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Chronicle: The Mallett/Hoyer Competition

Not making excuses for Hoyer. Personally I don't even really like Hoyer. We all know what he is and that is not very good. I would prefer Mallett to start. However, I want this team to win games and if Hoyer is better than Mallett then he should play. Judging from all the practice reports they are pretty even or Mallett is slightly ahead. That's pretty disconcerting IMO because if you cannot cleanly beat out Brian Hoyer in a QB competition then you just aren't very good.


I don't know. As long as they're wearing that red jersey, I'm sure they both look fine. I doubt Tom Brady is doing anything that would set him apart from either guy... in practice.
 
WR DeAndre Hopkins
...
(on QB Ryan Mallett appreciating his competitive side) “I always want to be accounted for when he throws
me the ball so he throws it to me more.”

(on the difference between QB Brian Hoyer and QB Ryan Mallett) “This is an offense that’s really, you know,
you really can’t tell too much of a difference. You’re in a place where you have to be. I don’t really see a
difference.”

(on QB Ryan Mallett throwing the ball hard) “Both of them throw hard.”

(on QB Brian Hoyer’s ability) “I was just watching film from him at Cleveland last year and he likes to go
deep a lot, so I think he has a nice arm on him.”

(on seeing QB Brian Hoyer playing against another team) “He was excited. He had a lot of enthusiasm
coming out here. He was cheering up every body. So was (Ryan) Mallett. So it was good to see both of
those guys out here cheering up the team.”

QB Brian Hoyer
(on how he feels he did in practice today) “I thought it was a good day. I thought it was a good day. I mean,
there’s some plays that obviously you’d like to have back. I think you go out there and you try to make it
perfect, but after you watch the film you wish you had one or two of those back. I think we made some big
plays in the pass game and just keep building on it.”

(on if he feels a chemistry starting to develop with the wide receivers) “I think the good thing for us is they’re
rotating all those receivers in there. Like I said the other night, I don’t know if you guys see, but we’re
working with these guys after practice every day, too. So even though you might not throw to one guy during
practice, you might get him after practice. To be honest with you, we put a lot of hard work in between
minicamp and training camp where we had guys coming back and we were throwing with them. One day it
was a few rookies. One day it was a few veterans. It just happened to be who was available. When you put
that extra work in and then you come out and do it live, I think those connections start to keep building.”

(on if it feels different practicing against another team) “I think if anything it’s a heightened awareness
because when you go against your own defense, you kind of see the same thing over and over again, so
you’re accustomed to seeing what that defense is. Now, like I said, you come in not really knowing what
they’re going to play. You got to kind of just remember your rules, remember your assignment, and let
everything play out and hopefully react the right way.”

(on last year’s quarterback competition with QB Johnny Manziel) “I think, for me, it prepared me well for
what I’m going through now. For me, I try to block out all the media, no offense to you guys. Not focus on
any of that. Focus on the install that’s going in that day, focus on what my coaches and teammates are
asking out of me, and really focus on what I’m asking out of myself. That’s the only way I know how to do
it. I think when you get caught up in the other stuff, you’re thinking about the wrong thing so I think going
through those experiences definitely prepared me for what I’m going through now.”

(on if he watched QB Ryan Mallett today) “Yeah because it’s a little bit different. Usually we’re two spot and
you’re not really seeing. When our offense is out there, that’s my team. We’re cheering those guys on.”

(on how much he talks to receivers) “I think the beauty of this system is it allows the quarterbacks and
receivers to kind of speak freely. Other places I’ve been that wasn’t so much the case. It was kind of like
the coach said this, this is the way you do it. Ever since going back, in fact, I can remember in New England
and watching Tom (Brady) and the way he talked to his receivers. Then we’d have meetings with just the
receivers, quarterbacks, and tight ends because when it comes down to it, it may be written a certain way
on the paper, but when you go out on the field you want it a certain way. That’s why we’re always talking
about the intricate steps, alignment, and all those things. I think when the coaches allow the players to talk
it out, we’re the ones out there playing on the field, and to give us that freedom. I think it’s really awesome.”

