[Cowher interested in becoming Texans HC] Finally, Music to my ears...

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

We need two things in Houston (1) better defense, and (2) to create a winning culture.

A "winning culture" is just kinda an old worn out cliche that really doesn't mean much of anything ? #1 will suffice - better talent on defensive. Like guys who can effectively and consistantly put pressure on the QB and guys who can cover the receivers.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

A "winning culture" is just kinda an old worn out cliche that really doesn't mean much of anything ? #1 will suffice - better talent on defensive. Like guys who can effectively and consistantly put pressure on the QB and guys who can cover the receivers.

Winning Culture is no cliche.

Losing breeds losing. Guys start expecting it. They start waiting for something to go wrong. Even on my couch I have started to cringe and wait for disaster every time this time we play well. This is a losing culture.

The opposite would be a winning culture where a team expects to somehow pull out every game. They expect the breaks to go their way. They expect an OL to take a kickoff 71 yards. They expect to be the team that gets the pick 6 in OT, not the other way around.

Our guys need a reason to believe that they are going to win. That the breaks are going to go that way. A few QBs are capable of creating that feeling on their team. Maybe 1 defensive guy. But mostly that comes down to the head coach. And you better believe Bill Cowher standing on the sideline would go a long way towards our players shaking off the feeling of impending doom we now operate under.

As for superior talent fixing #1, good luck. Because I really wonder if we just blew our 1st round pick going with Jackson over McCourty, or if you swapped the two, you would see McCourty falling down and Jackson picking off passes. Or our multiple #1 picks and FA signings on the DL. What can we really spend on the DL to get consistent pass rush that hasn't been spent already? So good luck fixing our Defense through personnel changes made by the same guys who got and coached the current personnel.

[coloradodude]

In the second year of the Texans history, I think it was Gary Walker who was pretty upset after several losses and he said "we need to stop talking about how we benefit from losing and start focusing on winning".

So to say there's a losing culture in Houston would be accurate...we're used to losing and while our expectations are high in the public's eye, I don't think McNair truly is expecting much other than a write off.


Am I high? No but when a lone no name right tackle can fend off a "premier" DE in just about every single game, well, the evidence indicates that I'm very sober, like the facts.

[HPF Bob]

I agree with Barrett. There is a losing culture here and this season personifies it. The team had made four comebacks of 14-points or more to tie or take the lead, only to lose each time. That tells you a) the talent is there to win games but b) there's no attitude that expects to close the sale.

The part about Kubiak that galls me the most is the lack of mental toughness. When Schaub gets cheap-shotted, (see Drayton Florence, Jared Allen), there's no Texan player to fight back - clean or dirty. That's what made AJ's tiff with Finnegan even more remarkable is that he actually took care or business even if it meant crossing the line. And while the Texans lost this Sunday, Finnegan wasn't a factor against AJ.

Do you think Cowher would tolerate his QB getting a cheap-shot without some payback? No way. That Baltimore-Pittsburgh SNF game a couple of weeks ago was a street brawl but those were two teams that weren't going to back down for anything and both of those teams are headed to the playoffs and the Texans (once again) aren't. Any guesses why?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I agree with Barrett. There is a losing culture here and this season personifies it. The team had made four comebacks of 14-points or more to tie or take the lead, only to lose each time. That tells you a) the talent is there to win games but b) there's no attitude that expects to close the sale.

I don't think it's as much of an accomplishment for the Texans to come back
in games as some people do. The dirty little secret about the Texans is they've got inferior personnel which puts them in the hole early in a game, at which point the other team goes to conservative mode (on both defense and offense) and protects their lead rather than trying to build on it. Sure the Texans usually close the gap, sometimes to a razor thin margin, but much more often than not they end up losing.
Re winning/losing culture, what we saw Sunday in Nashville was a team that just lacked effort/focus, and that was absent probably because there's no longer anything to play for this season - no motivation.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I don't think it's as much of an accomplishment for the Texans to come back
in games as some people do. The dirty little secret about the Texans is they've got inferior personnel which puts them in the hole early in a game, at which point the other team goes to conservative mode (on both defense and offense) and protects their lead rather than trying to build on it. Sure the Texans usually close the gap, sometimes to a razor thin margin, but much more often than not they end up losing.
Re winning/losing culture, what we saw Sunday in Nashville was a team that just lacked effort/focus, and that was absent probably because there's no longer anything to play for this season - no motivation.

The NFL is not the NBA where everybody makes a run. You don't get a free comeback because your opponent goes conservative. If you are falling behind because you are bad, then you are likely to fall further behind, since the game is far easier to play with a lead.

If the Texans were simply coming back because other teams let up, then you would see it all over the league. Instead it is unique and the Texans have done this (come back from 14 and lose) more than twice as much as any team in NFL history. And you can throw in 2 other successful comebacks. That means that SIX TIMES they came out flat and fell behind 2+ touchdowns, only to come back. That is not a team that has inferior talent. That is a poorly coached team.

The facts just don't match up with what you are telling us.

[nunusguy]

NFL teams win with talent, then the winning culture follows, not vice versa. End of story.