Nick Scurfield (1:04:41PM): Thanks for joining me today for my weekly live chat. Before I get to the first question, a quick reminder that tight end Owen Daniels will be signing autographs at the Academy Sports Outdoors store at 7600 Westheimer Road, 77063, tonight from 6-7 p.m. Now, let's get to the questions.
Jason Kucera - Fort Sill, OK, US: I'm sure this is the 1000th time, but does Kubiak get another year? If so, why? If not, why? I think he should, this is year one under a new DC and year two with the same OC (right?). Also, who is calling plays? It's not like the players have executed many of the plays that would've won games....
Nick Scurfield (1:10:27PM): Jason- Texans owner Bob McNair has said before that he makes his evaluations after the season, looking at "what the circumstances were, what they had to work with, what kind of obstacles they faced and what the performance was in light of that," according to a story in the Houston Chronicle from about a week ago. You're correct - this is Frank Bush's first season as DC and Kyle Shanahan's second as OC. The Texans still have a chance to finish with their first winning record, and there's still an outside shot at the postseason.
Jason Kucera - Fort Sill, OK, US: Another and maybe more important question: does number 80 stick around?!
Nick Scurfield (1:09:27PM): Johnson said today on SportsRadio 610 that he plans on being here until he retires. Just put up a blog post about this very topic: /blog/index.asp?postid=821
Wes - The Woodlands, TX, US: Can Gary Kubiak save his job if the Texans win out?
Nick Scurfield (1:10:18PM): See above answer, please. Let's wait and see what happens over the next four games.
nh - spring, TX, US: 3 questions 1. is schaub's shoulder bad? 2. y did we do that c. brown pass? im so frustrated with that. 3. CAN WE STILL HOPE FOR THE PLAYOFFS? oh and one more y are the texans struggling? we hav a very good system of players, they just need to step it up!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEXANS FAN FOREVER NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nick Scurfield (1:13:55PM): 1. Schaub disloacted his shoulder in the game, but they popped it back into place and he wasn't any worse coming out of the game than he was on Sunday. He said today on the radio that he's "absolutely" optimistic he will play on Sunday, so we'll see. 2. Kubiak said the Texans had run that toss against the Jags many times and that they thought it'd be an easy score- worked on the HB pass all week in practice as well. 3. Yes, there's still some hope. The Texans are 2 games behind Jacksonville for the 2nd wild card spot with 4 games to play.
William - FT Huachuca, AZ, US: AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! My question is how much of this team do you see coming back next year? I think they are right there, they just need some better coaching decisions in the clutch moments. in other words, EXPERIENCE!! You only get it by playing you know.....
Nick Scurfield (1:16:09PM): The Texans have a lot of young players and recent draft picks who are big contributors. There's a good core foundation in place for the future.
nakia browningn.browning - bessemer, AL, US: Players get hurt some get hurt stay out long some get hurt often but certain ones get hurt thats aproblem why?Last tme my qeuestion was not answered but I got an answer SUNDAY WHEN TEXANS PLAYED.yOU GOT THE PLAYERS YOUbut what happened?Praying and hoping we will win the rest of the games.This is our year but something went wrong.check the players you have up against the ones you let go.
Nick Scurfield (1:18:39PM): Sorry I didn't get to your question last week- I try to answer as many as I can get to. Not exactly sure I understand your question, but injuries are definitely a part of the game..
Damien - Round Rock, TX, US: Hey Nick. I wanted to know if coach Kubiak and Shanahan will look at being more agressive with their play calling in the red zone. After our recent game, is there anything to suggest that they will get Andre more invovled when we are in scoring position? Also, is Brown still going to start at running back this weekend?
Nick Scurfield (1:20:43PM): I'd say the HB pass was one of their most aggressive play-calls in the red zone this year. Obviously, Kubiak has acknowledged that it backfired and they wish they could have that one back. No announcement has been made on a starting RB for this week.
