Scouting the Opposition: Texans - Week 2

[Cyrus]

The Texans came from behind in San Diego but they obviously weren't without their faults. In a game widely seen as easy-win for the Texans, they got in a hole early and needed a few breaks late to finish off a tie-game with a field goal late as time expired. Sitting in the hypothetical film room here are the major takeaways and where the Titans may want to win.

The Texans came from behind in San Diego but they obviously weren't without their faults. In a game widely seen as easy-win for the Texans, they got in a hole early and needed a few breaks late to finish off a tie-game with a field goal late as time expired. Sitting in the hypothetical film room here are the major takeaways and where the Titans may want to win.

Texans Offense:

Texans Offensive Line - Pass Protection: Texans LT Duane Brown struggled with inside moves and the bull rush all night long against Freeney. It's very possible that Brown is still returning to form after off-season ankle surgery and could struggle when isolated as a blocker.

Where the Titans can win: Wimbley may be too much of a liability against a balanced run/pass offense and even with a bad ankle Brown may be able to over-set on the outside given Wimbley's lack of moves. Morgan would be an ideal match-up here with Pitoitua on the strongside as he has a more skill-set and pass rush arsenal.

Matt Schaub - Decision Making: Under duress, Schaub made a number of questionable decisions with the ball and took a number of unnecessary sacks. Schaub has historically been a shaky decision maker when he's under pressure. The Texans have few weaknesses on offense, but Schaub is the weakest link.

Where the Titans can win: Utilize the zone blitz and fire zone to isolate blockers and put Zach Brown or Ayers on added pressure if the running backs stay in to pass-protect. The Titans will need to be careful covering Andre Johnson in man-coverage situations and will need to eliminate situations with Verner matched up with Andre Johnson in man-coverage.

Texans Defense:

Texans Linebackers - Pass Coverage: The Chargers took advantage of the Texans Linebackers throughout the course of the game in pass coverage. Their OLBs are primarily rush backers and Joe Mays is a thumper at ILB but a liability in coverage. Brian Cushing made an outstanding diving interception on a poor decision by Rivers, but was beat up when isolated in space for most of the game. When totally healthy Cushing is a far more effective player but as of now, he looks sapped of his explosiveness.

Where the Titans can win: Try and isolate the linebackers in space with Delanie Walker or Chris Johnson. This may even be a game where Craig Stevens proves to be a sneaky receiver when isolated against Joe Mays or a limited Brian Cushing. Locker will still need to throw into the right passing lanes, but any completions could easily go for first downs.

Texans Secondary - Pass Coverage: Philip Rivers targeted nickelback Brice McCain and rookie D.J. Swearinger in coverage leading to several big plays offensively for the Chargers. McCain assumed nickel duties this season after former nickel corner Alan Ball left for Jacksonville for more money and a starting role. In man coverage McCain routinely got turned around and at 5'-9", 185 lbs doesn't have much size to compete physically. Swearinger, a rookie from South Carolina, struggled to keep up with an aging Antonio Gates and looked all of the 4.65 he turned in during the 40 yard dash during the combine. Back up free safety Shiloh Keo may prove to be another liability in coverage and despite a well-timed hit that dislodged the ball from a receiver, he was non-existent for most of the game and provided little if any help to his outside corners as he was routinely a step late.

Where the Titans can win: The Texans are a less talented team with McCain on the field and Swearinger in coverage. The Titans will need to pass-protect, but in 3 WR sets the offense could have a significant advantage in the middle of the field with Delanie Walker and Kendall Wright. With two young, inexperienced safeties starting the Texans may be even more susceptible to play-action as well out of any formation.

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[Jamalisms]

Do this. Every. Week. Thanks!

[Cyrus]

Do this. Every. Week. Thanks!

 

I think I will be. I'll be DVRing the Titans opponent (or watching live if they're the afternoon game) every week. Thanks to whomever posted it as an article. Guru, I wasn't sure if you were back to your normal routine yet after being out of town. 

