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Ryan Mallett (Houston, We Have A Monster)
- Thread starter 417Texan
- Start date
The Pencil Neck
Hall of Fame
Brett wrote that up the week of the trade. It was posted in at least one of the other threads.
It's a really good write-up and it confirmed what I thought I was seeing when I looked at his limited tape. It's also a big part of why I was so pumped and so expecting to see Mallett earlier.
It's a really good write-up and it confirmed what I thought I was seeing when I looked at his limited tape. It's also a big part of why I was so pumped and so expecting to see Mallett earlier.
417Texan
Waterboy
Sorry I missed that thread. It is amazing what a Qb with talent,yes raw but talented can do.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...pats-ryan-mallett-is-a-legitimate-starting-qb
******
Gotta say it here, it looks like Mayock nailed it months ago. Check the video @ the 2:40 mark and you can see & hear him on the record.
He definitely looked like a legit starter in game 1. I'm excited, I'm pumped, I'm ecstatic.... I think the Texans are going to make a strong push to sign him before FA... & I think/hope Mallet would see his chances of greatness is better here than not.
But I'm still going to scrutinize his games from here on out. May seem a little unfair, but it is what it is.
I think it's fair and I see him as the type to look at every mistake he did and try to correct it for the next game. I hope he learned from Brady to leave no stone unturned.
I'm excited.
Playoffs
Hall of Fame
Ryan Mallett/Houston Texans
WEEK 11 vs. CLE: W, 23-7 NEXT: 11/23 vs. CIN
WEEK 11 CMP: 20 ATT: 30 YDS: 211 PCT: 66.7 TD: 2 INT: 1
WHAT YOU MISSED
FINAL ANALYSIS
How many more games like Sunday does Mallett need to have before Rick Smith goes looking for Mallett's agent ?
badboy
Hall of Fame
He had a good game not a great one, let's chill on contract until we know what we have. He isn't going anywhere for quite a while and we should not run to the alter with the first kiss.
EllisUnit
Vote RED!!!
Mallett gets us to the play-offs and i have a feeling he will get a pretty good deal.
EllisUnit
Vote RED!!!
You know what they say "What happens in Vegas......"
badboy
Hall of Fame
until someone offers a tv contract. lol
eriadoc
Texan-American
Tell Rick Smith, not us. He's the one handing out contract extensions prematurely.
Brisco_County
Apples and roadmaps
I could go the rest of my life without ever again hearing that Apollo 11 quote and its variations.
It's obvious that O'Brien has known the whole time what he has in Mallet. He was well positioned to know. So signing Fitz and drafting Savage weren't just fallbacks in case he couldn't acquire Mallet, they also took away leverage from the Patriots and forced them to deal for cheap.
So why did O'Brien wait this long before starting Mallet? Because Fitz signed up to be given the chance to start, and he won that, and O'Brien had to be fair. Credibility matters.
It's obvious that O'Brien has known the whole time what he has in Mallet. He was well positioned to know. So signing Fitz and drafting Savage weren't just fallbacks in case he couldn't acquire Mallet, they also took away leverage from the Patriots and forced them to deal for cheap.
So why did O'Brien wait this long before starting Mallet? Because Fitz signed up to be given the chance to start, and he won that, and O'Brien had to be fair. Credibility matters.
I bet you can't.
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
More than that, he needs to have credibility with the entire team... and, yanking a veteran QB who has led a team who lost 14 games in a row to a winning record (until two weeks ago) would have been problematic (especially for an unproven player who joined the team after training camp). Then, if Mallett struggled and they lost a couple winnable games, it could have been very costly for Mallett's development, the teams trust of O'Brien, etc... It was a well-timed move, even if the delay ends up preventing a playoff birth (so to speak). This isn't a Superbowl year but a foundation being created for Superbowl-caliber teams.
I am freakin' thrilled with the direction of this team and think O'Brien is becoming an elite NFL head coach.
