What's next?
 

So we are two games under .500, and we have four games to play. What's next?

As I see it, the ship is sunk, but Kubiak and his players will sing a different song. If the Texans win out they end up 9-7, and have a shot at winning the division. They would need help from the other teams in the division, but they are not out of the hunt for the division yet.

IMO, this team has not shown the consistent play that propels teams into the playoffs. And I do not think they win out.

What does that mean to the coaching staff and front office? They have had 5 years to prove themselves and do they deserve another shot at this group of players? Well my answer is it depends.

It depends on the owners and the threatened lockout. If the owners go ahead with the lockout, few coaching staffs will be changed, so Kubiak maybe safe. But his assistants are not safe.

The biggest scapegoat will be Frank Bush. I believe he is gone, and Kubiak will not have a choice in the matter, I think Bob McNair gets involved in this move similar to the way Bud Adams forced Buddy Ryan on Jack Pardee.

The most obvious guy to replace Frank Bush is Wade Phillips. Wade is a proven top of the league DC, and an expert on a modified 3-4. Kubiak will be allowed to run the team but will be forced to have hands off the defensive game plans.

If the lockout does not happen, then look for a HC change. At one time I wanted Jeff Fisher, but not anymore. I want them to either go get a big name HC or Bill Parcells to let him take over the football team.

What do I see during the next few weeks as for record? I think they split the last 4 games, and end up 7-9. And we the fans keep saying but if only a few plays had gone the other way. That is the curse of being a fan of sports in Houston. :eek:

We need better players on defense, in the DLine and the DBackfield, whether or not we go 3-4. But I think we can win with this offense - next year maybe after we get 'bout 5 or 6 new starters for the D ?

Can't say I really thought we were gonna win that one....but them bastards gave us a glimmer of hope, only to crush it in the 4th Qtr......

What's next?

"Gotta keep fighting"
"We're not outta this thing yet"
"There are still a ton of division games left"
.....blah, blah, blah.

If we don't hang 30, we don't win the balance of our games.
If we can do that, Indy drops 2, we've got a shot to get obliterated in round 1 by NE. I don't have alot of faith that JAX will be able to hang in there much longer.

If we can't hit that magic #, then we should still have some entertaining games to watch for the balance of the year.
Then, we can watch the others guys in the playoffs......again.

After the season, Bush gets canned, Gibbs gets canned, McNair DOES NOT give Kubiak ANOTHER extension and the 2011 season, if there is one, is a one year audition to see if he is extension worthy.

We probably bring in a low level D Coordinator to "give a guy a shot." No top level guy is going to come here for what could be a one year deal.

We spend our 1st 3 picks on Defense (DT/CB/DE probably in that order), take the usual tight end or safety in the 4th and 5th, QB project/toy in the 6th, and BPA in the 7th.

We reach in the FA period, if there is one, on a couple of questionable signings for the Defense, and hope for the best.

Are then we are right back here in December 2011, bitching about the same ole stuff.

With our personnel, I'm not sure how we adapt to a 3-4. Mario and Smith would both be adequate 3-4 DEs but I don't think they'd be great. We'd lack a NG. Ryans and Cushing could both adapt as 3-4 LBs but, again they might both go from solid to adequate. On the whole, I think I'd rather stay a 4-3.

I think giving the keys to the defense to Wade would be perfect. Not worried/don't care about a transition to 3-4 if there is one. They could go hybrid for a while...

Radio people have been talking lately about "the culture" over on Kirby. Kinda country clubbish.... like a health club where the same 60 or so people go hang out everyday and everybody likes everybody else. While this might be idyllic, some people just aren't doing there jobs. Gotta find players and coaches that can get it done and I'm looking at the defense first.

I think you guys have summed it up rather succintly. The safeties have to be replaced, probably in the draft, and we still need a dominant baby bull type DT to give us that up the gut push against the QB's pocket.

The comfy country club atmosphere where King Kubiak sits around with his court deciding the affairs of their serfs needs to be hanged in iffigy. Meaning Frank Bush and the rest of his merry men will be banished to the forests of east texas or other places. :p

I would hope Wade Phillips would be interested in the DC job.

