The upcoming Oakland game

[Arky]

Time to start looking ahead to the next game.

McFadden has had some fumbling issues so far and JaMarcus Russell has been less than stellar.

The Texans blew a golden opportunity to go 2-0 in the division and 2-1 overall. As it is, win against Oakland and they even their mark at 2-2 and that would be just 1 game off what most projected, i.e. 3-1.

This game could be a just-what-the-doctor-ordered-game. For which team, remains to be seen.

Texans favored by 9 to 9.5.

Announcers = GUS JOHNSON (yeah, I'm screaming :p) and Steve Tasker

http://www.the506.com/nflmaps/2009/04-CBS.html


Other interesting games this weekend:

Titans vs. Jags
Jets vs. Saints
Cowboys vs. Broncos

[nunusguy]

I really think it could be Kubiaks butt if he loses Sunday to the Raiders in Reliant ?
The Tenneesse win was Kubiak pulling the proverial rabbit out of the hat trick after the embarassing and deeply disappointing home-opener, then he blew
his opportunity for real redemption by losing to the Jags here and going 0-2 at home and in the division. Remember this month was supposed to be the underbelly of the Texans schedule.
And this is really all on him - his offense was not ready to play vs the Jets as if he (Kubiak) had never even heard of a 3-4 ? And then his hand-picked rookie DC has failed miserably in his adapabiliy and resiliance in correcting lethal errors of the defense.
People like Gary, he's a native-son & an Aggie and all of that, but I just don't know if he's got it, got what it takes to be a successful HC in the NFL ?
I dunno if he's not smart enough, not strong enough and confidant enough in his own convictions to make difficult personnel and/or coaching changes when the situations calls for it, or what ?

[TheMatrix31]

Keys to victory?

Make JaMarcus uncomfortable. The guy sucks, just force him to make big mistakes.

Don't get burned in the secondary, whether it be on the run or the pass.

Stay healthy, and don't do stupid shit.

We NEED this win. We should have started out the season 4-1. We've already got two losses.

[TexanJedi]

Stop the run, or at least the huge plays, and we win. Russell is not going to beat you through the air (watch that happen now :rolleyes:).

[WMH]

This SHOULD be a confidence builder game for the D. Key word is SHOULD. The Houston Cardiac kids have fooled us before, hopefully, they won't do it again this weekend. Russell is brutal, but DMac, despite his fumbles is pretty damn good, couple with Bush and Fargas, we have 3 more RB's licking their chops. I expect to see Pollard in the game quite extensively with marching orders to STOP the RUN.

[kravix]

I would prefer of Pollards orders were to play in position and not give up 61 yard rushing touchdowns for over pursuit.

[painekiller]

I personally think the Raiders are going to win. I just have this feeling.

[sinnister]

This game has me worried for a number of reasons. One, the above mentioned Rb's that the Raiders have. Any of the 3 could put up monster numbers against our run defense. Second, and for the life it baffles me, but I have a feeling that Andre Johnson will be totally ignored this game. When he isn't making plays, I worry about us winning.

One thing that we have going for us is Jamarcus Russell. This guy is terrible, but if anyone can make him look like Peyton Manning, it is our defense. If we put them in 3rd and long, we may have a shot if Jamark stays true to himself.

[Fonz the Boss]

Even the worst offensive teams shine against the Texans. Sure, we may escape with a win but I expect another high scoring game by both offenses. Is it safe to assume that we will finish with a losing record if we end up losing to the lowly Raiders?

[NBT]

I personally think the Raiders are going to win. I just have this feeling.

Well dadgum, have you completely thrown in the towel PK? We DO need to be ready though, because they will have every bad tendency of ours programmed, so Bush needs to drill the heck out of his guys to stay in their gaps and not freelance too much. Memo to Schaub - Dare I mention this, Oakland has another Ryan coached defense!! I hope you are ready for this one.

I will say Texans - 31
Oakland - 28 in a close one!

[NBT]

Even the worst offensive teams shine against the Texans. Sure, we may escape with a win but I expect another high scoring game by both offenses. Is it safe to assume that we will finish with a losing record if we end up losing to the lowly Raiders?

It is safe to assume that, if Kubiak doesn't pull the rabbit out of the hat, the players are going to start to quit on him like they did Capers. Kubiak knows this, so for that reason, if none other, he will have them ready to play ( I hope )!

[Joshua]

I dunno if he's not smart enough?

I must say I've started to wonder this. In many ways, I'm starting to think he's the offensive equivalent of Dom Capers. A good man who works hard and actually knows one side of the ball pretty well, but ultimately doesn't seem to be able to process the enormous amounts of info a head coach must and then develop a winning plan from it. He and Capers both seemed to have suffered from similar shortcomings. Both were completely at a loss as to how to improve one side of the ball (albeit different sides), neither were able to make quality in-game adjustments and were prone to be exploited by creative coaching on the other side, dubious clock management, and (possibly my favorite) the occasional sideline camera shot where both have been standing there with a look of complete befuddlement on their faces.