I am trying to remain cautious regarding Ryan Mallett. However, it is difficult not to believe we have our future QB... I've seen lots of people caution against premature excitement, reminding one another about Keenum's first start. It was exciting to see Keenum play QB and definitely brought some energy and life to the offense and made things interesting at home. However, he was a Cinderella story, and it was going to take a couple years to play out before we would know if he had the intangibles to overcome his physical limitations (particularly his height).
With Ryan Mallett, we have a prototype physical talent at QB. Not only does he have the size, strength, motion, etc... of an NFL QB, but he had an impressive college resume' playing in a pro style offense in the SEC. Add to that resume' three years with the Patriots' staff and studying under Tom Brady... So, I didn't need to see if his arm strength was adequate or whether he could find a throwing lane... Instead, I think most of us wondered what his mental processing speed would be in an NFL game... and, would he be poised in the huddle? Would he be poised in the pocket? Could he look off his primary receiver? Could he get rid of the ball and do so accurately? How would his teammates respond to his leadership? Could he emotionally handle the pressure of starting in the NFL?... and finally- does he have some issue playing the position that isn't common knowledge which has kept him in relative obscurity the past few years?
Though one game is a very small sample size, it was a resounding answer to all of those questions, not because he played perfectly or his stats were gaudy, but because he proved to be very competent with every tangible and intangible skill/task a QB is expected to perform. He looked like he belonged and the game was not too fast for him nor was the stage too big for him. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out over the next six weeks... Honestly, I am more nervous of a Ron Dayne incident occurring than I am nervous that Mallett will end up being less than a good NFL starting QB.
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
badboy
Hall of Fame
I responded to IDtexan whose post indicated Smith should sign him immediately. Reading that post now maybe he was being sarcastic?
badboy
Hall of Fame
nah all about keeping it to a 7th round pick.
I think this was the biggest issue. He may have felt really good about Mallet, but you never know, until you know. & the team was close to being a winning team with Fitz... getting on that QB carousel would have set us back.
I wish that OB started Mallet sooner, I said so many times, got pretty close to making some pink soap... but I understand the reality of being the guy who has to make that decision. I can understand where he was coming from & I respect him for saying he doesn't regret not starting Mallett sooner. He made a decision, right or wrong, it is what it is... no time for regrets. It's about tomorrow, not three weeks ago.
Rick Smith should have been talking to Mallett's agent back before we heard the rumors about trade talks. I think we're all going to be surprised by the contract we sign him to.
I think a Josh Gordon type of contract should have been offered to him already, two years, $10M... or some multiple @$5M/yr (three for $15M, four for $20M, etc... ) & he must have turned it down.
I wouldn't be surprised if a Matt Schaub's first contract kind of deal were floated to him..... $8M/yr six years. But I can't imagine him being so confident to think he'll not only play well, but make it through the season without some kind of injury to turn down $8M/yr.
I wouldn't be comfortable giving Mallett a contract like that after 7 games, but we gave it to Schaub sight unseen. & that was seven years ago, so today's dollars might be $11M/yr...
But that's up to OB & Rick. After seeing him in this offense just that one time makes me wish we had more than 7 games to see how good he can be.
xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
Texan_Bill
Hall of Fame
Maybe I missed the joke...... *ahem* 13?
11, 13 ... whatever it takes.
corytx8
Rookie
That's why I asked "how many games" ? Are you saying if he runs the table this year (starts and plays well in all of the remaining games), you still wouldn't give him a fat contract ? It's a hypothetical question, that's what we do here, not going to cost you anything if you get it wrong because there's no wrong answer.
We traded 2 2nds for Schaub on only a few games
Matt Flynn got a mega deal for one game (stupidly)
If he lights it up for 7 games, yeah I give him a nice contract but not a 100m Dalton contract
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
I wouldn't talk specifics before the last couple games. There's lots of ways to structure deals and I would start batting ideas on that with him. Ultimately shoot to give him a deal with some protection that the team can get out of after 1 year and with escalators to get him paid like a starter if that is what he turns into. So risk a decent signing bonus of $5 mil and next year guaranteed salary of $1. Then on years 2 and 3 have roster bonuses to keep him of about $4 mil with bases of $4 and then $7 and then similar structure with year 4 going to full on starting QB money and the understanding he'll have either proved himself worth a big starting contract by then or will be cut (i.e. actually getting paid under year 4 is unlikely).
