Too many cooks in the kitchen

In the past 3 years, we've changed from a 3-4, to a 4-3. We've brought in new coordinators at almost every position, as well as specialist coaches.

We've changed from power man scheme to Green Bay's scheme to a hybrid to the zone blocking scheme. We've brought in specialist coaches to help with all this

We've gone from a dink and dunk to a run first back to a pass happy offense and now back to a run first offense

We've changed Offensive coordinators and QB coaches tons in the past 5 years.

Maybe our problem is that we simply have too many things changing. Playbooks and schemes take time to learn. When things aren't working, we as fans immediately want change. But we need to realize that changing things in the middle of the season is going to handicap this team even further.

We arne't good at what we we've been practicing for months/years. You can bet we'd be worse at something foreign. Don't forget we're implementing some new things here. Its only been 2 games

Good points.


I do agree with some of what you say...

I think when something bad happens to the Texans their play-calling/personnel moves become more reactive than proactive...

After the offense throws an interception or the defense gives up a big play our co-ordinators start clling plays like they are scared...

Instead of trying to continue imposing our will and calling plays that work for us they tend to start calling plays passively...trying to get too cute for their own good...

I dunno...Lots of things to gripe about with this team...

Polo said:

Good points.


I do agree with some of what you say...

I think when something bad happens to the Texans their play-calling/personnel moves become more reactive than proactive...

After the offense throws an interception or the defense gives up a big play our co-ordinators start clling plays like they are scared...

Instead of trying to continue imposing our will and calling plays that work for us they tend to start calling plays passively...trying to get too cute for their own good...

I dunno...Lots of things to gripe about with this team...

Click to expand...

I agree. Like almost completely going away from the running game in the 2nd half when it was really the only thing working for us.

HOU-TEX said:

I agree. Like almost completely going away from the running game in the 2nd half when it was really the only thing working for us.

Click to expand...

that and the decision making was atrocious. If we kick the field goal in the 3rd quarter and then later when we were in the red zone it's a one score game with half the 4th quarter left. Being more than one score down totally changes how you attack the defense.

Vinny said:

that and the decision making was atrocious. If we kick the field goal in the 3rd quarter and then later when we were in the red zone it's a one score game with half the 4th quarter left. Being more than one score down totally changes how you attack the defense.

Click to expand...

True, but I have more of an issue with the play calling than the decision to go for those 4th downs.

I agree we should've kicked the FG on the one in the 3rd, but the other two in the fourth we really didn't have much of a choice due to that decision in the 3rd.

Eh, this team is far from the best, but they had their chances yesterday. They just pissed them away.

gtexan02 said:

In the past 3 years, we've changed from a 3-4, to a 4-3. We've brought in new coordinators at almost every position, as well as specialist coaches.

We've changed from power man scheme to Green Bay's scheme to a hybrid to the zone blocking scheme. We've brought in specialist coaches to help with all this

We've gone from a dink and dunk to a run first back to a pass happy offense and now back to a run first offense

We've changed Offensive coordinators and QB coaches tons in the past 5 years.

Maybe our problem is that we simply have too many things changing. Playbooks and schemes take time to learn. When things aren't working, we as fans immediately want change. But we need to realize that changing things in the middle of the season is going to handicap this team even further.

We arne't good at what we we've been practicing for months/years. You can bet we'd be worse at something foreign. Don't forget we're implementing some new things here. Its only been 2 games

Click to expand...

ding...ding ding we have a winner.........

I wonder how many people realize that it is a good thing that the owner does not take our posts seriously........ We could have drafted Vince....and dont give me the...... well at least they got to the playoff speach ,especially after watching the QB that got them there.

Panic, no worried.....yes.... I hope we win our home games.....if there is a home? If we dont win our first home game... we then have an uphill battle.

A lot of the posters here are clamoring for way too much intervention by the owner. That only leads to an Al-Davis style catastrophe

HOU-TEX said:

True, but I have more of an issue with the play calling than the decision to go for those 4th downs.

I agree we should've kicked the FG on the one in the 3rd, but the other two in the fourth we really didn't have much of a choice due to that decision in the 3rd.

Eh, this team is far from the best, but they had their chances yesterday. They just pissed them away.

Click to expand...

the playcalling changes when you make poor decisions early in the game. If we had a one score game we wouldn't have felt the need to pass as much. Kubiak let the players down with his really awful grasp of in-game strategy. Someone needs to tell Kubiak that football is a strategy game.

Vinny said:

the playcalling changes when you make poor decisions early in the game. If we had a one score game we wouldn't have felt the need to pass as much. Kubiak let the players down with his really awful grasp of in-game strategy. Someone needs to tell Kubiak that football is a strategy game.

Click to expand...

Agreed!!

Vinny said:

the playcalling changes when you make poor decisions early in the game. If we had a one score game we wouldn't have felt the need to pass as much. Kubiak let the players down with his really awful grasp of in-game strategy. Someone needs to tell Kubiak that football is a strategy game.