[painekiller]

Well dadgum, have you completely thrown in the towel PK? We DO need to be ready though, because they will have every bad tendency of ours programmed, so Bush needs to drill the heck out of his guys to stay in their gaps and not freelance too much. Memo to Schaub - Dare I mention this, Oakland has another Ryan coached defense!! I hope you are ready for this one.

I will say Texans - 31
Oakland - 28 in a close one!

No, but I am close. If they loose to Oakland then I might be done with Kubiak / Smith.

[Joshua]

No, but I am close. If they loose to Oakland then I might be done with Kubiak / Smith.

I can go further and say I will be done. Simply put, in today's NFL, it doesn't take 4 years to know what you have in a coach. You generally know almost immediately (see Ryan, Rex; Singletary, Mike; etc.). I've also basically rejected the idea of a "learning curve" for your head coach. While I might be willing to excuse a couple of mistakes in the first year, after that, it's not a "learning curve," it's simply who you are and most likely, who you will continue to be. It boggles the mind that people still give Kubiak a pass in year 4 because of this purported "learning curve." That's absolute nonsense. This is who he is. Finally, as an aside, I seem to recall reading somewhere that Kubiak is already one of the more senior head coaches in the NFL now.

[EndZoneSeats]

No, but I am close. If they loose to Oakland then I might be done with Kubiak / Smith.

I'll be done with Kubiak. Not so with Schaub. He's the fourth-ranked passer in terms of efficiency in the NFL. He's a guy we could win with if our defense could put forth a reasonable effort.

[nunusguy]

Jacques Reeves didn't even get through warmups today at practice. He injured his hand and was taken off to be examined.
*
Based on Gary Kubiak's comments, Brice McCain could start at cornerback instead of Fred Bennett and Bernard Pollard could get John Busing's playing time.
He also said practice squad D-linemen Jesse Nading and Tim Jamison will be evaluated in practice and could end up on the active roster for Sunday's game against the Raiders.
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/09/texans_back_to.html
**
Nading and Jamison are both DEs so who might be out ? My guess would be Barwin for one because he went off of the radar once they started playing for real in September.

[Nconroe]

Well, we'll have the worst offense in Oakland against worst defense with Texans, atleast so far this year. Hopefully our defense will start to improve now and our offense will continue its more or less good play, ie new coalches and players will get their act together. I hope Reeves and Pollard can help the defense as well in the secondary. If we can play consistent, avoid the turnovers and stupid penalties likely will win.

[Fonz the Boss]

Will Demps... we need you. Are you still in the waiver wire?

[NBT]

No, but I am close. If they loose to Oakland then I might be done with Kubiak / Smith.

Dang! Hang in there man. I don't know if I can handle starting over again for the 3rd time in this franchise's short history.

STOP the long 3rd down completions (and runs) !!!

[Big Texas]

Dang! Hang in there man. I don't know if I can handle starting over again for the 3rd time in this franchise's short history.

STOP the long 3rd down completions (and runs) !!!

These are the only things that have kept us from being 3-0, if not 2-1.

However, the fact that we have so much potential is what is so bad. We could easily be a playoff team. Especially with the way our offense is looking. Kevin Walter was a man on a mission Sunday. I hope to see more of that against the Raiders.

P.S. I think we should start to use the pass to set up the run. Forget this run the ball down their throats crap. Our O-Line just cannot get it done. Get these guys to start respecting the pass, and then throw them off guard with your explosive back.

There is no reason our Offense shouldn't look like New Orleans.

[nunusguy]

I personally think the Raiders are going to win. I just have this feeling.

Just out of curiosity, what "feeling" did you have before each of the first 3 games ?
The only game I had a feeling about was the one in Nashville, in which I was sure we'd get our butts stomped, but I got no idea what's gonna happen this Sunday ? Not even a "feeling".

[coloradodude]

I can go further and say I will be done. Simply put, in today's NFL, it doesn't take 4 years to know what you have in a coach. You generally know almost immediately (see Ryan, Rex; Singletary, Mike; etc.). I've also basically rejected the idea of a "learning curve" for your head coach. While I might be willing to excuse a couple of mistakes in the first year, after that, it's not a "learning curve," it's simply who you are and most likely, who you will continue to be. It boggles the mind that people still give Kubiak a pass in year 4 because of this purported "learning curve." That's absolute nonsense. This is who he is. Finally, as an aside, I seem to recall reading somewhere that Kubiak is already one of the more senior head coaches in the NFL now.

I agree completely w/this post.

On a side note, our defense has a whopping 2 sacks. Two.

[painekiller]

Just out of curiosity, what "feeling" did you have before each of the first 3 games ?
The only game I had a feeling about was the one in Nashville, in which I was sure we'd get our butts stomped, but I got no idea what's gonna happen this Sunday ? Not even a "feeling".

I said somewhere I was worried about the team taking the Jets to lightly. It's either here or on TT.com, sadly I turned out correct.

I thought we would had no chance before the Titans, and was happily wrong.

