Houston Texans: Rahim Moore Has No Ceiling In 2015
With Houston Texans strong safety, D.J. Swearinger released, the former Bronco safety, Rahim Moore, has nowhere to go but up on this southern Texas squad. With an already top class defense, the few remaining holes appear to be patching up rather quickly for the team as the end of free agency comes to a halt. Swearinger may have been the first on the chopping block and it may be cause of fear among rookies and UDFA’s who are still on try-out terms however, Moore has to be chomping at the bit to get to cover ground downfield from a fierce 3-4 package.
If you’ve been a fan of the Bulls on Parade then you know that run defense has not been our big problem, it’s been the pass. And when you have such a stellar pass rusher like MVP runner up, defensive end J.J. Watt, one finds themselves asking, “What the heck is going on?!”
Well, in short, we’ve not had two good defensive backs on the team at the same time. In fact, it wasn’t until towards the end of last year that cornerbacks Kareem Jackson and Jonathan Joseph really became defenders opponents had to study up on. And we’ve all heard the saying, “winning is a habit, unfortunately losing is one too.”
General manager Rick Smith is taking drastic steps to change the Texans from the latter to the former this year and he’d doing it aggressively on the defensive side of the ball.
Rahim Moore comes off of four seasons with the Broncos, putting up 198 combined tackles and 8 interceptions. Not bad in a pass-heavy AFC West division that faces the likes of quarterbacks Alex Smith, Philip Rivers and the rapidly emerging Derek Carr, twice a year.
While Swearinger provided valuable coverage at times, he’s been playing a position that has become the scapegoat for all too many exploitations for the Houston fan base to endure on tv every Sunday. As Moore comes in, he should be able to take advantage of playing alongside both Jackson and Joseph, not to mention the addition of first round pick Kevin Johnson, out of Wake Forest.
And don’t worry, the Houston front office hasn’t forgotten about our injury-ridden linebacker corpse, they’ve brought in inside linebacker specialist Benardrick McKinney to either reinforce the middle with a healthy Brian Cushing or replace Cushing entirely and look to bring up Akeem Dent, Whitney Mercilus or their superstar UDFA signing, Tony Washington.
Whoever ends up playing over the middle when we shift to zone coverage on our own 20 yard line, they better be able to at the very least, take advantage of rushed decisions by the signal caller. If linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is healthy by then, Rahim Moore could not ask for a better opportunity to multiply his income ten fold over then next three years, playing next to Watt, tackle Vince Wilfork, Clowney, Cushing, McKinney, Joseph, Jackson and Johnson.
This Houston defense is beginning to look like an all star lineup in a video game. It’s a shame our defense can make us throw the ball better too.