"Inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans disagrees with the voices of doom predicting the NFL lockout will cause the Texans' defense to struggle early in the season.

The Texans have switched to a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who is prevented from working with his players during the lockout. During the brief period when it wasn't illegal to talk to coaches, Ryans got a crash course in Phillips' 3-4, which is closer to a 4-3 than a traditional 3-4.

Ryans, who continues to undergo rehabilitation on his surgically repaired Achilles' tendon, came to Houston from Alabama last week to coach the defense during a three-day minicamp at Rice Stadium.

"There was a lot of teaching going on by DeMeco as far as assignments and adjustments," said quarterback Matt Schaub, who coached the offense. "At the same time, coverages are coverages. Once we got to seven-on-seven, it was just go and play ball and have fun."

Ryans, who insisted he'll be ready for the start of training camp even if it's the last week of July, has spent a lot of time studying Phillips' 3-4.

"The big key at our minicamp was making sure everyone was on the same page as far as terminology," Ryans said. "I felt like my job was to make sure the guys were seeing things as I was seeing them.

"I was real happy with what we were able to do. There are things we did we can't do working out alone."

The switch to Phillips' 3-4 affects the front seven, but the transition shouldn't be too difficult because the linemen will be responsible for one gap rather than two and will be asked to get up the field rather than grab, hold, locate the ball and disengage the blocker."