Kcchiefs article on Justin Houston extension
 

One thing that stood out to me was the stat that backs up what everyone here all ready knows, that Houston is a complete linebacker, not just a pass rusher. He ranked first in rushing the passer and 4th in run and pass defense as well. So glad we are keeping him around for a while.

One of the top storylines of the Kansas City Chiefs offseason culminated this week with the announcement of a long-term extension with linebacker Justin Houston.

One reason Houston said it was important for him to stay with the Chiefs was the relationship he has with his teammates, something that isn't found everywhere.

"It's more of a family here," Houston explained. "I sit back and talk to other guys from different teams and they talk about how it's not a family there. But it is here. You don't hear anything bad being said about each other in the locker room.

"It doesn't matter if we're winning or losing, it's all always positive vibes going on. We're not putting one another down, we're always uplifting everybody. We move as one."

From the end of last season up until the moment he signed his contract, Houston's goal all along was to stay in Kansas City.

"When the season ended, coach Reid pulled me into the office saying, 'It's going to get done, just be patient,'" Houston recalled. "So that's what I did."

Just because Houston filled his pockets a little bit and got the long-term deal NFL players work their entire careers to try and earn, don't expect him to sit back and rest on his past accolades.

That's just not the way he's built.

Less than an hour after putting pen to paper, Houston shared what he believes this team can achieve.

"I think we can go all the way this year," he said. "We're ready to go."

The belief of what this team can achieve together is one of the reasons Houston wanted to stay in Kansas City, and the commitment he made only reinforces that notion.

For as much credit is given to Houston for his pass-rushing prowess, the truth is of the 1,033 snaps he played for the Chiefs defense last season, which was second only to cornerback Sean Smith's 1,037, less than three percent of those snaps resulted in a sack.

That not only shows how truly difficult it is to earn a sack in the NFL, but in order to make the kind of impact that truly transforms a defense, players must be able to do everything well.

According to Pro Football Focus, Houston ranked in the top four among NFL outside linebackers in rushing the quarterback (No. 1), run defense (No. 4) and pass coverage (No. 4).

He's the only player who can claim to be ranked in the top five in each of those categories.

"I try to be the best at everything I do," Houston said. "I look at other athletes, like LeBron James is one of my favorite athletes. I see his size, his ability, but he doesn't just focus on scoring. He plays defense, he wants to do it all. That's what I've been wanting to do on the football field, I want to do it all.

"If I've got to cover somebody, I want to be one of the best covering outside linebackers I can be, the best run stopper I can be, the best pass rusher I can be. I want to be the best in all things."

One of the reasons Houston believes he's at the point in his career where he can legitimately make those claims is because of his mentor, veteran Tamba Hali, and the leadership he showed through the first four years of Houston's career.

"He's meant a lot to my career," Houston said. "When Tamba first came into the league, he didn't have a guy to take him under his wing. When I came in, it was the total opposite. He was willing to teach me everything he knows.

"When I started picking it up, he was like, 'OK, I'm going to slow down. You're learning too fast!' But he's like a brother on the field and being in this situation, he was like a big brother that helped teach me things on and off the field-like how to handle myself."

Hali ranks third all-time in Chiefs franchise history with 79.5 career sacks, and while Houston's 48.5 sacks has him currently ranked No. 6, the season he had a year ago has already put him in esteemed company.

Houston broke one of the most revered records in franchise history, Derrick Thomas' mark of 20 sacks set during the 1990 season, last year. Houston's 22-sack performance was just a half a sack shy of the all-time record set by Michael Strahan (22.5) back in 2001.

Houston's long-term commitment will only lead to further cementing his legacy with the Chiefs, an organization with a rich history of pass rushers from the days of Art Still to Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith to most-recently, with Hali.

"It means a lot," Houston explained of the pass-rushing history in Kansas City. "When I'm done, I want to be mentioned as one of those guys, as one of the best that came through here. Any time you can be mentioned in the same category as Derrick Thomas-that says enough itself."

