Let's Talk "D"efense

via LetMeHandleTheD.com

Last season for the Houston Texans was the worst it could be when you consider their defense. DC Frank Bush was the architect of what I would describe to be a very conservative style 4-3. We repeatedly heard the coaches say they were trying to make it simpler, too. Making a conservative defense simpler is really dumbing it down to where an opposing coach could have a field day calling plays that he knows his team will be able to execute and execute well.

A conservative defense utilizes a predominant number of zone coverages, with the defensive backfield playing way off attempting to keep everything in front of them, coupled with a limited number of blitzes. In essence, the defense is designed to not let the defense beat itself but rather wait for the offense to make a mistake. Does any of this sound familiar? So, is there any question why an average pro QB might come into a game against the Texans defense and have a career day, so long as the play-calling is set up to take advantage of the predictably vanilla defense the Texans were offering up?

On the flip side of the Texans brand of dumbed-down vanilla defense would be an aggressive defense. An aggressive defense would utilize frequent blitzes, often sending 5, 6 or 7 blitzers which would include LBs, Ss and even CBs. The backfield would play tighter man coverage and even bump and run coverage. An aggressive defense would be trying to force the other team to make mistakes, and not wait for them to make a mistake. The terms "pressure" and "unpredictable" accurately describes what an aggressive defense is trying to accomplish.

In order to be able to employ an aggressive defense and be successful at it, you have to have the athletes that have speed and can pursue either over or around blocks. You also need the right coaching that can put it all together, calling the right blitzing packages, putting the right personnel in place for bump and run or press-man coverages, and putting it all together. I am dumbing it down right now. But, an aggressive defense needs to have moving parts and it needs to be somewhat complicated to work.

So, we know what didn't work last season, right? Frank Bush is now unemployed because of that. Historically, the Texans went from conservative under Richard Smith to ultra-conservative under Frank Bush. Part of me puts the blame on Gary Kubiak, because Smith and Bush were an extension of Kubiak's philosophy. Gary Kubiak brought Richard Smith and Frank Bush in as his guys. He knew they were conservative DCs. While they were here, the coaches seemed to make an effort to make the defenses even more conservative. This past season, it turned watching a Texans game into complete and utter disappointment, week after week. Here on BRB, we were playing mind-games with ourselves before games, trying to guess which opposing offensive player was going to have a career game against the Texans defense. It was bad, wasn't it? Anyways, I have to give Gary Kubiak much of the blame for last season's debacle, as the HC and the one leading the band. The conservative defensive philosophy had to be promoted by Kubiak.

So, Wade Phillips is now the DC. From Phillips' history, we know he is more aggressive than his predecessors. We also know he is bringing the 3-4 to the Texans defensive strategy. Long overdue by my thinking.

Now, I have to ask, will Gary Kubiak continue to promote his conservative philosophy on what Phillips is planning to do, or will he allow Phillips to make this defense all his? This is a question that I hope the answer is to give Phillips the freedom to make the defense his own, because if they're going to do it, I don't want to see it done halfway. I don't think any of us want to see an experiment in halfassing it. If Kubiak is holding Phillips back, even a little, I sense failure. This may be only my opinion, but Phillips needs to be given a lot of leeway in making this transition; right down to preseason personnel decisions and to game-time scheming. Phillips has too much experience at defense for Kubiak to be over-ruling him on putting the defensive squad on the field or making heat of battle adjustments. Of course, we won't completely know the answer to this until we see the Texans on the field again and they are in the heat of battle. I could be wrong, too, as I halfass this piece out and push the post button so I can get ready for a poker tournament....