During a recent Uber ride, I ended having a lengthy football discussion with a very knowledgeable driver, and at one point in the conversation, after we had covered his favorite team (the San Francisco 49ers), my favorite team (the Chicago Bears) and the state of the NFC, we had the following exchange:
"It's just crazy to me how there's not one dominant team this year," James, the driver, said to me as he exited off the highway, braving the winter storm that's presently bearing down on Cleveland, Ohio and much of the midwest and northeast United States.
"There isn't yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of January the Houston Texans emerged as that team," I responded, expecting a little bit of pushback if only because nobody outside of the state of Texans seems to be paying that much attention to the Texans. To my surprise, I received no pushback at all from James.
"You know what? You're right, man. That defense is absolutely nasty," he responded, with emphasis on nasty.
That defense is nasty, but even more impressive than that, they're connected by a goal and committed to a cause that can be explained by just one single word, or rather, one oddly constructed acronym.
Special
Work Ethic
And
Relentless
Mindset
It's one thing to slap together an acronym and say 'This is what our team is going to embody.' Again, as a Bears fan, I was forced to live through nearly three full seasons of Matt Eberflus' failed HITS principle. But if you watch the Houston Texans play football, it's abundantly clear that this team -- and really, the defense specifically -- operates with a Hive Mind that brings SWARM to life each and every time this team steps on the gridiron.
“Man, our brand of ball is just one word, and that’s, Swarm,” Anderson said of Houston's mantra after Saturday's Playoff-clinching win over the Los Angeles Chargers. “That's it. Swarm when everything else fails, when everything goes south, whatever may happen, good or bad. Everybody just swarming. We've been brainwashed in swarm. It's in everybody's head. You step on that field, you swarming no matter who you are."
This has been the unequivocal strength of the Texans all year long, and it's why for much of the season, I've been able to run a 'Defensive Spotlight' series here at Toro Times, devoting one article per week to one Texans defender who has stood out at some point during the season. And make no mistakes, everyone has stood out at some point.
Whether it's Will Anderson Jr. or Danielle Hunter wreaking havoc on offensive tackles and quarterbacks off the edge, Derek Stingley Jr., Calen Bullock, Jalen Pitre or Kamari Lassiter turning the secondary into a no fly zone, Azeez Al-Shaiir playing throwback football at the linebacker position, or unsung heroes on the interior of the defensive line like Tommy Togiai and Sheldon Rankins doing their job, there have been plenty of subjects to choose from.
After Saturday night's win over the Chargers, it's clear that Henry To'oTo'o (12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss) and Derek Barnett (2 sacks) probably deserve some shine too.
“These guys have been playing lights out, all year, every single game,” DeMeco Ryans said after Saturday's win. "Everybody was involved. We needed them to play big today and they did.”
It's not a surprise to Ryans or anyone else who was responsible for building this roster and embedding the Swarm mentality into the collective consciousness of the rest of the hive. Ryans saw it coming back in August.
"In training camp our guys were just dominating," Ryans told ESPN. "It was impressive. I had to take a step back. It's like, 'Whoa.'"
It may have been a surprise in August to see the Texans defense dominating like this, but it's not a surprise any longer. And while it may seem like a surprise right now to assert that the Texans may emerge as the league's most dominant team, it actually won't be if Houston is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy up for the first time in franchise history in Santa Clara on February 8th.