It's this history that has developed Arrowhead Stadium and Chiefs Kingdom as having one of the premier home-field advantages in the NFL.



There's never a more exciting time at Arrowhead than an opponent's attempt on third down.

"It's a great feeling," Houston said of playing at Arrowhead. "On third-and-long when you hear the crowd and you see the opposing quarterback yelling, trying to change the play and struggling to communicate with the offensive linemen. That's a great feeling because you know your percentage of getting a sack just went up.

"I love playing in front of our fans."

While many people will count the dollars and cents of his contract as the focal point of what it means, the belief behind the money means something to Houston.

"It just made me feel like they really believed in me," Houston said. "For them to do this, just like your family back home, your mom, your parents, they believe in you. It gives you an extra edge on the field when you know you've got people really believing in you and what you can do."

After being away from his teammates, Houston can't wait to get up to training camp and get back to work. The Chiefs have high expectations.

"It's going to feel like your first time you went to college and came back home to your family," Houston said. "Everybody's around. The first day of camp is one of the most fun days-everybody's back together, you get to enjoy each other and it's full of energy.

"It's going to be a great time."

I hope I'm wrong but these guys never play the same after their guaranteed contracts kick in.

If you can't find joy in being a Chiefs fan right now, you should probably just pack it in.

Maybe it all falls apart - stranger things have happened. That said, Andy Reid has created such a great atmosphere around this team that guys like Hali and DeVito are taking less to stay. You look at the relationship Houston has had with Berry and you feel like that's more than just 'teamspeak' - these guys really do enjoy playing here.

This is a fun franchise to root for right now.

I don't think I've ever been more excited for an upcoming season...sans when we had Montana.

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If you're going to call him a "complete linebacker", why don't they ever compare him to all the linebackers? That 1st/4th/4th thing is only true if you compare him to only 3-4 OLBs. Seriously, he was beaten in the coverage rating by Hali and Peppers. Those aren't exactly good coverage guys.

If you actually compare him to all the LBs, he is 1st in rushing, 32nd in coverage, and 19th against the run.

Von, by the way, is 2nd/28th/2nd.

You can tell these Bronco fans are mad bc all of them keep bringing up Von and whining.

It's the natural comparison. They play essentially the same position for division rivals.

Which, by the way, says something when the stat that keeps coming up seems deliberately structured to not include Von. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Von beats Houston in 2 of the 3 categories.

You've just noted that he doesn't play the same position.

Setting aside for the moment the fact that PFF remains bullshit and it's laughable that that they try to sell it as 'objective' when it's literally just some guy like you or me watching game film and grading him, different positions are going to yield different grades due to different responsibilities.

Hold your wads, fellas. We can all say who we think might be better, but in the end, this will be the first time they play similar roles. It'll be fascinating to see how it goes. Personally I think you're looking at 1A and 1B in some order - these guys are both amazing ballplayers. I think Houston's just a little more explosive but of course I'm going to think that.

In either event, it's going to get settled on the field in just a few short months. Without Miller having played a single snap in a 3-4, it's just not an argument worth having right now.

I'm pretty sure it's easier for LB's to play the run in a 4-3 than in a 3-4. Having an extra 300 lb DL helps take up blockers.

We've seen several instances where teams put their LT and a TE on Houston on a sweep....and they STILL have trouble blocking him.

They play the same position. Denver's 4-3 over the past 4 years has really been a 5-2, with the 2 outside linemen (Von on one side, Dumervil/Phillips/Ware on the other) really being OLBs. Going down the line, the players had the same responsibilities, even though their position titles may have been different.

Ware : Hali
Williams : Howard
Knighton : Poe
Wolfe : Bailey
Miller : Houston

Look at the positional comparison I just posted. Unless Ware put on a lot of weight, Houston and Miller have the same number of big guys in front of them.

The same position?

You guys ran a base 4-3 under Fox /Delrio, right? Not "essentially the same position" at all.

Yep...considering all the talk this offseason is the fact that the Broncos are moving to the 3-4.