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[Pick 67] Davis Mills QB Stanford

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
It’s amazing to me on how people flip flop around here. Not everyone but a few so if the shoe doesn’t fit, then this doesn’t apply to you.

Mills biggest issues other than experience is he locks onto his receivers and he does not go through his progressions when he has the time. None of the experts pointed that out. It’s strange to me because they would always point these type of things out whenever the quitter (4) did those things. One member hasn’t shown up to bash Mills for these glaring issues like they would do if that joker #4 was playing.
If you're talking about me, I didn't bash him his rookie yr and didn't start to question him until mid way through yr 2. By the end of yr 3 I was convinced he wasn't the guy to bring a championship to Kirby.

BTW, do you mean like saying Mills made a bad throw on the 2nd int or needing to learn how to call out the correct protections better type critical?
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Mills had a good developmental game under the constant stress of the blitz. His pocket completely collapsed on more occasions than I’d care to count. The sacks were insanely fast but I did see Mills maneuver enough in the pocket to pop free of the blitz and still throw a quick-hit pass. I saw him make some nice passes and throw some INT’s.

I think the Texans have a QB1, in Mills, that they should be excited to build around. OL and RB’s have to be addressed over the next 2 seasons in the draft.

The OL is full of powder-puffs, albeit Britt, and this has to change. This OL needs athletes with a nasty demeanor and an absolute desire of wanting to destroy the player in front of him.

Texans had a few decent runs against the Colts defense but overall same ol’ story for the last 6 weeks. What a difference in watching Taylor pop through the initial wave with nice vision and a minor shift. A healthy Colts OL will allow him to have plenty of nice games ahead. The Texans running game lacks vision and burst…..how much of that should be attributed to the OL….hard to say.
I'm hoping Heck can grow into an above avg RT. then this offseason Caserio re-signs Britt and finds a way to get 2 maulers at the OG spots. It's looking like Howard and Scharping are busts.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Who wants to see him fail?? Just because there's those who think he's not the 2nd coming of Joe Montana doesn't mean anybody wants him to fail.

The problem is those that give him all this high praise, gets countered with people bringing in a shot of reality, and it's taken as being too negative or wanting him to fail. That's bullshit.

He had a good game Sunday. He had one of the worst games in NFL history the week before that. The worst QBs have good games, and the best have bad games. He's had 1 great start, a decent start and a really bad start. Let's see if he can start stringing together some decent to good starts, and see how that goes.



This may be the dumbest post I've read here in a while. And that's saying something.
I agree that this is a learning experience and learning takes time.

This was far from the dumbest post, in fact for some posters this was a very accurate post.

Anyways, Rome wasn't built in a day.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
If you're talking about me, I didn't bash him his rookie yr and didn't start to question him until mid way through yr 2. By the end of yr 3 I was convinced he wasn't the guy to bring a championship to Kirby.

BTW, do you mean like saying Mills made a bad throw on the 2nd int or needing to learn how to call out the correct protections better type critical?
BTW every year you and a few others kept saying he doesn’t know how to read the defense. How he never went through his progressions. Could not throw in tight windows. Always looking for the home run/ hero plays. Holding onto the ball too long. And how he wasn’t a leader.

Did you see Mills trying to rally his troops in either of these games. He’s a rookie and I like what I’m seeing. But to keep it 100, my observations are right on que.
 

vtech9

All Pro
BTW every year you and a few others kept saying he doesn’t know how to read the defense. How he never went through his progressions. Could not throw in tight windows. Always looking for the home run/ hero plays. Holding onto the ball too long. And how he wasn’t a leader.

Did you see Mills trying to rally his troops in either of these games. He’s a rookie and I like what I’m seeing. But to keep it 100, my observations are right on que.
I'll respond to this. I complained about WD40 holding onto the ball too long from the start. I said he always looked for the big play first, and I stand by it. I also always said he has the talent to be great, but.... There was always that "but". I still say WD40 would not go through his progressions until he was forced to give up on the big play.

