Toro Times
Fansided

Houston Texans: 5 questions to answer in Preseason Week 2

By Stephen Forsha

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 08: Tytus Howard #71 of the Houston Texans blocks against Rashan Gary #52 of the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter during a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 08, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 08: Tytus Howard #71 of the Houston Texans blocks against Rashan Gary #52 of the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter during a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 08, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 30: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars scrambles out of the pocket under pressure by Whitney Mercilus #59 of the Houston Texans in the first quarter at NRG Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 30: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars scrambles out of the pocket under pressure by Whitney Mercilus #59 of the Houston Texans in the first quarter at NRG Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

4. Will there more of a pass rush from Whitney Mercilus?

Depending on if he gets to play or how much he gets to play against the Detroit Lions, a player to watch is outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus because it seems like he’s going to have more freedom in the defense this season.

It is easy to see the past couple seasons haven’t been that great for the outside linebacker Mercilus, but in a recent comment from Mercilus himself, there is the feeling he’s going to get more opportunities to rush the quarterback in 2019. Now, the question is: will that process take place in the second preseason game against Detroit?

Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com quoted Mercilus about the pending transition of being more of a pass rusher this upcoming season:

"“As practice has gone on, I’ve been getting more of the reps as a JACK linebacker to go rush the passer and things of that nature, and a few drops here and there.”"

Mercilus, if given the opportunity to play on Saturday, should be the player to watch defensively because if he’s successful in getting to pass rush more, it could make many forget about the past couple seasons where he’s fended off injuries and not been the pass rusher he could become.

Home/Houston Texans News