Defense vows to get a grip on tackling
The art of tackling was nowhere to be found from the Texans’ defense against Chiefs rookie running back Clyde EdwardsHelaire.
Texans veteran middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney dove at the rookie’s legs in vain on a 27-yard touchdown run, one of two missed tackles on the play. Safety Justin Reid got juked so badly in the open field that he nearly fell down as Edwards-Helaire raced into the end zone.
And inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, a Pro Bowl alternate who was the leading tackler in the AFC last season with 142 stops and was the highest-graded run-stopper in the NFL, also struggled to bring down Edwards-Helaire. Cunningham led the Texans with eight tackles, but he should have had at least a few
more if not for some uncharacteristically poor positioning and technique.
Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien counted 20 missed tackles by the defense during a 3420 loss to open the season as Edwards-Helaire rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.
As ugly as the Texans’ film sessions were this week, replaying what happened over and over again, the defense will need to improve dramatically to avoid a repeat performance Sunday against a Ravens offense led by NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and a physical running game.
“The first thing, addressing with the tackling,” Cunningham said Friday. “Going into the meeting was more just guys holding each other accountable knowing that we are able to do better and that we’ve shown that we’re able to do better.”
The Texans didn’t tackle to the ground or hit a lot during training camp to avoid injuries after a virtual offseason and no preseason games because of the coronavirus pandemic. The lack of live contact appeared to be a major factor in how poorly the Texans tackled at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I think Zach will play better,” O’Brien said. “I think you’ll see improvement — I really believe that. We’ve had a physical practice week.
“I think that these guys understand now what it takes to be ready to go relative to the speed of the game. We’re excited about the opportunity we have on Sunday.”
The Texans surrendered 166 rushing yards on 34 carries against the Chiefs, an average of 4.9 yards. Now they face the Ravens after their 38-6 win over the Browns and Jackson being named the NFL Offensive Player of the Week.
“It’s definitely a good opportunity for us to get back in the flow of things,” Cunningham said. “I definitely think we’re going to have a big improvement coming into this week. I think all the time off that we had kind of played into that.”
Signed to a four-year, $58 million contract that makes him the third-highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL, Cunningham is one of the most talented players on the defense.
Cunningham and McKinney combined for 238 tackles last season, becoming the first pair of Texans to have over 100 tackles in consecutive seasons since 2006 and the first teammates in the NFL to do so since 2016.
“The tackling will improve with just full-speed game reps, which because of the uniqueness of the season, we just didn’t have,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “So it’s unfortunate what happened last week. We did miss a bunch of tackles, but that’s going to get better.
“We’ve got guys who have got 200-plus tackles in this league — the Zach Cunninghams, the Benardrick McKinneys. Guys all along our defense missed tackles last week that are very uncharacteristic. I expect that and know that will improve.”
Said defensive end J.J. Watt: “Tackling is the one thing that most teams haven’t been able to do at a true high-speed level, as you’d like to do. It’s one of the tougher things to do without putting your guys at risk.
“It’s something we’re going to get better at.”
That needs to happen right away, though.
The Texans allowed 256 rushing yards on 37 carries in a 41-7 loss to the Ravens last season. They surrendered 112 rushing yards to Gus Edwards, 79 yards to Jackson and 48 yards to Mark Ingram.
The defense is hungry to prove it’s better than it looked against the Chiefs.
“We definitely are determined to do that,” Cunningham said. “Holding each other accountable to play to the levels where we know that we can play at, so I think guys got a good picture of what we’re going to do going into this week.”