Kubiak will be retained. The only scenarios where I see Kubiak being fired is if there is a monumental collapse over the last 4 weeks. If they lose all their remaining games or maybe even 3 then I could see Kubs being fired. IMHO, I would say that keeping Kubs is best because trying to grasp another HC's offensive playbook would be a setback to our offense. They should concentrate on landing a top DC because its no secret that we are where we are because of our defense. Modify the defensive personnel and bring in a qualified DC and we may see the true potential of Williams, Cushing, Ryans, and maybe even Kareem. In another thread I had also mentioned Wade Phillips as a possible candidate and I got mocked.

Schottenheimer

We will become a PHYSICAL team...finally.



:D

....yuck....

MartyBall lives again !

I suppose I could see Schottenheimer being next consultant to Mr. McNair.

Four more games first.

Then depends on the Owner-Players Union negotiations, which appear to be moving some
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nfllabor

My guess is the changes will be minimal, maybe new secondary coach(s). Then if next year isn't more consistent, see the big changes.

Unless we lose out, that's about how I see it. New DC and DB coaches, then if it goes in the toilet again, it all gets blown up. Look for more activity in FA as they try and shore up in a much more "Win now or be fired" mode.

Watching the game tonight puts in sharper relief just how far the Texans have to go before they can seriously contemplate any sort of postseason run. The defenses of both teams are fast, aggressive, smart and violent. Unless you have an exceptional offense and special teams this is exactly the sort of defense you typically need to have any success in January and beyond.

Comparing tonight's defenses with the Texans is a profoundly depressing experience. There is almost nothing that you can parallel. It's exactly the way I felt years ago watching Carr and the other idiots under Capers play. I'd watch them and then watch a real team run their offense and it was like I was watching a totally different sport. There is absolutely no comparison you can make between those two defenses and the Texans' defense. The Texans have a LONG way to go.

I'd trade Mario straight up in a heartbeat for Ngata.

What's next...?? Probably a total ass-whoppin by a real defense. Can't wait to see the awesome game plan our 'coaches' come up with to combat the Ravens D. I have a feeling it will be similar to the Cowpie and NYG games where it's the "Run for Your Life, 2-yard Pitch and Duck" plan.

Mario's a very good (if always injured) player, but you're right, there are a couple of guys out there that are plainly much better, much more disruptive and consistent than Mario is. Ngata's one of them. That guy is freaking all over the place just causing chaos wherever he goes. You NEVER watch a series and then wonder, Now, where the hell was Ngata? There are plenty of series throughout any given game where I find myself wondering, Where the hell is Mario?

I would play some of the guys who have flashed but have not played, guys like Nolan. See what you have here. I would get Dickinson on the field to see if he is worth having. Why hasn't he been worked into the redzone package.

Molden would be given some quality snaps.

If these guys can not play then get draft better players. Casey should be played more, he has mismatch potential, and Daniels is gone after the season.

The results can not be any worse and you see what you have.

And along the Mario lines, shut him done and have the surgery to correct the problem, then he has a shot at being available again come training camp. Right now he is not he disruptive force you need when he is only 75%.

We should absolutely play the younger and/or relatively inexperienced guys the team wants to keep and develope once we are mathematically eliminated from playoff consideration , but you know Kubiak won't do that and instead will play every game to the very end with all of his top guys to maximize his W/L record.

If you were to trade Mario for Ngata straight up (and that will never happen), then you would have the middle covered and the outside become a problem. Better to hope that Fairly would be available in the Draft (again if there is to be one), and hope he would be there for us.

I thought this article has some interesting points, particularly this quote from an anonymous NFL executive:

Excellent article, thanks.

I'm learning a number of things being able to watch a full slate of weekend games.

One, all the good defenses run the 3-4. Maybe they're on to something.

Two, all very good quarterbacks have the latitude to field general on the line of scrimmage. They change protections, change plays, all sorts of things. Maybe they're on to something.

Another thing I learned is that Pat Bowlen is a less patient owner than is Bob McNair. I don't know whether or not patience is a virtue in the NFL. I do know that despite a recent drought under Bowlen's ownership the Broncos have gone to the playoffs 13 out of his 26 seasons. In order for McNair to match that the Texans would have to reach the playoffs next year and each year up to and including 2020. Do you think that's likely?

Bowlen has enjoyed a winning percentage of 60% as an owner. McNair's is 39%.

