guys, in my opinion, that really exemplifies what pro football is all about,” O’Brien said. “It’s about the fabric guys and the role players doing their jobs at the highest level when you ask them to do that. That’s what Tyrell does.”

Safety Justin Reid is one of the Texans’ most important players

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien calls second-year safety Justin Reid one of his team’s best players.

Safety Justin Reid is exactly who the Houston Texans thought he was when they took him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

A rangy Stanford product with a penchant of making big hits, Reid found himself suddenly slipping to the third round of the draft despite earning hype pre-draft as a first-round caliber player.

Now, “Justin’s one of our best players,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien explained on Monday.

Despite dealing with shoulder injuries throughout the season and a concussion (he missed a game for), the 22-year-old Reid is a leader and building block in the Texans’ secondary. On the season, he has 76 combined tackles, five pass deflections and a pair of interceptions.

“Justin is a leader, very smart player and he’s got good ball skills,” O’Brien said. “He’s a good tackler, he’s tough. I mean, he is tough. He is a tough guy that wants to be out there every snap for his teammates. He is a very important part of our team.”

The Texans named Reid their Ed Block Courage Award winner before their Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game that he got an interception and fumble recovery in. The award is given to the player that best epitomizes toughness and bravery both on-and-off the field.

Reid’s ability to play through injuries and stand out while doing so earned him the award.

“Everybody play a little bit banged up,” Reid said on Dec. 17. “Shoot, if your team is healthy all the way though you’re having one hell of a lucky year. So, it’s just all about being tough and dependable. Sometimes you’ve got to play through stuff and that’s just what I’ve been doing.”

If Reid’s first two years in the NFL indicate anything, it’s that he is a leader in play and mindset in a young defense.

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Texans S Jahleel Addae’s game-clinching pick hit home

On Saturday, Houston Texans safety Jahleel Addae made a play on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he will never forget.

Growing up in Valrico, Fla., east of Tampa, Jahleel Addae’s earliest memories of professional football had to do with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As a nine-year-old, he got an up-close view of the Bucs, playing in a halftime football game. On Saturday, 20 years later, he returned as a member of the Houston Texans and made his mark.

“I remember being nine years old and running through the lockers and just fantasizing, wishing that we could meet them (the players) and to come back here after 20 years, do what I did today in front of my friends and family is special,” Addae told reporters postgame. “It’s a blessing.”

With 1:31 left in Saturday’s match, the Texans held a three-point lead. Upset, it was in jeopardy with Jameis Winston moving the ball. Like he did 20 years ago, however, Addae came to play.

Winston targeted running back Dare Ogunbowale on a quick-out. Addae got there first and picked it off. The takeaway gave the Texans their 10th win of the season and the AFC South crown.

“I was in man-to-man with the running back, they came out in empty and I read his shoulders,” Addae said. “He started leaning toward the sideline and I said, ‘Risk it or biscuit,’ and I went and got it.”

Addae celebrated. He was going to the playoffs as a member of the Texans. He also got to perform and excel in front of 30 or so family and friends, as he said, to create a moment that will never elude him.

“This is a special moment for life,” Addae said. “I could take this one with me for the rest of my life. All these memories; my son in the stands, my family, my friends, and my parents getting to drive back home and wear this one on their chest.”  

WATCH: Johnathan Joseph hauls in third Texans pick on Jameis Winston

Watch Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph haul-in an interception on Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston.

Mayhem. Absolute mayhem. After Houston Texans running back Duke Johnson coughed up a fumble to Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White, Houston got the ball again.

Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston threw his third interception of the first half. He tried to connect with wide receiver Breshad Perriman on a post route. However, the veteran cornerback Johnathan Joseph made sure they didn’t connect.

Joseph read the route and came down with the interception. In doing so, he joined Bradley Roby and Justin Reid as Texans to pick-off Winston in the first half of the absurd Saturday game. Watch below.

Unfortunately, the Texans were not able to get their offense going after the interception. Deshaun Watson and Co. led a quick three-and-out for the offense, with the drive capped off by a 55-yard punt by Bryan Anger.

It’s fair to say that the Saturday game in Tampa Bay is not without its fair share of madness.

WATCH: Texans go back-to-back interceptions on Jameis Winston

Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston throw another interception, this time to Houston Texans safety Justin Reid.

On the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first offensive drive of the day, Jameis Winston gifted the Houston Texans six points. He threw a pick-six right into the hands of cornerback Bradley Roby.

Two pass attempts later, Winston gifted the Texans another interception, truly showing what the Christmas season is all about. Throwing the ball to the middle of the field, he didn’t find the receiver he targeted, Ishmael Hyman. Instead, the ball found Texans safety Justin Reid.

