Cushing Impresses, But Texans Need Better Effort From Linebackers

The Texans expected first round draft choice Brian Cushing to shore up the linebacker core and provide the missing piece to a unit that showed promise but lacked energy the last few years. Although Cushing missed the entire preseason with a sprained knee, he was in action during Sunday’s season opener against the Jets and was eager to impress.

Houston fans were optimistic that the former USC star would combine with Zac Diles - last season’s team-leading tackler until he was injured – and Pro Bowler DeMeco Ryans to form an explosive unit that would make plays across the field. Newly promoted defensive coordinator Frank Bush emphasized playing athletically and aggressively, and the defense responded positively in the offseason, at least off the field.

On the field, however, it was a different story. Facing a rookie quarterback and a first-year head coach, the Texans were hoping to shut down the run and force Cushing’s USC roommate Mark Sanchez to make plays with his arm. Unfortunately for the Texans, Sanchez was more than up to the task, converting on 10-of-18 third downs and throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown.

Part of the Texans’ problem was that, although the linebackers were effective against the run, they were not able to generate any pressure on the Jets’ rookie quarterback. Sanchez was not sacked once, and the Jets’ offensive line was easily able to pick up Bush’s unimaginative blitzing schemes. The Texans brought plenty of pressure, but it was usually straight up the gut and left the middle of the field exposed for short slants, crosses, and dumps to the flats.

In the preseason, the linebackers experienced problems with overpursuit, especially to the weak side. The usual story was that a counter or a stunt to the strong side would result in Ryans and the strongside backer getting locked up in blocks and the weakside linebacker – often Xavier Adibi in the absence of Cushing – would not cover his gap, opening a hole for a huge gain. On Sunday, the Texans proved they had not learned from their mistakes, giving up a 39-yard touchdown to Thomas Jones on an inside right tackle run that was nearly identical to several from the preseason.

The bright spot for the Texans was Cushing, who was back in action for the first time since the first preseason game. He showed little signs of rust from having several weeks off, and tied for the team lead with 8 tackles, including a touchdown-saving (at least for one play) solo tackle on Thomas Jones at the 1-yard line.

For the unit to be effective next week against Tennessee, Cushing will need to step up his game even more. Ryans will need to return to the form he showed in ’06-07 when he led the league in tackles and made the Pro Bowl. Bush will need to call more creative schemes and disguise his blitzes better than the vanilla efforts shown on Sunday. The Texans linebackers have plenty of talent, but they will need to generate more pressure on the quarterback to help the squad win against the Titans in week 2.