If McNair watches his team turn in yet another losing season this year without making changes at head coach and general manager then he does not deserve the support of the fans. It's that simple.

McNair and Kubiak are similar in that they are both good, likable guys who are completely ineffective in their respective roles with the team.

You don't need to be a fiery leader to be a leader. That said, Cushing and Ryans lead the defense. They call the shots. They're in on everything. DeMeco is obviously not there right now, but either way, they're the guys.

On offense it's a different story. Schaub needs to hold his guys accountable when they don't do what's right. There's been some pretty piss-poor execution offensively at times. Schaub needs to rip into them if need be. Andre's Andre, and Arian stays busy writing poetry, so they're not the guys.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Something tells me Mr. Dismissive Anonymous NFL Source wouldn't call Winston a "rah, rah fake tough guy" to his face.... ;)

I don't think the problem is McNair or that the answer is Bowlen.

An NFL owner basically has one job, to hire someone to do everything. They get to do that job at most twice a decade. Much of their success is based on who is available when they make that hire. Very much a crap shoot.

Bowlen went young, untested, offensive mind twice in a row and was dead right and dead wrong. I don't think he got stupider from Shanahan to McDaniels or that he knew less about football the 2nd time around. I just think he got lucky the 1st time. Just like I think it would be easy to give Robert Kraft a ton of credit for hiring Bellachik, even though he gave his franchise to a guy who got ran out of cleveland. A lot of it has to do with luck and timing when picking the right guy. I also don't give Bowlen credit for firing McDaniels after he royally screwed up in hiring him in the 1st place 23 months ago. And I am pretty sure if Kubiak took over a winning team and then sold it for spare parts, lost all his games, broke NFL rules, and then was turned in by his own coaching staff, then McNair would have less patience.

I think the problem and the blame should be 100% on Kubiak. He is exactly what you said. A nice, intelligent, but ineffective guy. Fire him as soon as possible.

Oddly, the latest rumor is that Denver wants Kubiak.

I never said intelligent, by the way.

I'm only half joking when I ask if Bowlen fired his coach for the Broncos on field performance or if he was just looking for a reason to can him for drafting Tebow in the first round of Aprils Draft ? That was bizarre ?

No. Bizarre was trading for Brady quinn and then immediately going out and trading 3 draft picks to get Tebow.

Bizarre was trading a 2010 1st round pick to draft Alphonso Smith in the 2nd round in 2009 and then already getting rid of him.

Bizarre was signing Buckhalter and two other veteran backs two summers ago to deals with guaranteed money and then drafting moreno when they badly needed defense.

Bizarre was having every RB on the roster hurt last year and still giving Hillis only 2 carries all year.

Bizarre was trading for career underachiever Laurence Maroney (I don't know why anyone makes a trade with the Patriots. No matter how good it looks you are somehow being fleeced).

Bizarre was running Denver's two best players out of town.

Bizarre was hiring the videographer who was already caught cheating. Were there no other guys with camera experince?

Bizarre was getting rid of the defensive coordinator who gave them a top defense last year.

McDaniels 2 years in Denver may have been the worst personell and football management job in the history of the NFL. Simply amazing how bad he was and the way he destroyed that franchise on every level in such a short time.

Judging from your impressive knowledge of Denvers recent player transactions, apparently you're a frustrated Broncos fan Barrett ?
Nevertheless I gotta say the Tebow pick is a real doozie ? I mean he's involved in rebuilding a team and uses his first round pick on a college
TE/LB who tryed to impersonate a QB in college, though I gotta admit the shuttling of franchise QB to ChiTown is also right there. And while Marshal is incredibly talented, he's really a problem child/head-case and I wonder how long before he's not screwing things up in FLA ?

Not really a Broncos fan for any reason in particular, just always kind of liked them more than most teams. As far as knowing their personnell moves, I guess I just watch too much football. That and I can't stand McDaniels and kind of followed along hoping to see it turn out this way.

But I am all Texans fan and then the Patriots after that (from Massachussetts, but arrived in Houston via Fresno the year before the Texans started and fell in love with the Texans 100x more than any team in any sport. And I haven't even started to grow bitter about a decade of losing yet. In Boston that is like an appetizer).

