HOUSTON -- A lot of attention has been paid to the Texans' focus on creating defensive takeaways under new coordinator Lovie Smith.
The unit lived up to this expectation at training camp and in three preseason games, where they generated 10 takeaways (more than the putrid nine they had all of last season).
Yet Saturday night's preseason finale against the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers was their first true test.
The Texans had not faced a starting quarterback in their first two outings against the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, with Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott held from those games.
Their first real challenge was against Tom Brady, perhaps the greatest to ever do it. So talk about going from 0-100.
Brady started off slow, but Tampa increased tempo and he finished 11-of-14 passing for 154 yards with a 136.3 rating.
"Tom Brady went out there and did Tom Brady things," Texans safety Justin Reid said after the game. "He's the greatest quarterback of all time. We started out fast on the first series and the next two series he came in and tempo-ed us and made some plays. So I couldn't ask for a better competitor to go against for the last preseason game, to give us film on what we can tighten up and get ready for Week 1 with. And you couldn't ask for a better quarterback to do that."
Texans middle linebacker Christian Kirksey said the best way to compete against Brady is stay calm and collected. And also to be less predictable.
Brady has seen every coverage and blitz ever schemed. So it's hard to confuse him.
Going forward, Kirksey said the Texans have to disguise those looks better.
"He's seen just about everything for as long as he's been playing at a high caliber," Kirksey said. "If you lineup and play a coverage he's going to shred you apart. So on our part, we have to make sure we move around and disguise and make it tough on him and when the ball is in the air, compete. ...
"You're going against the best of the best. We all know when it's all said and done, he arguably might be the best quarterback to ever play. When you can go up against a challenge and see the things that you need to fine tune, it's really great for us. It's not too many quarterbacks like Tom Brady that's been where he's been and made the plays he's made. So when you are going against somebody at that high level, you can just tell like where you need to be as a defense."
Brandon Scott manages digital content for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott.
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