If CB Chris Houston Returns Against Bills, Who Rides The Bench?

by Dave Choate on Dec 24, 2009 8:00 AM EST in Falcons News

It's fair to say that in Chris Houston's absence over the last couple of weeks, Brent Grimes and Chris Owens have played pretty well.

Owens has avoided completely embarrassing himself, an impressive feat for a rookie cornerback, and clearly has some kind of future with the the Falcons. Brent Grimes, meanwhile, has picked a couple of passes and just generally been a pest to opposing offenses, his lack of tackling acumen aside. In short, both are doing just fine.

This slightly complicates things if Chris Houston is able to return from injury this week, which isn't set in stone because he did not practice on Wednesday. Normally I'd say you have to run him back out there, given the fact that he's not really as terrible as we like to make him out to be, but there's a couple of mitigating factors this time around. Number one, he'd be coming back from a hamstring injury, which means he wouldn't necessarily be at his best. Secondly, this is the Buffalo Bills, a team with a Soviet-era offensive line and either a noodle-armed Ryan Fitzpatrick or an emotionally unstable Brian Brohm at quarterback. I'm not sure it'd hurt too much to continue to see what Owens has, since he's the most likely candidate to move down the depth chart.

Your thoughts on this compelling issue?

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Comments

Let

Houston ride the bench cuz he sucks

by Erihury on Dec 24, 2009 10:41 AM EST reply actions

Keep Houston on the bench

We know what we have with him. Time to get Owens some reps. Taking Grimes out is just dumb.

by widderslainte on Dec 24, 2009 11:07 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Yep

by Jebidillah on Dec 24, 2009 12:48 PM EST up reply actions

Especially against a team we're probably going to dominate (fingers crossed)

Give the young guys some reps. They played well last week.

"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham

by Zippo729 on Dec 24, 2009 10:05 PM EST up reply actions

Also, benching Houston may wake his brain up and he may work harder in the offseason.

Heck, this could turn out to be a very positive thing for us.

"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham

by Zippo729 on Dec 24, 2009 10:07 PM EST up reply actions

Houston needs to go.

Seriously, he is horrible. My 5 year old cousin would do a better job of shutting a WR Down.
And hes 4’9.

by FlyYouFalcons on Dec 24, 2009 12:14 PM EST reply actions

Grimes and Owens

It’s working better than Houston + Company EVER has.

by Jebidillah on Dec 24, 2009 12:48 PM EST reply actions

You want Grimes covering Owens?

TO could have a field day if there’s a QB back there. With luck the line can make whomever plays uncomfortable enough to really suck.

How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!

by AnOldBird on Dec 24, 2009 12:57 PM EST reply actions

And Houston will be that much better...?

He can’t even get his head around when defending passes…

"If lessons were learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education." -Murray Warmath

by NaGaNole on Dec 24, 2009 1:19 PM EST up reply actions

Get Owens to cover....Owens.

I just realized how amusing that is. Owens was pretty physical with whoever he was covering last week.

I’m gonna go with the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham

by Zippo729 on Dec 24, 2009 10:04 PM EST up reply actions

You don't want to change something that worked the last time

And Grimes+Owens did well against the Jets. If Owens can learn from the bomb that he gave up to Edwards, I’d say put him ahead of Houston. Especially if Houston is still hurt.
But whomever we play at CB, these guys need to get help from the pass rushers or else they’re toast.

Reading through the post something made me smile – the expression “this is the Buffalo Bills, a team with a Soviet-era offensive line”. From what I remember, the Bills were a monstrous team back in the late 80s-early 90s (just about when Soviet Union collapsed). They even went to SB three or four times, losing them all though. So …I am scared. :)

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Dec 24, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions

C'mon

Last week needs to be taken with a grain of salt because the wind made Mark Sanchez look worse than he normally does. Grimes and, one poor play aside, Owens played very well, probably the best coverage we’ve had all season. Chris Houston IS as bad as we make him out to be and his absence no doubt helped us. His attitude on the field is a cancer and we’re much better off with him out.

by bsd987 on Dec 24, 2009 4:13 PM EST reply actions

Owens will go down for sure.

But he shouldn’t Houstan’s a bum

Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003

by Grayson on Dec 24, 2009 5:13 PM EST reply actions

Grimes

I think Grimes is a good CB. His tackling is lacking some, but the man can hit hard. Might make a very good SS. He always plays tough, for his size. I would also like to see more play action off some run formations. Falcons 28 Bills 17

by Grey Rider on Dec 25, 2009 10:29 AM EST reply actions

Let the youngins' play....

Out of the playoff hunt and with only a few games left, we need to find out what we have in our younger players. Owens, Sidbury need more playing time. And what the hell is still wrong with William Moore? Hamstring injury all year?

by Jon Cushman on Dec 25, 2009 1:53 PM EST reply actions

I wanna say

He’s been on IR all year. We’ll have to wait until next year until he plays, but I think we can all be thankful that we’ve gotten a chance to see DeCoud in the defensive backfield. He’ll be a starter for years.

Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!

by phoenix falcoholic on Dec 25, 2009 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

Well I'm a pretty big Houston defender

So I say if we’re still going for that Winning Record, and he’s healthy enough to play, then he should be starting at RCB. I guess I’d then have Grimes on the other side, with Owens going to the bench. Considering how Turner’s getting abused (by the team or himself) you’d think Houston would try to go, but I know hamstring injuries can linger. Actually, I just checked the injury report, and he’s listed as doubtful. Even if Houston can’t play, I feel good about Grimes & Ownes (especially against the Bills).

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Dec 25, 2009 4:46 PM EST reply actions

chevis jackson

can anyone tell me why chevis jackson had only one opportunity to start a game to show his abilities. from the looks of our roster, he is one of our most promising corners. we may need to draft a saftey to replace eric coleman instead of a corner.

by Dwayne0484 on Dec 25, 2009 5:52 PM EST reply actions

Until we know what we have in Moore, safety will not be a need in the upcoming draft unless we can get value in later rounds. Remember we’ve given up our number 2 so that makes the 1st round pick even more important. My guess CB or DE/DT.

Still upset over not taking Clay Mathews in last years draft when we had the chance. Now with last week’s win it appears Falcons are lining up with Greg Hardy of Ole Miss. Personally I’d rather take another defensive linemen and wish we’d be able to draft higher.

by Jon Cushman on Dec 27, 2009 1:05 PM EST up reply actions