Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Davis Mills getting no respect

ben.aires.smith said:
I'm telling you what the stats say not watching I highlight film. That's why Young's deep ball comes on as a weakness is some scouting reports. Accuracy was low in Heisman Year. Just facts. Not saying he can't complete them or hasn't. He can drop dimes for sure. But statistically, he's not impressive overall in this area.

I agree with you in a WCO where short/intermediate are frequently deployed, he will excel in this area. He'll probably have more balls batted down than the average QB but whatever.
Click to expand...
But there aren't any broken down stats, yet, for '22. Film may be all you have, provided it's not just highlights.
 
Number19 said:
Still sounds fixable with coaching.
Click to expand...
And this is why you have the divide on this forum and elsewhere: 1 camp just looks at the bottom line and screams "Mills sucks, Mills is trash", and the other side sees a potential fixable outcome because Mills makes hard throws fairly consistently with receiver core that is below average... Not sure if processing is fixable or not to get to a point of startability. But there's no question about the arm talent. So the divide will continue until Mills leaves the organization, gets another shot to prove or disprove the better coaching/talent thesis or a clear upgrade is acquired.
 
ben.aires.smith said:
Although a small sample size, I think the Kyle Allen disaster shows just how bad the Texans were on the offensive side of the ball. I mean, it's only Kyle Allen but he did have 17 games starter experience. The lack of talent and poor pass protection exposed him badly, and made a former fringe NFL starter look absolutely awful. Got to improve the WR/OL talent to make any QB look ok. I hope we do that this year.
Click to expand...
Allen looked like a quality backup with the Redskins and the Panthers.

He looked terrible with the Texans, wonder why that was?
 
The advanced stats show Mills performance declined in 2022. TD% was down from 2021 in 2022, int% was up. QBR was down as was rate (by 10 points). His sack% was down by over 1%, his pressure percentage was up from 2021 (20.9) and 2022 (23.6). The pressure worked as he was tied for most interceptions in 2022. He'll likely be pressured even more in 2023.

Are we looking at a trend for Mills? Opponents had more film on him in 2022. They'll have even more in 2023.
 
I'm not for the Texans drafting a quarterback in the first round this year. I also don't believe Mills is the answer for a young team looking to make a jump in 2023. I'd take Hooker in the second round.
 
banned1976 said:
The advanced stats show Mills performance declined in 2022. TD% was down from 2021 in 2022, int% was up. QBR was down as was rate (by 10 points). His sack% was down by over 1%, his pressure percentage was up from 2021 (20.9) and 2022 (23.6). The pressure worked as he was tied for most interceptions in 2022. He'll likely be pressured even more in 2023.

Are we looking at a trend for Mills? Opponents had more film on him in 2022. They'll have even more in 2023.
Click to expand...
Why do you think he will be pressured more?

Do you think they will improve the IOL over what they had with Q and McCray, plus an injured Green?
 
banned1976 said:
I'm not for the Texans drafting a quarterback in the first round this year. I also don't believe Mills is the answer for a young team looking to make a jump in 2023. I'd take Hooker in the second round.
Click to expand...
This is where I'm at except I don't want them to draft a QB at all this year.

Go with Mills this year and if Mills is as bad as most on here thinks he is, then they should be in prime position to pick a better QB in 2024.
 
banned1976 said:
I'm not for the Texans drafting a quarterback in the first round this year. I also don't believe Mills is the answer for a young team looking to make a jump in 2023. I'd take Hooker in the second round.
Click to expand...
This is fair. And then there's the question that even if Mills did turnaround and eventually live up to full potential of being Derek Carr-esque or Matt Ryan-esque (normal Matt Ryan years, not his outlier MVP-like seasons in 2016 & 2018) of peak Schwaub type player, would it be enough?

