Tag: Texans linebackers

Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith wants defense to stop the run

The Houston Texans defense was horrendous at stopping the run last season, but new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith wants to fix that.

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith is all about the takeaways. It is the number one message he preaches to the team throughout every practice, every meeting at Houston Methodist Training Center and the meeting rooms at NRG Stadium.

Although the Texans have procured six takeaways through two preseason games, the most in the NFL, there are other aspects to playing sound defense that Smith wants to see out of the unit.

“It always starts up front, stopping the run,” Smith said. “And we are about a gap-sound defense, playing hard, getting 11 guys to the ball. That’s the first thing we talk about. Once you have good gap control, you’re flying around to the football and you have 11 guys at the point of attack, takeaways come then.”

Takeaways and stopping the run do seem to go hand-in-hand. Not only were the Texans the worst in the NFL at takeaways with just nine through 16 games last season, but they were the worst run defense in the NFL, giving up 5.2 yards per carry.

Even though it is just preseason, the Texans are giving up 72.0 rushing yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the league. However, Smith is constantly looking for improvement and not resting on any type of laurels at this point. The 95 yards on 30 carries against the Dallas Cowboys in the 20-14 win on Aug. 21 should have been fewer.

Said Smith: “We had a couple breakouts, believe me. We gave up a few plays last week. Not satisfied with how we played third downs. We had some opportunities we let slip away, but hopeful we can take another step this week.”

The Texans allowed the Cowboys to convert on eight of their 16 third down attempts. Houston was able to come up with four takeaways in the game: three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery.

Lovie Smith says Texans will blitz, but goal is to not rely on it

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith says they will use the blitz, but hope not to rely on the technique to generate pressure.

Blitzing is not exactly a trait many Tampa 2 defensive coordinators are known for.

In the new scheme the Houston Texans will be running in 2021 under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, the defensive line generates the pressure with its four-man front. There are no disguises or any trickery to force the quarterback and pass protection to guess where the free rusher is coming from.

However, just because the Texans’ new defense is designed to get pressure with just a four-man front doesn’t mean Smith will eschew the blitz for all 17 games this year.

“We don’t want to have to rely on blitzes to get pressure,” Smith said. “We’re basically a coverage team, but we will blitz and all.”

During Smith’s media session on Aug. 18, he joked with reporters that perhaps they should publish that the Texans won’t do any blitzing in 2021.

Said Smith: “Maybe you should get that out to our opponents that we’re not going to blitz. That may be a good thing, setting them up a little bit.”

The lack of blitzing will be especially pronounced in preseason as the Texans evaluate how their edge rushers are able to win individual matchups.

“In the preseason games, we want to win the football game, but we want to see guys get in one-on-one situations and see exactly what we can do,” said Smith. “If we can win without blitzing, in an ideal world, we have a four-man front. You would like to be able to get pressure with your four guys, and the only way to know if we can do that, of course, is put them in as many of those situations as possible right now.”

The Texans used to rely on the blitz under defensive coordinators Wade Phillips (2011-13), Romeo Crennel (2014-16, 2018-19), Mike Vrabel (2017), and Anthony Weaver (2020) when the team ran the 3-4 defense.

Texans rookie LB Garret Wallow adjusting to the mental side of the NFL

Houston Texans rookie linebacker Garret Wallow says the mental side of the NFL is what he is getting used to.

Going from college football to the NFL, one would expect the physical side of the game to be the biggest adjustment.

However, for Houston Texans rookie fifth-round linebacker Garret Wallow, the biggest adjustment he has had to make through two weeks of training camp is to the mental side of the game.

“It’s a challenge but you like that challenge,” Wallow said. “You start to really feed into that challenge and you see yourself growing day-to-day. Like I say, a bunch of the old guys have led me along the way and made that quite a bit easier for me.”

