Whoah... allow me to step back here - I'm not about to defend Kubiak's choices; I more or less agree. All year, and I've posted this repeatedly, I've wondered if there was something about Foster or his relationship with Foster that was impacting his playing time. I'm at a loss to explain specific instances except that I think Kubiak got his own way and stumbled over himself trying to outplay his terrible defense. BUT... looking at the overall picture, he rode Foster quite a bit. I just don't think 5+ more carries a game, or 10 more carries a game, was going to change many outcomes given, you know, that the defense couldn't stop anyone.
Funny thing about that game is that the first 4 offensive plays were all passing plays. 1 first down pass for 11 yards, then 2 incomplete passes, then a sack and a punt. Way to set the tone against a team that you absolutely CARVED UP on the ground in Week 1. Then, the 2nd drive of the game: Foster for 5, Foster for 9, Foster for 4. Then 2 incomplete passes and a punt. Then, the 3rd drive of the game: Foster for 8, Foster for 4, Foster for 2. Then 2 incomplete passes and a punt. Next drive, Schaub throws a pick-6 on the first play. 0-14. Running game rendered useless for the rest of the game. And don't forget about the Ravens game when we had a 1st and 10 at our own 9 to start the OT. Do we maybe run Foster to get a little breathing room? He was averaging 5 ypc at that point in the game. No, we throw it twice. Once for an incompletion and once for the game-losing pick-6.
I disagree. He could have done nothing. He could have given Kubiak free reign to hire a third inexperienced, in-over-his-head defensive coordinator. He also could have gone cheap and gotten some random cast-off has-been. Instead, he got a big, expensive name with the idea of (finally!) overhauling the team's approach to how they build, coach and scheme their defense. They've done quite well offensively in this regard and, until they brought in Phillips, have inexplicably treated the defense as some nusiance. They'll sign better free agents, draft better, and play better. Look, I don’t LOVE the Phillips hire, mostly because of how it was handled. BUT, again, Wade Phillips has proven to be a really good defensive coordinator.
I've responded to this complaint of yours before. Matt Schaub's right arm was scorching at that point in the game. Horrible outcome, unfortunately, but riding the hot hand - which is what you're all jumping up and down that he should have done more of with Foster- was completely justifiable at the time.
I know you disagree...and that's fine. The move wasn't unprecedented...our coordinators have been on a revolving door. And the idea that they would have retained the current defensive coordinator is ridiculous even to Bob McNair.
Riding the hot hand is fine if you're starting at the 20, but 2 consecutive passes from their own 9-yard line? In OT? Conventional wisdom would say you run the ball a few times just to get out of the shadow of your own end zone and get your offense back on schedule. Granted, it's easy to sit here and 2nd guess after the fact via the intertubes or the post-game call-in show, but this one just seems like Football 101.
I'll agree with Ric here, Schaub was looking like a HOFer at that point in the game, he needed the ball in his hands
Sometimes I wonder what practices look like when our offense is so obviously amazing and our D is so horribly inadequate. It must be a touchdownfest. Wouldn't every pass to Andre be a completion?
That excuse doesn't fly. The complexion of the game had completely changed at that point. When people complain about Kubiak neglecting Foster on other occassions, it isn't *just* because he was on a roll, it was also because chucking it made no sense given the situation. When you're inside your own 10 yard line with the entire field work with and the league's best running rushing attack at your disposal, in a situation where field position will basically *end* the game and the clock isn't a factor... straight chucking it isn't just hard to defend, it's outright stupid. The same way it was stupid in the Colts game, as Max and Ima so painfully just detailed for us. Defending that playcalling is like trying to defend Kubiak calling 3 straight runs on a 1st and 30 because Foster was averaging 7 YPC. "Hot hand" doesn't override situational awareness. Kubiak's situational playcalling has left a lot to be desired, in fact, it's probably one of his 3 biggest weaknesses behind defensive personnel and clock/challenge management. And yes, I know this is all MMQB analysis that seems wholly unfair. But it makes a lot of sense when you go back and look at it. In the heat of the moment, we're all into it and want to be that riverboat gambler and go with the "hot hand"... but we're just fans, we're driven by psasion, we're not supposed to be thinking critically, and more importantly, we're not paid to do so. Unlike Gary. I expect better from him.
He looked that way against a defense that couldn't catch it's breath. By the start of OT, they had a chance to compose themselves and regroup, not to mention the Texans were no longer running a two minute offense.
