Sumlin seems like a CEO to me (former LB), I don't see him having any qualms about bringing in the best coordinator available. I also don't think we should be bringing up Sumlin, he's busy doing more important things for a more important team.
I'd be happy with no more QB-HC buddy-buddy relationships that leads to the downfall of both when one suffers. Also, not a fan of Sumlin not really seeming to want to stick around any place for long.... presuming that the "quick fix turnaround" doesn't happen all the time with every single team that makes a coaching change.
#16 in the BCS? Behind Baylor and Tech? I think Sumlin is already planning his next move... probably to another college program vs. the NFL (USC).
Outside of possibly QB, the biggest holes to fill this offseason IMO are RT and OLB. Newton and Reed are garbage. Jury is still out on Mercilus. Our defense was so good in 2011 with Barwin and Mario wreaking havoc from the outside. Reed just isn't anywhere close to that and it shows. In an ideal world Kubiak would be fired too, or at least stripped of his play-calling duties. I was glad to see him play to Case's strengths yesterday, but perhaps a few bubble screens would have helped against that mad blitz they threw at us. We need a fresh offensive mind. I'd be fine with cutting Ed Reed now. I'm starting to just despise the guy.
I said this in another thread, and I'll continue to beat its drum until McNair ultimately disappoints me: this clock did *not* start ticking in 2011; it started in 2009. The Texans were good enough to make the playoffs that year; darn near *did* make the playoffs that year. So if they don't, ahem, make the playoffs this year, Kubiak will have taken a playoff-capable roster to the postseason twice in five years, while turning in the same number of losing seasons (assuming they don't scratch their way to 8-8 this season). That right there... that's a fireable offense, IMO. I hope to heck-fire that McNair looks at it from that perspective. I have a feeling he'll look at it as a one-year anomaly, though, and trot everybody back for another year.
They should probably put Reed at ILB the rest of the year, and see if he can make the adjustment. He's not doing much from the outside position... just doesn't have enough speed/power to get to the QB, which is VITAL to this defense having consistent production. Might as well give Braman (who does nothing well, but does have some speed) a shot at OLB.
Apolgies if you just have your years mixed up, but 2009 was the breakthrough year they squandered. I don't really hold 2006 against Kubiak (he actually dragged 4 more wins out of a really bad team), and he lost Schaub for too many games in '07 and '08. But 2009 was their year and they let game after game slip away. Did the same in 2010, frankly - even with an all-time bad defense. Yeah, the only retread I'd even remotely consider is Dungy. But Tomlin is my model - I want a *really* smart, progressive guy. There's no reason, assuming they figure out the QB, that this team can't win 10+ games as soon as next year. 2-5 mars a lot of perceptions - but this is still a very talented, relatively young-ish roster.
Nah, didn't mix anything up. I felt they performed about as well as they could have in 2009... they had a capped out roster mixed with veterans/young guys, and I didn't see them really "wasting" any opportunities. They just weren't as good as the rest of the league. That leads to games "slipping away" as they did. In 2010, they decide to go with an all-rookie secondary along with an unproven defensive coordinator... both moves were questioned big-time to start the season, and we saw what happened. And on the flip-side, we saw what they were capable of in 2011 with a proven DC and veterans in the secondary. Guess they added Watt as well, but that pick came as a result of the new DC/system. I don't see much "talent" in their young-ish players though. The last two drafts have netted almost ZERO defensive or line players you could see realistically making a pro-bowl... with Mercilus being the closest one, but even he's a big question mark... especially in this current structure of the defense. The O-line needs revamping, the entire LB core (except for Cushing) could be replaced, the secondary that was improved in 2011 got old fast (joseph/Manning), and they don't have a D-lineman that can get to the QB while Watt gets all the attention (Smith also got old fast).
