There are certain defenses in NFL lore that rise above the rest. Legendary groups that not only reached the mountaintop, but facilitated the climb there. Units that can be defined by a single year -- the '85 Bears, the '00 Ravens -- or a nickname -- 'the Steel Curtain' or 'the Big Blue Wrecking Crew' -- who elicit visions of almost unparalleled dominance and disruption on the gridiron.
For the record, this is the territory that this Houston Texans defense hopes to ascend to this season and beyond. We may not have settled on a top-tier nickname for this unit yet -- after some sleuthing, it looks like 'The Space City Swarm' and 'The No Fly Zone' are the front runners, but I'd like to speak 'The Stampede' into existence, if you don't mind -- but they're trending in a direction where it's worthy of one.
Come to find out, this Texans defense has at the very least been partially influenced by a more recent dominant defense that had a pretty darn catchy nickname of their own... The Legion of Boom, the nickname tagged to the secondary of the mid-2010's Seattle Seahawks that has become shorthand for the entire Seahawks defense of that prosperous era.
During a recent appearance on The Richard Sherman Podcast, Sherman asked All-Pro Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. if he had done any studying up on the Legion of Boom, and Stingley was quick to acknowledge that the group led by Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas has indeed been an infleunce on the evolving identity of this Houston Texans defense.
"Oh yeah, for sure. Y'all changed the game. The physicality, the attitude, all of that. That's the standard," Stingley told Sherman. "You take something from everybody and make it your own."
With all due respect to Stingley and this Texans defense, the Legion of Boom -- along with all of those defenses up above -- belong in rarefied air. A category of their own. Comparisons to those groups shouldn't be handed out willy nilly. But hey, the Texans are the best defense in the league this season, so why shouldn't they be shooting for the loftiest of comparisons?
Stingley believes the best is yet to come for Texans defense
At their best, the Texans have the makings of a unit that could at least theoretically do all of the things that have allowed a handful of the great defenses in league history to become iconic. They swarm to the ball-carrier and tackle extremely well. They can get after the passer with two of the league's top edge rushers, and they can play absolutely lockdown defense in the secondary. Additionally, it's a group that has been well-coached by DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke.
"We got a good group. Everybody works hard, everybody competes. That makes everybody better," Stingley added. "We got the pieces. We got the talent. Now it's about putting it all together and taking that next step. We're not satisfied with just making the playoffs."
Along with Stingley, who was named an All-Pro for the first time in his career, the Texans have more Pro Bowl caliber players at all three levels. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter do the bulk of the work up front, setting the edge and making life hell for the opposing quarterback while Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To'oTo'o patrol the middle of the field. On the back end, Calen Bullock, Jalen Pitre and Kamari Lassiter have teamed up with Stingley to do their best Legion of Boom impression.
Put all of it together, and you've got a group that through seven games is flirting with becoming one of the top scoring defenses of the 21st century. A unit that as the weeks go by, seems to be finding its groove in rushing the passer and forcing turnovers. A team that clearly believes that the old adage, 'defense wins championships,' is not outdated.