Official Texans vs. Titans Game Thread, 11/23/2009

[Fonz the Boss]

I might have overreacted on my earlier post...... Im still angry but my Texans are not a joke. They played well enough to win. I dont think we will make the playoffs but right now Im only hoping for a 4-2 finish. That will still give us our first winning season with a record of 9-7.

[bckey]

Originally Posted by Fonz the Boss

I might have overreacted on my earlier post...... Im still angry but my Texans are not a joke. They played well enough to win. I dont think we will make the playoffs but right now Im only hoping for a 4-2 finish. That will still give us our first winning season with a record of 9-7.

All that would do is keep Kubiak around. I really don't think he is anything more than a .500 head coach. Vinny posted on another board that Kubiak's record against the AFC is 5-16. This means he gets out coached by opposing coaches that are familiar with him.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by bckey

All that would do is keep Kubiak around. I really don't think he is anything more than a .500 head coach. Vinny posted on another board that Kubiak's record against the AFC is 5-16. This means he gets out coached by opposing coaches that are familiar with him.

???

I get 7-15 vs. AFC South....

2006 = 3-3
2007 = 1-5
2008 = 2-4
2009 = 1-3*

* in progress

[Nconroe]

well, for this year, I think the three AFC south losses were last second plays where players didn't execute, not really coaching decisions.

and previous years, those teams were better, we were worse, and they won against the league, not just us. AFC south is recognized tough division.

so, we are getting closer to our main competition, not quite over the hump, but this year isn't over.

I think this means we are trying to build our team thru the draft, we have young coaches and young players, this did start over 3.5 years ago,not eight or 40 years ago, and the improvement has been steady these four years.

well, we should have won, so hate to argue about this. not saying a last second loss is better than a 20 point loss, but well. just don't see how the stats lead to conclusion you drew.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

well, for this year, I think the three AFC south losses were last second plays where players didn't execute, not really coaching decisions.

I get this but at some point a continual failure to execute has to fall to the coaches as well for two reasons. One, your job isn't merely to call the plays, it's also to get the players to execute, particularly at the most critical times. This may mean practicing it 40 times, or simulating crowd noise during practice, or whatever else it may take. I understand that the coaches aren't on the field and can't guarantee execution, but I can't shake the belief that good coaches somehow manage to get better execution out of their players than mediocre ones. As a quick example, the Cowboys preparation and execution in Parcells' first year was 180 degrees from what it had been the year before with (I believe) Campo. Teams that are well prepared by their coaches during the week tend to execute better.

Secondly, even if you do believe execution is solely on the players, these are the players Kubiak wanted. Make no mistake, this is his team. If he put together a team with a bunch of guys who can't execute at crunch time (even assuming he is providing the best coaching this side of Lombardi), well that's still his fault for bringing in a bunch of guys who can't perform despite his excellent tutalege.

[HPF Bob]

Such anger!

It means you expect winning now and upset when it doesn't happen. Quite an upgrade from 2005.

What disappoints me isn't the failure to pull games out at the end, it's the mistakes that kept it close to begin with. If I blame Kubiak for anything, it's a lack of imagination. Why not slip in a hurry-up offense once in awhile? Why not try Casey in a wildcat just to change it up? Tennessee doesn't have to think outside the box before our offense never does (except the SWBR).

We're a team that always seems to be less than the sum of their parts and I'm not sure how you fix that except to keep adding parts.

We do need some leaders though. We need some guys who are going to take losing very personally and get in everyone's grill about it. The Ravens' D looks great most of the team because Ray Lewis won't tolerate less than 100 percent. Coordinators come and go but I think Lewis scares his own teammates into not taking any plays off.

So, I'm disappointed but not as completely pissed as some of you. We're aren't that far away but we're not that close either.

[coloradodude]

"We're aren't that far away but..."


And then there's our run game statistics.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

We're a team that always seems to be less than the sum of their parts...

This is a fantastic way to put it.

As for not being that far away, well, CD points out that the team can't run the ball. I assume he also points us to the run defense, which is awful. And just for the hell of it I'll throw in the pass rush, which I cannot call bad because it simply does not exist. So, yeah, other than that, and the special teams and the idiot coach and the stupefying play calling and horrible clock management and the clueless owner we're RIGHT THERE. Yep. We're pulling on the old Bum Phillips boot and preparing to kick the son of a bitch in. Sure we are.