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Strategic pathways for Houston Texans to level up their surging defense
Dec 20, 2023, 12:21 pm
Strategic pathways for Texans to LEVEL UP their surging defense
As expected, the Houston Texans defense is greatly improved this season, with DeMeco Ryans coming over from San Francisco to but his stamp team.
One of the areas we've seen the most improvement is against the run. The Texans were dead last against the run last season, allowing 170.24 yards per game. In just one season, DeMeco has the Texans 6th against the run, only surrendering 93.5 yards per game.
And while drafting Will Anderson has certainly improved the unit, we have to take notice of what Jonathan Greenard is doing. He's fantastic against the run, but he's also sacking the quarterback at a high level, with already 12.5 sacks on the season.
The thought of Greenard and Anderson harassing opposing QBs for years to come has to be very appealing to DeMeco and the entire Texans fan base. But there's a catch, Greenard is in the last year of his deal, and he's going to want a contract that pays him market value.
So the question becomes, should Houston pay him? The Texans will have a ton of cap space this offseason, and the best time to add pieces is when you have a quarterback on an affordable rookie contract.
But to be fair, he's had some injury issues in the past and only played in 8 games last year. It's always a little concerning when a player has the best season of his career when he's about to be a free agent.
On the flip side, the Texans and their coaching staff have been a mess in recent years until Ryans was brought in. One could make the argument that it's hard to judge Greenard for previous seasons based on what was around him.
What about the secondary?
Derek Stingley is starting to show why he was drafted third overall in 2022, but let's not forget about Steven Nelson. He's been terrific, and he's also set to be a free agent after the season.
Should the Texans pony up and re-sign both players, or look to the draft to find their replacements?
Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion and much more!
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.