Watch below. Winston throws the interception to Reid.

The second-year Texans safety took the ball into the end zone. However, Houston did not benefit from back-to-back pick-sixes. The touchdown was called back to an illegal blindside block by rookie defensive end Charles Omenihu.

The Texans were not able to get into the end zone after the interception, however. The Buccaneers played stout defense, in turn, causing the Texans to boot in a 32-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.

Texans ILB Zach Cunningham lets his actions speak for themselves

Houston Texans inside linebacker Zach Cunningham is having an outstanding season, where he’s letting his actions speak for themselves.

Quietly, the AFC has a new tackling-machine. He resides in Houston and plays for the Texans.

Third-year inside linebacker Zach Cunningham paces the AFC with 128 combined tackles, which also sits at fifth in the NFL. His 89 solo tackles are second in the league. He has also cut-down his missed tackle rate from 13% to 7.9%, per Pro Football Reference.

On Tuesday evening, the NFL recognized Cunningham’s efforts by naming him as a Pro Bowl alternate behind Darius Leonard and Dont’a Hightower. For him, it’s an honor, but it wasn’t one he pushed for.

A quiet menace, the Vanderbilt product lets his play do the talking.

“I let my actions speak for themselves,” Cunningham said on Wednesday.

Cunningham isn’t just one of the top tackles in professional football, he’s also one of the top run defenders. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads the NFL in run stops (44) and run-stop rate (14.3%).

Cunningham’s numbers and fiery style of play earns him recognition from those around the NFL. Though he lets his action speak for themselves, as he says, he can’t help but realize that the recognition means a lot to him.

“To definitely have that recognition, you know, just knowing that you got that respect around the league, that’s something that means a lot to me,” Cunningham said.

His peers have noticed. After games, Cunningham attracts the attention of opponents who would like to tell him to continue doing well and compliment him.

“There’s a few things I’ve heard after games,” Cunningham said. “Just guys letting me know that I’ve been doing real good. And (what they say) it’s keep balling, stay healthy, those type of things.”

At 25 years old, Cunningham is still a relative newbie to the NFL. However, the league is taking notice of his actions, even if he isn’t one to show them first-hand.

DC Romeo Crennel: CB Vernon Hargreaves has ‘made plays’ for Texans defense

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel thinks former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves has made plays in his defense.

Since 2016, the Houston Texans have struggled to find consistency at the cornerback position. The 2019 season marks an attempted end at that notion, as Houston has adamantly worked on improving the roster.

Following the release of former nickel Aaron Colvin, the Texans brought in two former first-round picks, Gareon Conley and Vernon Hargreaves. Conley got his revenge game, against the Oakland Raiders, days after his trade. On Saturday, Hargreaves will get his.

The Texans will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. Earlier in the season, the Bucs released Hargreaves, a Tampa native, after making him a first-round pick in 2016. Houston scooped him up off waivers and they like what they see.

“He’s done good,” Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said on Hargreaves on Thursday. “He’s made some plays. I think he’s helped us.”

Hargreaves has moved from outside cornerback in Tampa Bay to nickel in Houston. In doing so, he has tallied 17 combined tackles and two pass deflections in four games played.

According to Pro Football Reference, Hargreaves has allowed 195 yards and a touchdown on 25 targets in coverage. A Florida product who struggled immensely with the Buccaneers, the Texans are hoping that the change from outside to inside will come with an uptick in production.

Hargreaves must hope it too. Though the Texans gave a bid in confidence by adding him from waivers, he still has to prove that he is worth staying on board next year, considering his pricey contract.

The Texans can cut his non-guaranteed $9.59 million fifth-year option after the season unless he sustains a severe injury. If they don’t view the 24-year-old as a starter or full-time nickel in their defense, he could be gone.

Hargreaves, realistically, has at least three games to prove he belongs. First, he’ll have to play well against his former team, then against a rival in the Tennessee Titans. If Houston wins one of those games or the Titans lose one, he’ll have to prove his worth in the playoffs for the first time.

Texans ILB Benardrick McKinney suffers concussion in 24-21 win over the Titans

Houston Texans inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney suffered a concussion in the team’s contest with the Tennessee Titans.

Houston Texans inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney came off the field with 2:46 during the team’s 24-21 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.

The Texans’ PR staff announced that McKinney suffered a concussion. They ruled him out for the rest of the AFC South divisional contest.

McKinney was slow to get up after splitting a tackle on Titans tight end Jonnu Smith with safety Tashaun Gipson. After the training staff attended to him, he hobbled onto the sideline and into the Texans’ locker room.