Wallow has some “old guys” to lean on in Christian Kirksey, Kevin Pierre-Louis, and Zach Cunningham, who led the NFL in tackles last season. The Texans’ linebackers figure to play a key part in the 2021 defense as Houston has gone to a Tampa 2 with new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.

“Coach Lovie, he has a plan for us linebackers, definitely a real defensive guy,” said Wallow. “Coming in here with him, it’s been a bless and I’ve learned a lot from him. He has a lot of experience and there’s a reason why I’ve grown exponentially too, as well. I’ve got high praise for Coach Lovie.”

The former TCU Horned Frog will get his chance to make more progress with the mental aspect of pro football as Houston faces the Green Bay Packers Saturday night at Lambeau Field.

“I’m ready to come out here and put my best foot forward with the team and work as hard as I can with the team,” Wallow said.

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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.

LB Christian Kirksey reveals the most fun aspect of being with the Texans

Free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey talked about what the most enjoyable part of joining the Houston Texans has been thus far.

Christian Kirksey is on his third team in as many seasons, but the 28-year-old has already identified the most fun part about joining the Houston Texans.

The former Cleveland Browns 2014 third-round pick from Iowa signed a one-year, $3 million contract to play for the Texans in 2021 after spending one year with the Green Bay Packers. Kirksey is already enjoying himself with the AFC South club.

“Man, just talking with the guys, just being back in the groove,” Kirksey told reporters on a Zoom call on May 27. “Obviously, you enjoy the offseason, you enjoy the time with your family, but then when you’re getting back on the field and joking around with your boys in the locker room, meeting new faces — there’s nothing better than that.”

Kirksey is part of a revamping among the linebacking corps as the defense transitions from a 3-4 scheme to a Tampa-2 scheme with a 4-3 front. The concept of inside linebackers in the 3-4, such as Zach Cunningham, are expanding outward among the linebacking unit, while the outside linebackers in the 3-4 scheme, such as Jacob Martin and Whitney Mercilus, are becoming down linemen firing off from a three-point stance.

The 29-year-old has the ability to complement Cunningham, and was adept with the Packers in 2020, providing 77 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, two interceptions, and four pass breakups in 11 games, all of which he started.

Starting a new chapter with the Texans, Kirksey is focused on forging chemistry with his new teammates and getting on the same page as they work through organized team activities.

Said Kirksey: “Right now we’re working out, we’re trying to learn this playbook. Everybody is new, so I enjoy meeting new guys and kind of hearing their story, where they’re from, how did they get to where they are now and things like that. We’re all competing and we’re all just trying to be the best Texans we can be. That’s the fun part in it, when everybody’s trying to push each other to go somewhere and we all come from different places and we’re all trying to get to one goal. I think that’s the most fun part for me, is just to be back around the guys.”

The Texans also have Cunningham, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Nate Hall, Neville Hewitt, Hardy Nickerson, Kevin Pierre-Louis, fifth-round rookie Garret Wallow, Joe Thomas, and Tae Davis among the linebacking corps.

Adam Gase calls Texans LB Jordan Jenkins ‘old school’

Houston Texans linebacker Jordan Jenkins is an “old school” type of player, according to former Jets coach Adam Gase.

The Houston Texans bolstered their linebacking corps in free agency with the addition of former New York Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins.

Adam Gase, who was the coach of the Jets from 2019-20, was complimentary of the former 2016 third-round pick late in New York’s 2-14 campaign.

“That guy is old-school,’’ Gase said on Dec. 5, 2020, via Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “You’re going to have to saw off a limb for him not to be out there. It’s how he grew up. It’s how he was raised. If you know his background, it’s who he is. When you dig into his background, it all makes sense why he is who he is.”

According to Gase via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Jenkins popped his shoulder back into place during a game early in the 2020 season, and only missed a play in the process.