I agree. I think Kubiak is (or was) a good OC who has struggled with many aspects of being a "CEO". He had to have his ability to hire defensive staff taken away from him because he was so inept at it. It's why I oppose the notion of similarly forcing an OC on him to take over the offense. Kube's isn't the guy who can just delegate the offense and defense to their respective coordinators and sit back and oversee everything. I would rather have that guy who can be an actually Head Coach and not simply "HC of the offense". Somebody who's strength is actually running the whole show and not just one aspect of it.
That and keep your HC in charge of the players you have, but get a GM who has a vision on what the team truly needs to get to the next level. Don't get a GM that is hired BY THE HEAD COACH to be his lackey. Kubiak as GM has been a truly mixed bag... and that's only after Wade came in, and helped influence the Watt/Joseph/Manning signings.
And it's not like the Texans have drafted a lot of offensive talent during the Kubiak regime. Duane Brown in 2008 is probably the best offensive player we've drafted. And Owen Daniels in 2006. Ben Tate and Garrett Graham are OK. But there really aren't any players worth mentioning after that, though Hopkins looks like he's going to be good.
And you don't really need to draft WR's, RB's, and TE's... those aren't positions that are really all that hard to find if you "need" one to plug into your system. Also, RB's by themselves are useless unless you have a system in place for them. Lineman, on the other hand, are VITAL... especially with his ZBS. Either due to injury, bad luck, or just pure bad talent evaluation, he hasn't been able to draft his ideal O-line to get this team to be consistently dominant at that one aspect of the game. Relying on a 7th round pick (Newton) to lock down a position as important as RT is just as asinine as expecting a rookie core secondary to not fall flat on its face (2010 Texans).
Yeah, again – I think your memory is hazy. Veteran? Every single starter was 28 or younger. They had exactly three contributors who were 30 or older, and I’m using the term “contributor” pretty loosely. There was no mixture of veterans; certainly no more than in 2010+. And they weren’t capped out – what examples do you have to support that? The cap didn’t really bite them until 2011, after signing Joseph and Manning (which they never would have been able to do if they were capped out way back in 2009). And I don’t know if I’d say the “league” was better – both AFC wildcard teams that year were 9-7, same as the Texans. They blew two games, in the final moments, when they failed to score from the one-yard line (one of which would have won the game, IIRC; the other to OT), and two other games in which their kicker missed last-second makeable FGs to send games into OT. Heck, I could pull out 3-5 games just like that in 2010. They fumbled both of those years. This has been a playoff-caliber roster since 2009. And they’ve failed to make it three of the past five years (again, assuming they don’t this year). Yeah, again – your memory is hazy: Bush was the DC in ’09. And they went with *a* rookie in the secondary: KJ. Quin was in his second year; Pollard and Wilson were the other starters and they were not rookies. ?... You don’t see a lot of talent in JJ Watt, who’s 24??? They have a young, very strong nucleus: Foster, Tate, Hopkins, Posey, Graham, Brown, Watt, Cushing, and Jackson are all 28, or younger. As are possible contributors Brooks, Newton, Mitchell, Mercilus, Reed and Swearinger. If they can figure out the QB position, there’s no reason a good coach can’t win 10 games with the roster next year.
Guys who have been in the league at least 3 years are veterans. That year, smith, Mario, dunta, pollard, Ryans are all fitting the bill to me as veterans. They made decisions that off season on who to keep/not keep based on the cap. They also had okoye who was basically just taking up space/big first round contract... But nobody knew that at the time. Again, that team was about as good as it could have been. And we saw the bottom drop out in 2010. Again, they weren't quite as good. That's how not quite as good teams do... They lose a lot of close games or games they "could" have won. Fine. They went with an "unproven" secondary. Whatever. Semantics. It was still a big question mark to downgrade an area on a team that didn't make the playoffs. Talking about the last two drafts (2012 and 2013). Not 2011. Foster (who has some mileage on him), hopkins, watt. The rest of the players are easily replaceable or have likely already past their primes. Reed may be salvageable if he switched to ILB. Also, 28 is not that "young" in the NFL. By then, most players are who they are and are unlikely to get better (and they then get paid more than they are producing).
