Tag: Texans secondary

WATCH: Texans S Jalen Pitre works on JUGS machine ahead of interview

Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre was working on the JUGS machine just before his post practice interview on the first day of training camp.

Jalen Pitre continues his progression as a leader by example.

The former 2022 second-round safety demonstrated his prowess as a leader with 147 combined tackles and five interceptions for the Texans.

The former Baylor product doesn’t merely want to coast off of a stellar rookie season into his second year in the NFL. According to video from the Texans Wire’s Brian Barefield, Pitre was observed getting reps in on the JUGS machine ahead of his interview with the ensemble media at training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center Wednesday.

The work underscores the commitment the Stafford High School alumnus is bringing to new coach DeMeco Ryans’ defense.

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Johnathan Joseph among the Texans’ 2023 Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching and Nunn-Wooten Scouting fellows

Former CB Johnathan Joseph will be a part of Houston Texans’ eight fellows in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching and Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowships.

Former Houston Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph is going to get a taste of coaching with his old team.

According to the Texans, the former two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will be a member of the team’s eight fellows who will take part in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching and Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowships for training camp.

During Joseph’s 16 seasons in the NFL with stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans, the former 2006 first-round pick generated 782 combined tackles, 200 pass breakups, 32 interceptions, including seven returned for touchdowns, and eight forced fumbles across 211 career games.

Joseph will work with the defensive backs.

Michigan State defensive analyst T.J. Hollowell will work with the defensive line and linebackers.

Texas A&M assistant strength and conditioning coach Jerry Johnson will be a part of the team’s strength and conditioning.

Pleasant Grove High School (Alabama) head coach Darrell LeBeaux will focus on the running backs and tight ends.

Rice offensive analyst JaMarcus Nelson will work with receivers.

Texas Southern offensive line coach Manny Ramirez will be a part of the offensive line.

New Jersey Generals (USFL) quarterbacks coach Zerick Rollins will be a part of the special teams and offense.

Since 1987, the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship is designed to be a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time minority coaches in the league. With all 32 NFL clubs participating each year, the program’s objective is to use NFL clubs’ offseason workout programs and minicamps to give talented coaches opportunities to observe, participate, gain experience, and ultimately gain a full-time NFL coaching position.

The Texans will also have Colorado director of recruiting Darrius Darden-Box take part in the team’s scouting. The Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship will give Box a look into player personnel and the intricacies of college and pro scouting within an NFL team.

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Report: Texans work out former Broncos CB Ronald Darby

The Houston Texans are working out former Denver Broncos cornerback Ronald Darby ahead of training camp.

The Houston Texans may want yet another veteran cornerback opposite second-year Derek Stingley.

According to Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, the Texans are working out former Denver Broncos cornerback Ronald Darby, who is recovering from a torn ACL that limited him to five games in 2022.

Cornerback figures to be a hotbed of competition for the Texans throughout training camp. Steven Nelson, who is entering the final year of his contract, is incumbent with 15 starts last season. The Texans also signed former Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin to foment competition opposite of their former 2022 No. 3 overall pick.

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Texans CB Derek Stingley is starting to see entire field ‘at a faster rate’

Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley says that he is starting to see the whole field and at a quicker rate as he transitions to year two.

The NFL is fast paced, and a rookie can get lost in the flow of a 60-minute game.

Derek Stingley showed promise in his rookie season. The former Houston Texans 2022 first-round pick collected 43 combined tackles, 1.0 sack, five pass breakups, and an interception through nine games. A hamstring injury nixed Stingley’s playing time starting in Week 10, and the former LSU product never saw the field for the rest of the season.

As Stingley enters his second season, the young cornerback is starting to have better perception when it comes to the speed of the game.

“Oh, I feel like I’ve improved and I’m seeing the whole field at a faster rate,” Stingley said via Aaron Wilson of KPRC-TV. “I could kind of see it last year and in the years before that, but Year One to Year Two, you can see the pace a little bit more. Nothing’s really unexpected. Nothing really catches you off-guard anymore. I mean, it’s nice.”

Among the 2022 class, fellow first-rounder Ahmad Gardner of the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks’ Tariq Woolen, who led the NFL in interceptions, garner more attention nationally. Nevertheless there are some former Pro Bowlers who believe Stingley should be able to assert his dominance and make a name for himself soon.

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Why the Texans’ slot defense may be top notch in 2023

The Houston Texans have two of the top-3 slot corners in the NFL according to the Touchdown Wire.

The one area where the Houston Texans were stellar last season defensively was takeaways. Despite finishing 3-13-1, the Texans were in the top-10. The rest of Houston’s defense left a lot to be desired, which is why coach Lovie Smith got the boot and the Texans hired former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

The Texans may actually have one of the better slot defenses in 2023, and it has to do with existing talent and also talent acquisition.

According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, cornerback Tavierre Thomas is the best slot defender in the NFL, and uses some of Thomas’ highlights last season to make his case.

