10 replies to this topic

[Chi-town_Chief]

As a fan it annoys me how quickly some of us (not really here but on other forums I read) want to discount this years draft because it didn't make the same impact as last years. People love to take things to the extreme and if you don't show up in your first 5 games you are a loss.

Take Justin Houston for example. He didn't have a great first half of the year, and suddenly people think he is a horrible pick. I saw him get the nickname "Bustin Houston." I didn't get it. How can you judge a rookie on just a few games. Even Eric Berry struggled in the first half of the season.

That is why I enjoyed this read.

Quote

Chiefs’ Rookie Justin Houston Finishing Strong
The Kansas City Chiefs may not make the playoffs this season thanks to inconsistent play and devastating injuries but if rookie Justin Houston is any indication of the future, KC fans should be excited.
Houston was taken by the Chiefs in the third round of last year’s NFL Draft. Projected to be selected in the first round, Houston’s draft stock slid thanks to a failed drug test at the NFL Combine. In the third round, however, Houston was worth the risk.
Like many rookies often do, Houston struggled early as he adjusted to the NFL. His lot wasn’t made any easier by the NFL lockout, but Houston’s talent was quickly on display during the preseason. It seemed only a matter of time before Houston turned his athletic talents into production on the field.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on Houston all season long. Early in the season I often noticed the rookie getting blown back by defenders as he tried to set the edge. He was also struggling to beat his man while pass rushing.
Then, slowly, Houston seemed to get it. He began holding his ground a bit better in run defense and even seemed to be inching closer and closer to the QB when rushing.
His Pro Football Focus grades seemed to back up this assessment. After being graded negatively in his first few games, Houston’s marks gradually inched closer to average.
In fact, Houston seems to be improving with each quarter of the season. Let’s take a look at his PFFgrades so far.
First Quarter:
Bills: -3.2 (37 snaps)
Lions: +0.1 (28 snaps)
Chargers: -2.0 (36 snaps)
Vikings: -3.5 (53 snaps)
Second Quarter:
Colts: -0.4 (20 snaps)
Raiders: -0.7 (34 snaps)
Chargers: 0.0 (42 snaps)
Dolphins: -0.3 (13 snaps)
Third Quarter:
Broncos: +2.9 (54 snaps)
Patriots: -1.3 (66 snaps)
Steelers: +4.6 (66 snaps)
Bears: ? ? ? ? ?
With any rookie you are going to have ups and downs. Houston’s assent isn’t going to be a straight line but you can see from these numbers that he is definitely trending upward.
If Houston showed in the Denver game that he was starting to “get it” then the Pittsburgh game was dang close to a coming out party. Houston racked up five tackles, a pressure, a batted pass and four stops (offensive failure).
Check this out:
First eight games: 16 tackles, 2 pressures, 0 batted passes, 7 stops
Last three games: 12 tackles, 1 pressure, 1 batted pass, 9 stops
Right now, it appears as though Houston is becoming a force in the running game. It makes sense that he struggled a bit against pass happy New England, especially since Brady gets the ball out quickly and Houston’s pass rush is still a work in progress.
But against the Steelers and Broncos, Houston was excellent, blowing up four plays in each of those games. His pass rush also appeared to come alive against the Steelers. Houston graded a +1.6 in that department last week, far and away his best PR grade of the year.
This weekend’s game should provide an excellent challenge for Houston as he looks to cap off a very successful quarter of the season. The Bears feature a dynamic running attack featuring Matt Forte (who has been off the chain all year) and Marion Barber. Chicago figures to lean even more on their running game this week after losing QB Jay Cutler. If Houston can help contain or shut down the Chicago running game, he’ll put the Chiefs’ secondary in an excellent position to succeed.
For a team looking for silver linings during a dismal season, Houston is starting to look rather shiny.

[The_Jonas]

Yes, it's VERY stupid to call rookies 'busts' this early in their career.

If you recall, Whitlock slapped the 'bust' label on Eric Berry after 3 games and looked like a complete f**kin' idiot.

[greatnessinc]

Houston is in almost every play we get or at least get close to the QB. I look forward to seeing him progress and become hopefully a dominant pass rusher.

[milkman]

The_Jonas, on 30 November 2011 - 10:28 AM, said:

Yes, it's VERY stupid to call rookies 'busts' this early in their career.

If you recall, Whitlock slapped the 'bust' label on Eric Berry after 3 games and looked like a complete f**kin' idiot.

Well, that isn't hard to accomplish, since Whitlock IS an idiot.

But I've been noting Houston's progress recently at the planet.

I thought he should have been credited with half a sack against the Seelers.

[jambal67]

The problem I had with him early in the season was he only seemed to know to rush the passer and noting else. I've been impressed with his growth as a complete OLB. Part of that job is to seal the outside on the run and he just didn't seem to get the hang of that early. While I'm not ready to call him a bookend to Hali, the future looks a lot brighter.

[nathanKent]

I think there's a strong fundamental skill set to develop on there. It seems like he's being used less and less in coverage and more as a rusher/hitter, so maybe Crennel is just doing a better job of playing to his strengths.

[autodrummer]

I thought he has looked really good in the last 3 games.

[AssKickingBoots]

I figured by the way he dominated in preseason, it was just a matter of time before he "got it". He'll improve upon his skillset more as he moves forward, and he will utilize his athleticism better. He is our best hope to have a legitimate pass rusher not named Tamba Hali on our roster.

[tyecopeland]

Quote

Players prepped to make a leap

Rookie adjustments over, these 2011 draftees could break out

By Mel Kiper Jr.


Justin Houston, OLB, Chiefs
Houston got the tweener tag in a bad way during the draft and fell down the board. Converted to a 3-4 OLB under Romeo Crennel, he began to show off some of his natural pass-rushing skills toward the end of last year. Look for him to emerge as he comes into 2012 comfortable in his role.

http://insider.espn....e-locker-others

[EstablishedAce]

Playoffs!

[warthog]

There was a Denver Sports radio host today that was on Petro's show in KC and he admitted that KC had a lot of depth and not many holes (except at QB), but he was very interested to know more about Justin Houston. Seems the word has gotten out on him. Soren predicted that Houston would get between 8-11 sacks this year, which I think would be great.

BTW, the Denver guy was salivating all over Peyton Mannings dead corpse. According to him, both Denver and KC will be 10-5 going into the last game of the season, which is KC at Denver, and the Donks will end up 11-5 with us at 10-6, both teams in the playoffs.