Said Gase: “I’m not sure I’ve been around many players that are tougher — just flat-out tougher — than him. You saw the guy earlier in the season with his shoulder out of place and he pops it back in, comes off for like a play and runs back out there. The guy is an absolute beast as far as his mindset of not wanting to come out of games, constantly just being that guy to rely on.”

Jenkins provided the Jets with 189 combined tackles, 22.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and eight pass breakups in 72 games, 62 of which he started.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio got a good look at Jenkins twice a season as the Jets were division rivals with the New England Patriots, the franchise where Caserio had been employed in various capacities since 2001. The 6-3, 259-pound linebacker is part of Caserio’s “singles and doubles” strategy to get Houston around the bases competitively in 2021.

ILB Tyrell Adams believes he can play in Texans’ new 4-3 scheme

Houston Texans inside linebacker Tyrell Adams believes he can transition from inside linebacker in the 3-4 to one of the three LB spots in the 4-3.

Tyrell Adams has always bet on himself.

The 28-year-old from West Georgia was a member of seven NFL teams, mostly as a practice squad or offseason player, from 2015 to 2018 when he finally settled down with the Houston Texans.

In 2020, with Pro Bowl inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney out for the season after the first four games, Adams took over the second inside linebacker spot in the 3-4 defense and provided Houston with 125 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, four pass breakups, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

Just he has throughout his career, Adams is betting on himself to adjust to new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2, which deploys a 4-3 front.

“I think I’m really versatile,” Adams told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I play smarter and quicker than most guys, and I’m good in zone and man coverage. Coming downhill and playing really physical, adding that to my repertoire, I’m an all-around linebacker. I’m pretty well-versed in all aspects of being a complete linebacker. I can run and get to the ball.”

Adams predominantly has played in a 4-3 defense when looking at his other stops. The 2015 Seattle Seahawks were a 4-3 front, as were the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs. The Oakland Raiders under Jack Del Rio were a 4-3 in 2016 before switching to a 3-4 in 2017The Buffalo Bills in 2017, the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, and the San Francisco 49ers in 2018 deployed 4-3 fronts.

“Playing in a 4-3 gives me the ability to move and really excel physically,” Adams said.

Adams made $910,000 on a one-year contract with the Texans in 2020. As a free agent, the Texans will evaluate what the 6-2, 228-pound linebacker can bring to the new defense. The Texans already have a tackling machine on the roster in inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, and McKinney is still under contract with the Texans through the 2023 season.

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Zach Cunningham: Texans have to put their best foot forward

Heading into an important three weeks, Houston Texans inside linebacker Zach Cunningham says the team has to put their best foot forward.

It’s do or die time for the Houston Texans. At 8-5, they are tied for the crown of the AFC South, with none other than an opponent they will see twice in the next three weeks: the Tennessee Titans.

Houston, if they have playoff aspirations, must at least split the series with the Titans and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sandwich game to ensure their spot in the playoffs.

Texans standout linebacker Zach Cunningham explains.

“I mean, it’s basically what it is. Three games left, we gotta, you know, put our best foot forward going into the rest of the season,” said Cunningham on Monday.

Cunningham, in his third professional season, is a catalyst to the Texans’ success. He already has a career-best in combined tackles with 114, which also paces the team. His 79 solo tackles sit at second in the NFL while his 114 combined ones are sixth.

Of course, Cunningham won’t be the one to lead the Texans to the post-season alone. He needs to rest of the team to step up to the challenge, which he feels like they can do.

“I feel like we are able to step up to the challenge. Just got to go out there and prove it,” said Cunningham.

Houston will have to embark in their three-week stretch to the postseason without their best defensive player, J.J. Watt, who has been out since Week 8. Instead, their defense will be compiled by a lesser-known group, one that Cunningham believes will get the Texans where they want to be.

“Definitely confident in the guys that we have in the locker room. Guys will continue to fight and throughout the whole season,” said Cunningham. “That’s what we continue to show.”

The Texans will begin their playoff quest on Sunday. They will travel to Nashville to face the surging Titans.