FRED FAOUR
Texans defense is a complete joke, which is why they are 0-3
Sep 23, 2018, 3:08 pm
The Texans have gotten nothing from Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney. Photo courtesy of Houston Texans
The Texans lost on Sunday to the New York Giants 27-22. Why? The Texans defense - supposed to be the strength of the team - is terrible.
Bill O'Brien said the Texans have to "coach better, and play better" at halftime. That is his go-to statement. They simply needed to play better. But this loss was solely on the defense.
J.J. Watt? Yeah, he had three sacks once the game was decided. But he was nowhere when it mattered. Jadeveon Clowney? Useless. Bernardrick McKinney? Worthless. Remember when Whitney Mercilus made plays? Yeah, me either. The Texans have lost nine games in a row. Who is to blame for that?
The vaunted defense, which the Giants gashed all game. The Texans gave up 27 points, all earned by the Giants offense. You can blame Bill O'Brien. You can blame Deshaun Watson. But how about blame the defense? They were terrible in all phases.
Let's start with the beginning of the game.
-The Texans allowed points to the Giants on four straight possessions, putting themselves in yet another early hole.
-They let a broken down Eli Manning throw for almost 300 yards. He completed 25 of 29 passes for a QBR of 88.0 and a traditional rating of 132.3.
-The Giants best offensive weapons were unstoppable. Odell Beckham Jr. had nine catches on 10 targets for 109 yards. Rookie Saquon Barkley rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries and added another 35 on five catches. As a team the Giants averaged 4.2 yards per carry on 27 attempts.
-The Texans did not force a turnover for the second straight game.
-For a second straight game, they made adjusments and finally slowed the Giants to start the second half. But on the last drive, when they needed a stop to have a chance, they allowed a 9-play, 77-yard drive for the clincher.
-The Giants were 7 of 13 on third downs and 3 of 4 in the red zone.
The game was eerily similar to last week's, when the Texans started slow, got in a big hole, made adjustments but could not stop the opponent with the game on the line.
When your top two tacklers are in the secondary (Tyrann Matthieu and Kareem Jackson, nine tackles each) you are fighting a losing battle. So while it would be easy and convienient to blame the offense (and O'Brien did more than his share to assist in the loss), the group that was supposed to be the strength of the team is killing them.
As a result? They are 0-3. The season is all but over. And all because the defense could not stop anyone. That was supposed to be their strength. Clowney may not be healthy, but he has been beyond useless. And he wants Khalil Mack money? What a joke.
The Texans are bad as a whole. Their defense is brutal. And that's why they have not won a game.
And unless there is a major turnaround, don't expect that to change anytime soon.
The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.
“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”
The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.
Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.
Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.
He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.
The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.
“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”
Cyclones teammates
Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.
Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”
Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.
“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”
Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.
“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.
The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.
Overcoming obstacles
Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.
“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”
Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.
“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.
What’s in a name?
Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.
“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.
Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.
That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.
Doubling up
Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.
Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!