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The case for Bill O'Brien

Discussion in 'Houston Texans' started by Two Sandwiches, Nov 17, 2015.

  1. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    Right. Look at Pete Carroll and that call in the super bowl to throw...or else seattle would have had back to back SBs.

    <iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U7rPIg7ZNQ8?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
     
  2. Nimo

    Nimo Member

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    The same thing could be said of the Colts, Jags, and Titans yet none of them make that list. None of the NFC east teams were on that list.
     
  3. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Kubiak was better than we thought then
     
  4. dmoneybangbang

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    Those qbs were familiar with what BOB wanted to do and coincided with re-tooling and staying competitive.

    Passing on bridgewater and Bortles does look like a mistake in hindsight, but who knows what happened behind the scenes. I don't think BOB is a top coach but I think he is the right man for the job so far.
     
  5. PhiSlamma15

    PhiSlamma15 Member

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    ummm BINGO!
     
  6. zeeshan2

    zeeshan2 Member

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    Plenty of words have been used to define Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien.

    During the HBO series "Hard Knocks," O'Brien was the crusty coach who needed a bleep button for his language. When he benched starting quarterback Brian Hoyer in Week 1, he was the impatient drill sergeant with the quick hook. During a 1-4 start, he appeared lost on defense and struggling on offense.

    But the best word to put next to O'Brien's name is "underappreciated." His style and methods might be somewhat unconventional, but there's no denying that he has put together two good seasons of coaching. He was 9-7 last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick most of the season. This year, he won the AFC South using four different quarterbacks.

    The Texans, thanks to O'Brien, are trending upward because he is getting more out of less on offense. Last year, Fitzpatrick turned around his career playing for O'Brien, completing a career-best 63.1 percent of his passes and throwing 17 touchdowns versus eight interceptions in 12 games. This season, Fitzpatrick is having a career year for the New York Jets.

    It's too early to tell if going to Hoyer over Fitzpatrick is an upgrade, but there is no question Hoyer is doing well with O'Brien, despite the opening-game benching. Hoyer's completion percentage is a career-best 60.5 with 18 touchdowns and six picks in 10 games.

    One underrated aspect to O'Brien's 17-14 start as an NFL head coach is how well he understands the value of defense. Though the Houston unit looked shaky in the first half of the season, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has quietly done exactly what Andy Reid did with the Chiefs' defense. The Texans have shut down teams, allowing just 12.8 points per game over their past eight contests.

    All you have to do is look at the standings to understand the value of defense. With one exception -- the Dallas Cowboys, without Tony Romo -- teams projected to draft in the top 17 of next year's draft are giving around 24 or more points a game. The Texans' average for the entire season is 20.5.

    Having the luxury of a defense that keeps a team in games gives an offensive coach like O'Brien the chance to squeeze as much out of the offense as possible to win games.

    For the moment, O'Brien is both lucky and cursed.

    He's lucky the AFC South is so bad that he can win despite not having great quarterback play. The Texans haven't been burdened by a tough schedule; and when they have played good teams, they have largely struggled. Houston was 2-6 against teams with .500 records or better last year and 2-4 this year.

    He's potentially cursed, because getting in the playoffs put the Texans in the bottom 12 of the first round, where it's hard to draft quality quarterbacks. Add in the fact that it is rare for top quarterbacks to hit the free-agent market and it isn't hard to envision Houston's lack of a long-term answer at quarterback eventually catching up with the franchise.

    With what he has had at quarterback, O'Brien will be hard-pressed to find himself in many award discussions after two years. Mike Sando ranked the five best coaching jobs this season, and O'Brien's name didn't surface. That's understandable. O'Brien didn't put up a 14-game winning streak like Ron Rivera. He can't match Bruce Arians' 13-2 season and explosive offense at Arizona. He didn't win 10 straight after starting 1-5, like Reid did. And his turnaround wasn't as surprising as Jay Gruden's in Washington or Todd Bowles' in New York.

    But for now, O'Brien at least has put the Texans back in contention while going week-to-week figuring out what to do at quarterback. And for that, he deserves some recognition.



    http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14470698/why-houston-texans-coach-bill-obrien-deserves-more-credit-nfl
     
  7. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Lol, no. He chose to roll with those QBs
     
  8. vstexas09

    vstexas09 Member

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    damn man..the jinx is in full effect..

    ESPN already writing that we won the AFC South...

    we still don't learn after all these years that the city is cursed.
     
  9. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    Doesn't need a case to be made for him. Best coach in franchise history, easily.
     
  10. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Based on going 9-7?
     
  11. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    After 2-14, sure. But then adding a division title in the next year without Arian Foster and your #1 pick missing a ton of games both years, etc.
     
  12. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    It's just 9-7 in a weak division. It wouldn't even be good enough for the wild card.

    Most of his pickups haven't been very good. I'll wait until he has to win with his guys instead of Kubiaks
     
  13. Nick

    Nick Member

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    Several coaches going to be getting the axe on black monday... some of them hired at the same time or after BOB was hired.

    Texans chose exactly the guy they wanted... and he's done exactly what McNair wanted (quick turnaround)... and now he's going to need to find the QB of the future to cement his legacy (or to expedite his departure).

    The Manziel decision pretty much sank the current Browns GM/Coach, Kapernick's failure has the 49ers in disarray, and Tannehill not taking the next step has the Dolphins starting over as well.

    Early picked or highly paid QB's success (or failure) will make or break a coaching regime.
     
  14. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    Yeah, he had to win with all those 2-14 guys.
     
  15. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Almost all of the best performers are kubiak guys.

    Much of the turnaround was just getting rid of Schaub (who Rick extended) and getting an average QB.
     
  16. zeeshan2

    zeeshan2 Member

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    We should have made the playoffs last year also if only the Browns had beaten the Ravens the last day of the season. What he did after that awful start we had and the QB carousel; he's been absolutely amazing. Also we never fell victim to the hard knocks curse :p
     
  17. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    It doesn't really matter if they were 'Kubiak guys' or not. They were 2-14.

    If they extended Schaub, it must be Kubiak's fault. At least according to you, since you blame every personnel move on the coach.
     
  18. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Obrien has final say over the roster.

    Most of his pickups have not been good. He'll have to actually start drafting well and finding good FAs when kubiaks guys get too expensive to keep under the cap

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  19. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    Again, 'Kubiak's guys' were 2-14. BOB has obviously coached them better.
     
  20. Juxtaposed Jolt

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    Real talk - can O'Brien win CoY?
     

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