Does the fake punt mean future aggression by Kubiak?

enjoy it boys.. we'll never see it again!

 

I thought it was a bad call actually. It woulda probably decided the game if the fake punt failed. At that point the defense still didnt figure out Rivers yet, woulda gave him a short field to work it and shot at field goal. And it'd be a whole lot easier to pile on Gary the Goat for it not working. And say that "Why not let Shane Lechler the BEST punter in HISTORY kick it, etc etc.."

The benefit of the play call is to do it EARLY in the year and to set a TONE to carry the rest of the year. (And really there never IS a "right" time in game to call those", because if the game ends up being decided by 1 score and less people will always go back to the ONE unconventional play no matter where it happened in the game)

So to answer the question, yes thats what IT COULD mean. Was it EFFECTIVE though? Well it worked and the team won, so passing grade on that one.

 

I LOVED that fake punt. Mostly because it worked, but also it was a nice diversion from the normal blah that Kubes provides

by the way -- not too many bootlegs last night, I noticed.

 

Right. That's what coaches do. They generally delegate to other coaches and players and rely on the coaches and players to make a reasonable decision. If Kubiak gets blamed for the negative "coaching" decisions players make, shouldn't he get credit for the positive "coaching" decisions players make?

The fake punt is probably "on" plenty of times when the situation warrants.

 

Here's what Kubiak said today about the fake punt:

(on the direct snap in punt formation in the fourth quarter) “I just called it and walked away. I’m glad it worked, I know that. We didn’t do anything with it. That’s what makes me mad.”

(on who called the direct snap and why they did it) “It’s something we work on all the time. Really, we kind of put it in (FS) Shiloh’s (Keo) hands. I mean, we kind of give him the ability to leave it on or call it off depending on what he sees and he had confidence in what he saw, that he could go get us a yard. Like I said, they executed extremely well. It’s just a shame we didn’t take that and do something with it right away. I think we ended up punting three plays later.”

 

Even if the punt didn't work, I loved it. Good sign imo. That 4th and 1 didn't work, and I loved that anyway. Great to more aggressive play calling. Didn't see a lot of 3rd and 12 running plays which is good

 

He was being very aggressive that game. Look at trying to score before the half with 30 seconds left. He rarely does that...he'll I think given that situation the last two years he might have done it once in ten times.

 

Of course Kubiak ok'd the option to fake it, no way Marciano has the pull to call such an impactfull play without clearance. The coaches are wearing headsets for a reason...

 

There's been some misunderstanding as to what happened on the call.

Kubiak called it. But they don't call "fake punt." He calls the option to do it and then it's up to the player on the field to make sure each check mark they have in order to run it is there. If it is, good to go, if not, he is supposed to kill it.

So to be clear, it WAS Kubiak's call to put the fake on, but Keo had final say on the field based on how the coverage lined up.

This was clarified this morning by the way.

 

Well this sounds great on all fronts. Marciano for putting it in; Kubiak for calling the option; Keo for recognizing it was feasible in that moment. Good job Texans.

I think I'm more happy that Kubiak went for it than any thing.

 

This, the punt - and let's also give Kubiak credit for not settling for a 50-yard FG to win it. He aggressively pursued the first down, picked up 10-15 more yards and left his "rookie" kicker with a much easier kick, not to mention, ran more time off the clock.

The coaches every obviously coached their arses off Monday night. The nigh-and-day difference betwee the halves was staggering.

 

I agree. The real shocker to everyone should be the fact that Kubiak didn't kneel it down when he got the ball back at the end of the first half. That blew me away. Not only did he not knee it down, he didn't just run it either. He was trying to make something happen there.

I saw a lot in the playcalling I really liked, including more passing plays that were designed to get the ball downfield, something the team has really lacked. He also called for big plays multiple times on 3rd and long.

I'm optimistic that Kubiak looked at all the mistakes of last year as a coach and has made himself better.

 

the score was 28-21 and rvers hadnt done ish for the previous 3-4 possesions.. we ended up punting anyway and his very next pass attempt was the cushing pick 6.. so i dont agree that the defense hadnt figured out rivers yet.. though it would have given them short field..

 

I noticed that too. No draw plays on 3rd and long! That was a beautiful sight to see.

I wonder how much of that has to do with having more options for Schaub to throw to.

 

Some of it (all of it?) had to do with being down 21 points. But I really hope Kubiak has finally embraced what this team is: a pass-first offense. They have five legitimate receiving threats; they are a match-up nightmare for most teams.

Another thing I wanted to mention: anyone else buying "Schaub wasn't fully healthy last year" stock? He's still slower than dirt - but he was noticeably more mobile, often by design with big, long roll-outs.

Last thing: have they invented a number to quantify how significant an upgrade Mays is over James? I know they took him out for long stretches and the defense actually got better. But he was playing very well in the early going. If they get Reed back healthy, this is going to be a *very* good team.

 

Seems like the running game was better when we used the pass to set it up, instead of the other way around.

I also noticed a little more power running plays than I've seen in the past. Seems like they may be varying the blocking scheme just a bit and not relying solely on the zone scheme. Maybe my imagination though.

Eh, I'll believe it when I see it.

 

They do create some matchup problems.... but I feel the offense is still much more dangerous with a solid running game.

It sets up our biggest gaining plays (play action rollout), keeps a LB in the box(as opposed to an extra safety), and its vital to be able to run effectively when protecting a lead (something that "elite" teams like GB and Denver have yet to prove).

But, good to see they can go all pass and hurry up when they have to.

 

I think they need enough of a running game to keep everyone honest. But their second half surge wasn't wholly dependent on play-action bootlegs. That was a straight-up progressive passing attack and Schaub picked apart the Chargers.

They have "pick-your-poison" potential, especially if Foster gets his head screwed on right and Hopkins continues to get better. Those two plus Dre, OD and Graham (not explosive but an effective underneath plan B) are going to give defensive coordinators issues.