The Texans' defense is going to be really good. They should beat up on lesser offenses. But how will they stack up against the NFL's best, a few of which are on their schedule this year?
Clint Stoerner & Ron "The Show" Hughley talked about that on The Drive.
Clint Stoerner & Ron "The Show" Hughley talked about that on The Drive.
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00:00Listen, I think we fairly have questions about the offense, right?
00:04I think especially the offensive line, after everything you saw what happened last year
00:09and what they brought in as reinforcements, there are very fair questions to have for
00:14this offense.
00:16But I think most everybody is, at worst, extremely confident, extremely confident on what this
00:24defense can be.
00:25We've talked about it, top five, it feels like, top ten at the absolute worst, the way
00:32this defense looks.
00:33But, Clint, I think the way we can really tell about how good a defense is, is against what
00:41do you do against the top offenses, right?
00:44This defense is going to smother the hell out of Cam Ward and the Titans.
00:47Like, I mean, they're going to smother them.
00:49Probably going to do the same to Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson.
00:53probably are going to give, you know, teams like the Raiders hell, probably even Sean
01:02Payton, the Broncos.
01:03They're going to smother teams that don't have, you know, a lot of weapons and things.
01:09Like, you can look at Jacksonville, they probably will give them hell, you know, depending on
01:13what Hunter and Brian Thomas bring to the table.
01:15But you can see most of them.
01:17But it's those really good offenses, right, Clint?
01:20That's how you can tell how good a defense is.
01:24How do you fare against?
01:25Because it doesn't make no good if you give up six points to the Titans, but you give up
01:3228 to the Ravens, or you give up 32 to the Ravens.
01:35How are they going to be?
01:37And I think the thought that I want to go is how confident and how do you feel about
01:41this defense as they go up against the top offenses?
01:44And they have several, Clint, to look at this year.
01:47Would you put the Rams in that?
01:49Absolutely.
01:49The Rams in there.
01:51Right out of the gate.
01:52The Bucs, I know you maybe not think Tampa, but Tampa had the number three overall total
01:57offense last year.
01:58That's a group.
01:59And they added another receiver.
02:01The kid from Ohio State, they added him.
02:03The Ravens, of course, you know what they have done to you here recently.
02:07They put up 30, what, 32, 31 easy on you last year.
02:11And then you got the Bills, who were the number one scoring offense in football last year.
02:17Obviously, the Chiefs, who have obviously Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, they are more healthy
02:23this year.
02:24I think the Chargers are a team they've added to their running back room.
02:28They've added receivers.
02:29That's another group.
02:30How confident are you that the Texans will be able to play really, really well against
02:37those top offenses?
02:39Very confident.
02:39Yeah.
02:40Very confident.
02:41I love, obviously, we saw last year multiple times them be able to get after a quarterback
02:46that had been comfortable for the most part of the year, right?
02:50I mean, so the ability to get after the quarterback is one thing.
02:54The ability to do that and not have to bring additional helmets, to bring safeties, bring
02:59backers, bring nickel defenders, the ability to do that is there.
03:02We've seen it.
03:03Right now, what's beautiful, what I think is most beautiful about defense made this year
03:09is when I look at their secondary, and I include their nickel defenders in that secondary, I love
03:16the options, right?
03:17Depending on what an offense is trying to throw at you from a personnel standpoint, you've got
03:21guys that can cover tight ends, that can be physical and rush.
03:24And I'm talking about, again, the secondary.
03:26I'm not talking about linebackers and Dean Lyman.
03:28I'm talking about the secondary.
03:29You've got guys that are really, really good and have great instincts rushing the passer.
03:34You have guys that are long and have great instincts in playing zone defense.
03:41You've got the ability to slide Kamari Lasseter in, or you can leave him outside and bring a third
03:47corner in.
03:48I think the kid they drafted out of USC this year is going to be a really, really good player,
03:51at least in that role.
03:53So you've got a nickel coverage package.
03:56You've got a nickel zone package.
03:58You've got a nickel pressure package.
04:00You've got depth at all positions.
04:02I think the secondary takes his defense to the next level.
04:05And the most important part about that is you're talking about guys that have the ability
04:10to show one look and then shift into something else, which is what you have to do against
04:15the experienced quarterbacks in this league.
