Let's just try to find common ground instead of areas to go ballistic. There's a faction that wanted Kubiak gone and Cowher to take over....and still feel that way despite 6-3. They see (Saints game, Raiders game) the same things from Kubiak that hurt us in previous years and don't have confidence in him. They're welcome to that opinion, and I certainly see where they're coming from. I look at Kubiak like Norv Turner. A crackerjack OC that's gained a rep as a underachieving HC - he has a similar career winning percentage (usually a 6-9 win guy), is not known for being an in-game marvel, and is generally a playoff dud. It's my opinion that his stint with the Chargers (a similarly talented squad) is probably the best case scenario we can hope for under Kubiak. I'll also say this, while I agree that this season's schedule may be fool's gold (next year we get a stiff challenge in the form of the AFC-E, NFC-N, and likely the division winners of the AFC-N and AFC-W).....it does come down to winning your division....and there's not much reason to believe the Colts, Titans, or Jags are going to be world beaters anytime soon (though this is a league where teams turn around in rapid fashion). Even if we aren't thrilled about Kubiak....we should be contenders for the division for several more years. And success breeds confidence. Shaking off the loser mentality will be enormous. I was looking to Cowher for that....but they may get there without him. And we need to forget about Cowher. Kubiak's not getting fired when we make the playoffs. And even if he did get canned, Wade would be promoted. Cowher is signing with someone else this spring. Let's make our peace with things, and enjoy a balanced squad make a January run.
I hate to use this phrase on you because I know you do, but......have you watched the games this year? Wade has already done that with the defense. And now, thanks to Kubiak running the ball down opponent's throats, it's starting to rub off on the offense. The loser mentality from last year has changed into a swagger this year. And it's really fun to watch.
I hear you...but I need to see choke jobs (Raiders, Saints) replaced with clutch wins. I need to see road upsets against contenders. The defense is clearly turned around. I am not going to watch us drub terrible teams and think that we've solved everything. And again, I think they can get there. I think a playoff appearance will go a long ways.
but we have seen all of it Win against Pittsburgh was pretty big. they went into TEN and thoroughly whupped them. TEN was 3-2 and coming off a bye and at that time everyone thought TEN would contend for the division.[/QUOTE] that's what good teams are supposed to do, drub terrible teams. people want consistency. they've consistently beat the crap out of the bad teams. when was the last time the Texans ever did that? and i posted earlier that all the top teams in the league have only 1 win against a team with a winning record except GB (3 wins), BAL (4), and NO (2).
yeah, i don't get the dismissal of the pittsburgh win. who wasn't watching that second half and thinking "here comes another typical texans loss"?
It was....but it wasn't as big as some are trying to make it out to be. The Steelers came into Reliant with obscene O-Line issues and it showed. It was a 10-10 tie in the 4th. We won, it was a nice achievement....but we didn't exactly knock off the Packers or go into beast mode. I'd hardly say "everyone" thought that. And I was referring to real contenders. Super Bowl appearance candidates. Tenn won't be in the postseason. Getting crushed in Baltimore is an issue. Kubiak's dismal road record against (eventual) playoff teams is an issue. It's absolutely a step in the right direction...but it doesn't mean they've arrived yet. They're moving forward....but several of you are acting as if they're already where they need to be. They're getting there.
I think that's as unfair a characterization as if I were to jump your post with something like "holy crap emjohn can't you just enjoy some W's without finding something to b**** about!!!1" *Everyone* here has listed things they'd like to see Kubiak improve. I haven't seen *anyone* say the Texans are right in line with everything they need to win the next few Superbowls. (cue Lebron's "not one, not two, not three, not four, not five...")
No, Major; it's not - I'm sorry. Every game has its own unique set of circumstances. Just because a team tried to score at the end of the half does not mean it's a relevant comparison to the Texan game. Let's take the Bill/Jet game, just because it's listed first, as an example: 1:27 remaining - NYJ drive (from the Buffalo 39) ends with a missed 50-yard FG, setting Buffalo up at their own 40 1:04 - Buffalo drive ends in an INT, setting NYJ up at their own 49. :53 - NYJ drives ends with a Sanchez fumble, setting Buffalo up NYJ 46 :49 - Buffalo drive ends on downs Where this is unique is that all four drives started within, roughly, 16-30 yards of field goal range (and 2 of them started in opponent territory) with both teams holding at least one TO (Buffalo had all 3). Of course you're going to go for it in those circumstances; I firmly believe Kubiak would have as well. But the Texans were a far cry from that situation; they were staring at a likely KO return and some 45-50 yards to get into FG range and that was after having to stop NO on 3rd down at the Houston 32. Even if you burn a TO, there's no guarantee you're going to see the ball again. Further, the series perfectly encapsulates why playing it conservatively is decidedly not "stupid". With 1:37 left, the two teams combined for 3 turnovers and one missed FG. Imagine handing Drew Bress (and not Mark Sanchez or Ryan Fitzpatrick) the ball at our 46 or, worse, 39-yard line with an additional TO in their pocket, of course.
(ducks moving target...) Is that the same game where our scrub WR got hurt and pretty questionable and/or ticky-tacky penalties wiped out 14 of our points? I can't abide retroactively painting that, or the Tennessee win (a 41-7 curb-stomping on the road against an abolutely legitimate opponent) as anything but impressive.
But there again - in EVERY post, I've put in that they're getting there and I think they will get there.....but the only thing that seems to be read "by your side" is b****bitchbitchkubiakbitchbitchbitch From the get go I spelled out that pro-Cowher folks need to get over the Cowher fascination (it's not going to happen) and appreciate that we should see several years of the Texans being favorites in the division. All I'm saying is, there's still a few steps left to take before the Texans realize their potential and go from Paper Tigers to Contenders.
And we're not far apart at all on that. Actually, I think I'm right there with you. I think some of us are looking at how far we've removed ourselves from paper kitty-cats and some others of us are looking at how far we have to go before we're the Packers. Perspective. Also, I wouldn't say that everyone who's arguing "pro-Kubiak" is characterizing your every post as "b****bitchbitchkubiakbitchbitchbitch". That gave me a chuckle, though.
No one is saying the Texans are perfect. No one is saying the Texans totally SUCK ON ICE. As with most 10+ page threads, it's pretty much turned into both sides accusing the other of dealing with absolutes when we actually agree more than we think.
Come on now. Jim Eddy's "playing not to lose" has a lot of us panicking when we see Kubiak doing the same thing. That staff went tothe playoffs a lot, IIRC...
The Texans led in the 4th quarter and were within 5 points with less than 5 minutes left. You consider that getting crushed?
