Accountability

[barrett]

In the offseason the Front office saw fit to go forward with Garbage at Safety and nothing behind Slaton at RB. Not one of our 8(?) draft picks or a single free agent dollar went to improve two holes that appeared gaping to everyone but Smith and Kubiak. Now with our back end keying a terrible defensive effort in the first 3 weeks and our inability to covert a 3rd/4th and 1 costing us all season, I say our 2-3 record falls squarely on the shoulders of Kubiak and Smith.

But on the bright side we have four good TEs for an offense that is at it's best in 3 and 4 wide sets.

I hope whoever replaces Kubiak has personell say. Smith and the front office are a good pro and college scouts but appears to have no plan or vision for what he wants the team to be. Let someone with a plan tell him what to do and he should be good at doing it.

[Big Texas]

So far what have Casey and Hill done?

Exactly

I am starting to think they picked up Casey because they are not going to extend OD's contract; and Hill because they needed a blocking TE.

They better not.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Big Texas

I am starting to think they picked up Casey because they are not going to extend OD's contract; and Hill because they needed a blocking TE.

At the very least they have leverage with OD that they didn't have before drafting Casey.

[Big Texas]

Forget that. Daniels is a probowler. You drop one of these other scrubs before you let him get away.

[barrett]

Leverage or a 4th round RB to try to score on the goalline?

Leverage or a Safety who can tackle?

4 TEs is pointless. A terrible waste of resources on a position where our 2 deep was already set while we ignored spots where we had great need.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

Leverage or a 4th round RB to try to score on the goalline?

Leverage or a Safety who can tackle?

4 TEs is pointless. A terrible waste of resources on a position where our 2 deep was already set while we ignored spots where we had great need.

Don't look at me, dude, I'm not the one in the war room making the decisions. They drafted two more TEs in April. I didn't tell them to. It was obvious to me that they hoped Casey would be a Daniels clone and would give them leverage with OD next year. Hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Texans just like having four TEs on the team, who knows.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

Don't look at me, dude, I'm not the one in the war room making the decisions. They drafted two more TEs in April. I didn't tell them to. It was obvious to me that they hoped Casey would be a Daniels clone and would give them leverage with OD next year. Hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Texans just like having four TEs on the team, who knows.

I'm not blaming you. I think you are right. I think the pick was made with an eye toward the Daniels negotiations. I just think it was stupid and wasteful. Especially with Hill in the prior round.

[Joshua]

First off, I will acknowledge that I'm pretty much done with Kubiak and have zero confidence that he's the guy to take us to the next level. He's had 4 years to do it and this team has many of the same issues which have plagued it from day one of his tenure. As this is an accountability thread, I thought this is as good a place as any to discuss what Kubiak has accomplished (or not) during his time here.

First the positive, Kubiak has installed a pretty good offense. However, I think our No. 3 ranking last year was somewhat misleading. Our short yardage struggles are no surprise. They have been an ongoing problem for years. While I don't have the stats, my guess is that we are one of the worst short yardage teams in the league. If anyone has the stats, I would be interested to see them. What did surprise me last year was how bad we were in 3rd and long as well. It was about week 10 or 11 when they showed a stat during the Texans game that we were 0-37 in 3rd and 8 or longer. I couldn't believe that. We hadn't converted a single time in 10 weeks? What these two things tell me is that the offense achieves most of its successes off of misdirection and unpredictability. While this is not that unusual in and of itself, at some point, you have to be able to beat the other team even when they know what's coming. Not only have we not been able to do that, but we are truly terrible at it. I don't think you can consistently win until you can do so. I think this also goes a long way toward explaining our redzone woes.

Now the negative. My primary complaint is his steadfast refusal to address the obvious deficiencies on this team. Just to quickly name a few, we have lacked a safety, DT, interior linemen, and back-up RB for years. While I know you can't address all of these overnight, his stubborness on these fronts is stupefying. Seeing teams like Denver and New Orleans (who had 2 of the worst defenses last year) go get Brian Dawkins and Darren Sharper and instantly upgrade the play and mentality of their D drives me nuts. Throw on top of it that both teams went out and actually interviewed proven D coordinators is the icing on the cake. As for a DT, nothing singlehandedly disrupts our offense like a mauling, run-stuffing DT. Kris Jenkins, Ngata, Hampton, etc. all wreck shop when they play us. You would think seeing this firsthand might tip Kubiak off that having a guy like that would be beneficial. Apparently not.

Next, his refusal to even interview, much less hire, someone he's not already friends with is irritating and makes me question his competency. While I realize this sort of thing is common in the NFL, he is dramatically reducing the hiring pool and this invariably will have a detrimental impact. By refusing to even consider other qualified coaches, he is doing the Texans no favors and, quite frankly, abdicating his job responsibilities.

Finally (although I could go on), he clearly doesn't have any idea what he wants to do on defense. We have been cellar dwellers his entire time here and I don't think he has any idea how to change it. Basically, I think they are just running guys out there and hoping they play well, but don't have any real plan. We've started about 5 safeties in 5 weeks. We continually trot out other D linemen as well. One week a guy starts, the next, he's may not even be activated. That tells me they really don't know what they have and are essentially grasping at straws. Good teams don't do this. They know what they expect of their players and try and find guys who can do it.

