I was asked two questions last night that were very good and interesting to think about. One, when is it decided that a team is what it is, and two, why wait till now for the Texans to have a players only meeting on defense. Funny that came up, just this morning I talked to Miami Dolphins Asst Director of Player Personnel and former teammate Brian Gaine this morning. One of the first things he said to me was, we're (Dolphins) sitting here at 3-3 trying to get above .500, but like Bill (Parcells) says you are what u are. What does that mean for this Texans defense that is last in the NFL allowing 410.5 yards per game ? 306 passing and 104 rushing with only 10 sacks, and 4 INT's. If you use the logic Brian and I learned from Coach Parcells, according to the numbers the Texans defense isn't good, at all.
However, let me play devil's advocate here. San Diego is the number one rated defense in the NFL. They only give up 244 yards a game total, which is outstanding. They only allow 158 yards passing and 85 yards rushing, and have accounted for 25 sacks and 7 INT's. Yet they sit at 2-5 in the AFC West, third behind Kansas City and Oakland. Word ? I'm blown away by it as well. Obviously the Chargers aren't what they are. Look at our snooty Southfork friends in the north, the Cowboys. Dallas is 10th in total defense, and 5th in total offense yet they sit last in the NFC East at 1-5. Who or what are the Cowboys ? They definitely aren't what they are according to the numbers.
Unfortunately there are other things that factor into play. The Cowboys are 6th in the league in penalties, the Chargers are 11th in penalties and 4th in the fumble category losing 12 of them which explains there dismal records. For the Texans, luckily they have an offense that is 4th in the league in total yards, 6th on third down percentage, and 23rd in penalties. This has helped offset the bad play of the defense. Although the Texans defense can improve, there is not much that can be changed at this point in the season. They have to play the calls they are given and somehow make it work. Honestly I think they should go more vanilla, play more cover 2 on regular downs, and mix in some fire zones for pressure. But hey, what do I know ? I only played 11 years for two of the greatest head coaches ever and one of the best defensive minds ever. My point, the Texans defense is what is it. Average defensive line, strong at linebacker, and weak in the secondary. Which is why they either need to get more creative or go simple. Look at Kansas City, they don't do much at all. They play a couple coverages, run a few pressures and that's it. Romeo Cremel has done a good job of just letting those guys play. The most important thing he has done is realizing what kind of players he has and knowing how to use them. Simple yet effective.
Now, this whole player meeting thing. It is good to have player meetings. It gets everyone's attention, can restore focus, etc. What I don't understand is why the Texans waited so long. It's like they are setting us up. I say that because they have already beat the Colts. They have this meeting, and let's say they win Monday, it makes it look all the better. Almost like a false sense of whats going on. Even when we won in New York, we had player only meetings just to keep everyone together and deter complacency. From what I understand the meeting got everyone's attention, so does that mean no one paid attention the first seven weeks of the season ? Only time will tell as the season goes on.
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