[Grantland] Hey, Don't F*$% This Up: The Houston Texans' Outdated Offense

[The Pencil Neck]

Once again, I stand by my statement that just because a team adopts the ZBS scheme in whole or in parts does not mean that that team is "imitating" the Texans & adopting their offensive playbook or offensive approach. Which in my opinion is "imitation". Merely studying a team to learn how to utilize a scheme is researching IMO. The Texans are hardly the inventors of the ZBS, so not all of whom adopt it are Texan imitators IMO.

If they study the Texans to learn how to do something and try to do it the way the Texans do it, then there's some imitation involved.

And the Bengals weren't studying our ZBS, they were studying our route combinations.

Oh, wait. No. I'm lying about that. :mariopalm:

Here's some food for thought:
Texans NFL Offensive Ranks (NFL.com)

2009- Passing #1 Rushing #30
2010- Passing #4 Rushing #7
2011- Passing #8 Rushing #2
2012- Passing #11 Rushing #8

Now maybe you don't see a difference in the offensive approach, but it's pretty clear that in 2009 that the Texans were very pass heavy & as the years have gone by, & the emergence of Arian, the transition has gone from pass heavy to balanced in 2010 & then favoring the run in 2011 & 2012. So there has obviously been a transition from pass to run & the rankings seem to reflect it. Granted the playbook may contain plays that have been there since 2009, but which ones are utilized more often seems to have changed & studying the Texans offense in 2009 vs 2012 gives me reason to believe that the play calling, pass vs rush, would yield different results between the 2 yrs. The offensive rankings seem to agree.

Needless to say, I agree that we can agree to disagree on most of these items.

Just because you choose to call more passing plays than rushing plays when the pass game is working better than the running game doesn't mean that it's a different offense.

Kubiak's goal in this offense has ALWAYS been to very balanced between rush and pass. In the past, he couldn't but with the emergence of his offensive line and his running backs, he's able to rely more on them the way he's always wanted to.

You're confusing the playcalling for the offense. Every week, the game plan changes. And with the change of the game plan, the play calling changes. Some weeks, you're going to call more long pass plays, some weeks, more screens and drop offs, and some weeks you're going to run more. But it's all the same offense.

 

[The Pencil Neck]

Eh, not sure why you guys are even discussing the zone blocking. It's not like the Texans created it so not like any utilizing it are imitating the Texans. It's been around for years and there are several teams that use it. Heck, some high schools use it so it's not some Texans innovation.

Using the ZBS isn't imitating the Texans and I never said it was.

But the announcers at one of the games said that LEACH said that he sat down with the Ravens offense and taught them how the Texans run the ZBS. They sat down and watched tape on the Texans and Leach showed them what their reads were and how it was supposed to work. At that point, when they wanted to run a ZBS play, they tried to do it like the Texans did.

To me, that's imitation. They're not pulling out the whole playbook but they're imitating the way the Texans do certain things.

 

[infantrycak]

To me, that's imitation. They're not pulling out the whole playbook but they're imitating the way the Texans do certain things.

I won't pretend to remember when exactly but I have heard such comments made several times within the last couple years.

 

[drs23]

I won't pretend to remember when exactly but I have heard such comments made several times within the last couple years.

Same here. It's been discussed on air. I've heard it on more than one occasion. Flattery I tell ya.

 

[76Texan]

Same here. It's been discussed on air. I've heard it on more than one occasion. Flattery I tell ya.

You're lying; you and TPN both!

 

[The Pencil Neck]

You're lying; you and TPN both!

NEG Rep FOR YOU!!!

 

[drs23]

NEG Rep FOR YOU!!!

 

[tru80texan]

So... you're calling me a liar?

No Sir!! I take your word as the gospel regardless of whether or not it's backed by a source.

Kubiak's goal in this offense has ALWAYS been to very balanced between rush and pass. In the past, he couldn't but with the emergence of his offensive line and his running backs, he's able to rely more on them the way he's always wanted to.

You're confusing the playcalling for the offense. Every week, the game plan changes. And with the change of the game plan, the play calling changes. Some weeks, you're going to call more long pass plays, some weeks, more screens and drop offs, and some weeks you're going to run more. But it's all the same offense.

We know kubiak tries to be balanced. That goes w/out saying & the rankings I provided shows that. Never disputed that. What was disputed & what you seem to be missing is what the original debate was over. Someone stated that other teams have studied the Texans in attempt to imitate their offense for the last 3 seasons. Considering the Texan's offense has transformed from a pass heavy team in 09 to a slightly run heavy team in 2012, then it's safe to say those that have studied the Texans in hopes of imitating have noticed the shift as well. I'm not confused about game plans because that to goes w/out saying as well, plans change according to opponents. This was a change in offensive strategy due to the Texans limitations in the past. No RB, suspect o-line, & Swiss cheese defense=pass heavy offense In 2009. No real confusion, it's pretty straight forward IMO. Once again, we can agree to disagree because this horse has been beaten to the bones.

