Mark Travis plans to attend the School of Journalism and Communication at the University or Oregon in the fall of 2012. Travis was born and raised in Corpus Christi and graduated with honors from Flour Bluff High School. He says he is one of the few Lakers fans who recognizes that LeBron James is better than Kobe Bryant. Travis started writing back in 2008, when Michael Crabtree and the Texas Tech Red Raiders inspired him to start But The Game Is On Sports Network, which features websites dedicated to covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL as well as college basketball and football. Travis contributes to all sites across his network. You can read the rest of his NBA writing at The Chase-Down Block. You can follow him on Twitter @Mark_Travis.
CORPUS CHRISTI â€" Jonathan Joseph changed the complexion of the Houston Texans' defense last season.
While Wade Phillips' arrival was necessary for Houston's defense to make the leap to elite, acquiring a lockdown may have been just as important. You can have the most complete front seven in football and still lose a lot of games because you can't stop the pass heavy teams around the league. It was even more vital for the Texans to get themselves a cover corner to replace Dunta Robinson, who bolted for big money in Atlanta two off-seasons ago, because of how reliant they are going to be on their pass rush over the next few years.
Even the best pass rushing teams can have little effect against good quarterbacks if the secondary doesn't hold up long enough for them to get into the backfield, something we saw an example of on Wednesday when Tony Romo picked apart New York's banged up secondary even with Jason Pierre-Paul and the like breathing down his neck.
Joseph was the Texans' backup plan after they fell out of the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, but because of the way the Eagles used Nnamdi in their coverage schemes (more as a rover than lining him up man-to-man), Joseph was actually the better player last season. Joseph was thrown at 91 times last season (including the playoffs), allowing only 51 completions, according to Pro Football Focus' tracking data. He only allowed 11.8 yards per catch, which pretty good for a corner, and he only gave up 168 yards after the catch. Joseph's interceptions (five) outweighed the touchdowns he gave up (3) and he also had 10 passes defended last season. When quarterbacks threw at Joseph, they had a paltry 64.4 QB rating.
Joseph made his opening statement as the newest weapon of Houston's terrific defense was in week two against the Dolphins when he held Brandon Marshall to just two catches and 39 yards. In week three, Joseph held Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson to a combined 31 yards on seven targets (four catches) against the Saints. Joseph's best game last season came when he put the clamps down on Roddy White, who is one of the best receivers in football,. Matt Ryan sure tried to get White the ball, throwing to him eight times while Joseph was on him in their week 13 match-up, but Joseph only allowed two completions for 31 yards. The week after that, Joseph held budding superstar A.J. Green to 57 yards and four catches. Joseph also shutdown Green in the post-season, holding him to just four catches (on nine targets) and 42 yards while also picking off one of the passes thrown Green's way.
Joseph will have a tougher job in his second season in Houston because the Texans' schedule has a few more top tier wide outs on it this season. Among the players he'll face throughout the year are: Justin Blackmon (a rookie, but a natural pass catcher that Blaine Gabbert will lean on), Demaryius Thomas (who will get the Peyton bump this season), Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Torrey Smith, Stevie Johnson, Brandon Marshall (with Jay Cutler throwing to him again this season), Brandon Lloyd (I'd imagine Houston won't slide Joseph into the slot to handle Wes Welker), Rob Gronkowski (putting a corner on a tight end may be the only way to keep up with this guy), Reggie Wayne (who will be a 1,000-yard receiver again this season with Andrew Luck throwing to him) and the best receiver in football: Calvin Johnson.
That's a pretty strong list but Joseph has earned a strong reputation as a shutdown corner and he should give everyone of them, expect maybe Johnson, a run for their money when they matchup.
Flanking Joseph this season will be Kareem Jackson. Jackson had an up-and-down year last season, flashing some potential to be a sturdy complement for Joseph, but ultimately failing to have a positive impact overall. Jackson was burned for eight catches (on nine targets) that went for 97 yards and a TD against the New Orleans Saints (148.6 QB Rating against) and had a lot of trouble defending players who had several options on their routes, which is common for teams that have quarterbacks that read defenses as well as Drew Brees. Jackson also gave up 84 yards on three catches against the Baltimore Ravens in week six before giving up 93 yards on four catches to them in the divisional round of the playoffs. Jackson had quite a bit of help last season, too, because Phillips shifted his safeties over to his side of the field to aid him in coverage and tackling because he knew he didn't have to send that help Joseph's way. The Alabama product is entering his third season in the league, so there is room for growth here, but it's possible that he ends up being more of a nickel back rather than a number two corner going forward.
While Jackson was a bit disappointing last season, Brice McCain came out and dominated the slot receivers he was matched up against. This came after McCain had a horrid 2010 season that put his spot on the Texans' roster in jeopardy. As a nickel cornerback, McCain played 304 snaps as the cover man on a slot receiver. McCain only allowed 230 yards on 44 pass attempts, with only 23 of those passes being completed. McCain even had a pair of interceptions and the QB Rating against him was just 48.5. McCain led the league in coverage snaps per reception, a stat tracked by Pro Football Focus, at 13.2. That means McCain only allowed a reception every 13.2 plays as a slot corner, which is remarkable considering how bad his technique looked on the outside earlier in his career. Based on Football Outsiders' data, McCain had a success rate of 69% when covering slot receivers. McCain's emergence played a big part in Houston's improved performance in the secondary. While Joseph can single-handedly shut down a side of the field, no team can do without an underneath defensive back to slow down the Wes Welker's of the world, and McCain filled that role perfectly last season.
Houston also got much improved play from their safeties last season. Danieal Manning, who was signed last off-season along with Joseph, was the surest tackling safety in the league last season according to Pro Football Focus. Manning missed just two tackles in the run game and no tackles in the passing game last season. He attempted to make 29.5 tackles per every miss, which led the league by 6.5 attempted tackles. Manning did well in the run game and even better when defending the pass. Manning was targeted 38 times last season. 21 of those passes were completed for just 306 yards and one touchdown. Manning racked up three interceptions and held quarterbacks to a 57.6 rating when throwing his way.
Glover Quin, Houston's strong safety, slid down to play the slot some last year but spent most of his time back deep with Manning. Quin was not quite as good as Manning against the run and was significantly worse against the pass last season, but Houston used him effectively by shading him to Jackson's side and asking him to help finish plays that went to the side of the field. Quin also joins the front seven rather frequently on third down play and he can be pretty good in the open spaces in those situations. Quintin Demps will help provide depth at the safety position this season, as will Alan Ball, who will also see time as a nickel corner. They may not be dynamic playmakers, but in Phillips' system they can be put to good use.
Houston's secondary caps off what has become one of the most feared defenses in the entire league and they are one of the few teams well equipped to handle some of the pass heavy attacks that the modern day NFL is filled with.
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