Don't look now, but the Texan defense is...

[Arky]

....moving up the charts.

16th yards allowed/game (326.5)

15th pts allowed/game (21)

20th rushing yards/game (113.2)

14th passing yards/game (213.2)

15th (tied) total INT's (6)

Remember preseason when many said something like "if the defense could just be middle of the pack"?.... Well, I'd say they're middle of the pack at present... And the team is winning - last 4 of 5.

Not sure what the Football Outsiders numbers are... probably 30th or something... lol

Big test/many questions will be answered this weekend against the Colts...

[TheMatrix31]

Nice....now let's see us get better or at least hold it up!

[Roy P]

Imagine what the defense will look like once we get Mario's shoulder 100% after the bye.

[WMH]

It's definitely a coulda shoulda woulda situation, but can you imagine where we would be IF we didn't give up the 4 HUGE plays in the first 3 games?

Week 1 - T Jones - 38 yard run - Missed assignment
Week 2 - C Johnson - 57 yard run - Missed assignment
C Johnson - 69 yard pass - Missed assignment/BONEHEAD play
C Johnson - 91 yard run - Missed assignment
Week 3 - MJD - 61 yard run - Missed assignment

Insert Pollard, Cushing and Dunta's "Preseason" is now over, Antonio Smith remembers that he can actually play....

Even though we have still given up a handful of big scores, 30 yarder or so to Fitz, forget to cover Vernon Davis on a couple of throws, and let an old TO run on a scamper.....gentlemen, I think we have a legit defense. If we can continue to rank in the top 15 of the major statistical categories, we should fare pretty well more times than not. The other guys get paid fairly well too, so I fully understand, and expect that there will be some oopses (said especially on the week of the Colts offense), but as long as we can continue the path we are on, we will be fine. I am a firm believer in what they are doing on offense, so if the D can hold them to 17-20, we should win more than we will lose.

And that makes me a Happy Texan!

[Fonz the Boss]

I wonder if those numbers will hold up after the Indy game

[NBT]

Imagine how red my face is after making all those disparaging remarks about Frank Bush and his defense a few short weeks ago. Frank if you read this board, may I offer my humblest apologies.

[chuck]

Look, the Bills have a TERRIBLE offense so getting too excited about numbers is probably deceptive at this point. But I do know that the Texans defense has more good players playing than it has had in a long time. They need better play at some individual positions and they need to play better as a unit but more and more of the individual pieces are there I think.

Some of the pieces they're missing are here but coming out of their gestation period. Quinn, for example. He can play. And whoever it was that shared the bit about Bennett, PK I think, thanks for the information. I'm sorry to hear about his personal troubles but encouraged to learn that his shaky play may have a cause that's fixable in time because he definitely has the size and the speed to be valuable.

We'll know a lot more about the Texans' defense next Sunday evening.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by chuck

Look, the Bills have a TERRIBLE offense so getting too excited about numbers is probably deceptive at this point.

The defense has been playing well, but I wouldn't call them great. Now if they can get some sacks and some interceptions against the Colts, then I may change my tune. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased to see some improvements especially in the tackling department.

[Nconroe]

True, not yet a great defense, but a whole lot better. Time will tell.

The first three games of this year they gave up 86 points or 29 points/game.

The last three games they gave up 48 points or 16 points/game.

Buffalo had been averaging 16 points over last 3 games, we held them to 10, a shutout the second half.

Indianapolis has averaged 31 points over last three games so, that should test the progress of our defense pretty well.

Texans have averaged scoring 28 points over last three games so we should yest Indy's defense as well.

Indy's defense has only been giving up 10 points a game over last three games, so pretty good on offense and defense.

For sure, it is a lot more fun watching Texans this year than any of previous years, that is a good thing.

[cloudwasher]

Originally Posted by chuck

Look, the Bills have a TERRIBLE offense so getting too excited about numbers is probably deceptive at this point.

Are the Bills a top caliber offense? No. But there are lots of horrible offenses in the NFL this year and every team has played at least one, if not two. Therefore that argument is rather null and void. If these were our stats after week 2, then I might agree, but half way into the season with these numbers and its hard to argue that its a fluke.

Could the defense fall back into pitifulness during the second half of the season? Its possible. But give them credit for what theyve done so far. After all, we do have the best record in franchise history at the moment and there arent too many other teams who can say that right now, so be happy...

[nunusguy]

FWIW, in Kubiaks presser yesterday he shrugged off the lack of production in sacks, atleast as expressed in the terms of stats, and suggested that
pressure which hurries the QB is just as important if not more so even in the absense of actual QB sacks.

