Jets vs. Texans: Wade Phillips' New-Look Houston Texans Defense Must Show Strong

Defense wins championships, as evidenced by a string of NFC, AFC and Super Bowl champions in recent memory who fielded some of the top-tier defensive play in the league. For the Texans to move from perennial preseason playoff favorites to a bona-fide playoff contender, new Houston Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be called upon to do his job and do it well.

In bringing Phillips in as defensive coordinator, the Houston Texans are looking to improve a squad that ranked last in pass defense and 30th in yards allowed per game last season, even while having elite defensive players Mario Williams and Brian Cushing on their roster.

With an offense that plays consistently well game after game, shoring up the porous defense is paramount if the Texans hope to compete not just in their division, but in the AFC as well.

Phillips, who most recently coached the Dallas Cowboys in 2010 and was fired midseason, nevertheless has a great reputation for building effective defenses, most notably that of the 2004-2006 San Diego Chargers.

With the addition of Phillips, the Texans have switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme, and the hope is that this change will bring with it the types of improvements on defense they sorely need.

Already, the Texans are in better shape than they were last season, drafting defensive players with their first five picks in the 2011 NFL draft and adding former Cincinnati Bengal cornerback Johnathan Joseph to shore up what was a disappointing secondary that in 2010 had only 13 interceptions.

High-impact linebacker DeMeco Ryans also makes his return this season, after missing 10 games last year when he tore his Achilles.

But it's the switch to the Wade Phillips signature 3-4 defense that will prove to be the most important to the team. An early concern was how linebacker Mario Williams, one of the Texans' most effective players on defense, would fit into the new scheme.

Williams, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Texans in the 2006 draft, had been a 4-3 defensive end with the squad for his entire career. With the switch to 3-4, Williams has been shifted to outside linebacker.

At first, this move was met with skepticism, but now his teammates agree it has been a good fit.

Defensive end Antonio Smith said of the move, "Mario now realizes that he can bull rush anybody, and he's playing like a guy that can dominate every play."

Defensive tackle Shaun Cody also has a new role in Phillips' defense, making the switch to nose tackle.

J.J. Watt, the 2011 first-round draft pick, should also prove to be an impact player on the Texans defense this year.

Watt, who in 2010 led the Wisconsin defense in forced fumbles, sacks, tackles for loss and blocked kicks as a defensive end, will look to bring that high level of play to his pro career. If he can maintain the kind of production he had in college, he alone would mean a major improvement to the Houston defense.

Tonight, the Texans take on the New York Jets' high-powered offense in their first preseason game, giving the team their first look at whether Wade Phillips' improvements have taken hold.

With a regular-season schedule that includes games against New Orleans, Baltimore, Atlanta, last year's AFC champion Pittsburgh and their two traditional divisional games against Indianapolis, it is paramount for the Texans defense to show improvement should they have hopes of making it to the playoffs.

Improving a defense in one season is a tall order, but one that Wade Phillips is thankfully not unfamiliar with. As long as the Texans can maintain better depth on their defensive roster this season and remain relatively injury-free, they should be well on their way to a having one of the more successful defenses in the league.

Tonight will prove to be the first test of their strength; whether they pass it or not will be an important indicator of if the Texans defense is truly new-look—or just lipstick on a pig.