Many of us mediocre people prime motivation is taking care of our families. Financially those guys will be okay... But as far as them perusing their careers in football... That's not my freaking concern.
Like cancer, the old regime needed to be eradicated completely for the Texans to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, the Texans will never go into complete remission as long as Rick Smith is still here.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>LB coach Reggie Herring also fired.</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/419532056012414976">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I don't believe anyone is genuinely happy that coaches lost their jobs today. All things being equal, if we were 14-2, everyone would be happy and the coaches would still have their jobs. My uncle was a football coach for over 35 years and it was always difficult when there a change. It's a thankless job for a very long time before you are financially set and even then few coaches make it to that level. However, the coaches have a job to do and like the rest of us if you don't produce, you get shown the door. Most of these guys have been fired at one point in time and had to know it was coming. Did anyone realistically think O'Brien was going to retain anyone? While I understand that it's difficult to lose out on your dream job, most of these coaches are part of a network of coaches and will get on somewhere else.
Or was Phillips not properly utilizing the talent of the rest of the defense? I doubt its O'Brien's or Crennel's goal to get Watt 20/20/20. The focus will be to get a consistent pass rush.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>RB coach Chick Harris fired.</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/419536911221276672">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>With RB coach Chick Harris fired, not a single coach from the 1st <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash">#Texans</a> season is still with the organization.</p>— James Palmer (@JPalmerCSN) <a href="https://twitter.com/JPalmerCSN/statuses/419537125181489152">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Chick Harris on meeting with Bill O'Brien "We had a great conversation. I understand him wanting his guys. I wished him luck."</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/419540490598367232">January 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I've been critical, but I want to defend Wade Phillips for a moment and the mythical idea that teams adjust to his defense and that's why it gets worse. Wade runs the same defense he always runs. It relies on a lot of man coverage and a twin free safety style look. He expects back end coverage to be tight while he blitzes up front. The reason Wade's defense has gotten worse is that his players got worse. With the exception of JJ Watt and Kareem, every position on the defense either got worse due to being replaced by a worse player or worse simply by getting older. That first season he had prime everyone and was able to run the ideal defense he wanted thanks to Manning and Glover. Since then he has seen a noticeable talent drop due to players leaving, getting hurt or getting old. The real issue was not teams adjusting to Wade's scheme, it was the Texans inability to replace players on the roster through the draft. It's been the same problem the entire time. They can hit on a pick every now and then, but they have never shown the ability to consistently draft replacement depth.
Some Romeo is a 2gap preacher. Complicated system, not used by many in the NFL right now. Ravens use it. Wonder if he'll adjust it now?
Sure. But all Oski is saying is that certain fans should show a little more class and maturity. (I think that's expecting a bit much, though.) Those assistants' job performances were very unsatisfactory and therefore significant personnel changes needed to be made, but it's not like they engaged in criminal activity. More on topic...I'm not sure what to think about Romeo Crennel. His track record is good, but his age concerns me a bit; I hope he's not too dead-set in his ways. If he's adaptable and capable of making good in-game/halftime defensive adjustments, then it could be a good hire.
This is one of the biggest credits to his name. If you read some Chief message boards, one of the big complaints they had was that when he became Head Coach and turned over DC duties, the half time adjustments he had been famous for disappeared. I'm happier with an older guy at DC to be honest, because a guy like Ray Horton or Todd Bowles is always one good interview away from being a head coach and leaving. I like stability. One thing that has hurt the Texans is all the talent they lost on the coaching staff (offensive side of the ball) since Kubiak came over. Troy Calhoun, Kyle O, Mike Sherman, Knapp, Alex Gibbs, etc. There has been a ton of turnover and eventually they lost different thinkers and had a bunch of Kubiak system disciples who only knew one thing.
Here's a good read on Romeo's 2 gap 3-4. http://arrowheadaddict.com/2012/08/29/the-fatal-flaw-in-romeo-crennels-defense/ Basically, it calls for the defensive linemen to occupy 2 blockers so that the linebackers have favorable matchups against tight ends and running backs instead of offensive linemen. They're not trying to rush the QB, they're simply trying to tie up more than one blocker. So yeah, if JJ buys into the system, he's not going to be going after the QB like he was before. On the plus side, he already commands double teams, so he'd actually be able to do what would be asked of him quite well. The problem is that the other 2 linemen need to do the same or it's all for naught. It also makes it look like Clowney (if he's asked to be a DE instead of OLB) would be somewhat wasted in that system. Looking at his defense in KC, linemen produced 5 sacks in 2012, 6.5 in 2011, and 13 in 2010. By comparison, Wade's D produced 17, 28.5, and 16.5 sacks from his linemen.
I appreciate the job Wade done here _ BUT, everywhere he goes after a couple of years his defenses turn to sheet... And at each place he's coached you can find some kind of excuse to make it look like it's not his fault.
Crenel will adjust to Watt. He is by far,(along with that guy from Cinci)the best D-lineman in the league.