Whether he’s matching receivers deep, as he did against Parris Campbell of the Colts on this pass deflection in Week 18…

…or reading the quick pass and blowing it up, as he did against CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys in Week 14…

Farrar also goes on to mention Ward, who comes in at No. 3 on the list:

Last season, the 49ers ranked second in the NFL behind only the Patriots with 652 snaps in which they had three safeties on the field. When you have Tashaun Gipson Sr., Talanoa Hufanga, and Jimmie Ward in your defense, that makes a ton of sense. In 2022, Gipson and Hufanga were underrated assets in deep coverage in DeMeco Ryans’ defense, while Ward was the pointman in the slot. Last season in slot coverage, Ward allowed 65 catches on 80 targets from the slot for 516 yards, 319 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 91.5.

With the Texans’ defense having two stupendous slot corners in Thomas and Ward, it should allow their pass defense packages to remain versatile.

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Texans’ secondary considered bottom-5 group in the NFL

The Houston Texans’ secondary is considered one of the bottom-5 position groups in the league according to Pro Football Focus.

Pro Football Focus is at it again, and this time the Houston Texans secondary is firmly in their sights.

According to John Kosko from PFF, the Texans’ secondary is ranked No. 28 across the league, rounding out the bottom-5. Cornerbacks Derek Stingley, Steven Nelson, Desmond King, and safeties Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward were penciled in as the starters.

The Texans’ unit graded in the top half of the league last season and has added one of the better safeties in the NFL in Ward. Expect Stingley to be used more appropriately after he earned just a 49.1 PFF grade across 599 snaps as a rookie.

It didn’t help Stingley’s case that he only played nine games in his rookie campaign. Perhaps more than 600 snaps could have improved his grades. Nevertheless the former 2022 first-round pick collected 43 combined tackles, 1.0 sack, five pass breakups, and an interception.

Pitre was the radiant rookie among Houston’s draft class. The former Baylor product generated 147 combined tackles and five interceptions, leading the team in both categories. The second-round safety started 17 games for the Texans and relegated veteran Eric Murray to mostly special teams.

The addition of Ward is where Houston sports fans are hoping to see marked improvement along the backend. Ward spent the first nine seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, let alone the past two years with DeMeco Ryans as his defensive coordinator. Ward has the perfect blend of experience in the system and existing talent to elevate the production for Houston’s secondary.

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DeMeco Ryans focused on fixing Texans in reality, not just on paper

Coach DeMeco Ryans is interested in getting the Houston Texans fixed on the field, not just looking good on paper.

Talent abounds in the Houston Texans’ defensive backfield heading into the 2023 season, and DeMeco Ryans briefed the media on his expectations for the unit after mandatory minicamp on June 14.

Asked for his thoughts on the trajectory of the Texans’ secondary and whether they might be able to live up to the growing hype around their construction on paper, the former linebacker was ambiguous but seemed optimistic.

“You know, we’ll see,” Ryans told reporters. “I mean right now, being in shorts and helmets, how much can you truly judge? I think when we actually get in pads, we actually play games — that’s when we see the real football players stand up and show out. That’s what we’re looking for.

“Now on paper, it doesn’t really matter how you look on paper. It’s about can you be the best team on Sunday versus whoever you’re going against. That’s all that truly matters. And of course, we hope that our secondary is a strength of our team.”

Though the secondary will surely be a key piece of the Texans’ success next season, the first-year head coach made it clear that all phases of his defense would also be held to a high standard.

Said Ryans: “We hope our defensive line is also a strength of the team, our linebackers — everybody just gels together and plays as one. And that’s what it’s about. You know, we’ll have strengths, weaknesses, but we’re only as strong as our weakest unit.”

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Shaquill Griffin says Texans’ defense is designed for cornerbacks to create turnovers

Shaquill Griffin detailed how the Houston Texans’ defense is constructed in a way that cornerbacks play a key role in creating turnovers.

Though the Houston Texans’ secondary is highlighted by the younger talent that will take the field at NRG Stadium next season, perhaps their most underrated asset is cornerback Shaquill Griffin who signed with the team as a free agent in the offseason.

Griffin’s veteran presence should help lift his less experienced teammates in 2023, but with the regular season still months away, the function that the cornerback might serve in the Texans’ defense remains unclear. The former Jacksonville Jaguar told reporters about his potential after practice last week about what he expects his role to look like, noting that his primary goal is to create turnovers for DeMeco Ryans’ defense.

“I feel like the main thing he is trying to accomplish with our position, he’s trying to get the corners in a position to really go for that ball,” Griffin said. “I feel like the main thing is the defense we’re able to play, the changes we’re able to do, the help we’re able to get, depending on whatever situation or whatever play-call it is, it gives us the opportunity to really play the ball. The main thing is to create turnovers and get that ball back to our offense, and they put us in a great situation and a great scenario to be able to do that this year.”

For all of the Texans’ faults last season, their secondary managed to intercept 11 passes over the course of their schedule, and with a defensive-minded coach at the helm in 2023, they may be able to exceed that number.

Griffin should play a part in Houston’s effort to exceed its 2022 performance, and with enough playing time, could set career-best marks for ball production in the process.

