Communication an issue for Texans’ secondary.
Coverage lapses, communication problems keep defense ranked near bottom of league
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck kept peppering the Texans’ secondary last Sunday, adeptly placing spirals just out of their grasp.
He took full advantage of several coverage lapses and communication issues.
It got particularly ugly in pivotal situations during the Texans’ 37-34 overtime win as the Colts converted 10 of 17 third downs. Of the 10 conversions, seven were on third-and-long.
Despite being harassed relentlessly by pass rushers J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, Luck mostly did what he wanted as he piled up 464 passing yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions.
One week before, the Texans’ defensive backs were picked apart by New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Manning completed 25 of 29 passes — an 86.2 completion percentage — for 297 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“It’s frustrating,” said veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu. “It’s very disappointing. You really try to win every third-down rep. I felt like Clowney, Watt, the guys up front, they played really well.
“Then when it was time for us to kind of make the plays, we didn’t do it. Obviously, it will be a point of emphasis this week.”
For the season, the Texans rank 27th in passing defense, 29th in interceptions and 24th in third-down defense heading into a Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott.
Need to be louder
Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and coach Bill O’Brien both attributed the third-down issue to communication problems.
“Sometimes, we don’t talk as loud as we need to talk,” Crennel said. “Some guys are more softspoken than others. That could result in a miscommunication. A guy said, ‘Well, I made the call,’ but if it wasn’t loud enough, then no one got the call — the guy he was making the call to.”
Despite the presence of several former Pro Bowl selections, including Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Clowney, Mathieu and cornerback Johnathan Joseph, the defense hasn’t played up to its expected standard.
The Texans rank 22nd in total defense, allowing 382.3 yards per game.
“Sometimes, we’re really great, and then other times, we don’t complement each other very well,” Mathieu said. “Even when guys are getting to the quarterback, us on the back end, we can’t seem to help those guys. We have to do a better job, especially with the way our front’s playing right now.”
Although they’ve forced six fumbles and recovered four, including one by Clowney for a touchdown against Indianapolis, the Texans need to be more opportunistic.
“Definitely, we’ve got to get to a point where turnovers are kind of contagious,” said safety Kareem Jackson, who has two forced fumbles. “We’ve got to get them any kind of way, whether it’s interceptions or forcing fumbles.”
The way turnovers tend to happen in the NFL, one interception leads to more. That just hasn’t happened yet for the Texans.
“When it rains, it pours, especially on the back end,” Mathieu said. “You just have to create more chemistry. Then, a lot of dialogue has to take place. Sometimes, the ball just has to bounce in your hands.
“We started the season off the way we wanted to as far as takeaways go. Kind of been a little dull in that area since, so it’s important for us on the back end to try to create turnovers.”
The Texans have primarily utilized man coverage schemes. Luck took advantage of a big cushion to undercut the Texans’ defensive backs.
“It’s disappointing,” Mathieu said. “We play a lot of man-toman, so teams are going to scheme us to beat us and pick us and different things like that in man-to-man. We just have to be better in the back end.”
Help wanted
The Texans are shorthanded. Starting cornerback Kevin Johnson is on injured reserve with a concussion and will be evaluated again to determine if he’ll be designated for return.
Starting cornerback Aaron Colvin, signed to a four-year, $34 million contract in March, is out for at least six weeks with an ankle injury, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly.
“When you lose a starter, it’s kind of difficult and you have to move people around sometimes,” Crennel said. “We’re very fortunate that we have Kareem because his versatility allows us to do some of those things so we’re able to still operate.”
Joseph remains confident that the Texans will figure it out.
“Absolutely, we haven’t played a complete game together,” said Joseph, who applied tight coverage on a fourth-down stop that led to the Texans’ game-winning field goal in overtime against the Colts. “It’s been spotty.”