Secondary backed into a corner vs. top receivers without Conley
HOUSTON — When the Texans traded for cornerback Gareon Conley a year ago, the team paid a premium price because they were in dire need of assistance.
The Texans had explored trades for Cincinnati corner and former University of Houston standout William Jackson III and versatile Pittsburgh corner Mike Hilton, among others, but were rebuffed.
Ultimately, the Texans sent a third-round draft pick to the Raiders for Conley, a former first-round draft pick from Ohio State. Conley provided reliable pass coverage as the Texans won the AFC South. He finished with a 68.0 coverage grade for the Texans as he allowed 26 completions on 59 targets for 332 yards and four touchdowns.
Conley had 27 tackles and 11 passes defensed in eight games and six starts. He added 10 tackles, one sack and three passes defensed in two playoff games.
It wasn’t quite enough for the Texans to pick up a $10.244 million fifth-year club option, but they did retain him on a $1.892 million base salary. They planned for him to be their No. 2 starting corner opposite Bradley Roby, but a slow recovery from offseason arthroscopic ankle surgery has scuttled those plans and has left the Texans extremely vulnerable again.
Conley’s absence was especially noticeable when Roby was sidelined against Green Bay with knee and
ankle injuries. Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams torched Vernon Hargreaves, Phillip Gaines and safety Eric Murray.
Because the Texans are not optimistic that Conley will return this season, it’s a frustrating situation.
“I wish I could tell you,” Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said when asked about Conley’s chances of returning this year. “I know in my talks with Gareon, he is frustrated. He’s doing everything he can on his end. I know the trainers are, too. Everybody is frustrated.
“And obviously it has affected our defense. He’s a guy we counted on coming into the season to be one of our core players in the secondary. I think we saw what he was capable of doing last year. And we expected a jump in play coming into this year, just now having knowledge of the system. Any time you lose a starting-caliber corner before the season even starts, it’s obviously difficult.”
At least Roby is expected
back, possibly as soon as after this open week against Jacksonville. Roby is experiencing relatively minor inflammation and is expected to recover, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
Signed to a three-year, $36 million contract, Roby is their most effective and expensive corner. He is the only Texans player to intercept a pass this season. He has allowed 19 completions on 28 targets for 181 yards, giving up 9.5 yards per catch and three touchdown passes.
“Obviously, Roby has a tremendous skill set, particularly in man-to-man coverage,” Weaver said. “It provides opportunities for those other guys that need to step up, whether it’s Vernon Hargreaves, Phillip Gaines, Keion Crossen. Those guys will be given opportunities.”
Roby’s value was proven again when he got hurt against the Packers three plays into the game and Adams went on to exploit Hargreaves, Gaines and safety
Eric Murray for 13 catches for 196 yards, two touchdowns and 10 first downs on 16 targets
Hargreaves allowed four catches on five targets for 57 yards, including a 28yard catch. Murray gave up four catches on four targets for 78 yards, one touchdown, a 45-yard catch and four first downs. Gaines surrendered four catches on four targets for 61 yards and one score with three first downs, including a 36yard reception.
Basically, it was a mismatch as Adams spun the Texans’ defensive backs around repeatedly.
“Yeah, our game plan behind that we didn’t want to keep one guy on him the entire time,” secondary coach D’Anton Lynn said. “We wanted to give him different looks, different coverages. We had a combination of Vernon and Phil on him. During the week when Roby was healthy, it would have been him on him the entire game.”
Hargreaves, acquired on waivers from Tampa Bay last season, has allowed 26 catches on 41 targets for 325 yards and one touchdown with four passes deflected. He has a 36.5 coverage grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
“He’s had a good season,” Lynn said. “He’s made some plays for us. He’s been in position to make some plays and hasn’t. The thing about him is when he doesn’t, he bounces back. He goes out there, he competes. We have a tremendous amount of confidence with him on the outside.”