Texans hire Special Teams Asst Coach

[painekiller]

My Texans app on my smartphone had a welcomed bit of news tonight. The Texans hired Bob Ligashesky to assist Joe Marciano with the special teams. He was the Bucs ST coach last season. The Bucs lead the league with 4 blocked punts last season. Bob was also the ST coach for the Steelers from 07 thru 09. They won the Super Bowl in 08.

This should be a welcome addition to the coaching staff.

[chuck]

Why would a Special Teams wizard such as Joe Marciano need an assistant?

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by chuck

Why would a Special Teams wizard such as Joe Marciano need an assistant?

Cause he is not a wizard and the Texans were one of the last teams to only have one special teams coaches. But you already knew that.

[barrett]

Hopefully the new guy doesn't ruin the great thing Joe had going. Some teams might have creative and explosive special teams, but those teams often gamble and fail a lot too. We were never flashy, but under Joe we made up for lack of explosion by being inconsistent and mistake prone.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

Hopefully the new guy doesn't ruin the great thing Joe had going. Some teams might have creative and explosive special teams, but those teams often gamble and fail a lot too. We were never flashy, but under Joe we made up for lack of explosion by being inconsistent and mistake prone.

My grandfather once described my golf game as consistently erratic. I don't know that Joe even has that going for him.

[Warren]

I compared some of the Bucs’ and Texans' 2012 special teams stats (the ones that seemed to reflect more on the quality of the unit than the kicker or punter), hoping for something to be excited about from this hire. I didn't find much.

Kickoff returns: The Bucs averaged 20.3 yds. per return (#30 in the NFL) with no TDs. The Texans averaged 21.7 yds. per return (#23) with 2 TDs. The Bucs’ average starting position after a kickoff was the 20.5 yard line (#29) and the Texans’ was the 20.4 yard line (#30).

Kickoff coverage: The Bucs’ opponents averaged 25.2 yds. per return (#25) with no TDs. The Texans’ opponents averaged 25.7 yds. per return (#27) with 2 TDs. The Bucs’ opponents’ average starting position after a kickoff was the 20.9 yard line (#9) and the Texans’ opponents’ was the 25.6 yard line (#32).

Punt returns: The Bucs averaged 9.0 yds. per return (#19) with no TDs. The Texans averaged 11.0 yds. per return (#9) with a TD. The Bucs blocked 3 punts and the Texans blocked 2.

Punt coverage: The Bucs’ opponents averaged 11.0 yds. per return (#24) with no TDs. The Texans’ opponents averaged 10.1 yds. per return (#20) with a TD. The Bucs has a punt blocked and the Texans did not.

Placekicking: Neither team had a kick blocked.

Placekicking defense: Both teams blocked a kick.

[Nconroe]

Must be the personnel on ST. Hope performance improves this year.

[popanot]

Looking at this guy's coaching history, he usually sticks with a team for 1-2yrs and then moves on (and probably not by his own choosing). He lasted one year in Tampa as the full-blown ST coordinator, gets tossed, and now takes a job as an assistant? Hmm... Unfortunately, me thinks Joe's job is safe - at least as it pertains to this guy taking over. Well, just as long as our ST play improves, I guess...

On a side note, I'm always perplexed at how it takes Kubiak 2 years minimum to notice a significant problem area and to action on it. Started with Carr/QB, then RB, then S, then DC (and thus, Wade), now ST (and maybe even WR now).

Why do I get the impression Kubiak is not the one at all who takes action on these issues and most of these hires/moves are force-fed to him?

[barrett]

Kubiak had one year with Carr and then dumped him.

His action taken at RB was to mentor/get in line an undrafted but talented RB. That decision was definitely not forced on him from above. There is some evidence to suggest Kubiak is a little lost on the defensive side of the ball but the offense and everything that happens with it is Kubs, for better or worse.

[popanot]

Originally Posted by barrett

Kubiak had one year with Carr and then dumped him.

His action taken at RB was to mentor/get in line an undrafted but talented RB. That decision was definitely not forced on him from above.

I'll give you Carr due to my timeline of Kubiak's tenure being off, but Foster coming into play was more out of necessity than a master stroke of genius or mentoring on Kubiak's part. Even if you give him credit for Foster, this is the same guy who passed on drafting RB prospects for years for the likes of Ahman Green, Chris Brown, Ron Dayne, Ryan Moats, etc. And getting back to my main point, he took waaay too long to address the situation.

Kubiak's Tenure:
2006 RB's: Vernand Morency, Ron Dayne, Samkon Gado, Chris Taylor
2007 RB's: Ron Dayne, Darius Walker, Ahman Green, Chris Taylor
2008 RB's: Ryan Moats, Steve Slaton, Cecil Sapp, Ahman Green
2009 RB's: Chris Brown, Steve Slaton, Chris Henry, Ryan Moats, Arian Foster
2010 RB's: Arian Foster, Steve Slaton, Derrick Ward, Ben Tate

Foster didn't really play until very late in the 2009 season because of injury and the fact that no other RB on the roster could play. He had such faith in Foster he used a high pick on Tate the next year (which I'm glad they did, BTW).