 

[tru80texan]

I won't pretend to remember when exactly but I have heard such comments made several times within the last couple years.

Your statement is probably the best way to make that claim, IMO, as opposed to saying:

"Fill in NFL team has studied the the Texans offense for years in attempt to imitate them. I recall this being said in fill in random year, but I can't remember for sure. Trust me!". Just my . lol!

 

[thunderkyss]

Your statement is probably the best way to make that claim, IMO, as opposed to saying:

"Fill in NFL team has studied the the Texans offense for years in attempt to imitate them. I recall this being said in fill in random year, but I can't remember for sure. Trust me!". Just my . lol!

Usually, when they talked about imitating the Texans, it was about our formations, the motions, & the route combinations. It wasn't just one or two games, it was several. Just about every time they would go on about Andre always being open (& back then, it wasn't only on the play action) they would talk about other teams borrowing from the Texans.

Sometimes they would talk about it when they talked about our fast starts (back when we were a fast start team).

& then when they talked about Tj Yates, his college coach pretty much said he flat out ripped off our play-book, which was what a lot of people credited Tj's ability to pick up on our offense so quickly.

Honestly, it was mentioned so many times over the years, I'm more surprised that you don't remember one instance.

 

[deucetx]

Using the ZBS isn't imitating the Texans and I never said it was.

But the announcers at one of the games said that LEACH said that he sat down with the Ravens offense and taught them how the Texans run the ZBS. They sat down and watched tape on the Texans and Leach showed them what their reads were and how it was supposed to work. At that point, when they wanted to run a ZBS play, they tried to do it like the Texans did.

To me, that's imitation. They're not pulling out the whole playbook but they're imitating the way the Texans do certain things.

Your first line contradicts your last statement. I wasn't saying that you were stating they are imitating the total Texans offense because quite honestly that would be a bit silly. And I'm sure the Ravens did pick it up since they started messing with ZB in 2011.

Either way that wasn't my point. My point was what does someone imitating or taking points from our zone blocking system have to do with the issues we have on offense? In the NFL everyone takes something from everyone. This isn't something the Texans have exclusively. Our offense isn't horrible so of course other teams will take finer points and see how to install them into their own or find ways to adjust it to their benefit. Every single team does this. It's nothing new.

The point is the offense has issues that need to be addressed, adjusted or changed. We shouldn't have problems when we're down against a good team if we wish to be among the elites. We shouldn't look out of sync when things don't go perfectly to plan or the script. We shouldn't be handicapped on 3rd and 8+ yards. For the personnel on this team and having an offensive minded coach you would expect our 3rd down conversions to be 40%+. You would never suspect we'd go 6 quarters without scoring a touchdown against bottom half or medicore defenses, etc.

So someone imitating or taking points from the things we actually do well on offense does not erase the issues at hand. That is the point. Yay they imitated the one thing we do excellent in. Great. But now we earned 1st place schedules so will have to perform against these top tier teams consistently. Not showing up offensively one moment and completely becoming a field goal-a-thon the next won't cut it. Whether it is playcalling, personnel usage, or scheme, something needs to change to keep the team consistent which last year definitely was not the case especially after the bye.

It's as simple as if you want to go to the next level (which they do and fans should too) then you have to raise your level of play.

 

[GP]

Your first line contradicts your last statement. I wasn't saying that you were stating they are imitating the total Texans offense because quite honestly that would be a bit silly. And I'm sure the Ravens did pick it up since they started messing with ZB in 2011.

Either way that wasn't my point. My point was what does someone imitating or taking points from our zone blocking system have to do with the issues we have on offense? In the NFL everyone takes something from everyone. This isn't something the Texans have exclusively. Our offense isn't horrible so of course other teams will take finer points and see how to install them into their own or find ways to adjust it to their benefit. Every single team does this. It's nothing new.

The point is the offense has issues that need to be addressed, adjusted or changed. We shouldn't have problems when we're down against a good team if we wish to be among the elites. We shouldn't look out of sync when things don't go perfectly to plan or the script. We shouldn't be handicapped on 3rd and 8+ yards. For the personnel on this team and having an offensive minded coach you would expect our 3rd down conversions to be 40%+. You would never suspect we'd go 6 quarters without scoring a touchdown against bottom half or medicore defenses, etc.

