I waited, although I knew what the result was going to be, I wanted to see who actually was going to get interviewed for the Defensive Coordinator job of the Houston Texans. Based on Kubiak's words, he mentioned they would interview a few candidates and from there make a final decision. Question ? Who were the other candidates ? Why aren't their names mentioned ? So I can only believe the trend of hiring "my buddies" within the Texans organization continues on. Now don't get me wrong, I like Wade Phillips as the Defensive Coordinator but let's not get all willy nilly jumping into every ditch we see in the Houston area trying to pull out an ox. It's a few ditches out there that have waters with swift and powerful currents. Unless you plan on going downstream without a paddle like this team did this past season, I'd advise you to say he hell with that ox.
In saying that, even though Phillips has had success in the NFL as a defensive minded guy, hiring him is not the only answer. Being the nerd I am I went back and looked at the rosters of the teams that had the best years statistically. Being fair, I pulled the Buffalo Bills roster from the year 2000, and the San Diego Chargers roster from 2006. Respectively the Bills were 15th that year, and the Chargers were 7th. Listed below are the rosters of both teams. Now compare them to the defensive roster of the Texans and as I've stated before, you must have talent in this league to win. Not All Pro's everywhere, but players that are good at being role players and then give you a little extra every now and then. Here is the list.
San Diego Chargers:
Luis Castillo, Jacques Cesaire, Jamal Williams, Igor Olshansky, Shawne Merriman, Shaun Phillips, Randall Godfrey, Donnie Edwards, Quentin Jammer, Drayton Florence, Terrence Kiel, Marlon McCree.
Buffalo Bills:
Phil Hansen, Shawn Price, Ted Washington, Marcellus Wiley, Keith Newman, John Holecek, Sam Cowart, Sam Rogers, Antoine Winfield, Ken Irvin, Henry Jones, Keion Carpenter.
Taking a look at these rosters and comparing them to the Texans roster, the talent level on these teams related to the Texans isn't even close. It's also obvious the amount of moves the Texans need to make to get to the level of what these teams did. My point is, only one piece of the puzzle is in place, Wade. I'm not going to discount Mario, Demeco, Smith, Quinn, or even Cush, but all the other pieces need to be decided on and installed. This will not be an easy task.
The free agent period and the draft are very important for the Texans this year. I wonder if they realize this or if they think the hiring of Wade fixes all of their problems. In my opinion, no. Mr.McNair needs to watch over this very carefully and needs to open up his wallet a bit more. I will be observing this like the eye of Sauron,(for you Lord Of The Ring Fans) and everyone else should also. No getting in the ditch for me people, I'm gonna stay high and dry, at least for now. I'll get in, but only if given the tools that will allow me to get the ox out and walking on level ground . I also need to be able to see that the ox knows better next time it faces going down into that ditch again. Hopefully the Texans will understand the same thing. If the Texans get this together then their ox will plow a straight furrow.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
BleepStorm
Mismanagement, rumors, confusion, or anything else you wanna add is swirling around the Houston Texans organization. What a bleep storm ! This team and organization has gone from being a team on the rise into a beautiful Hawaiian sunset to a team on a steep decent into the nearest golden corral destroying its versatile buffet and taking down with them everyone awaiting to consume the Timberline Chili and Vanilla Wafer Banana Pudding. It's hard to diagnose what the thinking is behind some of the decisions that have been made, or lack thereof. I myself am confused as to why no outside source of information is being tapped to get this team on the right track. Houston we have a problem !
In my opinion the inexperience of this organization has finally caught up with them. Mr. McNair is a very good owner, however he is still young to the business as far as knowing what type of coaches and players this team needs. You couple that with the inexperience of a GM and Head Coach and you end up with a mediocre or bad football team. One rumor that has come about ,that I truly find very weird and very surprising, is that you would fire Kubiak and retain Rick Smith. John McClain states that Kubiak signs off on all the players and doesn't have them shoved down his throat nor does he have to play them. That's not entirely correct. Quick lesson here. There are organizations in the NFL where the right hand doesn't talk to the left. There are GM's who bring in whoever they want and the coach is just supposed to make it work. So that takes care of that.
