Kubiak: Better Coach, Same Problem?

[powda]

i've not posted in a very very long time ---- but make no mistake ---- i lurk here regularly be it october or may. --- well done on the thread opening post. and ur aggrivation with the team bleeds through in your words. trust me, im right there with ya.

i've notice a couple of things...

this team has the same problem it always has -------- the offensive line.

walter payton coulda been behind that line and done about as well.

we need a left tackle --- the same as we did in year one.
(salamm may be having a rough year but he is what he is -- a quality reserve at the twilight of his carrer. in all fairness to him his competition has been killer in damn near every game)

we need a young up and comming center...someone who makes the right adjustments and solidifies the line as a whole. getting a rush from the edge dosent bother me nearly as much as getting one in the middle of the line. flannigan has got to go and mckinney cant be counted on to come back at full health. even if mckinney does come back good as new ---- hes never been better then average.

needless to say we need a young running back... you saw what i did when green went down. chris taylor cant be counted on and dayne has no buisness making a check. someone has to be in the wings to spell green and to step in when green gets hurt...(and make no mistake, he will get hurt again).

deffensivley

1st.

the playcalling has been miserable for 1 huge reason. faggins. if u send a house blitz faggins gets put on an island. is that what u want? faggins is our biggest liability and everyone knows it. im glad to see bennett on the field because i want to know if hes the solution before we get to the offseason.

before you criticize richard smith remember he has only 1 cb ... safeties who wouldnt start for any other team and an anemic pass rush. if he plays off or "soft" at least the other team has a chance to shoot itself in the foot. blitz and faggins gets an interference call or gets beat.

defensively this offseason i want at least 1 new safety (free).

i want a new cb opposite d-rob if bennet is not the guy for the job.

and i want to jumpstart the deffensive line by finding a replacement for weaver. his production has yielded nothing. at least i can make the arrgument his linemates havent performed because their young and learning.

honestly i dont care how we get these players or in what order --- how much we pay them or any of that bs. what i do care about is a team that plays respectable football win or lose. what i care about is the ribbing i get at work from co-workers who happen to be cowboy fans. what i care about is how much time i spend i front of the tv on my day off watching a team that may or may not show up.

the loss to tennesse didnt bother me as much as most people for 1 reason. we showed a pulse. our team has been comatose since the atlanta game. its a pretty bad state of affairs when its only october and im already looking forward to free agency and the draft.

[dickieb]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

Mike Sherman needs to move on and he probably will following this season (if he's smart and we're lucky). His ideas and Gary Kubiaks ideas do not seem to be compatible and our offense looks like the kind of "Frankenstein Monster" you would expect to see when you patch together two different philosophies like that. Anyone who can't see that this isn't working is deluding themselves and I'd like to think that Bob McNair is experienced enough now to not need four years to connect these dots all on his own. I'd like to think that Rick Smith is intelligent enough to not make him do that.

Great post Herv! I almost started a thread about the dueling banjos in our coaching staff. It is definately an ugly monster. Everyone knows and can see are running game is in absolute shambles. I think it has to do with this two headed concept in our coaching staff. Cats and dogs living together. It is on offense with Kubiak and Sherman and on defense with Richard Smith and Frank Bush. Too top heavy, if it isn't working Kubiak has to #1 realize it and #2 DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I'm not oppsed to going to 1 blocking scheme until we get it right, this hybrid idea is not working on either side of the ball. Kubiak needs to say "Yeah I respect your input but I have decided that we will run it this way." Let's go Kubes - make the call, please!

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Vinny

you are living in a dreamworld if you think that Mario will ever "destroy" NFL OT's with his physical gifts. Most OT's "get destroyed" because they can't handle guys with great technique. Little bitty DE's like Freeney will always rush the passer better than physical freaks like Mario who don't seem to be able to get off blocks once OT's get their hands on him...most of that is technique and attitude.

We might have been laughed off the stage but we should have taken Nick Mangold with the #1 and then Elvis Dumervill in the 3rd .

[Leahmic223]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Great post, Herv!



How much time should we give him to at least show some of that almighty "potential" we keep hearing about?

While I will not label him a 'bust' at this point, I do have to admit that his radioactivity is starting to be noticed on the bustometer readings. Cook or get the heck out of the kitchen, IMO. Waiting five years for a player to realize his "potential" should have been a lesson learned on this team already.

So he's never showed that potential now? He's never showed one flash now is what you guys are saying?

Short Memory I guess. Look at a month ago everyone was psyched about Mario, we start to lose and its gone now.

If you are going to label Mario a bust right now you might as well label everyone we passed on to get him a bust as well. That means Reggie, Ferguson, and VY the other 3 guys on our radar at the time.

[SuperDan]

Fantastic post, Herv. Rep for you. I think you hit the nail on the head on many topics.

