On Monday morning, we at Toro Times released an article entitled C.J. Stroud shines bright on Texans' offensive report card at the bye, where we handed out report card grades to all the different offensive position groups (including coaches) of the Houston Texans. Now, it's time for the defense to not only receive their grades, but for some of them to be called to the principal's office for a parent-teacher conference. Heck, a suspension or two might even need to be in order.
While the offense has had its fair share of bumps and bruises through the first seven weeks of the season, the defense has been a complete and utter collective disaster throughout the months of September and October. That also includes performance evaluations of the litany of coaches who've led the way into these troubled waters, including the combination of head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke.
It's time to hand out some designations. This one's not going to be pretty.
Report card grades for the Houston Texans' defense at the bye
Defensive ends/Edge Rushers: A-
The star pupil of the defense through seven weeks in undoubtedly that of the defensive ends. Specifically, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter have ensured that Houston's defense has remained any level of competitive in the midst of the team's 2-5 start.
Anderson is currently leading the league in both sacks (7.5) and quarterback pressures (41) among qualified defenders, which is impressive considering he's gone two weeks without bringing a signal caller to the ground. While Hunter is tied for 15th in sacks with four, he jumps up to 10-most quarterback pressures (30). What holds this unit back from a better score is the fact that there's such a chasm in production between those two and everyone else at the position.
Defensive Tackles: C+
One of the more underwhelming components of the defense has been that of the defensive tackle room. Players ranging from Sheldon Rankins, Tommy Togiai, Jaden Crumedy and even second-round pick Kayden McDonald, have not produced the amount of impact plays that many thought of this group before the season.
Credit to them for contributing toward what was a top-five run defense before the game against the New York Giants. Unfortunately, a stretch of poor performances against rushers like Jacksonville Jaguars duo Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez and the Giants' Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary has now caused Houston to slide all the way to the 11th spot at 98 rushing yards allowed per game.
Linebackers: Incomplete
To be fair to the linebacking unit, it's not like they've had much weaponry to fight with over seven weeks. When both starters in Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To'oTo'o went down at different points of this 2-5 stretch with their own respective injuries, how much could we really expect? All who remained were rookies Wade Woodaz and Aiden Fisher, along with veteran additions like Jamal Hill and Kenneth Murray.
For that, I can't say too much. Still underwhelmed? Sure. But, at least they have a legitimate reason for some inconsistency.
Cornerbacks: F
Before I launch into this (to quote the legendary Skip Bayless), I first want to acknowledge that Houston's secondary has been bungled by coaching so far (including a switch from defensive coordinator Matt Burke to head coach DeMeco Ryans). This is especially when you consider some of the chronic issues with man-coverage vs. zone-coverage scheme designs, as well as the amount of off-coverage play we've seen called against some of the most prolific offenses in the NFL (Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, etc.) With that said, there's still no excuse for the volume of blown assignments, poor route reading and overall lack of ballhawking that we've seen from the Texans' secondary.
There's no sugarcoating it, Houston's roster of Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter, Jaylin Smith and Tremon Smith has collectively played some of the worst cornerback in the NFL through seven weeks. Stingley is still without a single interception and has allowed 266 yards through the air, which is already more than half of the 431 that he surrendered through all of last season.
But the biggest culprit of the bunch is third-year player Kamari Lassiter, who's legitimately looked like one of the three-worst defensive backs in the sport through October. He's currently allowing the most yards (434), the second-most receptions (33) and a 113.3 passer rating all while being targeted the third-most (47) in the NFL. That means that Lassiter is definitely on the scouting report for opposing offenses, and it's led to the former Georgia Bulldog ending up as one of the main fixtures of the holistic weekly lowlight reels of the team.
Safeties: D-
What saving the safety group from being an F alongside the cornerbacks is the play of third-year player Calen Bullock, who's done all he can on the backend to not allow opposing offenses to completely dominant Houston's aerial jurisdiction. He's allowing the lowest passer rating on the team (76.9), while also having one of the only two interceptions on the season (week six against the Jaguars, red zone interception). The safety group has been problematic, but it's not because of Bullock.
Like Lassiter before him, the main cause for many of the unit's dysfunctional moments has been because of the poor coverage skills and/or situational execution of three-year, $24.75 million acquisition Reed Blankenship, who's poor play has created a tidal wave of disappointment from many in the fan base.
Through seven weeks, Blankenship is tied with San Francisco 49ers defensive back Upton Stout in allowing the 22nd-most passing yards in the league at 278. For the team, Blankenship has the second-most yards allowed (Lassiter), the second-most receptions allowed (23), the third-highest completion rate allowed (76.7%), is tied for the most touchdowns allowed (2) and is allowing the fourth-highest passer rating (112.9).
The fact that—along with Bullock—he has the team's second interception (of only two) on the year isn't consequential in this evaluation, as the negatives far outweigh that of any marginal positives that the former Philadelphia Eagle has brought. And for that, his play—along with general ineffectiveness from others at the position—brings their grade to almost failing.
Note: As a whole, Houston's cornerbacks and safeties have combined to be the NFL's sixth-worst secondary through week seven (244.0 YPG). Therefore, the entire unit is an F.
Defensive coordinator(s): F
With everything all considered and typed, DeMeco Ryans and Matt Burke don't get to escape responsibility. Regardless of who has piloted the plane, both versions of the defense have crash landed in their own respective fashions.
Burke's leadership led the team to an 0-4 mark through week four, which prompted the switch in the first place, while Ryans has a deceptive 2-1 mark that's been riddled with the same busted coverages and general defensive miscues that's caused for many in the fan base to question his viability as the team's "best" defensive mind.
If it wasn't for the Tennessee Titans' putrid offensive production in week five, the heat surrounding the teams' defensive think-tank would theoretically be at scorching hot levels right now.
Add us as a preferred source on Google