I thought the Texans' defense was rather vanilla last week because they didn't want to put anything exotic on film just in case the Titans were also our playoff opponent this week. I agree, if the Texans are going to do anything unusual, it will be this week not last week. But..PLEASE... no white boy reverses and no halfback passes from the 5 yard line.

Vanilla, yes! But the reason, besides Kubiak going Mr. Conservative again, was all the injuries to key players, and the fact that most of the starters (at least on defense) were pulled after the first quarter. Even so the turkey trot Titans barely beat us because we blew the snap on the try for two, when Austin snapped the ball over the QB's head.

This week, as all season - in for a dime, in for a dollar; so I say we win and then beat Baltimore to advance to the AFC Championships. Oh, did I say my glass is still half-full? :D

Kubiak has nothing to do with the defensive calls. If they went conservative it was because the game was meaningless. Not to mention they got good pressure with the 3 and 4 man vanilla rushes.

When Wade was out they talked to Kubs about if he would be more involved with the Defense. He said he would have the same involvement, then explained that meant almost none in terms of game planning and calls. He said all he does is look at their plan from an offensive perspective after they make it and tell them how he would attack it.

Kubs should get almost none of the credit for the defense (except hiring the right guy), and he should get almost none of the blame for the defense other than being ultimately accountable for what causes wins and losses.

Are reverses to black players allowed?

Always, so long as they can run faster than Kevin Walter.

Okay. PLEASE no reverses where Antoine Caldwell carries the ball either! Happy now?

Walter doesn't have a run since 2009 so we are probably safe. Now JJ has run the reverse even worse since then so hopefully we don't go for any bad reverses period.

But James Casey did have a nice run where we motioned him into an empty backfield and gave him a pitch that he took for a first down. It's not a reverse but is it ok if James Casey gets a white boy toss play?

What Bob complains about aren't reverses, either. Thankfully, along with the halfback pass they seem to have been eliminated from the team's playbook this year.

And I'm aware that Walter hasn't had a carry and that there have been no halfback passes this year. That's why my post was meant to be tongue in cheek and a flashback to past disasters.

But just to set the record straight, Jones had a better YPC in 2009 than Walter, the last year both players were used as runners and Jones does have a 15-yard carry this year.

I'm a grown man that's so excited about a football game he can't sleep, even at 4 o'clock in the morning. This has been a long time coming, boys!

The reverse is meant to give the backside defenders something to think about, and to make them pay if they don't stay home. Basically the same principal as the bootleg. We run the bootleg so often and so well that the backside is already staying home. It makes our reverses terrible and pointless since we already accomplish all of that. Everytime we run a reverse it's like the OC decided it was time for a gimmick.

Good point. The bootleg is typically our gateway to the long downfield pass and it wasn't really that effective until we had a credible ground game to draw the edges to leave their position and defend the run.

I'm happy that we've largely abandoned the gimmicks this year although it makes me more worried that one will be tossed out today because we haven't done one yet I'm sure there are gadget plays in our playbook. How about an AJ pass off the WR screen?