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Texans fans react to Shanahan revelation
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The Wizard of the West sideline
All it took was five simple words from the head coach and all heck broke loose around the Texans fandom.
“Kyle called the game yesterday," said Gary Kubiak during his regular Monday presser.
You would have thought Publishers Clearinghouse showed up at everyone's doorstep with a bunch of balloons and one of those big fake checks.
Sports writers ran for their keyboards to break the news. Fans clogged message boards and radio waves with claims of "I knew it. I knew Kubiak couldn't have been calling those plays in the red zone yesterday!"
Others simply recognized this as natural part of a learning process, both for the offensive coordinator and the head coach.
One of the things fans tend to overlook in these situation is summed up by a statement made by Kubiak only seconds later:
"[Kyle] called a lot of plays throughout the season. I was very comfortable with him doing those types of things..."
Hmmm. So which plays were Kyle's and which one's were Gary's? Obviously the one's that Kyle called were the ones that worked, right?
Why wasn't anyone talking about the play calling until Kubiak brought this up?
That's the way it is with play calling and the fans' reaction to it. Whether it's a run or a pass, if it works -- great call. If it doesn't -- lousy call.
What you tend to see in these situations is the 'play-calling police' as I call them tend to focus on the play calls that fail in key situations and conveniently forget to consider those that work, not only in key situations but in every situation.
And what about the play calls in the first quarter against the Bears? Those were 'lil Shanny's doings, right? I seem to recall the Texans getting booed loudly in the stadium I was sitting in - that is until Andre Johnson showed Daniel Manning how not to play Cover 2. Those were probably scripted by Kubiak... [I hope your sarcasm detectors are on].
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle wrote about this revelation in his column today. I'll let you read the fan comments on your own. Sometimes I wonder where fans come up with some of this stuff. Here are a few examples:
Someone named 'Kittenfish' wrote: "Another proof positive that Kubiak needs to go. HIS calls LOST games; Shanahan's calls WON a very important game!"
Based on what I've read on message boards and heard on the radio, I don't think this person was being sarcastic. This kind of stuff is alarming to me. Kind of like the genius sitting a couple seats down from me on Sunday who was calling for Sage after every Schaub incompletion. Makes me wonder...
I agree with 'leguerre' who wrote: "The big picture is this - Kubiak is gaining confidence in his O-coordinator, which will allow him to focus on the head coach aspect. This bodes well for our offense next year ... which was already good this year."
It's a good thing that Gary seems to be turning over more control to his offensive coordinator. It clears Gary's plate to deal with other game management issues that can be just as important as third-and-goal play calls. Kyle is a young kid but he seems to be able to handle whatever is thrown at him.
Next time you watch the Colts, check out where Tony Dungy stands on the sideline when the Colts offense is operating.
Of course, where would we be without the requisite "my 5-year-old could call better plays" (or I was sitting there with my friends telling them what the next play would be) as 'OldSchool' laments: "Time for new play callers all the way around. My kindergarten child knew better than to run on 3rd and 34!"
There was 1:30 left in the half. You had the lead. You were on your own 36-yard line and had been stuffed and penalized on the previous three plays. 'Abort drive' is what my Pomeranian barked out at me.
Another thing fans tend to overlook is that Shanahan is calling plays within the same construct that Kubiak calls plays. It's the same playbook and it's based on the same overall offensive philosophy in which Alex Gibbs plays a big role. A comment by Kubiak that didn't make it into McClain's article explains that thought:
Kubiak said "as we put together game plans, Kyle [has learned] how to understand what Alex [Gibbs] wants out of a run game plan. I mean, how Alex wants you to call the game running the ball, [and] how I’d like you to call the game throwing the ball, how we’re going to approach these situations. That was a development for him throughout this season, and I saw a very quick development. And like I said, yesterday let me know where he’s at and it’s pretty impressive.”
It's not like Shanahan is out there freestylin', but sometimes it's good to get a fresh look at things. Plus it's his job. And it allows Kubiak to do his.
What I take from all of this is similar to pilot training, and Kyle had his first solo on Sunday. It was time.
And I think 'maddoghank' may have summed it up best when he said "what ever it takes .... Go Texans!"
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