So someone imitating or taking points from the things we actually do well on offense does not erase the issues at hand. That is the point. Yay they imitated the one thing we do excellent in. Great. But now we earned 1st place schedules so will have to perform against these top tier teams consistently. Not showing up offensively one moment and completely becoming a field goal-a-thon the next won't cut it. Whether it is playcalling, personnel usage, or scheme, something needs to change to keep the team consistent which last year definitely was not the case especially after the bye.

It's as simple as if you want to go to the next level (which they do and fans should too) then you have to raise your level of play.

Agreed.

That's a huge problem around here: Fans looking at Schaub's stats, showing Schaub's numbers to AJ (completions, yards, etc.), talking about our rankings on offense...all of it, they say, is some sort of indicator that all is well and we just need this or that to jump to the next level.

I don't want to talk about stats. In the NBA, for a few years, the Phoenix Suns had crazy insane numbers...unbeatable, can't keep up with them, they out-hustle defenses, they're built for speed, blah blah blah...and yet they never won a title. Were never even really close, actually. So the STATS game is not where titles are won. And that's Kubiak's overriding problem, as well.

With Gary Kubiak, you get the sense that he thinks his offense and his guys--if they perform the way they should--it should end up with the good guys (Texans) winning the game. He's built an offense, he's stocked it with his guys, he's loyal to his guys, and if those guys will just run the plays and do what he wants (how he wants it) then it should add up to a victory.

When watching A Football Life: Tom Landry, the entire underlying framework of what Tom Landry was about was his idea that IF his players would just run his plays, the way they should run them based on how Landry wanted them to, then they would win. The interviews with players echoed this over and over, to the point that the players said "You really honestly felt like you were just a drone. Like you needed to just do what Coach Landry said and that's all there was to victory. Do it his way, every time, and the system would be unbeatable." I'm paraphrasing there, but you get the drift. When I saw that documentary, it really turned on a light bulb for me in terms of what Kubiak's biggest downfall is. He has a form of Tom Landry Syndrome, the idea that you've built the perfect offense and you've got the perfect guys for it...now all that needs to happen is for them to do it the way you want them to do it and it means victory on Sundays.

In a way, it's worked. But only in the sense that it's enabled us to beat teams who are either at our level of talent or teams below us. When we have to play "up" to teams such as GB and NE, we can't. Those are the games where crafty, innovative, and just plain "nasty" head coaching has to push the guys over the top against teams like Patriots and Packers.

In essence, it kinda' sucks that Gary basically has this philosophy that his system and his guys are good enough to win every Sunday just on the merits of their knowledge and execution of his system. How many times have we seen this team come off a bye week, the past however many seasons now, and they looks flat? They had two weeks to rest and get ready for a team and they blew it. How about the fact that you got your ass spanked by the Patriots in the reg season and the best you could manage in the playoffs against them was to at least not look as pathetic as you did before? How can you continue to call plays that don't work, give up on 3rd and long ROUTINELY, and how do you not fire a really really bad special teams coach?

At the end of the day, your numbers can look good but you're not really achieving anything of true factual significance. Ask Barry Sanders about all his crazy stats he had; ask him if he wanted those stats or HOF entry or a Super Bowl Title the most. I bet he'd say Super Bowl Title.

Stats are fun. But stats do not win championships. Good coaches, good players, and making your own luck DO win championships. Gary needs to dig deep into the suitcase of courage and start watching game-deciding field goals, start letting his guys compete on 3rd and long, and make changes at positions such as special teams...but he won't. He even had to have his hand forced on firing Frank Bush, basically being advised that if he stayed with Frank in 2011 and things stayed bad that it would be everyone's head on the chopping block for having stuck with his guy.

And it pisses me off. We finally have a competent defense under a real d-coord and it's being wasted. All because Gary values his ideology more than the overriding concept of TEAM FOOTBALL. Sure, he takes the blame for his guys' failures. That's nice. Sure, he sticks with underperforming coaches because he wants them to work out of a rut and get back to winning form. That's nice. Sure, he has some decent stats every year. That's nice.

But nice doesn't win hardware in February. And I think that's what Michael Lombardi and others mean when they say the Texans are soft, or that we're posers and phonies. We're the Phoenix Suns of the NFL.

