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Kubiak: Schaub couldn’t audible out of “very, very poor play”

PockyAF

Waterboy
The Texans threw the game away on Sunday when quarterback Matt Schaub threw an awful pass to Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, which Sherman returned 58 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. On Monday, Texans coach Gary Kubiak acknowledged that it was a terrible play all around but said Schaub had to run it because that’s the play that was called.

Asked if Schaub had the freedom to audible out of that play, Kubiak answered, “No, once we called it, started the motion, it was game on. So we just had a very, very poor play like I told you.”


That answer is hard to understand: If Schaub saw that the play wasn’t going to work, why didn’t he have the authority to call an audible? And if he didn’t have the authority to call an audible, what about calling timeout? Or taking delay of game and calling a different play after the five-yard penalty? Or if he absolutely had to run the play, why not throw the ball out of bounds, or take a sack, or take a knee? Anything would have been better than a pick-six.

But the fact that Kubiak said he didn’t give Schaub the authority to call an audible suggests that Kubiak doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Schaub’s decision making. Asked about Schaub being on a short leash, Kubiak answered, “How short of a leash is he on? He’s our quarterback. Like I said, we’ve all got to do things a little better.”


One thing the Texans need to do better is figure out how to avoid any more “very, very poor plays.” Those are the plays that lose games.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/30/kubiak-schaub-couldnt-audible-out-of-very-very-poor-play/
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
modern day offensive coaching guru has a system where one can't change the play in a bad situation. Brilliant stuff. La Porte HS QB's have a better system than this for being in a bad play.
 

RTP2110

All Pro
I dunno man, I think that if I'm Schaub in that situation, a little subordination is in order. Common sense should trump flawed protocol.
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
I think it's time for Bob to call an audible on the Coach. I would say that it's time for Rick Smith to call an audible but that's laughable since Rick Smith isn't allowed to call an audible either.
 

bOODRO87

Time Consumer
How do you stay positive after reading that? Seriously. It's no wonder why the well coached teams make us look stupid. Never mind the Broncos, watch us get beaten by the CHIEFS.


This sucks. Bad.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
It sounds more like he is instinctually covering for Schaub, but thereby implicating himself to a fan base that already sees he, Schaub's contract and Rick Smith's incredible UDFA work as the Teflon Trinity.

This team is talented enough to get the result, they just need an organizational structure that has check and balances. The current power structure has been on cruise control since pen went to paper eight years ago.
 

Hottoddie

Veteran
If this is true, that's got to be the stupidest call I've ever heard of. The QB has to have the flexibility to make a change at the last moment. The defense is constantly shifting around before the snap. I guess we now know why Peyton didn't come here. He must've been afraid he'd have to biatch slap Kubiak. :lol:
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Or maybe Kubiak knows what he has for a QB and doesn't let him audible because it just isn't a good idea.
 

PapaL

Loose Screw
Peyton would've been the best OC on our side of the field. It makes perfect sense now.

Either Schaub is too stupid to audible or Kubes doesn't trust him. Which is it?
 

PockyAF

Waterboy
I think it's time for Bob to call an audible on the Coach.
Yea, I wish. The jig is up on Kubiak.

n the locker room after the game, safety Earl Thomas didn’t deflect credit from Sherman. After all, he had to make the interception - his second of the season. But Thomas gave much of the credit to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for his play call.

Quinn noticed on film that Houston liked to roll out Schaub off play action in short-yardage situations, then have him quickly dump the ball in the flat. So when the Texans faced a third-and-four with about three minutes left, Quinn dialed up a play designed specifically to thwart that.

Quinn had safety Kam Chancellor blitz off the edge, which negated Schaub’s ability to roll out after faking the handoff. He also had Sherman hover in the flat.

After turning and seeing Chancellor in his face, Schaub quickly threw the ball up for grabs to tight end Owen Daniels. Sherman played it perfectly and jumped in front of the pass.

“You’ve got to give credit to the D-coordinator on that one,” Thomas said.

Seattle’s defense had seen that exact play in Friday’s practice when going against the scout-team offense. In practice, Sherman also picked off the pass in the flat.

Defensive end Chris Clemons said Seattle’s defense doesn’t run that play often, but he said Quinn knew what Houston would likely do on that play based on the Texans’ formation and down.

