Houston Texans face dilemma as star players need more help

There’s no denying the Houston Texans have star talent, so what’s the issue? Is it their roster makeup or the star players themselves? The team faces a dilemma in order to reverse their playoff fate.

The Houston Texans are a bit of a conundrum. They have a number of blue chip players: those elite-level performers and athletes who are supposed to be the difference between success and failure. The problem has been a lack of depth behind the stars on the roster. Either that, or the stars-and-scrubs roster approach isn’t feasible in the NFL. Or has Houston simply failed to acquire the correct stars? It is hard to know where the truth lies.

The Texans haven’t been disasters. They have four winning seasons in the five-year Bill O’Brien campaign. Yet those four winning seasons and three division titles have been accompanied by just one single playoff victory. So does this dispel the notion that blue-chip players are key, does it simply mean Houston didn’t build properly around its stars, or are the stars themselves the problem? The Texans face a dilemma as they work to change their playoff fate.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Houston Texans in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

One thing that is for sure is Houston next year will look incredibly similar to Houston from this past season with likely only two units primed for change. Essentially the entire offense is due to return. That is good and bad. Bad because the offensive line that finished 27th in run blocking and dead last in opponent sack rate isn’t something to be built around.

Much of the defense is set to return too after the team placed the franchise tag on Jadeveon Clowney. There will only be major holes in the secondary with Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Mathieu free agents and Kevin Johnson cut. And the front seven for the Texans was superb, especially against the run.

So a team coming off an 11-win season, who has the seventh-most cap space in the sport, is returning much of its roster, including all of its stars of note. All that seems to make Houston’s offseason plan pretty clear. It needs to upgrade the offensive line and replenish the secondary. But is that enough to collect the franchise’s second playoff win under O’Brien?

If it’s not, it comes down to Deshaun Watson failing to live up to the hype…or wilting under an offensive line that didn’t improve.

If it’s not, it comes down to DeAndre Hopkins not making enough plays…or being swallowed up by defenses with not enough healthy skill players around him that make a difference.

If it’s not, it comes down to JJ Watt, Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus not wreaking enough havoc up front…or wilting under the pressure of making up for failures behind them.

Is it the roster approach they have chosen or the star players themselves? I’m still not sure we’ll be able to tell.

Dan Salem:

I find it very difficult to put the blame on star players, when they are the reason the Houston Texans have been successful in the first place. Without them, we are talking about a losing team with a top ten pick. That is exactly what happened to Houston when Watson and Watt were lost to injury in 2017. Perhaps the Texans epitomize what the NFL and the game of football actually is, a team sport.

You can’t win without star players, and your star players can’t win without a solid supporting cast, including viable depth. Its this depth that has plagued the Houston Texans, as well as a weak offensive line.

This is a dead horse by now, because every team needs to improve its offensive line and depth. As far as the Texans are concerned, I’d like them to spend their ample funds on a complimentary second tier star player. Of course Houston is going to add depth and of course they are going to attempt to improve their line, so perhaps the simplest answer is in fact the right one.

Houston has excellent star talent, but they must continue to build around them. Its not that the team has failed to properly build, but that its a work in progress. Last season was year 1.5 for Watson, since he only played half his rookie year. The Texans have several more seasons under his rookie contract, meaning they must go all-in right now and load up.

Golden Tate would open the field up for Hopkins. Le’Veon Bell would take all the pressure off Watson and Hopkins. Landon Collins would complete the secondary and make this defense unstoppable on paper. Spend now while your rising to the top.

I was impressed with how the Texans bounced back last season. It was unclear how they would rebound and how Watson would return from injury, but the team gelled and excelled. They are currently in one of the most competitive divisions, meaning they cannot simply roll back with the same team. Even star players get shut down by double teams and a lack of viable alternative options. Defenses are smart. Houston must be too.