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CB Shaquill Griffin ready to thrive in the Texans’ defensive system

Cornerback Shaquill Griffin is ready to play at a high level in the Houston Texans’ defensive scheme led by coach DeMeco Ryans.

It wasn’t long ago that Shaquill Griffin was one of the more coveted corners in the NFL.

After the Seattle Seahawks drafted Griffin in 2017, the third-rounder entered 2021 as one of the better available free agent defensive backs. His time with the late-stage Legion of Boom had seen Griffin blossom into an every-down starter for the Seahawks and he was even selected as a Pro Bowler in 2019. Griffin’s career high three interceptions during the 2020 campaign set him up nicely to cash in on the open market and it didn’t take much time at all.

The then 25-year-old corner signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars to kickoff 2021 free agency. His contract was part of a concerted effort by new coach Urban Meyer to turn the team around with rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence and it would also signal his first time as a featured corner.

Unfortunately, Griffin’s tenure was nearly as rocky as the coach that coveted him.

Griffin started 14 games in 2021 but saw career lows in tackles, passes defended, and interceptions. His follow-up campaign in 2022 under new head coach Doug Pederson was then marred by injuries, with Griffin only playing in five games this past season. He was ultimately cut by the Jaguars as a cap casualty.

Now, right back where he started in a position where Griffin needs to prove himself, he saw the new look Houston Texans and the new staff under DeMeco Ryans as a great place to re-write his script.

“Some other teams that kind of showed interest, definitely it was Minnesota,” Griffin told the media in reference to how he chose Houston over other potential suitors. “I talked to Jacksonville again, talked to Washington, talked to a couple other teams, but the only visit I really took was here to Houston, and then once I got here, I felt the energy.

“Kind of felt like I was going to be at home here. I love the system they were already running, I was already familiar with the system that they had. So, I kind of based my decision off something that I knew I would be able to get in and start and move fast right away.”

Griffin’s choice of Houston is not insignificant. Minnesota and Jacksonville are considered high-end playoff contenders in their respective conferences entering the 2023 season. Washington lacks the perimeter corner talent that the Texans currently have between second-year corner Derek Stingley and veteran Steven Nelson.

He’s not the first veteran to highlight the excitement of the Texans’ new system under Ryans. Ryans piloted the league’s best defense in San Francisco last season, winning AP Assistant Coach of the Year, and his corners were some of the major beneficiaries under the scheme. Under Ryans, Griffin will be allowed to be more physical and the scheme should highlight the strengths that made him a Pro Bowl caliber player previously in Seattle.

In San Francisco, Ryans ran predominantly Cover 3, the same coverage scheme Griffin excelled under in Seattle, and blended it with Cover 6 concepts made popular by Vic Fangio to create one of the league’s most difficult defensive systems to prepare for. That unique twist, while still being very familiar to the Seattle defense, is something Griffin has quickly come to enjoy since arriving in Houston.

“I feel like the change-up excites me the most,” Griffin said. “I feel like we’ve got a lot of stuff in our bag to be able to change things up, especially to be able to adapt to any situation. But, number one would be, being in Seattle, I’m definitely familiar with that whole process on how they run their system. So, that kind of makes a lot of things in adjusting really easy for me. So, I love that part.”

The defensive secondary will be one of the strengths of the 2023 Texans. Griffin’s presence alongside Stingley, Nelson and great slot corners like Desmond King and Tavierre Thomas should allow for phenomenal creativity in the secondary. Safeties Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward will be scheme interchangeable and can likely make the picture even more difficult for offenses.

Griffin will look to compete for the starting job opposite Stingley and can provide key depth during the season at a position group that struggled to stay healthy during the 2022 campaign. A return to Pro Bowl caliber play could spark a defensive resurgence under Ryans much faster than is expected nationally.

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Shaquill Griffin says Texans have ‘young, starving guys’ in the secondary

Cornerback Shaquill Griffin says that the Houston Texans secondary has “young, starving guys” on the backend.

Unproven though they may be, the Houston Texans’ secondary is talented on paper.

Peppered with high draft picks and tested veterans, the team should be in good hands as its ball-hawking safeties and cornerbacks patrol the defensive backfield for errant throws and lame ducks.

One of the fresher faces in the unit is former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who looks to play a key role in the Texans defense. Griffin spoke to the media about his impression of the secondary on Wednesday after Houston’s practice session, telling reporters about the potential he sees.

“We’ve got some young, starving guys right now,” Griffin said. “You’ve got a person who’s going to come out here and give everything they have. And there’s not too many times where you have a whole secondary that’s willing to help each other, that’s willing to grind it out, that’s willing to compete in every single day, especially in this Texas heat.

The eight-year pro ended his comments with a particularly inspired thought on how players in the unit are feeding off of each other, spreading an infectious energy that is sure to benefit the Texans when the regular season starts in September.

“These guys are hungry,” Griffin said, “and I love that because the type of energy they bring is so contagious, and that’s the type of secondary that you need to bring this defense along.”

As new coach DeMeco Ryans’ scheme is predicated upon an attacking defensive front, the secondary could have its chances to make big plays.

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