(on the Washington Redskins defense) “Yeah it’s good. I mean, obviously (Ryan) Kerrigan, I’ve known
him since college. He’s a great pass rusher and then Terrance (Knighton) up front, so that’s a big guy to
help stop the run. So, for us, like I said, it’s good for us to come out here and play against someone
different, kind of see, throw our stuff out there and see how it plays against another NFL team.”

(on practicing against the Washington Redskins) “At one point, I even got hit out there, so it’s all, I think in
good competition. I think we can get a lot out of this, they can get a lot out of it, and you just hope you
come out healthy and get good looks from another, like I said, we’ve been practicing against the same
guys, same schemes over and over, so now you come out here, you see different players, different
schemes and you have to react.”

(on the Washington Redskins’ defensive standouts) “Well, obviously Terrance (Knighton), yeah, I mean
he’s hard to miss, so I have a lot of respect for their secondary. I played against (Dashon) Goldson a few
times. Obviously (DeAngelo) Hall, you know those guys. (Chris) Culliver, I’ve played against him, so I kind
of came in knowing some of the guys and you know what to expect out of them, good players. So for the
thing that I was focused on was more the scheme. Do you know what I mean? Because when you come
in not knowing what they’re going to run, not everyone runs coverage three the same way, not everyone
runs cover four the same way, so you may see one thing and then have to react to another.”

(on Texans Offensive Coordinator George Godsey) “It’s been great. I think for me, like I’ve talked about
before the familiarity with not only the system, but the guy calling the plays. You know, I knew George
(Godsey) for two years in New England and have always had a good relationship with him. I remember
when we played against the Texans last year, I ran over to him and told him what play to call the first play
of the game because I still remembered the system.”

(on if Texans Offensive Coordinator George Godsey called the play he told him to) “No, no, no, no, but he
was like ‘get out of here you asshole’ or something like that, but I think knowing the guy and having a
relationship with him obviously is beneficial.”

temp_1MP7651--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.JPG


QB Ryan Mallett
(on WR DeAndre Hopkins getting feisty) “I love it, I love it. You’ve got to love a receiver that’s got that ‘go
and get it’ mentality. I think he does, so I like it.”

(on the intensity today) “We’re not going to back down from anybody, we’re going to have each other’s
backs so it was good to see that intensity and that fire in us.”

(on what you learn about your team in a joint practice) “You kind of see where you are as a team and as
an offense. We have to get better. There are some things we did well and some things we didn’t do well.
We will go look at the film and come back tomorrow and try to correct those things.”

(on what looks the Washington Redskins gave him on defense) “They had multiple looks, they’re a good
defense. We had some things schemed up just from our base stuff. We had some success, they had
some success. I’m sure both coaches want to see that as far as one team winning and back and forth.”

(on having joint practices with the Washington Redskins) “It is good not to go against our guys every day
for camp until the first preseason game, so getting to see other guys in different looks and different
variations of defenses is good for us.”

(on having HBO’s Hard Knocks around the team) “I haven’t even noticed them.”

(on if he will watch Hard Knocks) “Yeah, of course.”

(on being in Richmond last year with the New England Patriots) “It is good to be here in Richmond. They
had a good turn out last year, good turn out this year. They have excited fans and it is good competition
against these guys.”

(on if Richmond has changed since last year) “It looks the same to me.”
 
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So basically it sort of proves Jayson Braddocks point that when the bullets are flying Mallett shines.

#StartTheManBOB

When the defense is able to actually able to tackle him, then you can say the above, until then..............
 
Turn it around - that (the best of Hoyer) is the same Fitz level Mallett has already beat out.

Good point. Calling Hoyer "Fitz-Level" seems more of a fan thing than an O'Brien evaluation, since Mallet hasn't beat him out yet or wasn't named starter from the beginning.

Of course, Hoyer does have more experience. Maybe Mallet just needs that 60 day in-season warm-up again. :)
 
"Forget about the stats; now look at how big my stat is."