Mills has a lot of confidence in himself, but he doesn't yet have the confidence to get in his guys face, and call them out for mistakes and poor play. He still has a long way to go, but he is better than what I thought he would be. He still needs to learn when to fire the ball in, and when to put touch on the ball. His 1st Int was a bad read. His 2nd Int was a good read, but the wrong type of pass. On the 2nd Int, he tried to fire it in, and beat the CB, but he should have put a little air on it instead.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
P
Spin? Facts.
You have to expect a transition with a rookie QB.
How did Peyton Manning go his first season?
This team is in full rebuild mode with a rookie HC and Mills himself has had what - 15-16 game starts since high school?
Personally, I say we keep looking at him and take our lumps.
Please stop bring up Manning's rookie season.
It has been pointed out numerous times that it doesn't make sense on so many levels.
 

OptimisticTexan

2024 / Rebuilding Block 4 After Playoffs / Texans
BTW every year you and a few others kept saying he doesn’t know how to read the defense. How he never went through his progressions. Could not throw in tight windows. Always looking for the home run/ hero plays. Holding onto the ball too long. And how he wasn’t a leader.

Did you see Mills trying to rally his troops in either of these games. He’s a rookie and I like what I’m seeing. But to keep it 100, my observations are right on que.
Hands down…..Watson was the best QB1 that the Texans “never” properly built a team around. Watson easily ducked this up on his own with his trade demand and subsequently being named in 22 sexual misconduct allegations.

The sad part, even if he had never made a trade demand…….the sexual misconduct situation was going to come forward and put a halt to everything anyways.

On a side note, I know the Texans organization definitely had to know about what was going on in Watson’s private world and it still blows my mind that they rushed to get him a new contract without holding his private life over his head. It’d be like; hey, we’re prepared to give you this but you are going to clean up your personal life before we move forward. If Watson refused…..Texans could’ve got a king’s ransom at that time. Problem; OB wasn’t a huge fan of draft picks supposedly and that might’ve been an issue to all its own. How’d it get to this, Cal and OB were taking care of getting him re-signed….case closed.
 

vtech9

All Pro
P

Please stop bring up Manning's rookie season.
It has been pointed out numerous times that it doesn't make sense on so many levels.
How does it not make sense? Manning was a rookie wasn't he? His team wasn't very good his rookie year. The team got better, so Manning was able to show how good he really was. Right now, the Texans team sucks. When the team improves, who's to say Mills won't also improve?

Nobody is trying to say that Mills is the next Manning. They are simply saying that even a HOFer had a bad rookie season, and not to count out Mills because we really haven't seen what he can be with a good team.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
After high school the guy only makes 12 starts in college and then suddenly is starting in the NFL. If he contracts the Carr Syndrome, and we ruin him, then it's not like its a huge waste considering he's a 3rd round pick. Whether he ever makes it or not isn't going to affect the Texans future anyway. Unless he suddenly becomes a MacHomes or something. LOL
I don’t see him getting Carred. As poorly as the OL plays, he’s not taking many bad hits. Like against New England, two of his three sacks was him trying to play Houdini out on the edge, turning back in & running into Judon, who simply grabbed him & pulled him down.

He’s not getting whacked unexpectedly but on a few occasions. The kids pretty smart & aware of what’s going on.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
BTW every year you and a few others kept saying he doesn’t know how to read the defense. How he never went through his progressions. Could not throw in tight windows. Always looking for the home run/ hero plays. Holding onto the ball too long. And how he wasn’t a leader.

Did you see Mills trying to rally his troops in either of these games. He’s a rookie and I like what I’m seeing. But to keep it 100, my observations are right on que.
What I said from the beginning was Derrick struggled to throw with accuracy and anticipation. Then he tore it up his rookie yr. He didn't struggle to read defenses because BOB ran a version of the Clemson offense and at the time I said I missed on my eval of Derrick. By the middle of his 2nd yr defenses figured him out (They had to be talented defenses like you see in the playoffs.) and he couldn't or wouldn't make the necessary adjustments. The book on Derrick was rush the DE's in a wide 9 style defense and make Derrick take the short/intermediate stuff all the way down the field. Also throw in an occasional Blitz to keep him thinking.

