Justice: Texans expect greatness from Cushing Commentary

Expectations remain high for Cushing

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For one season, Brian Cushing was pretty close to the best defensive player the Texans have ever had.

He was instinctive about being in the right place at the right time, and when he wasn't making plays for himself he was making them for others. His name could be found all over the NFL leader board.

If you think we've seen the last of that Cushing — and after last season's decline, that's a fair assessment — Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips would like to respectfully disagree.

"I think he'll be a great player," Kubiak said.

I looked up when he used the word "great." He could have said "pretty good" or "better than last season." There are a lot of words he could have used to predict what Cushing will be in 2011.

He chose "great." Even after watching Cushing have a really tough second NFL season, he still believes.

"I think he'll be gangbusters," Kubiak said.

Texans coaches expect Brian Cushing to become a great player at the inside linebacker position. Texans coaches expect Brian Cushing to become a great player at the inside linebacker position. Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Justice: Texans expect greatness from Cushing 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Some of us who are better at second-guessing coaches than actually coaching assumed Cushing would be moved to outside linebacker in the new 3-4.

Instead, Phillips will line him up at an inside linebacker spot. He predicts Cushing will get great production both in terms of pressuring quarterbacks and playing pass defense.

When asked about all of this, Kubiak and Phillips go back to the basics. They believe any player with Cushing's physical skills, work ethic and desire will do great things.

"He's a violent player," Phillips said. "You can tell even on tape that he loves to play. He's going to be a get-after-'em kind of guy. He's tough, real physical. He has good instincts and can run."

When I start to ask about Cushing's drop in production last season, Phillips made it simple.

"He's a player you want on your team," he said.

Late to the dance

There were a lot of layers to Cushing's second season. First, it began badly with him serving a four-game suspen-sion for testing positive for a banned substance.

When he returned, he looked like a shadow of the player he'd been in 2009. His sacks declined from four to 11/2, his interceptions from four to zero. He had about half the number of tackles.

Kubiak emphasizes there were lots of things going on around Cushing that contributed to the numbers.

"First off, anytime you miss a month in this business, it's hard," he said. "It's like a player missing training camp. You look at OD (Owen Daniels). He doesn't go through training camp and look what he went through all season. Training camp is a necessary evil to be a great player. Even though Cush went through camp and stuff, he couldn't be here for a month. It's hard to get back on track."

When the preseason ended, Kubiak told Cushing, "Just come back ready to play. We'll take care of things until then."

The Texans did take care of things, sort of. They were 3-1, but Kubiak was scared to death about what he'd seen. The Texans had averaged 32 points, but their defense was being chased off the field.

"It wasn't his fault," Kubiak said, "but we started doing a lot of stuff with him, trying to find an answer to find some consistency on defense. He became the moving part. I think we had to do what we did. I don't know how fair it was to him. I think he had to try because we had some problems."

Move inside didn't work

Cushing was moved to middle linebacker for a time, but a position that requires reading and reacting didn't take full advantage of his recklessness. During his rookie season, coaches marveled at how he would not run the defense that had been called but would still end up around the ball.

"Some guys just have instincts," former defensive coordinator Frank Bush said. "Cush has them."

But even when he was moved back outside, he didn't look like the same player he'd been in 2009.

Cushing has to know some will wonder if it was the banned substance that made him a great player. Until he turns in another great season, and does it without a positive drug test, there will be lingering suspicion.

His problems also could have been being part of a defense that didn't have enough in terms of talent, coaching or game plans. He may have attempted to compensate by doing too much and instead ended up not doing enough.

His problems also could have been being part of a defense that didn't have enough in terms of talent, coaching or game plans. He may have attempted to compensate by doing too much and instead ended up not doing enough.

The Texans set offensive franchise records with 390 points and 2,042 rushing yards. But they couldn't overcome a defense that was near the bottom in virtually every category, including points (29th), sacks (23rd) and takeaways (30th).

There's no question Cushing cares. There's also no question he hurts when the Texans lose. After some defeats, he stands in front of his locker with his head down, barely able to get the words out.

This offseason has been focused on Phillips figuring out how to get the most from Mario Williams and working his rookie class into the rotation. But if Cushing is what the Texans still think he can be, it would be a huge step in the right direction.

richard.justice@chron.com

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