From a practical standpoint it makes no sense and leaves a huge disconnect within the organization. I thought about that when I learned McNair and Kubiak never talk one on one with each other. Word ? I now understand the possibility of why Smith would stay and why Kubiak could be fired. If that happens, the understanding of how Mr. McNair can trust Smith to lead a search to find a new head coach is mind-boggling. Even if Kubiak signed off or was forced to sign off on these players is true, the GM is the talent evaluator. He is the one who brings the players in. And based on the product we have seen on the field this year the talent is not that great. I have an issue with that.
The other rumor has both Kubs and Smith staying with Bush and the other defensive assistants being relieved of their duties. I personally see this as realistic. There are too many built-in excuses and the defensive side of the ball has not been good at all. The offense, for the most part has done what it's suppose to do so who does that leave stuck out in the cold. Adding injury to insult, having your defensive coordinator out till 2 am the night before a game doesn't help either.
Let me touch on that subject for a second. Here's the deal, there are many coaches that go to bars, restaurants, or gentlemen's clubs, or whatever before games. Whether on the road or at home. It's very common in the NFL. The problem isn't that he was out, the problem is his defense is 29th in the NFL, allows the most passing yards in the NFL, and is part of a team that will finish 6-10 at best after having playoff aspirations. Whether he was partying like Lindsay Lohan during one of her Chateau Marmont visits, or praying in the corner with Joel Olsteen, either way it just doesn't look good. From a player's view, I've been busting my butt all week preparing for a game, trying to help salvage a season in some way and finish strong and he's out kicking it ! After all the bull I was fed during the week about not giving up, staying together, and not letting go of the rope ! Meanwhile, coach is out getting his swerve on ! Surely he's not asking me if I want any party favors sent to my room, because I need to stay the course. And he still wants me to listen and respect what he says. Has this been an ongoing thing and contributed to why the defense is so bad ? So yea, it looks like he let go of the rope. And since his name, and his head, are slowly being lowered into La guillotine de Bob McNair, one would think he would be more careful.
I await the decision and future of the present staff here after Sunday's game. I am sure Mr. McNair has much to think about. Not really, but if my assumptions are correct, based off how the organization has been run to this present time, I expect to see both Kubiak and Smith back for at least another year and the hiring of a new defensive coordinator. There will be a press conference filled with reasons both fiction and non, and excuses as to why the season was a failure. There will also be a plan of some sort to try to convince the fan base why they should continue to support the team. Afterwards I'll be thinking what the majority is thinking. Don't tell me about pain, show me the baby !
In my opinion the inexperience of this organization has finally caught up with them. Mr. McNair is a very good owner, however he is still young to the business as far as knowing what type of coaches and players this team needs. You couple that with the inexperience of a GM and Head Coach and you end up with a mediocre or bad football team. One rumor that has come about ,that I truly find very weird and very surprising, is that you would fire Kubiak and retain Rick Smith. John McClain states that Kubiak signs off on all the players and doesn't have them shoved down his throat nor does he have to play them. That's not entirely correct. Quick lesson here. There are organizations in the NFL where the right hand doesn't talk to the left. There are GM's who bring in whoever they want and the coach is just supposed to make it work. So that takes care of that.
From a practical standpoint it makes no sense and leaves a huge disconnect within the organization. I thought about that when I learned McNair and Kubiak never talk one on one with each other. Word ? I now understand the possibility of why Smith would stay and why Kubiak could be fired. If that happens, the understanding of how Mr. McNair can trust Smith to lead a search to find a new head coach is mind-boggling. Even if Kubiak signed off or was forced to sign off on these players is true, the GM is the talent evaluator. He is the one who brings the players in. And based on the product we have seen on the field this year the talent is not that great. I have an issue with that.
The other rumor has both Kubs and Smith staying with Bush and the other defensive assistants being relieved of their duties. I personally see this as realistic. There are too many built-in excuses and the defensive side of the ball has not been good at all. The offense, for the most part has done what it's suppose to do so who does that leave stuck out in the cold. Adding injury to insult, having your defensive coordinator out till 2 am the night before a game doesn't help either.
