Lockett is going to be a much better player than Strong in my opinion. He would have been awesome for us, I was really upset about that.
He's healthy, been out there the last 3 or so practices straight. On expecting what Wilfork's snap count will be, He played 73.9 % of all defensive downs for the Patriots last year. Thats coming off of an achiles injury the previous season. Now 2 years removed, he'll be much better. He'll probably average 60%+ this year, and that's if they're making sure he doesn't run out of gas.
Dude is going to be limited. If he was that great, they would have used him as a receiver, but they've been primarily keeping him as a returner. They need all the help they can get at WR. Maybe he'll get catches as the year progress, but it's not a good sign if he can't snag some snaps at WR. Dudes a phenomenal return guy, with crazy speed, he should easily help them at wideout if he's good enough, but they aren't giving him chances to, at least not yet.
As far as what I'm looking for, here's my list. O-line depth. Very thin there. LG and Backup Tackle worry me. D-line depth. I want to see if we can continue to pressure without Watt/Wilfork. Running Backs. I want to see if we have something we didn't know. LB Corp. I want to see pressure from everything. Progress from all the young guys. DB Depth. See who's going to take the open safety spot, progress from guys who contributed last year. Last but not least, Savage's development. I'm more interested in him than Hoyer/Mallet battle. (Mallet should be QB1 fyi)
If they truly are neck and neck, Mallett has to be your number one based on a few things: A. His familiarity with our players. B. His far superior potential. And most importantly... C. His cannon of an arm gives you more of a chance to make up for Foster's absence. The ability he'll have to take the top off the defense is underrated, if he can reign it in.
Strong's upside is better than Lockett's IMO. I dont think Lockett can be a number 1 wr. Strong definitely can when he improves his route running. He can be another Alshon Jeffery for us.
That's exactly my thinking. If they aren't completely separating themselves then Mallet is your clear cut winner based on the factor Hoyer has substantially more starting experience than Mallet. You have a known commodity in Hoyer. High quality backup than can start games. Game manager, inconsistent, good guy. Similar to Fitzpatrick, just not as good. Hoyer stats from last year: Comp. % - 55.4%, Avg. Yds Per - 7.59, Rating 76.8. 12 TDs to 13 INT Where as Fitzpatrick was: Comp. % - 63.1, Avg. Yds Per - 7.96, Rating 79.5. 17 TDs to 8 INT With Mallet it's a tail of two games, of which the last he was hurt from get go. Healthy vs Cleveland: Comp. % - 66.7, Avg. Yds Per - 7.03, Rating 95.3. 2 TDs to 1 INT. Rushed for 213 yds on 54 carries, avg 3.9/carry. Injured vs Bengals: Comp. % 46.7, Avg. Yds Per - 4.2, Rating 49.2. O TDs to 1 INT. Rushed for 64yds on 19 carries, avg 3.4/carry. Mallet undoubtedly has a higher floor than either Hoyer/Fitzpatrick. His knowledge of the specific nuances on offense will be better known to him than Hoyer. His arm is incredible, and his height allows him better visibility. If it simply comes down to consistency then you must give Mallet the ball anyway. Having nearly zero playing time to prove himself, you've got to give him the chance. He either flounders and you throw Hoyer out there and hope he stops throwing picks, or he actually begins to develop and you've got a potential QB1 of the future. Either way, At the end of the season, O'brien must find out what Mallet is or isn't capable of doing. Hoyer at not time will be the future of this franchise. It's Mallet or a draft pick next year competing with Savage.
You can't compare Hoyers numbers to Fitzys last year, totally different offenses. If Fitz was better than Hoyer he would still be here. Can't wait!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>G Xavier Su'a-Filo listed as the starter on the <a class="hashtag" action="hash" title="#Texans">#Texans</a> depth chart, but Jeff Adams will start, as he has been throughout camp.</p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/632681528804417536" data-datetime="2015-08-15T22:33:25+00:00">August 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a class="hashtag" action="hash" title="#Texans">#Texans</a> are still declining to name who will start in 86 minutes, which is hilarious.</p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/632681814268751872" data-datetime="2015-08-15T22:34:33+00:00">August 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> are still declining to name who will start in 86 minutes, which is hilarious.</p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/632681814268751872">August 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
confirmed, Mallet starting <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I expect Hoyer to start against Niners.</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/status/632684370143285248" data-datetime="2015-08-15T22:44:43+00:00">August 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
