Bad move by FO/Kubiak. Dude does not seem to be that explosive to me, no return Tds yet and coughed it up today. They got rid of trindon Holliday for him? I know Martin plays some WR also, Holliday doesn't, but it's not like Martin has done crap as a receiver also. Would def rather have Holliday returning kicks and punts over Martin. Never been impressed with that dude. Special teams outside have lechler have been mediocre this yr, just another reason why the texans have been crap
ive never been a fan of keshawn. i honestly never got what attributes he had; to me he's nowhere near shifty enough to be a true difference maker in the slot. small wr's should be shifty. he also doesnt have deep speed that can stretch the field. obviously not a big target. average hands, below average to average route running. little to no elusiveness. i seriously dont understand how he warranted a fourth round selection. what is he good at? promise this wasnt just bc of today ive felt like this for a really long time lol
I tend to agree. I was high on him as a slot guy early on but he just doesn't seem to have the great separation quickness coming into and getting out of routes that the texans were hoping.
I think Martin practices REALLY well. That seems to be the thing with Kubiak, he rewards good practice players even when they don't show up on the field come game day. I think Martin has potential as a returner but obviously won't succeed there while in Houston because Marciano must have pictures of McNair doing something improper. Can't be any other explanation how he has been with the team over two tenures and 11 years. As a receiver, Martin seems to be overused. Not only does he usually line up as the team's main slot guy they also throw him in as a outside target at times ahead of Posey or Jean when resting Johnson or Hopkins. The kid has potential but not enough to warrant the amount of plays that are run his way.
I had high hopes for him when we drafted him, but Ive come to realize that he just doesnt have the quickness and shiftiness needed to be a slot receiver. I dont really care about his return abilities bc everyone is doomed under Marciano, but his receiving leaves a lot to be desired.
No, we didn't get rid of Holliday for him. Martin isn't a return specialist. He's a Wide Receiver being asked to return. Just like how Manning was a Safety being asked to return before he tweaked his knee. Holliday was a pure return specialist. He barely even played any receiver at LSU. Kubiak likes to carry 5 receivers. When we had Holliday, we carried 6 because he was never going to actually play on offense. Kubiak was hesitant to have him on the roster on the first place because he'd rather not have a "receiver" taking up a roster spot when they're not going to play on offense. It took an amazing preseason for Holliday to even make the team. Then in the regular season, he didn't live up to what he did in the preseason. He had some OK games but there were a few where we averaged less than 15 yards a KO return (which probably has more to do with Marciano) and he had a couple of fumbles. In his time here, he averaged 19.4 yards/KO return. As far as Kubiak was concerned, Holliday wasn't justifying a roster spot for someone who was only returned kicks. We may not have gotten any more out of Jacoby or Martin or Keo or anybody else we've thrown back there, but they're "earning" their roster spots by playing offense or defense. Holliday wasn't cut FOR Martin. Holliday was cut because he couldn't contribute anywhere else and his performance in the first 5 weeks wasn't good enough in Kubiak's eyes to justify a spot when he's only capable of returning kicks.
FIRE the ST Coach......How long do we need to be at the bottom? Cant be the players, Holliday proved that. Jones proved that. Fire his ass
I'm convinced Marciano is telling guys to return everything. I think it was against SF when the ball was kicked 8 yards deep, Martin dropped it, and tried to pick it up and run it out before his teammates got in his way to keep him in. If it was all Martin, Marciano would stop it. He'd make it a rule that unless the ball is less than 5 yards deep, take a knee. But the fact that we try to return everything, short or deep, even when we're constantly stopped before the 15 let alone the 20, that tells me that our guys are being told to return everything no matter what. EDIT: WOW! I just looked at the stats. The Texans as a team are #9 in avg KO return this year. And as an individual, Martin is #4 averaging 26.3 yards/return. Sure doesn't seem like it. Maybe it's because a 26 yard return from 8 yards deep only gets the ball out to the 18.
And this edit is the crux of the matter when it comes to Marciano. I've been convinced for a while now that because of his "RETURN EVERYTHING" policy, he's padding his stats. I was too lazy to do the research, but it was just a gut feeling of mine ever since the Tennessee game. Now that you've put the numbers out there, I'm 100% convinced that's what's going on. On paper, a 27 yard return is a 27 yard return. However, on the field, a 27 yard return starting 8 yards deep only gets you to the 19. Bottom line is this......the point of the special teams is to give you an advantage when it comes to starting field position on both sides of the ball. On one end, our punter is elite, however the schemes on kick-offs are so piss poor that unless the ball is booted out of the end zone (which is why Bullock still has a job BTW), other teams are starting at least beyond the 20. On the return side, again, it's obvious that we struggle just to get the ball back to the 20 on most kick-off returns. It's pathetic to watch, and the fact that Marciano still has a job is a testament to Uncle Bob and Battlefightin' Gary.
Texans are #2 in the league in number of returns with 22. Chicago leads with 23, Giants and Philly are tied at #3 with 16. Last year, the Texans were tied for 12th with 44 KO returns. In 2011, which is the year they moved the kickoffs to the 35 yard line, they only had 29. Before that, there were a lot more returns because the kickoff was from the 30 and the ball didn't get as deep into the endzone.