Not playing this one game stuff. By that standard we are idiots to give up Fitz and his 358 yds, 6 TDs, 0 INTs 45-21 win (jumped out to a 24-0 lead).
You guys already know that I always emphasized that stats need to be taken in a context.

The main point is what a QB can do given a certain game plan with the team's make up.

Who cares that PFF and ESPN use 15 yard as a marker.
For the sake of discussion, I just think they use it according to the break the receivers make running their routes.

The short stuff is a break within 5 yards.
The medium route is between 10-12 yards.
And the deep routes are when the receivers often make the break between 15-17 yards.

I'm not comparing Hoyer's whole body of work against Fitz or anybody else.

All I was looking at was those games with Mack under center.
Hoyer sported an average of 17.3 YPA ( not YPC) on those routes.
That's an extremely healthy number, especially when your team play from behind.

Granted, it was helped by play action, but at least we know it wasn't a lack of arm strength.

I actually wanted the Texans to go after Hoyer last year instead of Fitz.
( I did mention it in at least one post.)
Only because I thought Hoyer had more upside.
I did watch him play the year previous.

Now that I'm done with that,
Do I think Mallett has a better upside?
Yes, maybe, but the sample was so small.

It's best for the Texans that Mallett "gets" it.

But I don't like "my QB" too tall - not his fault - for he has "too much" surface to get hit.
I'm being really honest here; if you can trim 2" off Mallett, I would like him quite better :)
 
But I don't like "my QB" too tall - not his fault - for he has "too much" surface to get hit.
I'm being really honest here; if you can trim 2" off Mallett, I would like him quite better :)

I believe we all know the obvious advantages of having a tall quarterback. But there has never been a direct correlation of height to risk injury made. The common denominator is having a marginal or outright poor offensive line. Those taking the most sacks are usually those getting injured. Players like the Mannings, Rivers, Brees typically haven't had their offensive lines come into question. Compare that to Big Ben, Cutler, even Rodgers, and all have had sack issues and offensive line inconsistencies. Then you have to look at supporting components of receivers and how well they run their routes and how well they get open. And, of course, you have to look how long the QB holds the ball and his release time. The longer in either parameter, the higher the chance of that QB getting hit or sacked.......and thus injured. For many reasons, I for one would not want to trade Mallet for a 2" shorter Mini-Me version of himself.:texflag:
 
John McClain ‏@McClain_on_NFL
Coaches shouldn't decide on QB without watching them against opponents in games. Joint practices are helpful but not like game action.

Hoyer and Mallett have waged an intense competition. So close coaches can't make the call after 3 practices against Redskins.

I can see O'Brien naming QB next week at the earlier and after 2nd preseason game against Denver at the latest. I still predict Hoyer.​
 
John McClain ‏@McClain_on_NFL
Coaches shouldn't decide on QB without watching them against opponents in games. Joint practices are helpful but not like game action.

Hoyer and Mallett have waged an intense competition. So close coaches can't make the call after 3 practices against Redskins.

I can see O'Brien naming QB next week at the earlier and after 2nd preseason game against Denver at the latest. I still predict Hoyer.​


TC is when Mallet would be able to finalize honing his skills (a phase of rehab that so many times goes unappreciated).

From 05/13/15:


CloakNNNdagger said:



From 12/25/14:

CloakNNNdagger said:

Barring this injury to be very exceptional in nature (such as a very rare mid muscle rupture) or an unforeseen postoperative complication ensues, repair should return Mallet to pre-injury level of performance. Rehab should allow him to begin light weight lifting at ~4 months and return to play at ~6 months. Mallet who had surgery the end of November should have plenty of time during OTAs and TC to maximally strengthen and hone his skills to be prepared to start the 1st game of the 2015 season, if that is the Texans game plan.


The first Texans OTA will be May 26...........almost 6 months to the day following his pec surgery. He'll start out slow and should be able to progress as I layed out last December.
 
TC is when Mallet would be able to finalize honing his skills (a phase of rehab that so many times goes unappreciated).

And like always, you have been accurate on this too. He started out a little inaccurate, but has since really improved on consistency. Hope he continues to improve upon timing.
 
