Rumors

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

I'm more than capable of a crazy rant but the above is neither a rant nor is it crazy. Most of you have probably been following the events referred to by Arky's original post. BOB and RS have reached a point of extreme professional tension. After he was hired BOB wanted to get RS out of the way and bring in an OC of his choosing. BO was not a QB BOB wanted; he was forced on him (and, presumably, was forced to play him). BOB and the team may be looking for a way to separate themselves after the season. (I've been hearing rumblings about this for at least a month now.) Other NFL FO types ascribe the leaks to RS.

These aren't the fevered dreams of your friend chuck. It's all been reported by people with decent to good track records at getting this stuff right. Is any of it true? Who the hell knows. As I said, I have no trouble believing any of it and I don't know why anyone else would. None of it seems at all far fetched. We've all watched BO make Brian Hoyer look like Joe Montana. If an organization is going to force such an incompetent player on a head coach, such an incompetent quarterback, unless that head coach literally had no other options who wouldn't want out?

Of course if any of this is true and BOB does leave one way or another it will be extremely difficult for the Texans to hire anyone good, or at least anyone who has other options. The Texans will be competing with the Browns and the Niners as teams of last resort.

Any new coach will obviously want his own coordinators so I consider it very unlikely that RAC would survive a coaching change. Of course McNeck could do something surprising like promote Vrabel to HC and stipulate that the defensive coaching staff should remain largely intact. But again, a guy like Vrabel will have many other options and will he want to work for a guy who forced a shit QB on a HC and then ran that coach off once everyone figured out that the QB was shit? Even the Niners aren't at that level of organizational chaos. That makes the Colts look like the Packers.

And finally, it would be irresponsible not to highlight this little nugget:

Osweiler has a chance this week to take the Texans as far as they've ever gone.

That's a good one. BO will be carrying the team forward on his bird-like shoulders. Sure. If he stumbles Chris Clark can lead the charge.

You had some great points but your rant about the northeast and Texas was all fevered dreams and crazy. There are plenty of smart people in the northeast and plenty of dumb ones. The boys in Southie are no more cultured and educated than the rednecks in rural Texas. And McNair may be a football dumby, but he's got more business success than 99.999% of the world. And his dumb football decisions always make him money (mostly because it's impossible not to make money in the NFL). So you can bash the team and the decisions and Smith and McNair, but this has nothing to do with regional culture. Half the franchises in the NFL are just as poorly run as ours. It's because NFL ownership is not a meritocracy.

[barrett]

And Bob's continued love affair with Osweiller is hilarious and indefensible.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

And Bob's continued love affair with Osweiller is hilarious and indefensible.

He was a Bronco.

[chuck]

And if you want to think that the average Ivy League or coastal elite sort thinks that behind the dull gaze of the average, slack-jawed Texaneck lies an awe-inspiring hidden genius, well, you go right ahead. I wouldn't want to inspire any precipitation on THAT mermaid parade.

I doubt that the South End is home to all that many Ivy League degrees. You'd probably want to go the other way on the Red Line. You know, back in what seems like a past life I myself was doing some coursework at a nearby Ivy League institution. After the semester a friend of mine and I crashed for a week or so at the South End apartment of a fellow named Lumpy. Looking back on it I do not believe that Lumpy was a fellow student. If I were pressed I would guess that my friend knew Lumpy's girlfriend but I'm afraid the details are lost to the fog of time.

Anyhoo, educated northerners think that the average yokel south of the Manson-Nixon line is an idiot. If you want to ascribe that to a Dostoevskian fever dream then you have at it. If you want to discuss whether BOB is an educated northerner, we can certainly do that because as you may recall I have called his intelligence into question more than once.

[barrett]

I wasn't questioning what northeners think of southerners. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I'm plenty aware of it.

I'm questioning where you declare them right due to the "impressive collection of stupidity" found here in particular. I don't disagree about the stupidity found here, I disagree with the idea it's in more plenty here. You will find no shortage of stupid and smart anywhere you go.

And more importantly, none of that has anything to do with the Texans front office. BOB was happy to take a job working for the well travelled Rick Smith, and he was happy to take paychecks from the redneck Bob McNair. The current trouble has nothing to do with culture or regionalism. It has to do with football and million dollar paychecks. Blame has to go somewhere for the Osweiller debacle, and BOB wants no part of it. He also doesn't want another year of being forced to build around an embarrassment of a QB he never wanted.

So if BOB can skip out ahead of the lynch mob and leave Rick Smith rightly holding the bag, good for BOB.

[Warren]

If BOB and Smith can't coexist then Smith needs to go. I must admit, though, that I thought Smith should've been shown the door at the same time as Kubiak. I agree that if BOB goes then there's no way any coach with options or long-term career aspirations comes here and we'll be looking at the Dave Campos of the world. BOB hasn't been perfect but I think he's gotten as much out of this roster as almost anyone could, particularly given the injuries.

I do disagree with the idea that the QB sneak was an unforgiveable risk. Because it's so quick and in such a tight area nobody should have had the time or room to get the momentum to put a big hit on him, unlike a zone read, bootleg, or even a straight dropback.

Arky, that reminds me of a story about my grandfather. He was born and raised in North Carolina but spent most his of adult life in Pittsburgh. One time he was down here visiting us and a grocery store cashier told him to have a nice day. He was sure that she was being sarcastic because he just wasn't used to that...

[barrett]

Does it say something about the Texans that a Bob-Chuck message board spat gets more comments than just about anything the team has done this year?

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Warren

If BOB and Smith can't coexist then Smith needs to go. I must admit, though, that I thought Smith should've been shown the door at the same time as Kubiak. I agree that if BOB goes then there's no way any coach with options or long-term career aspirations comes here and we'll be looking at the Dave Campos of the world. BOB hasn't been perfect but I think he's gotten as much out of this roster as almost anyone could, particularly given the injuries.

I agree with all of this. It's clear to me, though, that Rick Smith is GM For Life. He should print his business cards in bronze.

[Arky]

Ooh, I don't know. I once spent some time in the northeast on one of my treks.... I was out in rural Pennsylvania, Vermont, upstate New York..... Met some good people but there's a certain demeanor to some of the locals..... I believe they euphemistically call it "yankee reserve". To me it, was more like "rude and snarly", eheh. Order some pancakes for breakfast from the snarly chick, go to the gas station and pay for my gas to the rude dude.... On my return trip, I stopped at a McDonald's in Tennessee and the little chickadee at the drive-thru gave me my order, smiled and said "Thang cue". It was then I knew I was home free..... Gimme the south, thank you.

[chuck]

My original point, since obscured, was simply that I imagine BOB thinks Bob is a meddlesome idiot. Which he is.