4 man front. :grin: It didn't help that Jacoby caught the punt at the 13 and immediately ran 5 yards in the wrong direction.
Well, to be fair, the drive lasted two plays. It's not like they came out and threw 12 consecutive times. And to be fairer, while Foster had two nice runs on the two late touchdown drives (16 and 10 yards), in his four carries prior, when the offense wasn't in hurry-up/shotgun and the run was completely unexpected, he hit for 2 (and fumbled), -2, -3 and 3 yards. I'm not saying its enough to justify ditching the run. But when you combine it with Schaub going 18 for 24 for 160 yards and 2 TDs over the same time frame (and one of those incompletions was a spike), including hitting on 13 of his last 14 passes... You play the hot hand in OT. I can't blame Kubiak for that. I just can't.
But the defense DID hold the Ravens to their average scoring output. Which, given how bad the Texans defense is, is everything you could ask for. The offense did everything you could ask for as well. So this time, it was the special teams that messed it all up. As usual, they do just enough to find a way to lose.
I can. I see where you're coming from and I understand your line of reasoning; I just don't buy it. Football 101, man. He took away half is game. Half of it that, for the lion's share of this season, has been absolutely freaking elite.
Again, they ran all of two plays. And I'm sorry: the season results don't trump the current game's results. You dance with who brung ya. And Schaub was hot and the passing game had been unstoppable, really since the final drive of the first half. I'm not discounting a run would have made sense; it would have. But continuing to fire makes as much sense, IMO. Schaub had an *incredible* second half, even before the Ravens were winded and on their heels.
Agreed. Just become the NFL's version of the Oregon Ducks. Play as fast a pace as you can from the start of the game. Just see what happens. Especially given that they don't score in the first half right now anyway - what do they have to lose?
To be fair, it was actually 3 TD's and 2 FG's (and a 2-point conversion). The offense and defense were equally bad in the 1st half and equally good in the 2nd half. Can't put this loss solely on either one.
My condolences: neither do the current game's results trump the season's results. I think we understand each other and neither of us is going to change the other's mind. I see where you're coming from: you can understand Kubiak sticking with what had worked--in spectacular fashion--throughout the second half. Would you have called those plays? Specifically the play on first down?
Several of us have pointed out that special teams are more culpable in this game than the O and D put together. I know right? When is Gary Kubiak going to figure out that his "scripts" just really suck? When he starts game planning today, does he realize he is writing the script for the next two-touchdown deficit?
I will say this, in the 2nd half when the Texans were destroying the Ravens "D" you could feel the electricity...it was pretty awesome to see and feel.
Here's what would happen: Schaub would get blown up because they *wouldn't* be playing their 2 minute defense, when they rush a bare minimum, rarely blitz and keep their secondary deep and the ball in front of them. It would also negate one of your best weapons: Foster. He carried twice on the two 90+-yard drives. It's a really silly idea.
This seems like one of the most damning things for Kubiak's coaching abilities. The defense sucks universally - we all know this. But his specialty is offense. And his offenses consistently suck to start games when they've had a full week to prepare. They do their best when they are in emergency mode and have thrown the original game plan out the window.
Yeah, two-minute style offense when it's not 2:00 is generally a bad idea... Would it be such a bad idea to do more no-huddle though? This offense does well moving quickly. The Colts (and I realize we're not on their level in either personnel or coaching departments) make a living doing this.
Why do teams keep running this defense when they know it's failed over and over and over and over again against the Texans all season long? Why not just run the defense that worked for the majority of the game?
I'll be honest: Thanks to Schaub and Johnson, I was in a full-blown fantasy football/real football meltdown so I was somewhat distracted. I vaguely remember the first down play - he was almost sacked in the end zone? But I don't remember what defense the Ravens were in or how the routes looked. Weird, utterly disappointing night for me on many levels. I probably pass on first down to see what defense they're playing. If they look like they're still in deep coverage, rushing the bare minimum, etc., I probably run or screen on 2nd down.
agreed, but one could argue they were passing on 1st and 2nd down to get back into the game...woulda coulda shoulda...
To be honest, the only thing that the Colts have over the Texans is Manning. We have a better line, better receivers, better backs and truthfully a better offensive mind in Kubiak. Manning is the WCard, being able to basically have a head coach on the field at all times is truly a luxury but still think Schaub can run a no huddle style like the Colts do pretty effective
Essentially: The clock. Coaches become obssessed with draining it. So when they build a big lead, they absolutely downshift on both sides of the ball. If you're throwing the ball all over the yard, why would you suddenly start running it with a big lead? Just keep applying pressure by moving the football and scoring, right? But 99.999999999% of all coaches everywhere will inevitably take their foot off the brake. (Bellichick is maybe the only excpetion I've ever seen.) They do the same thing defensively: Keep the ball in front of you, make 'em drive the length of the field and drain the clock.
