Baltimore Ravens: Gary Kubiak Faces His Old Team
By Brandon Suir
You gotta love when a former player or coach squares off against their former team for the first time. Whether it’s revenge or vindication, there’s just a little extra something in those types of games. We saw Steve Smith torch the Carolina Panthers earlier this season. And now Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak gets his chance at his former team, the Houston Texans, where he was the Head Coach for eight years.
If you’re like me then you’re still thinking, “Houston should’ve never let him go.” I never thought Kubiak was the reason for the Texans’ inconsistencies. To me, they’ve just been a mediocre team with one amazing future Hall of Famer in JJ Watt.
Kubiak and the Texans dealt with injuries and the lack of a powerful star quarterback. Having only made the playoffs one year, and having that season end at the hands of none other than Baltimore, Houston decided to make big changes and Kubiak was shown the door. Kubiak is a great football guy, and Houston definitely jumped the gun on releasing him.
Lucky for us.
Brace yourselves; I sense a sloppy week 16 game between Baltimore and Houston coming. This would’ve been a game with a playoff atmosphere had these two teams met a few weeks ago. Now, the Ravens are the only team of the two still competing for a playoff spot. The Texans started the season strong and are now looking down the barrel of an 8-8 season.
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So why the prediction of a sloppy game?
Baltimore and Houston have one huge similarity going into this contest Sunday at NRG Stadium; both teams are stretched beyond belief in the depth chart at key positions.
The Ravens have lost pretty much all of their cornerbacks to injuries. They’re signing guys off other teams’ practice squads. I’m expecting a call soon for tryouts. Ok, they’re not that desperate, but it’s not far off either.
The Texans are down to their fourth-string quarterback. I didn’t even know a team had a forth-string signal caller. I almost thought we’d see Watt taking the snaps at some point.
On a side note, I half expected to see Watt actually try the position along the way. I mean come on, the guy plays both sides of the ball. The league MVP canidate literally does everything for the team. I can just imagine him in the huddle now laughing, drawing up a play on his hand saying, “All right, you run this way. You run that way. And we’ll just see what happens.”
Sunday’s contest may not have the same feel as it would have had weeks ago, but it’s still an important game for the Ravens and Gary Kubiak. Another must win for the Birds, so get ready.