Consistency

It seems like we are a very inconsistent team.  Or a very consistent team.  We maintain streaks, which is my only case for consistency. 

We are third in the nfl in lowest score margin for the season.  My theory is this is a result of Kubiak's conservative nature.  This is a very good quality, but could lead to a very high fanbase turnover ratio due to cardiac arrest.

We keep games close.  Winning or losing, we keep it close.  We don't have the killer instinct, but we don't get 3 scores down in the 4th quarter very often either. 

At a lower level, our offense reflects this nature as well.  We do very well between the 20's.  Conservative, high percentage play calls.  Great execution.  Problem is, we don't score much from outside the 20 much (conservative doesn't lend itself to big plays) so when we set up with the defense having to cover a smaller area, we throw shorter, conservative passes, and end up with a lot of short field goals.  I may be biased, since I watch us every game, but it seems like we throw to a receiver who is standing in the end zone to receive the ball less often than any team in the league.

Early in the season, the defense reflected this personality trait as well.  We were all screaming to blitz more.  A conservative approach says bend, don't break.  A blitz might break us.  We bent a lot, which makes our pass rush less effective, which makes our secondary less effective.  I think our defense suffers from the same ultra-conservatism that our offense does. 

We know Kubiak is conservative, and the offense and defense suffers nearly identically from this trait, so why did I say that was a good quality?

Look at Kubiak's three years. 6-10, 8-8, 7-7.  Doesn't that fit the mold of bend don't break, and ultra conservative? I think this is good because we won't have a Jags-like season where our gambler coach goes for 55 4th downs and we end up 3-13.  High risk sometimes comes with high reward, but I'd rather be "in it" every year than roll the dice at the beginning of each season. This is not to say I enjoy the mediocrity.  I want us to develop a killer instinct.  I just want to keep the conservatism that keeps us in the games, and learn to play with a lead.

Defense has proven to be the biggest detriment to this whole philosophy.  Hopefully the coaching staff understands this, and retains the "adjustments" that were made half way through this season.  If so, I am happy with the conservative nature as a whole.  I think its our ticket to 10-11 wins next year, and more consistency during the next 3-5 years.