But then again, I have the same questions for this QB class so it's really a matter of talent evaluation. What is the upside/downside risk of drafting Young vs. not getting a stud cornerstone talent elsewhere and not being able to move off that new high lottery QB easily. This is a very tough call this year because there's is no consensus top QB. Developmental QB with upside like Hooker or Richardson makes the most sense to me for the right price and assess as you go.
 
Last edited:
I'm just wondering if any of the guys that are talking **** about Mills ever played QB themselves.

Have any of you ever focused so much on not making a mistake, that you end up making more mistakes? Lovie and Pep were so focused on not making mistakes, that Mills seemed to play so tight that he couldn't avoid making mistakes. When he was let loose to just play, he looked like a decent QB. I put a lot of Mills regression on coaching. Can new coaching fix him? I don't know.

A lot of people were complaining about Mills checking down after his first read. They seemed to forget that many people were complaining about Pep having Mills go to his checkdown quickly after his first read in training camp. They seem to blame Mills for the very thing they were frustrated with Pep about in training camp. Is Mills stuck like that? Can new coaching fix him? I don't know.

All I know is Mills was better his rookie year. A better coaching staff may be able to fix his issues, and turn him into a decent NFL starter. Maybe not. Either way, I would rather roll with Mills and a Veteran QB, than take one of the QB's in the 1st round this year.
 
Man I’m getting a top quarterback this year. I’m not waiting until the 2nd , 3rd or 4th round. And I’m most definitely not waiting until 2024. Lol no freaking way. You pain freaking like to see ugly ash quarterback play.
 
banned1976 said:
The advanced stats show Mills performance declined in 2022. TD% was down from 2021 in 2022, int% was up. QBR was down as was rate (by 10 points). His sack% was down by over 1%, his pressure percentage was up from 2021 (20.9) and 2022 (23.6). The pressure worked as he was tied for most interceptions in 2022. He'll likely be pressured even more in 2023.

Are we looking at a trend for Mills? Opponents had more film on him in 2022. They'll have even more in 2023.
Click to expand...
No disputing this, but why? And is it fixable with different coaching?
 
Number19 said:
No disputing this, but why? And is it fixable with different coaching?
Click to expand...
We saw Daniel Jones & Tua Tagovailoa improve drastically with new coaching. Some people were talking MVP & Tua in the same sentence.

I don’t care what happens to Mills. I didn’t even want them to draft him. But I’m still confused as to who they think Mills is. Why they drafted him. If they thought they were drafting a starting QB they shouldn’t be ready to move on. Not based off the last two years.
 
steelbtexan said:
If a 3rd QB has to play then your team usually sucks.
Click to expand...
I'm not too concerned about the W-L DeMeco's first season. We need to think long term and getting the QB settled is a priority. If the decision were made to roll with Mills, the decision would be made with an eye on the '24 QB's, if that were to be necessary. Another question would be QB2. I think you favor signing a FA. I'd rather have my third day pick have that backup role, or at least competing for the position with a jag FA. I'd want the jag to be #3.
 
Texansphan said:
Now I would say yes, but people on this board clearly were not touting him a couple of years ago. Was he even a starter then, or just a backup?
Click to expand...
He was a starter once.
He can be at least a veteran stop-gap QB similar to Tyrod Taylor.
And he came cheaper than Taylor.
 
ben.aires.smith said:
And this is why you have the divide on this forum and elsewhere: 1 camp just looks at the bottom line and screams "Mills sucks, Mills is trash", and the other side sees a potential fixable outcome because Mills makes hard throws fairly consistently with receiver core that is below average... Not sure if processing is fixable or not to get to a point of startability. But there's no question about the arm talent. So the divide will continue until Mills leaves the organization, gets another shot to prove or disprove the better coaching/talent thesis or a clear upgrade is acquired.
Click to expand...

No, the divide comes when you have people lobbying so hard for players that aren't good. All these excuses with words like better coaching or fixable, I just don't get the need to push for and get behind guys like that. There's much better than Davis Mills out there, regardless of coaching, fixability or whatever other excuses you want to make.