Click to expand...

Well said.

Here's something I wrote up on FanHouse on this, Gary Kubiak Coaches Like It is Madden '09; Madden Wouldn't Approve in part:

Despite playing one less game than most of the league, the Texans lead the league in going for it on 4th down seven times. They have made only two of these attempts.

Click to expand...

BTW, for thems who want to defend the Texans defense by looking at their second half play, note that turning over the ball on downs just short of the endzone can make it easier for defenses to some degree. Long fields. But it makes it harder not taking points on the board because then opposing offenses don't need to take chances.

Heck, the best thing for the Titan offense to do is punt and hope that their defense kills somebody.

I agree with both of you. He is slow in his decison making and his grasp of what needs to be done. Challenges, not kicking, etc were letdowns. This article got it right

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-winnerslosers092107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Under LOSERS

• Texans coach Gary Kubiak: First he failed to throw the challenge flag late in the second quarter on a 37-yard catch in which Tennessee’s Justin McCareins clearly didn’t get his feet inbounds. Then he didn’t throw the challenge flag again on the same drive when LenDale White was credited for a one-yard touchdown in which he didn’t cross the goal line. And then there was the terrible call in the third quarter, forgoing the field goal and going for it on fourth-and-4 with over five minutes left and trailing by 12. Those three points could have changed the complexion of the game in the fourth quarter.

• Texans quarterback Matt Schaub: Yes, he has played against two very good defenses this season. But with five interceptions in two games, Schaub looks like a poor quarterback. There is very little to like about his game at this point

Click to expand...

Five Things he loved

Loved: Seeing Texans diminutive running back Steve Slaton run over Tennessee safety Michael Griffin at the goal line for a touchdown. The Texans have a bright spot in Slaton

Click to expand...

Vinny said:

that and the decision making was atrocious. If we kick the field goal in the 3rd quarter and then later when we were in the red zone it's a one score game with half the 4th quarter left. Being more than one score down totally changes how you attack the defense.

Click to expand...

Yup. I also think the game looks very different if we take advantage of our field position in the first quarter(after the turnover) and score a TD. Then on the next ensuign possession, we should have gotten that TD. Those 2 tds would make a huge difference on the rest of the game. Instead of gettling for a couple of fgs, we would have had the confidence to go for it on fourth and goal(and have more confidence in actually getting it.

Good teams get those early tds and don't settle for fgs.

awtysst said:

Yup. I also think the game looks very different if we take advantage of our field position in the first quarter(after the turnover) and score a TD. Then on the next ensuign possession, we should have gotten that TD. Those 2 tds would make a huge difference on the rest of the game. Instead of gettling for a couple of fgs, we would have had the confidence to go for it on fourth and goal(and have more confidence in actually getting it.

Good teams get those early tds and don't settle for fgs.

Click to expand...

This just in !

The Houston Police were dispatched to Matt Schaub's house after the game . It seems someone ... as a prank ... painted a 20 yard line in Matt's front yard and he could'nt get in .

I'm not going to be a turncoat on the staff overall. But there are some major concerns I have.

I think Kubiak has done a good job finding talent that matches well with what he wants to do offensively. The problem is game management. I could go over what everyone has pointed out but that'd be overkill at this point. I like the move of brining young Shanny in overall but it has been made way to quick and I think it would have been better for his career and team if he had stayed as QB coach. This team would be much better off if Gary brought in a more tenured offensive coordinator that wouldn't over extend Gary to keep focusing on what he has been known for in QBs and the overal lperformace we saw from Sage and Schaub last year.Steve Slaton looks like he's going to be DD 2.0 but with a faster second gear which is a great thing.

Defense. I don't know where to start. Smith shoud've been released this past off-season and someone who has a good record of BUILDING defenses should've been brought in. If Marvin lewis doesn't make it through the season or gets fired at the end of the year we need to be on the phone with him ASAP.These guys look lost, confused and I can't for the life of myself identify what this defense is about. It needsa an identity bad and I'm not talking about just talent. Not saying we're the most talented team but we aren't talent deficient. Greenwood and Weaver's contracts should've gone by the way of Robaire smith and Gary Walker's contracts when Kubiak got here. That fat needs to be cut even if we take the hit on the books.

I know its two games in the season but this could go by the wayside very quickly. Looks to me like we're on the brink of another 2-14 season the way things snowballed so quickly with Capers and so after what was looking like could catapult us into playoff contention after the 7-9 season. There are some differences between the two but the two situations, to me at least, are starting to show some resemblances.