Funny you should mention being from Mass, because while watching the Pats-Jets game last night I told my wife, a Texas native who's lived multiple times in Boston and tells me her impression was that basketball & hockey were the big sports up there, it's a shame that such a great NFL franchise was wasted on an area that's really not a football hotbed. And before coming down here years ago, I'm from around the KC, Mo area where nothing ever compared to the popularity of the Chiefs and you know how people feel about football here.
I mean there's little doubt the Texans have aroused the most interest, the most passion, been the most popular sports team since since the other pro football team, the Oilers, and yet they've just barely sniffed some success with last years first winning record.

Yep. My family are all classic Boston bred sports nuts. My grandpa died in his early 40s and called my mother in to his deathbed instead of his wife. His actual last words (God's honest truth), was to make her swear that she wouldn't die until she saw the Red Sox win the world series. That is how big Baseball is there. Of course the Celtics are an institution as well. Bruins and Hockey are local favorites. The patriots were a distant 4th when I lived there in the 80s. And so was football in general.

That may be why I could fall in love with the Texans when the franchise started. Nobody cared enough about the Patriots to make it feel like betrayal.

But in recent years, the Patriots have obviously made strides in popularity just by winning. Plus the NFL has exploded eveyrwhere in recent years.

Most native Texans, or adopted ones, have thirsted for years, decades, hell half a century in my case, for a Pro Football winner. We love our football, from Friday night lights to long suffering U of H and Rice, to the old Oilers; and now the address called the Texans. Frustrated we may be, but we will always think, this year it's our turn, whether it does or not.

That's quite a story. Sorry he had to leave so early in life.

Barrett is dead on about McDaniels' personnel moves. What started the downhill slide is that Cutler felt mentored by Shanahan so he and McDaniels got off to a rather cold start. But then when it came out that McDaniels was working to bring Matt Cassel to Denver, it completely destroyed any trust on Cutler's part. McDaniels had already started to replace Broncos players with former Patriots which had drawn the ire of the Denver clubhouse. Surely if McDaniels had told Bowlen he wanted to replace Cutler, he'd have never been given him the job.

The Spygate II incident simply allowed Bowlen to sack McDaniels "for cause" and void the rest of his contract. It's not what caused McDaniels to get canned, rather the excuse needed to take him out now, rather than later.

One final thing regarding Denver that should say everything anyone would need to know about McDaniels. This is from an ESPN blog article.

After Sundquist was fired (as GM), Shanahan promoted the father-son team of Jim and Jeff Goodman. When Shanahan was gassed, the Goodmans stayed and were part of the group that hired McDaniels. They were abruptly fired less than two months after McDaniels was hired. This was a bad sign. McDaniels played a role in firing two people who were part of the decision-making team that just hired him. He had too much power for a 32-year-old first-time head coach.

How is something like this even possible? Bowlen had to be asleep at the wheel to go along with this.

If the Texans lose on Monday night and do not shut Mario down then they have no clue how to run a team. Mario needs to be ready for next season, and a sports hernia can take some time to fully recover from.

You are out of it if the Ravens win, so start doing the things that are needed to see what you have for next season.

If they lose Monday night, I suspect Kubiak will be in full-blown panic mode where his number one goal is saving his, or his BFFs/assistant coaches' jobs. Don't see him putting his ass on the chopping block to get Mario ready for next year.

I think PK may be right since KUbe may think he has the Denver job as backup.

Mario with a sports hernia? Damn, I thought it was a nagging groin injury. That explains alot about his recent play. As someone who was diagnosed with a sports hernia let me tell you it is a bitch have. Last year I kept playing soccer with what I believed was just a pulled groin or something. It got to the point where I was doing a shuffling drill to warm up and I ended up slipping. As soon as I slipped I felt as if someone had completely ripped off the right testacle from my body. It was hell and I knew right away that it was no ordinary groin injury. The diagnosis pretty much confirmed what I had. I did not get a surgery and eventually it went away slowly. I still jog and enjoy the occasional pick up game of basketball but I have a psychological thing where I dont explode to a full sprint from a complete stop. Im scared that i might feel that ripping testacle sensation again hahaha. But mad props to Mario for playin because it is painful. Unlike me, he is a professional athlete and needs to explode off the line of scrimmage. He will likely need the surgery to ensure it doesnt come back again next year.