E. Medrano - Bryan, TX, US: I love my Texans!!! Have we heard anything about Coach Kubiak's job security, and do you think a coaching change is what we really need? I like what he has done, but someone has to be accountable for not being able to finish games.
Nick Scurfield (1:25:04PM):
Last week, Texans owner Bob McNair said in an article in the Chroncile that, at that point in time, his "true feeling" was the Texans' best chance of developing a winning team was with Kubiak. McNair acknowledged that making a chance is disruptive. Rick Smith and Kubiak have assembled a group of players that fit Kubiak's system and have shown they're capable of playing with any team in the league. They just have to find a way to finish games.
Derec Thompson - Dubuque, IA, US: Nick, How much of our losing do you think has to do with the loss of O.D.? It's 0-4 without him. Thanks for your time.
Nick Scurfield (1:28:31PM):
Daniels was on pace for the best season of his career and (I think) the best season of any TE in the league in 2009, so he's not somebody you can replace with one player. Guys like David Anderson and Kevin Walter and the TE group have stepped up in his absence, but losing Daniels was certainly a blow.
Daniel - houston, TX, US: I might be the only texan fan that thinks this what can i do to get mc nair attention on bringing back Kubiak another year regardless of the outcome of this season can i write a letter to him can you point me in the right direction.
Nick Scurfield (1:30:08PM):
You can make your feelings known to the organization by sending an e-mail to fanfeedback@houstontexans.com. Someone will respond to you from there.
david bloom - baytown, TX, US: What the latest on Slaton? Will he play Sunday?
Nick Scurfield (1:31:40PM): Slaton went to Dallas today to see a specialist about his neck/shoulder injury that resulted in numbness in the tip of his right thumb last week. Kubiak said yesterday that he'll be day-to-day this week.
paul - laporte, TX, US: why bring schaub back save him for next year.lets see what rb foster has. one the biggest problems texans have not going after a power running backin the off season.and the play calling of kyle shanahan
Nick Scurfield (1:37:54PM): Schaub was able to play through the injury on Sunday after his shoulder was popped back into place. Kubiak said if he doesn't have recurring problems, he could be fine. Foster has been active for the last couple of weeks and has played on ST. Depending on Slaton's health status, maybe Foster could have a chance to get some carries along with Moats and Brown as the season winds down.
Grant - Houston, TX, US: Hi Nick, Any update from Dallas on Slaton?
Nick Scurfield (1:38:23PM): No update, sorry. We'll hear from Kubiak on this tomorrow.
paul - laporte, TX, US: how many sack you see barwin getting he sure starting to come along going to be a good one for years to come
Nick Scurfield (1:41:28PM): Barwin's developing well- has 2.5 sacks on the season now and 1.5 in the last 2 weeks. If he keeps it up, looks like he could be on his way to a couple more before the season is through. This is still only his second year of playing defense, too, after he played tight end for most of his college career at Cincinnati.
E. Medrano - Bryan, TX, US: Besides the shoulder injury, what has kept Mario Williams from being the beast he was last year?
Nick Scurfield (1:44:35PM): Mario doesn't have the sack numbers of his last 2 seasons, but he still has a shot for double-digit sacks (has 6 with 4 games to go). And he's been close to having a lot more sacks this season on some of his pressures. Sack numbers aside, though, Mario continues to play stout defense against the run and has a pretty good shot at the Pro Bowl based on recent voting results.
paul - laporte, TX, US: hey does texans really plan to start rick grosman qb as 2 qb if schaub cant go .hope not have not whatch a quarterback play that bad in texas for long time he does not fit the type of offense texans have
Nick Scurfield (1:46:46PM): Grossman went 3-of-9 with an INT in his first acton with the Texans last week, but the team has a lot of confidence in him. He performed well in the preseason to win the backup job over Dan Orlovsky, and it's not often that your backup QB has Super Bowl starting experience. Despite the shaky first performance, playing in last week's game will make Grossman that much more comfortable if he has to take the field again in the future.