As for my comment of being force-fed, I'll clarify that it's mostly the coaching staff changes/decisions that seem force-fed on him.

[barrett]

I think a new DC was forced on him. He is overly loyal even when it is clear a guy can't get the job done (but so is McNair who would be the guy supposedly doing the forcing, so it is hard to say). Once the change was mandated I bet he was on board with Phillips.

But I seriously doubt an Assistant ST coordinator was forced on him. It is far too small a role to butt heads over. Especially when the general thinking is that Marciano is kept on due to the relationship with McNair and his special needs son. I believe Marciano predates Kubiak and is not a "Kubiak" guy he would be fighting to protect either way.

And I am not specifically giving him "credit" for Foster here or saying he addressed the RB position quickly. I am saying that when he fixed the position it was definitely not with a mandated fix "force-fed" from above (your original position).

Maybe Phillips was forced on him once upon a time (or forced on McNair who hates change just as much), but this team in general and this offense in particular is a Kubiak group for better or worse.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

But I seriously doubt an Assistant ST coordinator was forced on him.

It's obviously the reverse. Even if Kubiak believes Marciano is performing poorly (and after his apparent evaluations of past DCs who knows what he might think) he realizes that he can't fire him. So he does the next best thing, diluting Marciano's input the only way he can.

[WMH]

IMO, ST are a function of injury luck and depth. If you don't deplete your depth with the injury bug, you'll likely have a decent year on ST.

Baltimore was the first team in the last 5 years that won with a top tier ST unit.

From ProFootball Outsiders:
Our rank in ().
'13 Bmore - 1st (32)
'12 NYG - 15th (13)
'11 GB - 26th (23)
'10 NOLA - 28th (7)
'09 PIT - 23rd (17)

Joe M didn't get dumb overnight, he plays the hand he's dealt.
Solomon had a decent point in the Chronic today, do you think Joe M really wanted Poesy covering kicks?

Need outstanding QB play + decent defensive effort to win. ST is probably 4th or 5th on the list.

[barrett]

But our team had very solid depth even after the injuries. Additionally, 34 teams have a built in ST coverage advantage due to carrying additional LBs. Not to mention things like Holliday doing nothing for 6 games here and then being great in Denver. Or Jacoby Jones not learning how to catch a punt in 5 seasons here Or JJ only being used on punt returns and not KR when the superbowl clearly shows he can do that too.

The ST problems in Houston go far beyond personell.

And I agree with Chuck. This hire looks far more like Kubiak and Smith doing what they can to work around McNairs friend Joe.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by WMH

Solomon had a decent point in the Chronic today, do you think Joe M really wanted Poesy covering kicks?

WRs cover kicks all the time in the NFL. Rosters are limited and backups have to play on special teams. Some WRs excel on coverage -- Matthew Slater, Kassim Osgood, and Sean Morey have made pro bowls as special teamers (non-returners) in recent years. Steve Tasker made a career of it. Posey is 6-1, 206, and can run; he has the tools to cover kicks.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by Warren

WRs cover kicks all the time in the NFL. Rosters are limited and backups have to play on special teams. Some WRs excel on coverage -- Matthew Slater, Kassim Osgood, and Sean Morey have made pro bowls as special teamers (non-returners) in recent years. Steve Tasker made a career of it. Posey is 6-1, 206, and can run; he has the tools to cover kicks.

Having the tools and being able to do it are 2 different things.

And when your starting LBs are James and Ruud, I would call that depth issues, as who's behind them picking up ST duties?

I'm not saying he's a ST genius, but its not like we have been a disaster on teams since inception. IMO, ST coaches have a crappy job, as they are given leftovers and held accountable. Of course, its a crappy job I'd love to have.....

[barrett]

Originally Posted by WMH

Having the tools and being able to do it are 2 different things.

And when your starting LBs are James and Ruud, I would call that depth issues, as who's behind them picking up ST duties?

I'm not saying he's a ST genius, but its not like we have been a disaster on teams since inception. IMO, ST coaches have a crappy job, as they are given leftovers and held accountable. Of course, its a crappy job I'd love to have.....

How many games did we play with James and Ruud as our starters? We were just as bad early before the injuries. Not to mention it says something about the level of coaching if we replaced guys like Schaub, AJ, Brisel, Foster, Mario, JJ, and Cushing more effectively than Marciano dealt with losing his backup LBs. He had a ST demon in Braman for all 16 games and plenty of secondary and LB depth around him.

For years we have watched our ST be consistently mediocre and sometimes totally unprepared. From surrendering surprise onside kicks to letting a jaguars up back win a game with a laughable fake punt conversion, our ST have never been good. And like I said Jacoby was held out of KRs for years even though he looks way better there now than as a PR.

A few injuries last year are not stopping Marciano from realizing his coaching prowess.