Let me touch on that subject for a second. Here's the deal, there are many coaches that go to bars, restaurants, or gentlemen's clubs, or whatever before games. Whether on the road or at home. It's very common in the NFL. The problem isn't that he was out, the problem is his defense is 29th in the NFL, allows the most passing yards in the NFL, and is part of a team that will finish 6-10 at best after having playoff aspirations. Whether he was partying like Lindsay Lohan during one of her Chateau Marmont visits, or praying in the corner with Joel Olsteen, either way it just doesn't look good. From a player's view, I've been busting my butt all week preparing for a game, trying to help salvage a season in some way and finish strong and he's out kicking it ! After all the bull I was fed during the week about not giving up, staying together, and not letting go of the rope ! Meanwhile, coach is out getting his swerve on ! Surely he's not asking me if I want any party favors sent to my room, because I need to stay the course. And he still wants me to listen and respect what he says. Has this been an ongoing thing and contributed to why the defense is so bad ? So yea, it looks like he let go of the rope. And since his name, and his head, are slowly being lowered into La guillotine de Bob McNair, one would think he would be more careful.
I await the decision and future of the present staff here after Sunday's game. I am sure Mr. McNair has much to think about. Not really, but if my assumptions are correct, based off how the organization has been run to this present time, I expect to see both Kubiak and Smith back for at least another year and the hiring of a new defensive coordinator. There will be a press conference filled with reasons both fiction and non, and excuses as to why the season was a failure. There will also be a plan of some sort to try to convince the fan base why they should continue to support the team. Afterwards I'll be thinking what the majority is thinking. Don't tell me about pain, show me the baby !
Monday, December 27, 2010
Recall
Another loss, and lead blown, this has been the story for the Houston Texans all year. I understand that Texan fans wanted to stay optimistic and see their team in a good light. I think sometime fans are blinded by what is really going on with teams. First it was fire Rick Smith and Kubiak, now more and more fans are seeing what I wrote on August 24, (refer to "Blinded" to reread).
I was floored when I continued to hear fans and commentators speak of how talented this team was. Word ? Did people honestly think this team was loaded with talent ? With another poor draft and no free agent acquisitions, there was no way possible I thought the Texans would emerge as a playoff team this year. And for speaking out about what I saw and basing it off of my playing experience, myself along with others that said the same were heckled for even mentioning it. Maybe I'm just too much of a realist, or maybe I know a little something about football. Maybe ? Sorta Kinda ?
No denying that Kubiak has placed himself in the situation to be fired after the season. On the other hand, there is another person up top that needs to be held accountable also. Not talking about Rick Smith, although he is a culprit in this whole debacle as well. Bob McNair really needs to step up and evaluate this team for what it is. What his "peers" say means nothing, what Smith or his son or anyone else in that camp means nothing. Mr. McNair needs to do some soul-searching and really grab a hold of his team before he loses the fans. Regardless of how much we love football here in Texas, we have been bred and taught not to settle for mediocrity.
I was floored when I continued to hear fans and commentators speak of how talented this team was. Word ? Did people honestly think this team was loaded with talent ? With another poor draft and no free agent acquisitions, there was no way possible I thought the Texans would emerge as a playoff team this year. And for speaking out about what I saw and basing it off of my playing experience, myself along with others that said the same were heckled for even mentioning it. Maybe I'm just too much of a realist, or maybe I know a little something about football. Maybe ? Sorta Kinda ?
No denying that Kubiak has placed himself in the situation to be fired after the season. On the other hand, there is another person up top that needs to be held accountable also. Not talking about Rick Smith, although he is a culprit in this whole debacle as well. Bob McNair really needs to step up and evaluate this team for what it is. What his "peers" say means nothing, what Smith or his son or anyone else in that camp means nothing. Mr. McNair needs to do some soul-searching and really grab a hold of his team before he loses the fans. Regardless of how much we love football here in Texas, we have been bred and taught not to settle for mediocrity.
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