Houston Texans: The curious case of pass rusher Whitney Mercilus

Houston Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus has been largely a ghost since returning from multiple injuries. What’s going on? Take a look.

The Houston Texans 0-2 start to the season is quite telling as to how the rest of the season will pan out. As with most teams, it’s quite hard to dig one’s way out of such a hole but with the team having one of the lowest strengths of schedule, it’s quite possible they may can get back in the driver’s seat of the AFC South.

The next four games against the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills are winnable and the team could be 4-2 in a couple of weeks. We can’t count the chickens before they’re hatched but the Houston Texans are still in great position to make something of this season.

But the time management, play-calling and Deshaun Watson/Bill O’Brien being in-sync with each other has to improve or else trying to win these next four games could be more a daunting task. If it’s not one thing it’s another with this team and it seems that we can’t have a season in O’Brien-era that mostly everything is clicking.

For the most part, the defensive unit looks like they’ve picked right up from last season — albeit a tad bit slower — when they were healthy. They’re currently ranked 12th in yards allowed per game (336.0). With the tremendous amount of depth that they have plus with star defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel taking over the reins of the defense again, there’s no reason this unit should be under-performing.

But the lack of what an important cog of the defensive line has done for the past two games has become quite of concern to me.

Yes, I’m talking about Whitney Mercilus, who still is regarded as a respected pass-rusher in this league. However, he’s made little headway of being able to gain a foothold of that title once again.

As you know, Mercilus tore his pectoral muscle early last season, causing him to miss the rest of it. He’s recovered, participated in the team’s off season activities but a hamstring injury caused him not to have any action in the preseason.

As a result, he looks quite rusty out there and he’s not wielding the power that he once held atop the mantle of what is his specific spot on the field.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), through the first two games, Mercilus has

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has an overall grade of a 43.6, run defense (55.1), tackling (59.0), pass rush (46.5) and coverage (37.4). His line through the first two games in 2017 were: 68.0/66.4/73.4/58.8/65.3 which certainly indicates there has been some regression in his effectiveness.

To be honest, I barely know he’s out there and that’s usually not the case with him. I’m usually reminded when I’m looking at the final returns of the game and see who were the top performers on defense. I typically have an idea of who they are after watching the game but I haven’t had that inclination about Mercilus in awhile.

He’s got to improve that and get back to the ball-hawk that we’ve come to love over the years but I see him having a rough road ahead just to do so. It may not be until later in the season before he gets back into the groove. Let’s just hope the effort won’t be too little, too late by the time that happens.

J.J. Watt, his counterpart, seems to be recovering just fine from his injury and has been quite effective in his return but one has to wonder if Watt’s emergence is having an effect of Mercilus’ recovery to make his mark as well? I seriously doubt it but it’s definitely something to think about.

I wrote about Mercilus and the Houston Texans were reportedly working on a contract extension this past Spring but with the recent injury he sustained to his hamstring, both sides must’ve retreated on those notions. And that’s certainly the most prudent thing to do at this moment.

All I want is for Mercilus to succeed because he’s way too talented to let his unique abilities go to waste but we’ll see.

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Mercilus, 28, has amassed five combined tackles — three assisted — through two starts in 2018.

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