Identity Crisis

Its probably not a original thought, but every team that struggles normally have problems identifying what kind of team they're going to be and the texans are no different. I always thought to be sucessful in the nfl, uhave to be really good at somethng. That's your team staple or identity. The texans for their existence have struggled with this and this year is no different. Watching other teams play, its clear to se their staple. NY has the power running and defense, the colts have the fast break offense, the titans have the crushing defense. The texans? Its seems like they have been in between or in flux that they're kind of dangling.

On offense, they wante the power zone,old green bay packers running game. I actually like it because the lineman are a ittle bigger and stout at poa. Sherman leaves and now the texans are trying to run the traditionl zone scheme. The problem is they don't have the staples that make the offense really good. Where are the quick slants? The quick slants set up everything in the wco. It set up the slugo(slant andd go), it sets the teaser routes for the safeties. Also where is the stretch play? The zone stretch sets up the boot action, but schaub isn't that type. He's a midline passer. He actually gives a great play fake, but his non threat off the edge don't hold the backside. When that fake stretch bootleg is run with a mobile qb, it opens a lot of doors down the field. With the speed of johnson,davis and daniels,that play should create huge plays even with a 8 man front because the qb holds the backside.

Defensively is really my biggest problem. I've written a few times about the defensive struggles with personel. They have 1 gappers (tj and okoye) two gapping.They have avg corners playing off and giving up routes right in front of coverage. No pressure, no zone blitzing, no stunt fronting. They have to have some kind of staple on defense.

Which brings me to this, they have to give kubes more time to keep building the team. He has to get better coaches to forge the vision of the team. The gm has to find guys that fit what they want to do. Obviously, the dc has had problems along with the other coaches on that side developing players. The importance of positional coaches on this staff or any staff gets looked over until the microscope is out. U look at indy with teerling and mud on the 2 lines. You look at washburn and muunchak in tennessee. I like gibbs a lot, but what about franklin? I just hope they can beat indy, gain confidence, and start to establish themselves. I they beat indy, they have a chance to go 3-3. This indentity thing is going to dog them though until they figure it out though.

I appreciate your post, I sometimes think I am alone in preaching patience with Kubiak and the need to have to time to develop and build something lasting.

I think in Kubiak's head we are a running team with playaction working off that but our personnel prevents it.

As for defense we have a scheme and philosophy, it just doesn't work, maybe that is a talent level thing, maybe it just plain sucks.

I believe in stability and letting something grow, one way you get an identity is to let people stay in one place long enough for the player turnover to allow all the pieces needed for the vision to fall into place. I think we are still an offseason or two away from that finished vision. I for one would like to see that time given. Once that identity is in place, it is easier to maintain it, than create it.

We are like a hybrid Old school Greenbay/Denver Offensive

WIth a cut and down hill running game

and a i thought at once a wannabe Pittsburg/philly Defensive with big guyz on the line and not the biggest guys in the secondary nor the fastest kinda in between

Winning, and the way you win your games gives your team an identity. We don't have an identity crisis to be frank since we are identified as a "bad" NFL team right now. A team that has never won 3 games in a row.

Vinny said:

Winning, and the way you win your games gives your team an identity. We don't have an identity crisis to be frank since we are identified as a "bad" NFL team right now. A team that has never won 3 games in a row.

Click to expand...

I tend to agree, but the ravens were a bad team, but were known for a tough hard nosed defense and power running game. They couldn't help they had poor qb play. The bengals had the explosive offense and a terrible defense, but they had something that other teams knew could beat them. What do the texans have either offensively or defensively? Teams do go in saying , their offense is explosive even though I think it should be or can be. Defensively, they just don't have playmakers.

Vinny said:

Winning, and the way you win your games gives your team an identity. We don't have an identity crisis to be frank since we are identified as a "bad" NFL team right now. A team that has never won 3 games in a row.

Click to expand...

But hey, we have a franchise record 7 straight homefield sellouts!

Offensively, I see our identity as a bit different than what you'd expect from a West Coast based offense. We're a run first team that uses play action to go deep. We are not a short passing game type of team. Last year, we had a higher percentage of rushing attempts compared to pass attempts than most of the league even though our average per attempt was low.

We're almost an old Raider's type of offense translated to the modern era with zone blocking. We pound the run and then stretch the field deep. Not a lot of short passes, not a lot of slants. Not very West Coast at all.

On defense, our identity is... well... um... we don't have an identity on defense. Unless it's getting out of the way so we don't get hurt and tackling guys 7-8 yards past where they should have been tackled.

The Pencil Neck said:

On defense, our identity is... well... um... we don't have an identity on defense. Unless it's getting out of the way so we don't get hurt and tackling guys 7-8 yards past where they should have been tackled.

Click to expand...

That shouldn't have made me laugh, but it did.

Of course thru time, the west coast offense has versions. The holmgren in seattle version was power running with alexander and quick slants. The shanahan version at first was running 1st, deep pos action with elway,davis, smith,sharpe and company. Gruden in oakland had the the old form with dink and dunk and a pas catching back like charlie garner. Andy reid is a holmgren student and likes the huge lineman, the roger craig type back in westbrook, but the receivers are suspect. The one thing about all those version is a staple. The texans don't have the staple. Its still square pegs in a round hole. They have a smalll line, but have a midline not so mobile passer. They have a body catcher in johnson, but don't run as many slants as they should. Its like they're stuck in between. It looks like slaton might be that westbrok type which is cool, Danniels should be used a whole lot more than he is right now.