 

[infantrycak]

When watching A Football Life: Tom Landry, the entire underlying framework of what Tom Landry was about was his idea that IF his players would just run his plays, the way they should run them based on how Landry wanted them to, then they would win. The interviews with players echoed this over and over, to the point that the players said "You really honestly felt like you were just a drone. Like you needed to just do what Coach Landry said and that's all there was to victory. Do it his way, every time, and the system would be unbeatable." I'm paraphrasing there, but you get the drift. When I saw that documentary, it really turned on a light bulb for me in terms of what Kubiak's biggest downfall is. He has a form of Tom Landry Syndrome, the idea that you've built the perfect offense and you've got the perfect guys for it...now all that needs to happen is for them to do it the way you want them to do it and it means victory on Sundays.

LOL that you just tried to spin a negative out of a comparison to one of the greatest (and most innovative) coaches in NFL history.

Sign me up for the Tom Landry Syndrome of 18 playoffs in 20 years. What a joke.

 

[The Pencil Neck]

Your first line contradicts your last statement.

No. It doesn't.

Using the ZBS isn't imitating the Texans UNLESS you look at and study the way the Texans do it as your example and use the Texans' approach as your template.

The Colts under Manning ran a lot of zone concept runs but they weren't imitating the Texans' way of doing it. The Ravens had plays with zone concepts but before Leach taught them our way of doing it, they weren't imitating us.

We don't own the ZBS and we don't own the West Coast Offense but we run a particular and specific variation of each. If a team studies us and then MODELS their offensive approach off of ours, then that's imitation.

I wasn't saying that you were stating they are imitating the total Texans offense because quite honestly that would be a bit silly. And I'm sure the Ravens did pick it up since they started messing with ZB in 2011.

You didn't say that but someone else in the thread did.

Either way that wasn't my point. My point was what does someone imitating or taking points from our zone blocking system have to do with the issues we have on offense? In the NFL everyone takes something from everyone. This isn't something the Texans have exclusively. Our offense isn't horrible so of course other teams will take finer points and see how to install them into their own or find ways to adjust it to their benefit. Every single team does this. It's nothing new.

The point is the offense has issues that need to be addressed, adjusted or changed. We shouldn't have problems when we're down against a good team if we wish to be among the elites. We shouldn't look out of sync when things don't go perfectly to plan or the script. We shouldn't be handicapped on 3rd and 8+ yards. For the personnel on this team and having an offensive minded coach you would expect our 3rd down conversions to be 40%+. You would never suspect we'd go 6 quarters without scoring a touchdown against bottom half or medicore defenses, etc.

So someone imitating or taking points from the things we actually do well on offense does not erase the issues at hand. That is the point. Yay they imitated the one thing we do excellent in. Great. But now we earned 1st place schedules so will have to perform against these top tier teams consistently. Not showing up offensively one moment and completely becoming a field goal-a-thon the next won't cut it. Whether it is playcalling, personnel usage, or scheme, something needs to change to keep the team consistent which last year definitely was not the case especially after the bye.

It's as simple as if you want to go to the next level (which they do and fans should too) then you have to raise your level of play.

There's a difference between picking up some pointers and modeling parts of your approach on something.

Does our offense need to perform better? Yes, it does.

But the question is: what's broken? Is it the OFFENSE -- which to me is the playbook and its underlying scheme and concept? Is it the playcalling? Or is it the execution of the plays?

For me, the offense is fine. There's nothing wrong with our fundamental approach.

I also don't have any problem with the conservative approach to play-calling. I know that's what's rubbing most people the wrong way. Most people here want something more vertical and more showy.

My problem with the offense last year was the execution by the players. Newton/Caldwel/Jones on the right side hurt us. Especially down the stretch. Arian Foster seemed a lot easier to tackle last year than in previous years. Posey and Martin didn't develop as quickly as we would have liked. We missed Dreessen's blocking. We're still missing Leach's blocking. We need to fix all that.

One thing you've got to remember is that... we played a first place schedule last year and we went 12-4. We beat the two other first place teams because of that schedule (Broncos and Ravens. I didn't include the Pats because we played their entire division.)

 

[kingtexan]

Not sure why the debate about imitating some other team. One time someone decided to throw the ball instead of run it, and after that others also threw the ball. It worked out ok.

 

[Hervoyel]

LOL that you just tried to spin a negative out of a comparison to one of the greatest (and most innovative) coaches in NFL history.

Sign me up for the Tom Landry Syndrome of 18 playoffs in 20 years. What a joke.

I get what he's saying though. "TSL" if you will is fine provided you're as good a coach as Tom Landry was. It's not such a good thing if your coach isn't nearly that level.

Sign me up for it too. 18 playoffs in 20 years sounds great. First we need a Tom Landry though. Not sure I see one of those at Reliant Stadium.

 

[Mr teX]

No. It doesn't.

