Sad to see him go, I was hoping he'd provide some solid depth at safety. They're pretty thin there now, and have been since 2002.
Like "pound for pound" in boxing or "pound for pound (skill for height)" in basketball, if there was a "return skill for speed " ratio for returners.. Manning would be near the top. It wasn't just returning kicks, it was returning INTs too. Dude was very good at being jukey despite not being very fast. I'll always remember his "late" hit that knocked out Cutler on SNF And unfortunately, his near-TD kickoff return vs NE in the playoffs will be remembered too
OD blew a sure TD pass from Schaub on second down. Essentially set the tone for the game. It's not at the level of Renfro but getting that TD there could have been the confidence boost the team needed.
Lol, we got bludgeoned in that game. An opening-drive touchdown would have been nice, but it was never going to put us over the top. New England had us beat in every way possible, and Belichick wiped his ass with Kubiak's game plan.
Thought Dre was the open receiver on that TD miscue, but wouldn't be surprised if Schaub missed OD too. We had no chance. Instead, we had this <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WK4LuVgutLY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I think you are underestimating the effects of momentum. The Texans might have lost anyway, but failing to convert on what should have been an easy TD took the wind out of their sails. Of course, given how poorly the defense performed, it might not have mattered, but it's a legitimate "what if" scenario.
The ball hit him right in the hands too if I remember correctly. Perfect throw, just a choke job. Set the tone for the rest of the game. Crazy enough, the Texans scored the exact same number of points in that game that the Ravens scored against the Pats for the win the very next week. The offense wasn't great, but the defense REALLY let the team down.
some teams just have your number. I believe had we played the Ravens in that game we take them down and then get crushed by the patriots in the AFC championship. Just because the ravens offense allowed our defense to play the way wade liked to call the defense.
Also, don't forget that it was often a case of 2 Matt Schaub's within the same game. If he got hot, he could get white hot, and if he starts off slow, sometimes it snowballs the other direction. There's no telling how an early TD might have boosted his overall play in that game.
No amount of momentum was going to allow our linebackers to cover Shane Vereen when he split out wide. Bill Belichick completely outcoached Kubiak and Phillips, and scoring an opening touchdown wasn't going to change that. Do you honestly believe that going up 7-0 instead of 3-0 was going to change the way the defense played for the duration of the 58 minutes?? Brady had open receivers across the middle of the field all day, and when he didn't, he was going over the top to his running backs. It was a schematic nightmare, and momentum had nothing to do with it.
Matt Schaub hadn't been "white hot" since about week 10 that season. What makes you think one touchdown was going to exorcise the demons of a 1-4 finish where he looked abysmal? Especially when it was at the hands of one of the greatest schematic coaches in NFL history??
It's not a guarantee, but getting in the end zone is huge for momentum and confidence, a FG at that range is failure. It's all a moot point now though. I think having Cushing healthy would have helped turn the tides more than anything.
Kind of the beginning of the end of Wade's D. Both Wade and Kubes had the same philosophy. We do what we do and we're not going to change or adjust based on our opponent. New England found our weak spot and Wade was helpless to adjust. Polar opposite of O'Brien's philosophy of being versatile and adjusting the scheme based on the opponent.
Not all points are created equally since defenses tend to "let up" once they have a big lead. Offenses don't deserve full credit when they're scoring touchdowns while down 20 points.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/5PmescjcdI/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">I challenged @justinjames99 to do 50 squat reps. He did 51. After dinner. Watch out, quarterbacks. Great to hang out, buddy. Keep doing big things on and off the field. #terminatormode</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-07-17T16:21:20+00:00">Jul 17, 2015 at 9:21am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
A lot of 3 and outs and poor time of possession will eventually take its toll on any defense. And one drop pass does not set the tone for an entire game lol. Now a big time hit or a smash in the mouth drive will set the tone sometimes.
