#5 - Can the Houston offense duplicate last season's performance?
They return everyone but Vonta Leach who was blasting opposing LBs into oblivion while Arian Foster was on his way to a 1600+ yard rushing performance. However, the Texans replace Leach with an almost equal punisher in Lawrence Vickers who was paving the way for Peyton Hillis' breakout season in 2010. Additionally, Owen Daniels is 100% again and so is Andre Johnson. OD was still recovering from an ACL tear and wasn't nearly as effective as we saw in '08 and '09. Everyone says he looks like the OD of old. As for Andre, after week 2 he played the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain but still managed to put up the catches and yards; however, he did miss the Oakland, Denver, and J-Viller game. He'll be healthy this year. Bottom line? The offense is going to put up big numbers again this season and will creep up on the scoring list among the top teams (3rd in yards and 9th in scoring in 2010).
#4 - With no OTAs and the lockout lasting until the start of camp, how much will that affect the Texans' D transition to Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme?
I think we'll see some miscues and blown assignments early in the season that could cost the Texans' a game or two. I am a little worried considering the circumstances. Yeah, I know they have four games to work out the fine details, but the preseason is more about staying healthy and not about the 1st team getting in more reps in games 1, 2, and 4. Maybe we will see Phillips have the first team spend three or four more series out there during the preseason, but I don't think that will make that much of a difference when trying to learn a new system in four weeks. We'll see.
#3 - Do the Texans have a good enough DT to succeed in Phillip's one-gap system? Shaun Cody is listed as #1 on the current depth chart but Earl Mitchell is expected to suplant Cody before the season starts because of his body type fitting Wade's system. They cut first round bust Amobi Okoye, but do have veteran Damione Lewis to come off the bench and help in a three man rotation. Personally, I don't think Cody fits this system and the Texans should just let him go and pick up another smaller more athletic DT to support Lewis and Mitchell. As for Mitchell, I think the kid will be good at some point this season, but it might take some time for him to develop as a solide one-gap DT. His up the middle pressure will have to be respected just enough so Mario and Barwin can tee off. It's a bit of a question mark for the Texans' D.
#2 - Do the Texans have enough depth at ILB and is DeMeco healthy enough to be effective by the start of the season?I almost want to put this as the #1 question, but I decided against it and I'll tell you why later in this explanation. DeMeco is coming off a season ending achilles injury which is very difficult to fully recover from in less than a year. DeMeco was not playing at a high level before he checked out for good in week 6 versus KC, so I'm not fully convinced he can be the Pro Bowl LB we were use to seeing from '08 and '09. Backing DeMeco up is injury prone softy Xavier Adibi who has been a major dissapointment ever since the Texans drafted him. He is very athletic, but gets banged up too easily when stopping the run in the trenches. With both these guys as the 1-2 for the MLB slot, it's a liability. Brian Cushing will be starting as the WLB, but he is coming off knee surgery from Janaury and won't step onto the field until this weekend. Kubiak says he's fine and is watching a lot of film, but it still concerns me if Cushing is 100% by the start of the season. We'll see. Now comes the good news; I'm talking about second year LB Darryl Sharpton. He started showing signs of good play towards the end of last season as a rookie and everyone is praising this kid for picking up on Phillip's 3-4 scheme so easily. He has shined early in camp thus far. Right now he is filling in for Cush as the WLB, so he is not slated to start; however, if DeMeco turns out to be a liability at MLB, then Sharpton can fill in nicely. There isn't much of a difference between the Will and Mike in Phillips' scheme accept for gap assignments, so Sharpton shouldn't have any issues sliding over if DeMeco goes down. I'm still worried about the lack of depth at the position due to both starters coming off surgery. I mean, there is NOBODY after Adibi and that ain't good.
#1 - Did the Texan's secondary improve enough during the offseason to work in Phillip's scheme?Worst pass defense I've ever seen in the NFL was my one and only 2010 Houston Texans. The secondary was like watching four ducks try to rollerskate backwards on ice. Yes, it was that bad. Now, they have three new pieces...well sort of. Jonathon Joseph takes over duties as the shutdown corner. The "island" guy. He is arguably a top five corner when healthy. Health being the operative word. On the other side of the field, well, lets just say there are more questions than answers. Early reports at camp are a mixed bag when it comes to Kareem Jackson's progress. Word is he is more comfortable with the new coaching staff and Wade Phillip's defense; on the other hand, he has been burned a few times already by starting WRs and UDFA WRs. It's K-Jax's job to lose, but I'm not as worried as I was last season in knowing that Jason Allen can at least play a little and rookie Brandon Harris is having a great camp early on. It's a concern considering Phillips' D has a ton of man coverage. As for the safeties, Danieal Manning was my favorite FA option for the Texans behind Scrabble or Joseph. Manning can do everything in the secondary. He didn't give up one TD last season, because he never got burned. He is speedy, can cover slots, and wideouts from time-to-time and is a decent tackler. He'll be a fine SS. Quin moves over from CB to FS, which everyone has said from the start of his career that its his calling. He is better suited as FS because he had trouble staying with WRs on streak routes. He wasn't bad on short crossing and curl routes, but he struggled in man on streaks. FS is perfect for him. He will be assigned to slots and over the top help for Joseph and K-Jax (mostly K-Jax). Overall, this group is 10x better than last year's pile of shit. I think they'll be fine, but there could be some growing pains along the way. It will be up to Mario, Watt, and Barwin to not allow QBs to look through their progressions 37 times before a reciever is open. I'm not looking for the Texans to go from 32nd to first in pass defense, but I would settle for a split down the middle. And to me, that is good enough for the offense to take care of the rest
.Playoff bound 2011.
