Here's everything Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said ahead of Week 4's showdown with the Dallas Cowboys, including his thoughts on the matchup between the cornerbacks and CeeDee Lamb, slowing down Javontae Williams and the play of Will Anderson Jr. in what feels like a must-win game at home.
Question: On the matchup against the Dallas Cowboys wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb
Matt Burke: “Yeah, it's not about me. It's two elite corners and two elite receivers going head-to-head. It'll be fun. Those are both good players, obviously a huge feature of their offense and what they're trying to do and get those guys the ball in the spaces they want to get the ball to them. I know both of our guys are excited for the challenge,
but it's going to be a full-defense effort to get after this offense. It's a really good unit.”
Q: On Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
Burke: “He’s just a professional, like a true professional and you can see it in just reports out of the building about how he prepares and how he operates day-to-day. You see that show up on film and he is just, I've said this, like everything he does, he takes care to do it right. To the simple fact, I know this is going to sound funny, like he's one of the best ball handling quarterbacks I've seen just from like his handoffs, his play fakes, everything looks the same. All his mechanics are the same. He's really good with his cadence from a tempo and hard count and quick count and all those things. All those things, like the little nuances and parts of being a quarterback, he is excellent at. It’s just seeing that part. We haven't competed against him in a while. I'm not sure I've gone against them since I was in Philly a long time ago, so it's been a minute. I’ve been just catching up on that as I've kind of studied the film and just really, really high-level respect for just how the way he prepares and operates and you can see the detail, the care he takes to make sure every detail is right. Another fun challenge for us.”
Q: On Dallas Cowboys RB Javonte Williams
Burke: “He is a hard-running dude. He comes downhill. There’s not a lot of dancing and trying to make you miss. He gets into the open space and he's trying to run through you. I think when you play guys like that, he's a big powerful dude and he's going to try to wear on you. He's going to make you tackle him. He's going to make you hit. He's not avoiding anything and, you know, they do a good job. They got a good offensive line too. If he can stay on his track and he can just whatever the run is, it's outside zone or their duos and all those things. When he stays on his track and he can build up ahead of steam and he's a hard guy to bring down. We have to try to try to get to him before he can get that head of steam going.”
Q: On whether the experience of the Dallas Cowboys backfield puts more pressure on the linebacker group
Burke: “I mean, that's part of it. Obviously, in the run game, are linebackers going to be intricately involved and then that couples up and marries with their play fakes and their boot game and play action game and stuff. It’s certainly a challenge for really, I would say for eye discipline and some of that stuff to have our eyes in the right spot and be sure where we're going.”
Q: On not having LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Burke: “Yeah, obviously when you lose good players, it affects, but we've been up here multiple times in terms of the next man up mentality and whoever those guys are, we have enough microphones now. We can put pretty much one in everyone's helmet during practice. Everyone's kind of hearing it and going through that process. So again, Jake [Hansen], we talked about a couple weeks ago, he's a guy that's been here and played a lot of positions for us and stuff and the rest of that group's done a really good job this week of just trying to work into their spots and we're trying to give guys different roles and see kind of what the best combination of things are. I would say going back to the question about the level of communication has been really good. Obviously, we've been urgent in that with, again, when you lose a guy like Azeez, who does command a lot of communication and takes a lot of that on game day. We've tried to be really urgent and the guys have responded to how we're doing that. I’m excited for those guys to get an opportunity to go show what they're about.”
Q: On who the defense will lean on for communication
Burke: “Communication is at every level for us. The green dot in getting the call and that's just the first part of the process. We definitely count…Jalen's an elite communicator. As a nickel, for him to set where he's lining up, am I running, am I bumping, am I not, like what's going on? He's elite at that anyways. Having a guy like that. Then obviously our other safeties are going to be involved in that as well between Reed [Blankenship] and ‘CB’ [Calen Bullock]. It's a full unit process to communicate. The green dot's just the first step in that, getting the call in and then everyone's got to make sure that they're echoing things out and doing their job across the board.”
Q: On opposing teams having success across the middle of the field
Burke: “I wouldn't necessarily say that. We're trying to clean up our stuff. I would say some of the plays you've given up, again, it's been some bust in technique. I have to do a better job of getting guys into better spots and calling things better for them to make sure that they can make the plays that they're supposed to make. I wouldn't say there's been a glaring error in a certain part of the field or a certain position. Our task this week has more been, let's just be on our stuff and let's make sure that we're not having those little busts or leverage busts or communication busts or whatever it may be, technique issues. Let's play our technique the right way and I think we'll be in the right spot to make some of those plays.”