Brisco_County
Apples and roadmaps
I'm normally reserved on these things, but his performance in that one game supported everything I had read about him: He is a starter in the NFL.
Consider this observation by Pro Football Focus: "Ryan Mallett's average time per pass attempt was 2.06 seconds vs CLE. Off the charts fast, lowest in the league this week."
And consider that was his first NFL start.
Against a winning team.
We have every reason to be excited about the direction of this team. No wonder we have three different Ryan Mallet threads on page 1. Hell, start five, it's a party now.
Everyone is saying slow down on the Mallett hype because it was only one game and I tend to agree, but the one thing I can say for certainty is that he passed the eye test big time and that's the most important measurement. He looks like a QB out there, makes it look fluid and not painful like Fitz made it look all the time. He has a very nice release which it seems like every QB we've ever had has had a funky release point, and he showed poise and confidence on the sidelines.
I have to say I like where we are heading so far.
I have to say I like where we are heading so far.
ghostlight
Veteran
Well I was waiting for the first game and now I'm on board. The timing should improve and if the running attack does not drop off I'll project a positive future.
Scooter
Funky
i'm going to take the low road and quote phil simms in madden "some people say that having a big arm doesnt matter ... i dont know who those people are but they're wrong". mallett got away with at least a couple passes against the browns with sheer velocity and accelerated release. he got away with a couple more with height and trajectory. that big nasty release is a thing of beauty, and will prove to infinitely more valuable than what we'd seen the first half of the season with shitzpatrick.
these things arent mandatory, little guys can fire it and big guys can have touch - but a giant with a rifle and command of both the huddle and the playbook goes a long way. matthew stafford will never be peyton manning, but i'd still want him on my team ... well that's a lot of what we got. a big ass cannon who knows the system. and knowing the system was huge against the browns. forget the hurry-up, mallett had us in and out of the huddle with around 20 seconds on the clock. that's time to read, audible, test the defense and basically do anything he wants in a calm and collected manner. fitz was on the line at 11 seconds and snapped most plays at 1-3 seconds.
i will dock a couple points however because i saw at least twice that he fired blindly into the flats. both that i'm thinking of went incomplete as way outside. had either been on target they'd be returned to our endzone. command is a great thing, but i get the feeling mallett's going to learn the hard way that some timing routes wont be read so simply on the defense's base alignment.
these things arent mandatory, little guys can fire it and big guys can have touch - but a giant with a rifle and command of both the huddle and the playbook goes a long way. matthew stafford will never be peyton manning, but i'd still want him on my team ... well that's a lot of what we got. a big ass cannon who knows the system. and knowing the system was huge against the browns. forget the hurry-up, mallett had us in and out of the huddle with around 20 seconds on the clock. that's time to read, audible, test the defense and basically do anything he wants in a calm and collected manner. fitz was on the line at 11 seconds and snapped most plays at 1-3 seconds.
i will dock a couple points however because i saw at least twice that he fired blindly into the flats. both that i'm thinking of went incomplete as way outside. had either been on target they'd be returned to our endzone. command is a great thing, but i get the feeling mallett's going to learn the hard way that some timing routes wont be read so simply on the defense's base alignment.
The Pencil Neck
Hall of Fame
I think he might have thrown those away. He read what was there and what was coming and he put them where no one would get them and he wouldn't take a sack. Like you said, if he puts those two outs on target, they're picked.
I don't know for sure, he had a couple of other passes that were a little off target, so maybe those were, too. But at least he didn't float those out there like Schaub did his last couple of years.
Scooter
Funky
that's my hope as well. they were aimed far enough away that he was either very poorly timed, or was tossing them into no man's land intentionally.
i think you nailed my concern with the schaub comment. too many of schaub's interceptions (and pick 6's) were pre-snap reads where he looked one way and then blindly threw the other softly at the sideline or into the flat. schaub had a talent 15-30 yards down the field. the 0-7 yard routes still haunt me.
