Offensive line aims to be overprotective
Keeping Watson upright and healthy enough not to miss a game is No. 1 goal
Improvement the Texans are determined to make on offense this season begins up front.
Coach Bill O’Brien and offensive coordinator
Tim Kelly expect the offense to be more explosive in quarterback Deshaun Watson’s fourth season. The priority is to keep Watson upright as much as possible and healthy enough not to miss a game because of an injury for a third consecutive season.
For the first time since 2011, the offensive line returns the same five starters in the same positions. Until this season, offensive line coach Mike Devlin hasn’t experienced that kind of stability.
Left tackle Laremy Tunsil,
left guard Max Scharping, center Nick Martin, right guard Zach Fulton and right tackle Tytus Howard are the foundation of an offense that ranked 13th in 2019, including ninth in rushing and 15th in passing.
O’Brien, who’s entering his seventh season, targeted the line last year more than any previous time in his career. He used firstand second-round draft choices on Howard and Scharping and traded for Tunsil to go with returning starters Martin and Fulton.
The result was the best performance by the line since 2012, when the Texans finished with a franchise-best 12-4 record.
Last season, the Texans
allowed 49 sacks, down from 62 in 2018. All weren’t the line’s fault, of course. The running backs and tight ends contributed. And Watson created sacks by holding the ball too long.
The Texans were 26th in sacks allowed. Of the 49, 44 were of Watson. Only five starting quarterbacks — Russell Wilson (48), Matt Ryan (48), Kyler Murray (48), Jameis Winston (47) and Kyle Allen (46) were sacked more.
As it is every season, the goal is to provide more consistent protection for Watson and coach him to get rid of the ball faster to help him avoid sacks.
Interestingly, the Texans surrendered 111 sacks the past two years but still finished 11-5 and 10-6, winning the AFC South both seasons. That kind of regular-season success, which hasn’t translated to the playoffs, was primarily because of Watson’s bigplay
ability and performance in clutch situations.
As training camp approached in 2019, O’Brien, Kelly and Devlin knew what they wanted out of the offensive line but didn’t know what they had.
Tunsil was playing for Miami. Howard had played both tackle positions in college. Ideally, he would be the answer at left tackle to protect Watson’s blind side. Scharping had played tackle and guard in college.
Howard and Scharping were moved around in their first offseason program, training camp and preseason. The coaches decided Howard would adjust more quickly at right tackle and that Scharping was better suited for left guard.
When O’Brien shocked the NFL by trading two first-round draft choices and a second-pick to the Dolphins for Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills, the line was set.
With Tunsil joining the team a few days before the
regular season and Howard and Scharping being rookie starters, it took time for the linemen to adjust. Once they did, they got better and better. That’s why the coaches are excited about the linemen playing their second season together.
Last week, Pro Football Focus ranked the offensive lines for the 2020 season. The website projected the Texans to be 19th, one spot better than it ranked them after last season.
What fans might find surprising is PFF gave the line the sixth-best pass blocking grade (79.1) last season, pointing out that each of the five starters graded better than 70.0. At 88.2, Tunsil was third in the NFL as a pass blocker.
PFF also gave the Texans the fifth-worst run blocking grade (52.2) and said, “There is no line with a bigger discrepancy between pass blocking and run blocking ability.”
Still, the linemen helped the Texans have a top-10 running game with Carlos Hyde (1,070 yards), Watson
(413) and Duke Johnson (410) accounting for 1,893 yards and 15 touchdowns, including a team-high seven by Watson.
This season, the linemen will be blocking for David Johnson, who’ll replace Hyde, now in Seattle.
After coming to the Texans in the trade with Arizona for receiver DeAndre Hopkins, David Johnson will play with Duke Johnson. The coaches are hoping David Johnson can duplicate his performance of 2018, when he combined for 1,386 yards rushing and receiving and 10 touchdowns.
When the Texans begin training camp, there will be some heated competition for backup spots in the offensive line. Veterans Roderick Johnson and Brent Qvale and fourthround pick Charlie Heck are the primary backups at tackles. Greg Mancz and Senio Kelemete are veteran inside players who can play center and guard.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, game-day rosters are increased to 48, and one of the additions has to be an offensive lineman. That means Devlin can have three backups who are active.
Even though O’Brien turned over play-calling duties to Kelly, the Texans are still expected to have less balance on offense as they continue to make Watson the focal point. Last season, the Texans threw 534 passes and ran 434 times — their fewest rushing attempts since O’Brien was hired in 2014.
If the pass protection continues to improve behind a line that returns intact, it could mean even fewer runs and more passes.
And more of Watson is what fans want to see, because he gives the Texans their best chance of repeating as division champions and finally advancing beyond the divisional round of the playoffs.