“We had practiced exactly that,” coach Pete Carroll said. “So it was really cool that it happened, but even more so for the poise and athleticism for Sherman to pull it off. It was the way it was supposed to be.”

Sherman, of course, completed the play by taking it 58 yards for a touchdown minus half his footwear.

“It might be the longest return without a shoe in the NFL,” Sherman said. “You got to check that.”
http://seattletimes.com/html/seahawks/2021929217_shermansidebar30xml.html

Predictable, routined. Kubiak was simply out-coached on that play.





http://www.sports790.com/media/podcast-proper-gentlemen-podcast-propergentlemen/monday-september-30th-hour-2-23774901/

The guys on 790's thoughts on that play at 45:53
 

Pollardized

Division Champ
If this is true, that's got to be the stupidest call I've ever heard of. The QB has to have the flexibility to make a change at the last moment. The defense is constantly shifting around before the snap. I guess we now know why Peyton didn't come here. He must've been afraid he'd have to biatch slap Kubiak. :lol:
Man, could you imagine the scene on the sideline - Peyton's big forehead headbutting against Gary's perfect 2 bottle of hair spray melon???
 

Hottoddie

Veteran
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Schaub call audibiles a few years ago when we were the #3 offense in the NFL?
 

macho grande

Waterboy
It's no wonder why the well coached teams make us look stupid.


This sucks. Bad.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Furthermore I can't believe that schaub wouldn't take it upon himself to change the play. Hell I'm a lowly middle manager and I got the stones to go against the grain when I KNOW that what I'm being asked to do is not helping our long or short term goals. More times than not I'm given kudos afterwards for showing initiative and "making a freaking play".
Schaub's a complete kiss-ass yes man. Ridiculous!
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
Always a bridesmaid



But, never a bride



***this is material world therapy for a fan that is one step from going ALL CAPS.
 

eriadoc

Texan-American
Or maybe Kubiak knows what he has for a QB and doesn't let him audible because it just isn't a good idea.
1.) Preventing him from changing the play hasn't stopped Schaub from giving points to the other team every game this season.

2.) Kubiak hand picked this QB and declares him the starter each season before training camp even comes around. He hasn't drafted a serious challenger to the position, and despite what Yates did in his rookie year, Kubiak never opened up the position for competition.

Here's something to think about:

When Brady came in for Bledsoe, he didn't really tear it up. He did good, but not anything that would elad you to believe he'd become what he became. You think Kubiak would have rolled with him when Bledsoe came back? What about when Bledsoe came into the AFC Championship game and rallied the troops with a key drive to help seal the deal? What about when you consider that Bledsoe had just signed a $100M deal? Personally, I think if Kubiak were the coach of the Pats at that time, Brady would be a footnote to history.
 

eriadoc

Texan-American
I heard the play by play team say that Schaub is the most blitzed QB in the NFL. No shock since he handles pressure poorly and doesn't stretch the field to make teams pay.
Yep. You typically do more blitzing of young, inexperienced, and/or crappy ass QBs, while you do more dropping into coverage against the good ones.
 

htowntexans1985

1st Round Pick
How can we even expect great things from this regime after the coach pretty much said our quarterback doesn't have the capabilities to audible out of a play after seeing how the defense sets up? I never wished for them to lose but something dramatic has to happen for their to be a change. Maybe going 2-14 will be the nail in the coffin.
 

Runner

Hubcap Diamond
Staff member
I think it's time for Bob to call an audible on the Coach. I would say that it's time for Rick Smith to call an audible but that's laughable since Rick Smith isn't allowed to call an audible either.
I don't know if Rick Smith is allowed to call an audible, but I do know he wouldn't call one back.

And give Kubes a break, he's a first time head coach.

===================

This brain trust should have been gone five years ago. Baby steps. Incremental improvement. That was never the "right way" in today's NFL.
 

Seegara

Guitar Picker, Dog Lover, Woodworker
Let's face the fax. Kubiak isn't going to be fired and Schaub isn't going to be benched. The team the fans and players said had to win NOW isn't going to make it this season. We might as well root for our second favorite team.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Asked if Schaub had the freedom to audible out of that play, Kubiak answered, “No, once we called it, started the motion, it was game on. So we just had a very, very poor play like I told you.”
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/30/kubiak-schaub-couldnt-audible-out-of-very-very-poor-play/
I think we're reading this wrong. He's not saying Schaub doesn't have the ability to change the play or call an audible.

