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What Mallett brings as a (full-time) Starter

dream_team said:
Well let's be honest with ourselves. Coaches don't think long term, they focus on winning NOW! Why? Because they most likely won't be around if thinking long term.

If Mallet fails this season, and the team goes 5-11, there's a good chance BOB is fired. If the team goes 9-7 with Hoyer, BOB is most likely still our coach next season. And personally, Hoyer gives us the best chance at 9-7... but Mallet give us the best chance at a SB in the next few years.
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Based on McNair's history, I doubt he'd fire O'Brien if this season went 5-11. He'd probably light a fire under his seat, but a two season head coach is indicative of an owner who has no long term vision for his franchise. We saw that with Bud Adams, and I'm not getting the vibe that McNair is anything like Adams as it relates to handling his business.

Kubiak had two 6-10 seasons in 8 years and did not get fired until his disastrous 2-14 8th season. McNair might not have as much patience with O'Brien, but I'd be shocked if it was to the point of yanking him after two years.

And I completely disagree about Hoyer giving us the best chance of 9-7 this season. I'm not even sure how anyone could come to that conclusion. It is beyond my comprehension how that point could even be logically supported.
 
Double Barrel said:
Based on McNair's history, I doubt he'd fire O'Brien if this season went 5-11.
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I can see it. We could be 5-9 & McNair would say something like, "By God... if we don't win another game, it's either O'Brien or you Rick."

Then Rick will wave his hand, say something unassuming.....

Qui-Gon_mind_trick.png


& Billy is out of here.
 
Double Barrel said:
And I completely disagree about Hoyer giving us the best chance of 9-7 this season. I'm not even sure how anyone could come to that conclusion. It is beyond my comprehension how that point could even be logically supported.
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Hoyer had the Browns at 7-4 last season. Id like to believe we're a better than the Browns of last season, as well as in a easier division. I truly believe Hoyer is better right now, but Mallet has much more potential. If you disagree, that's fine... I'm not that strong in my stance.
 
dream_team said:
Hoyer had the Browns at 7-4 last season. Id like to believe we're a better than the Browns of last season, as well as in a easier division. I truly believe Hoyer is better right now, but Mallet has much more potential. If you disagree, that's fine... I'm not that strong in my stance.
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The only thing I've got against that take is that the Browns got to 7-4 last season. Once they lost their center & couldn't run the ball, & the defense stopped giving them short fields, Hoyer & the Browns were like 1-6 over their last seven games.

Our defense isn't giving us a short field & until yesterday, we couldn't run the ball.

The offensive line didn't get better since the 3rd Qtr of week 1 either. Hoyer would have a hard time getting this team competitive.
 
Texans coach Bill O’Brien on Ryan Mallett: ‘I thought his mechanics were better’
By Aaron Wilson on on September 28, 2015 4:38 PM

It wasn’t a sterling performance by Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett, but he played well enough to contribute to a win Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mallett completed 24 of 39 passes for 228 yards, a touchdown pass on a slant to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and was intercepted once on a deflected pass. Mallett had a 75.6 passer rating.

“I think that there are certainly things to improve on, but I thought he managed the game better,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said of Mallett, who made his fourth career NFL start. “I think he got us into the right play better. I thought his mechanics were better. He was tighter in the pocket. He was a bit more accurate. He completed more balls. I think we were more balanced and I think that helped him. We were able to run the football. I thought he did a good job on third down.

“I think a lot of that had to do with our receivers and our line, but Mallett delivering the ball on time and accurately. There’s things we need to improve on. He’s really only played four games in this league. I heard him say whether it was high school or college ‘the more I play, the more comfortable I get. The more confidence, the better I get.’ That’s usually the case with most of us. The more you do things, the better you get at it. Hopefully, we’ll see that.”

Mallett is 1-1 as a starter this season.

The Texans converted 8 of 14 third downs, a 44-percent success rate Sunday.

“Throughout my career, high school, college, whatever, I always feel better the more I play, the more comfortable I get,” Mallett said. “Hopefully that’ll continue. .. It feels good. It feels kind of like after Cleveland [a win last season where Mallett started], but we need more, we want more, we tasted finally what it tastes like to win and that’s just all about how hard we worked, how much effort we put into the game plan, know what we’re doing, know our assignments and then execute.”
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CloakNNNdagger said:
“I think he got us into the right play better.
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I heard Cecil Shorts talking about changing the play at the line of scrimmage, saying we do it a lot. I haven't noticed a lot of audible, or hand signals, or anything. I'm wondering how the play changes.

