No one has said it, but there a lot of things attributed solely to Wade and McNair that no random BBS poster could possibly know. Wade signing is solely McNair. The defense being great is solely Wade despite Smith getting him two guys in the secondary that can play, the team offense being good enough to let the defense get high draft picks again, Smith and Kubiak's input in the draft picks, and guys like Cushing and Barwin were already on the team when Wade got here. Morlon Greenwood...how long did it take to get that guy off the roster? 3 seasons into Smith's tenure...a team not in salary cap hell does not have Morlon Greenwood on the team for that long. 4 total seasons when it only took one to realize the mistake. I can't speak for other Texans fans, but I think the Texans control the division because they are a great team. Great offense, great defense usually means great things. When I see the Texans, my only concerns are that the defense was a fluke and/or Schaub gets hurt again.
Huh? Of course there are examples we can compare the Texans to. Go back to 2006 NFL draft. 1. Texans(kept Kubiak): 1 playoff win, 1 division title since 2. Saints(fired Haslett, hired Payton): 1 SB, 5 playoff wins, 3 divison titles since 3. Titans(kept Fisher): 0 playoff wins, 1 division title since 4. Jets(fired Edwards, hired Mangini then Ryan): 2 conference championship appearances, 4 playoff wins since 5. Packers(fired Sherman, hired McCarthy): 1 SB, 5 playoff wins, 1 division title since
Come on bud. We've both been around long enough. The sarcasm in my statement should have been obvious.
I kind of figured. But it wasn't sure. But I think that draft bears repeating every time some fan thinks it's "amazingly awesome" for a coach to turn a crappy team into division winner in 6 years.
It's why I can't say Smithiak has done a "good job." They went to the playoffs. I'm glad. However, 6 years and salary cap problems resulting in one playoff appearance and a win isn't a bang up job. Now, maybe they are about to among the cream of the AFC and it just took a few years for Smithiak and McNair to figure out how to run a football team and now that they have they are going to go gangbusters. We'll see. But I don't think the body of work should merit a long term commitment to them.
What is the big fuss about? I don't get it. Gary will be making what, $5 million at most? Much less for Rick. Doesn't count toward the salary cap. If the team bombs, Bob will have no choice but to fire them and eat that salary. It's not like they were just terrible at their job prior to last year...it just became obvious that we needed a defensive guru. Now that we have that, I think the weaknesses have been covered up.
Exactly. Bob can give Gary and Rick whatever mega contract he wants. My only concern is that they don't let Gary pick another drinking buddy as his DC once Wade leaves.
Um... Prior to last year he'd had 5 seasons and gone 6-10, 8-8, 8-8, 9-7 and 6-10. That's not good. I challenge you to find another coach in history who started his career that way and kept his job without any playoff appearances. Now he was granted a 6th year. What happens if Wade's historical trend of having a bang up year in year 1 and then his defenses regressing continues? I'm not calling for the firing of Smithiak, I'm saying it's crazy that Bob would be so giddy to extend them. As a fan I have no faith that McNair would fire Kubiak unless the team collapsed and went 2-14 again.
other than the downfall of the 6-10 season (mostly due to the most incompetent defenses of all time) , the texans improved each year and are currently a AFC favorite. It may not be as fast and sexy as we all wanted but better late than never. Overtly complaining about this makes no sense other than pass the time in the offseason
I'm not complaining about where the Texans are right now, I'm expressing opposition to the idea of soiling our pants about it and giving a long term deal to the head coach/GM. They have not proven that they can do a bang up job. Let them prove that.
Don't you know? You don't want a lame duck coaching situation to worry our incredible coach's pretty little crew cut. It's not how the Texans do things. We resign mediocre players ASAP. See Jacoby, Walter and tons of other players that battle fight out there.
I'm not offended by the "prove it" crowd, nor do I have a problem with the "bottom line" crowd - I think both have ample merit. But I would submit that Kubiak's first four years are *vastly* underrated by fans. I'm not sure people fully understand how horribly constructed that 2005 team was. …I don't want to regurgitate all the inanity - trying to find just *one* example of Casserly's incompetence is very nearly impossible. (Gun to my head - how about their third round pick in the expansion year not even making the opening day roster?) To get that team to 8-8 within two years... I mean, that is nothing short of incredible. They were postseason worthy by 2007; legitimately by 2008. That’s an A+ in my book. They were unfortunately derailed by Schaub injuries in ’07 and especially ‘08. (Anybody who believes they still go 16-16 between those two years if Schaub doesn’t miss 10 games was very obviously born the day after the 2011 season.) So that delayed them two years and it’s hard to blame Kubiak. They were undone by execution in 2009 (fair to pin on Kubiak) and then saw the fragile construction of the defense finally catch up to them in 2010 (also fair to blame on Kubiak, more so than the execution issues of 2009, IMO). It looked like Kubiak got back on track last year. And as I’ve posted previously – I admire McNair for wanting to build a stable organization with a strong foundation for long-term continuity and success. And I further admire him for seeing the bigger picture and granting Kubiak some slack in the rope. Those first three years were strong enough to merit it, IMO.
This is so pedestrian; so pedantic; so petulant. Because LORD KNOWS – if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that this roster is OVERFLOWING with mediocre players. FYI - Picking out the often 4th and 5th option on most offensive plays proves your post is nothing but flaccid nothingness. A 95-year old man backstage at a fashion show.
Pretty much. I would like to see them actually do it. QUESTION: In the 6 years that Kubiak has been here . . . which season does anyone think they OVERACHEIVED? Rocket River
I think you were the one who made the point that last year quite conceivably should've been the 3rd consecutive season the Texans made the playoffs. I think that point is absolutely lost on a lot of the Texans' fans. If the Colts and Bengals don't lay down for the Jets, we make the playoffs (and probably beat the Bengals in the 1st round) in 2009 even with Frank Bush as our DC. 2010 was a year of regression, but I think things might have played out differently had we tasted postseason success the year before. Last year, the team finally arrived, thanks in large part to a continued influx of defensive talent and the new scheme. Should be fun seeing where this thing goes in the next couple of years. The franchise can absolutely ill-afford to waste any more years of this core group's prime.
Um......how about last year? Winning the division and a playoff game with your 3rd string rookie QB at the helm and your best defensive player on the shelf would qualify as overachieving in my book.
1. Didn't the Rockets fire Rudy after being the best team EVER to not make the playoffs and getting sick then next season. My point being . . . .ifs and buts . . .don't make the playoffs. 2. no one is asking for them to be fired . . . just weary of the long 'locking' up of the guys. 3. This coming season. IMO No reason we should not sweep the division. That is 6 wins right there. Looking at the rest of the schedule . . . this is not looking at what happens from now on . . . . I still feel like we will end up at 10-6. . . When I think we have at least 12-4 talent. Rocket River
I think they've been legitimate playoff contenders since 2008. But a variety of circumstances have conspired against them - Kubiak being a part of that conspiracy, absolutely - but injuries, natural disasters, poor execution, bad luck... they've been bigger components, IMO. No one wants "excuses", no matter their legitimacy. And, as I said - that's perfectly viable. It's a bottom line business with easy-as-pie quantifiable statistics (ie W/L records). But I would argue he's been better than people give him credit for (while conceding there's room to be disappointed).
I actually give him credit. There was a time where I was one of the few on this board defending him. I was one of the few who said we were in much worse shape than people thought when he took over. That doesn't change the fact that others have done better than he has and I'd like to see the team continue to tick up before I would commit long term to this regime.