 

Expounding a bit on the original post (since I wanted it to be more bite-sized and posted earlier for discussion):

 

I think that this game truly comes down to pass-protection and the defensive line. The Texans secondary (and non-rush linebackers) obviously work in conjunction with their pass-rush but in this case their defense really starts and ends with their pass rush. Joseph is still a very solid outside corner and Kareem Jackson has been more stable as of late as a No. 2 CB but they're still a team that can really struggle against a team's 2nd to 4th receiver as we saw on Monday. Ultimately it was their pass rush that finally got to Rivers when the dam broke that lead to their comeback win.

 

The Titans have the skill players to win in the secondary, but if the Titans can't double Watt and still single block effectively in pass protection then the Titans will be in for a long day (assuming they leave a TE or RB in to help). The Texans shaky secondary will be a big assist for the Titans offensively on play action since the Texans safeties are more rush-defense guys who are better off flowing and filling. If the Titans can get the boot-action going I could see Swearinger and Keo being out of position.

 

Defensively, the Titans don't necessarily have the coverage to really defend against Andre Johnson for any sustained period of time, especially since Andre Johnson plays multiple alignments and McCourty doesn't flip sides. I can't see the Titans wanting to play man coverage very often which hurts the Titans ability to match-up Brown in coverage with Owen Daniels. Further, the Texans do an excellent job of getting their second TE involved in their pass game which can be a concern if the Titans don't play assignment sound football. 

 

For these reasons the Titans will really need to make sure that their pass rush gets home and they exploit any potential matchups on the line. If Morgan plays RDE and has success against Brown then it will be a huge win for the Titans since beating the left tackle is so key to pass pressure, but also because the Texans love to run left. Casey could be a good match-up for Brandon Brooks since he has quickness that Brooks may find that difficult at his size and lack of experience. If the defense is able to slow the Texans rushing attack, they'll be able to manufacture pressure that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do - so filling gaps and keeping the edge is going to be huge early on in this game (or making some big plays offensively early on). 

[Cyrus]

On the flip side:

 

The Titans C Rob Tuner was totally out matched creating pressure up the middle.

Jake Locker had a tough time when under pressure making accurate throws.

Stunts and blitzes seemed to confuse the Titans OL, Stewart got beat by Woodley on one play bad. 

The Titans WRs didn't seem to get much seperation against man coverage.

The Titans CBs played well in man coverage but were not tested by a WR the caliber of AJ.

While the Steelers didn't take advantage of Pollard he looks all of a 4.8 guy playing SS and might be worth throwing at.

The Texans just need to make sure they keep 2 bodies on Casey at all times. 

 

All true. But really the point of the article is "how did other teams attack the opposition" and what can the Titans do that's similar per their personnel?

[Jonboy]

I'm wondering about the Ed Reed factor. He's still day-to-day so it may not even matter. I'm trying to decide whether it would be good or bad if he played. Yeah he's Ed Reed...but you'd have to think he'll be a little rusty in his first game back.

[Cyrus]

I'm wondering about the Ed Reed factor. He's still day-to-day so it may not even matter. I'm trying to decide whether it would be good or bad if he played. Yeah he's Ed Reed...but you'd have to think he'll be a little rusty in his first game back.

 

I honestly don't believe he will be playing this week. I think the day-to-day designation is more an injury report type thing. 

[IsntLifeFunny]

Great article Cyrus!

I know we don't like to flip sides with Jmac, but I really think we should consider doing so this week. Our play calling could really be affected if they start constantly lining up Johnson on Verner's side. If they don't move them, then I guess the best we can do on blitzes is to constantly shade Griffin over the top in cover 1/3 and leave Hopkins on an island with our CB. When AJ is matched up on Verner, if it were me calling plays, I would have whichever LB on that side bracket him underneath with Griff over the top, essentially triple teaming him when he's on Verner. It leaves some ugly matches with the MLB on Foster, but I'll take my chances with Fokou on Foster over Verner in single coverage against AJ.

[begooode]

Great article Cyrus!