[Arky]

This might be the only time I ever quote Richard Justice - (Justice responding to a post where someone warns to "lets not get carried away with Moats vs. Bills defense".)

[I hear that all the time. Let's no get carried away. Let's focus on the part of the glass that isn't full. I don't get it. I like getting excited about guys. I like a guy getting a chance and doing more than anyone thought possible. I couldn't imagine going through life saying, ''Let's not get carried away.'' It's professional sports, son. Let's get carried away. It's not the insurance business. It's OK to get fired up.--Richard]

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Arky

This might be the only time I ever quote Richard Justice

I dunno why so many people get bent-out-of-shape about Justice and what he has to say ? It's a given that half (or more) of what he's writing is tongue-in-cheek meant to provoke and even upset the reader.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I dunno why so many people get bent-out-of-shape about Justice and what he has to say ? It's a given that half (or more) of what he's writing is tongue-in-cheek meant to provoke and even upset the reader.

That's just it. It's his going after the lowest common denominator/pot stirring/anything-for-a-blog-hit way of doing things. Not exactly journalism with integrity..... That and he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. He randomly censors posts for no apparent reason other than to be petty or spiteful.... I quit posting there a long time ago and only occasionally read these days...

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Arky

That's just it. It's his going after the lowest common denominator/pot stirring/anything-for-a-blog-hit way of doing things. Not exactly journalism with integrity..... That and he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. He randomly censors posts for no apparent reason other than to be petty or spiteful.... I quit posting there a long time ago and only occasionally read these days...

I also get tired of his personal vendettas, like his scathing article(s) about the Texans firing the strength coach only to find out later that it was one of his personal friends. I don't have a problem with standing up for your buddy at all, but he wrote this long article about what a terrible organization the Texans were and they were doomed to fail. Only later did he admit to having a close relationship, and it was ridiculous the way that post pointing out the Texans training programs was outdated would disappear. That's just one example, but his condescending attitude in the way he handles legitimate questions both in the comments section and in direct emails is annoying. I also tire of hearing about the Glory days when he was in Washington.

I also lost a lot of respect for him years ago when he was doing a local radio show after the season leading up to the draft and they asked him about one of our safeties(forgot which one, but I think it was CC Brown). Basically the question was along the lines of are the Texans happy with player X or is that an area of need. Justice came back with I'm sure they will look for some more depth, but he's not likely to see many carries next year anyway. The radio guys, confused, said but he's a safety. Justice asked who the players name was again, and when they told him he said I don't know much about him so I doubt he's got much of a shot with this team next year...to which one of the radio guys pointed out that he had started x amount of games for the Texans this year while the other host quickly changed the subject to try and save Justice from digging any deeper.

I think he's a better baseball guy than football, but he covers the Texans enough that he should have some basic knowledge of the players. Maybe he just got confused, but he definitely sounded like a guy who was just clueless, but felt like he was smart enough to just make things up and get away with it.

I just got tired of his whole act, which is what I think most of it is. I don't really get to worked up about him, because there really is no point.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by papabear

I think he's a better baseball guy than football, but he covers the Texans enough that he should have some basic knowledge of the players.

He is primarily a baseball guy, that's his long-suit, that's his passion. And I get the genuine impression he's a real long-time Astros fan but I'm not much of a judge of that since I'm not really a baseball fan of any kind.
When it comes to football, like most anybody from N.Texas which he is, he's a Cowboys fan. Frankly I don't give a damn because I don't care about the Cowboys that much one way or the other, though I know lots of poeple in Houston despise anybody who's a Cowboys fan.
I don't even read Justice much, but I've listened to him on radio (both 610 and now 1560), and I've found him informative and entertaining, but he does like to brag about his connctions to other journalists and athletes. However much of the time I've found Justice to be self-effacing. So I dunno, but a lot of people don't like him, I know that.

[NBT]

I wish In-Justice would just go back to Washington. We sure as hell don't need him down here.

[Keith]

someone please keep this thread from derailing any further.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by Keith

someone please keep this thread from derailing any further.

Bottom line, our defense has become respectable, and I believe is on the cusp of some very good things. This Sunday's game will be a great test, & judging from what San Fran was able to do, I like our chances to be competitive.

[Nconroe]

I think our defense this year is becoming the best Texans have had and will just keep getting better, we still have a lot of young and new players and coaches getting used to each other.

The tackling has gotten solid, the gap coverage is very good now, pressure on QB is improving, and we have enough forced turnovers to be winning the turnover battle.

We stop the run well and play tough is what we do on defense.

We are quick, not lots of big guys, and the guys are learning to trust each other and have some fun out there.

Each level of the defense has some depth and some pretty skilled players.

And, I just switch the channel when certain talking heads are on. no big deal.