The Real Problem

Over the course of the last two weeks Houston Texan fans have steadily questioned why the Texans play as poorly as they do and haven't met expectations. As a former player being on the inside, I'll clear this up for you in a short but sweet answer. There are certain things needed to be successful in the NFL. Yes, some talent or ability is needed, but it's not as important as you think.  The NFL game is 90% mental and 10% talent. After close examination I have come to this conclusion about the Texans.

Houston has talent at certain positions, QB, WR, RB, and linebacker. Mario is a talent when he decides to show up and Antonio Smith has played the best out of them all this year. The rest of the defensive line is average at best. The O-line I would say is just above average, the secondary is poor. Still that's not the ultimate problem. What I see as the problem for the Texans is schematics, attention to detail, and poor situational awareness. Which based off of my 90-10 ration is a huge problem.

On offense, instead of  being themselves, a zone running, play action pass team, they decide to get pass happy and panic. On defense, they are playing a scheme that they do not have the talent or players for. You can not load up the box to stop the run and not have the players in back that can succeed in single coverage. Also up front, I don't see enough games being run to create pressure. In certain situations, ie. third down I also don't see the awareness of knowing what teams run depending on the down and distance. The Texans defense looks as if they just play whats called. Offensively it is not as bad, yet they are predictable as to what they run.

Bill Parcells had a drill for us. All the coaches had to get off the field, players only, He created a scenario like, 1:56 left in the game, the offense needed a touchdown, and had one timeout. He would place the ball anywhere. Both offense and defense had to make the calls on their own. We did that every week and it prepared us during games because we already knew what to do. Detail and awareness, very key. The majority of the time when teams are beat on offense or defense it is the lack of these things and not so much the physical aspect.

Now, where is the blame to fall ? Both player and coach are responsible for doing the things I mentioned above. Yes, the coach has to help prepare them and guide them, but the players have to do extra work and prepare diligently as well. If you are skeptical of my opinion, then look at the Indianapolis Colts. Talent is not great, but they have a system in place on both offense and defense. Watching them play u can see where the detail and situational awareness is displayed by all players. You may not agree with my opinion. I base this solely on my experience. All teams are gonna make some plays, whether planned or by luck, but the teams that come out ahead are the ones that are more detailed and aware of all situations.

Who Are You ? Really ?

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.

Reality Check

There has been much displeasure and disappointment over the Texans loss to the Giants. I have heard about Sage telling his coaches about the play book, etc. In my opinion that has no relevance. Well, there are these guys that work for each team. Their sole responsibility is to acquire game tape of each team they are playing that year. They get as many games needed in order for the coaches to study and come up with a logical game plan. See my point ? So as far as I'm concerned that's x-nayed as an excuse. The Texans just flat out did not come to play. They were out matched at certain positions, and there was much indecision in their play. Thus the hard time they had with the Giants.

Luckily this is a new week and a new opportunity, however they are facing a Chiefs team that is very legit. Just as the Texans do, they run the ball very well and they are good at stopping the run. Although Matt Cassel hasn't had a great year, he does just enough not to lose the game. The Chiefs have play makers on offense but they all have not been productive like they should be. Bowe has the potential to be a big time player, Chambers is steady, Charles and Jones are quality running backs, with Moeaki starting to show he can be a play maker at the TE position. Dexter McCluster can do it all from a returner standpoint and as a running back and receiver.

To me the defense is where they have made the biggest improvement. Coach Cremel has done a great job of keeping it simple and letting the guys play. It allows to them to react more than think and they play much faster. They tackle well and are disciplined, check the Indy game if you have doubts. I think they match up well with the Texans offense in a lot of ways. It won't be anything fancy, the Chiefs are going to make the Texans earn everything they get, keeping  the ball in front of them, make the tackle and move on.

One would think the Texans could focus more on the run and take some chances in the secondary. The problem is that they aren't playing well back there which could open up the run game for Kansas City. Doesn't mean Cassel will pull an Eli, but this is the NFL so you never know. I'm interested to see how the Texans come out on defense and what scheme will be used to defend the Chiefs offense. For both sides I think it's pick your poison. I definitely think the Texans offense is better, but this could be a game where they will have to out score the Chiefs to win.

I don't know if any of you remember this, but here's a history lesson for you. Prior to the 1996 season the Denver Broncos were pretty much an offensively dominant team, much like the Texans.  In 1995 they finished 8-8, but what is interesting are the moves made that off season. They signed Neil Smith, Keith Traylor, Alfred Williams, John Mobley, and Darrien Gordon to name a few. Now, to go along with a high powered offense they had a high powered defense as well. The Broncos won the Super Bowl the next two years.  I see similarities with this Texans team and the Broncos team before they made these moves. One-sided and  lack of depth and leadership on defense, oh and play makers on defense. My definition of a play maker is someone that forces the issue form beating a block or excellent coverage on a route, beating a defensive player on a route and getting open. Not falling into sacks and getting tipped balls for INT's. My example is not far fetched, just go back and look at the history of coaches that come from the same school of thought. Hopefully Coach Kubiak will get it the way Mike Shanahan did.