Houston
Texans
2018 Record: (11-5) 1st AFC South
2018 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 25.1 (11th)
Yards: 362.6 (15th)
Pass Yards: 236.3 (17th)
Rush Yards: 126.3 (8th)
Defense
Points: 19.8 (5th)
Yards: 343.1 (12th)
Pass Yards: 260.4 (28th)
Rush Yards: 82.7 (3rd)
When discussing the Houston Texans and what they have
accomplished to what they should be, we see many levels of differing opinions
when conversations are had.
Without question head Coach Bill O’Brien has done a
splendid job with this group over his tenure expelling every ounce of talent
and ability from his cast. While the team started the year with a 0-3 record
and ultimately seeing the sky fall on Houston streets, he corralled his troops
to become one of the hottest clubs in the league winning the next 9 contests.
While it appeared the Texans would never lose again,
the streak was ended by the Colts in week 14 which led Houston to finish the
season 2-2 but still managing to win the AFC North division crown.
Entering Wildcard weekend against that same familiar
foe (the Colts), many had picked the Texans to displace Andrew Luck and company
the third time around in the 2018 season. However, Houston’s defense wasn’t up
to the challenge of stopping the Colts run attack leaving Andrew Luck to find
holes with the play action pass.
When all was said and done, the Texans couldn’t find a
way once again to jump out of the first round to great postseason pastures and
began their offseason much like it has in the past.
2019
Offseason WorkBook:
The
Coaching Staff
While Coach Bill O’Brien was clearly on the hot seat
after the first 3 games of the season went sideways, he is once again the
trusted solution to move forward with this organization.
Making some moves to add to this staff, O’Brien
promoted Tim Kelly to handle the offensive coordinator duties while standing
pat with Romeo Crennel as his defensive coordinator.
A slew of specialty coaching hires did also transpire
to relieve some pressure off of his plate, recognizing the need for assistance
to more this team further.
The
Offense
First and foremost, we can’t move forward with any
evaluation on the Texans without highlighting the absolute abomination that is
their offensive line. While having some ability in run blocking to get this
team to garner over 2000 rush yards on the season, 2nd year
quarterback Deshaun Watson literally was running for his life this past season
while enduring 62 sacks, which was a league high. Normally with that level of
inefficiency, the offense would crumble to their knees, but Watson kept this
team alive. Upgrading this line should be of the highest of priorities this
offseason.
As Deshaun Watson lite up the NFL in his rookie season
with unearthly performances, he did see a great level of regression – which was
to be expected. While Watson still managed to show great levels of efficiency raising
his completion percentage to nearly 70%, the big explosive plays and touchdown
passes saw a sharp decline. For any young player coming off an ACL injury,
regaining confidence and showing good levels of responding to his recovery was
more important in our eyes. He should continue to grow in 2019.
The running back situation in Houston does leave
something to be desired. It’s not to suggest that Lamar Miller isn’t a steady
runner, he’s overall usage has become quite baffling in this offense. Losing
carries at times in bunches to his backup (Alfred Blue), perhaps the coaching
staff doesn’t feel he is as explosive as he once was. Hearing rumors that
former Steelers cast off (LeVeon Bell) could sign a lucrative contract while
becoming the new starter in Houston, that could be a match made in heaven. Time
will tell if that transaction comes to fruition.
The receiving core on this Texans club employs
feasibly the best overall pass catcher in the league in DeAndre Hopkins.
Year-after-year, Hopkins turns out superb showings holding down top statistical
achievements while having lesser skilled quarterbacks throwing him the ball,
outside of Watson of course. The supporting cast with Will Fuller and Keke
Coutee showed extreme levels of promise, but both were relegated to the medical
room for far too long to make any giant impact. With Fuller not being able to
complete a full season to date, he’s starting to lose favor with us. We would
absolutely love to see another big play wide-out added to this roster this
offseason.
The
Defense
When the defense went out and signed “the honey
badger” – Tyrann Mathieu, outlook for this entire group lifted to provide
perception they would dominate this entire season. While the group as a whole
did preform extremely well, the pass defense left a lot to be desired.
Starting with the superstars on this defense, Houston
hero (JJ Watt) managed to come back from his catastrophic injury to once again
lead the team in not only leadership, but in sacks with 16. Rushing mate
Jadeveon Clowney also chipped in with a healthy 9 sacks on the season while
missing only one game to injury, not too shabby. The Texans managed to generate
43 sacks on the season while seeing youngsters like DJ Reader find new levels
to his game. Adding depth is always a smart choice for this group which is at
risk of future injury.
The line backing core which is run with two fantastic
talents – Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney, the tandem managed to lead
the team in tackles with a whopping 212 total takedowns. Being the vocal points
on this defense allows the edge rushers and JJ Watt greater leeway to cheat to
whatever side knowing their bases would be covered. In our eyes, this is as
stout of a group that we have seen in the NFL, and they look to only improve.
This is a major strength of this defensive group.
While Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid are phenomenal
talents that can cover ample amounts of the field, the Texans pass defense laid
a ginormous egg this past season with less than stellar play from their
defensive backs. This isn’t just an isolated incident, but rather this group
has seen levels of failure since AJ Bouye left for Jacksonville. With Mathieu a
pending free agent, and the team already cutting bait with former first rounder
Kevin Johnson, it’s truly is back to the drawing board for this group.
Team
Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
The absolute gigantic positive for the Houston Texans,
is the amount of money they currently possess on the books to help make this
franchise a real contender for the super bowl.
As of today, Houston holds a very healthy 68 million
(+$68,351,215) in free cap space that we surly assume they intend to use. With
a short list of team free agents to contend with, outside of Tyrann Mathieu and
Kareem Jackson, this list holds many names that could be considered to be
interchangeable and replaceable. With the safety free agent market holding some
highly talented names, the Texans could find ways to save while improving at
the same time.
As mentioned above, making a run to bring in former
Steelers running back LeVeon Bell isn’t out of the question whatsoever. With a
great deal of funds on the books, and ample potential to secure even more,
Huston is in a definite position of strength to make a generous offer to Bell.
While the Texans have already made one large
transaction, it came in the form of placing the franchise tag on Jadeveon
Clowney. Not allowing him to hit the open market will allow the team to attempt
to continue negotiations.
It’s our task to attempt to find more funds on the
books, and with a first quick glance, plenty of money can be found. If Houston
does in fact sign Bell, Lamar Miller’s services could instantly become void and
the Texans could save a nice 7.2 million with only enduring 1 million to dead
cap. Johnathan Joseph is another player that could see his walking papers saving
the team another 4.4 million with no dead money attached. But the problem this
team has on the back end, they would probably keep him on the roster.
Even without these roster moves to create more funds,
Houston is sitting pretty heading into the 2019 offseason.
The
NFL Draft
The NFL draft has been a kind friend to the Texans
over the last several years allowing them to pick correctly and secure some top
end talent.
Heading into the 2019 NFL draft, the Texans find
themselves with good draft capital holding all seven picks, but having an extra
2nd round selection while removing their 4th from the
board. Having this level of value heading into the draft leaves the potential
for Houston to dictate the board somewhat in their favor.
The Texans haven’t been set up this nicely in many
years and we are very excited to see the outcome once the draft has
concluded.
Comments
Post a Comment