Red Zone Play: Turn The Page

Every NFL team deals with injuries each season. Some more than others, but no team survives a campaign without putting key players on Injured Reserve.

Every NFL team has to have a general manager and coaching staff who get the best players for their brand of football. Every team has to put those players in a position to win for 16-plus weeks.

While the Texans fall into the first category, they sure seem to have whiffed big time on the next two requirements once again.

The general manager’s job is to evaluate talent at all positions in the offseason and either drastically alter the roster and/or specific position groups, or simply fine-tune an already dialed-in team.

The head coach’s job is to take that talent and then mix and match it to get the best players on the field at all times.

The Texans made no effort to upgrade the offensive line last spring.

The Texans also made no effort to upgrade the secondary.

The quarterback evaluation (remember, we have a head coach billed as a “quarterback guru” when he came to town) that led to putting Tom Savage in as the starter was so flawed even armchair water boys knew that wasn’t going to work out. Had they not been able to draft Deshaun Watson, the Texans might be 1-8 right now.

Yet another press conference comes and goes with Bill O’Brien taking the blame all by himself.

Bill O’Brien

“Coaching is about teaching and trying to get the best out of your players in a consistent manner. And if we’re not doing that, and the players are giving really good effort, then where do you start? Well, you start with yourself.”

So, in a nutshell:

• Houston has a GM who can’t properly compile a roster after a decade of experience.
• Houston has a head coach who can’t stop pointing out his own inability to teach and manage the game week in and week out.
• Houston has drastic depth problems at multiple positions.

Let’s not even get into the chaos of the owner’s archaic, out of touch commentary that sent the players into revolt a few weeks ago.

At this point, it’s pretty obvious that without players like Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt to drag this team to victory in spite of the franchise’s best efforts to embrace a losing culture, Houston won’t get anywhere near consistent red zone play until the house has been cleaned. A better front office and coaching staff should be brought in and the roster holes addressed.

It’s a shame, really. Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips really had something special going, despite a 2-14 season in 2013 that saw Kubes leave town only to go win it all in Denver, with Wade’s help.

Maybe A.J. Hinch wants to come teach Rick and Bill how to #EarnHistory.

In lieu of that happening, it’s time to start taking predictions for the next GM and head coach. Rick Smith and Bill O’Brien have had their shot and missed miserably. It’s time to turn the page.