Using the ZBS isn't imitating the Texans UNLESS you look at and study the way the Texans do it as your example and use the Texans' approach as your template.

The Colts under Manning ran a lot of zone concept runs but they weren't imitating the Texans' way of doing it. The Ravens had plays with zone concepts but before Leach taught them our way of doing it, they weren't imitating us.

We don't own the ZBS and we don't own the West Coast Offense but we run a particular and specific variation of each. If a team studies us and then MODELS their offensive approach off of ours, then that's imitation.



You didn't say that but someone else in the thread did.



There's a difference between picking up some pointers and modeling parts of your approach on something.

Does our offense need to perform better? Yes, it does.

But the question is: what's broken? Is it the OFFENSE -- which to me is the playbook and its underlying scheme and concept? Is it the playcalling? Or is it the execution of the plays?

For me, the offense is fine. There's nothing wrong with our fundamental approach.

I also don't have any problem with the conservative approach to play-calling. I know that's what's rubbing most people the wrong way. Most people here want something more vertical and more showy.

My problem with the offense last year was the execution by the players. Newton/Caldwel/Jones on the right side hurt us. Especially down the stretch. Arian Foster seemed a lot easier to tackle last year than in previous years. Posey and Martin didn't develop as quickly as we would have liked. We missed Dreessen's blocking. We're still missing Leach's blocking. We need to fix all that.

One thing you've got to remember is that... we played a first place schedule last year and we went 12-4. We beat the two other first place teams because of that schedule (Broncos and Ravens. I didn't include the Pats because we played their entire division.)

I'd give the 1st place schedule more creedence if it factored more into our schedule..In truth, that aspect only accounts for 20% of our total schedule and only 2 of our losses came from that bracket of teams. Now there's a case to be made that we likely would've lost to Denver if we played them later in the season as opposed to the beginning when they were a completely different team but of course that didn't happen and we lucked up in that regard. It also has no bearing on our other 2 other losses which came from teams that truthfully shouldn't have been on the same field as us much less dominate our offense to the tune of no touchdowns in 6 or so quarters.......on our home field...............in consecutive games............going into the playoffs like they did.

& that to me signifies a problem...clearly an adjustment was made by our opponents...an adjustment that didn't seem to alarm Kubiak and he just kept on doing what we were doing at the beginning of the season..."we just need better execution"....Ok, Kubes but every team in the league can say the same thing every week since 99% of teams in the league don't execute 100% week in week out. You think you might want to start calling some "out of the box/ more aggressive" type of plays to take some pressure off your bread & butter plays? Maybe open it up a little more? Doesn't every coaching staff have someone on thier staff who monitors tendencies in playcalling so as to avoid these very things?

 

[76Texan]

I get what he's saying though. "TSL" if you will is fine provided you're as good a coach as Tom Landry was. It's not such a good thing if your coach isn't nearly that level.

Sign me up for it too. 18 playoffs in 20 years sounds great. First we need a Tom Landry though. Not sure I see one of those at Reliant Stadium.

Well, Landry's Cowboys didn't get to the play-offs until his seventh year, so Kubiak is ahead of him on that front.

 

[The Pencil Neck]

Not sure why the debate about imitating some other team. One time someone decided to throw the ball instead of run it, and after that others also threw the ball. It worked out ok.

Grantland says our offense is outdated.

TKyss (I think) says that it's funny that not too long ago, lots of people were looking at and studying our offense and imitating some of the things we do and now we're outdated. Basically, we're not outdated.

Then tru80texan said that no one was imitating us.

And I jumped in because I've heard, several times over the years, teams say that they're studying how we do certain things to try to steal them for their own offenses.

And then there's a big debate that seems to revolve around the definition of the word "imitate."

 

[76Texan]

There are still a lot of teams running their own variety of the WCO; successful teams at that: Niners, Packers, Seahawks to name a few.
The Seahawks drafted Wilson for that reason; as he ran the offense at N.C.St. (and a mix of WCO/Pro system at Wisconsin.)

Then you have the Dolphins, the Eagles, the Titans, the Raiders, the Vikings and the Cardinals that I know of.

Jay Gruden, the Bengals OC, has root in the WCO under his brother Jon; he was with Shanahan for a little while too.

The Browns have been running the WCO, but will probably make the change this year while the Cowboys might opt to the exact opposite.

Andy Reid is certainly going to bring it to his new job; even the Jets and the Bills are said to be getting ready to make the change to the WCO this upcoming year.

Oh, and the Colts made the change to the WCO last year and drafted Luck (who runs it at Stanford.)


Yeah, it's an outdated offense alright!

