DeMeco Ryans laid it all out there ahead of the Houston Texans’ Week 5 battle against the Tennessee Titans, especially when he talked about his secondary’s wild struggle to get turnovers, saying he’s “never seen that happen” after what went down last week. You hear a coach say something like that, and you know there’s a problem brewing.
Tank Dell is Back at Practice! But How Ready is He?
The big news hitting practice this week is the return of Tank Dell, and man, it’s gotta be a relief for Texans fans. Ryans sounded genuinely pumped, saying it’s “great having Tank back out there, just getting back into football.” He saw Dell “running around, getting some routes, getting some plays.” Sounds promising, right? But hold up, Ryans isn’t putting any hard deadlines on his return to full action. He wants to see Dell “continue to acclimate to football, get into team reps and see how he does.” He added that Dell “looked great out there for the first time,” which is a huge plus.
Dell isn’t the only one making his way back. Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald is also back on the field, getting reps in, and Ryans is tracking his progress, too. Plus, they’ve got Braden Smith back. All three of these guys were on their first day back, and the coach emphasized that “each guy’s on their own plan, however quickly they progress.” On the other hand, M.J. Stewart sounds like he’s locked and loaded, with Ryans confirming he’ll “be up and ready to go this Sunday” after looking “really good” and “healthy back to himself” in practice these past couple weeks.
Ryans Knows the Titans Are No Joke
Don’t let anyone fool you, Ryans is giving the Titans team major respect. He pointed out they’ve “battled,” been in “tight football games,” just like the Texans. Even though they’ve been on “the losing side of those matches,” he emphasized those games “have been tight.” They’ve faced “some really good football teams” and even dealt with “rough weather in a lot of their games.” He’s not “discrediting that team” at all.
Ryans talked up Titans quarterback Cam Ward, calling him “a really good player,” and praised both their running backs as “really good” too. You can tell he’s got respect for their defense, noting they “fly around to the football, having known what [Robert] Saleh requires of that group.” And yeah, even their special teams unit is “good.” This Week 5 matchup? Ryans sees it as “a really good match for us.”
That Secondary Quote, Though…
Here’s the kicker, the part that probably had Ryans pulling his hair out. When asked about expecting a certain response from his players in practice, he brushed it off, saying he “wasn’t expecting a certain reaction.” He just expects them “to be pros, show up and let’s go put the work in.” He seemed confident the “laser-focused approach” and “mindset is there,” with his “guys are definitely locked in to what we have in front of us.”
But then the conversation turned to the secondary creating turnovers, and that’s when Ryans got real. He started with the cliche, “When turnovers happen, they come in bunches,” acknowledging he has “to say it a lot.” But what came next? That’s the part that hit different. He said, “you look at the game this past week, we attacked the throwing arm of the quarterback three times and three times the ball goes up and they come down with the completion. I’ve never seen that happen.” Yikes. You know it’s a rough patch when the head coach, a former defensive standout himself, says he’s “never seen that happen.” That’s not just bad luck, that’s a serious headache for the defense.
So, with the Titans game looming this Sunday, all eyes are on how these Texans show up. Can they finally force some takeaways and get a W?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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