Backup Peter Kalambayi replaced McKinney following the injury.

McKinney, a Pro Bowler in 2018, is an outstanding run-stuffer for the Texans and has the “green dot” on his helmet, signifying that defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel relays the adjustments and play-calls to him.

Before suffering the injury, McKinney had tallied nine combined tackles, a half-sack and a quarterback hit. Entering the highly-anticipated matchup, the inside linebacker had recorded 93 combined tackles and four tackles for loss on the season.

Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel sees inconsistency with the Texans’ defense

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel says the Texans’ defense is consistent before facing the Tennessee Titans in Week 15.

The Houston Texans defense has performed great feats and equally as bad ones. One week, they are limiting Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady; the other, they watch Kyle Allen or Drew Lock slice them up in defeat.

They are, as defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel would put it, inconsistent. “I think there is some inconsistency,” said the veteran defensive coach on Thursday.

Where the Texans have been consistent on defense, however, is that under Crennel in 2019, they have shown resiliency. They can bounce back. According to Football Outsiders, via Rivers McCown, Crennel’s defense has a 3.9% DVOA, an uptick, as compared to the offense.

“What I’ve noticed during the year is that they’ve been able to bounce back. We’ve been able to bounce back and when we lose a game, we can come back and end up winning one, winning a big game,” said Crennel. “So, hopefully that will occur on Sunday, that we’re able to do that, but wishing that it will happen doesn’t make it happen.”

On Sunday, the Texans, as Crennel alluded to, will attempt to bounce back from a loss. They will do so against the 8-5 Tennessee Titans, with the winner taking the defining lead in the AFC South.

Limiting the Titans is no easy task. Once considered an old-school, ground-and-pound and defensive-minded team, Tennessee is scoring at will. They’ve scored 30-plus in their last four. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill leads the NFL in passer rating (118.5) while tailback Derrick Henry has run to the tune of 1,243 yards and 13 touchdowns.

How will the Texans’ defense limit an electric Titans-sized attack in Nashville?

“We have to go out and we have to perform, and we’ve got to do a good job at the line of scrimmage against the line, against the running back, and in the passing game, because they’re going to throw the ball because that keeps a defense off balance.” said Crennel.

“If they have to load up against the run, they know that, so then they throw the play-action and they’ve been hitting plays with the play-action,” Crennel said. “We’re going to have to do a great job overall, got to do a good job on third downs, try to get off the field and not stay on the field. So, all of those things come into play and so we’ve been working at it and we’ll find out if we did any good on Sunday.”

If the Texans did real well, they will have undisputed first place in the AFC South with two games left in the season.

S Justin Reid: Adversity shows what type of team Texans have

The Houston Texans are not getting any easy road to the post-season. Their safety, Justin Reid, thinks that’s a good thing that will show the truth.

“If there’s not any adversity, it wouldn’t be any fun.”

Those were the words safety Justin Reid told reporters Monday, and the Houston Texans have their fair share after taking a 38-24 beating from the Denver Broncos Sunday at NRG Stadium.

Now, with the Tennessee Titans with an 8-5 record the same as the Texans, what seemed to have been a straight shot to a fourth consecutive AFC South title in five years has now become a dogfight fraught with adversity.

Though not struggling with new injuries, the Texans are dealing with a disheartening loss followed by a series of three games that will define their 2019 campaign.

Though worrisome based on the lack of definite possibilities, Reid wouldn’t have it any other way. Adversity will strike. As he says, it makes it more fun, as it forces one to get better and show their true colors.

“I feel like adversity really shows what type of team you got,” said Reid. “It shows what type of character you have. It’s not if adversity strikes, it when adversity strikes, how you respond to it, and that’s the type of mentality that we have.”

In recent years, the Texans aren’t the team to avoid adversity. Once it was poor quarterbacking that held them back — via Brian Hoyer, Brock Osweiler or whomever else — but it didn’t stop them reaching the playoffs. At other times, it was the opposite. In 2018, Houston got off to a 0-3 start, only to finish the season 11-5.

2019’s adversity comes within a lack of consistency. Throughout the season, they’ve beaten winning teams, notably the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, and have lost to reeling ones, such as the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

Houston’s ability to beat playoff teams and lose to lowly ones is their crux in 2019. It’s their sort of adversity. They can’t let it define them. In the next three weeks, they will face the surging 8-5 Tennessee Titans twice and the 6-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers once.

Will the Texans respond to the challenge and win the crown of the AFC South? Only time will tell how they react to that adversity that Reid thinks they so very need.