Specifically in regards to the offensive scheme, the contrast in styles of play between Kubiak and Sherman is really starting to rear its ugly head. I am curious as to why this staff believes the hybrid scheme they employ is best for this team. Do they believe it suits the personnel or that it is schematically the best option to complement the passing game...or both? Or is it an ego thing between the two coaches? I don't profess to be an expert in the x's and o's of football, I merely draw conclusions as objectively as possible. This one has be baffled though.

[TexansSeminole]

Great Post.

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

Richard Smith and his "so-unpredictable-we-don't-even-know-what-we're-doing" defense has got to go regardless of how supposedly "aggressive" they think they are. They stink. You can point to the job they did yesterday and say they did a good job considering if you like. I still see a team that had almost 40 points hung on them yesterday. I still see a team that couldn't make a stop when it absolutely had to have one.

Richard Smith has not had alot to work with but he has been a pretty bad play caller this season. If your secondary has trouble covering why blitz and leave wide open receivers. I have seen so many Richard Smith obvious blitz's that are very easily read or a screen play has already been called. We do not seem to successfully disguise coverages much, or move around before the line of scrimmage as to give the offense something to think about. These things seem to be coaching problems.

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

Even accepting the fact that our current healthy players are in many ways lacking it's difficult to imagine that they couldn't play better than we've seen them play over the last 5 weeks. I want to know what kind of lineman are we looking for in this Green Denver Bay Zone Power Blocking "thing" that we're doing here. We seem to have run all of the "Herman Munster" types out of town and tried to go with guys with better feet but we also seem to be trying to run the ball in a manner that to me at least implies the need for those big ol' road grader types. We don't have any of those guys.

What exactly are we trying to do there? Can anyone tell me what kind of linemen we are in pursuit of and more importantly why those linemen don't seem to fit what we're trying to do?

I agree that Kubiak needs to bring someone else in here with a more familiar system to him. The system overall seems to have flashes of success but overall does not seem to have consistancy on either running or passing.

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

We need a real running back. Not a re-tread or somebody's backup who everyone suspects might be the real deal. We need a young, fast, strong running back who can break open his own daylight from time to time. We need to replace the entire backfield. Ron Dayne and Samkon Gado don't belong in the NFL. Ahman Green is probably a season away from retirement and nobody should be expecting him to carry any kind of load.

I think alot of our problems boil down to this. We need a good young running back...with fewer miles on his engine and alot of drive in his legs. Gado looks to be a larger back but he does not drive his legs to get yards at all. He has bad vision and hits the whole with limited explosiveness. Ron Dayne looks used up is far too slow to play in the NFL. Ahman Green has good vision but has lost a step especially because he was injured early in the season. He has to rely on good blocking to be as successful as we expect him to be, considering the backup RBs we have, and we are not blocking well.

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Leahmic223

So he's never showed that potential now? He's never showed one flash now is what you guys are saying?

Short Memory I guess. Look at a month ago everyone was psyched about Mario, we start to lose and its gone now.

If you are going to label Mario a bust right now you might as well label everyone we passed on to get him a bust as well. That means Reggie, Ferguson, and VY the other 3 guys on our radar at the time.

Thanks for using your amazing powers of assumption and generalizing my point.

I never called Mario a bust.

But as a first overall pick, I'd like to see some - heck ANY - consistency from the guy.

How long does the first game's performance carry him this season? How long do the handful of moments he's had keep us from objectively analyzing his game?

Seriously, he's got the protective homer bubble around him, so I'm just curious how long we have to wait until we can be disappointed by his non-impacting play.

Maybe if we give him four years + $8 million signing bonus for an extra year....yeah, that's it, we just give him tiiiiiime.

[hollywood_texan]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Thanks for using your amazing powers of assumption and generalizing my point.

I never called Mario a bust.

But as a first overall pick, I'd like to see some - heck ANY - consistency from the guy.

How long does the first game's performance carry him this season? How long do the handful of moments he's had keep us from objectively analyzing his game?

Seriously, he's got the protective homer bubble around him, so I'm just curious how long we have to wait until we can be disappointed by his non-impacting play.

Maybe if we give him four years + $8 million signing bonus for an extra year....yeah, that's it, we just give him tiiiiiime.

I tried to give you some rep, but I gotta spread some more around first.

Hear ya Bro! Loud and clear...

I am purposely trying to not comment about all this stuff and the current state of the Texans.

Typically, I am like a broken record player in my posts. You guys know what I am going to say anyway...

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Thanks for using your amazing powers of assumption and generalizing my point.

I never called Mario a bust.

But as a first overall pick, I'd like to see some - heck ANY - consistency from the guy.

How long does the first game's performance carry him this season? How long do the handful of moments he's had keep us from objectively analyzing his game?

Seriously, he's got the protective homer bubble around him, so I'm just curious how long we have to wait until we can be disappointed by his non-impacting play.

Maybe if we give him four years + $8 million signing bonus for an extra year....yeah, that's it, we just give him tiiiiiime.

I think Mario was drafted to get the QB in critical situations ... that's what the great ones do .

I think we need to go back to the 3-4 defense because we have two 3-4 ends .