Like built in options or something.
 
thunderkyss said:
I heard Cecil Shorts talking about changing the play at the line of scrimmage, saying we do it a lot. I haven't noticed a lot of audible, or hand signals, or anything. I'm wondering how the play changes.

Like built in options or something.
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Really? He's doin' a fair impression of the chicken dance back there.
 
It seems like he's pointing out potential blitz or stunt packages for blocking schemes mostly.. he's not calling or in my opinion doesn't seem to be calling that many audibles.
 
The more I see, the more I like Mallett. I don't think we're doing him a lot of favors on offense with the calls and blocking and receiving, but he's doing his job in spite of these things. We're out of the huddle quickly and in rhythm. He's making good line adjustments, something that can be seen by how well he's able to step in the pocket (when the line doesn't collapse in his lap). The passes are coming out on time - and hot. Nearly everything is catchable ... he doesn't allow his receivers to catch and run like some others (Keenum was great at that), but he's hitting the receiver's hands.

There's plenty to work on, but that simply comes with experience. One thing that showed up against the Bucs is a couple touch passes. The fail by Washington was a beauty - Mallett didn't mistake 'touch' for 'rainmaker' as is his tendency on deeper throws, he was able to take some velocity off and put the ball on target. He's always going to be a fireballer (and that's just fine), but this is another area of experience, as well as protection. It's a LOT easier to target passes with time to settle and deliver, instead of plant and fire.
 
thunderkyss said:
I heard Cecil Shorts talking about changing the play at the line of scrimmage, saying we do it a lot. I haven't noticed a lot of audible, or hand signals, or anything. I'm wondering how the play changes.

Like built in options or something.
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I'm seeing him call out a bunch of stuff and make a lot of hand motions to people. You're not concentrating on the OL again, are you?
 
I want to reserve judgment till brown/foster are back and we have a better sample size - BUT im encouraged.

Get him in rythm early. Dont make him win games all by himself (run game.) Challenge the defense deep. X all screen plays.
 
thunderkyss said:
I heard Cecil Shorts talking about changing the play at the line of scrimmage, saying we do it a lot. I haven't noticed a lot of audible, or hand signals, or anything. I'm wondering how the play changes.

Like built in options or something.
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This is how I am assuming it works based off an old article I found about the Patriots skill positions.

We are going to take you through the mind of the NE Patriots QB. The clock is running... are you ready?

Let's start from the huddle, with the play call being the most important moment, as only once will everyone hear the same thing. The QB drives this Caddy and only swagger separates good from great.

Telling his teammates the call with confidence will send them off ready to execute, or if with unsure tone, off to be shredded. At the break of the huddle the QB's focus first on the scoreboard (no he's not looking for himself on the screen), it's a way to gather information, and he starts with the play clock (how much time do we have?).

He then scans down from the scoreboard locating the Safeties, to the Linebackers, the Defensive linemen, and then the entire defense to see exactly where players are lined up. While this process is going on, there is another one checking his offense, making sure everyone is lined up in the correct position. Now that the QB has gone through the check and the play being called in the huddle, so what is he barking out at the line?

Another one of the many responsibilities the QB has is protection calls, and he's responsible for making sure his bell isn't rung. Checking the defense again, he selects a protection scheme (usually double digit numbering: 50, 60, 70). These protections include the RB's and TE's into the blocking schemes so they have to be just as alert to the calls as the offensive linemen. The Patriots like to use 5, 6, and 7 man slide protection systems.

The Patriots QB utilizes 3 and 5 step drops in the majority of under the center pass plays, and the protection has to match or bad things happen. The QB has to take into account defenders and overloads and be ready to change a call and still have the time to perform the next task.

After protections have been set, the audible process comes into play (aubiles are not always available on plays, or when you’re changing a play where you may not have the proper personnel on the field. This can restrict the QB or offense and cause confusion, a timeout used, or delay of game). Audibling can be highly effective or disastrous as an idea make backfire if one element is out of place.

