Let's talk D-line

[Bigtinylittle]

One thing I really like about TJ is that he seems to be the only DL we have who consistently gets his hands up in the air to knock down passes. That's a weapon our other DL need to master.

[KJ3]

travis johnson is a great rotational DT and an okay every down starter. i think having him, manchild amobi, and big frank okam rotating the 2 DT spots throughout the game is going to be beneficial to all 3 of them.

[kravix]

I hold nothing against TJ because of his draft spot, and I am not a guy that will be down on a player because he wasnt the popular pick.

To me TJ's first year is a wash, he played on horrible team in 3-4. Im not sure what they ran at Florida St. So I have no idea how the transition was for him.

His second year, he only played half a season.

So at this point he has transitioned into an NFL 3-4 and then a 4-3. Evidently with an attitude and weight issues on top of it.

Last year, was by far his best year. 41 tackles, 6 passes defended (7th best in the league for DL and 2nd for DT's), and an int.. that was a fluke really but he can have it.

DL is a hard transition. I look for him to have a better year. And I agree with KJ, if Okam can play those three rotating should be a pretty good interior DL.

[Keith]

I agree with Kravix on TJ... Travis was also a late bloomer of sorts in college too, so I expected him to also have a slow start to his NFL career. I also can't help but wonder what impact having Robaire Smith as a veteran mentor has meant to his development, and I don't really mean that in a good way.

The Texans D-line has been overrated and overpaid pretty much every season since the beginning, but I think 2008 might be the first year where it really all comes together, what with young guys gaining proficiency (even excellence, esp in the case of Mario), and with older vets contributing in the rotation.

They will need to show improvement in stopping the run (19th last year) and in creating turnovers from the running game (also 19th), but it looks like this might be the year that group makes the jump.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by Keith

They will need to show improvement in stopping the run (19th last year) and in creating turnovers from the running game (also 19th), but it looks like this might be the year that group makes the jump.

I agree. This seems to be one of the most underrated factors in determining how successful we will be next year. If you look at our upcoming schedule, it is very heavy in teams with bad quarterbacks and/or exceptional running games.

We face:
Willie Parker/Rashard Mendenhall
Willis McGahee
Fred Taylor/ MJD (twice)
Joseph Addai (twice)
Ronnie Brown
AD/Chester Taylor

That's half of our schedule against exceptional running attacks. Then you have other teams with a morass at the QB position who will undoubtedly be very run oriented in Detroit, Oakland, Chicago, and possibly even Green Bay.

So, our defense is going to get a heavy dose of the run and they're going to have to be up to the task.

Actually, now that I think about it, this makes it even more imperative that we hold on to Anthony Weaver.

[Bigtinylittle]

I've said this before but I'll say it here again. To me, Mario looks better at LDE than RDE. I know Weaver was injured, but I think he was our biggest defensive liability last year besides Faggins. Not only did Weaver play subpar, but he also often kept Mario from his best position. If we could add one superstar to our team right now, I would prefer a great speed rusher at RDE who could also play the run well. I think that would totally transform our defense. Maybe we'll get one next year in the first round.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

I've said this before but I'll say it here again. To me, Mario looks better at LDE than RDE. I know Weaver was injured, but I think he was our biggest defensive liability last year besides Faggins. Not only did Weaver play subpar, but he also often kept Mario from his best position. If we could add one superstar to our team right now, I would prefer a great speed rusher at RDE who could also play the run well. I think that would totally transform our defense. Maybe we'll get one next year in the first round.

Maybe Weaver kept Mario from his best position last year, but you could just as easily say that not having a true speed rushing threat to come in and play RDE when Mario switches side played a role too. In passing situations it makes sense to bring a speed rusher and get Weaver off the field.

On your average down it's not a bad thing to have a pass rusher like Mario, who's also good against the run, and a good run stopper like Weaver on the other end. Weaver will be replaced as soon as the Texans can find someone else, but he's not as bad as some people make him out to be.