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Applying 4 key lessons to propel the Houston Texans forward
Feb 15, 2024, 10:29 am
The Texans can learn a lot from the Chiefs and 49ers. Composite Getty Image.
February brings about the end of one NFL season and the beginning of another. The Super Bowl was on the 11th. The Scouting Combine starts on the 26th. Out with the old, in with the new. As part of a being a copycat league, the NFL has been known to duplicate itself. Teams will often go into their offseason plans trying to emulate things other successful teams have done.
The Chiefs have gone from an offensive juggernaut, to a defense first team. It helps to have the best quarterback in the league to assist with those changes. The 49ers have had different defensive coordinators over the past few seasons because the prior two have left for head coaching jobs. One happens to have an office on Kirby Drive now. Despite things shifting and changing, these are the same two teams that met in the Super Bowl four years ago!
So what lessons can be learned by the Texans to apply to their organization to help get them to this level? Here are some that I had in mind:
Depth: One thing about both the Chiefs and 49ers, both teams have great depth. And I'm not just speaking on the players. Both teams have lost players, coaches, and front office staff between Super Bowl appearances. The thing that's kept them both on top of the food chain this long is quality depth. Having a great 53-man roster, 16-man practice squad, and keeping an eye on talent around the league to add is tough. Being able to continue that success for multiple seasons is elite. Add to that, coaches and front office personnel taking other opportunities, and you can lose some recipes. These two teams have done a tremendous job with the “next man up” mentality. This will require DeMeco Ryans, Nick Caserio, and the rest of the gang to identify not only future players in drafts and whatnot, but also personnel in meeting rooms and the office building.
Defense: The 49ers have had a stout defense as their calling card since they were under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch's control. DeMeco was a large part of that. He helped develop several of the guys we all saw on that defense. The Chiefs have used their defense as their calling card this season. While Will Anderson Jr. won Defensive ROY, Derek Stingley Jr lived up to the hype, and Christian Harris has stepped up. But it's C.J. Stroud who has garnered most of the attention. He and Tank Dell were seen as the prized young stars on this team. DeMeco's side of the ball will get developed quickly. He's already got numerous key pieces in place. His and his staff's ability to develop guys will be crucial. This means they can use mid to late round picks/low-end free agency money on defense and higher draft capital/big free agency money on offense.
Weapons: Stroud needs more weapons. Brock Purdy has no less than four guys that scare defenses and can line up just about anywhere. Pat Mahomes has less weapons than he's had in the past, but he's still got Travis Kelce and others that he uses to stretch defenses. Give Stroud more weapons and more versatile guys. Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey are almost interchangeable for the 49ers. Kelce can stretch the field from the tight end position. Add in Isaiah Pacheco as a power runner, Skyy Moore, MVS, and Rashee Rice, and you give Mahomes guys with different skill sets that Andy Reid can deploy at different times to execute their offense.
Consistency: As much as things have changed, they've stayed the same. With all the turnover they've experienced, the main pieces have stayed in place. Head coaches, general managers, and main players have stayed the same. Of course a franchise/face of the league quarterback like Mahomes isn't going anywhere. Neither is Stroud. Keeping some synchronicity in the brain trust and finding/keeping franchise guys at key positions is key. One of the main things in consistency is keeping the right people. You can often find one you think is right, and it ends in disaster. Finding and keeping them is crucial.
These are just a few things I've observed from the Chiefs and 49ers over their runs the last few years. I have faith so far in what Caserio and DeMeco have managed to put together. I think they'll continue to put things together. They have the faith of the McNair family and the fans. Coming out the gate 10-7 and winning the division raises the stakes. Time to go all in!
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While holding one’s breath that for a change the Astros aren’t publicly grossly underestimating an injury’s severity with Jose Altuve having missed the last game and a half with “right side discomfort…”
The Astros averting a sweep vs. Oakland Thursday was in no way a must-win, but getting the win allowed a mini sigh of relief. The Astros are NOT in the process of choking. Could they collapse? Sure that’s possible. Also possible is that they’ve just been in one more ebb phase in a season of ebb and flow. They certainly have left the door ajar for the Seattle Mariners to swipe the American League West, but with the M's simply not looking good enough to walk through that door the Astros remain in commanding position. The Astros made a spectacular charge from 10 games behind to grab the division lead. But there was a lot of runway left when the Astros awoke June 19th 10 games in arrears. September 3 the Astros arose with a comfy six game lead over the M’s. With Seattle blowing a 4-1 eighth inning lead in a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers Thursday night, heading into Friday night the Astros' advantage is back up to four and a half games despite the Astros having lost six of their last nine games and having gone just 10-12 over their last 22 games. Not a good stretch but nothing freefalling about it.
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General Manager Dana Brown isn’t an Executive of the Year candidate, but overall he’s been fine this season. Without the Yusei Kikuchi trade deadline acquisition the Astros would likely barely lead the AL West. Brown’s biggest offseason get, Victor Caratini, has done very solid work in his part-time role. Though he has tapered off notably the last month and change, relief pitcher Tayler Scott was a fabulous signing. Scrap heap pickups Ben Gamel, Jason Heyward, and Kaleb Ort have all made contributions. However…
Dana. Dana! You made yourself look very silly with comments this week somewhat scoffing at people being concerned with or dismissive of Justin Verlander’s ability to be a meaningful playoff contributor. Brown re-sang a ridiculous past tune, the “check the back of his baseball card” baloney. Dana, did you mean like the back of Jose Abreu’s baseball card? Perhaps Brown has never seen those brokerage ads in which at the end in fine print and/or in rapidly spoken words “past performance is no guarantee of future results” always must be included. Past (overall career) performance as indicative of future results for a 41-year-old pitcher who has frequently looked terrible and has twice missed chunks of this season to two different injuries is absurd. That Verlander could find it in time is plausible. That of course he’ll find it? Absolutely not. His next two starts are slotted to be against the feeble Angels, so even if the results are better, it won’t mean “JV IS BACK!”
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