Can Houston and Denver Win without Their Head Coaches?
This week, two AFC teams will be playing without their head coaches, John Fox of the Denver Broncos (7-1) and Gary Kubiak of the Houston Texans (2-6). Both are absent due to health problems with Kubiak expected back with the team next week.
Wade Phillips
On Thursday, Kubiak visited the team and spoke with them but he had no media availability. During his absence, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has been named as the interim coach and said of Kubiak’s visit via the Houston Chronicle, “He looked good.”
In last Sunday’s game, Kubiak suffered what has been called a “ministroke.” He was carted off the field and without him, the team suffered its sixth straight loss. On Sunday, they will travel to play the Arizona Cardinals (4-4) and according to Phillips, he will be calling the shots for the game.
He may be doing so without his star running back, Arian Foster. The player did not practice on either Wednesday or Thursday as he’s battling a back injury. Fellow back, Ben Tate, who has a rib problem, had been limited on Thursday but last week against the Indianapolis Colts, he still ran for 81 yards with a season-high 22 carries.
Should he not play on Sunday, look for third running back Dennis Johnson to be in the mix, taking on a bigger role if one of the two players don’t take the field.
Then there’s the Texans quarterback, Case Keenum. He’ll be making his third straight start for the team and is showing flashes of promise as he’s thrown for 621 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions over his two starts. He is building some nice rapport with wide receiver Andre Johnson, who had nine receptions for 229 yards and three scores versus the Colts.
The Texans are seeing their season slip away after entering it with high expectations. Can they win for Kubiak on Sunday? Nope, the Cardinals get a tight one (-1, 41.5 o/u).
John Fox
As for the Broncos, Fox will be out longer than Kubiak as he underwent surgery this week. In the interim, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is wearing the head coach hat.
But let’s be honest (as Del Rio has), the offensive coaching hat will be/has been worn by offensive coordinator Adam Gase and quarterback Peyton Manning.
On Wednesday the question had been posed to Del Rio on how much input he’ll have in creating Sunday’s offensive plan for their game against the San Diego Chargers (4-4). He allegedly smiled and responded via USA Today, “Very little” and then added, “I’m not going in tinkering with things on offense or special teams. We have good people there, and they’re doing their job.”
Del Rio will focus on big-picture decisions, timeouts, replay challenges and fourth-and-1 punts while Gase will do the playcalling and Manning will make line of scrimmage changes. This is typically business as usual sans Fox.
For this team, they haven’t spoken to Fox since the surgery as the coach remains in intensive care. He has moved around a bit but he hasn’t been cleared yet to talk on his cellphone.
Looking ahead to this week’s game after their bye week, Denver will enter its second half of the season with a league-best 42.9 points. It is on target to set a new NFL record for points, surpassing the 589 points set by the 2007 New England Patriots. They can thank Manning for his contributions as he has 2,919 yards with 29 touchdown passes and is also headed for a record-setting season. He will likely break the 5,476 yards (set in 2011 by New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees) and 50 touchdowns (Patriots’ Tom Brady in 2007) records.
Yep, Manning sits at 1/3 to win this year’s MVP award.
The Broncos sit at -225 to win the AFC West and -7.5, 58 o/u to win this week against the Chargers.
