Lamarr Houston Was Quietly Very Effective Last Year
Coming off a 5 sack rookie campaign, Lamarr Houston seemed poised to make a run at Pro Bowl numbers in his sophomore season. It didn’t happen. His sack total (1) ended up being one of the bigger disappointments of the season. So what caused the drop off?
The answer is pretty simple. He was held. That’s right. According to the yellow flags officials generally reserve for Raiders, only one player (Miami’s Cameron Wake) was held more times than Houston.
What’s impressive about Houston’s ability to draw holds, is the fact that he’s hardly a speed rusher. Faster linebackers and defensive ends tend to benefit from more holding calls when offensive lineman use their arms as their feet can’t keep up.
Aside from the penalties, Houston also racked up more quarterback hurries than Green Bay’s Clay Matthews, while being one of the better defensive ends in the league versus the run.
Houston has two years left on his rookie contract and recently signed with Drew Rosenhaus. In the words of Tony Kornheiser, “You don’t hire Drew Rosenhaus to restructure… you hire Drew Rosenhaus to rip up and get more.” The first thing Rosenhaus will want from Houston are some numbers to negotiate with – something other than holds, and well-executed gap assignments. So while 2012 may not be a Pro Bowl season for Houston, don’t be the one to bet against it. The Raiders are confident in their ability to create a pass rush next season without Kamerion Wimbley, and Houston is a big reason why.
Great Post! L. Houston was very good against the run and consistently put pressure on the QB. If he continues to develop, I could easily see him putting up numbers that will require a franchise tag or expensive long term deal.
As talented as our offense is right now, I am most excited about our defense. After all, for the first time since 2000-03, we will run a modern NFL defense that is not predictable. I think this change will greatly assist our pass rushers, since half of the game of defeating a tackle is to outsmart him.
Last edited by Artois; 04-17-2012 at 09:35 PM.
John Madden:They've got a ways to go. He was playing the game without a full deck. To be honest, they don’t have enough players. The cupboard was pretty bare. It would have been tough to do much more than what they did. If he’s going to do well, they gotta get a lot more … some teams need a quarterback or a running back, or a pass rusher … . The Raiders need a whole barrel of guys!
Ya know I was lookinon madden today and realized houston is as fast as shaunessy, thats unusual for somebody suppose to be a DT hope he can get more sacks and less holds coming of the left end
Originally Posted by Artois
Great Post! L. Houston was very good against the run and consistently put pressure on the QB. If he continues to develop, I could easily see him putting up numbers that will require a franchise tag or expensive long term deal.
As talented as our offense is right now, I am most excited about our defense. After all, for the first time since 2000-03, we will run a modern NFL defense that is not predictable. I think this change will greatly assist our pass rushers, since half of the game of defeating a tackle is to outsmart him.
Ya know I was lookinon madden today and realized houston is as fast as shaunessy, thats unusual for somebody suppose to be a DT hope he can get more sacks and less holds coming of the left end
Shaunessy is another guy I can’t wait to see on field playing healthy, looked really good in the pre-season before his injury!
John Madden:They've got a ways to go. He was playing the game without a full deck. To be honest, they don’t have enough players. The cupboard was pretty bare. It would have been tough to do much more than what they did. If he’s going to do well, they gotta get a lot more … some teams need a quarterback or a running back, or a pass rusher … . The Raiders need a whole barrel of guys!
Are you serious? Where did you get your facts? Or is this just your opinion?
The reason he doesn't get sacks is because he gets about as much penetration as a 2 inch willie. Teams run right at him and that's why his tackle numbers are up. Maybe you could find out how many Tackles for Loss he has. I lost my admiration after watching Vernon Davis push him nearly 10 yards backwards on a run play. It was pre-season, but still... he outweighs Davis by 30 lbs and being 2 inches shorter should have made it easier for him to get the upper hand in leverage. I think (1) sack is pretty pathetic and so is using holding as some excuse. I'm not real impressed with the guy, but he's serviceable. If he wants a new contract, I think it's going to be with another team. Using up 1/4 of the cap on the d-line would be ridiculous.
I dont wish bad things for anybody (disclaimer)but I could see the Raiders putting Payton on his butt for the last time. Why he wanted to play behind that line has me scratching my head.
I dont wish bad things for anybody (disclaimer)but I could see the Raiders putting Payton on his butt for the last time. Why he wanted to play behind that line has me scratching my head.
I don't either but I'm sorry, Peyton needs to get knocked the F out.
Especially because the media has crowned Denver the AFC West kings before a game has been played.
Your entitled to your own opinion but I like him and think he will have a good year with tarver and our new D-line coach, and im not the only 1 who thinks so.
(this is a article I saw on twitter btw)
Originally Posted by Mytruckhercar
Are you serious? Where did you get your facts? Or is this just your opinion?
The reason he doesn't get sacks is because he gets about as much penetration as a 2 inch willie. Teams run right at him and that's why his tackle numbers are up. Maybe you could find out how many Tackles for Loss he has. I lost my admiration after watching Vernon Davis push him nearly 10 yards backwards on a run play. It was pre-season, but still... he outweighs Davis by 30 lbs and being 2 inches shorter should have made it easier for him to get the upper hand in leverage. I think (1) sack is pretty pathetic and so is using holding as some excuse. I'm not real impressed with the guy, but he's serviceable. If he wants a new contract, I think it's going to be with another team. Using up 1/4 of the cap on the d-line would be ridiculous.
Are you serious? Where did you get your facts? Or is this just your opinion?
The reason he doesn't get sacks is because he gets about as much penetration as a 2 inch willie. Teams run right at him and that's why his tackle numbers are up. Maybe you could find out how many Tackles for Loss he has. I lost my admiration after watching Vernon Davis push him nearly 10 yards backwards on a run play. It was pre-season, but still... he outweighs Davis by 30 lbs and being 2 inches shorter should have made it easier for him to get the upper hand in leverage. I think (1) sack is pretty pathetic and so is using holding as some excuse. I'm not real impressed with the guy, but he's serviceable. If he wants a new contract, I think it's going to be with another team. Using up 1/4 of the cap on the d-line would be ridiculous.
He got it from PFF. I remember reading a positive mention of him on Football Outsiders too.
Your entitled to your own opinion but I like him and think he will have a good year with tarver and our new D-line coach, and im not the only 1 who thinks so.
(this is a article I saw on twitter btw)
Thanks... I thought you might be quoting someone else, I was curious as to who. I can see why people like Houston... looking at his stats (minus the sacks) says he gets the job done. Watching him on DVR where I can watch a play over and over, I see him getting pushed around quite a bit. Maybe Tarver will help, I haven't given up on the guy... I'm just disappointed with his lack of getting pressure and setting the edge on run plays.
Originally Posted by RaiderInSD21
He got it from PFF. I remember reading a positive mention of him on Football Outsiders too.
Don't know about this, sees a bit odd to me. Houston had 1 sack in 16 games at DE and was part of a d-line giving up over 5 ypc. He is relatively cheap for now and isn't going anywhere for a couple of years. But any talk about him like he is a dominant player is just plain crazy to me. I hope the kid turns out great and think he can potentially be a solid guy for us, but lets let him do something worthwhile before we talk him up. To me, his career is not on an upward trend at the moment.
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Originally Posted by Artois
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