He did hold onto the ball too long looking for the homerun ball. If Mills is making the same mistakes he's making as a rookie towards the latter part of his 2nd yr, you can bet I will be every bit as critical of him as I was of Carr/Derrick. I wasn't critical of Schaub because he knew the offense/could read defenses and threw with accuracy/anticipation. He just didn't have the are or ability to evade the rush in the NFL.
 
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OptimisticTexan

2024 / Rebuilding Block 4 After Playoffs / Texans
What I said from the beginning was Derrick struggled to throw with accuracy and anticipation. Then he tore it up his rookie yr. He didn't struggle to read defenses because BOB ran a version of the Clemson offense and at the time I said I missed on my eval of Derrick. By the middle of his 2nd yr defenses figured him out (They had to be talented defenses like you see in the playoffs.) and he couldn't or wouldn't make the necessary adjustments. The book on Derrick was rush the DE's in a wide 9 style defense and make Derrick take the short/intermediate stuff all the way down the field. Also throw in an occasional Blitz to keep him thinking.
We’ve said it many times but OB chose not to build on the success Watson had in his rookie season. Instead, OB didn’t modify anything but did demand Watson learn his offense as created by himself. OB the inflexible authoritarian lost out on his chance for success.

Of course this is where we bring up the polar opposite. Reid drafted Mahomes and actually had him sit and observe how Smith operated the Chiefs offense…which was tailored to him. When Mahomes was given the reins, Reid modified his offense to fit his skill-set. Mahomes should be forever grateful.
 

Number19

Hall of Fame
OL, the QB usually points out the middle LB and sets the protection. Or atleast that's what the QB did in the BOB offense that they are apparently still running.
OK. But it's usually the OC who makes these calls. Have we actually heard anything that indicates Mills is making this call? I would think with a vet at center, it would be Britt making the calls.

This would be a good question to ask during a press interview.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
I'll respond to this. I complained about WD40 holding onto the ball too long from the start. I said he always looked for the big play first, and I stand by it. I also always said he has the talent to be great, but.... There was always that "but". I still say WD40 would not go through his progressions until he was forced to give up on the big play.

Mills has a lot of confidence in himself, but he doesn't yet have the confidence to get in his guys face, and call them out for mistakes and poor play. He still has a long way to go, but he is better than what I thought he would be. He still needs to learn when to fire the ball in, and when to put touch on the ball. His 1st Int was a bad read. His 2nd Int was a good read, but the wrong type of pass. On the 2nd Int, he tried to fire it in, and beat the CB, but he should have put a little air on it instead.
I didn’t say call anyone out. I said rally the troops and basically pump them up . I’ve seen Murray do it as a rookie and Mahomas do it in his first year starting. Jackson did it as soon as he started in his rookie year. Why because they can not stand losing.

This was a constant knock on Watson from several of the top members on here. They would always watch him and breakdown his entire mannerism on the sidelines.
 
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Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
Nobody is trying to say that Mills is the next Manning. They are simply saying that even a HOFer had a bad rookie season
Peyton Manning set numerous rookie records that stood for over a decade. His "bad" season would be some QBs career year.
 

Texazan

Our HOF 34
Its always funny when posters get in a rush to be right about a player failing or succeeding. I haven't seen enough to say either way but I do know the talent around him is not great. The coaching is not great. For now I'm not going to get too high or low on Mills. I hope he succeeds but then again I wasn't too concerned with using our 3rd on him.
 

sandman

Brexit Advisor
Its always funny when posters get in a rush to be right about a player failing or succeeding. I haven't seen enough to say either way but I do know the talent around him is not great. The coaching is not great. For now I'm not going to get too high or low on Mills. I hope he succeeds but then again I wasn't too concerned with using our 3rd on him.
Winning an internet sports message board argument is some people's Superb Owl...
 

TexansBull

Hall of Fame
I didn’t say call anyone out. I sad rally the troops and basically pump them up . I’ve seen Murray do it as a rookie and Mahomas do it in his first year starting. Jackson did it as soon as he started in his rookie year. Why because they can not stand losing.

