Line move hasn’t been fine
Former right tackle Howard has struggled since switching to left guard
Those sitting in NRG Stadium’s south end zone could clearly see them: six (no, not five) Texans offensive linemen crouched in a row, a reinforced unit deployed to crack through a Panthers defensive front that shut down the running game all night.
There was reserve tackle Charlie Heck, hand in the ground, an extra lineman leaning next to left tackle Laremy Tunsil. There were even two tight ends to the left of Heck, more additional blockers who assembled a wall of eight total players that still couldn’t get Carolina’s defense to budge.
The ball snapped. Holes closed. A swarmed Phillip Lindsay gained a yard.
Such “unbalanced lines” (when an extra lineman is subbed in) are supposed to give the offense an advantage, and when Houston’s unbalanced formations yielded just 4 rushing yards on two attempts, the futile blocking magnified the overall inefficiency within the Texans run game that required the unbalanced lines to be used at all.
A 24-9 loss to the Panthers on Thursday night provided three extra days for people to mull over the paltry 3.3 yards per carry average that makes the Texans and their run-focused offense the second-worst run game in the NFL.
“We’ve just got to find a way to have more success,” running back Mark Ingram said. “I think every individual is just looking at themselves, looking at the film, correcting the film and seeing what they have to do to change the results.”
Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown haunted within the film, consistently clogging running lanes and splitting double teams in an overall harassment of starting left guard Tytus Howard, who’s had an unimpressive start in the three games since the new Texans coaching staff made the former starting right tackle switch positions.
The Texans shifted Howard, a hulking former firstround pick, to left guard in an attempt to strengthen the interior and improve a run game that also ranked second worst in the league last season. The experiment hasn’t been successful so far, and the Texans have been particularly inefficient running the ball to the left side of the field.
Review the tape, and there’ll be minimal running lanes and sequences like three straight plays of Brown causing the left-side duo trouble. Howard (224th) and Tunsil (222nd) both rank close to the bottom of the 231 NFL offensive linemen who qualify for Pro Football Focus’ run-blocking grades.
Howard was Houston’s best option at left guard entering training camp. The Texans released former starter Zach Fulton in the offseason and signed Lane Taylor, a former Packers starter, who spent training camp on the physically unable to perform list after missing much of the last two seasons with bicep and knee injuries.
Taylor remains stowed on the practice squad, and although Texans coach David Culley said Taylor is “much better physically,” there’s no certain timeline on when he might be elevated for an ultimate return. Culley said Taylor could be available “at some point.”
General manager Nick Caserio acquired Cannon in a March trade with the Patriots, and although Cannon hadn’t played in two years (because of a knee injury and opting out during the pandemic’s onset in 2020), Culley said Cannon’s rehab to full speed ended up being “further along than what we anticipated at this time.”
So Howard remains Houston’s best option at left guard.
Culley expressed confidence in Howard on Wednesday, saying the 6-foot-5, 322-pounder is becoming more comfortable as the season goes on. It’s Howard’s in-game inexperience as a guard that has been the issue.
Communicating calls with teammates versus live opponents. Adapting to the increased speed of the game’s flow on the interior. Mastering footwork in a tighter space. Facing elite talent that isn’t available at a Texans practice.
Center Justin Britt said Carolina’s Brown “was a load,” adding that the second-year veteran and former Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year from Auburn is “a good player” and will be “for numerous years.”
So is Ed Oliver, Buffalo’s former No. 9 overall pick out of Houston in the 2019 NFL draft. The 6-1, 287pound defensive tackle has recorded eight career sacks in a four-man-front scheme.
“We don’t practice against those guys,” Britt said. “Every week you’re going to have a new look, a new opponent, a new way to how they play things. With (Howard), it’s just repetition. He’ll see something one time in a game, and it won’t happen again, and vice versa. Just reps, just time. Tytus is a pro. He’s a good pro. There’s a reason why he got drafted high and why he’s here and why they trust him to play on the left side.”
The team will need a vast improvement in the run game against the Bills, and if it’s effective, there can be an established advantage against subsequent opponents New England, Indianapolis and Arizona — teams that all rank in the NFL’s bottom nine in rush defense.
Then there’s the ultimate test: the L.A. Rams and star tackle Aaron Donald, fourtime Defensive Player of the Year.
Howard’s success is one of the paramount pieces within a Texans offense that has made it clear the run game is a foundational focus in its overall philosophy.
“I think it’s gone pretty good,” Howard said of his adaptation to guard last week. “Like I said, there’s always room for improvement. I’m very critical on myself for a couple of plays I’ve left out on the field where I feel I could have had better technique to put my team in a better position. So that is what I’m looking forward to every week: to get better than I was the following week.”