Well if we had "studs" that caught perfectly thrown TD passes and "studs" that didn't allow kick returns for TD's then the team would have improved a whole lot last game.
This is definitely true, but that doesn't mitigate how poorly Brock performed. Brock was essentially the worst starting quarterback in the league. We don't need to have an elite quarterback to win big, but you can't have the worst.
Every team has drops...we could have said the same thing about the Patriots...if they had studs that didn't drop passes that led to INTs...or if they had studs that didn't fumble kickoffs, leading to an easy TD....they could have won by 30 points instead of 18. Bottom line is that Brock, despite a couple of his nice passes, regularly makes throws that are among the worst in the NFL. He is the worst starting QB in the league and has zero chance of ever amounting to anything but "below average". He is the one part of the team that can be replaced by someone average...resulting in a huge improvement for the team.
Well when you have Brock Osweiler, your margin of error is so tiny that a team has to play almost perfect football in order to win big games. The Patriots had "studs" who couldn't catch footballs, had a difficult time blocking, and fumbling kick offs too. They still won by 18 because Tom Brady is vastly superior to Brock Osweiler.
The ST part is overrated. Yes, they allowed a TD. They also got the Texans the ball at the 12 for their only TD, so it's a bit of a wash there. Not saying they couldn't use improvement in the larger picture, but last night, they equalized their bad play with a good one. As to the general premise - yes, if you improve a dozen other spots on the roster, the team will be better. But no single change will have more impact than fixing the QB. And however you spend money/picks, no realistic combination of improvements from other positions will be more than you can get from an upgrade at the QB spot, nor will any other improvements last nearly as long.
I think it does mitigate it a bit. There's no argument that his performance was unacceptable, but I think the fact that he had little to no help for all or most of the season should be considered. The WR's need to improve their route running and basic catching skill along with staying healthy. The TE's can't be dropping passes in the end zone. The O line has to at least slow people down on EVERY play. Hell falling down in front of rushers would be better than we see on certain plays EVERY game. I just think there is room for blame to be spread around, but the focus has been on just one position....and on a guy that EVERYONE knows will be back next year no matter what based on contract alone. If special teams are giving up TD's, the O line isn't blocking, and WR's are not getting open and dropping passes that hit them in the hands then no QB will help.
Like I said above, if the O line isn't blocking, special teams is allowing TD's, and receivers aren't getting open and are dropping perfectly thrown TD passes then no QB will improve the team enough to beat the Pats or other top tier teams. You just can't play that poorly and win.
Every QB endures crap OLine, drops, etc...difference is that Osweiler leads the worst offense in the league.
Not to that extent, it's just lazy to suggest that. Sadly we get a lot of lazy analysis after losses. The problems with the Texans offense go well beyond the QB position.....and hell they likely start with BOB. The team desperately needs a new OC next season, a fixed O line, and health at the WR spots no matter what QB is behind center if we are to improve the offense in any meaningful way.
For example, Tom Brady was able to just throw the ball up for grabs multiple times last night and his guys managed to come down with the ball.....do you EVER trust the Texans WR's to do the same? Do you trust the opponents' DB's to be that incompetent? Those are almost certainly interceptions if Osweiler throws the same passes.
I don't trust Brock to be able to place the ball in a position for the WR to get the ball like that. Brock had 5 nice passes last night....but that's not good based on his attempts. Sure, we can use improvement in many areas, like other teams...but Brock is the single piece of the puzzle that can be replaced and give the Texans the biggest boost.
When you throw the ball up for grabs like Brady did so often last night, it's not about ball placement, it's about the receiver getting under the ball and fighting for it. We don't really have any WR's that I would trust to fight for the ball. As to Brock, since he's going to be here next season no matter what, we might as well see what he looks like with another off-season under his belt and hopefully with him knowing the playbook better. If the Texans like a QB in the draft, awesome, but we won't see them year 1 almost certainly. The most realistic scenarios has either Osweiler or Savage starting for the Texans next season and we don't know right now what that would look like.
Agree on all points. Another way to look at it is this: If we accept that Brock is a sunk cost, the reality is that fully optimizing the roster (i.e. bringing in another QB on a comparable salary, plus plugging other holes) is a two-year process, regardless. Sure, you could keep Osweiler this year, start Savage, plug the OL/WR/LB/S holes and then make a QB splash in 2018, once Brock's contract rolls off... OR you could essentially reverse it. Use the money you have THIS YEAR on a QB, try to fix a few of those other holes in the draft, and understand that you'll need to shore up depth at those other spots in March 2018. If I think an available QB this year is substantially better than those projected to be available in 2018 (and I do think Romo is), the latter seems to be the smart play. And it gives the hypothetical new QB one extra year in O'Brien's system, as well.
Completely agree. Brock's salary can't be a factor beyond the actual limits of the salary cap. If they love Jimmy G, they should trade for him. They may have to just cut Brock and eat the dead money the way the Seahawks had to with Flynn. I know it sucks to cut a guy and get no cap savings that year, but there is also the cost of having him on the roster.
Romo makes no sense with this offensive line. He would not last 3 games the way he likes to hold onto the ball. Romo should be playing for Dallas in the playoffs. A rookie QB has never won a Super Bowl and Dak won't either. If they made it to the Super Bowl and had to face New England there is no way a rookie gets over on Bill Belichick.