[The Dream]

Kubiak just needs to realize that this team isn't the broncos....we have no terrell davis in the backfield, so we must establish ourselves with the pass first.....

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Honoring Earl 34

I think Mario was drafted to get the QB in critical situations ... that's what the great ones do .

Like when your team rallies from a 32-7 deficit to score 29 points in the fourth to gain a lead with less than a minute on the clock?

yeah, that's when I would like to see ANY of our three 1st round picks on the defensive line do ANYTHING other than dance with offensive linemen.

We are drafting way too high and paying way too much to fail to put any pressure on a 55% career completions backup QB who is winding up to throw a bomb.

JMO

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

Like when your team rallies from a 32-7 deficit to score 29 points in the fourth to gain a lead with less than a minute on the clock?

yeah, that's when I would like to see ANY of our three 1st round picks on the defensive line do ANYTHING other than dance with offensive linemen.

We are drafting way too high and paying way too much to fail to put any pressure on a 55% career completions backup QB who is winding up to throw a bomb.

JMO

As I was beating the hell out of a Bud Light bottle on an empty seat , screaming , and begging to get the QB , I was thinking this would be a good time for a Mario sighting .

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by The Dream

Kubiak just needs to realize that this team isn't the broncos....we have no terrell davis in the backfield, so we must establish ourselves with the pass first.....

I guess you didn't notice he opened the game in a spread offense with no back huh?

Originally Posted by Honoring Earl 34

I think Mario was drafted to get the QB in critical situations ... that's what the great ones do .

I think we need to go back to the 3-4 defense because we have two 3-4 ends .

With no real 3-4 DT...

[ChildressTitanMan]

It's interesting seeing a discussion like this on a rival board.

At GoTitans we've debated this back & forth over the last year or so as to whether the Head Coach is to blame for the problems or his assistants or even the players on the field.

When a team is doing well the Head Coach tends to get the credit.When there are problems we as fans like to blame the Defensive or Offensive co-ordinators.

The Titans D is playing great this year but not much has changed in terms of personnel. Only one change in the front 7. Jim Schwartz deserves the credit even though his years of poor performances means I still would like to see him go.

When we had a lead in the 4th qtr last night he reverted to his prevent slow death play calling. When the Texans had momentum it was very hard for the D to go back up a gear & do anything about it.

Great play by the Texans & poor coaching/play calling by the Titans.

Mario Williams is a solid player but he isn't a great one. Had he not been a #1 pick the finger would not be pointing at him like it continues to do. Ryans & Okoye were better picks but that's the way it goes in football. There are more bad picks than good ones. The pieces are coming together in Houston even if it's not as fast as fans hoped.

Many NFL coaches seem to prefer playing experienced players who are known quantities over talented rookies who may be better but not as consistent. All NFL coaches are loyal to their assistants even if it infuriates the fans. Assistants rarely move to another team unless they are poached to a better job because of their success.

There are 32 teams each year dipping into a talent pool that isn't large enough to accommodate them all. The end result is that one year a guys system can look awful but the next a few additions can make it look great again.

I don't like it as a divisional rival but I see a lot of positives in the Texans.

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by real

With no real 3-4 DT...

We'll draft one in the 1st round .

[BSofA04]

Great post Herv! You're pretty much on target with a lot of your topics. The only thing that I want to see is the Texans pick up a 1st Rd. LT. Salaam isn't the answer and I'm not going to hold my breath on Spencer coming back as the same player he was before. With McKinney coming back at center next year (or possibly White), LT is my #1 critical need.

[The Dream]

We are drafting way too high and paying way too much to fail to put any pressure on a 55% career completions backup QB who is winding up to throw a bomb

agreed......right now I'm thinking that the reason the Texans have had a bad organization thus far is mainly because of the decisions made by the F.O. and coaching staff.......how much have the texans set themselves back because of bad draft picks and bad free agent signings.....it not only slows down the development of a good football team, but it also hurts your pocket books to the point where if there was talent out there on the market you couldn't get it, because of all the money you have wrapped up in the current crap out there on the field every sunday.

I guess you didn't notice he opened the game in a spread offense with no back huh?

only to dump it off for 2 yard passes, and at times during the game he still tried to establish the run eventhough it just wasn't there.

[Thorn]

You can run to set up the passing game, or you can pass to set up the running game. Either works if you have the right personel. We don't have the right personel to set up a running game either way.

Whether or not Kubiak is a better coach or not only future history will tell. Capers had four years, so given that let's compare Kubiak and the Texans in another 2 1/2 years.

In the meantime we have a fairly mediocre team and I don't think the best coach in the world could get us into the playoffs with our current personel.

[Runner]

Originally Posted by Leahmic223

Mario hasn't had the time to develop. I don't think is has been 3 seasons yet, so it is still unfair to label him a bust.

We do that to players making $500K all the time. It's bass ackwards the way the big money players get all the time in the world to develop and the projects get half a season.