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xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
OB said mallet made 2 bad decisions on his throws.
speedfreek
All Pro
As a fanbase, we get way to ecstatic over every win and way
too depressive over every loss.
I remember how Keenum started out last year vs. how he ended
up, and that's why I'm just not ready to call "The Texas Hammer"
a franchise guy yet.
Seriously, most of the fans in the entire city (not just this forum)
constantly do this to themselves..
too depressive over every loss.
I remember how Keenum started out last year vs. how he ended
up, and that's why I'm just not ready to call "The Texas Hammer"
a franchise guy yet.
Seriously, most of the fans in the entire city (not just this forum)
constantly do this to themselves..
There is a key difference between how Keenum and Mallett performed. With Mallett we actually won. With Keenum, we never won a single game. Individually, Mallett throws out the ball far faster than Keenum ever did, so he won't find himself in those 10-20+ yard loss scrambles that Keenum bury himself with.
I, like many here, am cautiously optimistic. This was a good team win and Mallet looked better than I thought he would. I figured with Mallet's immobility, and some of the recent bad O-line play, that he would be getting a lot of pressure and giving up a number of sacks. It didn't happen I'm happy to say. With Mallet's quick release, the great O-line play, plus Blue's great day running the rock the Texans played probably their best all around game this year. It sure was one of their more fun games to watch this season so far and I just hope they can keep it going.
As for signing Mallet, he's got at least 6 more games to prove himself. If he gets the Texans to the playoffs or even close I think they try to sign him to a Schaub like deal for 3 or 4 years. If he's mediocre to bad then I think they start looking at another QB in the Draft or FA for next season. Personally, I wasn't a big Mallet fan before the game with Cleveland. Now, he's starting to win me over. I hope he, and the team, can keep it going.
As for signing Mallet, he's got at least 6 more games to prove himself. If he gets the Texans to the playoffs or even close I think they try to sign him to a Schaub like deal for 3 or 4 years. If he's mediocre to bad then I think they start looking at another QB in the Draft or FA for next season. Personally, I wasn't a big Mallet fan before the game with Cleveland. Now, he's starting to win me over. I hope he, and the team, can keep it going.
austins23
Hall of Fame
The 4th down completion to Andre was a rocket. AJ may still have welts on his body from that one!
BullNation4Life
All Pro
Big Tex is a gunslinger. Howitzer for an arm and has all the confidence in the world to use it. I don't think there is a window too small, in his eyes, he can't fit a ball in and with that mentality, he is gonna make mistakes and throw ints. That being said I would much rather him take those chances, hopefully not hurting the Texans, than Fitzpatrick being too scared to throw the ball even when WRs are slightly open.
I like the fact he will use that gun, but we will have to take the bad with the good and hopefully there will be more good than bad.
I am excited to see what he does these next 6 games, especially when Baltimore comes into town. Flacco vs Mallett....cannon vs cannon...
yeah, we learned that Case Keenum is not an an NFL starting QB. (We also learned that some Houston fans wear blinders and are unable to be objective about a home town kid.)
Keenum has NOTHING to do with Ryan Mallett.
And fans can "anoint" whoever we want, because we are fans and we have absolutely no influence on the process. That's the fun of being a fan. No responsibility and no accountability. We get to have fun with it.
That said, I'm a firm believer that Mallett is going to be the Texans starting QB in 2015. I'm not predicting HoF career, but it is obvious that O'Brien has his guy, and it should not surprise anyone when they sign him for a long term deal.
Personally, I'm as excited and optimistic about things as I've been in many, many years. JJ Watt is a Texan for a long time and will be a cornerstone of our defense for years to come. And things are starting to take shape on the offensive side of the ball.
In O'Brien we trust.
Brisco_County
Apples and roadmaps
This is basically where I'm at. It wasn't just Mallet's arm that made the difference; It was his direction. The offensive line played cleanly with few mistakes. We can stretch the field and run the ball. And JJ is locked down.
Wait until everyone gets more experience within a functioning system. The future is looking good.
I agree completely. It was Mallett's presence and command at the LOS that impressed me the most.