Brian T. Smith

For underdog Ryan Mallett, opportunity knocking right now

By Brian T. Smith

August 10, 2015 Updated: August 10, 2015 4:40pm
Ryan Mallett doesn't want to be counted out.

Then go out and finally win the best job in Houston.

Mallett will never have another life opportunity like this. The city wants him. Fans can't wait to buy into No. 15. Mallett's 27 years on earth mostly devoted to slinging around a football are one Bill O'Brien decision away from paying off big time, with the Texarkana Robobaby on the verge of again taking over the Texans' offense and leading the biggest game in town.

After seven months of offseason nonsense, this is the most important week of Mallett's career. Saturday's preseason opener against San Francisco at NRG Stadium will be the most critical game he's ever played.

Unless O'Brien opens his Tuesday press conference by declaring Brian Hoyer the victor in the Texans' first starting quarterback competition, Mallett will be given another week to prove he's more worthy than a seven-year vet who threw more interceptions than touchdowns last season and lost his job - in Cleveland, of all places - to a rookie who ended up in rehab. Saturday, Mallett will be handed a couple quarters to prove he's worth more than Hoyer.

It hasn't happened yet. Through OTAs, minicamp and the initial 10 days of training camp, Mallett's been what he's always been since he entered the league. Promising but uneven. Thrilling, yet a letdown. Good enough to randomly wow but always unpredictable and never, ever great.
There have been smooth touchdown bombs and sharp back-shoulder darts. There have also been enough wild misfires, poor reads and open receivers answered with balls awkwardly thrown into the ground that anyone watching up close would be convinced Mallett's struggled with accuracy issues since birth.

Hoyer entered offseason workouts as the favorite and camp as the same. After just the first preseason practice, some immediately took to Twitter to declare him the clear winner, speculating the battle would be over in a week. With a three-day fight against Washington in Richmond, Va., in the rearview and just five days remaining before the 49ers visit, all O'Brien continues to say is the window is still open and the duo are "close."

Edge, Mallett.

Hoyer's played in at least two real games a year since 2009, has started 17 overall and was 7-6 with the Browns last season. And while his richer contract means nothing between the lines, there's no way O'Brien brought the ex-Pat to Houston without believing the new No. 7 could be coached into the playoffs in 2015.

Mallett has almost no real NFL experience and has thrown a whopping 79 passes during two starts in four seasons. He also has "it." The magical X-factor. The fire we watched in Cleveland last Nov. 16, when Mallett torched the Browns - in his first start, without Arian Foster - and the Texans ignited Hoyer's late-season fall. The arm that really is a cannon, when everything in Mallett's brain and body line up and he unloads like no Texans QB ever has.

The longer the decision drags out, the better for Mallett. If he can remain tight with Hoyer and make it to preseason game No. 2 against Peyton Manning's Broncos, the job's there for the taking. If Mallett can survive until No. 3 versus Drew Brees' Saints, there's no reason the quarterback everyone in Houston wants can't be shouting out plays inside a sold-out NRG Stadium against the Chiefs in Week 1.

But Mallett's going to have steal this to win it. And he has to start playing like an NFL starting QB this week.

Hoyer's the safe, easy choice for a 9-7 team trying to climb to 10-6 without Foster. Mallett's all risk. He's never led a team in September, let alone December. He came into the league with character issues and is still shaking off the accuracy woes that have shadowed him since college. Hoyer's Ryan Fitzpatrick Part Two, maybe a little better. Mallett's a whole lot of maybe and a ton of if in a cutthroat sport that's long worshiped weekly certainty.

Mention to Mallett that the best job in Houston is still wide open and he gets insulted.

"Are you counting me out?" he said.

No, Ryan, we're not. O'Brien hasn't. All the local believers never have and never will, even if Hoyer gets the starting gig.

All Mallett's got to do is go out and win the position he was born to play.
 
Does that sound like an open competition or Hoyer's job that he might unimpress his way out of, like Fitz?

Sounds like an article written by someone who's on the outside looking in just like we are, giving his opinions about what's going on and the statuses of the players and the thoughts in OB's head.
 