Pep Hamilton was promoted to OC so that Mills would have some familiarity. It didn't work. In fact, he appeared to regress. He's not good.
 
ben.aires.smith said:
And this is why you have the divide on this forum and elsewhere: 1 camp just looks at the bottom line and screams "Mills sucks, Mills is trash", and the other side sees a potential fixable outcome because Mills makes hard throws fairly consistently with receiver core that is below average... Not sure if processing is fixable or not to get to a point of startability. But there's no question about the arm talent. So the divide will continue until Mills leaves the organization, gets another shot to prove or disprove the better coaching/talent thesis or a clear upgrade is acquired.
Click to expand...

Speedy said:
No, the divide comes when you have people lobbying so hard for players that aren't good. All these excuses with words like better coaching or fixable, I just don't get the need to push for and get behind guys like that. There's much better than Davis Mills out there, regardless of coaching, fixability or whatever other excuses you want to make.

Pep Hamilton was promoted to OC so that Mills would have some familiarity. It didn't work. In fact, he appeared to regress. He's not good.
Click to expand...

There is also a group of people that want Mills do the teams sucks enough to have a chance at Williams or Maye.

I am good with whatever Demeco decides.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JB
Speedy said:
No, the divide comes when you have people lobbying so hard for players that aren't good. All these excuses with words like better coaching or fixable, I just don't get the need to push for and get behind guys like that. There's much better than Davis Mills out there, regardless of coaching, fixability or whatever other excuses you want to make.

Pep Hamilton was promoted to OC so that Mills would have some familiarity. It didn't work. In fact, he appeared to regress. He's not good.
Click to expand...
I'm not pushing especially hard for Mills. I've repeatedly stated I want to draft a QB this year and would love to draft a high lottery QB if there was one worth taking. But I and other understand the context in this situation, which remains why there's such a divide here. There's many historical example of such context. So, the divide will continue because some people have such views, and some do not.

There is no 'right' side right now, only opinion. Accepting the chances of Mills starting once more doesn't necessarily mean you think he's the guy or he's the franchise QB. It could mean a multitude of other things, like not wanting the team to hitch the train Stroud/Young, for example.
 
vtech9 said:
I'm just wondering if any of the guys that are talking **** about Mills ever played QB themselves.

All I know is Mills was better his rookie year. A better coaching staff may be able to fix his issues, and turn him into a decent NFL starter. Maybe not. Either way, I would rather roll with Mills and a Veteran QB, than take one of the QB's in the 1st round this year.
Click to expand...

Yes he was but Once teams had more game film on mills he got exposed
 
Decim8 said:
Yes he was but Once teams had more game film on mills he got exposed
Click to expand...
Mills" rookie stats were inflated by garbage time and the bad defenses he played against or when a team was depleted by Covid protocol.

It's the reason when I scout QBs, I put more stock on the defense they faced.

Back then I said Wilson, Cousins, and Keenum saw plenty of pressures and they performed quite well under duress.
It's the number one thing I look at when I scout the QB prospects.
 
76Texan said:
Mills" rookie stats were inflated by garbage time and the bad defenses he played against or when a team was depleted by Covid protocol.

It's the reason when I scout QBs, I put more stock on the defense they faced.

Back then I said Wilson, Cousins, and Keenum saw plenty of pressures and they performed quite well under duress.
It's the number one thing I look at when I scout the QB prospects.
Click to expand...
Why don't any of the football people/teams/scouting services recognize your humble genius?
 
Decim8 said:
Yes he was but Once teams had more game film on mills he got exposed
Click to expand...
It had nothing to do with game film. Mills came out this year and was just inaccurate. When he was accurate, he had guys like Cooks dropping balls. Mills was in his own head early on in the season, trying to do what Pep kept drilling him to do. One read, then check down. One read, then check down. Don't make mistakes. Don't make mistakes. When the ish gets pounded into you head, that all you think about. If you are trying not to make a mistake so hard, you end up making mistakes, because mistakes is all you are thinking about, and you are so stiff, that you can't even do what comes naturally to you anymore.

