Texans Defensive Line Coach Talks About Mario and More

It is coming up on year three of the Texans under coach Gary Kubiak. Even though they haven't completely implemented it, you can see they have a very specific philosophy on offense.

The defense, with the transition from the 3-4 to the 4-3 has been a bit more of a mystery. I have read every thing written about the Texans defense, and the best I can tell it is supposed to be an aggressive 4-3, which translates to telling you pretty much zero about it.

For example, you know what types of defensive players a lot of teams covet in the draft and free agency, but do you know much about what the Texans are looking for in a defensive player? What is the Texans defense supposed to look like other than bad?

Well, thanks to a recent interview (below) of Texans defensive line coach Jethro Franklin by John Granato and Lance Zierlein on 1560 the Game, you may get at least a few of your questions answered. I can't believe that some of this stuff are things that are public only for the first time. (Actually, I can believe it as it seemed last offseason most of the mainstream media Texans stories were fluffy, superficial pieces about the leadership ability of Matt Schaub).

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Here are some highlights from the Franklin interview (but it is worth a listen if you are able):

2:00 On defensive end Mario Williams big season last year: "Mario has to start out faster." That this season he needs to continue the way he finished last season. He also says that everyone on the line needs to get better.

2:40 On Williams' best position: It would be nice to be able to play Mario Williams where he is most comfortable, but sometimes they will move him to give him the best matchups because the league is all about exploiting matchups.

3:25 On defensive tackle Amobi Okoye: His youth is no excuse as he has always played against older guys. He has some things to work on that are private between Franklin and Okoye. One of the things that he needs to work on is finishing plays.

5:40 On whether the Texans are looking for a speed rusher across from Mario Williams: Franklin, "That would definitely help"....but I have to "just coach the guys I have." He leaves that up to GM Rick Smith and Kubiak to decide, but that it can't be an excuse.

8:00 Franklin drops a Sun Tsu, Art of War quote. Nice.

9:20 On disappointing defensive end Anthony Weaver: He discussed how difficult it was for Anthony Weaver to come back from two surgeries last year. He said that Weaver is fully recovered. "Expect big things from Anthony Weaver this year, there's no doubt about it."

11:50 On the addition of offensive line guru Alex Gibbs: "Nice being on the same side as Gibbs." From a defensive line standpoint, Gibbs' zone blocking scheme with cut blocks, "Makes you change what you do."

14:00 On what they are looking at for the defensive tackle play next to the three technique DT: (Translated, hey man, do you want a space eating DT to help Okoye out or what?) Franklin: "The perfect world is what we have." "We have our guy Travis Johnson." "We want a guy who can move" "Travis Johnson did a heck of a job for us."

He wants a defensive tackle who can move because you can't teach speed, and he says Travis Johnson is that guy. These quotes are about the strongest endorsement of Johnson said by any Texans coach in recent years, and makes it sound like they aren't looking for a more space eating, two gap tackle.

My View: Something has to be fixed on the defensive line. Williams had a break out year last year, but he needs more help. Sacks are merely one metric to evaluate a line, and that stat looks pretty grim. The Texans were tied for 21st in the league with sacks (31), and Williams obtained 45.2% of those, the highest percentage of team sacks by any one lineman in the league.

It truly is hard to judge the Texans defense due to the number of key injuries in the secondary, the number of young players the defense relied on, and the large number of turnovers on the offense. Clearly, it is easier on defensive lines if they are playing from the position of a lead versus playing from behind.

That being said, three years in a row of really bad Texans defense is hard to watch unless, of course, you are the in-conference offenses that get fat stats against them twice a year. The fanbase is getting sick of waiting for the defense to develop and scheming around injuries and inexperience, and wants to see a defense that makes the players as a team look better than just individual standout efforts.

In the modern salary cap era, there are a ton of teams who rely on young defensive players in key roles, and they don't end up in the bottom three defensive rankings each year. Franklin repeated throughout the interview that they refuse to make excuses, and that they just have to play. Of course, that is what a coach has to say in the face of inexperience and injuries, but it would be nice to see what their defense is actually supposed to look like.

Do you feel comfortable staying pat with a healthy Anthony Weaver, Mario Williams, Amobi Okoye and Travis Johnson as your starting defensive line? I'm not sure that there really is any other option than that given how much salary is tied up on the line.