I spent part of last week at the Texans’ training camp, and learned a few things while I was there. One, Houston traffic has got to be the worst thing ever. Two, the Houston Texans defense is good, insanely good. J.J. Watt , we all know isn’t human, so the Texans have that advantage, but the rest of the guys around him are becoming studs right before our eyes. I honestly believe this defense is Top 3 in the league, no questions asked. If the Texans get even decent QB play, they could make some noise in the AFC.
Brian Cushing , Whitney Mercilus , Jadeveon Clowney , Vince Wilfork , Kevin Johnson AND J.J. Watt!? These guys are going to give offensive coordinators grey hairs all season. I had originally planned to watch the QBs while I was there but I became intrigued with the defense. As the first team D ran drills they moved as a unit. They flew to the ball and tackled in bunches. Cushing barked out commands and the troops around him responded. Wilfork looked like a man on a mission, he made it seem nearly impossible to run the ball up the gut. Watt, well, he was being himself, bullying around 300 lb linemen and yelling like a mad man after he made play after play.
Now, I’m not sitting here trying to say that this defense is taking them to the Super Bowl because that would mean they’d have to score some points. With Hoyer/Mallet at the helm and Arian Foster hurt again for a significant amount of time, the odds of them scoring a bunch of points are very slim. On the other hand, we all know that defense takes you far in this league. Outside of their safeties, the Texans are stacked at every defensive position, and if Clowney can stay healthy, boy oh boy, QBs are going to be hurting the Monday after the Texans come to town.
Can you imagine Clowney, Watt, and Wilfork coming at you on a third and long?? Ears pinned back and drool coming down their jerseys as they stare you in the eye. Man, just thinking about it gives me chills and I’m not going to be on the field taking punishment from those freight train-built human beings. Even though I think the Texans will have the best D-Line in the league this year, don’t argue with me, I feel that the play of the Safety’s Stevie Brown and Rahim Moore will dictate how far these guys go. The front seven can rush the passer and stop the run when needed, so if these guys can play centerfield and come up with some timely picks, look out.
If I had to guess, I’d say the Texans finish the season at 10-6. The Colts are for real as well, so maybe a wild card birth for the Texans seems fairly plausible. Losing your best WR in Andre Johnson is never easy to bounce back from but Deandre Hopkins looks more than ready to become the go to guy. Also, third round pick Jaelen Strong was a steal and hopes to prove teams that they messed up by letting him slide that late in the draft. All in all, the Texans future is looking very bright.