Q: On losing DT Mario Edwards Jr. to injury
Burke: “Heartbreaking, honestly, just for him because I thought he came back. You guys have been around him. He's a joy to be around, just the energy and infectiousness and I thought he was playing some of his best ball. He's been part of our team for a few years now and I thought was really playing elite level. The energy, the chase stuff, just getting to the ball. He's such an effusive personality and it just kind of gets to everyone on the defense, so we're going to have to kind of pick that energy. I think he's a great player and made a lot of good plays for us, but I also think just the personality, the energy and the positivity and just that carries over to a lot of the rest of the defense. Everyone loves ‘Rio’ and we're going to make sure, have to make sure we replace that part of it and have someone that can, I'm not sure who's going to have his kind of quirkiness, but I'm going to miss him personally, for sure.”
Q: On the decisions to play press man coverage or zone coverage
Burke: “It’s different. That's probably about a 10-hour conversation you want to have sometime in the offseason. Certain calls dictate when we want to press, when we're not, certain formations do, certain players. There's a lot that goes into that in terms of within this call and then in these formations, we would want to press this or we would not want to press this or we want to be up and we want to inch or we want to press bail or whatever those techniques are that we're deploying for the week. When you start trying to game plan or take those things into account, it's always like, ‘What do they do best from an offensive standpoint? How do we take that away or how do we combat what they're trying to do?’ That's different week to week. That's pretty layered there.”
Q: On the coverage decision on the final drive in Week 3 vs. Indianapolis
Burke: “There are game situations that are part of that, too. Again, that's so multilayered. I would say, starting with me, when a drive like that transitions, you're in ‘two-minute mode’ and then it kind of goes, not four-minute mode, but now the mindset changes. We have to do a better job of communicating, sort of the change in the mindset of it's not really two-minute anymore. They're kind of in field goal range or they're just trying to pick up yards or how that plays out. That's very specific to that situation. Two plays before that when they're backed up, we're trying not to give up an explosive. Maybe that's a different mindset. The calls are different and all those things. There are just a lot of layers to that. It's hard to say, ‘This is the answer.’”
Q: On DE Will Anderson Jr.’s Week 3 performance
Burke: “Someone asked me about him when he takes over games and wrecking games. We hadn't had a takeaway in two games and then the first drive of the game, he goes and gets the ball out. Then when we're battling against it and we're down and trying to get back in the game and he goes and takes it again. Run stopping. I've said this, I mean, I don't even know what the pressure numbers were. It was ridiculous. Just in terms of affecting the quarterback. One man's opinion, he's the best defensive player in the NFL. I wouldn't say it surprises me anymore, but it is fun to watch when he gets on a heater like that and everything he's doing is working. Huge impact in the game, gave us a chance. Obviously gave the team an opportunity to kind of get some of those balls and have a chance at the end to go win it. I know he's probably, like we all are, kicking ourselves that we didn't close that out. Hopefully we can make another play, one more to finish this one out.”
Q: On if playing man press has any tells on the defensive scheme and what goes into those schematics
Burke: "It definitely does. If we are within the structure of a call, we're presenting something else or trying to show this and then take it away or sometimes we'll be off and try to step up or vice versa, sometimes you're showing press and you're bailing. That's all intertwined to things. Usually, we will have like a press plan for the week, if you will, or an alignment plan and within that we have, 'We're playing these eight coverages this week. Well, here's kind of the thoughts of when we want to be up or when we don't, or some of it depends on where your eyes have to be or if there's formations different.' Those are all factors. There's a lot, like I said, we can sit down sometime in March."
Q: On playing tighter coverage against the Colts in Week 3 leading to a field goal
Burke: "Frankly, they were probably already in field goal range. That kid has a pretty big leg. We were trying to be tighter and we pressured a little bit there just to try to force the ball out quicker. I mean, it was short of the sticks, it's a bang, bang play. That was the philosophy there."
Q: On DE Sabastian Harsh
Burke: "He's done a good job for an undrafted rookie to come in. Felt like he earned the spot on the team, obviously through his play. I know particularly highly in that week in Carolina and the way he played in the game and even during the joint practice and stuff and really showed us some things. I think with all those guys, it's not too big for him. Everything has come to him pretty well. He's tough and he works hard and he tries to do things the right way. There are three pretty good things that we can work with and he's kind of carried that over into his little role in the season. You can ask Frank [Ross] too, he's probably done a pretty good job for those guys as well. He's become a pretty reliable player and he plays hard and physical and he tries to do it right. We can win with guys like that
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans DC Matt Burke said ahead of Week 4 vs. Cowboys