 

[76Texan]

Even with Kirk Cousins in the line-up, the Redskins hardly went to the option-read last year.

I just read that he's working hard on it during the off-season because he doesn't want the offense to be "limited" with him not being a running threat.

That tells you Shannahan adapted the option read to utilize RG III skill set.
If he doesn't have a mobile guy like RGIII, one would think he would have stayed with the more traditional approach.

 

[thunderkyss]

Agreed.

That's a huge problem around here: Fans looking at Schaub's stats, showing Schaub's numbers to AJ (completions, yards, etc.), talking about our rankings on offense...all of it, they say, is some sort of indicator that all is well and we just need this or that to jump to the next level.

I don't want to talk about stats. In the NBA, for a few years, the Phoenix Suns had crazy insane numbers...unbeatable, can't keep up with them, they out-hustle defenses, they're built for speed, blah blah blah...and yet they never won a title. Were never even really close, actually. So the STATS game is not where titles are won. And that's Kubiak's overriding problem, as well.

With Gary Kubiak, you get the sense that he thinks his offense and his guys--if they perform the way they should--it should end up with the good guys (Texans) winning the game. He's built an offense, he's stocked it with his guys, he's loyal to his guys, and if those guys will just run the plays and do what he wants (how he wants it) then it should add up to a victory.

When watching A Football Life: Tom Landry, the entire underlying framework of what Tom Landry was about was his idea that IF his players would just run his plays, the way they should run them based on how Landry wanted them to, then they would win. The interviews with players echoed this over and over, to the point that the players said "You really honestly felt like you were just a drone. Like you needed to just do what Coach Landry said and that's all there was to victory. Do it his way, every time, and the system would be unbeatable." I'm paraphrasing there, but you get the drift. When I saw that documentary, it really turned on a light bulb for me in terms of what Kubiak's biggest downfall is. He has a form of Tom Landry Syndrome, the idea that you've built the perfect offense and you've got the perfect guys for it...now all that needs to happen is for them to do it the way you want them to do it and it means victory on Sundays.

In a way, it's worked. But only in the sense that it's enabled us to beat teams who are either at our level of talent or teams below us. When we have to play "up" to teams such as GB and NE, we can't. Those are the games where crafty, innovative, and just plain "nasty" head coaching has to push the guys over the top against teams like Patriots and Packers.

In essence, it kinda' sucks that Gary basically has this philosophy that his system and his guys are good enough to win every Sunday just on the merits of their knowledge and execution of his system. How many times have we seen this team come off a bye week, the past however many seasons now, and they looks flat? They had two weeks to rest and get ready for a team and they blew it. How about the fact that you got your ass spanked by the Patriots in the reg season and the best you could manage in the playoffs against them was to at least not look as pathetic as you did before? How can you continue to call plays that don't work, give up on 3rd and long ROUTINELY, and how do you not fire a really really bad special teams coach?

At the end of the day, your numbers can look good but you're not really achieving anything of true factual significance. Ask Barry Sanders about all his crazy stats he had; ask him if he wanted those stats or HOF entry or a Super Bowl Title the most. I bet he'd say Super Bowl Title.

Stats are fun. But stats do not win championships. Good coaches, good players, and making your own luck DO win championships. Gary needs to dig deep into the suitcase of courage and start watching game-deciding field goals, start letting his guys compete on 3rd and long, and make changes at positions such as special teams...but he won't. He even had to have his hand forced on firing Frank Bush, basically being advised that if he stayed with Frank in 2011 and things stayed bad that it would be everyone's head on the chopping block for having stuck with his guy.

And it pisses me off. We finally have a competent defense under a real d-coord and it's being wasted. All because Gary values his ideology more than the overriding concept of TEAM FOOTBALL. Sure, he takes the blame for his guys' failures. That's nice. Sure, he sticks with underperforming coaches because he wants them to work out of a rut and get back to winning form. That's nice. Sure, he has some decent stats every year. That's nice.

But nice doesn't win hardware in February. And I think that's what Michael Lombardi and others mean when they say the Texans are soft, or that we're posers and phonies. We're the Phoenix Suns of the NFL.

tlDr;


but I quoted the whole damn thing.

 

[Texans_Chick]

Total snaps for the season don't truly capture Kubiak's conservative playcalling within a game...There are too many variables that have to be factored in looking at it this way.... Better insight into that would be to see his play breakdown based on down and distance for the first down.

For 2012, a year with a better defense than in pre-Wade years, the Texans were very aggressive on 1st down in the first half of games ending up with the 2nd most passes on first down in the first half of games.