RM - Ridgewood, NJ, US: Two quick one's. The first is similar to a previous post, but with 5 receiver's and an option for a 2 TE set (say Casey & Hill) what do you feel is the reason we can't consistently pick teams apart in Colts or Saints fashion for 4qtrs? Second. I couldn't help getting slightly jealous over some teams with their throwbacks & 50 year uniform combos. Any chance we may get to see the debut of the Houston Texans White (blue cage) Prototype/Concept helmets for the 2010 season? Thanks!
Nick Scurfield (1:50:57PM):
The Colts and Saints have great offenses, but the Texans do rank in the top 10 in yards and top 5 in passing this season. Kubiak prefers a more balanced attack with a running game to set up the play-action pass. As for your second question, I'm a fan of retro uni's, too, but it's hard to have those when your team is only 8 years old. I've heard some requests for white Texans helmets before, though. Pls feel free to send the idea to fanfeedback@houstontexans.com.
mat - austin, TX, US: First off I would like to say that I am a huge Texans fan and will support them no matter what. I also think people in Houston need to get off the "Fire Kubiak" bandwagon and stop writing the Texans off- there are still three more games left. Now for the question, do you know if the Texans have their eyes on any players coming up from the college ranks (ie- McCoy, Tebow)?
Nick Scurfield (1:53:31PM): The pro personnel dept. and scouts are hard at work looking at college players, but that's not really something the coaches think about until after the season. Thanks for your support of the team.
Jim - Guelph, CA: Hey Nick, I missed the live chat last week; I was busy lamenting another blown opportunity to take down the mighty Colts! What a tough loss that was last week, but I feel like THIS week was even tougher! My question is a little bit loaded, but here goes.... Do you think the team is falling into a "self-pity party" of late? Sunday's game was a perfect example. After Schaub got hurt, the D had a terrific stand and I thought they were going to make a statement...but then, after Grossman looked completely out of place (can't blame him, though..I doubt he gets many looks in practice), the team just seemed to fall apart. So what do you think is up with that? Why did the D look SO flat after Grossman failed on only his FIRST drive attempt of the year??
Nick Scurfield (1:56:12PM):
Well, the goal-line stand actually came after Grossman threw a pick. After Schaub got hurt, the defense didn't give up any points until early in the second quarter. Kubiak said after the game that he felt like the defense put the team in position to have a chance to win.
Zach Hamilton - Grand Junction, CO, US: Do you know if Houston is looking at the possibility of a new Head Coach. I can't help but wonder why we prepare the same way game in and game out when obviously its not working. Were not being out played, were being out coached!
Nick Scurfield (1:57:31PM): Please see above answers to this topic. Here's the link to the article in the Houston Chronicle from last week featuring McNair's comments on the situation: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6747936.html
matt - houston, TX, US: Is Rex going to get reps with the starters just in case Matt can't go on Sunday and what did you think of his proformance last Sunday against Jacksonville.
Nick Scurfield (2:00:49PM): Kubiak said on his radio show yesterday that Grossman will definitely get more reps this week & that they'll have to get Orlovsky ready, too. As the backup, Grossman usually gets about half the first-team reps on Wednesdays, maybe about a third on Thursdays and less with the starters on Friday
Pat - La Grange, TX, US: Has Jacoby Jones fixed his issues? It's sad that it was a big game last week and he didn't put the team first. We need all hands on deck and not having him returning punts, in my opinion, was a big blow.
Nick Scurfield (2:04:18PM):
Yeah, Kubiak was disappointed with that development, but they're going to work with Jones to try to make him more responsible. Andre Johnson said today that he called Jones from the team hotel on Saturday and talked to him for a while about conducting himself like a professional. Jones had made great strides this year as far as his maturity on and off the field, and he's been a valuable weapon on offense and special teams.
Nick Scurfield (2:06:35PM): That's all the time I've got today. Thanks, as always, for stopping by... tried to get to as many of your questions as I could. See you next Tuesday at 1.
