Except it's not. If that were the case, you wouldn't have teams that are good year after year and teams that are bad year after year. Just because everyone's average record is 8-8 doesn't mean the results are simply a random crapshoot.
I figured the response. Football is about passion, extreme love and hate. It's an outlet for primitive emotions that don't really serve us in our real lives. My rationalization may have something to do with coping with the UT, Cowboy Texan, Astro and Rockets seasons. It's beyond my comprehension that all five franchises have committed grievous errors of judgement so I am assigning it to a tsunami of bad karma. But I do think if you look, the consistent winners in the NFL have a dominant quarterback or a dominant defensive front 7 that abuses average quarterbacks. As for coaches, today's genius is next years goat.
The players we have aren't being randomly assigned to us. They're being chosen by our "braintrust." And at this point, the current "braintrust" has ALL their guys on this roster, except for Andre. Everyone else on the roster was chosen by them. When is it enough time to judge that, Dubious?
So the guys that picked Demarco are geniuses but the guys that picked Kareem Jackson are dunces. Just look at the Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning decision. At the time it was hotly debated with no clear choice evident.
Their job is to evaluate talent. When they don't do that well, they get fired...just as any employee who doesn't do their job would be. That's pro sports. It's a bottom line business. They did a fantastic job picking talent in the 2006 draft. Since then, there's a lot to be desired. Also..there's this whole crazy wild thing called free agency. I know...weird, huh? I've just heard rumors about it, though. Here in Houston, I've never really seen it. When your "braintrust" decided they're ONLY going to build through the draft, then they can't miss in the draft....guess what.....they miss too much.
Embarrassing is the fact that . . the Cowboys may end up with a better record - and they started like 1-infinity! Rocket River
Demeco or Demarco? The NFL is more than a crapshoot. It can be a crapshoot between the teams that have average to imcompetent talent evaluaters, player development, and coaching because it is hard to identify which player can really be great and sustain it when they are all so talented. But clearly, there are teams that do evaluate talent and develop it at an elite level. You're right that a big part of it is finding a great QB, and that's half the battle. But the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, and of previous decades the Cowboys, 49ers and more have proven that you can sustain winning and it does take more than a QB and some luck. If all it took was a great QB and some luck, Dan Marino would have won some championships and Peyton Manning would have more than one. It's not easy to get to that level, but that's what you have to strive for. Otherwise, you are right, you have to count on the chips falling your way in any given year.
On offense, I love every player. On defense, sometimes I get this feeling that if Okoye played for another team, he might be a better player. It just seems that way. GQ, I believe he can play in this league and it would be nice if they could pair him up with Joseph or champ on the other side. We forget that Cushing was defensive rookie of the year. I think he is still that player when Demeco is in there. Kareem Jackson, I just don't see him getting better. He has no recovery speed. Maybe instead of looking for cornerbacks that can stop the run, they could focus on cornerbacks that can..you know..cover. Almost everybody in the NFL draft thread was like WTF when it came to drafting jackson. It sucks when you watch other games and 4th round picks are running stride for stride with a speedy receiver making a play on the ball. Oh, I would also be pleased if the texans considered the safety position an importan component to a Defense. They're the last line of defense and with Kareem Jackson on one side, slipping and falling, you need safeties. For the most part, I like the draft choices they've made. B+ or A- from me. Free agency: D(because they don't try hard enough) Coaching: F
More and More I am thinking Kareem's Future should be at Safety and not Corner. Speed is not *as* important. He would cover ZONES rather than a person and He can make the BIG HITs Rocket River
Except that Uncle D fired Jimy Williams mid-season and brought in Scrap Iron, who took the team on not one amazing run, but two. He also got rid of Cooper, who by all accounts was a mediocre manager at best, and brought in the highly respectable Brad Mills.
That's certainly true for Superbowl winning teams (Indy, New England, etc). But teams make the playoffs all the time without that type of dominant talent. Nothing about Jacksonviille or Kansas City scream dominant, but they are both leading their divisions.
The only way McNair can keep Kubiak and not look like an idiot is if he brings in a top-tier Defensive Coordinator and makes him an assistant head coach.
Then we can have a Duplication of this: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bPK3cDl7Ftw" frameborder="0"></iframe> Rocket River
let's hope the top tier defensive coordinator comes into play because it doesn't look like kubiak is going anywhere, at least according to Mr. Mclain .
If that is true the DC will have to have a bit of Authority I mean . . he will HAVE to be like Buddy Ryan and tell Kubiak . .. STAY YOUR *SS ON THAT SIDE OF THE BALL ROcket River
The critical worry we should all have is...if McNair really thinks "we're on the right track", does he let Kubiak/Smith keep running the show and pick their own defensive staff? Let them keep on drafting microsized DTs, tackling>coverage CBs, and 2 TEs at a time? Sadly, I'm more concerned with every soundbite that McNair's determined to use the lockout as cover to not eat contracts and make changes.
The interpretation of this quote is really misguided. You can be on the right track and need a coaching change. The Bucs were on the right track with Dungy but needed a change to get to that next step. I think the Texans are on the right track - they've improved their talent immensely and made a lot of progress over the last 5 years. That doesn't mean they don't need a change to continue to move forward. I think people are over-interpreting pretty standard generic quotes from McNair. He's not the type of owner to ever criticize his team midseason, even back in 2005.
Completely agree, RR. Today, as I got ready to walk my dog, one of the western media guys on ESPN radio gave a pontential statistic for the Texans that blew me away. If foster and Andre finish leading the league at their positions, it would be the first time that has happened in the NFL. Then they didn't talk about our comebacks, instead the jerks, chuckled and said...'and they're still not making the playoffs'. It was a sad moment, so I was motivated for the following: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoy_en_la_revolucion/5272319048/" title="how the texans stole xmas by The son of krypton, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5272319048_ebd040cbb8_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="how the texans stole xmas" /></a> How the Texans stole Christmas. =(
