Film Room: Jalen Pitre and Houston's New-Look Defense
DeMeco Ryans' showed off Houston's plan to revitalize Jalen Pitre
I want to introduce a new contributor to Houston Football. John Crumpler will break down clips of the Texans and add analysis to the videos. I have enjoyed John’s work on Twitter/X, and I am excited to have it on Houston Football. Enjoy. -Cody
After an off-season of speculation, Houston Texans fans finally had their first glimpse of DeMeco Ryans’s new-look defense this past week in the team’s preseason contest against the New York Giants. It was a phenomenal performance from the first-team defense across three drives against Daniel Jones and the New York starting offensive unit. It featured violent tackles for loss, multiple interceptions, and an imposing playstyle that Ryans’s defenses have become known for across the NFL.
It’s often difficult to make sweeping declarations of how the preseason will project into the regular season, however, the film showed some key developments that fans should almost certainly expect when combined with reporting from practice. Let’s dive into the All-22 for some major takeaways.
Houston’s “Nickel” Base
The first concept fans should pick up on is the likely most frequent personnel package. Last year Ryans’s squad was predominantly a “nickel” defense. Rather than employ three linebackers in the traditional 4-3 scheme the Texans used a third cornerback on the field.
This is a common theme throughout the NFL as defenses adapt to smaller, motion-centric offenses that demand better personnel to defend the pass. It still features the classic four down linemen, for Ryans often two “Wide 9” edge rushers aligned outside the tackles and the tight ends, and a 1 and 3-technique defensive tackle over one guard and shaded over the center respectively. The nickel defender substitution offers additional speed on the second level and better equips the unit to handle today’s speedy slot receivers.
Houston was in “nickel” on 11 of their 14 first-team unit plays compared to just three in “base” with three linebackers on the field. The most notable development is that 2022 second-round pick Jalen Pitre, after two years at high safety for Lovie Smith and Ryans, was utilized almost exclusively in this role.
Unlocking Jalen Pitre
Last year, tasked primarily with coverage responsibilities on the back end, it is no secret that Pitre struggled. He went from a reasonably well-graded Pro Football Focus safety (70.0) with eye-popping statistical numbers to well below league average (55.3) and someone who was even benched in the team’s regular season loss to the Cleveland Browns.
This year Pitre was moved down to play some “nickel” or “star” in the defense. This hybrid position can play man-corner responsibilities. The main focus is to play the flats in zone coverage akin to a linebacker and attack running plays to wreak havoc. While many traditionally think of the nickel as another coverage defender, it’s evolving around the league as a unique way to employ defensive backs that can impact the run at a high level.
Last season, Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) was an All-Pro featured in this way under defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald. The team allowed Hamilton to impose his physicality close to the line of scrimmage and deployed him as a rangy safety when needed on pure passing downs.
Although Pitre is not the same physical unicorn as Hamilton (6’4”, 220lb), there are some obvious advantages to using him in this role. It’s not unreasonable to believe he can excel closer to the line of scrimmage. The team can maximize Pitre’s two greatest strengths in this role. He has a violent tackling demeanor and his ability to hawk the football.
Both manifested beautifully against the Giants.
On the second drive, with Houston in their nickel package with Henry To’oTo’o (39) and Azeez Al-Shaiir (0), Pitre (5) goes into zone coverage as a “flat” defender and forces Jones’s first interception of the day. He easily blanketed tight end Theo Johnson amidst the chaos of the pass rush. It was a great example of Pitre trusting his play instinct and attacking the concept in front of him to take advantage of a terrible play. (Side note: Watch rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter on the bottom of your screen stay in front of Jalin Hyatt. Hyatt is considered a burner running a 4.4 before he was drafted. So much for speed concerns for Lassiter.)
Pitre’s ability to thrive with his physicality in the role was further evident.
Ryans and the defensive staff bring Pitre up to the line of scrimmage and blitz him off the edge on an early down from New York’s third drive. The result is a huge tackle for a loss on former Texans running back Devin Singletary in the backfield as a flying Pitre is unaccounted for and allowed to blow up the run.
Pitre had another outstanding tackle for a loss later in the drive when Jones worked to check it down to Singletary in the flat after a play action concept. Pitre is eagerly waiting in the flat for his former teammate and has no problem holding his own 1-on-1 against Singletary. Houston’s second level was able to dominate with a violent Pitre in the nickel.
Allowing their third-year safety to simply play football by attacking forward may not only reverse Pitre’s sophomore slump but there’s also a chance it could evolve the whole unit as Houston sees improved playmaking from an increasingly important position.
Pitre’s ability to play the slot and high safety create some interesting variable looks. He played as the second safety in all base personnel looks when Jake Hansen was on the field and Ryans wasn’t afraid to move him around. This play caught my eye from New York’s third drive as Pitre rotates down late in the pre-snap phase on first and 10 to essentially create an “eight in the box” look.
It’s beyond sub-optimal for New York to run into and Houston easily has the bodies to match their heavy 21-personnel (2 RB-TE) run look. Just a small glimpse but this play, beyond nickel utilization, shows just how much Pitre could offer this year in terms of versatility.
Three More Takeaways
DeMeco Ryans can’t help himself with the pass rush.
It may have been the pre-season, but Ryans didn’t lay off his love for his pass rush. On the initial third down of the game, he showed the Giants this look with Al-Shaair lined up directly over the center. Al-Shaair aids the pass rush by barreling into the left guard and creating an opportunity for Mario Edwards Jr. to “stunt” and loop around for a clear lane of attack at Daniel Jones.
It didn’t create a sack, but this kind of creativity and juice that Ryans is willing to use in the pass rush is a huge reason that it should be one of the league’s best with Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter destroying tackles on the exterior.
Derek Stingley is an All-Pro talent.
This one is self-evident, but worth going over. Stingley is one of the league’s top cornerbacks from a talent perspective and that talent appears ready to truly blossom in his second year in Ryans’s scheme. He did a fabulous job blanketing top-10 pick Malik Nabors for most of the afternoon. He showed off his ball skills with an incredible snatch against Hyatt on the deep route. It was a dominant performance from Stingley and the kind that Houston has come to expect from their third-year cornerback.
Opposing teams will have the difficult task of deciding whether to send their top receiver out against Stingley to potentially try to win 1-on-1 or simply forfeiting a route concept every down if Stingley is allowed to work against their second-best pass catcher. Houston may simply decide for them if Stingley starts to travel again as he did in the playoffs.
Watch out for Calen Bullock
Rookie safety Calen Bullock from USC had his fair share of snaps with the first-team defense against the Giants. Although Pitre and Jimmie Ward ate up most of the time at the safety positions, Bullock played 5 of the team’s 11 snaps when they went to nickel personnel, with veteran Eric Murray playing the other 6.
It’s a reasonably projectable split that Bullock can play half of the time when Houston opts to employ a third safety on the field. It will likely be in situations where he’s allowed to play as Cover 1 or Cover 2 safety and patrol the deep end of the secondary. Check out Pitre’s sideline tackle on Singletary from earlier to see Bullock playing deep.
If it played out this way, that would give Bullock a 35-45% snap share based on last season’s numbers. Not a terrible way for Ryans to ease the team’s developmental safety into action while optimizing his ball skills.
Follow John on Twitter/X here: @JohnHCrumpler
If bullock info is in there usually playing cover 1 or 2, to me that comes off as a easy read for opposing QB on back end coverage.
Good stuff John H.