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Richard Smith

P

painekiller

All Pro
I bet all you guys and gals calling for Richard Smith's head after the first few weeks feel pretty sorry right now. We have moved from 32 in team defense to #27, not earth moving, but considering how bad we did the first few weeks, significant none the less.

This group of young guys has really come alive as Mario has become more comfortable at the NFL level. It also did not hurt to get Faggins back from the injured list. Ryans has been the most consistent player all season.

Now I am concerned that all the injuries to the defense will start to cost the stats. (Not that they matter). But seeing this group of young men become comfortable together, and becoming a team has been fun and I am looking forward to seeing them get better in the future.

Thank you Richard Smith and Gary Kubiak(for bring him back here).
 
Yeah, the playcalling was really good. We hid our coverages and just threw a bunch of different looks at them. We looked pretty unpredictable out there. The past few weeks, our defense has been playing with a lot of confidence. It's great to not seen anyone get the "deer in the headlights" looks that's I've been seeing when the season started.
 
I don't see any reason to feel sorry about wanting Richard Smith fired after the first few games. His play calling wasn't just bad, it was worse than a five year old could have done. The Skins used dump offs into the flats the entire game and Smith NEVER covered it. They broke a record for consecutive completions against us because of his play calling and we were on pace to be the worst defense in the history of the NFL. Not just breaking the record, but destroying it in ways no one had ever imagined before. We see what the players are capable of in a good game plan now, which just highlights how bad Smith was the first few weeks.

I'm happy that we've improved and he is properly utilizing our personel to run an effective defense, but that doesn't erase the incompetense from earlier in the year. No one should feel compelled to apologize for wanting him fired over his performance. It really was that bad.

Would I still want him replaced if we continue to be a good defense? Probably not, but it depends on what options are available to us.
 
painekiller said:
I bet all you guys and gals calling for Richard Smith's head after the first few weeks feel pretty sorry right now. We have moved from 32 in team defense to #27, not earth moving, but considering how bad we did the first few weeks, significant none the less.

This group of young guys has really come alive as Mario has become more comfortable at the NFL level. It also did not hurt to get Faggins back from the injured list. Ryans has been the most consistent player all season.

Now I am concerned that all the injuries to the defense will start to cost the stats. (Not that they matter). But seeing this group of young men become comfortable together, and becoming a team has been fun and I am looking forward to seeing them get better in the future.

Thank you Richard Smith and Gary Kubiak(for bring him back here).
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Personally, I am still not sold on RS.

Though the defense has been better as of late, they have been playing a string of games in a row with poor quarterback play: Culpepper, Leftwich, Young, Bledsoe (until we kept turning the ball over), Manning the younger, and Gerrard. In a number of those games, I found myself thinking that the QB had too much time to throw, and that we were fortunate that the QB wasn't particularly accurate and/or their receivers couldn't catch.

The improvement on the Texans defensive side of the ball corresponds to the improvement on the Texans offensive side of the ball with time of possession.

So, hurray for the improvement of the defense from the worst defense by far the first three weeks, to something that is improving.

But the defensive side of the ball is still worrisome to me. Maybe it needs time and more players appropriate to their positions, but I am not ready to sing Richard Smith's praises yet. I'm still in wait and see mode--don't have much track record to work with yet.

Just going a little semi-contrarian here. :cool:
 
Goatcheese said:
I don't see any reason to feel sorry about wanting Richard Smith fired after the first few games. His play calling wasn't just bad, it was worse than a five year old could have done. The Skins used dump offs into the flats the entire game and Smith NEVER covered it. They broke a record for consecutive completions against us because of his play calling and we were on pace to be the worst defense in the history of the NFL. Not just breaking the record, but destroying it in ways no one had ever imagined before. We see what the players are capable of in a good game plan now, which just highlights how bad Smith was the first few weeks.

I'm happy that we've improved and he is properly utilizing our personel to run an effective defense, but that doesn't erase the incompetense from earlier in the year. No one should feel compelled to apologize for wanting him fired over his performance. It really was that bad.

Would I still want him replaced if we continue to be a good defense? Probably not, but it depends on what options are available to us.
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This is my feeling on it. Maybe Smith just felt the players weren't ready to run a different scheme early on into the year. I think certainly we are gelling as a unit and we have guys like Mario reacting more and thinking less. In any event Smith's playcalling looked horrible and got horrible results early on into the year. It's appeared more aggressive and balanced since and is achieving notably better results. I think he is performing well of late and that being the case I have no ill will toward him. I'd be interested to know more -- not that I will -- about his apparent evolution and what exactly went on behind closed doors.
 
I think this was a combination of playing worse teams, getting more comfortable with the personel and system and the developemnt of the youngsters who drive this D (mario and meco). Injuries havn't helped, but gettting all the way up to #22 in terms of points allowed (the only significant measure of defense) after that horiffic start is something to be proud of. Hopefully we will build on the D even further next off-season and keep getting improving results.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it the first few games that they had Mario all over the field?

