The Houston Texans didn’t have very many splash plays on defense in 2020. The AFC South club, which finished third place in the division with a 4-12 record, was the worst team in the NFL at procuring takeaways with just nine on the season.
Opposing quarterbacks also had their way with a combined 109.6 passer rating, the second-highest in the league. Running backs also tallied 5.2 yards per carry against the Texans’ defense, the most in the NFL.
The lack of production led to the Texans going with a new scheme under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, a guru at running the Tampa-2 scheme. As a result, fourth-year safety Justin Reid sees opportunities in the new defense.
“Obviously there’s a lot more opportunities to make plays,” Reid told reporters on a Zoom call on Friday. “I feel like that’s all around. The linebackers are definitely the emphasis.”
Although the scheme benefits linebacker Zach Cunningham more in the way it sets up plays for the linebackers to make, Reid knows that there will be chances on the back end.
“With the pressure that we’re putting up front and with the linebackers creating pressure, it’s going to create opportunities on the back end, too,” said Reid. “If we can speed up the quarterback to get the ball out quickly, that’s going to allow the backend DBs to be aggressive and make some plays on the ball, too. I like that the coverage is tighter than it was a year ago.”
“Last year felt like it was almost a little too zoney, too many gaps, but the coverages this year are a lot more tight, which I’m excited about. It’s the system that I’m used to.”
If the Texans can execute the new defense soundly, it should provide Reid with an excellent case for general manager Nick Caserio to consider re-signing the former 2018 third-round pick from Stanford to a contract extension.