Evaluations After Rewatching Texans Saints Preseason

Quin looked incredibly instinctive coming down hill as a safety.  His awareness and vision is better than we could have imagined.  When Glover was playing corner you didn’t get as good of a sense of how well he sees the plays because he was assigned to a receiver most of the time.  As a saftey with less specific responsibilities, Quin showed that he has a knack for sniffing out the play and knifing in to make a play on the ball.  Very Demeco Ryans-like.  The big difference is Ryans is a special tackler.  Demeco can tackle with his arms in space better than almost anyone in the league.  Quin on the other hand gave up some big yardage by diving in to make a play only to whiff on the tackle.  His reads were correct and when he wasn’t missing on an arm tackle he was knocking the piss out of the ball carrier.  He looks like he’s really going to excel at his new position but he has to work on his tackling.

The mystery man, 10 pounds lighter because he was asked to play at that weight. (thanks for failing to make that news, lousy Houston Sports Media)  He looked explosive to me and I was very excited to see that since it was his first time back from the injury.  (By the way, the patella injury had been an ongoing issue and he finally took the time to get it corrected.  Even though I’ve studied Cushing extensively, I’m still often taken by surprise at how violent and physical #56 plays.  I hope to be able to show you Cushing’s pursuit following Antonio Smith’s sack fumble.  He races to the pile where Mario Williams is trying to secure the ball.  One of the Saints linemen is trying to make his way into the pile and Cushing comes flying in and shoves him.  The unsuspecting Saint goes flying backwards like a rag doll.  I don’t think I can overstate the fact that Cushing is simply the most physical player on the field on any given Sunday.

Watt struggled at times.  He was quoted last week, saying that he needed to work on not over pursuing but he still did that at times during this game.  When he wasn’t over pursuing he was getting shoved out of the play on the backside frequently.  His motor is exactly as advertised and you’re going to see him making plays in pursuit on the backside throughout the season.  His mitts are freakish and he’s had a batted ball in each of the first two games.  He’s going to be a player for sure, but he still looks like a rookie at at times.  I want to see a big step from him after watching film from the New Orleans game.

Much has been written this week about the Texans struggling to stop the inside run game.  Shawn Cody and Earl Mitchell are smaller nose guards and get physically dominated at times.  Typically it’s with a double team.  Due to the nature of the gaps in the Phillips 3-4, often times, a center and guard can double up on the NT and drive them 2 or 3 yards back while the second guard who is unblocked is able to get to the second level and block one of the two inside linebackers.  This leaves one inside backer to make the play.  If there is a lead blocker then that spells trouble.  This is not the fault of Mitchell or Cody but rather the nature of the system.  The Phillips 3-4 is centered on quarterback pressure and confusion after the snap through the use of stunts and zone blitzes.  While that allows for some run gains it is really the only weakness in the system.  I was impressed with Mitchell specifically because he’s so stout in his lower body that he was consistently able to regain his leverage even with a double team and shed the blocks and make tackles at or near the line of scrimmage.

The day the Texans get beat because they couldn’t stop the run between the tackles will be the day I start being concerned.  I don’t see that happening.  We will give up some yards but I’m not concerned at all at this point.  With Ryans and Cushing healthy and in the middle the run defense will improve.

I thought Williams looked much better.  It’s hard to get over how awkward he looks in space because his body is so large and lanky that he always looks like he’s running half speed.  He is without a doubt the best run stopping end/OLB in the game.  The thing that irks me and I’m sure you’ve heard it from Hallam, is Mario just doesn’t go all out.  When he does he can man handle his guy consistently.  His bull rush is really his only move which I equate to his awkward size.  When he chooses to use it he get’s direct pressure on the quarterback.  It creates hurries almost every time.  Jake Langenkamp (@JakeBRB) pointed out to me that Mario’s effective bull rush came when he was lined up in a three point stance.  His point I believe is that Mario has better leverage coming up from that position due to his height.  I’ve seen him bull rush effectively from a two point stance in practice though.  I think he can be effective in this scheme.  Will he record 17 sacks?  I don’t think so.  I think he’ll help a defense that should have multiple players with sacks in the 6+ range.  I see that as a scheme that uses Mario Williams effectively.  Will I support paying him 4 trillion dollars next year if he is merely an effective piece of the puzzle as opposed to a dominant force?  No.  But I like him in this defense and I see no issue with him standing up versus lining up in a 3 point stance.  His issue is what it has always been.  Consistency.

Adibi looked better than Sharpton and I see him as the primary backup to both Ryans and Cushing at this point.

I was really impressed with Reed after watching the game on T.V..  He was very good with leverage and power and his motor consistently kept him in the play.  His intuitive playmaking ability could really shine through as he gets more and more comfortable.  I can’t wait to see him with the one’s this week.  I’m finding very few signs of the issues that I am concerned about.  Phillips seems to be using him effectively.

There is much less analysis of the offense because it’s no surprise that the entire unit performs at a high level.  It is just beautiful to watch.  It’s the closest thing to art I have seen on a football field.  The seamlessness with which the unit operates is really stunning.  The blocking from the linemen to the tight ends and out on the perimeter with the wide receivers is so consistent.  You rarely see anyone miss a block.  Kubiak has started bringing Daniels back across the line after the snap sealing the backside pursuit completely.  Seeing the line sliding strong side with the backs flowing perfectly in unison while O.D. cuts across with no disturbance to the front side motion is really impressive.  This offense should be the very best in the NFL in 2011.

The one standout was 2nd year RB, Ben Tate.  Tate’s explosiveness was very impressive.  He’s quick and powerful while still agile and nimble.  He had a very good feel for the cutback lanes.  He’s not as pretty to watch as Foster but I don’t think there’s any reason to think that he won’t be the primary backup to Foster as good as he looked.  Will he be able to do it consistently?  We’ll see this Saturday?

The theme for our heros thus far has been continued improvement.  Let’s hope we see that next week as well as the decent become better.  The good become great and the great become more like Andre Johnson.