Spencer Tillman said that one thing that really shows maturity at QB is the ability to check down to a run. Reading coverages is fairly simple for a QB, but understanding the d-line and how your play is aligned is a different matter. Tillman said that Mallett checked down to a run twice early in the game and he knew at that point that Mallet was much more ahead in his development than Tillman realized.
Duane Brown said Mallett was a true commander out there, telling people their assignments when needed and urging them to hurry up when they started lagging. He said everyone on the offense was excited to play for him and they even talked amongst themselves during the game that Mallett was a true leader who was really in control.
It's all those little things, along with a strong and accurate arm, that add up for me. Then add in O'Brien's endorsement and support with his three years of training behind a HoF QB (without any complaints or issues), and I cannot help but be optimistic about the future.
Too soon? Maybe. But, why not? We are fans, so being hopeful is a nice change after suffering through 2013.
b0ng
Bad Hombre
This thread is going to turn completely opposite of the first few pages if Mallett puts up a stinker or two (which every QB does at some point. Even the Great Forehead stunk up the joint on Sunday).
I don't have any arbitrary stats, measures, or number of games he plays decently in before I want to see him offered a contract. I know that I don't want to see him being paid like a franchise guy off of 7 starts unless the coaches believe in his work ethic and drive to improve his game. My biggest fear is that we pay him a contract we can't get out of for a couple of seasons and he Rick Mirer's us. There's a boatload of hyperbole going around w/r/t Mallett though and I think it's making some of the fans here and other places sound rather silly.
I don't have any arbitrary stats, measures, or number of games he plays decently in before I want to see him offered a contract. I know that I don't want to see him being paid like a franchise guy off of 7 starts unless the coaches believe in his work ethic and drive to improve his game. My biggest fear is that we pay him a contract we can't get out of for a couple of seasons and he Rick Mirer's us. There's a boatload of hyperbole going around w/r/t Mallett though and I think it's making some of the fans here and other places sound rather silly.
You are right that we should be cautious in optimism. I guess I'm just tired of being down for so long that it's nice to think positive about the future for a change...if even just for a week.
At some point, this franchise will stumble onto a franchise QB. Is it Mallet? Who knows, but it could be, so it's not a bad thing to sip a little koolaid just for fun and enjoy the moment.
I will refrain from being too critical of the guy when an inevitable bad performance happens, but you're right, there will be some that will take the opportunity to slice up Mallett into little pieces.
As far as the contract thing...we all know how the Texans FO tends to operate...
b0ng
Bad Hombre
You're right on all your other points. Here's a little food for thought though. Jay Cutler is probably the best QB the Bears have ever had. I hope Mallett is the guy Brett Kollman thinks he is (who wrote that terrible piece based off of preseason crap), but this world and this game are cruel and brutal.
eriadoc
Texan-American
TB has never had a franchise QB. And depending on how you rate a QB as "franchise", other teams can be argued to be in the same boat. I don't think I'd consider anyone the Cards have had as a franchise QB. Do you count Jim Hart as a franchise QB? I guess you'd count Warner, but he was as much a franchise QB as Plunkett, I think. Bernie Kosar as a franchise QB? Brian Sipe? Mark Brunell? Then you have teams that have finally stumbled upon one, but probably never had one before - Seahawks, Falcons, and Saints come to mind.
I don't want to sound pessimistic, but if we're counting on fate/luck to help them out, we could all very well be dead by the time the Texans stumble upon their franchise QB.
A stinker of a game won't really bother me. Two of them... probably. Alls I'm looking for is someone to run this offense the way it's supposed to be ran. I don't expect to look like New England. We don't have Gronk, we don't have Edelman/Welker, or anything like that. But I didn't like the way the offense was ran with Fitz under center.
If they extend him, then it's because they think our offense can continue to grow with him at the helm... chances are they don't think he's a franchise QB, but that he could grow into the role.
b0ng
Bad Hombre
Damn TK, you know Welker is on the Broncos and is a shell of a ghost of what he once was right? And I'd take Nuk over Edelman/LaFell any day. Gronk is certainly a better offensive weapon than what we have but the biggest difference between the two teams is of course, super obvious 