Status: FALSE Being the pissed off Texan nerd that I am, I put together a little spreadsheet showing the difference between the "elite" offense in the 1st half and the 2nd half of games this year. Here are some interesting tidbits: - The Texans average 9 points in the 1st half vs. 15 points in the 2nd half. - The Texans have scored 88 fewer points in the 1st half as they did in the 2nd half. - The Texans have scored multiple 1st half TD's only 5 times this year. - The Texans have only scored 15 1st half offensive TD's total. - The Texans have scored double digits in both halfs only 4 times this season. Not surprisingly, 3 out of 4 of those games were wins. - The Texans led at halftime only 4 times this season. 2 of those games ended in losses and, not surprisingly, the offense wasn't able to put up a single 2nd half TD in either one. - The Texans went to halftime with only 3 points on the board 5 times this season. All losses. All this with the best WR, RB, and FB in football. You have to look further than just the overall yardage stats to judge this offense. If you think the defense is the ONLY reason we were 6-10 this year, you're Bob McNair (i.e. delusional).
It really makes you wonder wtf Kubiak does the 6 days prior to the game, because all of his best work seems to come at halftime. He's like that slacker student who doesn't study until 30 minutes before the exam, barely manages to pull a D-, and thinks he's a genius considering the circumstances.
Agreed. At the same time, it is encouraging that our squad could bungle their way to #3 in ypg (very nearly #2) #4 in passing yardage #5 in yards/attempt #7 in completion rate #7 in rushing yardage #3 in yards/carry #9 in scoring Not trying to give that as a McNair encouraged "it's all fine" smoke blowing session, but their misfiring still was a top 10, arguably top 5 offense, despite: A defense that did them no favors, in terms of takeaways, field position, or protecting a lead to encourage balanced playcalling A special teams that didn't help out either, with Slaton almost never seeing the over side of the 20 yard line. A banged up receiving corps (Johnson, Daniels) that Schaub clearly depends on to make him look good. I'm awfully frustrated with the fact that having the league's top rushing threat was somehow a difficulty for Kubiak to handle, rather than an apocalyptic weapon to poison pill defenses with. Let's pray he spends the lockout attending seminars and conferences titled "How an elite running game can make your passing game even better, and vice versa"
Not that I agree or disagree with OP though interestingly enough, someone on TT put this up this morning:
Wait a minute. This says "halves". Doesn't specify which "half". So for example, if the Saints are ahead by 3 scores going into halftime, and only score 7 more points in the 2nd half as they ice the game away... that isn't exactly the same as the Texans farting out 7 points in the first half, being down by 3 scores, then having to go apescatwombat to rally to lose in the second half. Misleading stat is misleading.
These are valid points... Even the best offenses are going to struggle. But on good teams, the defenses are able to keep them in the game until they get it together. The Texans offense obviously did not have that luxury. Imagine a car with a broken tail light and a flat tire. The broken tail will cause you to get a traffic violation, but the flat tire will put you out of commission until it's fixed. The Texans' defense was a tire 100% flat on a truck with 22' rims and a doughnut for a spare tire. Which was irrelevant because the driver didn't even know how to change the tire to begin with. With said, they should have FIRED KUBIAK! Regardless, of whose fault it was or wasn't: Offense, defense, Frank Bush, Gary Kubiak, Tmac... Whoever. Who honestly believes that Gary Kubiak is the guy that can right the ship and change the team culture from the pathetic "Woe is me" attitude to one in which the team or at least one player speaks up and says "ENOUGH!!!" and then acts upon it. Maybe next year will be different... Hope springs eternal.
#3 yardage #9 scoring. How many first half 3 and outs/turnovers(not turnovers after long drive) do the other elite offenses have? Before the Denver game the Texans had a 50% 3 and out/turnover rate in their losses. In the first 4 possessions of the first half. They have top 5 offensive talent. They have top 10-15 offensive coaching/playcalling/gameplanning.
Another thing that is mind boggling is definitely the play calling at times. Every single game, we move the ball and get a big play down the field to the opponent's 40 yard line or so. The offense then proceeds to stall out and we end up having to punt the ball. Make no mistake, the Texans can move the ball on anyone. We just don't finish off drives for whatever reason. It's the one thing that frustrates me as a fan. We can rack up the yards all we want but if we can't convert after a big gain, then those yards mean jack.
I totally agree. Upsetting that they waste such good talent with a crappy game plan/play calling every single game.
Q: It's 3rd and 10 for the Texans offense, do you know where Andre Johnson is?? A: Yep, running a 3 yard crossing route.
Nah, Kubiak is overrated by Uncle Bob but give them man his credit. Kubes has done a nice job with the offense, it certainly isn't a problem. Sometimes, they aren't part of the solution and that is what keeps them from being "ELITE". Kubes as an offensive coordinator would be fantastic, issue is him being a HC.
Want to know why the Texans are #3 in yards, but only #9 in scoring? Because our defense does not force any turnovers. Forced turnovers by the defense gives good offenses another chance to score. Defensive Takeaway's for 2010: #1 PPG/Offense - Patriots 36 #2 PPG/Offense - Chargers 21 #3 PPG/Offense - Eagles 33 #4 PPG/Offense - Colts 20 #5 PPG/Offense - Falcons 29 #6 PPG/Offense - Raiders 22 #7 PPG/Offense - Cowboys 26 #8 PPG/Offense - Giants 35 #9 PPG/Offense - Texans 16 (this would be last in the NFL) #10 PPG/Offense - Packers 30
I'm not saying the offense sucks, just that I don't consider it an "elite" offense like a lot of Kubiak defenders seem to. And more to the point, I don't think, with the weapons we have, it's going to totally fall apart if Kubiak is fired and another OC is brought in. Of course, I know that's no longer a possibility now, but I just get tired of hearing the "elite" offense being the reason we CAN'T fire Kubiak. Again, I'm not saying the defense wasn't historically bad. It was. But that doesn't automatically excuse the offense and that doesn't automatically mean the offense is "elite". The offense hasn't helped the defense a whole lot by only managing to put up 3 points by halftime 5 times this year. Hell, look at the BAL game. The defense played their ASSES off in the 2nd half. And look how the game ended. Interesting stat. Once again, I agree that our defense SUCKS ON ICE. But your stat kind of proves my point in my OP that the offense shouldn't be judged on yardage stats (which is what a lot of people are judging it on). The fact that we have so few forced turnovers explains why we have so many yards. It's because of our piss-pour field position. Turnovers shorten the field and thus would take away from yardage stats.
The flipside of this is that this team spends a lot of time late in games in hurry up mode attacking down the field - that's conducive to piling up yardage. If the Texans had a better defense, these numbers could be worse because the Texans wouldn't be trying to score as fast as possible throughout the 4th quarter of games.
or just plain old defensive stops. A better defensive means more opportunities for the offense. More opportunities should translate in more yards, more points and a higher offensive ranking.
Those facts only show what the Texans have done on offense, not how they compare to what other teams have done on offense. So, those facts don't preclude the Texans offense from being "elite".