I'm not saying Mills can be fixed. I don't know if he can. Still, I'd rather give the new coaches a chance to see what he can become before I throw him away. I'd like to bring in a Vet QB to compete with Mills, and draft a late round prospect like Haener. Maybe take Hooker in the 4th, and let him sit for a year.

What I don't want is to draft a QB in the top 15, (or Young until at least the 3rd round - size matters). There are too many questions about these QB's to take one of them in the top 15. If I thought any of them had the skills of Mahomes, I might take a swing on them higher, but I don't see it. Levis has the best arm in this draft, but he has so many questions that I wouldn't take him before pick 20. Stroud looks good with the best talent around him, but was one of the worst QB's when pressured. I might take him around 15, and give him half a year to sit and learn, and see if he has what it takes. Richardson seems to have all of the skills, but is extremely raw. I'd take him late 1st top of the 2nd, and let him sit and learn until he is ready.

Where we are picking (1.2 and 1.12) I think we need to fill other wholes. It's not so much that I think Mills can be fixed, that it is we need to fix so many other things instead of taking Tiny Tim or one of the other QB's with those picks. If we can trade back and get a couple more picks next year to help us trade up and get Williams or Maye, if needed, then I'm all good with that.
 
76Texan said:
Mills" rookie stats were inflated by garbage time and the bad defenses he played against or when a team was depleted by Covid protocol.

It's the reason when I scout QBs, I put more stock on the defense they faced.

Back then I said Wilson, Cousins, and Keenum saw plenty of pressures and they performed quite well under duress.
It's the number one thing I look at when I scout the QB prospects.
Click to expand...
Then you must really not like Stroud
 
Decim8 said:
Yes he was but Once teams had more game film on mills he got exposed
Click to expand...

Mills played QB in 13 games in 2021......exactly how much game film did they need to expose him? He had 8 games on film for DC's before he exposed defenses over last 5 games, not to mention the nice game he had against the Patriots before he hit those final 5 games. If teams were going to expose him, it would've happened before the final 5 games of the 2021 season.

Worst thing for a rookie QB with 22 starts under his belt between CFB and the NFL is to dump the staff (it had to be done regardless....it shouldn't have been Lovie in the first place) and bring in a new playbook and an ultra conservative approach. It didn't help that Collins went out with an injury and Cooks quit on the team. As for Cooks, he wasn't taking the tops off any defenses in 2022 like he had done in 2021. Mills had a lot of bad throws, but it's somewhat expected by a 2nd year QB in a new system. Not an excuse but simply an observation.

Mills has an NFL arm and can fire lasers when needed. He did toss 15 picks, but he also tossed 17 TD's.....a good with the bad scenario. The biggest issue with Mills was the Texans organization and coaching staff. He had no business stepping onto an NFL in 2021. Texans should've had (2) veterans while Mills ran the scout team for at least a season......on the other hand, that might've gave him a tremendous amount of confidence. Ryans stated for the record, "We have to add more to that position. The quarterback is one piece to a team ". That statement in no way isolated Davis Mills, but at the position in general. Everything posted by members has been speculation including my post(s). Mills and the drafted QB must have a veteran to lean on in 2023....my choice would be Jimmy Garoppolo b/c of his knowledge of the offense Ryans may be bringing to the Texans. Jimmy G would be a great mentor for both Mills and the new QB, and a sound starter until his annual injury happens. Hopefully that wouldn't happen inside the 8th game of the season b/c those starts would be excellent for Mills or the new QB.

The Texans have never gotten this right, but this opportunity is finally presenting itself at the right time, and with a new staff coming on board. Maybe this time they'll get it right.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top