Texans’ Dameon Pierce reflects on growth, key matchup with Ravens’ Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen: ‘Not thinking as much’

BALTIMORE – Dameon Pierce has a vision, and it isn’t overly complicated. Pierce scans the field on the fly, reacting instinctively, reading linebackers’ body language, running to daylight as his blockers create pathways for him.

Instead of dreaming every play of a breakaway touchdown run, Pierce has adapted to the game and understanding that a shorter run is nonetheless pivotal for the offense.

The growth of the Texans’ star running back and centerpiece of new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s West Coast offense that emphasizes zone runs is central to an overhauled offense.

“I’m not thinking as much,” Pierce said. “I let the game come to me. I maximize every play. I’m not thinking as much. I don’t take every play like I got to go 75 yards. I can take a four, five-yard run. Three four-yard gains is a first down. It’s as simple as that.

“Just learning how to play the game and learning how to manipulate this offense to my game. Slow, he gives us free rein. He’s like, ‘Even though it’s designed to go here, just play with your eyes.’ That’s what I’ve been doing lately and I’m getting comfortable in that system.”

Pierce hit the ground running as a rookie. He emerged as the Texans’ featured running back and the centerpiece of a run-first offense, he didn’t stop until an ankle injury interrupted a potential Pro Bowl and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year season. He wound up being named a Pro Bowl alternate, rushing for 939 yards.

One year later, Pierce is even more explosive and he has gained the invaluable perspective of what it takes to succeed in the NFL in part from mentoring he received as a rookie from veteran running back Rex Burkhead.

That should pay dividends all season, but the Texans’ running game faces a stout test in the opening game of the season Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens’ defense is headlined by arguably the top off-the-ball linebacker tandem in the league: Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.

“It’s a great opportunity to see how far we’ve come along as a run offense,” Pierce said. “No two better guys in the game than those two as a duo and give our centers and guards chances to get up to them and see if we can get our run game going.”

Once the Ravens acquired Smith in a trade from the Chicago Bears, they allowed just 87.3 rushing yards per contest last season. Smith, signed to a $100 million contract, recorded 86 tackles, seven for losses, one interception and two sacks for the Ravens. And Queen finished with a team-high 117 tackles to go with five sacks, two interceptions, nine tackles for losses and 14 quarterback hits.

“They’re all over the field,” Slowik said. “We use the term here, ‘Swarm’ and I would say that fits those two pretty well. They’re always running to the ball. They show up in the screen every play. Anytime someone is getting tackled, they’re usually finishing on them in some way, shape or form.

“They present issues when they rush, which is a little different for some inside linebackers, not always are you concerned about their pass rush ability. These guys, they can pass rush, they can play coverage. They can do it all. And they really set the foundation of Baltimore’s defense. Everyone feeds off of those guys and you can see it.”

Although listed at 5-foot-10, 218 pounds, Pierce is noticeably leaner and more chiseled than his first NFL season after an offseason devoted to training with Justin Allen. And he looks even faster on the field than he did as a rookie before he got hurt against the Dallas Cowboys and was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.

As a rookie, Pierce rushed for four touchdowns in 13 games after being drafted in the fourth round out of Florida. Although he missed four games, Pierce caught 30 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown on 39 targets.

Pierce punished tacklers with his bruising running style. He was equally elusive, too, bolting away from pursuit and displaying a wiggle in the open field.

The preseason games are pivotal, Pierce believes, in getting ready for the first game of the season.

“I ain’t going to lie after playing some preseason games, bro, I’m chill,” Pierce said. “I be vibing out, still not taking anything for granted, still blessed, still happy to be here, still happy to be in the position I’m in. I’m just excited to play real football.

“Everybody is excited in the building, especially coach Meco. Meco is probably the most fired up about getting back real football. Everybody is on the same page. We want to come out of there with a W. Games feel a lot better with a W. I don’t want to be on that flight with a loss.”

Used lightly during the preseason, Pierce made a statement on a punishing run against the New Orleans Saints as he trucked former Texans second-round defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr.

“I don’t necessarily know if I wanted to see what he had, I had a pretty good idea of what he had,” Slowik said. “Not just Dameon, but Dameon was probably the most obvious example of, ‘Alright, let’s see what we have. Let’s get ready to roll for Week One.’ Let’s get us, me as a play caller, coaches all on the same page and let’s see where you are right now as a player to get ready to show up in Baltimore.”