The dominant audible system in teh patriost offense is the 'check with me' system. Two plays are rolled into one call and the QB will kill one at the line. This is usually done by colors, one live and one dead.

The QB cadence is one of the true arts of gamesmanship and having a good one gives a slight advantage. The QB will call the 'Live' play where any shift would happen first, and if the QB wants motion, it would be started on the heel.

Hot Routes are a QB's best friend in this system, as there so many variables 'alerting' a WR and redirecting them in case of a blitz / pressure, it helps the QB keep control and confidence in the play. Using the hot route allows the QB to almost entirely change the passing portion of the play by giving each WR his own single assignment. So his protection doesn’t change, but he can redirect the routes to his advantage. As mentioned in the Wide Receiver segment sight adjustments play heavily also into the QB's framework.

There are two calls that demonstrate how terminology and knowing what the situation presents, called 'Rambo' and 'Look Pass’. 'Rambo' is called when a pass play is called and an uncovered WR is openpre-snap. The QB will bark the snap count (on the second sound), 'GO HOT' and throw directly to theopen WR. Patriots fans have seen this over the years with Deion Branch and Brady.

'Look Pass' is a QB option. If it's a running play and he can identify the uncovered WR (usually a nod or grab of the face mask - again, is why it's important that the QB and WR need to have multiple channels of communication).

Now all the QB has to do now is get the snap and execute the play. And you thought we were going to talk about throwing the ball.
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http://www.60maxpowero.com/patriots...-breakdown-series-skill-positions-quarterback
 
^^^^This. Excellent article......thanks for posting! A seemingly complicated system, but when mastered, with everyone on the same page, apparently can turn out a very well-oiled machine...............probably, in many ways similar/modified to an O'brien scheme. It requires all the moving parts to repetitively work together for a decent period of time in order to gain that most important final ingredient............CHEMISTRY.
 
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What does Ryan Mallet bring as a starter? I can't help but be reminded of an episode of "Married with Children" where Bundy climbs a mountain to meet the lengendary Iron Head Hayes (played by Waylon Jennings). Bundy climbs the mountain then finds himself litterally at Ironhead's feet and says: "You must be Ironhead Hayes" and Waylon replies: "And you must be some idiot who didn't know there was a ROAD on the other side of this mountain." They talk for a minute and Bundy ask him for advice and he says: "Maybe I can sum it all up with a song I wrote." He picks up his guitar strums a "G" chord and sings what Mallet brings to the Houston Texans: "Nothing..."

:dread: Long way to go for that one...but TOTALLY worth it!
 
The Pencil Neck said:
I'm seeing him call out a bunch of stuff and make a lot of hand motions to people. You're not concentrating on the OL again, are you?
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Yeah, I see him pointing out the mike, & changing protection, but nothing I would have thought changed the play.

After reading GoCoogs article, I can see it now. I'll have to watch more carefully.

Chicken Dance??
 
Dread-Head said:
What does Ryan Mallet bring as a starter? I can't help but be reminded of an episode of "Married with Children" where Bundy climbs a mountain to meet the lengendary Iron Head Hayes (played by Waylon Jennings). Bundy climbs the mountain then finds himself litterally at Ironhead's feet and says: "You must be Ironhead Hayes" and Waylon replies: "And you must be some idiot who didn't know there was a ROAD on the other side of this mountain." They talk for a minute and Bundy ask him for advice and he says: "Maybe I can sum it all up with a song I wrote." He picks up his guitar strums a "G" chord and sings what Mallet brings to the Houston Texans: "Nothing..."

:dread: Long way to go for that one...but TOTALLY worth it!
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Damn did Mallett steal your enhanced asian blow up doll while she was at the filling station?
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
^^^^This. Excellent article......thanks for posting! A seemingly complicated system, but when mastered, with everyone on the same page, apparently can turn out a very well-oiled machine...............probably, in many ways similar/modified to an O'brien scheme. It requires all the moving parts to repetitively work together for a decent period of time in order to gain that most important final ingredient............CHEMISTRY.
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Here is another great article about the Patriots offensive scheme that can help shed some light on O'Brien:

Speak My Language

As the players and schemes have changed, it's the way the Patriots talk that's continued their offensive dominance

---------------------------

New England’s offense is a member of the NFL’s third offensive family, the Erhardt-Perkins system. The offense was named after the two men, Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins, who developed it while working for the Patriots under head coach Chuck Fairbanks in the 1970s. According to Perkins, it was assembled in the same way most such systems are developed. “I don’t look at it as us inventing it,” he explained. “I look at it as a bunch of coaches sitting in rooms late at night organizing and getting things together to help players be successful.”

