Review of our embarrising performance

[jppaul]

This was bad, but lets distribute the blame: (Yeah I know I misspelled embarrassing)

AJ has to put in some effort there, on that deep pass AJ could have gone and gotten that but instead as has always been the case, he doesn't believe in his hands thus he let it get into his body and thus it was blocked, and on several other plays he could have made Schaub look a little less bad.

On that same thread give Andre Davis more chances all that guy does is make big plays. Daniels was solid but we should have run that screen three more times, they never even got close to shutting that down.

Our O-line didn't look like complete S***, they opened some running lanes except down near the goal line, but that has always been a problem with the zone blocking as the lineman are lighter and are not going to get quite the push that other bigger olines do.

The Defense didn't look all that bad, sure they got pushed around the first half, but they also manufactured two turnovers during that stretch and they were airtight in the second half. Considering they were out there so much and the offense didn't give them crap, they kept us in the game. No big stat pluses but they were solid when it mattered.

Daniels looked good. Special Teams is not as effective as it was last year but they are still an ace up the sleeve at times, Jones punt return.

Slaton gives us something that all of the fans have always known we needed, an elusive scat back/home run hitter, that gives a one two punch. He reminds me of Reggie Bush in space, and as a plus he can also run inside, and as he demonstrated dive for a few first downs. He has a really unique inside running style, one that makes up for his deficiencies in size and strength. He is so shifty that nobody can get him head on and drive him back, he takes the contact and sltihers, through it with spins or dives. I was very impressed.

On that same note what the hell was with that playcalling of run-pass-pass-run from the 1. If they had given it to Slaton or Leach on 4 downs that would have been in.

Like kieth said earlier Kubiak has always had my respect for his playcalling, but boy did he drop the ball, and considering my opinion is in hindsight, take it with a grain of salt. Counting all of those times that we were within the 35 and thinking that Brown is automatic, there were about 15 points in field goals out there, which certainly would have vaulted us into the lead all other things considered. A taking into consideration Schaub's general ineffictiveness, that might have been the smart decision.

Finally, Schaub, you scared little twit. His passes were off, his timing was worthless, and he looked scared. I am still completely behind him for now, but jeez he has looked like absolute crap for these first two games, his passes were underthrown or overthrown, but rarely right on target. If he doesn't shape up in two games Im leading the cheer for Rosie.

[HPF Bob]

Schaub was Carr-like. AJ played like he did when Carr was Carr-like. The OL wasn't that bad, given who they were playing against. The play-calling had me saying WTF way too often (Can, you guys please tear up the slow-white-boy-reverse play? If you're going to run that play, do it with the underutilized Andre Davis - at least he can beat someone to the edge). Jacques Reeves was obviously who the Titans gameplanned to pick on and, save for one INT, they were quite successful at it.

The tackling was terrible. Our guys just don't show any skill at wrapping up a player and taking him to the ground except Chaun Thompson who did that twice late in the game. Everybody else tries to throw a shoulder into the ballcarrier and hopes he falls down.

I'm losing a lot of confidence in Richard Smith. Year after year we load up on defensive players in the draft and what do we have to show for it? Not much.

[Roy P]

I've heard a lot of comments discussing the lack of utilization of Kris Brown today. Anybody remember the two bad snaps today? Remember the missed PAT? I don't know what was up with Pittman, but I'm not sure that anything is "automatic" when it comes to the kicking game.

[chuck]

Zac Diles missed more tackles in one game than any Texan I can remember. And despite having spent 70% of their last draft picks on the DL, the DL still really sucks on the whole.

[coloradodude]

Are the Texans still in the NFL? I heard a rumor that the commissioner was considering giving 'ol Boudreaux McNair his money back and just calling it even.

[nunusguy]

Ike may turn out to be Kubiak and McNairs best friend in '08 because you can bet if their current level of performance continues the HC and owner will blame the failed season on the disrupption caused by a storm.
But what really concerns me, and I'm repeating myself, but the 2 areas Kubiak and Smith have invested the most of the teams resources in are
DLine & QB. That is cause for deep concern because we all thought those 2
could identify NFL talent and this morning you gotta have serious reservations about that ?

[barrett]

I think that outside of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson the Texans played what would have likely been a road win over an undefeated football team. Who would have guessed that through two games the biggest culprit would have been the passing game.

On another note, how many times in an NFL game do we have to see the announcers say "That play should clearly be overturned" only to watch the refs say call stands. The NFL replay system is worthless.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

The NFL replay system is worthless.

