Kubiak is not the quickest to change and adapt. He does, though. I think we are looking at a painful lesson this year and a quick exit from the playoffs. I believe Kubiak will assess the season and realize he failed to adjust after the Cushing injury and redirect the offense to an aggressive and attacking offense that used the pass to set up the run (2008, 2009 and 2010). Moving forward, he won't make that mistake again. Unfortunately, that doesn't help us this year. Fortunately, though, the team is set up for continued success and some of the pain we experienced this year will be addressed with personnel additions... We should have 11 or 12 draft picks and very little dead money eating away at our cap.
Though our head coach and QB are not elite, they are good and they are committed. Furthermore, we have a very good coaching staff and wealth of young talent, high character and committed players, an owner who wants to win, lots of draft picks, JJ Watt, Cushing, Joseph, ASmith, Quin, KJackson, DBrown, Foster, Tate, AJ, OD, Myers... We will have a good shot again next year. We are now one of the elite organizations and we are experiencing what they all experience most seasons. New England has gone how many years since they won a Superbowl?... with Tom Brady and Belichek in place. McNair's philosophy and willingness to stick with Kubiak and Smith after 2010 has paid off. We can expect to win double-digits again next year and playoff success will ultimately come down to variables like health, playoff matchups, and whether the team is peaking at the right time.
This season is not going to end well, but the team is positioned well and one disappointing finish should not be over-analyzed. Remember, the same head coach won the division and a playoff game with a 3rd string, rookie QB last season and threatened advancing to the AFC Championship game. It is not as though he has not shown the ability to win big games or get a lot out of limited talent in high pressure situations.