again...he isnt so bad that he warrants being cut. period. He is a serviceable DT at the very least, and that's not all that bad. It isnt worth the 11th pick but you can't draft pro bowlers in the first round every year.
I hate when people say "respect the play action pass." The play action pass doesn't work because the other team respects anything, it works because it fools them. The Texans still run the ball. Whether they run it well isn't important. They do run the ball, and Schaub and the O-Line are particularly good at selling the play action. When it works, it is because you FOOLED THE DEFENSE. Our line and QB work very hard at selling the run. They are well coached in that arena. It is probably the strength of the coaching staff in terms of viewable results. Well I agree with you about the defense. They still have DL problems and secondary problems. You can't ask your linebackers to be your everything on the field or they are going to look bad.
i don't know that he is, either. it may be a money thing, because i don't know if his money is guaranteed. it was interesting because he clearly took the brunt of the criticism last night on TV.
He doesn't warrant being cut because he makes almost nothing now due to the way his contract is structured. But he really brings you no value on the field either. You can't cut him because you have a roster of average to below average DTs. He's easily replaceable though, just not on a team that has been drafting to replace/upgrade so many positions. He is a bust though, and it sucks for Kubiak/Smith. This is a team that really could not afford to be missing on first round draft picks. Way too many holes on the roster for them to blow the 11th pick.
For years, you and I and a host of other posters just won't play the role of the ultimate "homer" fan for whom almost anything is O.K. Yes, it is easy to criticize, BUT these people are paid millions to get in right. If they were minimum wage, I would cut them some slack.
An excellent point which goes to the heart of my dislike for Kubiak's approach to the run game. My tastes lean toward a power running game and not to what you described. When they find themselves in a position where they need to pick up the tough yards, this approach isn't what I would consider to be an optimal one which is why you see Schaub throwing so many short passes. Good for Schaub's passing stats but ultimately bad for the team. Now many here will point to the Colts who also suck at running the ball. For sure, the Colts are just as pathetic as the Texans when running the ball - particularly since 2007 - but the articles I posted elsewhere point to their inability to draft good offensive linemen and not to the design of their offense. That's different from what I see happening here because this is how Kubiak chose to run his ZBS. If he keeps this up, he'll need to find his version of T Davis (and soon) or else he'll be looking for another coordinator's gig just like his predecessor. As I asked before: what will happen if a team simply refuses to allow themselves to be fooled by the play-action pass? I think that day is coming (possibly when they play the Jets) and it won't be pretty. Perplexing for sure. I had thought that the la-la approach to the game on the part of the defense had left with Capers and Casserly. With guys onboard like DeMeco, Pollard & Cushing and with a DC like Frank Bush, you'd have thought that this team had finally internalized the mantra that they had to bring it defensively every game just to have a shot at winning. However, after Saturday night, I was left wondering about what it would take to shake these guys out of their comfort level of mediocrity. If you can't get up for playing the Super Bowl champs, then what's going to happen when you face the Chiefs, Raiders or Jacksonville? Looking back at that game, it was the Saint's who were hungry and up for the challenge and not the Texans and that to me is completely unacceptable. They need to win something first before they sit back on their behinds and act like they have made it.