Tania Ganguli ‏@taniaganguli
Both quarterbacks said they aren't going to watch Hard Knocks tonight.​


hear_see_speak_no_evil-943.gif



John McClain ‏@McClain_on_NFL
Mallett was asked if he'll watch Hard Knocks debut at 9 tonight “No, I’ll be asleep by the time that comes on."​

Mallett on Duane Brown hugging him after TD pass “He scared me. I didn't know who it was. I thought a defensive guy was getting mad."

Mallett on Watt batting down his pass: “Look opposite of where you’re throwing, that's about the only way you can do it. It’s unbelievable.”​
 
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Greg Bailey on ABC13.com had this today:

Tuesday, August 11, 2015 11:50AM
HOUSTON (KTRK) --
If Ryan Mallett wins the Texans' starting quarterback job, I'll look back to this day and this moment.

The 5th-year veteran lofted another perfectly placed deep ball for another huge gain this morning, and as Mallett turned towards the next play he got wrapped up. Texans tackle Duane Brown locked his quarterback in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground. Mallett told me afterwards he thought he'd made one of the defensive players mad and they were letting him know it. Instead, he was getting the ultimate affirmation from one of the team's veteran leaders. Mallett's teammates know he can make plays to help them win games. That's what camp is all about. Who's here to help us win? Mallett looks like he is.

Texans Coach Bill O'Brien warned us today, don't read into the starting quarterback for Saturday's preseason opener. (Texans host the 49ers at 7pm on ABC-13). O'Brien won't even tell us who will start. He told us that both Mallett and Brian Hoyer are even. But Mallett had another great day today. He looked great for long stretches against Washington's defense in Richmond, Va. If all he does in the preseason games is carry over what he's done on the practice field, Ryan Mallett can be the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans.
 
The 5th-year veteran lofted another perfectly placed deep ball for another huge gain this morning, and as Mallett turned towards the next play he got wrapped up. Texans tackle Duane Brown locked his quarterback in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground.

I remember listening to the Duane Brown show a while back & he said he had been doing that since the early days of college. He had noticed when someone would make a TD "everyone" would run down the field to celebrate with him & no one would recognize the role the QB had in that TD. So he started finding the QB to celebrate with him. Of you remember, the few times our QB threw a TD, DBrowm76 would always bear hug the QB.
 
I remember listening to the Duane Brown show a while back & he said he had been doing that since the early days of college. He had noticed when someone would make a TD "everyone" would run down the field to celebrate with him & no one would recognize the role the QB had in that TD. So he started finding the QB to celebrate with him. Of you remember, the few times our QB threw a TD, DBrowm76 would always bear hug the QB.
That makes it worrisome that it took day 10 in get to that point
 
I suspect he normally reserves it for real games. If so possibly a deal that he broke it out for practice.
It's been said that the team likes Mallett's leadership and fiery personality. Maybe that was a visual vote of confidence for the coaching staff to see?
 
The narrative of this competition seems to run along the lines of Hoyer, the savvy veteran with starts under his belt in this league, the guy who won't lose you too many games in our system, the steady hand on the tiller, vs Mallett, the man with the big gun capable of winning you games outright, and possibly the odd mental lapse which could lose them too.

I just hope that the injury to Foster doesn't change OB's final decision on the QB competition, that we don't throw caution to the wind now that we're lacking our top 5 running back. I'd love Mall to win the job, just hope the conditions for that happening haven't shifted given our need to find big play ability through the air.
 
Neither has done much of anything this training camp to make me feel confident that we have a franchise quarterback. My expectations for Brian Hoyer were quite high based on some good starts he had with the Browns but he's done little to inspire me up to this point.

I haven't even seen any flashes of brilliance from that position besides Ryan Mallett completing fourteen passes in a row in a practice session. But it's early and our first preseason game is on Saturday Night.

The one thing I like more about Brian Hoyer that isn't there with Ryan Mallett is his pocket elusiveness. Hoyer is able to scramble around better than Mallett. Without a strong run game Mallett better step back in the pocket and throw really fast with a quick release otherwise he's going to be hit hard and often, possibly getting hurt, because he's a huge and somewhat slow target.

