The Texans have to get better at forcing turnovers, and Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Lovie Smith plans to emphasize the idea.
Smith met with the media last Thursday, and explained the need for improvement from an NFL-worst nine takeaways in 2020.
"We have to do that," Smith said. "I know people say, 'well, turnovers just come.' I don't believe that."
Instead, Smith detailed what he'll do to see Houston recover more fumbles and pick off more passes.
"I think when you come and watch us practice, you're going to see an emphasis being placed on that daily," Smith said. "It starts talking about it first of things that you have to get done. As you talk about a good defense, if you're not taking the ball away, if you're not good on third downs, if you're not scoring, you're not a good defense. It's just not about total yards."
In his time as head coach of the Bears, the Chicago defense led the NFL in takeaways in 2006 and 2012, finished second in 2008, and was in the Top-10 in the statistic every season but two from 2004 through 2012. In 2003, the year before Smith took charge, the Bears were 30th in the League in takeaways. They jumped to 16th in Smith's first season, sixth the year after, and were on top in Smith's third season at the helm.
"We've been able to get that accomplished just about everywhere we've been," Smith said. "It's going to start with a basic philosophy to the players and they're going to buy into it and we're going to be teaching it every day, just like we're going to be teaching tackling."
The Texans have made a flurry of roster moves. They don't have a first or second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but own eight picks overall, starting with the 67th overall selection.