Its there and in place, but the HC still must take advantage of it. I dunno, why didn't Kubiak throw the red-flag on that play where the Titan
receiver clearly went out of bounds ? All he had to do was observe the way in which QB Collings and his teammates dashed up to the los to get the clock
rolling again.

[Roy P]

There were some positives from this game. For instance, Steve Slaton did not get hurt and showed that he could be a RB in the Brian Westbrook mold. Duane Brown didn't make me believe that he was Orlando Pace, but he wasn't totally abused by KVDB in only his second game. Frank Okam actually played in the 2nd half and the Titans running game was not as effective.

I'm not saying that Matt Schaub was Peyton Manning, but there were some things out there that should be clarified. Andre Johnson dropped a TD pass in the EndZone that hit his hands. Two of Schaub's interceptions came on 4th down when he was trying to make a play instead of turning the ball over on downs. Granted one was returned the length of the football field for a TD, but the game was in desperation mode at that point. The other INT was essentially a passing Punt, the Titan DB would have been better off dropping the pass.

It's my opinion that Kubiak was not confident in this team winning unless everything went right. Perhaps he was looking to create some momentum and get the team out of a funk after the hurricane. They looked rusty as hell at the beginning of the game. I'm not convinced that Schaub isn't having some concussion issues, because his 1st INT was just unforgivable. Anyway, Kubes would have looked like a Mad Genius if the Texans had been able to convert some of those 4th downs. We often hear laments of how predictable and stupid it is to run into the teeth of the defense on 4th down when the defense expects a running play. Kubiak was definitely not following "the book" in this game. Maybe he'll learn from this and realize that running the ball on 4 straight plays isn't a bad idea when you have only 5 inches to go. Of course the other side of the story is, if you can't gain a yard on the 1st 3 running plays, why try it again?

Anyway, the bottom line is that we were outplayed and outcoached. We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Roy P

We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

Didn't want to quote the whole thing, but this was an excellent post imo.

I'm interested in the record projections though. Forgetting briefly how poorly the team has looked in their first two games, for those of you predicting wins this season, did you expect the team to win in either Pittsburgh or Nashville this season?

Beating the Jags in J-ville seems an insurmountable task given the Texans' 0-2 start, but lesser Texans teams have done it before. And then the Colts at home the following week - the home opener - might be a winnable game too.

Then the schedule for the next couple weeks, most of which is at home, really looks a bit easier to stomach - home against the Dolphins, Lions, Bengals and Ravens with a road trip to Minnesota in early November - if Kubiak is going to turn this season around, he'll have his chance if he can find a win in the next two games.

[HPF Bob]

The Texans-Lions game may be a prelim for the 2009 #1 draft choice although the Lambs and the Chefs may give us a run for our money.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Roy P

There were some positives from this game. For instance, Steve Slaton did not get hurt and showed that he could be a RB in the Brian Westbrook mold. Duane Brown didn't make me believe that he was Orlando Pace, but he wasn't totally abused by KVDB in only his second game. Frank Okam actually played in the 2nd half and the Titans running game was not as effective.

I'm not saying that Matt Schaub was Peyton Manning, but there were some things out there that should be clarified. Andre Johnson dropped a TD pass in the EndZone that hit his hands. Two of Schaub's interceptions came on 4th down when he was trying to make a play instead of turning the ball over on downs. Granted one was returned the length of the football field for a TD, but the game was in desperation mode at that point. The other INT was essentially a passing Punt, the Titan DB would have been better off dropping the pass.

It's my opinion that Kubiak was not confident in this team winning unless everything went right. Perhaps he was looking to create some momentum and get the team out of a funk after the hurricane. They looked rusty as hell at the beginning of the game. I'm not convinced that Schaub isn't having some concussion issues, because his 1st INT was just unforgivable. Anyway, Kubes would have looked like a Mad Genius if the Texans had been able to convert some of those 4th downs. We often hear laments of how predictable and stupid it is to run into the teeth of the defense on 4th down when the defense expects a running play. Kubiak was definitely not following "the book" in this game. Maybe he'll learn from this and realize that running the ball on 4 straight plays isn't a bad idea when you have only 5 inches to go. Of course the other side of the story is, if you can't gain a yard on the 1st 3 running plays, why try it again?