I didn't want to rehash it all again, as I've posted this breakdown previously, but the flipside to that is that Foster had been terribly ineffective rushing the football prior to that drive, including a fumble. It wasn't as much riding the hot hand exclusively as it was also avoiding the cold one. Schaub had engineered 99- and 95-yard drives that evening, BTW. And, breaking news - we had a terrible defense. Backed up at your own 10, if you predictably take zero chances and run to be safe, forcing a punt - game's over any way. Like that defense is going to stop Baltimore from going the 10-15 yards they would have needed for a GW FG? I mean, look - you guys aren't wrong. I don't inherently disagree with you. But it's not like Kubiak suddenly and unexpectedly asked Schaub to go win the game for them. They had been riding an excruciatingly hot hand. While it might not have been the absolute right call, it wasn't a terrible one, either, and not stupid by any stretch.
False. Arian had 46 yards on 9 carries (over 5ypc) in the 2nd half (including 3 catches for 22 yards), and his fumble happened within the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter. His last 8 runs went for 6, 6, 7, -2, -3, 3, 16, and 10 yards respectively. Cold hand, ineffective? Not so much.
Yes, the defense is bad, but that is no excuse to make dumb playcalls on offense, or put your defense in an even worse position by giving Baltimore even better field positon. (The defense, for all their failures, actually played well near the end of the game, to their credit) Foster wasn't struggling. He was doing just fine for himself, and the situation itself was highly unfavorable for passing. Stupid decision by Kubiak.
Yeah, well that fumble happened *after* he had accumulated 22 of his 46 second-half yards, all within the first *4* minutes of the 3Q. So which was more relevant? His 16- and 10-yard runs were both on the 99-yard drive when the Texans were down 15 with less than a quarter to go and in obvious passing mode. He didn't carry the ball again for the remaining 7+ minutes of the game. You're going to compare his effort/contribution to Schaub's in the second half?
As I've often suggested, I think the terrible defense overwhelmed Kubiak last year, got into his head and led to some questionable game plans and decisions. I just don't think this is one of them. The team was rolling and had all the momentum. I guanratee you, had Kubiak taken his foot off the gas and run, run, run and punt'ed that series, no one would be in here defending him. Heck, we had people ripping him for running down the clock and settling for a FG at the end of the Jet game, for heaven's sake. Had Schaub led them to a victory, no one in here would have stood up and said, "Yeah, but... they really should have run down near the goal line. That was stupid."
Of course. "Fans will be fans". If one thing this BBS has taught any of us, people would complain if it was raining chocolate dollar bills with pictures of naked supermodels on them. And if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle...
No, I'm not going to compare it, but I will say that it makes your "cold hand/ineffective" argument look rather silly. Especially in the context of the 2nd half. He may have been "cold", i.e. didn't run the last 6 minutes of the game, but ineffective? No. Not even close. And if Arian was too "cold" to give the ball too, then damn, that's just sad. Guess he wasn't too "cold" to bust that beauty on his first run after his suspension in the Oakland game though. btw, if you're going to diss Arian's performance for it being when the Texans were in "passing mode", you have to slight Schaub for his performance being when the Ravens were in "prevent mode". You can't have it both ways.
I'd just assume drop this subject since no one is "right" and there's nothing we can do about it anyway. But FWIW, I'm not saying we should have just "run run run. " I'm just saying perhaps we should have tried a run or 2 just to get back to the 20 and get the offense back on schedule. Especially since it was OT and the clock was not an issue. Not to mention the fact that we were no longer playing from behind like we had been the entire game. BTW, for whatever reason (probably the Ravens sucky offense), the defense was actually playing pretty damn good in the 2nd half. They held the Ravens to exactly zero points from halftime on and even forced a punt in OT.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=197110&page=55 Fair warning: don't read that thread if you don't have a kitten to punch in the face Look how quickly everyone's jubilation turns to "WTF" outrage when Kubiak pass-pass-passes away the win in OT... *edit: lol Ric comes in on the last few pages and tries to argue that field position wasn't a big deal in that loss. jesus christ. i can't take this anymore. Ric, i challenge you to a cage fight to the death. weapon of choice: wet tube socks filled with bar soap. en garde.
I (vaguely) remember that - with Rocket River, right? Stand by it. Yeah, *field position* was the problem; *that's* why our otherwise stellar defense gave up 21 first half points. Field position. Because when teams had to go an extra 10-15 yards in our other 15 games - not on this defense, buddy! I mean, 21 points a half? Unprecendented. It only happened 5 other times last year - that's NFL average (probably)!! Flacco was, like, 30-30 in the first half, and IIRC faced, like, 2 third downs (which he shockingly converted).
