I thought they were done with the Lonnie Johnson era.
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I remember while him just being just a JAG for us, he was quite vocal on social media about having Derapist’s back when the sexual assault allegations were coming left to right. He criticized the organization on twitter like his opinion meant sausage to anyone else.I thought they were done with the Lonnie Johnson era.
That is the way I see it.I like that the Texans added former UDFA success stories in FA this offseason. Looking at Al-Shaiir, Autry, and Myles Bryant.
Coaches can single them out in camp as guys who earned their spots ahead of highly drafted players. They are high energy, smart players who play with a chip on their shoulders. Good for the SWARM mentality of this defense and the team’s culture as guy’s who play wherever they are asked and put the team goal above individual accolades.
Then you have the opposite side of the coin:
Okudah/Henderson and to a lesser extent Lonnie Johnson and Derek Barnett/Mario Edwards. Guys who were highly drafted and did not live up to their draft status with their original team. In the case of Barnett/Edwards, they have found their niche to stick around in the league as quality rotational depth. Johnson is finding a role in the NFL as a ST player.
Okudah/Henderson are at a crossroads. Are they going to embrace the change of scenery and resurrect their careers? Or will they wash out like so many highly drafted players do? Tune in at training camp to find out!
Azeez Al-ShaairWho’s playing starting middle LB this year?
Azeez Al-Shaair
Oh ok, I didn’t think he was true middle LB type.
That thumper type is pretty rare these days when teams play more nickel than base D.
It'll be interesting to see if Azeez Al-Shaair plays in the nickel, as his pass coverage is reported as suspect. If not it'll be interesting to see who the other coverage linebacker is who will play next to Christian Harris.
PS. I expect Harris to take a big step this year. It looked like it was all coming together for him at the end of last year.
It'll be interesting to see if Azeez Al-Shaair plays in the nickel, as his pass coverage is reported as suspect. If not it'll be interesting to see who the other coverage linebacker is who will play next to Christian Harris.
PS. I expect Harris to take a big step this year. It looked like it was all coming together for him at the end of last year.
Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?Key Texans position battle should come down to these two players | Sporting News
The Texans don't have clear-cut backup linebackers in their secondary defensive scheme. These two players should assume those roles this years.www.sportingnews.com
I think every defense spends the majority of snaps in nickel. As far as base, if teams come out in 11 or 10 personnel, the defense will go nickel or even dime. If the offense comes out in 12 or 21, you see the 4-3-4 "base" defense.Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?
Nickle is the new base defense.I think every defense spends the majority of snaps in nickel. As far as base, if teams come out in 11 or 10 personnel, the defense will go nickel or even dime. If the offense comes out in 12 or 21, you see the 4-3-4 "base" defense.
Edit: This article from NFL.com from 2022 states that more than 60% of offensive snaps are from 11personnel and almost 65% of defensive snaps are from the nickel.
This % has been increasing for decades now. You can see that the MLB run stoppers have been devalued in the draft while the value for Nickelbacks has increased. Not to go too off subject, but the rumor of us getting Marshon Lattimore from the Saints was just fine in my books, even though we drafted a CB with our first round pick.Nickle is the new base defense.
This is my understanding and why I was a proponent of fewer linebackers as more of the safeties will be in the Box type. Developing great outside cornerbacks [Singletary made an improvement and hopefully someone else will step up on the other side] will be awesome for this defense. I don't think our main two inside linebackers will focus on much other than the run. Tight ends will mostly be covered by box type safeties.Am I right in thinking we are looking likely to play a 4-2-5 D as our base this season? Which basically means we spend most of our time in nickel?
That Nickel position is very varied and could see a number of different players utilised, we have thumping safeties, undersized LBers and inside/outside tweener CBs who could all bring different traits to it, whilst also able to disguise a lot of what we are doing pre snap.
Of course the other upside is that those types are great for special teams, whilst the only worry is that there’s a lot of very young players amongst that group who may take time to find their feet at the pro level.