Grade Kubiak - How much confidence do you have in him?

If Wade wasn't here, I dunno how much faith I would have in Kubiak...but them together proved to be a good 1-2 punch last year.

 

Everybody just assumes that Kubiak is OC and Wade is the DC. So with that said, I have about a B grade faith in him(and that offensive system) to be able to replace the guys that left without too much being lost.

 

With Wade and the defense able to cover up for more mistakes it takes some of the pressure off.

Last year we didn't play in many games that came down to the wire, which is where I get extremely nervous with Kubes. The two that I can think of off the top of my head are Oakland and Indy, both of which we lost. But I don't recall Kubiak doing anything boneheaded (ie calling a halfback pass) to account for that.

 

With Wade C+

Without Wade D

 

I'll give him a solid B.

He did a great job of integrating Yates last season.

I think his offense is a great offense and with Wade, he's a good enough coach to win the AFC.

 

I can't even vote because of the ridiculousness of this post.

 

Minimal.

 

This. Wade taking Kubiak away from worrying about defense has had a huge impact.

No more playing not to lose....but rather playing to win.

 

Love his offense, hate everything else about him as a coach.

 

I was debating between a B and a C but if it wasnt for Wade, we would not have gotten as far as we did last year. So I voted C.

 

Your memory of the close games is biased. Do you not remember the game against ATL, where he called for the run on 4th down at close to the 50? We were tied 10-10 at that point. Mike Smith had done the same thing a few weeks before against NO and gotten stuffed. Kubiak took a shot there and it helped us win that game.

 

It was actually inside the Atlanta 10. Nonetheless, I agree - it was a great call from Gary. The ATL offense was starting to click, and a 13-10 lead probably wouldn't mean that much. Needed the touchdown to take command, and he had the guts to go after it (and they got it).

 

He is not the best coach in the AFC, but he does good things,
but Im still worried about some calls he could do.

so Im giving him a C+.

 

The defense played terribly against Oakland and the offense was in position to win despite it. Execution killed us that day. Against the Colts, the defense allowed Dan Orlovsky to conduct a game-winning TD drive in the final 2-ish minutes of the game, which is unacceptable.

It's interestng how people choose to remember games and assign blame.

 

I think he's the best coach for the running game in all of football. For other parts of the game, he's good enough.

 

Yeah, it's interesting to see how some of you lay ZERO blame on the defense last year. Off the top of my head, the Panthers, Colts, Saints, Raiders, and to an extent the Ravens games all COULD be laid at the feet of the defense. Of course this defense played lights out for a vast majority of the year, and they were downright dominant at times, but to praise them and not give Kubiak ANY credit for running an offense that was missing 2 of its 3 most important pieces for a large portion of the season is not right. I think he deserves a solid B for last season.

 

#2 Defense in the league - yards allowed
#13 Offense in the league - yards gained

#4 Defense in the league - points allowed
#10 Offense in the league - points scored

New Orleans averaged 34 points per game, and we faced them in the Superdome. They put up more than that 5 times. And if we had stepped on their throat early instead coming up short repeatedly, that game is taken care of. The unraveling in the last ~20 mins of gametime came from failures on both sides of the ball.

Carolina was also a letdown on both sides of the ball. Defense does not get a pass...but this was also a top 7 offense that averaged 25 a game.

The Raiders game was sloppy puke on the field. Both sides deserve blame.

Indianapolis was a lot more about the anemic offense than it was the D. Don't forget the defense gift-wrapped the initial score for the offense. Colts got their last score thanks to inexplicable officiating flipping 3 JJ Watt series-killing plays into major penalties.

You can't praise Kubiak for doing so well without Schaub-Johnson....when he DID NOT do well without them. And it's not all on Yates, who did surprisingly well for a 5th round rookie 3rd stringer. The receiving corps was atrocious when Johnson wasn't stretching open gaps in the zone. Kubiak failed to find a way to keep the chains moving (and I'm not saying others would have), and the defense was hung out to dry the last two months of the season.

Without Wade's revamped defense to shoulder the load, this team misses the playoffs last year.

 

No one denies how vital the defensive turnaround was; this is only meant to bring balance to a decidedly-biased discussion. The offense most assuredly had its moments last year - the 98-yard drive against the Steelers; the game-winning drives against the Falcons and Bengals; the four-game stretch in which they hung 132 points on their opponents (without AJ). Meanwhile, the defense most assuredly had some off-days (blowing repeated leads in New Orleans; the Raiders' final drive of the first half; Cam Newton's flawless day; Dan Orlovsky's game-winning drive).

And the defense didn't at various times play without its top three players.

I continue to be amazed that last season didn't dull some of the anti-Kubiak rhetoric. He clinched the division and won a playoff game with a 5th round, third string rookie starting, for heaven's sake. Seems he's at least bought himself some begrudging respect.