[kravix]

Not to derail my own thread...

Johnson is entering his fourth season in the league, and second under the guidance of defensive line coach Jethro Franklin and senior defensive assistant Frank Bush. Last season was Johnson’s first playing strictly at the nose position; he had played primarily in the three-technique before the arrival of Franklin and Bush.

According to Franklin, Johnson gradually adapted to the difficult position change by improving his technique as the 2007 season progressed. As such, Franklin has high expectations of what lies ahead for the athletic former first-round pick.

“He did a good job for us last year,” Franklin said. “He played hard. He ran the way we needed him to run to the ball. He made plays, and there are still plays out there for him to make. So the sky is definitely the limit with him.

“We have to improve our pass-rush from that position, and he definitely has the tools to do that. There are still things that he needs to improve on as a nose guard to even have more success. We were real pleased with what he did, but at the same time it showed him and it showed us what he’s really capable of, and, in my opinion, we’re just scratching the surface.”

That’s precisely why Franklin wants to see his starting nose tackle back on the field as soon as possible.

“There are definitely things you can learn from watching practice, but you get better at football by playing football, not by watching,” he said. “There’s little things you can pick up, there’s little things you can do, but you’ve got to get your hand in the ground in the three-point stance and come off on that ball and see the blocking combinations and react to what you see and flexing your muscles and grunting and grinding and just being an old gritty nose guard.

“That makes you become a damn good nose guard.”

From http://houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=4333