In short, I don't think Kubiak has much to show for his time here other than a pretty good offense, but one that struggles when they lack the element of surprise. The defense has been an unmitigated disaster for which there doesn't appear to be any cohesive plan to correct. His reliance on his buddies has further retarded this team's development and has prevented this team from pursuing potentially better options. Finally, he seems to truly lack an appreciation for the team's flaws and then excerbates these by routinely placing the game in the hands of our least competent.

[Fonz the Boss]

I believe I had stated in another thread that Owen Daniels would be pefect for a trade. He is a made product of this offense. If you plug in Casey he would put up the same numbers as OD.

[Big Texas]

I would like to add that we do try to address our weaknesses but by grabbing the trash of other teams. Because they are far better than what we have had they seem to be an upgrade. It is time out for just grabbing bottom feeders looking for a diamond in the rough. Damn it, go get a diamond.

We needed a safety they went out and got:

Nick Ferguson, slow and terrible in coverage
Eugene Wilson, decent in coverage (at best), terrible tackler
Bernard Pollard, seems to be a great addition for the run stop-but exploited in the pass. Ask Fitzgerald before the half.

We needed a corner:

The Cowboys trash Jacque Reeves

We needed a strong presence on the D-Line

Frank Okam, 7 games in 2 years 4 tackles, enough said...

So I believe that they are TRYING to address the needs. They just have no idea how to evaluate talent.

I can legitimately say there are about 4 over-acheivers (in terms of how they were acquired) on this team:

Demeco
Shaub
Mario
Walter

These players have all outplayed their initial expectations.

The list of busts goes far beyond what can be put in a single thread.

However, I still am on board and think that we can be winners with what we have. We just have a stubborn coaching staff who does not take into consideration who they have. "You wanna run, run, run; well you don't have the players to do it. Throw the ball damn it."

Ask Whisenhunt. He came from a predominantly run team. Of course he wanted to instill a solid ground game in Arizona. But he recognized his personnel and played to there strengths. Now this year he can incorporate and little of what he wants.

Same thing with Sean Peyton. He could've tried to turn Reggie into a Between the tackles back. They would've been in the same situation as us if they did. After all he came from the power running Cowboys. He adjusted to his personnel and his team is thriving.

Let's adjust.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by Big Texas

So I believe that they are TRYING to address the needs. They just have no idea how to evaluate talent.

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think a bunch of street free agents and a 5th round pick represents much of a try. I also think Pollard is a good example of this team's inability to assess what it has. This guy comes in off the street in week 4 and is immediately starting? What were the coaches doing in training camp? I don't see how a competent staff can supposedly be content with what they have then turn around and have a street free agent starting by week 4. To me, not realizing how bad your safeties are that a street free agent can come in in week 4 and start shows a major inability to proper evaluate talent.

[coloradodude]

I think where our main problem is lies precisely within the coaching staff as opposed to the players.

Alex Gibbs is the one I'm disappointed with the most. In the past, his teams were prepared the most. They were not the biggest nor the best athletes on the field but they always did their job because they knew how to accomplish their assignment.

With a few personnel upgrades in free agency this team should be 11-5 but instead...I just wonder how much time is going into films and teaching what to do as opposed how to save my job mentality.

[barrett]

Signing castoffs is not attempting to address needs. It is simply filling out the roster. We have had needs that we have continued to ignore.

But we put money into our #3 and #4 WRs and then go draft a 4rd and 4th TE. Do they not realize that you are either using 3/4 WRs OR you are using multiple TEs.

We have Daniels, Anderson, and Casey to basically fill one role in the offense. Then we have two return specialists/4th WRs in Jones and Davis. Then we have two blocking TEs in Dreesen and Hill. And these guys don't even match-up. It's a split personality with multiple TE running sets that don't mesh with paying 5 WRs good money. We have no personality offensively. Everyone in the world can see we can pass it but we can't run it, but we continue to try and run it (all after not investing in a RB).

And everyone one of these guys besides Dreesen represents a financial or draft expense. All of those offensive specialists and Luxuries (they are not needs), and we don't have the resources to get a guy to carry it on 3rd and 1?

[NBT]

Kubiak is stubborn to the point of having tunnel vision. To wit, his insistance on trying to run the ball. I don't necessarily think the personnel we have are scrubs, or at least some of them. I think it is more the inability of Kubiak to realize what he has, and to utiliize those players to their best advantage in the best situations.

The game preparation to me, leaves a lot to be desired, at least in the opening periods.

On the offensive line the weakest links seem to be Meyers, and kubes favorite breisel.

[coloradodude]

In reference to Koobs being stubborn, it looks like you're correct but he may be willing to change...

http://www.examiner.com/x-778-Housto...ween-the-lines


"Last but not least, when Kubiak was asked if he's giving up on his goal for a balanced run-pass attack given the Texans running game woes, he said "you've got to run the ball in this league. You're going to have a hard time changing me on that, but I've also got to look at what's going on with my team right now and what's happening. We're throwing the ball very, very well and we're not running it very well. We're going to do what we have to do to win, but we're not going to give up on the run.""