04:16You can't show them a picture and then stay in that snap after snap after snap after snap.
04:22You've got to be able to move.
04:24You've got to be able to shift around.
04:25You've got to be able to change personnel.
04:26You've got to be able to give them different looks.
04:27We know D'Amico Ryans can do that.
04:29But the question is, will the Texas personnel ever get to a point where he has the ability
04:34to do it?
04:34And I think they are.
04:35They're there right now.
04:36Yeah, you bring it up to the point, man.
04:38You can rush the pass through the way they can.
04:40And as you said, we saw with D'Amico, hell, if he wants to, he can load up and bring pressure.
04:49The number he did on Caleb Williams, which led CJ to have to let him know about things.
04:53The number he did on other quarterbacks where he just said, F it.
04:56I'm just going to bring the blitz to go along with guys.
05:00And not just bring the blitz to get linebackers or safeties in, but to bring the blitz.
05:06There are multiple times he brought blitzes with Petrie that allowed guys like Will and
05:12Daniil to get one-on-one against guys that can't touch them.
05:17And that was the whole deal was to get advantages and matchups.
05:21And he's been able to do that.
05:22But you marry their pass rush with what their potential could be in the secondary.
05:30And it is.
05:31It is nasty.
05:32And Clint, this is the thing about this defense that if you're a Texans fan, you've got to be
05:38excited as hell about is they've got a bunch of guys that have been good and are good currently
05:44that you get the feel just by experience and age that this is not the best that they're
05:51going to be.
05:52Right?
05:53Like we look and see Kamari Lassiter and you think, well, now he's a full year.
05:58He knows what training camp is.
06:00He knows it's his job.
06:02He's played a full year.
06:03He's got to have huge confidence.
06:06There's probably a step for him.
06:08There's probably – we saw Petrie in this defense get comfortable.
06:11There's maybe a step for him.
06:13The other kid in the back end that they got, the kid from USC whose name is –
06:19Kalen Bullock.
06:19Kalen Bullock.
06:20There's got to be another step with him.
06:22Hell, Will.
06:23We saw Will make a jump.
06:24There's another step.
06:25That's the other part is we're going to get better.
06:30Yeah.
06:30Here's the interesting thing about Kamari Lassiter because I think that's the key here.
06:35Right?
06:35And this is not an effort for me to be right from my bold prediction last year at all.
06:40No, it's not.
06:41But I'm not sure that he's not good – the best place for Kalen Bullock isn't inside
06:48of the nickel defense.
06:49You're talking about Lassiter.
06:50I'm sorry.
06:51Lassiter.
06:51Kamari Lassiter.
06:52And I'm not saying that he's not good enough – like last year my thought was he's not
06:56good enough to be outside.
06:57He needs to be sheltered inside, right?
06:59He needs to be protected a bit inside.
07:01You're saying now –
07:01I was wrong on that.
07:02Playmaker perspective.
07:03I'm talking about impacting the game, right?
07:07Like outside there's – D'Amico's going to – with the exception of obviously Stingley.
07:11Stingley's a guy that when you need him, he travels, he can do all that.
07:14Right?
07:14Kamari Lassiter's going to be a guy that more times than not is going to be soft.
07:17He's not going to take a lot of risk in terms of undercutting.
07:20You know, he's – it's – and I don't think it's by design.
07:24I think it's just D'Amico's defense, right?
07:26There's going to be some protection there.
07:27There's going to be some – maybe some passive play there.
07:31I'm not sure that him, as physical as he is and the instincts that he has,
07:36is not able to impact the game in a much bigger way if they get him down there in the mix.
07:43Now obviously you've got Jalen Petrie, but you're talking about two total different players.
07:46One's a coverage defender and one is more of a rusher and a zone defender.
07:52So it's going to take both of them, but I'm not sure that he doesn't impact the game more from inside.
07:57And so – and you – the Ravens game is a good reminder.
08:01He slid in and he forced a safety.
08:03Well, you're just – you're not – you're not – you know, you weren't –
08:08you were kind of get Jeff Okuda or one of these dudes in the game.
08:11They got absolute torched, right?
08:12So you didn't have – you don't have the ability to move him around.