The depressed running back market, even for elite backs like the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, that’s not what Pierce is thinking about. Plus, he’s not eligible for an extension until after his third NFL season.

“I feel like when it’s my time, I feel like a lot of that is dependent on the guy,” Pierce said. “A lot of guys are starting to base that off of what they do on the field. It’s more than that when it comes to the owner looking at this guy, like, ‘How did this guy impact our organization, how does this guy impact our locker room?’ The player on the field is obvious, but like I said, I just try to focus on being the best me. I come in here every day and try to uplift everybody. And in the future, my contract will reflect what I’ve done for this team and what I mean to this team.”

After being drafted in the fourth round, Pierce signed a four-year, $4.5 million contract. His agent, Elton Patterson, negotiated $25,000 more at his slot than the precedent that was in place. That personal example is encouraging to Pierce.

“I wouldn’t say devalued, but once you set a market for something, everybody is going to follow,” Pierce said. “Kind of like what happened when I came in. When I got my rookie contract and my four-year contract, and everybody’s trying to say, ‘Hey, man, he got this,’ and then everybody’s trying to bump it up. So, that’s just the NFL, it’s the business side. They’ve got their own opinions and ‘have their guys working on that,’ or whatever.”

So, worrying about the future that’s not something Pierce is going to waste time on. His future contract negotiations will arrive when they arrive and he’s not going to stress out about

“I can control what I can control,” Pierce said. “Who knows, when it comes my time, the running back market might be the highest it’s ever been like houses in 2008. It’s time to buy a running back. Everyone will be trying to buy a running back; you know what I’m saying when my time comes? All I can do is play ball and make my value as high as I can with my play on the field and what I do around the stadium and what I do in the building.”

“We find out as NFL players there’s always a business side. Unfortunately right now, the market is just low. It might spike in the next few years depending on how they represent. All we can do as running backs is keep making plays. All it takes is one. You see Joe Burrow. It took Justin Herbert getting a max contract. Now, Joe Burrow is the highest paid. All it takes is one. All we can do is stay on top of our game and keep creating value for ourselves.”

What Pierce accomplished last year wasn’t done in a vacuum. He rushed for 139 yards in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a nationally televised Thursday night game. In his final game of the season before he injured his ankle, Pierce rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in a 27-23 road loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

As a member of the Cowboys at the time, veteran tight end Dalton Schultz took notice of Pierce’s competitiveness.

“That kid can run hard,” Schultz said. “I remember coming out of the game last year I was like, ‘Damn, who is this No. 31 kid, he is just gashing us.’ He is a great player, full of energy, ball of energy and I asked him ‘What year is this for you?’ Because he carries himself like a vet.

“I was just listening to a kid who is a second year in the league guy and kind of surprises me a bit because he definitely gives off that veteran established leadership style. Having him kind of be at the head of the running back room I think is big time heading forward.”

The knowledge Pierce is acquiring to boost his game is beneficial. The respect he’s earning is significant to him.

“That’s one of the things that I really, really, really try to do is impress the vets wherever I go because I know they know what it takes to stay in this league and sustain in this league at a high level,” Pierce said. “Anytime a vet is saying good things about a young guy such as myself, that just gives me confidence. It kind of reassures me that I’m doing the right thing, I’m handling it the right way and that I’m doing vet-like things that are going to contribute later in my career.”

One year into his NFL career, Pierce hasn’t gotten away from his country boy roots in Bainbridge, Georgia. Pierce remains grounded.

“Just being humble, that’s really one of the main ones that got me as far as I am today, just being humble, patient,” Pierce said. “As hard as it is to be patient, just patience and just trusting in yourself because, at the end of the day, if you’re working hard and you’re putting the work in, you know what you’re doing. So really just finding that inner peace within yourself knowing that you’re doing everything you can to be the best, because at that point you don’t have anybody to blame but yourself.

“If I was coming out here going out half-speed, you know, I’m hurting myself and then I’m hurting my team ultimately, so the best way to look at that is, ‘How good can I be for my team?’ And then when they see me being my best for them, it’s going to feed off on them, and it’s just going to be infectious.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.