I can already visualize a Matt Leinart type of season-ending injury for Ryan Mallett. On a play when his shoulder is just driven into the ground because there wasn't enough of a running game and our pass-blocking paid the price for it. Brian Hoyer mentioned how Tom Brady is able to move around very little inside the pocket on last night's Hard Knocks show.

Ryan Mallett has Ben Roethlisberger type of size but for some reason his body doesn't seem as compact and sturdy. If Mallett took off his shirt in front of you it wouldn't make you think he's a football player just a tall and lengthy guy ready to party at the beach. But Tom Brady has a body like that and is shorter. But the point being is that Big Ben can endure all types of big hits and still shake them off. Mallett seems more susceptible to injury for whatever reason.

You would think between Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer, both of which were Tom Brady's backup at one time, that at least one of them is going to pan out into a good starting quarterback in the NFL. The odds have to be on our side? We just need one of them to step up and become good. Most importantly, stay healthy. Both Mallett and Hoyer were injured fairly easily last year. Mallett hid his injury for a few weeks.

In the 2016 NFL Draft I would focus on drafting a quarterback and running back in rounds one, two or three. High in the draft and I would make sure we draft guys who have a long history of durability and staying healthy. I want guys on the field who can play. Some blue-collar players. Workhorses I should say.

I actually was in love with Big Ben out of Miami of Ohio and Aaron Rodgers from CAL during their respective drafts. We drafted Dunta Robinson and Travis Johnson instead and passed on both because we had David Carr at the time. Sigh... But those are the type of quarterbacks I like. The ones who eat their meats and potatoes and just go to work with all the toughness in the world. There is nothing that is more important than having a franchise quarterback. It transforms you into a legitimate Super Bowl contender year in and year out. Something this Texans franchise has never had.
 
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The narrative of this competition seems to run along the lines of Hoyer, the savvy veteran with starts under his belt in this league, the guy who won't lose you too many games in our system, the steady hand on the tiller, vs Mallett, the man with the big gun capable of winning you games outright, and possibly the odd mental lapse which could lose them too.

Not that Bryan Hoyer lost the Browns 9 games last season, but he was benched for a rookie who was getting pretty bad reviews. I'd like for that narrative to address that & tell us why we should feel he's the man for the job here.
 
Not that Bryan Hoyer lost the Browns 9 games last season, but he was benched for a rookie who was getting pretty bad reviews. I'd like for that narrative to address that & tell us why we should feel he's the man for the job here.
I know right. I think at this point it's easy for the media to write this storyline and for us as fans we don't have any real information to form our own opinion.

The hope with Mallett seems based off 1 game where he looked decent before getting injured. The hope with Hoyer seems based off how much we paid him and surely that means he's an improvement of Fitzmagic.
 
Not that Bryan Hoyer lost the Browns 9 games last season, but he was benched for a rookie who was getting pretty bad reviews. I'd like for that narrative to address that & tell us why we should feel he's the man for the job here.

He was benched for a rookie that the Browns organization had hoped would out-play him and take the job from him. And from what I remember last season, the rumors were that it wasn't the coaching staff that decided to bench Hoyer for Manziel, but that the word had come from higher up the organization that Manziel was the future and needed to be on the field.

I'm not saying that Hoyer should be the man here, I'm just saying I'm not going to hold the Cleveland fiasco against him.
 
The one thing I like more about Brian Hoyer that isn't there with Ryan Mallett is his pocket elusiveness. Hoyer is able to scramble around better than Mallett. Without a strong run game Mallett better step back in the pocket and throw really fast with a quick release otherwise he's going to be hit hard and often, possibly getting hurt, because he's a huge and somewhat slow target.

I can already visualize a Matt Leinart type of season-ending injury for Ryan Mallett. On a play when his shoulder is just driven into the ground because there wasn't enough of a running game and our pass-blocking paid the price for it. Brian Hoyer mentioned how Tom Brady is able to move around very little inside the pocket on last night's Hard Knocks show.