Anyway, the bottom line is that we were outplayed and outcoached. We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

I can agree about the INTs, but... what about the rest of the game? The turnovers glare, but more concerning is the inability to throw the ball all game long. One drop by Andre Johnson does not explain an entire game of poor play (the other two to Johnson were clearly overthrown and he had no chance of getting two feet down on either). Schaub looked outright bad for the 2nd week in a row. I was a big fan of his last year, but he has looked awful so far. And this week he looked awful even with good field position and a running game.

You can do everything else right in the NFL, but if you get your QB wrong you are still no good. I won't say Schaub is not the guy, but is anyone confident at this point that he IS the guy to lead this team to great things. If he's not we are just spinning our wheels.

[nunusguy]

We weren't even in the same solar-system with the Steelers a couple weeks ago and had no chance of winning.
That's what makes yesterdays game far more frustrating - the Titans weren't
totally dominant like the Steelers and even offered us gifts on more than one occasion. And if only the guy ususally considered our single best player
catchs a pass ( or maybe 2), that he didn't we not only have a shot, but we have a lead in the game.

[papabear]

I'm sure the great deabte on Schaub will get beat to death, so I'm only going to say this. He sucked. He didn't get much help, but he sucked. He looks nothing like the QB he was last year.

Andre Johnson should have caught both of those balls. Sure, they were tough plays, but not impossible...and definitely plays a WR is supposed to make. Not to mention one that is supposed to be an "elite" WR. I'm not putting the blame on AJ, but if he catches that first pass it could have had a very positive/calming effect on Schaub and the teams confidence.

Slaton was a bright spot, but I'm not ready to say we have solved our problems in the running game. There were still too many runs that got stuffed. I wonder how much of that was Slaton and how much was the line....It looked like the line but without the game film and the knowledge of the play call it's hard to say for sure. It was still nice to see.

I thought the defense looked better today. still plenty of sloppy tackling though. We got some pressure at times, and it seemed like Smith was at least trying to be creative at times....Although the only good thing I can say about Mario being in coverage is that it's better than Weaver being in coverage. I understand that the Titans probably game planned Mario so he was probably hoping to catch the Titans line off gaurd when he didn't rush, but I really don't want to see this too much.

Kubiak seems to coach "tight". I like being agressive on fourth down, but it seems like Kubiak was more desperate than anything....well before it was time to be desperate. He also talks about how he wants to be a running team....and always abandons the run quickly when we fall behind. We had too many runs getting stuffed, but there was no reason to go away from the run as much we did in the second half....especially on the goalline.

I also want to know who is in the booth making decisions on challenges. After the first waste of a challenge I wonder if Kubiak was scared to trust them again....Kubiak has a history of challenging plays that have no chance of being overturned. They need to sort out the communication with the booth.

I think Kubiak is a good coach, but he it seems far too often he caoches in panic mode. Many times when there was no reason to panic yet.

[jppaul]

I forgot to add to the original post that McNair is to blame also, he needs to send the league scheduling office a fruit cake or something, maybe then we could get a schedule like the Pats.

[Joshua]

With regard to Schaub, my biggest concern is that he appears easily rattled, intimidated, scared (pick whatever word you think fits best). Granted, this is nothing more than my personal opinion but he appears to already be shellshocked in only about 10 games. And he really hasn't been hit that much. I think it took Carr about 3 years to get to that level and he got hit a lot more than Schaub.

I also hate how every time he gets hit he is slow to get up and let's the other team see him rolling around on the turf. (Anybody else see Vandenbosch yank Schaub off the turf on the last INT?) Even if you get your bell rung, you should try and get up quickly and not let the other team know. A similar point is that if these hits really are taking that kind of toll, I'm not sure he's tough enough to play QB in this league. Virtually every QB is going to take those types of hits every game. If you can't withstand that, you're in the wrong line of work.

Finally, I know most teams don't tackle in practice for fear of injury, but we need to have some tackling drills. We're not good enough on defense to miss tackles when we're finally in the right spot.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by papabear

[Schaub] He sucked. He didn't get much help, but he sucked.

I'm not putting the blame on AJ, but if he catches that first pass it could have had a very positive/calming effect on Schaub and the teams confidence.

There were still too many runs that got stuffed. I wonder how much of that was Slaton and how much was the line....It looked like the line.

I thought the defense looked better today. still plenty of sloppy tackling though.

Kubiak seems to coach "tight". I like being agressive on fourth down, but it seems like Kubiak was more desperate than anything....well before it was time to be desperate.

I think Kubiak is a good coach, but he it seems far too often he caoches in panic mode. Many times when there was no reason to panic yet.

Many good points that I agree with here.