08:15Now if you've got the ability to move him around, you look at the Devontae Adams touchdown with the Jets
08:20when he caught it over Jalen Petrie, right?
08:22You take that completely out of the mix.
08:23Now I'm not saying Devontae Adams doesn't beat Kamari Lasseter if he's pressed in the slot,
08:27but you've got a cover defender that can be in his hip pocket at least now.
08:30So you've got – there's just a – that is a – D'Amico's ability to do that this year
08:36is a game changer for this defense.
08:38Text line coming in.
08:39The linebackers are going to be a liability in coverage.
08:43Kristen Harris would certainly help that.
08:46EJ Speed I think are guys that have better – a better chance at that.
08:51But I can understand that when you get guys like Henry Toa Toa and Aziz locked up.
08:57To me it's not even that.
08:58To me I – the only thing that I would worry about is we talked about how do they perform
09:03against these good teams is when teams like the Ravens, teams like Buffalo,
09:09Kansas City did it to them, especially in the first – is if they run the ball.
09:14Well, like that to me is the thing that could be the hurt for this team.
09:20Well, but let's go back to the versatility now with the different personnel.
09:25Now I'm assuming there's some guys that work out and, I mean, they may be flops
09:28and they may be in the same position.
09:30But like last year, like, I mean, we all knew.
09:33Anybody that watches football knew that if you put Aziz Alshair here against the Chiefs
09:37and zone coverage in the middle of the field, Kelsey's going to torch him.
09:41Yeah.
09:41Right?
09:41It may not be all game long, but Kelsey's going to eventually –
09:44Kelsey and Mahomes are eventually going to get him.
09:49Right?
09:49Sometimes it takes three quarters, but they eventually get you
09:52and it puts you down two scores and the game's over.
09:55Right?
09:55The truth of the matter is last year you didn't have many options.
10:00I mean, your hands were – D'Amico's hands were tied from a perspective
10:04of what do you do defensively.
10:06Right?
10:07This year you can do things – again,
10:10I'm talking about like put Kamari Lassiter inside and play man
10:14and put him on Travis Kelsey or put him on a tight end
10:18that's able to work the middle of the field better.
10:20And you have a much better chance than if Aziz Alshair is roaming center field.
10:25That's just – that's not – the texture's right.
10:29If Aziz Alshair is in zone coverage, a deep zone coverage,
10:32and he's working the middle of the field
10:33and he's responsible for the middle of the field, we're going to get torched.
10:35So, I just think D'Amico has more options to keep us out of that position this season.
10:40Yeah.
10:40No, yeah.
10:41To me, yeah, that – the versatility – that's what I'm saying.
10:44The only place to me where there could be problems for this defense
10:49that then you would have to change things and it could affect the other stuff
10:51is if – if you get games like the Ravens just ran it down their throats.
10:55Yeah.
10:55Right, that's it.
10:56Like the Chiefs in the first game, they didn't run it great the whole time
11:00until the end.
11:02Yeah.
11:02And then they just – they couldn't get them off the field
11:04and couldn't stop Kareem Hunt and stuff like that.
11:07Like that's the only, to me, real concern of weakness with this defense is
11:14if a team is just aggressive and running the football,
11:18that may be the potential weakness.
11:21Yeah.
11:21But Foley's there and he was good when he was in there last year
11:25and the guys up front, they can hold it down.
11:30But that's the only concern.
11:31Well, yeah, I mean, look, you're going to have your hands full with Philadelphia
11:34and their ability to run the football.
11:35You're going to have your hands full with Baltimore and their –
11:37I know they don't play Philadelphia.
11:38I'm just talking about football in general.
11:41If you play Baltimore, you're going to have your hands full.
11:44It's Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, man.
11:46You know, so it's got to –
11:47Indy.
11:47Indy in the division.
11:49Well, we should.
11:49I don't know what they're going to do.
11:50But, yeah, you should.
11:51Jonathan Taylor with potentially Anthony Richardson should be a problem.
11:55But, yeah, I mean, but now you've got –
11:58it becomes a chess match between the defensive coordinator
12:01and the offensive coordinator, and now D'Amico has more options.
12:05He's got more chess pieces to play with.