In Mallett's two starts last season, with Blue as his RB, he had one sack for 5 yards. Granted Cleveland and Cincy were not great sack teams last year, but the hand wringing may be a bit premature. The Texans O-line over the last 5 years have allowed an average of 2 sacks a game. And that was with 6 different QB's over the last two years.

And when you say scramble around a bit, I think of either 0-8 Keenum or Game Manager Fitz. That's not an image I want in my brain.
 
In Mallett's two starts last season, with Blue as his RB, he had one sack for 5 yards. Granted Cleveland and Cincy were not great sack teams last year, but the hand wringing may be a bit premature. The Texans O-line over the last 5 years have allowed an average of 2 sacks a game. And that was with 6 different QB's over the last two years.

And when you say scramble around a bit, I think of either 0-8 Keenum or Game Manager Fitz. That's not an image I want in my brain.
That's true. You give me reason to be optimistic about Ryan Mallett. Although Case Keenum, that kid played his heart out, was starting those last two regular-season wins. It was nice to see even though you are correct. Case Keenum wasn't going to be the answer long term. It would have just resembled T.J. Yates playing in two playoff game had the Texans snuck in that final wild-card over the Ravens last year. We'd have maybe beaten the Steelers in the wild-card game (they didn't have their superstar running back) but that's as far as we were going. A third divisional round loss for this franchise it would have been.

And ugh, the images of Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambling around and even running around for some positive yardage, while admirable, it does make me want to throw up as well. I'm glad I'm not a Jets fan this season but I'm going to laugh internally if they end up with a better record than us in 2015.
 
And ugh, the images of Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambling around and even running around for some positive yardage, while admirable, it does make me want to throw up as well. I'm glad I'm not a Jets fan this season but I'm going to laugh internally if they end up with a better record than us in 2015.

I can't wait to see Fitz in New York. I want to see if he plays that conservative, don't risk anything football he played last season, or if he goes back to that gunslinger he was before O'Brien.

I never wanted Fitzpatrick to start for us, but I was hoping to see that gunslinger. We had a healthy Aj, a healthy Foster, a healthy Hopkins... heck if they'd have kept OD... I think they would have made Fitz look good. Just throw it up there & let your play makers make plays.

Sure, some would go the wrong way. But with that much talent, we could have came out on the plus side. Then throw in our defense... could have worked out pretty good for us.

Fitz playing the way he did last year, imo, hurt our chances of winning. If he goes back to the gunslinger, I'll be putting that on OB. We saw the gunslinger in Tennessee last year. 6 TDs with our talent as opposed to the teams he's played on before.
 
Fitz playing at all last year, imo, hurt our chances of winning.

FIFY

His gunslinger mentality would be great if he had any accuracy or arm strength, but he doesnt. He throws wild, uncatchable balls when he is pressured, and IMO there is no way we make it even to 9 wins because Fitz would give the game away with INTs. Even the greatest of receivers cant catch horrendously thrown passes and cant overcome terrible decision making. If receivers could overcome bad throws then Dre would have carried us to the playoffs much sooner, and we wouldnt have suffered through Carr and 2013 Schaub.

The 9 wins we got with an anemic offense in a new system last year are on OB...I mean that in a good way.
 
thunderkyss, The funny thing is I picked up Ryan Fitzpatrick on my Yahoo! Fantasy Football team as soon as Geno's jaw was punched. I can only start two QB's per week but it's nice to have a couple extra starting options.

I already have Tony Romo, Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer. If Ryan Mallett ends up being the starter I'll release Hoyer and try to sign Mallett before anybody else does. Both Hoyer and Mallett are free agents in my league but I snagged Hoyer already thinking he'd have the leg up on winning the starting job.

I'll probably start Romo and Newton most games. I'd like to homer Hoyer or Mallett when I can. I doubt I'll play Fitzpatrick all that much. I don't expect to win my league anyways. I have Arian Foster, Frank Gore and Darren McFadden at running back. Already took a big hit with Foster missing at least eight games.