Seems as though we're doing better with him on the outside.

My main gripe with RS was that he HAD to get Mario in one spot.

Us fans might not be paid professionals (in terms of coaching decisions) but we were right on the money when almost every poster here agreed that Mario needed to be put on the edge and turned loose.

For that, if he had not put Mario in one spot as we had hoped, then "Yes" he ought to be fired. The cries were loud and proud on this board during those first few weeks. All it took was for the coaches to Keep It Simple.

Look, it's a short window in the NFL. 16 games and out for the rest of the year. If you're an NFL Defensive Coordinator...and you watch the college game film of Mario on the edge getting past or over any olineman in his path....you better not overthink this thing--You better put him where he feels the most comfortable and let him do his thing.

Hitching a race horse to a plow is a crime. And the guilty shall be punished.

I do not regret being an RS detractor. A guy like Mario wears down an oline over the course of a game. He is an instant impact player. He can make any coordinator look like a genius. But if RS didn't pull that trigger after the first few games and from there on out leave Mario in his rightful place....for shame, for shame, for shame as Gomer would say.
 
I did not call for Richard Smith's head, as I do not like firing coaches during a season (i.e. the Palmer debacle of '05). But I've never been shy about my concerns regarding his schemes. He does not have the background in dominant defenses as a coordinator, and we were getting owned for the first few games. I had at least hoped for some competition, but it looked like we were in over our head.

It's definitely getting better, and I'll be the first to give him props. But we still have a long, long way to go. Putting consistent pressure on the QB is a primary concern for an aggressive defense, and we seem to have it in bursts. Coming into the season, I thought the D-line would be the least of our concerns with the talent we have up front. It's only been the last few games that things have started to gel in our favor.
 
the wonger need food said:
I sent Richard another email to apologize for the one after week 3. I doubt he'll respond or even read it.

One serving here please...
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Sending emails to the team are not all bad, I sent one and got a prize pack for my email.. Kick *****!!!!!! Of coures you a re probably right, Smith prolly never saw it.
 
Texans_Chick said:
The improvement on the Texans defensive side of the ball corresponds to the improvement on the Texans offensive side of the ball with time of possession.
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Chicken or egg? It also corresponds to the defense getting more turnovers to give the offense more possessions. I think the improvement is a combination of all of the things already mentioned. Early on it seemed that RS fell into the same trap that Fangio did - masking the weakness of the secondary by not being aggressive. I only hope that they can keep it up with all of the injuries on the d-line. Mario would be the biggest loss - put that in your pipe and smoke it.
 
Richard Smith, defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. Smith has coached NFL football for 18 years and is in the middle of a tough rebuilding project with the Texans defense. With rookies on the field and a number of injuries to key players, Houston still sacked David Garrard two times and forced four interceptions. The Texans swept the Jaguars this season, and Smith's defense had a lot to do with both wins. Holding the Jags to seven and 10 points this season, respectively, is very impressive and could be the sign that Houston has made the transition from a 3-4 team to a 4-3 team.
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9802645
 
I'll take my serving of crow.

The defense has definitely turned around since the Washignton game and I am very happy about the improvement.
 
Texans_Chick said:
Personally, I am still not sold on RS.

Though the defense has been better as of late, they have been playing a string of games in a row with poor quarterback play: Culpepper, Leftwich, Young, Bledsoe (until we kept turning the ball over), Manning the younger, and Gerrard. In a number of those games, I found myself thinking that the QB had too much time to throw, and that we were fortunate that the QB wasn't particularly accurate and/or their receivers couldn't catch.

The improvement on the Texans defensive side of the ball corresponds to the improvement on the Texans offensive side of the ball with time of possession.

So, hurray for the improvement of the defense from the worst defense by far the first three weeks, to something that is improving.

But the defensive side of the ball is still worrisome to me. Maybe it needs time and more players appropriate to their positions, but I am not ready to sing Richard Smith's praises yet. I'm still in wait and see mode--don't have much track record to work with yet.

Just going a little semi-contrarian here. :cool:
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Quoted for truth. The defense has done well against sub-par quarterbacks or QBs that were off their game. Whether or not RS' defense had anything to do with them being off their game is another argument, but I am not sold on RS yet.

That being said, I think the defense is very young and RS does not have a whole lot to work with. Hopefully over time the players will mature and RS continues to make strides with the defense. Wins over Gerrard, Culpepper, and Leftwich arent exactly like beating Brady, Manning, and Palmer.

One thing is for sure, we get 2 cracks at Peyton a year. Hopefully we can crack that nut once and for all this year in Reliant.

GO TEXANS

Doug
 
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