Justin Houston on joining the Colts: "I just wanted to be in a 4-3."

[Tribal Warfare]

Former #Chiefs LB Justin Houston on joining the #Colts: "I just wanted to be in a 4-3." https://t.co/IItM9ZpUd2

— Chiefs Wire (@TheChiefsWire) June 5, 2019

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

Is there any evidence we actually asked him to restructure?

I don’t think Veachy and Big Reid wanted his inconsistent effort anywhere near this rebuild.

Not sure how accurate these reports are, but some twitter tards out there claimed that Veach did talk to Houston and his agent about a restructure, but that Houston refused any kind of change to his contract.

[RealSNR]

I loved Houston when he was here, but even I'm glad we moved on from him.

I think we get to play the Colts in the regular season this year? That's gonna be a fun one. Enjoy getting lit up by our QB, Justin.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It was most apparent in his run defense.

For all the shit that Ford took as a run defender, he was at least an outstanding pursuit defender against the run. Houston, OTOH, jaked it BADLY last year in run defense.

You can flip a switch as a pass rusher and give effort when you want to. As a run defender, you're either engaged every down or you're ineffective. Last season Houston was clearly ineffective.

That raises some obvious red flags with regards to effort and intensity.

This! I don't remember Houston not sealing his edge being an issue, but he was pushed to the outside very often, opening huge running lanes inside. Even his pass rushing was off. Maybe he just finally had enough of Sutton and decided to play when he felt like it.

I think having the intensity of a Frank Clark and getting rid of Houston's "only play hard on some downs" attitude will be huge in the run game.

Not having Berry lingering around on the sideline scratching notes on a candy wrapper should help moral too. Bottom line- we got rid of two high paid, nonimpact guys in Berry and Houston and replaced them with high-intensity vocal leaders that play hard every down. This in itself, should help change the culture of the defense where last year it was oklay to dog it when you wanted too and nobody would say anything.

[OrtonsPiercedTaint]

Huston & Luck on the same game day roster? 50%?

[kcclone]

I liked Houston and I think he could fit in ok with a 4-3. My only problem with him was he was hurt too often and now he's aging, so not worth the contract.

Colts have enough cap space to pay out the wazoo for old expensive guys like Houston, so I can understand why the brought him in.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Yeah, he would step it up at critical times, which was great, but I noticed on "routine" drives, he often seemed content to lean on an offensive lineman. Last year was not his best look.

Exactly, Houston used to be feared. He was a mauler, with a great array of moves and could bull rush if he needed to. When you watch the difference between Frank Clark using Fisher as a weapon to throw at Mahomes and Houston's effort to just kind of paw at the linemen 3 out of 4 downs- it is huge.

Maybe the defense won't be as good as we hope, but at least they will be trying hard this year. If not, guys will be chewing their ass for dogging it. Gone are the days of Uncle Bob ignoring lackadaisical effort while burying his face in his clipboard. I don't know a lot about Spags, but I doubt he or the defensive staff will put up with that nonsense like last year.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

I loved Houston when he was here, but even I'm glad we moved on from him.

I think we get to play the Colts in the regular season this year? That's gonna be a fun one. Enjoy getting lit up by our QB, Justin.

Home game- October 6th at 8:20 PM on NBC

You can bet that Andy will have power running plays installed in the game plan to Houston's side. I bet they want to see if he can close that inside gap since he struggled with it last year. Easy 4 yard gains most likely.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by kcclone

I liked Houston and I think he could fit in ok with a 4-3. My only problem with him was he was hurt too often and now he's aging, so not worth the contract.

Colts have enough cap space to pay out the wazoo for old expensive guys like Houston, so I can understand why the brought him in.

This.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

This! I don't remember Houston not sealing his edge being an issue, but he was pushed to the outside very often, opening huge running lanes inside. Even his pass rushing was off. Maybe he just finally had enough of Sutton and decided to play when he felt like it.

I think having the intensity of a Frank Clark and getting rid of Houston's "only play hard on some downs" attitude will be huge in the run game.

Not having Berry lingering around on the sideline scratching notes on a candy wrapper should help moral too. Bottom line- we got rid of two high paid, nonimpact guys in Berry and Houston and replaced them with high-intensity vocal leaders that play hard every down. This in itself, should help change the culture of the defense where last year it was oklay to dog it when you wanted too and nobody would say anything.

For some reason I hadn't thought about it in those terms before, but you're right. The Chiefs directly replaced Houston and Berry with their two biggest investments of Clark and Mathieu. That says a lot.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

For some reason I hadn't thought about it in those terms before, but you're right. The Chiefs directly replaced Houston and Berry with their two biggest investments of Clark and Mathieu. That says a lot.

Hobo Berry wandering around mumbling to himself in street clothes during the game -replaced with Honey Badger wrecking people's shit while pumping up the crowd and team.

Houston the highest paid player on the team, who was a shell of his former self due to injuries and attitude- replaced by Frank Clark, a high intensity, defensive player of the year candidate, who wore a Van Halen / Judas Preist shirt when he touched down in KC.

To say I like these moves would be an understatement. Veech had a great offseason!

And as a Bonus- we dumped bonehead Ford, who did not know how to line up during the biggest game of the year. I am sure the Chiefs will miss his piano playing but not his soft as a bunny locker room attitude.

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

Houston can say whatever excuse he wants for joining those dickwads, the fact is, he dogged it a lot last year. Two out of every three plays he gave less than 100%. We needed more than just the occasional sack from him. The defense was awful and Houston was part of that equation. Then after giving a half-ass effort year, he refused to take a pay cut or help the team cap-wise in any way. Have fun losing to the Chiefs next year in the Playoffs and watching your old team move on. Houston has been paid like the best defensive player in the NFL for years now, but was not even close to the player he was. Good riddance.

This.

[BossChief]

It’s a shame he wouldn’t take a pay cut to stay.

I understand it was time to move on and get younger, though.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by rabblerouser

He got paid.

Both him and Berry dropped off a cliff when they got paid that big, big money.

Because they both had serious injuries

[sedated]

Originally Posted by kcclone

Colts have enough cap space to pay out the wazoo for old expensive guys like Houston, so I can understand why the brought him in.

KC has $24 million in cap space

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by sedated

KC has $24 million in cap space

KC has to maintain long-term financial flexibility. Indy's already built the bulk of Lock's next contract into their cap.

We have to be a little more delicate in how we handle the cap going forward because we're going to have the most expensive player in football (by a fair amount) on this squad soon enough. Indy already went through that pain and the adjustment of carrying Lock's deal. Now they've steadied the ship and can be a little more aggressive in how they use their space.

We need to be very mindful of how we use ours and keep an eye on 2 years from now at all times.