Smart Bullies and Dumb Bullies

The most important tidbit I got out of Tyler Dunne's fantastic two-part series on the Texans defense was this, from defensive coordinator Matt Burke:

The defense will change when someone actually challenges it. They haven't really been tested in that way so far. So the Texans just keep doing the same things:

The smart bully thing works both ways, and thus we see a team that isn't really a bully do stuff like Cade Stover tush pushes. They have the allure of something intelligent in the sense that they've worked for other teams. (Oh God, if Monday Night comes down to dueling Stover - Connor Heyward tush pushes I want you to know I will be in absolute hell.)

I guess where I'm at is: I think the Texans offense has a real way to be an smart bully. If they can bully a team on the ground (they often can't), by all means, feel free to do that. If you're getting played like the Chargers played the Texans in Week 17? Sure, you must pound that rock.

But the only intelligent way that the Texans have to bully anybody is to use Jayden Higgins and Nico Collins, get them one-on-one, and ask them to bust some smaller defensive backs. Joey Porter Jr is going to be on Collins on Monday night, and that matchup could dictate a lot about where the game goes. Higgins, however, should be in an ideal situation. The Steelers only really have the one cornerback who has done anything great this year – Asante Samuel Jr. is a great reclamation project, and James Pierre is a nice depth piece to have. You don't want either of them on the spot against a 6-foot-4 behemoth.

That is what I want to see the most out of both Stroud and Nick Caley in the playoffs. If they are to be smart bullies? You better give your best receivers as much as they can handle. I don't want to see Dalton Schultz screens unless they're a change-up. I don't want to see Christian Kirk-leading designs.

The bullying being smart needs to go both ways. "The bad unit being better" is obviously kind of a reductive analysis of "how the team with one obviously good unit can win," but if this is going to be DeMeco Ryans' team and built in his vision, well, show that you can punish lower-level cornerbacks. Embrace the only way this team can be a smart bully on offense.