This was constant knock on Watson from several of the top members on here. They would always watch him and breakdown his entire mannerism on the sidelines.
Top members?

We have those?

I haven’t seen any.
 

sandman

Brexit Advisor
I didn’t say call anyone out. I said rally the troops and basically pump them up . I’ve seen Murray do it as a rookie and Mahomas do it in his first year starting. Jackson did it as soon as he started in his rookie year. Why because they can not stand losing.

This was a constant knock on Watson from several of the top members on here. They would always watch him and breakdown his entire mannerism on the sidelines.
There are plenty of players with rings and in the HOF that didn't scream and cheerlead up and down the sideline. This behavior and not wanting to lose are not mutually inclusive.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
There are plenty of players with rings and in the HOF that didn't scream and cheerlead up and down the sideline. This behavior and not wanting to lose are not mutually inclusive.
Trust me I know, but like I said a few members on here and one of the gents that liked your comment, knocked the heck out Watson for not doing. Said he wasn’t a leader.

When are they going hold everyone to the same standards?
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Trust me I know, but like I said a few members on here and one of the gents that liked your comment, knocked the heck out Watson for not doing. Said he wasn’t a leader.

When are they going hold everyone to the same standards?
Obviously he wasn't a leader.

He may become a leader in the prison yd.

Getting back to the team as it exists today. I think there's a good chance that 3 yrs from now the leaders will be Mills/Cooks/Tunsil/Greenard/KGH and a bunch of drafted players.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
I counter 6 or 7 balls bouncing off his receivers and 5 because he and his receivers were not on the same page (mostly Marvin Harrison).
Those alone would have brought the numbers right in line with at least the average QB of that time.
Then consider that he led the league in pass attempts, his defense was 29th both in points allowed and yards allowed; his Oline consisted of a rookie, a 1-yr player that was younger than the rookie, a 2-yr man, a former 9-th Rd pick journeyman two years removed from his last game in the NFL, and a guy playing the last year of his career.

I said he played very well under the circumstances.

Also, I saw at least 6 balls that his receivers lost in the battle for position.

Then you have cases where they were behind and Manning tried a bit too hard to make a play.
This is Manning's rookie season.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
How does it not make sense? Manning was a rookie wasn't he? His team wasn't very good his rookie year. The team got better, so Manning was able to show how good he really was. Right now, the Texans team sucks. When the team improves, who's to say Mills won't also improve?

Nobody is trying to say that Mills is the next Manning. They are simply saying that even a HOFer had a bad rookie season, and not to count out Mills because we really haven't seen what he can be with a good team.
See the posts that I pulled above.

That's not even counting that the rules back then were very different from today's.

Today, the QBs are protected like babies.
 
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76Texan

Hall of Fame
How does it not make sense? Manning was a rookie wasn't he? His team wasn't very good his rookie year. The team got better, so Manning was able to show how good he really was. Right now, the Texans team sucks. When the team improves, who's to say Mills won't also improve?

Nobody is trying to say that Mills is the next Manning. They are simply saying that even a HOFer had a bad rookie season, and not to count out Mills because we really haven't seen what he can be with a good team.

Peyton ranked third in yards and fifth in TDs in the whole league.

His TD/INT ratio is roughly average.

If you want to make a comparison, at least do one with his contemporaries, and not from different eras.
 

vtech9

All Pro
Peyton Manning set numerous rookie records that stood for over a decade. His "bad" season would be some QBs career year.
He set 5 rookie records. He set the rookie record for most TDs, but also set the record for most INTs. His other records were for completions, passing attempts, and yards. He also had Marvin Harrison and Marshall Faulk on that team. They still only won 3 games, and one of those was against the bust, Ryan Leaf. Funny enough though, Manning still holds the rookie record for most interceptions thrown.
 

SnakeEyes

Under NRG
This team has a rental coach and half the roster is a rental.

Let's see if Davis Mills is a permanent solution
He is starting to look like he has the ability to be. I can't blame 1 INT on him. The other I can. No TDs is the play calling. Kelly again took our TEs out of the game, only used for blocking 90% or something like that. And the OL was missing some good players. Now, the D wasn't up to the job this week
 

SnakeEyes

Under NRG

Peyton ranked third in yards and fifth in TDs in the whole league.

