610 has a source that has reported that Obrien wanted to start Watson after game 1 of the preseason and Rick Smith talked him out of it to make sure Watson wasn’t rushed. Obrien was smitten with Watson and apparently spent all of his one on one time with Watson during camp. Takeaway aside from Watson portion of the story? Obrien leaking against Rick smith again lol
problem with that narrative is people who observed camp said Watson spent virtually no time with the first team offense
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2017/10/04/texans-obrien-watson-starting-qb-preseason/ "But according to the source, the dynamic between O’Brien and Smith is now stable. “I think it’s better than it used to be,” the source said of O’Brien and Smith’s relationship while admitting, “they are very different types of people.” O’Brien is in the second to last year of the five-year contract he signed in 2014. Does he want to be in Houston long-term? “If they win, he stays and everyone works together,” the source said." Yeah, Billy never wanted Osweiler either. He was Team Savage all the way! Yeah, he never wanted Savage either. He was Team Romo errr Watson all the way! Tom Savage? Who dis? But otherwise, very nice timing of Billy after two [breakout] games to say, yeah, I wanted to start him all along but management prevented it!
LOL at this again. O'Brien leaking stuff to make himself look better. So he is in charge of who plays...unless things go wrong then somehow Rick made him do it?
You're right. It's probably Cal leaking these stories each year about how OBrien isn't to blame for any mistakes and usually pointing to Rick Smith. He's probably jealous of Ricky's relationship with his dad.
I have to admit, O'Brien's PR team is playing this soft media market like a skin flute. I don't doubt OB was enamored with Deshaun, we all are but damn he's always got to get the last word every ****ing time. It's beginning to look a lot like an extension...
Billy gotta come back swinging at his critics. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I wanted this guy all along! _______________________________________ How was DeShaun Watson not the week 1 starter for the #Texans???? Why was it even a debate? - Brian Billick, former NFL Head Coach Probably worth repeating: Bill O'Brien had 4 months to watch Deshaun Watson, and still thought Tom Savage was a better option for Week 1. - Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports Remember when Bill O'Brien thought Tom Savage was a better QB than Deshaun Watson? - Lindsay Jones, USA Today "Can't help but shake your head and say 'he couldn't beat out Tom Savage in Bill O'Brien's eyes' - Dan Patrick Friendly reminder that Bill O'Brien started Tom Savage over Deshaun Watson in the opener and it's one of the reasons they lost the game. - Ross Tucker How is it possible that Bill O'Brien thought Tom Savage was a better idea than Deshaun Watson on opening day? - Ian O'Connor, ESPN Bill O'Brien has some explaining to do about why the hell he had Tom Savage ahead of Deshaun Watson all through camp and the preseason. - Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk Reminder: Bill O'Brien decided before the season that Watson would be his backup QB #Texans - Pat Leonard, NY Daily News
If Watson and this offense continues to improving, I don’t see how he doesn’t get an extension. This could very well be a top 10 offense by seasons end, even after that slow start.
Except everyone said O'Brien wanted Mahomes pre draft. All kinds of sources said Mahomes was OBriens pick. Rick wanted Watson. Remember the footage after the pick that Smith was the only one that seemed happy about the pick was announced? Now that Watson is playing well, they want to change the narrative.
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/4/27/15463600/deshaun-watson-texans-nfl-draft-emotion General manager Rick Smith says it all -- smile ear-to-ear.