There will be no surprises if OB is left to his own vices in trying to save his job......but it will come at a big cost to the organization.
The following is going to be soooo funny, it'll make you cry:
1. McNair was so desperate for a QB he decide to override OB and get a QB they liked b/c OB's hand picked choices were gawd awful. Enter the Brock Osweiler "BREIF BUT COSTLY" era. OB's system wasn't a fit nor was OB ever on board with this selection....primarily b/c it was done without his input. Cost money and picks to eliminate this mistake.
It wasn't a matter of "get a QB they liked" Osweiler was the only F/A on the market that was even close to being considered a franchise QB except Derek Carr and there was no way in hell Texans were bringing another Carr here. The whole "done without his input" is also BS as I believe that OB did give his input and in fact he said they that he did. Please don't pull the SteelB crap of "he's just towing the company line" when it disagrees with you what he said and "That's his real feelings" when it agrees with you. As far as Osweiler goes apparently he didn't fit anybody's system seeing as he recently retired after bouncing from team to team to team. Finally I thought the trading for picks to get rid of him was an RS move? Or at least that's what these boards were all screaming back when it happened. So since RS is gone now we are switching the blame to the next guy we don't like?
2. It's RS's turn. He traded away some big picks to move up and get the guy of his dreams in Watson. Problem, the War Room photo of that selection only showed one person standing and cheering the move.....RS. Everyone else sat there with what appeared to be stunned looks on their faces. Again, this was not an OB guy b/c a decision was made without consulting him. OB's desired offense and Watson's style of play are like oil and water......they'll never mix. Again, a really costly mistake.
This I agree with, Watson was 100% an RS call and one I like. I think OB wanted Mahomes and to be fair that would have been good to. I actually think they were arguing about it right up until KC took the decision out of their hands and Watson became the default choice. I also agree a lot of the troubles has been that OB is trying to get Watson to fit his system instead of the system to fit Watson. Interesting enough I was watching ESPN and they were talking about Jason Garrett and the Cowboys and why the Cowboys aren't running the ball when that's what they are designed to do. One person, forget who, said that coaches tend to default back to what they know and what they are most comfortable with when put in high pressure situations. Garrett is a former QB so he tends to default to the passing game, OB has always liked and used big arm pocket passers so I think that's what he is defaulting to. I don't believe its a conscience "I'm going to make Watson a pocket passer" thing he is doing I think it is just his default.
That being said that inability to adapt is not going to cut it as an NFL HC. Garrett is screwing the Cowboys, which I love watching, because he can't get away from his default and OB has been screwing the Texans, which I don't love watching, because he can't get away from his default. We see the same thing with Reid in KC just Mahomes and that offense is good enough to run up the score where it doesn't matter. Ravens are so good because their HC didn't have a default and built it from the ground up around Jackson.
3. OB has now, in some ill fated dream, ascended to the top and now possesses the GM hat, which adds to the other 2 hats that best describe his failure at mastering either hats of responsibility......HC and OC. For his first trick......he and the organization sit on the Clowney situation knowing it's never going to get better but somehow sit around and try to wait him out, problem....Clowney was the one in control. They make a last second deal and again it cost them dearly in what could've been had....had they acted earlier when they saw the writing on the wall.
Not sure you can blame Clowney on OB seeing as Gaine was still GM at the time. In fact sitting on the Clowney deal might have been what got Gaine fired, we just don't know. I will say it does fit Gaine's profile from previous positions and even his short time as GM. He was always know as, shall we say thrifty when it came to spending money and in fact under him the Texans went from spending 98% of their cap to 92% which I think the league min is 89% so yeah. The trade deal after you can blame on OB and I would have made Clowney play on the tag and run him into the ground like a rental car but that's me.
4. In a desperation move to try and salvage his upcoming season OB was on the phone with Miami to obtain the services of LT, Tunsil. Like any deal with the Browns, OB was taken behind the woodshed, forced to drop his own pants and assume the position for another royal screwing. Don't get me wrong, I saw the move for Tunsil as a positive but when word got out that Miami was interested in a Clowney for Tunsil deal, then the mistakes become even more glaring. The cost was excessive and will have an impact on the next couple of drafts.
The cost was not excessive and it has been broken down many times why the cost of two 1st was on point even had we drafted a guy. Also it wasn't just about "saving his up coming season" it was about trying to keep Watson from getting broken in half and then looking for new QB. Or would you have preferred we have David Carr or Andrew Luck 2.0?
5. I'm beginning to see these moves as the type Bum Phillips made in trying to chase down the Steelers. Trading (mortgaging their future) for old Raiders players who were past their prime so he could finally beat the Steelers......never happened. When he left, it was a tough rebuild. When OB finally gets shown the door, it's going to be tough rebuild b/c I think he'll be even more desperate this coming off-season. There will be contracts and extensions that must be addressed while finding players to fill gaps.
Yeah it's a mess and Cal seems to be ok with it as long as the seats remain filled.
The "so he could finally beat the Steelers...never happened" doesn't make sense because we did just beat the Pats. Also which players are past their prime? Tunsil is young and still on his rookie contract and most of the rest we have acquired we got for just cap hits not draft hits. Stills, even if he hasn't been everything we hoped, has been well worth a 2nd as is Johnson a 3rd. Hyde has been an absolute steal and even the guys we got for the secondary have been decent. Last night's game not with standing they have been about as good as Badger and Jackson were and we haven't seemed to miss Clowney. Who by the way is not lighting the world on fire in Seattle and still has way lower stats than Mercilus. Did you see the Rams run the ball up the gut and right through him last night?
Look I get it, you're pissed off about last night's game, I am to, so now the sky is falling once again. However, the moves we made that were considered good after we beat the Colts and Pats aren't all of a sudden bad because we got beat by Denver. Lets see were the season ends up and what happens then we will have a far better idea. Even if this is OB's last season, and I'm not opposed to that right now, the next guy is not coming into a broken team that will take years to fix. On paper offense wise we are one of the most talent heavy teams in the NFL and even defense wise we are solid with just a few key pieces missing. Our defense is in far better shape than KC's and our offense in far better shape than NE's. The real question is and always has been if our HC and QB situation is in better, worse or equal shape.