The backbone of the Erhardt-Perkins system is that plays — pass plays in particular — are not organized by a route tree or by calling a single receiver’s route, but by what coaches refer to as “concepts.” Each play has a name, and that name conjures up an image for both the quarterback and the other players on offense. And, most importantly, the concept can be called from almost any formation or set. Who does what changes, but the theory and tactics driving the play do not. “In essence, you’re running the same play,” said Perkins. “You’re just giving them some window-dressing to make it look different.”

The biggest advantage of the concept-based system is that it operates from the perspective of the most critical player on offense: the quarterback.

---------------------------

Full article (worth the time to read)
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CloakNNNdagger said:
^^^^This. Excellent article......thanks for posting! A seemingly complicated system, but when mastered, with everyone on the same page, apparently can turn out a very well-oiled machine...............probably, in many ways similar/modified to an O'brien scheme. It requires all the moving parts to repetitively work together for a decent period of time in order to gain that most important final ingredient............CHEMISTRY.
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The best thing about chemistry is that it is repeatable.
 
Mollywhopper said:
You didn't think he could have dinner at Papasito's and take pictures with some pretty affable ladies?
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Walking into a room full of "old ladies" and handling it affably and with some aplomb is new ground for him, imo. He was often a bit awkward in these type situations. Not a big deal, but good to see him wear it.
 
Playoffs said:
Walking into a room full of "old ladies" and handling it affably and with some aplomb is new ground for him, imo. He was often a bit awkward in these type situations. Not a big deal, but good to see him wear it.
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I get the overall sentiment. I guess I just cringe at the idea that Mallett has been viewed by some as such a crooked character guy that he couldn't handle a room full of cheerful old broads and some fajitas. Like there's some implied link that that could have contributed to his not starting sooner.

Maybe that's just me though and I should just quit hurting my head overthinking it.
 
Mollywhopper said:
I get the overall sentiment. I guess I just cringe at the idea that Mallett has been viewed by some as such a crooked character guy that he couldn't handle a room full of cheerful old broads and some fajitas. Like there's some implied link that that could have contributed to his not starting sooner.

Maybe that's just me though and I should just quit hurting my head overthinking it.
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Crooked? ...Contributed to his not starting sooner?

Yeah, might be reading more into it than necessary.
794-6ebd67159f6c2764b49dafa6d35e26b6.jpg
 
Playoffs said:
Crooked? ...Contributed to his not starting sooner?

Yeah, might be reading more into it than necessary.
794-6ebd67159f6c2764b49dafa6d35e26b6.jpg
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The guy's hardly been painted as a face of a franchise. Whatsoever.

Anyway. I feel better not having been worried he couldn't the rigors of happy lady night.
 
Mallet needs to add touch to his repertoire ASAP. If he can start dropping some passes into windows he will have a good chance at being successful. Stop throwing stupid passes into traffic. God almighty work on getting some speed through exercise and practice. I wouldnt be surprised if he was the slowest player on the team up to and including all the linemen. In todays NFL your QB needs to be somewhat mobile, and not in the sense of a scrambler, but able to avoid a rush and use the legs to pick up crucial first downs. If Mallet is under fire its a wrap, sack or lost down by throwing ball away (not always bad, but not always good)

I still think you have to give him the rest of the year and see where they are at then, but those franchise guys have that "it" quality you pick up on early. I have yet to feel that vibe from him.
 
Mallett's 27 years old and 6'6", he's not getting any faster no matter how much "exercise and practice" he gets.

fresh hot sports takes ...
 
There's no question he's on the slow side as far as straight ahead speed.

When he took off and made the endzone against Carolina it kinda looked like he was carrying something on his back... like a refrigerator. :fingergun:

Ironically I'm ok with that as his pocket awareness is above average and he avoids the heat mostly. His quickness and mobility are well better than Schaub ever was and he has a gun to boot.. and look what Schaub was able to accomplish a few years.

Once again.. Mallet is going to be our guy and I'm getting that crow ready.
 
