While I don't profess to be a fan of Alex Gibbs and his system, I do feel that the OL as a unit is pretty solid.
Hmm, it was just a few posts ago you said this: You're comparing Ahman Green, who they paid $5 million a year to be the starter, to Chris Brown, who gets paid a little over $1 million a year to compete for the backup spot. Aside from being injury-prone there really aren't any similarities. I don't know what you expect from them. They tried to bring in Cedric Benson but he chose to take a starting job. Did you want them to throw boatloads of cash at Derrick Ward or some other overpriced free agent? Draft Mendenhall last year instead of shoring up the future at LT? It's also been well documented they had some RB's targeted in the 3rd/4th round this year but they were off the board. We could also see some decent guys available after cuts.
My mistake. I shouldn't be posting on the days I'm giving up drinking (or sniffing glue). Slaton's a great back but I don't believe that he can carry the whole load himself. The risk of his getting hurt is just too great and then where will they be? That's why the need for another good back is so vital. They do know this but I simply don't like the fact that they are once again relying on an injury-prone guy. They keep doing this stuff with running backs and I'm certain it's due to Kubiak's Denver football philosophy. This is a prime reason why I'm still leery about Kubiak. Well, I'm not as convinced as you that they really were serious in addressing this issue. It looks to me like they are simply going through the motions with the running game - have been doing so since Kubiak took over. Perhaps this will explain my position: I look at the Texans and the Cowboys and in my mind, Slaton is like Felix Jones - a game changer, a guy who can take it to the house on any carry. Yet, Dallas also has a physical runner like Marion Barber along with Tachard Choice to punish the defense and get the tough yards when necessary. The Texans are asking Slaton to do both and I feel that is a big mistake. That is what I feel is missing with the Texans and while I realize that the two offenses have different philosophies about the running game, I guess I'm more of a traditionalist who prefers big physical RBs. To rely on someone like a Chris Brown to stay healthy much less give you the tough yards is to set yourself up for disappointment especially when his history tells you otherwise. Now I agree with you that by now, it would be foolish to throw good money at what's left out there so their best chance to land a good back lies with their getting lucky once teams start cutting down. Were that to happen, my concerns about this season would be greatly lessened.
Hillboy, you need to remember kubiak and smith inherited a 2-14 team with almost zero talent and cap issues. you simply can't fix that overnight. it takes *years* and even then - you need a lot of luck. i think what they've accomplished thus far is nothing short of impressive. watch how long it takes other *truly* bad teams to rebuild - i'm talking detroit, st. louis, oakland... k&s have basically stripped the roster *and* rebuilt its core in 3 years. i can't emphasize enough what a minor miracle that is. unfortunately, there's only so much they can do in any given offseason. so if they hope to accelerate the process, they have to hit some lucky breaks - like finding something left in green's tank or brown staying healthy and being productive. look, you mentioned the cowboys' RB situation and held it up as a standard by which to measure k&s... marion barber was a 4th round pick; he played *behind* julius jones for 2 years. the cowboys got *lucky*- it wasn't entirely a component of great scouting and personnel developement. k&s have made some mistakes, but overall - i don't see how anyone can't be impressed by what they've accomplished thus far.
Yes, considering that Kubiak basically started from below ground zero, what he's done to date can indeed be considered impressive. I also agree about the need to be lucky. But you continue to fail to understand why I continue to have misgivings about Kubiak. I don't question his football knowledge or effort but I do have questions about his judgement and decisions. The fact that I do so should not be interpreted as any sort of slam or attack on him as head coach. Nor should it place me among those who want him canned if the Texans fail to make the playoffs in 2009. Personally, i really want him to succeed as head coach but I cannot say with any certainty that I believe that he will. It's because of several things I see that give me pause. First is his steadfast allegiance to the Denver system. I confess that I am simply not a fan of that football philosophy but if it succeeds then Woo Hoo. But I really feel that the rest of the league has caught up with it, figured it out and have made the adjustments to negate whatever advantages you supposedly gained from the zone blocking scheme. Another thing that concerns me is that to be successful, you have to overly tailor your OL personnel to the zone blocking scheme - a move that I feel limits their versatility to simply line up and smash the ball down an opponent's throat. I guess I'm a traditionalist who doesn't place much stock in offenses that rely on trickery or exotic schemes. Which leads to my second point. I continue to see red flags on Kubiak's decision making process (and I'm not alluding to the red challenge flags). You and I have already discussed in depth his mistaken decision on David Carr. But he continues to make questionable decisions to depend on unreliable players in key positions. Take running back. He continues to pretend that guys such as Ahman Green, Ron Dayne or Chris Brown - guys who couldn't get the job done at other places due to lack of ability or who possess injury issues - can be depended on to get the job done here even after they fail to get it done. To me, that's smack out of the Denver offensive belief that the caliber of the RB doesn't really matter because it's the zone blocking scheme not the RB that's the key to success. There's a certain stubborn rigidity in that line of thought that has caused Kubiak to hunker down and refuse to consider adjustments or alternatives and THAT bothers me because it renders him inflexible. As for other decisions: He also continued to rely on Richard Smith until long after it was obvious the guy wasn't right for the job but that's already been discussed at length. There are other concerns I have about time management and such but I think you get where I'm coming from here. As I said earlier, what concerns me the most is that given they (Texans) have such a small margin for error, it doesn't take all that much to derail whatever they are trying to accomplish. And that's been the story ever since Kubiak took over.
Allude away to his inabilities with the challenge flag. Him or his crew may have won at most 2 challenges last year, and with almost every occurance the announcing crew is questioning his decision.
