The addition of veterans Shawn Barber and Danny Clark adds needed experience they feel will help not only Ryans, but the whole unit.
Though Ryans led the NFL with 126 solo tackles and won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors last season, he’s still willing to learn.
“We brought in a lot of veteran guys, so they gave us a little bit of knowledge,” Ryans said. “It’s always good when the older guys pass down knowledge to the younger guys. You just take that and use it out on the field to your advantage.”
Clark, an eight-year veteran, led Oakland in tackles in 2004 and 2005, but his production dropped last season in New Orleans in a reserve role. He had just 29 tackles after combining for 242 the previous two seasons.
Barber, who is in his 10th season, had 49 tackles in 13 games last season for Philadelphia.
Though likely to contribute on the field in mostly reserve roles, the duo’s experience could be invaluable to linebackers like Shantee Orr and Charlie Anderson.
“We have a lot of guys that really don’t have a lot of games under their belt,” Barber said. “A lot of things that me and Danny Clark can talk to guys like Shantee about is just about our experience and the things we’ve seen and hopefully that can help him play at a higher level this season.”
Orr, a fifth-year veteran, played mostly special teams until 2005. He finished last season with 32 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
Clark said he thinks the Texans have a physical group of linebackers and that intense play in that area could help give the rest of the defense a boost.
“We always feel like we have to put the burden on our shoulders, as far as carrying the team and getting the guys motivated,” Clark said. “Sometimes you have days that people aren’t going to be excited or morale is low, but at the end of the day it’s the linebacker’s job to get it done. We have to handle the guys up front, as well as the guys in the back.”
Barber, who was a free agent, said he chose to play for Houston because at this point in his career he’s more interested in helping a team improve than individual accomplishments.
“Most of my goals are team goals,” he said. “We definitely want to have a winning season and win enough games to be eligible for the playoffs.”
Notes:@ Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione attended Texans practice on Wednesday afternoon. He said he came in to check on a couple of former Aggies who play for the Texans as well as Kubiak, a former Texas A&M quarterback. “We’ve become pretty close in the last year with him getting back this way and he’s come to our campus a few times,” Franchione said of Kubiak. “We have some common ground and some things to talk about - not only Texas A&M, but football in general.” ... Defensive end Mario Williams left practice early on Wednesday with a tight hamstring, but Kubiak said the injury wasn’t serious. ... Quarterback Matt Schaub was shaken up when he got hit by defensive end Jason Babin, but was OK. The collision was accidental, since Schaub isn’t supposed to get hit in practice.
