(SportsRadio 610) -- Tom Brady was an easy choice for Super Bowl MVP.
Winning a seventh Super Bowl 18 years apart, at age 43, and going 21-of-29 for three touchdown passes and no interceptions makes the definitive case.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense, however, was the most impressive unit, perhaps of the entire postseason.
They did not just neutralize Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense, but they dominated at every level of the defense.
For Texans fans, it should be another reminder of what the team in Houston is lacking, especially if they part ways with future Hall of Famer and the still highly disruptive J.J. Watt as expected.
A lot of attention this offseason centers around Deshaun Watson’s uncertain future with the team. It’s true that nothing else matters until this issue is resolved.
But lingering for the Texans is the fact their second-worst ranked defense has little to no room for improvement.
There is plenty to like about linebacker Zach Cunningham, safety Justin Reid and the hope is cornerback Bradley Roby returns as a plus player once his suspension is over after the first game of the season.
Still, the Texans just don’t have Impact players on defense quite like the Bucs.
As the new defensive coordinator, Lovie Smith has to hope his scheme change to the Tampa-2 zone defense can overcome what’s lacking in talent.
When I asked former defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver for his honest assessment of the players, he said “we need help.”
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First-year general manager Nick Caserio realizes it, too. When SportsRadio 610 morning show host Seth Payne, who played 10 seasons as an NFL defensive lineman, asked Caserio last month about the need for an infusion of talent on defense, the GM agreed with the assessment.
“You have to be creative with how you put the team together,” Caserio said. “There’s certainly some things that we’re going to hopefully be able to improve defensively on a lot of different levels. Certainly I have some thoughts on that, relative to personnel, relative to scheme. There were a lot of moving parts on that side of the ball.”
Caserio went on to point out the Texans were last in the league in total takeaways.
Maybe Smith’s scheme can make an impact, but who on the defensive line will play like Ndamukong Suh, or rush the edge like Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul?
Perhaps it’s Charles Omenihu in his third season, but who else?
Cunningham has similar athleticism to Bucs rookie linebacker Devin White, but the Texans need more than that.
Reid is a good player, but do the Texans have a safety as good as rookie Antoine Winfield Jr.?
The situation at cornerback is obviously dire.
As Seth mentioned Monday morning on Payne and Pendergast, there are some things the Bucs defense did in the Super Bowl that are Lovie Smith-like, but modernized. You can’t run it the same way Smith did back in the early 2000s, because offenses have caught up to it, running more multiple wide receiver sets.
“You have to adjust for it and last night the Bucs did some things Smith will try to do,” Payne said. “The big catch is the Bucs’ defense has much better personnel, especially since J.J. Watt is probably not going to be there next year. If you’re figuring out how to limit Kansas City or some of these more potent offenses, the template is there and maybe Lovie Smith can pull it off.
“It’s just going to take a couple of years restocking the coffers talent-wise on defense.”