Only team that passed more on first down in the first half of games was the Patriots. The ratio of passes to runs on first down in the first half of games was far above average for the Texans.

In the second half of games, the Patriots were #1 in number of rushing plays. The Texans were 7th.

Most of the teams passing a lot on first down in the second half of games are teams that need to because they are losing.

So just because some people repeatedly say that the Texans are "run first" or are "overly conservative" doesn't mean it is true. I think sometimes people have unrealistic expectations relative to what NFL football just is. You know, like sometimes even good offenses punt. Or maybe a team that has a ton of turnover on the offensive line and injuries of their TEs and stuff may sometimes struggle with their execution.

 

[thunderkyss]

Or maybe a team that has a ton of turnover on the offensive line and injuries of their TEs and stuff may sometimes struggle with their execution.

Well, one way or another, that was their own doing. Wouldn't it have been nice to have kept Dressen & let Water go? It's not like Walter was Mr. Dependable or anything. The kids could've rotated through that WR2 spot.

I know, hindsight.

But at the same time, I have no problem saying the Texans (read Kubiak) screwed the pooch with the OL & TE thing in 2012. However, as bad as it was, Matt was well protected most of the year & Foster was among the league's leading rushers. 2nd in the AFC.

Which I think is a testament to his coaching. Even though I don't like the guy.

 

[Texans_Chick]

Well, one way or another, that was their own doing. Wouldn't it have been nice to have kept Dressen & let Water go? It's not like Walter was Mr. Dependable or anything. The kids could've rotated through that WR2 spot.

I know, hindsight.

But at the same time, I have no problem saying the Texans (read Kubiak) screwed the pooch with the OL & TE thing in 2012. However, as bad as it was, Matt was well protected most of the year & Foster was among the league's leading rushers. 2nd in the AFC.

Which I think is a testament to his coaching. Even though I don't like the guy.

They tried to keep Dreessen. He's from Colorado. The Broncos of 2012 had sooooo much more cap space to play with. What were they supposed to do, kidnap him?

The Texans had THREE TE's in the top 15 in TE efficiency in early 2012. Three! You know how unusual that is?

And then OD got nicked a bit, and then there was the concussion of Graham that happened at a really bad time...right before you are going on the road to face the Patriots. And you already had such injury problems on the offensive line that Andrew Gardner is going to get snaps.

And with no Walter, they would likely be worse off in 2012. Guess who the most reliable WR was in training camp. Walter. Guess who's catch rate was in +60%? Walter. Guess who's catch rate was far below 60%? All the inexperienced wide receivers.

In 2013, the training wheels are off the WRs, for better or worse. Likely will be a position of inconsistency because that is how baby WRs typically are.

The Texans were not going to be able to match Briesel's offer though I wish they could have worked harder to make the Winston numbers work. They had to do their spending at center because center is not a place you want to rely on a rookie if you want to do anything. For that matter, Ryans could have been handy last year too--they took a gamble at LB, and a position of strength turned into a position of weakness.

And Matt was NOT well protected for the year. They had training wheels on that offense. Early in the year, he was getting tons of hits right at the throw that didn't count as sacks. They started having him get rid of the ball faster, and by the end of the year, with more injuries to the line, even the sack numbers went up.

Though Foster's total numbers were high as just a matter of touches, his efficiency per play went down, most troubling with run stuffs. The Texans are usually one of the best teams at not getting stuffed at the line, and last year they were in the bottom third which is unusual for them.

I am hoping if Greg Jones stays healthy, and with Schaub having a full training camp including OTAs/minicamp, the offense will look better. Run stuffs can't continue to happen, because this offense like most works best when down and distance stays sane.

 

[The Pencil Neck]

They tried to keep Dreessen. He's from Colorado. The Broncos of 2012 had sooooo much more cap space to play with. What were they supposed to do, kidnap him?

The Texans had THREE TE's in the top 15 in TE efficiency in early 2012. Three! You know how unusual that is?

And then OD got nicked a bit, and then there was the concussion of Graham that happened at a really bad time...right before you are going on the road to face the Patriots. And you already had such injury problems on the offensive line that Andrew Gardner is going to get snaps.

And with no Walter, they would likely be worse off in 2012. Guess who the most reliable WR was in training camp. Walter. Guess who's catch rate was in +60%? Walter. Guess who's catch rate was far below 60%? All the inexperienced wide receivers.

In 2013, the training wheels are off the WRs, for better or worse. Likely will be a position of inconsistency because that is how baby WRs typically are.