I think Slaton did well in spite of the O-Line, not because of it. He was making people miss or spinning out of tackles to break long runs. However, there were several times when he was stuffed behind the LOS. I'm not sure what Alex Gibbs is doing, but I hope the OL starts to figure it out soon.

The defense is respectable when we can stop the run on 1st down. Getting Frank Okam on the field made me happy. Them playing Zgonina as much as they did makes me scratch my head. I realize he's the GM's old roommate, but come on, does he have some pictures hidden somewhere? Amobi Okoye is still getting pushed around too much for my taste. I'm not going to call him a bust yet, but I'm not going to call him "Baby Sapp" either.

Kubiak went into this game trying to make something happen. If he were a player, I would say that he was "Pressing" instead of letting the game come to him. It is similar to when a QB starts "aiming" vice trusting that his pass will go to where it needs to go. After the first couple of failures, Kubiak started going into hyper-panic.

All this talk about benching Schaub in favor of Sage is somewhat knee-jerk. If I were Kubiak, I'd let sage play the next three games just to remind fans that Sage is not the starting QB for a reason. Unfortunately, I would hate to think what that would do to the psyche of the city. Right now, there's at least hope that we have the answer to our problems currently on the roster. We don't have Favre, Manning, Roethlisberger, McNabb, Romo, Brady, Brees, or any other Pro-Bowl QB in Matt or Sage. Then again, there are several other teams in that boat. I thought or hoped we might have a QB in the caliber of Kerry Collins, Brian Griese, or Chad Pennington (those teams won last week). While it would be nice to have THE guy, we previously didn't have A guy.

[KJ3]

Originally Posted by jppaul

I forgot to add to the original post that McNair is to blame also, he needs to send the league scheduling office a fruit cake or something, maybe then we could get a schedule like the Pats.

.....to take on the mighty dolphins? no thanks...

Originally Posted by Joshua

With regard to Schaub, my biggest concern is that he appears easily rattled, intimidated, scared (pick whatever word you think fits best). Granted, this is nothing more than my personal opinion but he appears to already be shellshocked in only about 10 games. And he really hasn't been hit that much. I think it took Carr about 3 years to get to that level and he got hit a lot more than Schaub.

yup yup yup. football has no room for scared.

I also hate how every time he gets hit he is slow to get up and let's the other team see him rolling around on the turf. (Anybody else see Vandenbosch yank Schaub off the turf on the last INT?) Even if you get your bell rung, you should try and get up quickly and not let the other team know.

yea, i thought that was pretty big-brother of kvb. like a "get up and quit acting like a baby before mom sees us" bit. seeing as how the texans were content to be little-brother i guess i can't really fault the titans.

don't tell me their goal is anything other than knocking him out of the game. even if you get back up winded, bloodied, bruised, whatever get up and let them know that wasn't enough, that they can't do it.

Originally Posted by keith

I'm interested in the record projections though. Forgetting briefly how poorly the team has looked in their first two games, for those of you predicting wins this season, did you expect the team to win in either Pittsburgh or Nashville this season?

well, no. well, not exactly. i think i split our games between every division opponent so...i guess technically i'm still on with my prediction. although technically i would expect us to be 1-2 right now (beating baltimore).

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by barrett

I think that outside of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson the Texans played what would have likely been a road win over an undefeated football team. Who would have guessed that through two games the biggest culprit would have been the passing game.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think people are still suffering from the Pittsburgh hangover. This game was a different story. People are acting like we got ran off the field but we were still in the game in the fourth quarter despite mistakes from our head coach and our best player. Our defense showed marked improvement - albeit against a terrible offense - and we found our starting RB.

The game was a lot closer than the score says and people are acting like it was over in the second quarter.

[Ol'Dad]

I am finding the whole discussion to be true. The missed catches, missed tackles, missed blocks were all the players' fault. The coaching decisions were the coach's fault.

But the one thing that continues to piss me off is the way the team reacts to a challenge. They seem way too nice and accepting of the sh*t the other teams are dishing out. After Haynesworth got the personal foul on a late hit to Schaub I would have made it a priority to clean Kerry Collins' clock the next time he stepped on the field. We weren't gonna win the game and a 15 yard penalty wasn't gonna do anything except give the Titans another first down.

If a pitcher in baseball doesn't protect his team's batters he doesn't get the respect of his teammates. If another team is gonna cheapshot your QB you gotta retaliate. It may not make any difference in the game you are playing but it sends a message for the future.

Just my two cents.