I've been offered trades with people wanting my Tony Romo or Cam Newton for their good running back but without two good quarterbacks I have no chance to win anyways. Having to start Fitzpatrick or Hoyer/Mallett along with only one franchise quarterback isn't going to win me anything.
 
I know right. I think at this point it's easy for the media to write this storyline and for us as fans we don't have any real information to form our own opinion.

The hope with Mallett seems based off 1 game where he looked decent before getting injured. The hope with Hoyer seems based off how much we paid him and surely that means he's an improvement of Fitzmagic.
He looked a lot more than decent. He showed Fitz how to run this offense at an upbeat tempo by releasing the ball in under 2.5 second, (not to mention getting to the line faster). After inaccuracy issues at least partially caused by injury, Fitz took note and had his best start of the season following Mallets injury benching by upping HIS tempo.

This is why so many are excited about him. TEMPO!
 
He looked a lot more than decent. He showed Fitz how to run this offense at an upbeat tempo by releasing the ball in under 2.5 second, (not to mention getting to the line faster). After inaccuracy issues at least partially caused by injury, Fitz took note and had his best start of the season following Mallets injury benching by upping HIS tempo.

This is why so many are excited about him. TEMPO!

Peyton's release at 2.2 seconds is considered the NFL's best.


Pro Football Focus: Ryan Mallett's Time Per Pass Attempt "Off The Charts Fast" In Texans' Win Over Browns

Pro Football Focus @PFF

Ryan Mallett's average time per pass attempt was 2.06 seconds vs CLE. Off the charts fast, lowest in the league this week.

12:11 PM - 18 Nov 2014







Pro Football Focus @PFF


More Mallett: When ball was out in under 2.5 secs passer rating was 123.1, when it was >2.5 seconds: 31.3 passer rating.

12:12 PM - 18 Nov 2014
 
I always laugh how the press always talk about the deep balls success that Hoyer and Mallet have, when lets be honest, that happens at most, once or twice a game. The 'boring' short routes is where the competition will be one or lost.

I believe they want Mallett to win, but don't trust him.
 
He looked a lot more than decent. He showed Fitz how to run this offense at an upbeat tempo by releasing the ball in under 2.5 second, (not to mention getting to the line faster). After inaccuracy issues at least partially caused by injury, Fitz took note and had his best start of the season following Mallets injury benching by upping HIS tempo.

This is why so many are excited about him. TEMPO!

What I, albeit vaguely, remember about Mallet is also that he read his routes, felt the pressure when it came, and got rid of the ball to the appropriate receiver for the timing of it all (sometimes a missed throw, but not a sack or a pick). This is if he hadn't already completed a pass before the pressure even came.
 
What I, albeit vaguely, remember about Mallet is also that he read his routes, felt the pressure when it came, and got rid of the ball to the appropriate receiver for the timing of it all (sometimes a missed throw, but not a sack or a pick). This is if he hadn't already completed a pass before the pressure even came.

It really felt like we had a competent QB for a change. I'd seen Schaub do it a few times but that's been a really rare feeling here in Houston this century.
 
I don't think he's going to 'announce' anything. Whether Hoyer starts, or Mallet starts, doesn't mean who starts on opening day.
 
I just have this feeling that O'brien will want to have a truer assessment of Mallet and will want to see how he does against the first team of......the Broncos......rather than against a team in such total disarray.
 
If I were OB, I'd name Mallett the starter because of the upside and potential. If Mallett flops or gets injured, at least you'll know you have a guy coming off the bench that has started in the NFL.
 
I just have this feeling that O'brien will want to have a truer assessment of Mallet and will want to see how he does against the first team of......the Broncos......rather than against a team in such total disarray.

At this point I'd imagine OB has as good an assessment of both guys that he's ever going to have. At this point, the question is can he get better. Whether we're talking Hoyer or Mallett. If this is a true competition, I bet that's what he's judging them on. Which one is consistently doing what they need to do to get better. & if both of them are, which one is making better strides.

& I mean "getting better" in the way that Brady is still working to get better even though many say he's the best in the game right now.

Kinda like Jj always saying there's so many things he can do to get better & he's working on many of them.
 
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