rating boosted by dink and dunk passes because he's too inept to be trusted to throw the ball downfield, by the same coach who entrusted him with the reigns for 7 weeks regardless of performance. please tell me that i'm not the only person who sees the sheer insanity in that. also doesn't reflect the double digit should-be int's that miraculously and repeatedly slipped through opponents hands.
I think you need to re-watch Matt Leinart's performance in Jacksonville to get a true definition of "dink and dunk". From my view, the reason T.J. had some of his picks was that he wouldn't dink and dunk - he takes chances downfield, for better or worse. Also, every quarterback has "should be" interceptions. Way of life in the NFL.
No need for nervousness on this subject. After Wade's flameout in Dallas, he'll be hard pressed to find an owner (or GM) willing to go with a 65 year old head coach whose track record as a head coach is as checkered as the one Wade is dragging around.
When you take a closer look at the offenses he's put on the field once he finally assembled a team close to his vision (which was by mid 2008), you have less and less reason to criticize him. Had he put a better defense on the field in 2009 and 2010, this wouldn't have been their first playoffs. If you want to criticize him for his poor choice of defensive coordinator, then fine... that's been fixed. But clearly you're going to stand by your opinion which you apparently already made before this season began. The fact that he's assembled this offense to withstand the injuries they did (not just Schaub, but Foster + Andre) is all because of HIS system. You get rid of Kubiak, you lose all of that... and, btw, the players love him and love playing for him. Till this team shows a semblance of being "dysfunctional" (Raiders), or divided (Jets), I'll credit him for being a clubhouse leader that was able to get this team through adversity and find real success in the playoffs.
He'd be more of a candidate if it wasn't for the big surgery. Any coordinator who has the ability to remake their side of the ball in just one season deserves a chance to be a head coach. If Norv Turner can hang on to a coaching job, Wade could get another one as well.
Agreed with your take; Kubiak has the pieces he wants in his system, and now Wade has a big time head start on the players he needs for his system. Here's a quote I read from Glover Quin last week about Kubiak: The guys have NEVER quit on him, he's never lost the locker room. That's what I want from my head coach.
Even if he did tell Yates to throw to AJ, come hell or high water, TJ can't lock in on him from the snap, which is exactly what he did. He especially can't do it with Ed Reed back there - Yates should have just put a bow on it. The anti-Kubiak crowd seems strangely oblivious to Yates' limitations. He is, at best, a mediocre QB (right now). If you re-watch the Reed INT, Walter is running by himself underneath. But Yates is locked in; in fact, Walter is so wide open because Reed knows it's not going to anyone but #80. This is why Schaub is so valued - experience. He would have either, a) looked off Reed; or b) thrown to Walter once he broke open and Reed committed to AJ. Schaub is very smart, very efficient and rarely makes mistakes. I think Kubiak rode Yates about as far as he could - this is why most back-ups are eventually exposed: The more they play, the more likely they are to make mistakes. Yates was a ticking time bomb. He made countless mistakes and several more in which we got lucky (the nullified ATL pick 6; the Crocker dropped INT last week, not to mention 1 or 2 more near-INTs yesterday). But consider that, despite Yates, this run offense actually got *better* - that's on Kubiak. 100%. If you're calling for Kubiak's head today, then I would wager it's an opinion you formed 1-3 years ago and are steadfastly refusing to revisit. Or, you watch football with your eyes closed.
no i didn't. was pleased all season until he named a 3rd string 6th round rookie qb his starter for the final 7 games including playoffs without batting an eye or even considering another option, sink or swim (i realize i've used that phrase 50 times, but the insanity of it cannot be overemphasized). it was a stark reminder of how stupid, stubborn, and steadfast the guy is, and a legitimate super bowl contending team never had a realistic chance directly because of this nonsensical decision. just because we have a good chance next year too doesn't mean it was acceptable to piss away our shot this year. but clearly you're going to stand by your opinion that nobody that we had the ability to start could possibly have done any better than t.j. yates.
It's hard to consider other options when you're down to your 3rd string qb and you have no one else who knows the offense. Even after they got delhomme and garcia and they start to somewhat understand the playbook, your hands are tied to stick with yates, especially since he did show you some good things.
he showed nothing. we broke 20 points once in his 7 games, lost 3 in a row, etc. the writing was always on the wall. jake delhomme moved the ball well when he played in the last regular season game. looked like a normal qb. the wrong decision was made, stubbornness prevented a change ever being made, and a super bowl run was ruined because of it. these are the facts.
you're not being fair when you say he showed "nothing". It's easy to second guess after the fact. Yates was moving the ball pretty well against the titans in that game before he left with his injury. Fact...he was 4 for 4 and avged almost 12 yards per attempt. Delhomme's avg per completion was about the same as yates' was for the season. So Delhomme didn't show anything more that yates had. And they did lose 3 in a row (another fact, technically Delhomme lost the last game but that game was worthless and the 4th quarter was filled with reserves playing...but you are also ignoring the other fact that he won 3 in a row. Another fact, in the Indy game that they lost, Yates was 13 - 16 with no turnover. That game wasn't on him. It was the defense that gave away that game.
Ok. I am better now. Let's start by acknowledging kubiak was a rookie playoff coach too. (Schaub will be a playoff rookie next year too) Rookie mistakes were made by the whole team. (Even jacoby) Wade the playoff vet did the best coaching but he had experience. Sincerely, A much calmer Rocket River
Please, please, please don't hang your hat on Jake Delhomme. His career QBR is 83.1; Yates finished 80.7. In his last playoff start, Delhomme threw 5 INTs. Subsequently, he couldn't beat out Seneca Wallace or Colt McCoy in Cleveland. He's garbage. Like Yates, give him time and he, too, would have been exposed. I'm floored people seem oblivious to the unprecendented chain of events that doomed the Texans' season. Losing not one but two QBs, 10 games into a 7-3 season, is practically unheard of. They were dealt an impossible hand. That they managed one playoff win is remarkable.
exactly. Not to mention losing AJ for 9 games, Mario to IR, starting safety for 5 games, Sharpton IR (people forget how well he was playing), etc. This team overcame a lot and still had a great opportunity to be play in the AFC championship.
You're showing a glaring misunderstanding of how the game is coached/played. Kubiak called a long pass play - but I promise you he didn't instruct Yates to lock in on his WR at the snap, nor did he tell him to throw into double-coverage. They send multiple players out on routes for a reason: to give the QB options. If AJ is covered, and he was (double, in fact), Yates is supposed to check down. As for running Foster there - he had Yates in a groove; I'd ride him. Keep in mind, here are Foster's last 10 carries: 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, 1, 6, 7, 1, 2 - so 10/29 yards and fumble on his most recent carry. The Ravens had kind of figured him out. I didn't have a problem pushing Baltimore there; Yates just made a really poor decision.