His TD/INT ratio is roughly average.

If you want to make a comparison, at least do one with his contemporaries, and not from different eras.
Not saying he is Manning, Brady, Aikman... But he is showing up and getting better, even in a loss. And as far as TD/INT and yards, the season is not over (just likely any playoffs).
 

OptimisticTexan

2024 / Rebuilding Block 4 After Playoffs / Texans
Obviously he wasn't a leader.

He may become a leader in the prison yd.

Getting back to the team as it exists today. I think there's a good chance that 3 yrs from now the leaders will be Mills/Cooks/Tunsil/Greenard/KGH and a bunch of drafted players.
The picks I get from trading Tunsil and Cooks as well as the picks from the trade of Watson would be combined with Mills, Greenard, KGH to become the new young leaders of the Texans. Hopefully this starts in 2022 versus 3 years from now.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
The picks I get from trading Tunsil and Cooks as well as the picks from the trade of Watson would be combined with Mills, Greenard, KGH to become the new young leaders of the Texans. Hopefully this starts in 2022 versus 3 years from now.
Even if everything went right in your rebuild it still is going to be 3 yrs before they are contenders.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
I dont really care what other teams do.

I'm just going to enjoy the ride as Mills improves.

I cant wait until Mills gets Collins/Amendola back. It's looking like Caserio may have found his QB.
Well, I'm quoting you here.
A few posts earlier, you even said that the future looks bright.
What could it mean, I wonder!
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Well, I'm quoting you here.
A few posts earlier, you even said that the future looks bright.
What could it mean, I wonder!
It means I'm going to enjoy the ride and I cant wait to see howMills does when he gets his weapons back.

How do you expect Mills to look the next couple of weeks when the 2 teams they're playing are a combined 11-1?

I think he will continue to improve, but I certainly dont think the Texans will win. One thing I'm sure of is you will be hyper critical and you will never be wrong.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
How do you expect Mills to look the next couple of weeks when the 2 teams they're playing are a combined 11-1?

I think he will continue to improve, but I certainly dont think the Texans will win.
What would you consider an improvement?

Less than 2 INTs per game? At least 1 TD per game? An improved passer rating? QBR? DVOA?

I can't imagine what tangible improvement we're likely to see over the next two games.
 

Number19

Hall of Fame
What would you consider an improvement?

Less than 2 INTs per game? At least 1 TD per game? An improved passer rating? QBR? DVOA?

I can't imagine what tangible improvement we're likely to see over the next two games.
Its more the intangibles. How he handles the pressure. He doesn't need to show improvement, especially against this level of competition. He just doesn't need to take an obvious step backwards; to regress.
 

steelbtexan

King of the W. B. Club
Contributor's Club
Its more the intangibles. How he handles the pressure. He doesn't need to show improvement, especially against this level of competition. He just doesn't need to take an obvious step backwards; to regress.
I'll bet this wont be 76's answer.
 

76Texan

Hall of Fame
It means I'm going to enjoy the ride and I cant wait to see howMills does when he gets his weapons back.

How do you expect Mills to look the next couple of weeks when the 2 teams they're playing are a combined 11-1?

I think he will continue to improve, but I certainly dont think the Texans will win. One thing I'm sure of is you will be hyper critical and you will never be wrong.
In another word, you're saying Mills has the ability to be better than Schaub, but if it doesn't materialize, he's not your guy? :)
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Its more the intangibles. How he handles the pressure. He doesn't need to show improvement, especially against this level of competition. He just doesn't need to take an obvious step backwards; to regress.
So as long as he doesn't play as poorly as he did against Buffalo, in Buffalo, in bad weather then we're going to believe he improved?
 

IDEXAN

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
OK so I dunno, where are we at on the evaluation on young Mr. Mills ?
Is the sample size getting large enough yet to begin drawing some conclusions ?
I don't think he thru a single pass downfield, on like a deep fly pattern once yesterday, as it's really tough to do when there's so much incoming: the Oline was just getting overwhelmed again.
 
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