I still don't know who our actual offensive coordinator is. He must have the easiest job in the world.
Results are results, but to be fair to Frank Bush, did he really have adequate personnel to even stand much of a chance? It was a very stupid decision to go with 2 rookie D-coordinators in a row with an offensive head coach, it's very easy to pile on him now that Wade has turned it around, but look at what he had to work with... 2009 - 18th passing yards, 10th rushing yards (13th overall in yds, 17th in pts - we would have killed for this last year) Dunta and Quin were decent at corner, Pollard was making plays. Cushing making plays everywhere. Pass rush was not great. 2010 - (let's not talk about rankings) Kareem couldn't cover. Quin struggled covering top WRs. Teams exposed Pollard and showed his ineptitude since he didn't have good cover corners around him. Wilson was washed up. Just a huge domino effect in the secondary. Barwin and DeMeco missed most of the season. Cushing suspended, then forced to play inside (this was Bush's fault). Mario once again had very little help with pass rush. Not to mention that Okoye was sucking it up in the middle over both of these years. I'm not saying Frank Bush wasn't in over his head, but I think it's a cop-out to throw it all on him. Rick and Gary are more responsible for it than him for not giving him the personnel. Add a healthy DeMeco, a back-to-form Cushing, three good pass rushers in Watt, Reed, and Barwin, a dominant CB, and a good cover safety and things might have been better. Credit Wade's scheme for excelling the defense further than we ever could have expected, but don't pretend we wouldn't have been substantially better even if Bush was still here and we had given him proper 4-3 personnel.
Repzilla. I would also like to add that it was fairly evident that Kubiak wasn't going anywhere simply because this offense is HIS. This offensive line along with the ZBS is completely his, and if we had brought in another coach at this juncture, it would have been "traumatic" for lack of a better term. What really needed to happen (and what HAS happened) is Kubiak needed to have his responsibilities shortened, and that's what having someone like Wade has done. If Kubiak ever wanders over to the defense's practice field ever again, I hope Wade goes Buddy Ryan on him.
First off, I just want to reiterate how pleased I am with the acquisitions made in the offseason and the job Wade has done as DC. But let's look at the games so far. 1- Opening day 34-7 drubbing of the Colts, worst team in the NFL 2- A trip to Miami where we beat another winless team competing for Andrew Luck 23 -13 3- A trip to NO where we showed how much talent we have....a LOT to take from this game but the coaching issues persist ....ingame decisions,momentum,etc. 4- A crippled Steelers team comes to town and while any victory is a good one, this shouldn't have been as close. 5- The Raiders at home ....Aaargh! Oakland is a decent team, but this should have been a W....coaching,coaching, coaching..AJ loss hurt too. 6-We go to Baltimore crippled without Andre and Mario .. acquitting ourselves well. 7- Kicking the crap out of the Titans there was great, but again, they were playing against an undermanned team. 8 - The home game against Jax last week ...Playing against a rookie QB, but without our two best players we get the W. I know we didn't have AJ to stretch the defense, but we tried to give it away, making it MUCH closer than it should have been. Looking at these games, the recurring theme of Kubiak's issues continue to hang over this team. Also, the loss of Mario WILL hurt us against the better teams and in our playoff game. Brooks has been a Godsend. Let's hope he can keep it up. I still think we need to bolster this team. The talent to overcome Kubes as a HC needs to be huge ...perhaps Bob realizes with Mario gone that it's going to cost too much and isn't a good bet in a season where we are handicapped ....more likely just sitting on his arse like last year. Regardless, at the start of the season I thought if we got through the first six games with a split that we would be OK ...if we were healthy...and we absolutely are not. (Mario,Manning,etc.) To me, this makes for some close games.(with the likely exception of the last two) I applaud the W's and our progress, but remain skeptical as long Kubiak is our coach. And again, with either Wade (who would be the next coach) or Kubes the Texans are looking at 4-5 years of these guys. So, in the final analysis, I'm emotionally invested. I'll root bigtime for our team ......As I see it though, we are benefiting from a weak division/schedule and are in for a rude awakening come playoff time.
It's an interesting breakdown; every win is suspect and every loss is Kubiak's fault. What Kubiak issues are hanging over the team and contributing to losses? Besides the lack of audibles, of course.
