I really have to ask you..... And again, I'm just trying to understand the mentality...you think this "standard" of judging a coach in todays NFL is normal?You really think just as long as the team looks better, even if they end up 7-9 or 8-8, that it is ok?Because if you are really improving then it should then reflect in the record. Really. That is what the league is about. The Texans aren't in a bubble in a division called AFC Candyland where trying hard, looking good and being diappointed but ok with it is acceptable. I just want to know why this franchise has to set such low standards. No other team does this that I know of. I just want it explained. Why is a perceived improvement despite the same results ok?
And for those here thinking both sides are beating a dead horse....I'm just trying to get an explanation to better understand the argument. Because it isn't my mindset or how I was brought up when watching the Cowboys, etc.
For this team, the Arizona Cardinals (until recently), the Detroit Lions, the SF 49ers, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers (Pre-Dungy), and any other team that just can't seem to get it right (The Dallas Cowboys), before they can put too much stock in winning & loosing games, they need to be doing the right things right, & playing good football.
The Cowboys have been up & down ever since Jimmy Johnson left, because (IMHO) the focus isn't on playing good football, the focus is on winning games. If winning & loosing games is all that matters, & you're only worried about what it takes to win or lose, you're going to be swinging from a 6-10 team to a 10-6 team & not be able to explain it.
If you're playing good football, & what Kubiak has done with this team takes that to many different levels. But if you're playing good football, it's only a matter of time that it will show up in the record. The Colts, the Pats, the Steelers, they have a system, they have a formula. When something goes wrong, they can go back & look at what happened, address it, & get back to their winning ways.
We're blocking better, throwing better, catching better, running better routes, tackling better, covering better, penetrating better, everything better. We're playing as a team now, where we weren't before.
We're tied for 5th in sacks allowed... have we ever done that before this late in the season if not ever?
We're second in passing offense, 7th in total offense (with no running game), 8th in Time of Possession, 11th in points per game, 7th in first downs per game. 14th in 3rd down conversions (not that great, but better than 50% of the NFL).
We're 12th in total defense (1st year in this system), 8th in defensive ToP, & we've dramatically improved in every defensive stat as the year progressed.
I think we are playing good football now. Next year's W-L will mean more than it does now. I think we've got enough talent & depth that loosing one or two players won't mean as much as it does now.
I expected all this to happen sooner than it had. I believe we are one year behind where we should be. There are things that happened this year, that explains why we are where we are, & I think they are good reasons/excuses. I am not happy about where we are, but I can accept it. Some of it is squarely on Gary's shoulders. Some of it not.