HOUSTON – Standing at his locker, Tytus Howard was talking about rhythm, timing, chemistry, teamwork, music and a classic movie.
That’s why the movie the Texans’ veteran right tackle watched Sunday night applies so aptly to an untenable pass blocking crisis the team has been unable to solve.
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When an offensive line, five men working in unison, is clicking, the left tackle, left guard, center, right guard and right tackle are all working like a marching band that excels at precise movements. Like the 2002 movie, ‘Drumline,’ about an 18-year-old drummer from New York portrayed by actor Nick Cannon trying to fit into the marching band at fictional Atlanta A&T University. The song, ‘Flight of the Bumblebee,’ was performed smoothly by the band in the movie The Texans’ performances are too often off-beat and don’t sound or look like they’re drawn up in the playbook.
“That’s the one group where all five guys got to be on the same page at all times,” Howard said. “So, one guy messes up, we’re always one unit. I watched the movie, ‘Drumline,’ last night. I know it sounds funny, but one band, one sound. That actually kind of stuck out to me because that’s how it is as an offensive line. We all got to stick together, and we’ve all got to be on the same page all the time.”
Unfortunately for the Texans and Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud, the most frequently sacked passer in the NFL that’s on an active roster, that isn’t how things have unfolded for the offensive line. Stroud has been under constant siege.
Stroud has been sacked 30 times this season, the second-most in the NFL behind Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who’s on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon and was sacked 33 times before he went down with a season-ending injury. Stroud got kicked in the shin against the New York Jets as he was sacked a career-high eight times and hit 11 times overall during a 21-13 road loss, but there’s always the risk of injury when a quarterback is hit this often.
The Texans lead the NFL with 151 pressures allowed.
Stroud was trapped in his own personal horror movie on Halloween, and there was no escape from the demons and villains invading the Texans’ unsafe backfield.
Stroud was relentlessly harassed, hit and hounded by the Jets’ aggressive, speedy defense as they dominated his overmatched offensive line.
“Of course, it’s embarrassing,” said Stroud, who completed a career-low percentage of throws as he went 11 for 31 for 191 yards and no touchdowns for a 59.2 passer rating. “To come out here on a primetime game and get embarrassed like that is never fun. I believe we have to be better in a lot of areas and that starts with me. I think there’s plays I got to make, throws I got to make. At times I have to sit in the pocket and just trust my guys.
“I really point the finger at me and realize I got to be better as a football player. If we want to win, this is not the recipe for it. We have to learn how to dominate and stop learning how to go with the flow and play in the fourth quarter like we should be able to play good in the first half and then roll into the second. I think we have to have a better mindset as a whole. This is definitely a great wake-up call for us to tighten up the ship.”
Now, the Texans have to replace injured left guard Kenyon Green after he dislocated his left shoulder and was replaced by Kendrick Green. Kenyon Green, a struggling former first-round draft pick from Texas A&M, leads all NFL guards with 36 pressures allowed.
Kendrick Green, who had his own issues in pass protection while shedding rust after being inserted into the game, is a leading candidate to replace Green in the lineup Sunday night against the Detroit Lions. The Texans’ other option includes center-guard Jarrett Patterson, who is in the final stages of the NFL concussion protocol and has to pass a baseline neurological exam and practice without symptoms to be medically cleared to play. The Texans are not expected to shift Howard back to left guard and have right tackle Blake Fisher replace him at right tackle, according to league sources.
“We’ll see who steps up at the offensive line position,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’ll see who steps up, see how we go out there and get the job done.”
#Texans offensive tackle Tytus Howard on the challenge posed by #Lions and the work the line is putting in to improve especially in the second half of games @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/YlNd17qh8n
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 4, 2024
Whatever the Texans have attempted to do, it isn’t working despite the heavy investments general manager Nick Caserio has made in the offensive line that includes a $75 million contract for Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a $56 million deal for Howard, a $36 million contract for right guard Shaq Mason, who has allowed four sacks and 21 pressures, a first-round draft pick in Green and a second-round selection for center Juice Scruggs.
The run blocking has been strong for Pro Bowl runner Joe Mixon, who has four consecutive games of at least 100 yards rushing and one touchdown. However, the pass blocking has been substandard.
“Everybody’s focus is just on the pass blocking,” Ryans said. “Of course, we’ve had some bad reps in the pass block, but it’s everybody working together. It’s an entire offense working together. It’s never just one thing. I know it’s easy to point the finger at one thing. It’s never just one thing. It’s all the 11 guys working together, being in sync.
“Our guys upfront, they’ve done a good job of blocking. They’ve had a lot of good pass reps, too. I think everybody highlights the bad reps, of course. That’s where the focus goes, on the bad reps. We’ve had really good pass-rush snaps and where are we with the timing, with the progression of those routes and all those things? Are we open in the timing of the plays? All those things matter when we do have good protection and all of that is a factor as well. Everybody has to play better.”