This is my point. By the time you lighten up and start having fun with it, it will be over. What if we had done that during the Rockets championship years? Sure we beat Utah, but we should have done it in 4 instead of 5. The Suns are going to kill us. Okay, we barely beat Phoenix, but Mario's shot was lucky. The Spurs are going to kill us. Sure, we beat San Antonio, but we lost 2 games at home. Orlando is going to kill us. Yes, we beat Orlando, but only because of Nick Anderson missing those free throws. What if he had made them? What if this turns out to be a magical season and you miss out on it because you're spending all your time waiting on something bad to happen? Don't regret the future.
You can make the "nice win, but..." and "bad loss" argument for every team in the league, save Green Bay. Patriots lost to the Bills. Saints lost to the Rams. Pittsburg loss to the Texans. Ravens loss to the Titans. Ravens loss to the Jaguars. Eagles loss to the Bills. on and on and on. The Steelers have beaten SEA, IND (barely), TEN, JAC (barely), ARI, and NE (the only legitimate opponent.
Yeah, before you know it, you've "so what"ed the Texans through a 12-4 season. It's hard to win in the NFL, ESPECIALLY on the road, and the Texans have done that twice so far this season. I can tell you right now there are about 20 teams in the league that would love to be where we are right now, and maybe even a few more after a couple of more weeks. This year feels different....I'm embracing it.
Are we talking about the Texans? I think some of you just moved to town. Don't worry, I won't miss and enjoy a magical season IF it happens. My problem is that I have a very good memory. Three more wins without a loss and I'm in. Last I checked, Kubiak is still the coach and that is scary.
They're not there yet....but they're getting there. The makeover on defense is nothing short of historic. From setting futility records to the being the best in Texans history and top 5 in the league....in a lockout-shortened offseason.....holy god. And we constantly overlook the fact that we've got something that all fanbases constantly cry for......an effective offensive line. ZBS has been taking care of business this year and making things possible. Get back Johnson, toss in a little more swagger, and let's start kicking down some doors. Home: W - Colts, Steelers, Jags L - Raiders Away: W - MIA, TEN L - NO, BAL To be played: Home: Browns, Falcons, Panthers, Titans Away: TB, JAX, CIN, IND I fully expect 10+ wins and a division crown. If they kick things into a new gear behind a fully loaded offense, 12 is in sight.
Wait, so you're saying you're only in if they are 8-3? What if they lose a hard-fought game IN Tampa Bay next week going into the bye after defeating the Browns?? I think the problem I have with your post is that you've put a concrete number on WHEN you're going to jump all-in. It's more a mentality with this team than it is the actual wins and losses. The way we've lost our games this year, you can tell this team is different. I don't need them to go 3-0 to see that. I fully expect them to however.
I am a wounded fan, a kind of sports PTSD. They do look different, especially on defense, I need more confirmation that they are for real and that they are not going to tank. I don't want to experience that crushed disappointed feeling again so I am cautious. I don't think that is unreasonable. May be a bit irrational but not totally.
I've been a HOUSTON sports fan my entire life. Save for a couple of mid-90s miracle seasons...all I know is disappointment. As such, until something actually happens to prove otherwise (making the playoffs, a playoff win?), I'm a skeptic. I still never enter a Sunday expecting a win. I'm always hopeful and I'm loyal to a fault. But...I need action. Yes, this team looks much better than previous ones. That certainly helps here in Austin where I'm surrounded by Cowgirls fans.
really? this thread 8 games into the season??? i'll admit we do look better, but let's keep some perspective. we've beaten all of one good team and even they were struggling something fierce at the time. i'm just saying it's going to take a helluva lot more than 5-3 (you know, 2 games above .500) to get me fully on board. kubiak is still running things and i'm not going to forgive the sins of the past so quickly.
In terms of the role of gameday type coaching, I think the simplest way to look at it is how many games you won that you probably shouldn't, and how many games you lost but probably shouldn't have. It's not a perfect metric, but it's a useful way to look at things. In that sense, the Texans have lost one game they probably shouldn't have to the Raiders. On the win side, Pittsburgh is plus-win. NO/BAL would have been a huge plus for the coaching, while losing to Indy or Tennessee or Miami would have been a huge loss. Right now, I think that part of the coaching is neutral - which is far better than previous years. Barring injuries going forward, we have: Should be wins: CLE, @JAX, CAR, @IND, TEN That puts the team at 10 wins. The other games are more interesting: @TB, ATL, @CIN. I don't know what to make of any of those teams. CIN has a rookie QB and was a mess for the last several years, and has mostly beaten terrible teams. ATL and TB both have negative scoring differentials for the season, but they both have some big wins too. Until the playoffs, the Texans don't have any true top-tier teams on their schedule left, so there probably won't be many opportunities for the coaching staff to truly excel.