Mallett has two things IMO he needs to improve, continue on his touch passes and for the love of God keep an eye on the MLB underneath in the middle of the field....he is blind to those guys
 
amazing80 said:
Mallett has two things IMO he needs to improve, continue on his touch passes and for the love of God keep an eye on the MLB underneath in the middle of the field....he is blind to those guys
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Yeah and to be honest he should have had at least two more INT's vs. the Bucs, but because he throws it hard, while the LB's got a hand on it, they had little chance to actually pick it off. Best they could have hoped for is pop it up for someone else to grab.
 
Uncle Rico said:
Mallet needs to add touch to his repertoire ASAP. If he can start dropping some passes into windows he will have a good chance at being successful. Stop throwing stupid passes into traffic. God almighty work on getting some speed through exercise and practice. I wouldnt be surprised if he was the slowest player on the team up to and including all the linemen. In todays NFL your QB needs to be somewhat mobile, and not in the sense of a scrambler, but able to avoid a rush and use the legs to pick up crucial first downs. If Mallet is under fire its a wrap, sack or lost down by throwing ball away (not always bad, but not always good)

I still think you have to give him the rest of the year and see where they are at then, but those franchise guys have that "it" quality you pick up on early. I have yet to feel that vibe from him.
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Didn't Mallett run for a TD against Carolina?
 
Now that Mallett is the starter I wonder if OB will tailor the offense to fit Mallett's skill set better.

Instead of trying to force Mallett to be Tom Brady, tweak things so they can take advantage of Mallet's strong arm.

Similar to how they changed the offense last season to take advantage of what Case Keenum was good at.

To me that is the mark of a good coach, one who adapts his philosophy to get the best out of his player's strengths.
 
GoCoogs said:
Now that Mallett is the starter I wonder if OB will tailor the offense to fit Mallett's skill set better.

Instead of trying to force Mallett to be Tom Brady, tweak things so they can take advantage of Mallet's strong arm.

Similar to how they changed the offense last season to take advantage of what Case Keenum was good at.

To me that is the mark of a good coach, one who adapts his philosophy to get the best out of his player's strengths.
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To me, a good coach would start with what the player does well, but eventually develop him into his vision of what the QB needs to be to win. Normally, that's what coaches do with their young rookie QBs that they decide to start early in their careers.

But for whatever reason, most coaches will be more rigid with their "system" with "veteran" QBs. I think Bruce Arians started trying to get Drew Stanton to play in the system he developed for Carson Palmer early in the season, when he felt Carson would come back & Drew didn't look or play like Carson Palmer. But later, when Carson got hurt for the season... Drew Stanton looked like a pretty decent QB. I think Arians knew Stanton wasn't Palmer & changed his offense to fit Stanton.
 
I agree that OB1 should tailor this system and I also agree that Mallet needs to adapt as well.
They are both fairly new to each other.

Patience.
 
Hervoyel said:
Yeah, he's not a statue. He's just never going to look good running the ball because when he "takes off" (if you could call it that) it's all elbows and awkward angles. Big dorky "stork" guys look funny running. It's not anybody's fault. That's just how it is.

He can move when he has to.
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Yup, the giraffe moniker/analogy is perfect. Those guys can actually run pretty fast but they look goofy doing it. Not saying Mallett is fast but the goofiness makes him look slower than he is.
 
I sat next to Ed Biles at the Bucs game. He was the Oilers head coach that had the unenviable job of following Bum Phillips. We talked during the game and he said the obvious "we don't have a QB." I still have a little bit of hope that Mallett can grow into the role. Unfortunately, I don't think he is smart enough or accurate enough.
 
Jayson Braddock ‏@JaysonBraddock 8m8 minutes ago

"The way he sees certain pass calls, is the way everyone needs to see it." Godsey on WRs catching up w/ Mallett's anticipation

Jayson Braddock ‏@JaysonBraddock 6m6 minutes ago

I speculated after last week that the WRs were struggling catching the ball from Mallett due to how much anticipation was on the throws.

Jayson Braddock ‏@JaysonBraddock 6m6 minutes ago

Godsey just basically said that the WRs have to be more ready coming out of breaks & Mallett did allow routes to develop more to help WRs.


Needs time for chemistry to develop.
 
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