Before he got hurt, Green allowed six sacks, second-most in the NFL among guards. He has a 39.4 overall blocking grade, ranking him last among 77 offensive guards, according to Pro Football Focus analytics.
“Oh man, it’s tough,” Howard said. “Kenyon is a young kid. He’s been through a lot since he’s been in the NFL. Like I told him, I’m here for anything he needs. But I know he’ll come back stronger. We’ve got a lot of guys that can fill in at guard. Those guys have put the work in all offseason, this season, in practice. So, I’m pretty confident one of those guys can come in, step in and do a good job.”
#Texans guard Kendrick Green on being inserted into game when Kenyon Green injured his shoulder and the breakdowns that led to C.J. Stroud being sacked career high eight times @KPRC2 'Didn't play enough clearly got to get the rust off got to be ready when your number is called pic.twitter.com/jsTM4uAtpl
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 1, 2024
Kendrick Green hasn’t started a game since last season before he tore his meniscus. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik utilized the 6-foot-4, 315-pound former Pittsburgh Steelers third-round draft pick as a lead blocking fullback against the New England Patriots.
He didn’t look ready for game speed against the Jets’ fast defense, giving up six pressures and one sack.
“I didn’t play well enough, clearly,” Green said. “The score shows that, too. There’s definitely some plays that I left out there. I feel like I needed to get the rust off, but you got to be ready when my number is called. I tried to do the best I could, but it wasn’t good enough.
“It’s the same things we’ve been struggling with all year so far. It’s fixable, but nobody is going to fix it for us. We’ve got to get back in the lab and fix it. You don’t want to see that. He’s getting off the ground too many times.”
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on how the pass blocking is not up to the standard @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/HZ6tM6DxnR
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 1, 2024
Only Tunsil didn’t allow a sack against the Jets.
And the grades are in from this debacle. Before he left the game, Kenyon Green had a 9.2 pass blocking grade on a scale of 0 to 100, according to Pro Football Focus analytics. Kendrick Green had a 0.4 pass blocking grade. Mason had a 22.0 pass blocking grade, allowing a pair of sacks and four pressures.
Why can’t the Texans block it better?
Is it alignment, assignment, technique or talent? All of the above?
‘It’s the same thing that happens every week,” Tunsil told KPRC 2. “Overload, twist game, blitzing, same thing we see every week. I think we just got to be better. You don’t want to give up eight sacks. That’s not the type of game we want. It’s a long season, lot of football left.”
Stroud was pressured within an average of 2.87 seconds against the Jets, according to Next Gen Stats analytics.
“One thing I can do is just get the ball out faster,” Stroud said. “When something’s open, I got to be able to hit it, because there’s times where I sit back there and I’m thinking too much. I got to be able to get it out, get it to No. 1 if No. 1 is there, No. 2 if No. 2 is there, get through my progressions. So, it’s not just on them. It’s on me as well.”
For the Texans, the job doesn’t get any easier. The red-hot, 7-1 Detroit Lions come to town for a Sunday night primetime game on NBC and KPRC 2 at NRG Stadium. Although they’ve lost Aidan Hutchinson to a broken leg, they traded for pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, who has five sacks this season.
The Texans’ offensive line is aware of what people are saying about them and the heat they’re under that has extended to offensive line coach Chris Strausser with calls for him to be replaced on social media and sports talk radio. There’s been no indication that the Texans would fire Strausser in the middle of the season or that such a change would fix anything.
Their job is to protect Stroud. They haven’t been up to the task through nine games for the 6-3 Texans. There’s a lot at stake here.
“Man, you’ve got to take it to heart,” Howard said. “When you’ve got a quarterback like C.J., we’ve got to be at our best at all times. We see where everybody’s talking. We’ve just got to be better. Because, at the end of the day, we do our job, they won’t be talking about us no more.
“That’s the crazy thing about O-line is you just do your job, they don’t talk about you. You don’t do your job, you get here. We got to step up to the challenge. Everybody has a reason to say something right now. We’ve got to see what we can do as a group to fix it.”
Stroud suggested that the Texans have to accept coaching better and be even more accountable.
“We just got to honestly play football better, execute better, stop pointing fingers and realize that at the end of the day this is not winning football,” said Stroud, who was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. “We can’t keep squeezing our way by every game. We are a really good football team, we have a lot of really good players. Once we buy into the systems and what is being coached, and also we have to have leadership to take over.
“I believe this isn’t the end, but it’s definitely a great wakeup call for us to tighten up the ship. This is now playoff football, it’s November-December, this is the chunk of our schedule. A lot of great teams we are playing on primetime and we got to be able to find ways to win. It’s not the time to hang our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves, it’s time to answer the call and we have guys in that locker room that I believe in and trust in and I think we’ll be able to be a really good football team. It doesn’t define us but definitely was a great wakeup call.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
