Placed next to the defense, it looked like the greatest offensive juggernaut in the history of the NFL. The offense wobbled between awesome and 'only' very good. With a good enough defense, last year's offense could win the Super Bowls - I could rattle off a laundry list of teams with worse offenses that won it all. No team in the history of the NFL could even sniff the playoffs with a defense as bad as last year's. With an average offense, that defense would have had the Texans making the Panthers look like world beaters.
I asked LZ his opinion of the Aldon Smith pick, and this is what he tweeted back: @JrocketB I'm not in love with Aldon Smith, but Texans will probably use him in UNDER front which means he'll play like a 4-3 DE For some reason, this pick just doesn't do it for me. I refuse to get wrapped up in the "trade up to get Peterson" hype....but I honestly can't think of a better time than now to do such a thing.
RD 1. Prince Amukamaru CB - we get our CB and now we can focus rest of the draft on front 7 RD 2. Brooks Reed OLB - if he fell to us here i will be doing backflips RD 3. Dontay Moch OLB - raw but fast can help us in pass rushing situations If our 1st three picks go like this i wouldn't care how the rest of the draft goes unless if Robert Quinn falls in the draft somehow. I think Aldon Smith will be a great player but for some reason i don't think that the Texans will use the 11th pick on him.
I blame a large % of their inefficiencies offensively on the defense (and to a lesser extent, poor special teams play). When you have a defense that cannot stop anyone - and last year, it could not - I think it puts pressure on your offense and Kubiak crumbled under that pressure and mis-managed that side of the ball far too often. With an even competent defense (and with OD back to full health, Brown on the field for 16 games, etc.), I think the issues with the offense will iron themselves out.
Yes. Yes, he did. This has become a chicken-and-egg argument. I'm glad it has -- it means we're at last acknowledging the offense wasn't all a bed of roses last year. I certainly hope so. Will hiring a legit DC, and hopefully having his influence on the draft, be enough to have a competent defense? I hope so. Double-digit wins finally in year 10 of this franchise? It'd be nice. But I'm sticking with my 6-10 prediction for now.
From the article about Patrick Peterson's Wonderlic: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=pfw-20110317_low_wonderlic_scores_ding_elite_nfl_prospects I know that intelligence isn't the first thing you look at in a DB, but this makes me want Amukamara more and more. He'd be a top 5 pick if Peterson weren't in this draft. He's an elite talent that's just overshadowed a little.
Not to me. This begins and ends with an all-time terrible defense led by an in-over-his-head defensive coordinator. I think it led to Kubiak getting in his own way and trying to outsmart himself. If the defense is merely competent and somewhat trustworthy, I think it'll take a lot of pressure off the offense. I mean, last year, they almost literally *had* to play mistake-free football and score on every possession, which is asking too much of an offense.
Yeah, I'm surprised more isn't being made of Peterson's score. I would think a single-digit result, generally speaking, would raise all kinds of red flags. Guys who are very likely the best athletes on Saturdays can make up for *a lot* through pure athleticism. But in the NFL, the playing field, physically, is evened and man, oh man - I would think any lack of intelligence (leading to an inability, possibly, to grasp rudimentary schemes and assignments or focus on studies) would be rountinely exploited. I'm not trying to punch holes in Peterson; just surprised his score isn't generating more of a backlash. I don't know - maybe the test doesn't mean much to DBs and the NFL knows that. Maybe he's not booksmart but shows incredible football smarts.
Lance basically said the same thing to me, when I asked about Aldon in a 3-4. I do think he's the Texans guy if he's on the board, and I really think he'll be a hell of a player - but I think there will be a bit of a learning curve if the Texans stick him in a traditional 3-4 OLB setting, and this defense doesn't have the luxury of time. That said, Lance seems set on Wade/the Texans being creative and playing a hybrid front, which would allow Aldon to play like a 4-3 end most of the time. If that's the case, it's a great pick. I don't know the specifics of Wade's D enough to say myself.
Chris Brown and the OL failing to gain a yard of four tries? Or Brown fumbling at the goal line? Kris Brown missing two makeable game-tying FGs in, IIRC, back-to-back games? Kubiak had one egregious gaffe - the halfback option against Jacksonville, which was dumb, dumb, dumb. Otherwise, the team was routinely in position to tie games and the players failed to step up. Blame Kubiak for investing in those players; but credit him also for jettisoning said players and upgrading their positions.
Not really. Kubiak has a nice offensive philosophy, but is hapless scripting his opening game plan, strategizing for his specific opponents, hiring and evaluating his staff members, and making critical late game decisions. Allowing his incompetent defensive staff produce a laughingstock unit only exacerbated things and made the warts that much more obvious and difficult to overcome. The defense didn't cause all of those Steve Slaton and Chris Brown WTF plays in 2009, those plays didn't cause the defense to blow, and the defense wasn't to blame for Kubiak refusing to run the ball in the first half against Indy on MNF. Ric can try and smoke and mirror it all he'd like, but our offense is a Ferrari driven by drug addict that occasionally puts soda in the gas tank. The defense........
It's as simple as the chain of command. You're the head coach. The coordinators are subordinate to you, whether you have direct involvement with their side of the ball or not, they act as an extension of you. What they do, you do. What they approve of, you approve of. Their decisions are your decisions. If you want to wear the big boy pants, you have to accept the big boy responsibilities. Gary was not held responsible for his two massive failures at hiring a DC (should we even bring up the failed defensive players whom Gary helped draft?). Now Gary was bypassed in the hiring of our new DC, so if Wade fails and the Texans suck again, where will the accountability come in? Will Bob hold Gary accountable for the failures of a guy whom Gary didn't even choose? Why should we think he will do that when he wouldn't hold him accountable for the guys he *did* choose? There is a serious accountability gap with the Texans.
Peterson has the kind of elite athleticism and record that makes that seem less important. You can take any idiot and have him play man coverage. Peterson never has had any issues keeping with elite wide receivers and won't in the NFL. Darrelle Revis scored a 10 on the the Wonderlic. I don't think a poor Wonderlic score is a knock against Peterson. I do think Amakumara's great Wonderlic score should make him more desirable, though.
