How the fullback could bring balance back to the Texans offense
Houston Texans fullback Andy Janovich and wide receiver Chris Conley runs special teams drills during an NFL training camp Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in Houston.Here comes Andy Janovich. Here comes “a true fullback’s fullback,” as one teammate said. Here comes the seven-year veteran who’s helping Texans play-caller Pep Hamilton blend the old school with the new.
But fewer franchises are featuring fullbacks. In the age of modern spread principles — a matchup-based era defined by a hybrid player’s multiplicity — more than half of NFL teams are not carrying a designated fullback on their training camp rosters. Of the 14 teams rostering a fullback, the Texans are the only franchise carrying multiple.
“Our players know that if you’re a running football team, you need to be able to run the football and having a fullback helps,” Smith said after Houston’s 17-13 exhibition win over the Saints on Saturday, when the Texans rushed for 99 yards at 4.1 yards per carry in Hamilton’s debut. Hamilton revealed the fullback’s position flexibility within the 21 personnel package they used on that drive, a set the Texans only used three percent of the time in 2021, according to Sharp Football Stats.
Andy Janovich paved the way on a 6-yard Dameon Pierce gain inside the right tackle. These are the standard sets. These are the formations in which a power-run offense expects to grind out chunks of yardage, and then subsequently anticipate and exploit the defense’s adaptations.It’s notable the Texans reached the Saints 14 by this point. They’ve neared the goal line.
“It just keeps you guessing,” Janovich said. “You get them in a big personnel and get a good matchup with a receiver or running back, you can take advantage in ways like that. It just keeps them guessing. We run a lot through every personnel. It looks like we’re going to pass, and here comes the run and just gets them off balance a little bit.”
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