On houstontexans.com they have a live feed of the postconference mic. It's silent until Schaub came to the podium. When he left the texans pr people waved off the media and said thats all for now. LMFAO!! Bob McNair must be choking Kubiak in the locker room, telling him "Steal my money?"
I'm reading a couple of posters stating that they played conservative in the second half but I didn't see it. I can't think of any particular play that gave that impression like running instead of passing, etc ... I think the loss is on the offensive players rather than the coach. They missed too many opportunities, a false start that hurt them on 3rd down, 2 interceptions by Shaub, miscommunications between AJ and Shaub, dropped catch by AJ and some over-thrown and low throws by Shaub under duress. They just didn't execute like they were earlier in the game.
Maybe but experience also has a lot to do with it. The reason the Colts are so good is that they are so experienced and that is primarily due to having continuity in the coaching staff. But I realize that I am in the minority here because my biggest concern is that a coaching change now will start them down the road of changing coaches every few years and before long we will be looking at a Houstonized version of the Raiders. Look, I saw them as an 8-8 team at the start of the season and nothing I have seen so far has made me change that opinion. Kubiak may not be perfect but he's light-years better that what was there before.
2-4 at home. So much for home field advantage. No wonder the home crowd is pissed. Doing all the losses right in front of their faces. I think they could try to get Jacoby more involved in the game. I like Walter and David Anderson, but sometimes you gotta get the playmakers some touches. Especially with Daniels out, try to maybe open things up. Jacoby has more TDS than Walter, Anderson and Andre Davis combined.
But they have done this all year. They throw the ball 30+ times a game because they have been very poor at running it. Today, they ran it better because they were facing a smaller defense. I attribute this to Kubiak's blind adherence to the ZBS - I honestly believe that teams have caught up with it. Also, a lot of the same things I'm seeing here about Kubiak were also said about Jeff Fisher and he's turned out OK.
Only 7 points (and garbage ones, at that) in the 2nd half??? Nice coaching adjustment. Calling my shot now (pretty tame prediction, actually): 3-2 the rest of the way, another 8-8 season, and no playoffs. Kubiak and the rest of the coaching staff are run out of town.
There's enough talent on this team to compete for the playoffs. They should have at least been in the hunt going into December. Now they have very little chance with 5 games left. I'm sure they'll start playing really well, once they are officially eliminated...like they always do.
I think this game . . . .deserves a DENNY <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cDAq5tyfk9E&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cDAq5tyfk9E&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I truly believe it is mindset at this point, apathetic coaching leads to apathetic play on the field, this team lacks the necessary fire on the field, bring in a leader who will provide the spark. There have been so many times when a given player should have come off the field and been greeted by an angry coach and it has never happened. Kubiak just looks at the ground or whines to the refs, and it's the same attitude reflected by his team. Can you imagine Mario Williams with a nasty streak or Schaub with a killer instinct, an offensive line who knows that if he jumps prematurely again he'll be dressed down in front of the world on national TV? If you bring in a leader who has the cojones and the league wide respect to be able to do this you immediately get a team who plays sharper and with the necessary razors edge to win consistently in the league. That and improving the secondary and dare I still say Oline help, is all this team is missing.
Maybe you are right about the talent at least offensively, I just don't know. They still have quite a few problem areas on defense. They just don't run the ball - haven't since training camp - consistently enough to be a playoff team to me. This offense simply leans too much on the QB throwing ball to pick up crucial 3rd downs even short yardage ones. Now the same thing can be said of the Colts but the difference is that they have Peyton Manning while the Texans don't.
That's terrible coaching then. The Colts want you to pass 40 times against them. If you're gashing the Colts for 5 yards a run then you have to keep doing it in order to shorten the game and keep Manning off the field. If you get into a shootout with the Colts you're going to lose.
Just all around coming up weak. Slaton on a screen juking right into the hands of the defense. Getting a little too comfortable with Chris Brown... I'm not saying Kubiak got soft. They did try to heave it deep to AJ which resulted in an INT...I'm saying get even MORE aggressive. Still try to get playmakers the ball. Run up the score like Manning and the Patriots have no problem doing. But when you go 3 and out you dont get a chance to be creative...
I basically agree with what you're saying here but again I have to point out that this is how the Texans have been playing all year - they throw the ball a lot. And everyone here liked it until today when Schaub "spit the bit" so to speak. Today you say the difference between a good QB and a great QB. Schaub is good - better than I thought he'd ever be - but he is not an elite QB like Peyton and today you got to see the difference.
But I just didn't see what mistakes Kubiak made to lose this game. Yes, he is the head coach and the ultimate responsiblity is his but today I thought it was the players who bore the most of the responsibility for what transpired especially in the 2nd half.
I said it last week, and I'll say it again: we cannot win with this team as it is currently assembled. Players, coaches, the whole group do not have the mindset of a winner. Maybe I just expect too much, but I think the goal, as an NFL franchise, should be to compete for a Super Bowl every year. Does anyone here really think this team has a chance of making the Super Bowl next season? Or the next season? Can you trust the kicker to hit it from 40 yds out to win the conference championship? Can we trust Schaub to lead 'em downfield with 1:30 left to win it all? Can we trust Slaton not to fumble at 4th and goal with the season on the line? Can we trust Kubiak to make the call that will change the game and lead us to victory? We aren't just missing one or two pieces: we're fundamentally flawed, from top to bottom. I'll say it: Firesale.