What are you even arguing here? Those guys were 28, 24, 27, 25, 25 - "veterans" technically - but very young. You could argue they weren't ready, that they were too young to make the leap - but you seem to be arguing just the opposite, that the roster was "mixed with veterans/young guys" - which is exactly the type of roster that should be taking the leap. No they didn't - you seem to like to deal in anecdotes. They made two big moves that offseason: signed Smith to a big FA deal and franchised Dunta; I can't think of a significant salary they cut - can you? The nucleus of that team was the 2006 draft - they were all on rookie deals. They were not capped out. *That* team's nucleus was, more or less, the same one as 2011. I don't know... do you want them to keep Kubiak? Because this is the line of reasoning I'm afraid McNair will use - we *really*weren't good until 2011; therefore, he's 2 of 3 making the playoffs, instead of 2 of 5. He's 100% 2 of 5 in my opinion. Age is relative - Brown is the oldest of the group at 28 and many LTs play effectively into their 30s. He's not suddenly going to get bad tomorrow. Three-to-5 good years left, at least. They won 12 games *a year ago.* Bottoms can fall out, sure; but there's too much talent here to think this team is a 6-win team moving forward.
But they didn't "take the leap." They finished 9-7, which is what rosters with talent can do... but they didn't take the leap. Why do you think that is? I'm talking about the year after 2009... they couldn't afford Dunta, and they didn't sign anybody of note on the defensive side, largely due to salary constraints of having 3 consecutive first round picks on that side, with one of them being useless (Okoye). 2011 featured a far different nucleus than 2010 on defense. Watt, B. Reed, J. Joseph, Manning, Quinn moving to safety... and an entirely new coach and coaching scheme. That's a pretty big change in structure. No, my point is that this regime didn't really have enough to make the playoffs (or make a deep run) till 2011, while they wasted 2010 believing they had enough (when they didn't). I think they should get rid of the entire regime, regardless of when they were "supposed" to be good vs. when they were actually good. They've certainly had enough time, showcased by failing, succeeding, and now failing again all within the same regime. Brown already is on the decline... and with the previous question about PED's, the recent weight loss, the recent ineffectiveness, and now some nagging-could-be-chronic injuries coming up, I'll say he's not going to be as good as he was two years ago. He's already signed long-term, so I'm not saying to get rid of him... just that he's not going to be as good for the length of the contract as he has been (same goes for Cushing). Yes, they won 12 games a year ago... and I think its safe to say they peaked after the Baltimore game, and have been sliding since. Its also safe to say a lot of these players will need to be replaced with scheme changes on both sides of the ball (Myers is a 33 year old undersized center that fits the ZBS, Mercilus and Reed are thus far ineffective OLB's in the 3-4).
Two 9-7 teams made the postseason; the Texans finished 9-7. I can pinpoint four games in which a simple lack of execution cost them, which has been a recurring theme. They were good enough to make the playoffs. I'm not arguing a 7-9 team was good enough IF... No,... you weren't but OK... Coaches and scheme aren't really part of a roster nucelues - but, yeah, kind of underscores my point: improved coaching/scheme could maximize a roster with talent much the way Phillips did in 2011. This isn't a bad football team, other than its QB. That's fine. If McNair takes that perspective, Kubiak will be back, IMO. He'll view it as they've made the playoffs two of the past three years; 2007-2010 is irrelevant because he was saddled with a team incapable of making the playoffs (which is patently untrue).
Meh, I don't think the 2009 or 2010 squads were playoff caliber teams. But that makes Kubiak look even worse, IMO. Year 4 and year 5 and you can't even field a playoff worthy team? That's some heavy fail. The only reason the 2009 Texans even got CLOSE to the playoffs was their insanely weak schedule, and they even managed to blow that. I'd call them playoff caliber if they had an even close to mediocre schedule.
When I think of historically great defenses...the 85 Bears and the Dilfer Ravens come to mind. When I think of historically awful defenses...I think of the 2010 Houston Texans. Holy crap, that was a nightmare.
