WOW. Just wow.
Right when you think the Texans have hit rock bottom, Head Coach Gary Kubiak returns to the fray and makes a quarterback change that's so confusing, so unnecessary, the fans booed so loudly that the Texans (reportedly) had to utilize the silent count, at home, in order to get plays off.
That's just one of the storylines percolating up from Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Oakland Raiders, a team that The Three Stooges constantly said the Texans "should" beat in large part due to their superior talent. I'll remind you that I attempted to put that myth to bed in a previous post. I would like to say that I had some crystal ball which told me this result was coming. Unfortunately the reality is that my breakdown was the direct result of a strange paragraph written by CBS Radio's Fred Davis.
Am I surprised the Texans lost? Yes and no. At the beginning of the season I predicted the team would finish 9-7, making the playoffs as a wildcard team. So, yes, I'm surprised that what appeared to me to be a slightly above average team has devolved into one of the league's worst. However, given the situation I'm not surprised now by any loss. While I never believed the trumpeting of talent that streamed from the local CheerMedia, I didn't think they were this bad. I don't think anyone realistically saw 2-8 with 8 straight losses coming. Not even the low-listener, troll-centric sports radio talkers saw this one coming.
In local media terms, it's time for the Texans to get their tombstone. Not only is this season done, but when your best player in franchise history gets so frustrated that he walks off the field before the game is finished the coaching and management staff are done as well. Given the confusion surrounding Schaub's insertion to the game, the question of whether or not Kubiak is healthy enough to coach the team is valid as well. This is nothing against Gary Kubiak. I've met the man, he's a very nice guy. But being a nice guy and being a good NFL coach are two different things. Just as a lot of local media are rooting for Schaub because he's a "nice guy" is the wrong move, so is having the same affections for Gary Kubiak the NFL coach. We all should want Matt Schaub and Gary Kubiak the men to have healthy, productive careers, wherever they should land.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing, as a Texans fan, is the focus of the players on fan behavior, rather than focusing on what you can do to make this team better. From Ben Tate challenging fans on Twitter to Wade Smith begrudging fans the right to boo, this Texans team has become an undisciplined, unfocused mess. That Kubiak thought it was a good idea to bring in Schaub speaks volumes. Yes, Case Keenum has had difficulties picking up the blitz, and teams have figured him out to some extent, but the play calling (and the O-line blocking) are factors as well. If you have a quarterback who is struggling with blitz pick up then why do you continually call 7-9 step drop pass plays that take forever to develop down the field? Why not do some quick 3-step drop stuff and let your athletes like Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins make some plays in the open field? How about incorporating some bubble screens out of the Pistol formation (a formation where it's said that Keenum is most comfortable?)
I'm not suggesting that Keenum is the long-term answer. But I'm also not saying that you should close the book on him either. Kubiak and Co. have continually placed him in horrible positions and expected him to come out smelling like a rose. Remember, this is a team coached by Gary Kubiak, supposed QB "guru", a man who said he could win with David Carr. What we've seen, to date, has been something quite the opposite. We're all witnessing a coach who is showing an infuriating inability to adjust to the opposing team's game plan, a coach who is increasingly determined to make the same failing play calls, and then wondering why it's not working out as planned. This is a big problem for the team, and it's one that is only going to be resolved by cutting the cord and making wholesale changes in the off-season.
Until then, your question as a Texans fan is: What now?
As a non-Texans "fan" and just someone who pulls for the team because I happen to live in Houston, my answer is that there are better things for me to do for three hours on Sunday then watch the team add fuel to a dumpster fire. We're in the time of the year in Houston where the weather in conducive to being outdoors. That's where I'm going to be and where you should probably be as well. Unless that is you like watching dumpster fires, or enjoy the camaraderie at the game itself. To each their own, but I'm tuning out, especially if Matt Schaub is named the starter for the remainder. I'll be ignoring talk radio as well. We know fans are mad and there's only so many ways of saying it. Spare yourself the heartache and listen to some music instead.
