That was Smith's fault. But to be fair, there's no way anyone could have predicted how quickly he regressed.
For one, he wasn't that bad in his first year back from injury. The team went 12-4. What difference would it have made if they drafted different players but the coaches still can't put them in the best position to make tackles? I'm fine with Rick Smith being gone but you're not fixing much with him gone. More changes need to take place.
Two things. First, Rick Smith is going nowhere. I don't know what if anything he contributes to the Texans, and I don't know how much of the blame he should shoulder for this freak show of a franchise. But I do know that he has ingratiated himself into the McNair clan and that the senile old fool and his son Fredo truly trust him and listen to him. I console myself with the hope that Hard Knocks showed us the reality, which is that he is a powerless idiot who has a big office and largely does nothing. But think about that for a second - if what HK showed is reflective of reality the owner and his family place their football trust in a guy who has no power, no juice as BOB would say, how out of touch is the owner? Second, dominate is a verb. Dominant is an adjective. Educate is a verb. Educated is an adjective.
Kubiak is still average HC material at best. The credit for the Broncos pretty much all goes to Wade Phillips and the massive talent Elway's assembled. He did do well in Baltimore but I don't think it's that surprising his system would work in the 1st year with the right talent in place. I don't think that was an issue anyone ever had with him. The common denominator I suppose, is that Denver and Baltimore are much better run franchises than the Texans.
Take this for what it is...A long time Houston Oiler Scout (elderly gentlemen), who still has ears in the Texans office...stated the following to me while(I was playing free poker at a local bar)... 1. Rick Smith didnt want to pick Derek Carr in the 2nd round b/c he was not wanting to be tied down to him if he stunk up the joint. XSF was the next highest OLineman on their draft board. 2. Bill O'Brien prior to accepting his job here, essentially told the mgmt...that He wanted to trade for Hoyer/Hoyer was his guy and his signing was conditional to the Texans trying to acquire him. Just hearing those two things makes me sick to the stomach. Cant believe it...tbh.Its why I truly believe they need to clean house this season. And Crennel shouldve been fired today...Just purely on the 1st half performance. Thats real accountability Bill.
Point 1 I can believe (many fans didn't want Carr just because of his brother) but point 2 is just fantastical. I find it hard to believe that a coach would make it a priority to sign a journey man QB that has never been good in the NFL.
Not denying Kubes did a good job, but they were 8-8 in 2013 and they're bad this year mostly b/c all their pass-catching and defensive talent is gone. The inevitable downside of overpaying for Flacco.
OK, didn't see this posted so here goes: http://www.scout.com/nfl/texans/story/1603334-the-texans-are-not-a-good-fit-for-houston Houston Texans Are Failing At All Levels of the Organization Patrick Starr The finger pointing will start, but the Houston Texans are failing at all levels of the organization. Fire Rick Smith? Fire Romeo Crennel? Fire Bill O’Brien? At this point the Houston Texans are bad for the city of Houston and, for the second time in seven weeks, they were outclassed on the field. Looking at those two games, they were completely manhandled by the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. The Texans put up a big zero while being outscored 69-0 combined in the first halves of those games. The bigger concern is how things have spiraled downward for the Texans on the field. Missed tackles, zero production from he offense (when it counts), and a team that sometimes appears disinterested are the red flags that continue to get bigger week to week. The Texans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a kicker missing multiple field goals and beat a Jacksonville Jaguars team who could possibly be worse than the Texans. No film review will help the Texans correct this; the only thing that will help change what is going on is someone being made an example of, but "who?" is the real question. At this point it doesn’t matter who because the structure of the Texans is the issue. Rick Smith is required to find the players who Bill O’Brien wants to on his team. The 53-man roster is constructed by O’Brien with input from his coaches. If the Texans should have moved on from Smith, the time to do so was when the Gary Kubiak regime was scrapped. It wasn’t done then and now Smith is attached to the O’Brien era more than ever. O’Brien chose to attach himself to Brian Hoyer when free agency started, then decided to keep the quarterback competition a day to day question mark all the way through the 3rd week of the preseason. Then, after deciding Hoyer was the guy, O'Brien pulled the plug on him three quarters later in week one, switching to Ryan Mallett. Mallett's awful last three starts along with today's missing of the team flight to Miami more than likely have left him positioned with no way out of the O’Brien doghouse. The reality is that until the structure of the Texans changes, it will not improve. Let the coaches coach and have a general manager help construct the team and ultimately have the final say in personnel. O’Brien has complete control of the 53-man roster and these are his guys on his roster but the production is not there. The Texans continue to be out-coached and outclassed between the white lines. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has assembled a defensive unit which looks lost. George Godsey has an offensive unit which has only one real option and that is throw the ball the entire game. The defense was supposed to be one of the best units in team history but it has basically been the opposite. The offense was supposed to be better but the quarterback carousel has put the offense in neutral searching for an identity. Dropping to 2-5 is the luck of the draw, they could easily be 1-6 this season. Will changes happen? Maybe the flight from Miami to Houston will get either Bob McNair or Bill O’Brien looking for a change, but as the track record suggests, it is hard to see that happening. This is an institutional failure at all levels, coaching to evaluation of football players. There are plenty of fingers to point, now the organization is just trying to figure out who exactly to point at. It will come down to “We have to coach better…” but that will fall on deaf ears until something is really done to prove that they are considering a real change.
Why us fans cuss and discuss in the late hrs I'm sure Rick Smith is curled up in his PJ's (complete with cap) and his glow worm sleeping like a baby secure with his employment.
You know, Jim Irsay may be a drunk belligerent idiot, but at least he's an owner who can properly identify mediocrity.
Pretty demoralizing having to root for this steaming pile of $hit week in and week out Someone's head needs to roll.
I didn't think O'Brien was a good hire because guys who leave New England don't accomplish shyt as a HC. But, considering McNair's track record _ O'Brien will probably be here throughout the rest of his contract.
