Which is to say, your Houston Texans feature an offense that can consistently score on average to below-average opposition and a defense that cannot consistently stop anyone. Truthfully, the outcome of yesterday's game was reasonably predictable if you weren't wearing battle red glasses and sniffing glue. The Ravens boast a very stout defense, so expecting the man who managed to lose a football game in a fashion none of us would ever again witness if each of us were to live another dozen lifetimes was the height of stupidity. I was and am an idiot. Moreover, expecting a defense that features (1) the worst secondary I've ever seen in the NFL and (2) a defensive coordinator whose head has been called for by even the most patient fan for months to stop anyone, even a team featuring a rookie QB, should be proof positive that I am completely incapable of rational thought.
I'm sick of feeling like this. I'm sick of going to bed irritated on Sunday night. I'm tired of complaining. Most of all, I'm tired of writing about a team that has won thirty-five (35) times in one hundred five (105) games. Rooting for the Texans has become far more of a chore than it should be. The brief flashes of joy drown in the seemingly endless swamp of defeat. Each week brings with it a sense of dread that turns into full-blown depression 67% of the time.
The most galling part, I think, is that there doesn't seem to be any real accountability. If you or I performed at our respective jobs like nearly every Texan player and/or coach does, we'd be fired. Probably not after the first mistake. Probably not even after the second mistake, and perhaps not even the third. But if you successfully completed a task seventeen (17) times out of forty-one (41) opportunities, wouldn't your employer be totally justified in finding someone else to do the job? Wouldn't you question your employer's sanity and/or business savvy if another employee got the job done less than half the time yet was permitted to continue working there without repercussion?
That's not to say that I think Kubes should be canned. I haven't reached that point, though I'm astounded at how the same problems (clock management, challenge calls, odd playcalling, etc.) seem to crop up week after week. At the very least, I'd think even the most devoted Texan fan would have to have some doubt as to whether Kubes is the guy to take this organization to the Super Bowl. The clock hasn't struck midnight for Kubes, but it is ticking.
Richard Smith, on the other hand? I invite anyone to argue why he shouldn't be relieved of his duties. Really...I want to read a defense of his administration and/or strategy. I would like nothing more than to believe that this team doesn't need any coaching changes. Changing coaches at any time is a disruption to some degree, and I'd love to avoid that distraction if possible. Unfortunately, I think we're far past that point and have been past it for several months.
Wow...this PGB really veered off course, didn't it? And it's getting late, so let's hurry through ten (10) quick takes:
1. The best way to sum up Sage's four (4) INT afternoon is this: Sage Rosenfels performed poorly enough to elicit the very real question of whether a dude signed off the street less than a week ago would be an upgrade at QB. Neato.
2. Fifteen (15) designed running plays. Offensive balance is overrated!
3. I'm not a professional football coach, so the notion of why a team would allow its turnover-prone second-string QB to throw on first down at the opponent's one yard line when trailing 7-0 at home in the first quarter is beyond my comprehension.
4. Someone needs to explain when to signal a fair catch and when to let the ball bounce into the end zone for a touchback to Jacoby Jones.
5. It's pretty sad that Duane Brown can give up a safety on a holding penalty in the end zone and I'm still amazed that he didn't get abused more frequently and/or worse than he did.
6. Morlon Greenwood's pass interference penalty in the end zone made me remember Petey Faggins' unbelievable double-penalty on the same play against Atlanta last year. It was that terrible.
7. Every week, it seems like Earl Cochran makes a new and persuasive case for why he should be starting. Yet every week, Anthony Weaver starts at DE. Please tell me why, Lord.
8. Another thing you'll probably never see: A penalty from the punter on a safety kick. Thanks for making us a part of history, Matt Turk.
9. Need a play to summarize the plight of the Houston secondary? Look no further than Eugene Wilson's no-show on Baltimore's first TD. Simply an excellent microcosm for your Houston Texans secondary's play this year.
10. Off to Indianapolis on Sunday. Sneak peek at the next edition of "Three And Out": I'm picking the Colts.