The Texans were not going to be able to match Briesel's offer though I wish they could have worked harder to make the Winston numbers work. They had to do their spending at center because center is not a place you want to rely on a rookie if you want to do anything. For that matter, Ryans could have been handy last year too--they took a gamble at LB, and a position of strength turned into a position of weakness.

And Matt was NOT well protected for the year. They had training wheels on that offense. Early in the year, he was getting tons of hits right at the throw that didn't count as sacks. They started having him get rid of the ball faster, and by the end of the year, with more injuries to the line, even the sack numbers went up.

Though Foster's total numbers were high as just a matter of touches, his efficiency per play went down, most troubling with run stuffs. The Texans are usually one of the best teams at not getting stuffed at the line, and last year they were in the bottom third which is unusual for them.

I am hoping if Greg Jones stays healthy, and with Schaub having a full training camp including OTAs/minicamp, the offense will look better. Run stuffs can't continue to happen, because this offense like most works best when down and distance stays sane.

Man.

I miss you when you're not posting here.

 

[deucetx]

For 2012, a year with a better defense than in pre-Wade years, the Texans were very aggressive on 1st down in the first half of games ending up with the 2nd most passes on first down in the first half of games.

Only team that passed more on first down in the first half of games was the Patriots. The ratio of passes to runs on first down in the first half of games was far above average for the Texans.

In the second half of games, the Patriots were #1 in number of rushing plays. The Texans were 7th.

Most of the teams passing a lot on first down in the second half of games are teams that need to because they are losing.

So just because some people repeatedly say that the Texans are "run first" or are "overly conservative" doesn't mean it is true. I think sometimes people have unrealistic expectations relative to what NFL football just is. You know, like sometimes even good offenses punt. Or maybe a team that has a ton of turnover on the offensive line and injuries of their TEs and stuff may sometimes struggle with their execution.

Looking at the post you quoted, that was not what he was stating. He was pointing to Kubiak's approach to obtaining a first down and breaking down the down and distance during this play calling (i.e. what did we do on 3rd and 8, etc). Not the actual playcalling on first down.

 

[GP]

If your QB can't handle being tough situations, and overcoming them, then nothing else matters.

Being a fan of the Texans has been an eye-opening process for me. This team started at ground zero, so we've been able to see 10 years of "construction" with this team.

It's like making a water filter. The first few years here, it was like the first level of the filter: Huge chunks of rocks that filters out the smallish particles (bits of rock found in the water). The next few years was like the second level of the filter that strains out the even smaller particles out of the water. Then the third level is sand, removing tiny almost microscopic particles. Finally the last level is the charcoal the purifies the water.

All of this has served to show me that you can have a great coach, a great defensive coach, a great offense system and defense system, and your owner can be committed to spending in FA and taking a chance on maybe pushing the cap space too closely. But at the end of the day, in the NFL, the quarterback position is the most important position of all.

On that front, we're screwed. And it doesn't help that we have Stats Mania around here. Great, crunch the numbers...but at the end of the day, a really solidly performing QB (no matter what stats or overall team injury situation, good or bad, he finds himself in at the moment) he's got to produce in the playoffs.

We've enjoyed lots of layers to this filtering process. But the last level, the charcoal, it's crucial to making sure the water is potable for consumption.

There is a part of me that would love to see the Texans take a risk and grab a guy like EJ Manuel in the first and make camp an open competition at QB. There needs to be old-fashioned competition for the QB spot, not just giving to a guy based on loyalty, stats, and making sure the status quo "locker room" stays the same. We need a guy who can move around and extend plays with his feet. Schaub has plateau'd and I really thought we were all smart enough 10 years into this thing to see it, acknowledge it, and move on from it. But apparently not.

Instead, we just need give it the old college try again. We're "learning to win, in time," as the article headline pointed out. LOL.

 

[Vinny]

This slow, plodding offense rang up 1500+ yards from AJ but 4 TD's. That's kinda mind blowing in itself... Kubiak openly stated that they weren't going to throw to Foster as much since he was carrying the ball so much early in the season...brilliant move there coach. I'm sure Bill Belicheck does this all the time. When the team needed a quick score vs the Pats after the Manning return early in the 4th quarter we managed an 8 minute - 37 yard scoring drive to kill any chance of a comeback. Nothing wrong with this offense....cough, cough.

 

[Brisco_County]

The Texans had THREE TE's in the top 15 in TE efficiency in early 2012. Three! You know how unusual that is?

And then OD got nicked a bit, and then there was the concussion of Graham that happened at a really bad time...right before you are going on the road to face the Patriots. And you already had such injury problems on the offensive line that Andrew Gardner is going to get snaps.

Off topic, but this also supports LZ's case for the Texans taking Eifert.