He's saying once we line up & he calls for the motion, it's too late. He saw what he was looking for, he's going to snap the ball. He doesn't see the extra blitzer until it's too late.

The motion was supposed to tip them off, it didn't.
 

chicagotexan2

Easterby = Little Finger/Cal = Fredo Corleone
It sounds more like he is instinctually covering for Schaub, but thereby implicating himself to a fan base that already sees he, Schaub's contract and Rick Smith's incredible UDFA work as the Teflon Trinity.

This team is talented enough to get the result, they just need an organizational structure that has check and balances. The current power structure has been on cruise control since pen went to paper eight years ago.
That's what I think too. Ok It was a lousy play call but Schaub threw the pass in the face of pressure instead of doing what he does so well which is crumbling into a fetal position. Had he done that the team could at least let the defense do its thing. instead Leonard Lawrence from full metal jacket threw the game away. I used to support Kubiak but this 'its on me schit has gotten really old'. Schaub is a bumb that made a terrible decision and that is the bottom line.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
How do you stay positive after reading that? Seriously. It's no wonder why the well coached teams make us look stupid. Never mind the Broncos, watch us get beaten by the CHIEFS.


This sucks. Bad.
479 yards of total offense, 2 TDs, with a gimpy QB having a bad day, who doesn't have the ability to audible.

Imagine if he could.

One million billion yards & 30 TDs a game.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Always a bridesmaid



But, never a bride



***this is material world therapy for a fan that is one step from going ALL CAPS.
It's amazing what success looks like outside of Houston. For them, 1 & done is the shiznit. We can actually win a play-off game & we ain't done sht.
 

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
How can we even expect great things from this regime after the coach pretty much said our quarterback doesn't have the capabilities to audible out of a play after seeing how the defense sets up? I never wished for them to lose but something dramatic has to happen for their to be a change. Maybe going 2-14 will be the nail in the coffin.
He doesn't read defenses well. He doesn't go through progressions well. He doesn't see wide open receivers well. Why would you not believe that he does not have the ability to recognize what play to call in an audible?
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
479 yards of total offense, 2 TDs, with a gimpy QB having a bad day, who doesn't have the ability to audible.

Imagine if he could.

One million billion yards & 30 TDs a game.
No. That QB is playing in Denver. I doubt they want to trade him.
 

Brisco_County

Apples and roadmaps
There are two tendencies of the national sports media that I can rely on year after year:

1) Pretend like the New York Jets are relevant.
2) Avoid doing even minimal research when reporting on the Texans.

But the fact that Kubiak said he didn’t give Schaub the authority to call an audible suggests that Kubiak doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Schaub’s decision making. Asked about Schaub being on a short leash, Kubiak answered, “How short of a leash is he on? He’s our quarterback. Like I said, we’ve all got to do things a little better.”
It reminds me of when celebrities offer brash political statements on issues they've never read about.

In this case, simple research would reveal that Kubiak's system eliminates the traditional audible by design. It's systemic, not reliant on personnel.

Texans Chick just wrote about this two months ago after interviewing Schaub and Myers:

One of the off-season discussions this year by both some fans and media is how Gary Kubiak should give more power to Matt Schaub to change out of plays at the line of scrimmage to take advantage of defenses.

It isn’t a criticism I’ve understood given the nature of the offense the Texans run. Schaub does have the power to switch plays at the line, it is just that it isn’t done with the obviousness and gyrations that some quarterbacks do.

...

Myers: “I’m not going to explain how we handle audibling at the line, but nice try there. That’s the way it works in the NFL. Some teams and some quarterbacks are given that opportunity because there teams offenses are based upon them going to the line and having six different plays possible then they just give the line and the rest of offense what they are going to do. In our scheme, Matt doesn’t necessarily have to do that all the time. You guys may not notice, but we audible a lot. You guys may not notice and talk about it all the time because you guys don’t notice it. It’s one of the things that come with the territory. It’s a smooth transition for us with the zone blocking scheme and with the rollouts that we have that Matt’s been able to run. We don’t have to audible as much because we have the potential for other things to happen. Our audibles aren’t the same as other teams, but we get it done just as much as they do. Everyone talking about how they need to put more pressure on Matt and how he needs to take on more of the offense. It’s there, you guys just don’t notice.”

