Ray Childress

Career: If Bruce Mathews was Houston’s ever-dependable, jack-of-all trades stud on the offensive side of the ball for most of the 80’s and 90’s, then Ray Childress was certainly his defensive bookend. Until a shoulder separation ended his season and, essentially, his career in 1995, Childress missed only 3 non-strike games due to injury, playing 154 games along the defensive front from 1985-1994. And like Mathews, Childress excelled at each position on his respective line.

Drafted from Texas A&M with the third overall pick to play end, Childress moved to defensive tackle in 1990 when coordinator Jim Eddy shifted from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive base. Childress never missed a beat. Already a well-regarded, Pro Bowl end (with some emergency nose guard experience), he went to Hawaii four more times as a defensive tackle (five trips in all as an Oiler) and was staunch in his defense of the run. To wit, four of the eight lowest single-season rushing totals allowed in franchise history came between 1990 and 1993 with Childress at tackle. But Childress was equally adept at defending the pass.

Childress finished his Oiler career ranked second all-time in quarterback sacks and sixth all-time in tackles, joining Elvin Bethea as the only defensive linemen among the Oilers’ top 10 in both categories. Childress led or shared the team sack lead from 1986-1989 and finished with the most single-season sacks for a defensive tackle (13) in 1992. For his 11-year career, Childress registered 13 multi-sack games.

Childress also had an uncanny knack for making big plays, as evidenced by his amazing 7 fumble recoveries in 1988, two shy of the NFL record for a season. Three came in Houston’s return to primetime football, a memorable 41-17 romp over the Redskins broadcast on ESPN October 30. Childress was also a hard-nosed competitor, the heart of a defense that led Houston to seven consecutive playoff appearances and at his pinnacle, the best defensive tackle in football.

A salary cap victim in 1995, he played one ineffective season with Dallas before retiring, sans regret: "I gave the Houston Oilers everything I had," Childress said, "and they gave me everything they had. I think we’re even. I’ve got nothing bad to say about anybody."

Houston Highlight: Houston hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 8, 1991, with a chance to clinch the franchise’s first-ever outright AFC Central title. Rising to the occasion, Childress turned in a monster game, sacking QB Bubby Brister twice while adding seven tackles and a forced fumble to his cache. The Oilers went on to win the game (and division), 31-6. For his efforts in one of Houston’s seminal pro football moments, Childress was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

by Ric Sweeney
HoustonProFootball.com

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