If Kubiak wants to save this season and job here what I think needs to go down. Kubiak needs to demote Kyle back to QB coach. Take over playcalling fulltime again and focus on QB and WRs. Gibbs stays in the role he currently has with focus on the line and running game as those two go hand in hand anyway.This keeps them on the same page and shouldn't hurt egos or feelings. Prior to the start of the season and the way things looked last year I was inclined to believe we are on the right track with this side of the ball.Richard Smith needs to be let go. His defense has really been an albatross for this team. They looks lost, out of position, and poorly coached. If Frank Bush is the original guy he wanted bring him in an an interim basis as the DC. IF the defense shows good enough signs of life he can interview for fulltime DC. I don't think Marvin Lewis will make it out of Cinci this year and where ever he has gone prior to his HC stint his defenses have shown fire and immediate improvement. Jerry Grey and Ron Rivera are two other high profile guys I'd give a call. I can see Kubiak building on the offense but I see nothing on defense we need a guy with a track record.

I know this year has started out tough coupled with Ike has made things worse for our team. But like the namesake of our great state...we're Texans. Let's respond like true Texans.

i always thought we model are team after Denver and Carolina with a little bit of a wanna be Pittsburg

Vinny said:

that and the decision making was atrocious. If we kick the field goal in the 3rd quarter and then later when we were in the red zone it's a one score game with half the 4th quarter left. Being more than one score down totally changes how you attack the defense.

Click to expand...

awtysst said:

Yup. I also think the game looks very different if we take advantage of our field position in the first quarter(after the turnover) and score a TD. Then on the next ensuign possession, we should have gotten that TD. Those 2 tds would make a huge difference on the rest of the game. Instead of gettling for a couple of fgs, we would have had the confidence to go for it on fourth and goal(and have more confidence in actually getting it.

Good teams get those early tds and don't settle for fgs.

Click to expand...

tell that to Coach Fisher who kicked 5 FG's to win a game last year. Jeff Fisher understands sound football strategy....doesn't look like Gary Kubiak does. 4th and 4, with a quarter and a half to go and a chip shot FG in our lap? Hell, we can't get 4 yards when its 1st and 10. Fisher coaches circles around Kubiak...heck, the Titans have won 7 in a row vs us.

Vinny said:

tell that to Coach Fisher who kicked 5 FG's to win a game last year. Jeff Fisher understands sound football strategy....doesn't look like Gary Kubiak does. 4th and 4, with a quarter and a half to go and a chip shot FG in our lap? Hell, we can't get 4 yards when its 1st and 10. Fisher coaches circles around Kubiak...heck, the Titans have won 7 in a row vs us.

Click to expand...

I was very upset with these calls. I go to a sports bar every week to watch the game with an Eagles fan, a Giants fan, and a Dolphins fan. They were all laughing and pointing at the TV when that happened in the 3rd quarter. I was beyond upset.

Same goes for the first game where we go for it on 4th and 1 at the 48 yard line on the first drive. We have a history of things snowballing when we mess up early in games and Kubiak KNOWS this. He has spoken about it on numerous occasions. The fact that he couldn't put two and two together and realize that it was a bad decision will probably stick with me for the remainder of the season.

It's looking more and more to me like Kubiak should not be a NFL head coach. As people have said, the fact that he is from Houston doesn't mean a damn thing.

TexansSeminole said:

I was very upset with these calls. I go to a sports bar every week to watch the game with an Eagles fan, a Giants fan, and a Dolphins fan. They were all laughing and pointing at the TV when that happened in the 3rd quarter. I was beyond upset.

Same goes for the first game where we go for it on 4th and 1 at the 48 yard line on the first drive. We have a history of things snowballing when we mess up early in games and Kubiak KNOWS this. He has spoken about it on numerous occasions. The fact that he couldn't put two and two together and realize that it was a bad decision will probably stick with me for the remainder of the season.

It's looking more and more to me like Kubiak should not be a NFL head coach. As people have said, the fact that he is from Houston doesn't mean a damn thing.

Click to expand...

I am so tired of hearing excuses and taking the blame from both kubiak and schaub . Why nitpick about poor choices nobody makes all the perfect decisions and it would be a moot point if they won . Most of the football fans posting here are aware of this teams bad decisions witch began before this season got underway . It has to be that the people running the team are aware of there needs and are doing a finger in the dike type plan to save cash I suppose . Trouble is for me it will not get you my cash , i will watch the debacle but not pay to watch it . If your a fan you must hope to see a light switch turn on but not expect it .

They were under maned and on the road. Kubiak was doing what he thought he needed to do to have a chance to win. If he placed too much faith in his offense, the only thing that was unsound here was the young o-line. And kicking field goals while at the same time Tennessee is going through our d line like millo through a goose, and scoring touch downs....the only thing that will get you is beat. As long as Fisher has Haynesworth in the middle and Vanden Bosch on the end, .... healthy, he's going to look like a stinking genius. The Titans are now a robust 24 of 24 in the green zone against us. If the head coach was feeling trepidation and was reading a little too much in that little tid-bit...I can't understand why there Vinny.