Thought we would beat the Jags, but worried I had jinxed us by picking the team in the suicide thread.

So why do I feel like we are in trouble? Last year we made Russell look like a pro bowl player. AJ was all but shut out by Asomugha, and our offense was beaten psychically by their DL. Our defense is not tackling and fast backs are getting long runs every week, hello Darren.

[Arky]

I can go further and say I will be done. Simply put, in today's NFL, it doesn't take 4 years to know what you have in a coach. You generally know almost immediately (see Ryan, Rex; Singletary, Mike; etc.). I've also basically rejected the idea of a "learning curve" for your head coach. While I might be willing to excuse a couple of mistakes in the first year, after that, it's not a "learning curve," it's simply who you are and most likely, who you will continue to be. It boggles the mind that people still give Kubiak a pass in year 4 because of this purported "learning curve." That's absolute nonsense. This is who he is. Finally, as an aside, I seem to recall reading somewhere that Kubiak is already one of the more senior head coaches in the NFL now.

While Rex Ryan and Mike Singletary are good examples for immediate success and instant gratification, it will be interesting to check back after 4 years with those two and see if they are able to maintain the pace.

Kubiak is showing a pace similar to Jeff Fisher. Fisher's stats are almost identical to Kubiak's first years. Tossing out Fisher's first year, the interim year of 1994 (1-5), his W-L looks like this:

1995 HOO 7 - 9
1996 HOO 8 - 8
1997 TNO 8 - 8
1998 TNO 8 - 8

Kubiak has gone:

2006 HOU 6 - 10
2007 HOU 8 - 8
2008 HOU 8 - 8
2009 HOU 1 - 2

Not until Fisher's 5th full year, did he bust out with a 13-3

Jeff Fisher cont.:

1999 TEN 13 - 3
2000 TEN 13 - 3
2001 TEN 7 - 9
2002 TEN 11 - 5
2003 TEN 12 - 4
2004 TEN 5 - 11
2005 TEN 4 - 12
2006 TEN 8 - 8
2007 TEN 10 - 6
2008 TEN 13 - 3

Good thing they didn't fire Fisher after his 4th year cause he went to the SuperBowl in his 5th (1999). Also, note the slump years. Happens to the best of 'em. Even Cowher had some slump years. Belichick and Dungy are about the only coaches I can think of in recent years to string together some impressive 5-7 year runs.... They both worked for I think what most people think of as top rate organizations.... I think the Texans are a top rate organization, they just don't have the wins, yet....:o

It's interesting that just a few years ago, most Texan fans (myself included) would have died for an 8-8 season. Now? No sir, just not good enough. We want the playoffs and we want them now! Right now! ;)

Now, this doesn't mean Kubiak is going to the SuperBowl next year but it does show that there is a precedent. This would be a really bad year for Kubiak to have a slump year. Despite what the Chron told us, this team still has holes and they are "loudest" on defense. I think another .500 season would kind of suck but I wouldn't be screaming for anybody's head to roll because of it. But that's just me. I haven't seen Kubiak miss any tackles or assignments. Perhaps it is his fault for not recognizing he's got a bunch of *******s who can't execute on the field..... Just my 2 cents on this.....

[NBT]

I have expounded at length on the state of the team so I won't belabor it. The one who has to make the decision on Kubiak's future resides in the owner's box. Look at how many years we railed at the boneheaded decisions of Bud Adams with our Oilers. I think Fisher would have won sooner had Adams not interferred in football decisions. McNair is smarter than Adams, but he is distracted by his other business affairs. He would do better by hiring someone like "The Big Tuna" to head up the whole organization, then we could be assured we would be getting his full attention. But alas there is no Parcells out there right now.

[popanot]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/

But Russell's epic struggles to start the season can't go on forever, and if they don't stop in Houston this week, it's fair to wonder when the downward spiral will stop.

A matchup can't get any easier than the Texans. Houston is the last-ranked defense in the league, is 27th in the league in yards per attempt allowed despite playing a rookie (Mark Sanchez), a 36-year old (Kerry Collins), and a David Garrard.

Oakland's running game was supposed to carry the team, but it has been mediocre at best.

Russell is making life difficult on everyone in Oakland, but the Texans make life easy for explosive opposing running backs. Houston is last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and rushing yards per carry allowed. McFadden needs to carry his team, just like Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew did against the Texans.

That's sad...

[sinnister]

I have expounded at length on the state of the team so I won't belabor it. The one who has to make the decision on Kubiak's future resides in the owner's box. Look at how many years we railed at the boneheaded decisions of Bud Adams with our Oilers. I think Fisher would have won sooner had Adams not interferred in football decisions. McNair is smarter than Adams, but he is distracted by his other business affairs. He would do better by hiring someone like "The Big Tuna" to head up the whole organization, then we could be assured we would be getting his full attention. But alas there is no Parcells out there right now.

If you look at Parcells record after Bellichek left, it's not nearly as impressive as when Bellichek was his D cordinator. Also, I am not sure about him as a GM. Bill Polian is a great GM.