The article is entitled “James Houston is latest success for perhaps the best crop of rookie defenders in NFL,” but one thing really caught my eye and it helps explain why the Lions players seem to love this coaching staff so much–they have a sense of humor:
Houston began his career as a linebacker at Florida before moving to edge rusher at Jackson State, but is undersized to play that position in the NFL. The Lions still believed was potential there, but knew he required a lot of development before he would be ready to see the field. Houston did not make the team out of training camp and spent the first two months of the season on the practice squad.
But Houston plays so low to the ground that he started giving Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell all kinds of fits in practice. By Thanksgiving, the Lions believed he was ready to make his NFL debut. So linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard called him into his office on the Tuesday before the game.
“He was like, ‘Houston, we got a problem,’” Houston said. “I was like, ‘I know we got a problem. Wassup?’ And he was like, ‘Get ready this week. Get ready to sack some Josh Allen.’
“I said, ‘I’m ready, let’s go!’ I was just so excited. I literally came in right away and just got to work and got on my plays.”
“His ability to bend, I think that’s what really sets him apart from a lot of rushers,” defensive tackle Alim McNeill said. “He doesn’t even have to use his hands against those 6-foot-8 tackles. He can just bend and go up under them. He just has so much ankle flexibility, he’s able to scoop up under guys and just get sacks.”
Houston earned a spot on the 53-man roster after that game. He didn’t disappoint in his encore performance against the Jaguars either, bringing down Trevor Lawrence by essentially skipping past the offensive tackle. The move is unconventional to say the least, and the coaches weren’t exactly convinced by it in practice.
“They told me not to do it,” Houston said with a laugh. “It was like, ‘Don’t do that.’”
But then he suited up against the Jaguars, and instinct took over.
“I was trying to figure out how to get around him,” Houston said. “He was giving me so much space, and just kind of waiting for me to absorb. I had to play with his space and his feet and everything like that, and I just felt like the jump was going to throw him off his rhythm.”
Some things here that we haven’t heard in other Lions coverage.
