Official Texans @ Titans Game Thread, 12/19/2010

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

I'm pretty much right there with you on this. I would not mind doing fewer roll-outs and becoming more vertical, but we can keep what we have or re-tool it a little, pretty much any HC who is not a moron would be a step up.



You're right that the offense would be more effective if the defense could get a turnover every now and then, and when the Texans lose they almost always lose the TOP battle. That was particularly evident earlier in the year. My problem is the offense tends to click when they go uptempo which they do once they get behind by three scores. In today's case they were behind by three scores in the first quarter. They went uptempo in the second half and started moving the ball. For this offense to suck as badly as it does in each and every first quarter of the season (with the exception I think of the first Titans game), to me that speaks to the inability of the coaches to game plan properly or to be flexible once you see that the defense is addressing your plan. Bob is right that sometimes Schaub has series where he is very, very inconsistent - bouncing balls to guys, overthrowing other guys, not sensing pressure... But the team's inability to do anything in the first quarter or really even the first half is down to the game plan. I don't know whether it is stubbornness or stupidity or lack of creativity or what, but the numbers are there and they do not lie.

We are at our best when we throw the ball. This has been true for years. Foster is great, but we still should be a team that throws aggressively and looks to put points on the board at all times.

I've been complaining for years though that we are jeckyl and hyde in terms on personality.

We are best when we pass but prefer to run.

We are best in a shootout, but have a defense that can't cause turnovers or pressure the QB consistently (what defenses focus on when they know their Offense will put up points).

We have a coach who wants to run the ball and play it close but a terrible defense.

We are best with 3 or 4 WR, but we stockpile TEs and then force them onto the field in 2 TE sets where we become less threatening.

We have a "great" offense but come out looking to plod and pound every week.

We play JJ in the slot and work him almost exclusively over the middle, even though he can't catch. I can't remember a deep ball to him all season though. And then we try to work David Anderson exclusively on the sideline.

We try to make Joel Dreesen a playmaking threat and bury James Casey on the bench.

We had only OLBs for backups and then drafted another OLB and had no backup MLB.

We are ultra conservative in 4th down calls and such, but we are crappy in the kicking game and the return game and are ill-suited to trade field position with teams. I can't count how many times we have punted on a 4th and medium from the positive side of the field only to net 20 yards.

Our only win in the last 8 GAMES was courtesy of Rusty Smith.

Can anyone honestly say they have any clue what our team's primary goal is at the start of each week? On either side of the ball? I bet we would get 20 different answers from 20 different people.

Is it any wonder we perform our best when there is only one thing we can do? We are good when trailing late in games because everyone is on the same page about what we are trying to accomplish. Of course, as soon as we come back we are wandering in the desert again.

This is a football team with no direction and no sense of what they are trying to accomplish. No way does this fall at Frank Bush's feet.