Schaub: “If I explain what we do too much, then other teams are understanding it too. We’re glad that no one out there really knows what we’re doing. We do have a built-in system but it’s something that we do at the line of scrimmage that is not as dramatic as some teams do. We do it about 30 percent of the game. We have two or maybe three plays at the line of scrimmage and then we go from there. It’s all based on what the defense is doing. Sometimes it’s run to run, run to pass, it can be any one of those things, but it’s all predicated on the defense.”
Link.

And here's the thread: http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101160
 

tedr

Rookie
He doesn't read defenses well. He doesn't go through progressions well. He doesn't see wide open receivers well. Why would you not believe that he does not have the ability to recognize what play to call in an audible?
If this is right, I feel pretty certain Kubiak and Smith knew this before they signed Schaub to the extension. So, if they knew this beforehand, why the heck did we offer him this huge contract? Were they both so arrogant as to believe that even though he has these major limitations, they could work around them because Kubiak is an offensive guru and could manage the QB and the team to a championship?
 

cstyle42

Rookie
Kubiak is a ****ing idiot.
I'm crying laughing! Most of this is joy with some sorrow. I'm happy and at peace with the fact that all texans fans are now forced to see this and that Schaub is what he is as well. I just hate seeing the texans lose it just ticks me the F off.
 

Rey

Guest
I've been saying for years that this isn't a complex audibling system. This is an old school system that a lot of highschool teams don't even use anymore.

The "audibles" are built in and pre determined. There is no creative audibling by Schaub and his pre snap reads are basic.

Sage already explained this. Schaub has said things that showed what our system is like and so has kubiak.

But Schaub not being able to use a big boy audibling system wasn't the issue there. It might be a symptom of a bigger problem, but Schaub just needs to not go full retard when he's faced with a rushing defender.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
I've been saying for years that this isn't a complex audibling system. This is an old school system that a lot of highschool teams don't even use anymore.

The "audibles" are built in and pre determined. There is no creative audibling by Schaub and his pre snap reads are basic.

Sage already explained this. Schaub has said things that showed what our system is like and so has kubiak.

But Schaub not being able to use a big boy audibling system wasn't the issue there. It might be a symptom of a bigger problem, but Schaub just needs to not go full retard when he's faced with a rushing defender.
That is one narrative. The counter would be, that evening in knowing Schaub's lack of agility, Kubiak decides to call a play that puts his QB in a position to fail at the height of the game - while not giving Schaub an opportunity to audible into a Moons over my Hammy.

Live with the menu, die by the menu.
 

burro

probably drunk
If Schaub audibled to a different play and we didn't make the first down, assuming Seattle still wins the game, fans would just complain about how inept he is at it and demand he never do it again.

Hindsight is 20/20, Schaub trusted the judgement of the (alleged) offensive genius HC and it didn't work out. That's going to happen from time to time in the NFL, it's not like Seattle got to be the #1 defense through a lottery.
 

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
If Schaub audibled to a different play and we didn't make the first down, assuming Seattle still wins the game, fans would just complain about how inept he is at it and demand he never do it again.

Hindsight is 20/20, Schaub trusted the judgement of the (alleged) offensive genius HC and it didn't work out. That's going to happen from time to time in the NFL, it's not like Seattle got to be the #1 defense through a lottery.
The previous two weeks he had pick six's. We would have understood the logic. Schaub went from trending to full blown Schaub Team Six.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Or Kubiak is falling on his sword and hopefully Smith is kept as GM in 2014. I don't want to see another full rebuilding.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
He doesn't read defenses well. He doesn't go through progressions well. He doesn't see wide open receivers well. Why would you not believe that he does not have the ability to recognize what play to call in an audible?
Funny I only hear the progressions and doesn't see receivers from Texans fans. The ex-coaches say those are strengths.

Honestly it is hilarious reading the game day thread and listening at the same time. The former QB commentator will be saying Schaub is on his 3rd read and the MB will be saying he stared down his receiver the whole way. Or this last game with tons of folks jumping in saying AJ was wide open in the back of the end zone. No as a practical matter he wasn't. Schaub was heading right to left with AJ well back from him. That would have required gymnast to pull off and we know that ain't Schaub.

To be clear, Schaub is not playing well but he is also not guilty of everything alleged here.
 
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