I know we don't like to flip sides with Jmac, but I really think we should consider doing so this week. Our play calling could really be affected if they start constantly lining up Johnson on Verner's side. If they don't move them, then I guess the best we can do on blitzes is to constantly shade Griffin over the top in cover 1/3 and leave Hopkins on an island with our CB. When AJ is matched up on Verner, if it were me calling plays, I would have whichever LB on that side bracket him underneath with Griff over the top, essentially triple teaming him when he's on Verner. It leaves some ugly matches with the MLB on Foster, but I'll take my chances with Fokou on Foster over Verner in single coverage against AJ.

 

Interesting coverage idea to help Verner with an underneath LB, but with Texan's offensive precision doesn't that leave the LB in no man's land -- not in good enough position to help on AJohnson, yet too far removed to defend the run properly?  Also, with the more explosive Tate getting more carries, if run defense lanes are compromised it could be a long day for the Titans D.  Verner's short area quickness is pretty solid imo, but the long speed is where he loses.  Therefore, your earlier idea of the safety cheating to Verner's side is probably more sound to deal with Houston's balanced attack.

[begooode]

The reporter v report take from ESPN, including a decent dig at Kuharsky at the end

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/category/_/name/houston-texans

 

Ganguli: How has Gregg Williams changed the Titans' defense?  

Kuharsky: He’s not the coordinator, and Jerry Gray continues to call the plays. But Tennessee really mixed up its fronts against the Steelers. They didn’t blitz an immense amount but they were more unpredictable and more aggressive than they had been last year. 

I certainly felt like we were seeing Williams’ influence in those areas. Williams has certainly had a positive bearing on their aggressive approach to the game and on the team’s attitude. If guys like tackle Jurrell Casey and linebacker Zach Brown play like they did in the opener, they’ve developed some playmakers. If guys like end Ropati Pitoitua and linebackerMoise Fokou keep up their play from the opener, they’ve added some quality new pieces. 

,...

Kuharsky:  Pressure’s on you. First home game with ESPN.com since taking over the Texans. What happened to the guy who used to monitor that team for us?

Ganguli: I heard he got run off due to his refusal to pronounce the H in Houston. 

[CMJ]

Gray is DC in name only. And if he is DC, Gregg is his boss in the making

[IsntLifeFunny]

Interesting coverage idea to help Verner with an underneath LB, but with Texan's offensive precision doesn't that leave the LB in no man's land -- not in good enough position to help on AJohnson, yet too far removed to defend the run properly?  Also, with the more explosive Tate getting more carries, if run defense lanes are compromised it could be a long day for the Titans D.  Verner's short area quickness is pretty solid imo, but the long speed is where he loses.  Therefore, your earlier idea of the safety cheating to Verner's side is probably more sound to deal with Houston's balanced attack.

Good points. I don't think you constantly use a LB in that type of coverage. But the threat of AJ has to be accounted for, and Verner is very unlikely to pose a challenge to AJ. If he did, I would be very impressed, and if he can keep him from beating him deep then I'll think it's a success. On obvious run downs or if we're getting gashed then we can't use the LB to cover short flats against AJ.

 

There isn't any one answer to stopping AJ, but I could see us having some success and maybe getting a pic underneath because of their reliance on him from 20-20.

Edited September 14, 2013 by IsntLifeFunny

[No1TitansFan]

Munch said on his radio show that they wouldn't be flipping CBs when a caller called in asking about having JMac staying on AJ.

[OILERMAN]

I don't think it's possible to cover AJ, Owens and the rookie WR. Casey and the DL is going to have to create inside pressure quickly to disrupt their offense, which seems way more likely than the CBs actually covering their WRs very long.

[Number9]

All true. But really the point of the article is "how did other teams attack the opposition" and what can the Titans do that's similar per their personnel?

That's what I got from your post.  It's a way the Titans could attack the Texans.  I hope Munchak has a plan to win the game.  Not go in saying we can't do this, we can't do that.  It will be interesting and make the game more fun to watch to see if the Titans try to do some of these things tomorrow.